Your Training Environment Is More Important Than Your Training Program

Your Training Environment Is More Important Than Your Program

As a strength and conditioning and weightlifting coach, I get paid to help folks improve their physical performance. I spend a lot of time every week thinking through what type of jumping will be most appropriate for a certain workout or what type of barbell complex will help address a lifter’s technical needs or at what percentage to program that complex. This is true of every serious coach across the world. We spend a lot of time on our programs because we care about helping our athletes.

With all that time spent thinking about sets and reps and percentages, today’s newsletter is a reminder to myself to put as much (if not more) focus on how to create a better training environment. How do we make Sweep the Sheds a place where people LOVE to train? The reason this question is so important is because no matter how perfect that training program is, if the athlete doesn’t like coming to the gym or isn’t enthused about training, my big fancy program will not work. Conversely, if I have an average (but still safe) program and an athlete wants to run through a brick wall to maximize the effectiveness of that program, it will probably work really well.

Being around other athletes that smile at you or give you a warm greeting when you walk in the door is better than any warm up I could ever program. Being around athletes that work hard, focus during their training session, and willingly take coaching is a more effective training method than the most well thought out squat program on earth. If you’re in a gym full of athletes who you can tell are working their ass off to try to make their goal a reality, you’re probably going to want to do the same.

We celebrate our diverse membership and welcome people of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and beliefs. That said, during our onboarding process, we tell every single athlete that walks through our doors that there are two non-negotiable when you train at STS:

1.Leave the gym cleaner than you found it.

2.Smile, high five, or introduce yourself to someone in the gym.

We’re not asking you to hug folks or be a cheerleader. We’re not asking you to mop the floors. We are asking you to contribute to a positive training environment because it is so critical to the success of every athlete in our gym.

If you’re reading this and have ways that you know of to create a great training environment, shoot me an email or DM or fax 😉.

Best of luck with your training today!

With Thanks,