Recently, the staff at BPT continued with part three of the book “Coaching Rules” by Brendon Rearick. This part of the book has numerous rules for how to program as a coach. The overarching theme is “do no harm”. With the goal of continuous betterment, each coach covered rules that they either use daily or are going to challenge themself to achieve more often. They are discussed in more depth below.
Rule # 66- Every exercise is a screen.
From the moment an individual walks through the door at BPT, our coaches are constantly screening them. Like the famous quote, ‘actions speak louder than words, the way the body moves can tell us a lot. Even after a detailed assessment process, the body adapts, changes, gets stronger, corrects itself, and progresses. This means that the assessment process never stops. A squat will, and should, look different on month two than it does on day one. Constantly watching and being aware of what the body is telling both the athlete and coach is important to recognize and adjust accordingly.
Rule #67 Think like a lawyer when selecting exercises.
This rule reminds me of opening Instagram and seeing someone trying to do a loaded pistol squat on top of a stability ball. It is important to train what is important. It is also important, as a coach, to consider the risk and reward of any possible exercise that you chose to implement for your program. If an athlete gets hurt in your gym, space and time that was meant for performance enhancement and injury prevention have turned into the opposite.
When considering what exercises to put into an individual or team strength and conditioning program, you must think like a lawyer. Is it safe? Is there a risk? Is it accomplishing the goal? Can the same goal be accomplished with an exercise with less risk involved? On top of all the programming considerations, thinking like a lawyer is key.
Rule #72 Crockpot versus microwave
Starting a strength and conditioning program can provide numerous benefits to general health, balance, coordination, strength, athletic performance, and much more. However, because of the risk involved, it is important to consider this process a slow-cook. Just like a crockpot, good things take time. Putting all the ingredients for a slow-cook Crockpot Tri-tip recipe into the microwave will not end in the edible, delicious, savory result. Microwaving a body, in terms of any type will not end in the desired result.
When considering volume and exercise selection, our goal as coaches is to slow-cook our athletes. Small victories every day will allow for an athlete to train longer and healthier.
Among all of the several other rules we as a staff discussed, ultimately, a coach must understand that our clients and athletes are humans. All of these rules of “doing no harm”, “thinking like a lawyer”, “exercise screening”, and “crockpot” are just guidelines to protect the health of each individual. Our ultimate goal is to help others achieve their own goals. Each of these rules is standard to use, in unison with daily conversations, to create the ultimate program designed just for you.