Awesome Coaching Tip and Some Other Randomness

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Mine was going well until Roger Federer got beat AGAIN by Rafael Nadal at the French Open.  I actually like Nadal and definitely admire his determination - he never gives up.   However, I have been a Federer fan for a long time so I was not pleased to see him lose.  Hopefully, he will forget about this defeat and go on to win Wimbledon and the US Open.

But... moving on..., today, I am going to provide you with a great tip when coaching others along with some other randomness.  

Coaching Tip:  If you are having trouble getting your clients to perform a movement, then have them do the opposite movement first.  For example, if a person continues to shrug when performing a row but cannot figure out how to keep the scapula down, then tell him or her to shrug.  Once they shrug, tell them to now do the opposite of this, which is depression. 

Another example is when a client is hyperextending his or her low back.  Tell the client to arch the back and then to do the opposite of that.  Obviously, you do not want them in a flexed position, but this will give them the idea of how to manipulate their low back position.

Many trainees do not have the body awareness or control to get into positions that you want, and this cue will help teach them these things.  So many people have poorly ingrained motor patterns, and it is our job as coaches to correct these.

So, try this cue out and let me know how it works for you.

I have started reading a new blog recently and wanted to let you all know about it.  I have tried to cut down on my blog reading, but this one is pretty good.  The blog I am referring to is by Mladen Jovanovic and can be found HERE.  Mladen is a physical preparation coach out of Belgrade, Serbia and is a super smart dude.  He provides a lot of information regarding training theory and methodology and also posts some good interviews. 

I just signed up for the NSCA National Conference in Las Vegas, which is being held July 6-9.  My girlfriend and I are heading out there a little early, and we are going to make a vacation out of it.  Neither of us have been to Vegas so we are pretty excited!

If anyone has any suggestions on things we should do, or check out, then let me know.  Also, let me know if anyone else is going to the conference and wants to meet up.

I just ordered Verkhoshansky’s second edition of Special Strength Training: Manual for Coaches.  I am SUPER excited to read this one!!  I love reading stuff on physiology and training theory - especially applications and Verkhoshansky was one of the best with this stuff.

If you are interested, you can purchase it on Joel Jamieson's 8weeksout.com or on ultimateathleteconcepts.com. 

I am also looking in to ordering Strength and Conditioning: Biological Principles and Practical Application.  Has anyone read this, and if so, how is it?  I have flipped through the table of contents, and it looks pretty good but just wanted to hear what others thought.

That is it for today.  Have a good week!