Good coaching changes beliefs, not just bodies

A coach may see clients for only 1-3 hours a week. Clients entrust their fitness to us and it is therefore our responsibility to challenge their physical capacity every time they walk in. 

As coaches, we have the obligation of shaping our clients’ beliefs and opinions about movement. Through carefully considered exercise prescription we not only elicit positive physical adaptations but also mould belief systems. It would be negligent if we focused our time improving only strength while ignoring aerobic capacity. After all, they’re two sides of the same coin. For example, if we only trained like powerlifters (not necessarily a bad thing) we risk reinforcing the narrow idea that fitness equals brute strength. 

That’s why I apportion those few training hours between strength, mobility, hypertrophy and conditioning - not just from an adaptation perspective but to broaden what clients believe fitness can and should be.

Conditioning in particular poses a challenge. It is a time-intensive endeavour, and the average client lacks the bandwidth or the motivation for it. I work around that by packaging it in a form that is time efficient and fun, without sacrificing intensity. My preferred tool is the Metcon - a high-effort, time-bound format inspired by CrossFit. Metcons not only deliver a potent aerobic dose in a short burst, they also make sense logistically in a group setting when space is a constraint.

You could argue that 15–30 minutes of conditioning per week isn’t enough to move the needle. But when the alternative is doing none at all, I’ll take it, every time.