Michael Boyle's Strengthcoach.com Blog

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An Open Letter to the Athlete We Must Stop Recruiting

In this episode Mitch and discuss the mistakes many MMA strength and conditioning make.

http://blogs.fightshape.com/interview-with-mike-boyle-part-2/

Lately I’ve been too busy to get better. What does that mean? It means I’ve neglected my continuing ed. I’m lucky, I love to read so I can get a lot of continuing education from a book or audio program.

Ask yourself if you are too busy to get better. I think many coaches are. I frequently see coaches fall years behind in their knowledge because they feel guilty about taking a few days away from the weightroom . In fact, I hear coaches say this all the time. “I was going to go to that seminar but we had workouts that day “.  Trust me, we all have workouts.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting the results to change. Are you insane? Do you want better performances or less injuries but yet you keep doing the same workouts year in and year out?

Don’t be too busy to get better and don’t make your staff too busy to get better. Make a commitment to continuing education. Attend at least two seminars a year. I’ll give you two can’t miss recommendations right now. Take an FMS course and attend a Perform Better Summit. Remember in order to get better continuing education must trump workouts at least twice a year.

Steven Covey calls this process Sharpening the Saw in one of my favorite books Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Take time to sharpen your saw and make sure your staff sharpens. Remember we must lead by example.

Another great way to stay current on your own time is to join a site like StrengthCoach.com  . Strengthcoach.com  allows you to stay up on the latest trends on your time. Take a look.

Another great Mercola article. Many of us in the field will have the typical ” I already know this” response but, this article is a great reminder and, great for clients.

Are You Peeing Too Much?

I had to post this piece from Pat Rigsby today. He hits the nail on the head.

More than anything else, coaching is your difference maker.

It’s not equipment – anyone can go and stock a facility with equipment.

And in spite of what many want to believe – it’s not knowledge either.

Sure, that matters…without a doubt. Your clients won’t know what you know…but the information is available to your clients that if they want enough knowledge to yield the results they want…they can get it.

No, the one thing that big box clubs stuffed with equipment won’t ever match you in…the one area that buying infoproducts and books can’t ever compete…is coaching.

You can bring out the best in people.

You can help them achieve things they would never do on their own.

Accountability.

Motivation.

Problem solving.

Personal attention.

These are things that 99% of of the fitness solutions out there will never provide.

Yes, 99%. That number seems high doesn’t it?

It’s high because most fitness professionals settle for hosting workouts and passing along information. They’ve settled for being little more than the group exercise class at the local YMCA.

But the shortcomings of most is your gain if you want it to be.

You can be that person who helps people become the best version of themselves.

You can be the person who coaches someone to unlock their true potential…potential that they likely didn’t even realize they had.

You just have to be willing to do what most won’t do…truly coach.

I’ve been coaching since 1993 (yes, it’s been a while) and I’ve studied countless things to get better…I’ve read books on leadership and biographies of great coaches. I’ve attended seminars and conferences. I’ve sought out great coaches to learn directly from them.

And while the goals my clients have these days are different than the goals your clients have in most cases, coaching is still coaching.

In fact – I’d attribute my business success to relationships and coaching – that’s pretty much it.

Sure – I am always trying to get better at tactical stuff and develop my knowledge in a number of areas…but I know that most people offering business coaching, licenses and franchises in our industry are more like the equivalent of folks delivering workouts or big box clubs…so my competitive advantage is the same as yours…

…coaching.

It’s our edge.

Don’t overlook it…build on it and create so much distance between yourself and the competition that they’ll never be able to close the gap.

That’s my plan 🙂

Dedicated to Your Success,

Pat

Here’s a link to part 1 of my interview with Mitch at Fightshape Radio. Hope you enjoy it.

http://blogs.fightshape.com/fightshape-radio-8-interview-with-mike-boyle/