I’m celebrating an anniversary – 20 years of coaching folks to achieve their athletic goals! It’s been a fabulous journey full of highs & lows…but most of all, learning opportunities. Here are 4 of my most invaluable lessons. Maybe they’ll help you too!
Lesson #1 – Physical therapy heals injuries AND prevents them too.
Before I saw the “PT light” I thought that physical therapy was only for serious full-blown injuries. I thought it was what you try after you’ve waited for 6 months for the pain to go away…the thing you have to do after you’ve seen the surgeon. Yes, PT is for major injuries as well as for healing post-surgery. However, I now understand that it is most powerfully used when you have an ache…a small nagging pain…a tightness that doesn’t feel quite right. If you get in at first sign of an issue, often you’ll walk out with greatly reduced symptoms. I now consider PT as part of my training regime – the part that keeps me consistently injury-free!
Lesson #2 – More is almost NEVER better.
For me, this is has been one of the most important lessons I’ve learned. Not only has it made me a better coach, but it’s also made me a better athlete & a more well-rounded person. Let’s face it – our hyper-charged world encourages us to work harder & longer, pack in just one more thing & multitask. In training that translates to hyper-focus on tracking miles, charting progress, following training plans to the minute. While this vigilance has its place…my experience shows that, more often than not, all we have to show for our superhuman efforts are burn-out, exhaustion & injury. When I started focusing on quality – rather than quantity – I found that my enthusiasm increased AND my performance improved! As a coach I found my athletes experiencing the same things! It’s a win-win situation!
Lesson #3 – KISS – Keep It Simple, Silly!
We’ve all heard this saying…many times. It’s a common phrase with an incredibly useful sentiment. And yet, seemingly so difficult for us to adhere to! In my world of athlete & coach, this plays out in two ways. 1. Athlete Side – I often see athletes get sidetracked by the latest gadget & lose focus on what really matters – the consistency of training. While tracking Normalized Power & quad glycogen stores pre- & post-exercise can certainly help, it is important to remember that fitness doesn’t really change unless you actually do the sport! The simple truth is that doing your sport day in & day out will do more to improve your performance than any gadget out there on the market! 2. Coach Side – My primary purpose is to offer athletes as much value as possible. However, I often mistake “value” for “complex” when the true definition is “usefulness”. I can spend hours putting together amazingly detailed workouts full of instructions & directions only to find out that the athlete felt overwhelmed by the complexity & ended up not doing anything! So here we are again. While these complex workouts do have a purpose, what’s more important is writing straight-forward workouts that encourage athletes to be consistent. Plain & simple!
Lesson #4 – Take It Personally.
Yep, this is the complete opposite of the commonly uttered line – “Don’t take it personally.” When I opened my small biz 20 years ago I took the “Don’t take it personally” line to heart. I worked very hard to separate myself from work. I worked hard to protect myself from disappointment, rejection & frustration. Simply put, I depersonalized my work. The problem with this approach is that, while it keeps you safe, it doesn’t allow space for inspiration, passion & ultimately, success. Think for a moment about people who you’ve met who are exhilarated by & engaged in what they do. They take work personally…and isn’t it great to be around? Recently I decided that I want to be one of those people. I want to be someone whose enthusiasm & joy for what I do pulled people in. I want to be the person who embraces vulnerability & risk in order to create tighter bonds with my clients. Have I paid prices for it? Absolutely. I’ve been hurt, let down, highly insecure, wondered many times if it was worth it. But, believe me, the friendships I’ve developed & the spontaneous moments that arise when you let your guard down are priceless.
The words of Alfred Lord Tennyson say it best: “’Tis better to have loved and lost, / Than never to have loved at all”.
Cheers,
Coach Michelle