I recently talked with Chad Wesley Smith of Juggernaut training systems (bio here), as well as Paul Oneid of Master Athletic Performance (bio here). That got me thinking about why it took me so long to reach out to these guys. The answer, which now seems absurdly idiotic, was that I thought I had it all figured out. Granted I know I’m not the world’s expert on strength and conditioning, but you know how you get into that mindset.
For those of you that don’t know, I’m extremely stubborn, hate being wrong, have to follow a plan, and am hypercritical of everything people tell me (or the opposite being I blindly follow their advice without any adjustment to my specific needs). All of those traits interfere with my ability to grow as a coach, physical therapist, powerlifting, and person overall. The good news is that I am very aware of those traits and try very hard when talking with people to remain open minded. “Where the h*ll are you going with this Justin?” Great question! I wanted to discuss my experiences so you can reach out to mentors in your life and get the information you need rather than be stubborn and think you’ll get there on your own.
Now in the tech age, information about everything is abundantly available, for better and for worse. Finding the right information is something that seems to be a struggle, as people can find information to support their incorrect theories or their subconscious desires. Follow your mentor’s blogs and websites and watch their social media accounts. “Is that it? WTF is this guy talking about? Doesn’t he know that’s obvious?” Yes, I know it is obvious. The question becomes, “what are you taking away from those posts, those messages, those blogs?” This is where I seemed to struggle. I’ve been reading articles upon articles, blogs upon blogs, and every social media post I can subscribe too. It wasn’t until the past 3 months that I started looking at everything slightly differently than I had been. I started thinking and trying to decipher the thought processes of each post or blog or article. Why was this author holding that viewpoint? What about him/her makes them feel that way? What specifically about their training would lead them to choose technique A versus technique B? These are all the questions you should be asking yourself when you read about your passions. Maybe you don’t get a lot of info from the post itself, but you question what they are talking about. You do some research and find that you could be doing much better or maybe you find another mentor posting great information. The source should get you to think, research, and apply the new found information. If it does that then you will be in a much better position to make the optimum choices and reach your goals faster. Following blind suggestions is a good way to decrease specificity of your training. Being hypercritical of everything is a good way to remain inefficient and not as effective as you possibly could be. Stay critical and ask the necessary questions until you understand the content. If you don’t understand the “why,” you probably shouldn’t apply that technique/principle. Don’t take as long as I did to read between the lines. Get the information you need to better your training and your programming.