coaching

Is It Time To Get A Coach?

April 4, 2017 by Mentality WOD 5 Comments

When you have a fitness or performance goal, it’s best to have clear intentions and quality support. But, how do you know if it’s time to get a coach, or try a new program? Here are some basic guidelines and suggestions

You may want to hire a fitness coach if….

You haven’t reached a goal you’ve been trying to reach for a while. You’ve been working towards it on your own, but still don’t feel as successful as you’d like to
You feel stagnant or like your overall fitness is actually declining. Maybe you’ve seen your progress come to a halt, or your numbers are dropping and you’re wondering why
You haven’t been consistent
You don’t know how to prioritize your goals to maximize your training efforts. Meaning, you’re unsure about how much of what type of training would be best to help you excel
You’re bored with what you’ve been doing
You don’t understand your training program and why you’re doing certain exercises, progressions or workouts
You constantly beat up, injured, or uncomfortable and you’re frustrated/upset about how your body feels
You love learning new methods, strategies, techniques, movements and skills
You’re craving a challenge because you realize you’ve been too comfortable with your own little routine
You’re not satisfied with your body composition, your health or your ability to do things in your daily life
You have an upcoming event, competition or game that you want to be in the best possible shape for
You feel restricted by your range of motion
You’re disappointed that others seem to be improving at a much quicker rate than you
You feel unmotivated, and are starting to lose your passion and energy
You want to know that you did everything you could to improve your strength, conditioning, gymnastics, mobility, etc.

You may want to hire a mental performance coach if…

You care about competing at the highest level in your sport
You want to make sure that on game day, you know exactly what to focus on
You want to create powerful habits and routines that will strengthen your mentality
You want to improve your ability to adapt to adversity, pressure and the unexpected
You want to learn how to develop a positive, powerful mindset so you can thrive in all areas of your life
You’re not sure how to get mentally prepared and confident heading into an event/workout/game
You feel a lot of anxiety and stress that hinders your ability to perform
You want to identify thoughts that help you keep pushing no matter what
You have no education or experience in psychology
You feel overwhelmed by your training schedule and can’t ever seem to unwind
You want to learn how to push through tough events, workouts and competitions
You want to develop the strongest mental game so you can win more consistently
You aren’t enjoying your training and can’t seem to find the fun in it any more
You are constantly fatigued and feel like you’re running on empty
You want to be positive, composed and feel ready for anything
You know that you’re better than how you’ve been performing, but you can’t figure out what’s wrong

If you’re ready to start working with a coach, do your research. Ask your friends, scope out your options, and send some emails or make calls. Find out as much about the coach as you can and ask any questions that you have before making a commitment. Great coaches will answer all of your questions, take the time to do a full assessment, and will only commit to you if they truly feel that you’re compatible and that they can help you.

Interested in one-on-one coaching or programming?

Email me, dawn@drivenmindtraining.com and I’ll give you the details *limited spots avail each month*

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Easy Way To Make Connections & Impact Others

October 31, 2016 by Mentality WOD 3 Comments

To make an impact on others, ya might think that you have to say something profound or interesting. In an attempt to make a connection, you may end up trying to act smart or funny. Or, you try to connect by complaining or gossiping with the other person because I guess that’s an easy way to feel like you have something in common?

One of the best things you can do to make a strong connection and impact others is ask questions. Ask questions that require more than a 1 word answer.

Instead of “How was your day?” try “What was the best moment of your day?”

When you just meet someone, instead of asking “What do you do for a living?” you might try “What does your ideal Saturday look like?” or “What’s the coolest thing you’ve done recently?”
Instead of “Did you win?” you could ask “What did you learn?” or “What was the hardest part for you?”

One part of making an impact on others is asking them things that they don’t normally get asked. When you get someone to say “well I don’t normally get asked that” that’s when you know you’re making an impact.

The best conversationalists actually don’t do much of the talking, they do as much as they can to find out about the hopes, beliefs, struggles and passions of others. They make an impact by listening, caring and showing interest.

Leaders who just want to TELL others how to do it, or TALK about what they know are missing out on the opportunity to get to know their athletes/clients/employees better.

Bottom Line? If you really want to make a connection and an impact on someone, then listen more than you talk and help him or her feel valued. Ask questions. Go beyond the normal, surface questions and get creative. Try it this week and see what happens.

Top 4 Ways To Improve Your Coaching

August 24, 2015 by Mentality WOD Leave a Comment

These tips are helpful whether you’re trying to influence your kids, or you’re coaching a class. I know that these reminders have helped me over my 10+ years of fitness coaching. You can know more than anyone about a specific topic, but if you can’t follow these tips, you may never really make an impact on someone. Of course, you’ve gotta know what the hell you’re talking about, but beyond that, use these 4 suggestions

For coaches, leaders, influencers or parents:

1. Bring the passion and enthusiasm. We all respond to leaders who are energetic. The more you can show that you love what you do, the more you’ll rub off on others. Many people are having tough days, or are feeling lethargic and unfocused. You can bring the fire to whatever it is that you’re coaching. You can use your body language to show others your excitement. I’m not saying that you need to be jumping all over the place, acting crazy (unless you feel like it) but simply remind yourself to bring the enthusiasm.

2. Use real-life, relatable language. Want to make a big influence on others? Speak their language and keep it real. You don’t need to prove your knowledge with explanations that your audience doesn’t get…instead, you can explain why something is important and how to do it correctly. When your audience understands a concept, they’ll be more likely to be motivated to commit to it. Help them by using simple, concise language that they can benefit from.

3. Inspire with your actions and words. Want to help others be more positive? Be optimistic and give them examples of what you say. Want to help them push themselves, show them how. If you’re trying to teach a specific method or lifestyle that you believe in, show them how it’s helped you and that you follow it. Consider sharing a personal story to build rapport and encourage others.

4. Connect. Show that you care by using eye contact, high fives, hugs, pats on the back and conversation. Ask specifics about their day and find out how things are going. Check in with people and reach out to them beyond the topic you’re coaching about. Personal connections are where we gain meaning and you can make an effort to show appreciation and care to each person you engage with.

Bottom Line: Be enthusiastic, be relatable, connect and be an example.

Caution Using “Punishment” In Sport

June 1, 2015 by Dawn 1 Comment

Have you ever had to do burpees because you were late, or sprints because you lost? Does your box have a policy where the coaches give out some sort of “punishment” if you do, or don’t do something?

If you haven’t experienced what I’m talking about, you probably have at least heard of it. I’m not saying that it can’t be effective, but I’m not a huge fan of making people or athletes do an exercise as a penalty for a behavior that isn’t ideal. It may teach someone a lesson, but they may also resent you for a while after that. I can see exceptions for using this type of system, but there are definitely other, more helpful ways to instill rules.

First of all, if it’s always the same punishment, like burpees for example, don’t you see how it will be easy to resent that movement? I mean, they are challenging enough without the added negative-association. At the very least, vary it up!

Second, I like to consider exercise (even really shitty, hard bouts of exercise) more of a reward by teaching people that we GET to, CAN and are ABLE to take part in sport, or fitness because it’s good for us or we love it. That language is far more appealing and influential.

So, instead of making the athlete do extra physical work, here are a couple of other (or additional) ways to deal with the person who is breaking the rules, or messing up.

1. Have a private conversation with the person about the behavior or language that you dislike.

2. Educate the person about why certain standards are expected, and find out what you can do to help him or her improve.

3. If it’s a repeated offense that’s annoying or dangerous, come up with an agreement with that individual, track the offenses, and let him or her know that it won’t be tolerated at a certain point.

What do you think is the best way to deal with someone who is “breaking the rules?”

Does your coach use penalties like this?

Do you agree with having this type of rule?

Comment below with your thoughts.

Add This Word To Your Coaching & Self-Talk

May 21, 2015 by Mentality WOD 4 Comments

Have you ever said anything that sounds like one of these statements:

“I can’t do pistols”

“I didn’t finish it under the time cap”

“I couldn’t run as fast as coach wanted me to”

Or, have you coached someone else by saying something like these:

“You didn’t get all 100 pull-ups completed”

“You’re not strong enough to lift that”

“You shouldn’t add extra weight to your bar”

Think about how much better each of those statements would be if we just added the word “yet” to the end of them. Do you think you’d be more encouraged to keep trying, working and reaching for your goals if you knew that your effort would pay off? If you hear yourself, or someone else say something like the examples above, quickly add the word “yet” to the end of the statement.

Encourage yourself and others to think about effort, persistence, positive outlook, and enjoying the journey.

Coaching Tip: Explain The Why To Help Others Commit

April 8, 2015 by Mentality WOD 7 Comments

Coaching Tip: Occasionally, I will post tips specifically for the coaches out there. If you’re not a coach, you will still be able to use them to improve as an athlete, teammate or training partner. In fact, these ideas can be transferred over into many situations in your life.

To help athletes gain an appreciation for what movement or workout they are going to do, provide them with a reason WHY you are doing it, or why you have programmed it. If you let people know why something is important, they will likely understand it better.

I know that I am more motivated, determined and committed when I actually understand the reasoning behind something. Aren’t you?

As a leader, you can make a positive influence on your athletes, staff, coworkers and training partners by expressing purpose.

Here are some examples

1. Before you explain the Deadlift, and let people go off to do their 7 sets of 2, briefly explain the importance of heavy posterior chain training and keeping a strong, solid core.

2. After you ask your staff to come to a meeting, explain to them why you want to have one, and how it’s going to benefit the team to be involved.

3. When you’re going to do ask someone to push themselves as hard as possible in the upcoming short met-con, briefly tell them why hitting these intervals hard is going to help them become faster, and more mentally strong.

Of course, you don’t need to do this every single time, but if you can give direction and also support the reason behind the suggestion, it will be much more powerful.

If you want more

1. Take time to read the posts on the site and follow on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

Coaches Mess Up Too

October 29, 2014 by Dawn 2 Comments

Coaches may program a workout that takes longer than expected, and people may feel rushed, or not make it through it.

Coaches might suggest a weight that is too heavy, and athletes have to make adjustments mid-WOD, or might get discouraged that they can’t even do it.

Coaches might suggest a modification that doesn’t work out.

Coaches can even say coaching cues that don’t make sense or are wrong all together.

As an athlete, understand that your coach is human who can also make “mistakes” or slip up. Hopefully your coaches are trying their best to get to know you, and help you improve. This will come with some “trial and error”, so realize that your coach might need to try a certain method, program, or weight, in order to see what your strengths or weaknesses are. Ask questions, and be open with your coach, but understand that mistakes will happen.

As a coach, let your athletes know that you messed up, or programed something that didn’t quite turn out how you wanted it to. It’s okay. You can simply be open and honest. If you see an athlete getting down or frustrated because he or she can’t do what you suggested, make sure to address the situation ASAP. Let the athletes know that you’re always learning too (about them and about what’s best for them) and that sometimes, you have to try things, in order to know what works and what doesn’t.

Now, if your coach is constantly programming something that you can’t do, or, if you’re regularly frustrated or injured, then that’s a different story. Make sure to let your coaches know your concerns or questions if you feel that you aren’t being led correctly.

Even the best coaches, who have been doing this a long ass time can make errors. The thing is, if you want to grow and improve as a coach, it’s important to use and teach new coaching techniques, programs, movements and modifications. If you mess up here and there, it’s probably because you’re implementing something different, or working with someone new. That’s a good thing.

Should You Get Your CrossFit L1 Certification

October 1, 2014 by Dawn 1 Comment

Should you get your CrossFit L1 Certification or not?

Here are my 2 cents.

Question: “I’ve been doing CrossFit for a while, should I get certified?”

Here are 5 great reasons to go to a Level 1 Course

1. You love CrossFit. It’s simply a passion of yours that you get excited about. It improves the quality of your life and you want to know more about it. Maybe it’s an outlet for you that you really enjoy.

2. You want to (or already do) coach others. You are interested in helping others improve in fitness and sport. You’d like to gain more knowledge about CrossFit so that you can impact the lives of others

3. You want to (or already do) own a box or another CrossFit-related business. You want to be more involved in the community or you’ve always wanted to own a gym or help athletes with a product or service idea that you have.

4. You want to learn more. You might have a bunch of other fitness certs, but you are intrigued by what CrossFit is teaching. Maybe you’ve had some decent coaches, but know that there is a lot more to learn about proper movement, nutrition, programming, and health.

5. You dig the community. You have bonded with other amazing CrossFitters and you just want to be even more involved with the community. You want to build relationships with other like-minded individuals that share your love of CrossFit!

I’ve helped mentor many coaches, if you have any questions, feel free to email me dawn@drivenmindtraining.com

For info about the next courses, you can always check out CrossFit.com

How To Be An Effective Leader

September 3, 2014 by Mentality WOD 1 Comment

Think of all the incredible coaches, teachers, or leaders that you’ve ever encountered. Think of the people who you trust to guide you, help you, and encourage you. Do those great leaders have the ability to stay composed under pressure?

I believe that composure is one of the most important leadership attributes. I know that it’s something I’m always working on because I want others to trust that I’ll be able to create a sense of calm, even when things seem like they’re getting out of hand.

If you want to be a phenomenal coach, box owner or leader, then you’ll want to make sure you can “keep it together” even in the most hectic or frustrating situations.

When tension is beginning to rise, instead of reacting, and showing that you’re frazzled, annoyed or angry…

practice

keeping your body language relaxed
speaking with a low and slow voice
speaking clearly and saying positive statements
using a calming touch (to those who are upset) – like putting your arm around their shoulders, rubbing their back or giving them a hug
smiling
taking deep and calming breaths
listening and letting people know they can share their concerns with you (without judgement or reaction)

During the middle of a high-pressure situation, do you want others to be able to rely on your composure? Have you ever been too worked up and acted in a way that you regretted later? When leading others during times of adversity, it’s best to show that you can remain calm, and make clear decisions that are best for whoever is involved.

coaching

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