The 10,000 Hour Rule

I am a big believer in the 10,000 hour rule. For those who don’t know, the 10,000 hour rule states that is takes 10,000 hours of dedicated work in your field to become an expert or roughly 10 years. So, after 10 years in the Sports Performance industry, having worked with thousands of athletes as well as some convincing from the people closest to me, I feel like I have earned a platform to share my thoughts and feelings on training athletes. Over the past 10 years, I have been fortunate to be a small part in helping some of the country’s top players and teams reach their dreams of earning college scholarships , earning big contracts and winning state championships to name a few. I have also had the opportunities like helping a kid make the varsity football team, helping one make his AAU basketball team after being cut for 3 years, and helping a young man lose over 75 pounds. One thing that I have learned is that the “status” an athlete is cool but I don’t really care how great you are, I care about how dedicated you are to reaching your goals whatever they may be.  I want humble kids, who care about other people and understand that it takes hard work and dedication to reach their dreams that they have. I just hope that my team and I can be a small part in helping them get there. My goal for this blog is too express my thoughts and beliefs on training athletes and teams, the sports performance industry, leadership, motivation and whatever else comes to my mind each week. Hopefully you all find it worth the read and can take something from it each week.

Fitness and Life Lessons from a 2 Year Old

There are many great things that come from being a father of a 2 year old little boy. Being a strength coach and trainer the one thing that has been very interesting is watching him develop physically. From not being physically able to do anything to a walking, running and jumping little ball of energy. The development of stability, strength and balance throughout the 2 years has given me an appreciation for movements and patterns that as adults most of us have lost a long time ago. Watching his fearless attitude, persistence and joy for life everyday reminds me of the ambition and love for life that seems to be lost among us as we just grind through life day to day. Below are some things that I have learned from Nolan, my wonderful 2 year old who keeps things interesting and keeps my wheels spinning on human development from a physical stand point and how to be successful in our chosen career field. 

Fitness Lessons from a 2 year old

1.       Stability and Strength from the ground up – As a newborn we have no core strength or stability. We have to develop the stability and strength in our core and joints to lift our heads up, push up with our arms, go into a plank, push up into a tall plank and follow the process until we are standing and walking around. Taking this process to our clients, we must develop proper stability and strength through our clients’ core region starting on the ground. Exercises such as planks, tall planks and side planks are all great places to start with new clients. Once clients have built a solid base on the ground we can move them up to standing core exercises.  

2.       Keep sound movement patterns – Once standing our little guys favorite position to look at something on the ground is to drop down into a deep squat. This deep squat is perfect! Hips are back, toes are straight ahead and chest his vertical. He can stay there for as long as he pleases with no discomfort. As we age we lose this tool to be able to bend through our ankle, knee and hip joints. We lack the core strength and are too tight in our hip flexors to stay vertical through our upper body. Working to keep this pattern as we age will help keep us feeling and moving better as adults.

3.       Learn to crawl before you can run – Progression in training is the most important thing I can think of. Kids do not come out ready to walk and run. They must progress each day to get gain the skills necessary to move. We must progress our clients properly to ensure that they have the necessary skills to move and feel better after a training session in our program.  Progressing them at the right pace is vital to them being able to perform at a high level.

Success Lessons from a 2 year old

1.       Be Relentless – When a 2 year old sets their mind to something there is absolutely no way that you are going to stop them from getting what they want. As adults we tend to become complacent with our jobs, careers etc. We all have goals and dreams of doing great things but once we get started we often lose our drive and determination to make it happen. Next time you set a goal, be relentless about achieving it!

2.       Be Fearless – There is no such thing as fear or risk for a 2 year old they jump off couches, touch things they shouldn’t and do whatever they want to at the time. When was the last time you took a risk as an adult? We like to play it safe and conservative to make sure that we don’t put ourselves in any bad situations. Without risk there is no reward. Be fearless in your pursuit of success and take calculated risk. You may lose some but the wins will bring results that far outweigh the losses.

3.       Don’t listen to the word No! – As frustrating as it gets saying NO to a 2 year old a thousand times a day it is necessary so they don’t kill themselves. As adults, the word NO cripples our creativity and spirit to do things that we have dreamed of. If we have a dreams and goals that we believe in and are driven to accomplish we will most likely hear the word NO along the way. Don’t listen, push on towards your goal relentlessly and without fear!

Happy Training!

Be the best dang machine trainer in the world!

I remember my good friend and fellow performance coach Jeff Higuera saying “if you believe in machine based training, then be the best dang machine trainer in the world.” This stuck with me, not because I believe in machine training but because I believe that there is a place for all of us to coexist in this training world. There are so many different training methods and beliefs out there: functional training, west side, bilateral or unilateral, stable or unstable, cross fit the list can go on and on. As a trainer and a coach it is vital that we believe in what we do wherever we fall in this spectrum. I do not think it is our role to tell everyone else that they are wrong and they need to do it our way! I know many people who do things different from me who are booked solid, get results from their clients and make a positive impact in the training world. These people are educated in what they do, believe 100% in what their programs, and their clients buy in to what they do. So, who am I to tell them that they are wrong when they are getting the desired results for their clients? Not my place, not my role. We can disagree and with each other in this field, in fact I think it is healthy and needed in order for each of us to grow. At the same time, we can respect each other’s believes and all exist in this training world where we all seem to be right but all seem to be wrong at the same time!

As a trainer/coach we should have these 4 things in our training programs:

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.     Know the why: One thing that I always tell a new trainer is to know why they are doing a specific exercise. I remember getting started in training 8 years ago and being so excited and overwhelmed with all of the information out there in regards to training. Looking back we had people doing drills and exercises that we really had no reason for. They were something that we saw and thought was good for our client but we did not know the why. If you know how to teach squats, push-ups and pull ups then teach these drills to the best of your ability. As your “tool box” expands you will have more knowledge to expand your exercise selection with your clients. If you are constantly learning then you will constantly be expanding the list of exercises that you have available to you.

2

 .       Safe and Effective: Our roles as trainers and coaches are to help our clients move, feel and perform better. If your exercise selections are safe, effective and help your clients to perform in their desired task then it is a good program. Coach your clients on these exercises that you have them doing to the best of your ability and watch them improve in these areas.

3

.       Progressive:  In my opinion this is what training boils down too. Do you as a trainer know how to take a client from where they are to where they want to go in a progressive manner? This takes time and planning as well as knowledge of how to regress someone when needed and when to progress them when they are ready. Taking time to write down your progressions for the major movements in your program is a good place to start with progressions. We always tell new trainers to write the exercise for a 100 year old lady and for a NFL football player as well as everyone in between.

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.       Belief: Do you the trainer and the clients believe with every ounce of your sole that the program that is in place is great? If so, and they meet the criteria above then go for it! I believe in our program with all my heart, I know that it produces results for our clients and the proof is out on the field of play every time one of our athletes goes out to compete! More importantly our athletes and corporate athletes believe in what we do, and feel that they are unstoppable when it’s time to perform. This belief is the key to success in a training program.  Which takes me back to the beginning, if you believe with all of your heart in training people on machines then “be the best dang machine trainer in the world!”

Happy training!

Coach Hunter Wood