1. Proof
The programmes, coaching and environment all should be geared to provide clients with the best results possible. No matter what your clients are training for, your practices, programmes and coaching will directly impact the attainment of their goals.
Proof can be in many forms: injury rate, recovery turnarounds, game time, lifting PBs, fitness tests and weight lost/gained. As an S&C Coach with more than 20 years of experience, I have never injured someone in training. Why? I don’t programme past my expertise; I stick to what I know works.
With proof in your method and the right equipment ingredients, you’ve then got the recipe for success and building a sound reputation.
2. Professionalism
As S&C Coaches, we should all strive to deliver a professional experience. This rule applies to everyone from general population to professional athletes.
Striving for professionalism doesn’t mean showing up for a training session on time or having a neat appearance; all those factors should be a given. In our unregulated S&C industry, professionalism means having the appropriate knowledge and experience to train your clients.
Too many “fitness professionals” make false claims, experiment with clients, aren’t invested in clients’ goals and roll out the same programme to their clients regardless of their goals. Clients don’t pay to be lab rats.
3. Integrity
There are three ways to display integrity. Firstly, the Coach displays integrity through enabling the client to achieve their goals. Secondly, the athlete displays integrity by trusting the Coach and following instructions. Thirdly, the facility has to enable the athlete to achieve their goals. Any shortcoming on any of these will impede performance.
When someone has spent the absolute minimum on equipment and claims maximum results, be wary. There is zero integrity in finding a cheap warehouse to rent and purchasing a couple of kettlebells, cheap bars and bumper plates while claiming to be able to train representative-level athletes or even those in the general population who are serious about their goals.
Our Athletes
I’ve worked with some of the best athletes the world has to offer. Olympic canoeists, gymnasts, swimmers, sprinters, rugby players, CrossFit® athletes and elite military personal. I’ve been coaching CrossFit® for seven years and have produced Games (international) and Regionals (national) athletes.Since launching our full-time facility, I’ve had zero injuries induced by our programmes, facility or coaching. This wasn’t made possible by placing our people in cotton wool. I load them up with as much weight as possible, as safely as possible. Form always comes first, followed by intensity, watched under the keen eye of our qualified and tested Coaches.
My facility
I opened the first full-time CrossFit® facility in the Southern Hemisphere. Since that time, I have tried and tested every reputable equipment supplier on the market. Partnering with Iron Edge gives us the premium gear that our clients expect and that our coaches can rely on. Trusting your gear lets you focus on your goals. Its a freeing moment when all considerations of the athlete are removed and they can just let go and ‘perform’.