Brain Dump: Thoughts on equipment, technique, focus and the value of having a coach

I came up with the topic of today’s entry during this morning’s bench session. We have a slew of lifter’s wrapping up their prep for next weekend’s big RPS meet that TPS hosts. My regular crew of Russ, Phil, Sabra, Jane, Kevin and Brennan were joined by one of our lifters Nicky, who usually trains by himself.

Nick is the subject of my brain dump today.

Nick joined us as most of the benches were tied up and he let us share the one he was working on. He is doing the meet and needed some handoffs and a few lifts with commands to make sure he was ready.

Nick is a very strong kid and has been competing for a few years. I am sorry but I don’t know his numbers but I saw him take something in the high 5’s on the squat Monday and he was working triples at about 345 today on the bench. Nick is about 200 pounds give or take and lifts raw.

I try and help him out when I can. He is very receptive to advice and is an extremely hard worker under the bar. On that note, I never give advice to people I don’t know or to those who are not receptive. It’s an exercise in frustration.

That is not the case here. Nick wants to be the best he can and is very open minded to suggestions on how to improve. So, with all that out of the way let’s dump my brain.

Focus:

On his fist set of triples at 345 he wrapped up, got set under the bar and as he took his grip, the right wrist wrap broke loose and fell on the floor.

He did not stop.

He did not lose focus.

He finished his set up and got his lift in.

Many people would have got up and if they were like me, maybe thrown a hissy fit. Not Nick. He stayed with the lift and did not let this deter him from his goal.

Having the ability to remain focused in adverse conditions is a gift, but it can be learned. This is a great trait for a lifter to have because sometimes things happen and conditions are not optimal. Knowing that you can get the job done in less than ideal conditions leads to success in ideal conditions.

Nick said to me after the lift that he has one primary objective in training: never miss lifts. No matter what.

His wrap broke off and he continued. This was good as this could happen in a meet while benching right? He continued and didn’t miss.

The lesson here is to do your best and keep your eyes on the prize. If you can lift successfully under adverse conditions, you can lift better when everything is on point.

Equipment

I noticed that Nick was using off brand mass market wraps and I suggested that he try my Metal All Blacks.

He wrapped his wrists for the next set with mine and I noticed that he was wrapping his forearms and not his wrist.

Read my article on this from a few weeks ago here.

On his next set, I wrapped his wrist for him and when it was over he said he could not believe the difference. Sure, Metal wraps are not cheap, but you get what you pay for. They also don’t come off in the middle of a lift.

I suggested that he get a pair after the meet since it is never a good idea to change equipment the week before. He agreed.

The lesson here: you get what you pay for. Buy a pair of $15 wraps and see what happens. I am a huge believer in getting the best gear you can afford no matter what you are doing.

My grandfather told me when I was young “never buy cheap tools”. He was right. Using cheap stuff will always cost you in the end. Buy the best you can afford. It will perform better and it will last longer.

Technique

I made a few minor tweaks to Nick’s technique on the bench during this session as well. Nothing major.

His technique is pretty good and with more practice it will be excellent. He has great hip drive, good strength and is able to get very tight. He was not keeping his lats as tight and possible and was starting the bench with his shoulders out a little too much.

I introduced him to the “shorten” command that I use with my lifters.

When benching, we want to shorten the stroke as much as we can to move the most weight right?

Let’s say your bench stroke is 15” from the bar to our chest and you can knock off 2” by squeezing your lats as tight as you can; this translates into more weight moved at the end of the day.

You can move more weight 13” than you can 15”.

My command to shorten goes along with the Patience command I learn from Vincent and Rhodes.

We want to be patient when we lift. This means that you should not rush to get the lift done. Get all of your set up done and lift when you are ready.

Once you initiate the lift, unleash hell.

I tell all of my lifters that just because you got the command to bench or squat from the judge, it does not mean that you have to rush. Be patient and wait until you are ready.

My shorten command is very simple and reinforces patience. Shorten means to shorten your stroke by taking an extra second once you receive the handoff on the bench to squeeze your lats down as tight as you can and let the weight settle onto your lats.

You are shortening your stroke. I usually put my arm under the bar and say “shorten” very loudly and look to see that the chest is rising and the bar is lowering. It does not have to go down a lot. Even a ½ an inch is good for some.

Good technique goes a long way when you have good strength. Good technique also allows you to build more strength.

The lesson here: good technique will carry you further than strength alone. It will also allow you to lift injury free longer.

The value of having a coach

Not everyone has the luxury of hiring a coach to train them all the time.

However, most of us can save our pennies and skip a few dinners out and put away a few bucks to find a really good coach to work with on technique.

Nick is a good lifter who trains alone and educates himself on training. It does not matter how many articles you read or how many videos you watch. A good coach will see what tweaks to your technique need to be made in just one session.

No, they will not fix everything, but they will help you improve faster than training on your own. I am not tooting my own horn, but I am sure that the advice I gave to Nick will carry over to the platform next weekend.

The lesson here: save a few bucks and find a coach to work with you. At TPS we run monthly Training Days where you can come in and for $20 our team of coaches will work with you hands on at the Squat, Bench or Deadlift depending on what is on the schedule.

If you can’t afford getting a coach 1 on 1, there must be other good gyms doing this.

Find one.

That’s all for this week.

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