This can make you or break you as an athlete

Yesterday I told you about my Uncle Elroy and how I was introduced to fitness at a very young age by him. My uncle took his passion with fitness and became a personal trainer. Through his training programs, I earned every athletic award conceivable during high school. I eventually earned a college scholarship to play division 1AA football. If it weren't my uncle teaching me how to squat heavy, deadlift, bench, and box jump when I was only 14 years old, I wouldn't have achieved half of my athletic success. By the time I got to college I quickly learned first hand how having the right program and coach can make or break you as an athlete. General cookie-cutter stuff just doesn't cut it if you want to become a stronger version of yourself... With every person who has walked through our doors at Strength Camp, we assess every single person. We find out what their strengths and weaknesses are, and customize a program for their goals. Every athlete is different just as every single one of us has our unique thumbprint. My first strength coach in college was an ex-power lifter. He designed programs the same way my uncle did. Heavy squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and cleans. I became super fast and massive in a few short months. He knew more about speed development than my uncle, so we did a lot of jumping, bounding and sprinting up staircases. I was the strongest and fastest I had ever been. The following year, our university hired a new strength and conditioning coach.  This guy was about 150 pounds 'soaking wet' and had a doctorate in exercise physiology. Keep in mind that during college, I was playing football. The first thing that our new "strength" coach did was add an arsenal of fancy new exercises with yoga balls, rubber bands, and wobble boards. We trained a ton of 'speed technique with cones and ladders'. The biggest change he made to our program was reducing the amount of weight we were lifting… for safety reasons. Interestingly – this was the very first season I had ever gotten injured. Not only that… I had gotten slower and weaker despite all of the new so-called advances. Clearly these "advanced" training techniques were not congruent with the training methodologies that had me performing at my best on the field. A good coach would recognize this and make the necessary changes to help bring out the best in me... Instead of being stuck in his way with one specific type of training program. That's why it's so important to have a good coach who sees you as an individual. Someone who assesses your strengths and weaknesses, and works with you in your best interest. I feel that the time has come, where it is my responsibility to give all of my students, regardless of where they live, the opportunity to have the right coach who works with you in your best interest to grow stronger. That's all for now. Grow Stronger, Elliott

5514 Haines Rd. St. Petersburg, FL 33714, USA

Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options