Our job as coaches is to relay helpful information to you as an athlete in a way that you can understand and apply to yourself to make you better than when you walked in the door that day. While this is certainly the goal, sometimes certain things like class time constraints, larger class sizes, and other movement priorities can get in the way. So how can you as an athlete make sure that you are doing everything possible to make your experience better for when we do get around to showing you some 1-on-1 love?
1. Get To The Gym Early – Try and get to the gym 10 minutes before class. This will help with a number of things. It will give you time to go over the workout, ask a coach for certain progressions to movements you might not remember or are having trouble with, see how others did so you can get a feel for pace and timing, and give you time to mentally prepare before class starts. This is when you should let your coach know if you have limitations due to injury or if you are unsure of something so that they can watch you more carefully during class and give you more personalized coaching cues.
2. Listen During Class – Before starting a segment in that day’s programming, whether it is strength work, metabolic conditioning, or the accessory work, the coach will always go over how the movements should look and feel as well as any personal tips that they feel are beneficial. Make sure to put effort into listening to these tips even if you’ve heard them a few times over. You might just catch something new! Try and take away 2-3 cues for each movement and or WOD to store in your head before starting in. As you are warming into your starting weight, slow things down in your head and concentrate on what was said.
3. Ask Us To Watch – Get a set of eyes on you. You should know how a good rep or movement pattern feels before moving onto the next part of class. This will also give you undivided attention and confidence to perform in front of another’s set of eyes. You should walk away from every session with at least one cue or at least know what doing something right or better feels like.
4. Stay After And Ask Questions – If a coach is not engaged with another class, pull them aside and go over anything that might have not been clear during the class. This is when you can find out the “why” or the big picture behind certain cues or progressions. Ask about ways to improve movements or skills outside of class. If you have a question about something outside the gym like nutrition, sleep, or mobility then ask away! Questions are never annoying, rather they tell the coach that you are engaged and care about what they have to offer.
5. Share Your Goals – Have a goal in mind that you would love to reach? Share them with a coach! We can help you decide how to go about reaching your goal, if your goal needs to be broken down into smaller sequential goals, and what a good timeframe would look like for your goal. We will be putting up a goal board for the new year and providing some extra help outside of class to help you too so stay posted!
