Month: April 2022

Hi everyone! Welcome back to this week’s CrossFit Blog. Today I will be telling you about another side of my CrossFit journey, which is coaching. I got my CF-L1 certification to start coaching last November and since then, I have been coaching almost everyday. Most days, I spend most of my time in the gym, whether it’s because I am training or I am coaching. I started out coaching at the CrossFit club right after I got certified and I’ve loved it ever since. I also got hired as a Group Fitness instructor at the IM building, so I coach there also. My weekly schedule looks like this:

Monday: Classes 8-1:10 then train usually from 4-7

Tuesday & Thursday: Class 9-11:50, Coach 12-1, then train 1-3, coach again at 4, swimming at 8.

Wednesday: Class 8-1:10, train from 3:30-6, coach at 7

Friday: Classes 8-1:10, train 3-5, coach at 5:30

Sat.&Sunday: Rest days or competition days.

I spend most of my time in the CrossFit gym, but between classes, training, and coaching, the gym has become my lounge, study space, and of course training area. My schedule is very busy and I do not have much downtime, but I really enjoy coaching. I have learned so much about the sport from taking the Level 1 course to actually applying it when I coach and train myself. Over the last few months, I have payed close attention to other coaches and methods I have seen work or fail. I try to come up with my own way of teaching that will make sense to people individually. Since I have started coaching, I have stereotyped my athletes into a few different categories for how they learn. They include:

The Visual Learner:

In the realm of CrossFit, I consider a visual learner as someone who can learn by my demonstration of a movement. This is someone who will pick up on movements the quickest because they need little guidance. Whether it’s a new movement or an old one they’re trying to improve, most times they will pick up on important motions of them and be able to apply it right away.

The Hands on learner:

The hands on learner will spend more time learning a movement because they understand what they need to do, but it takes a little bit for their mind to connect with their body. Oftentimes, this happens with timing of a movement. For example, when to complete the third pull in a power clean which is pulling your body underneath the barbell. Things like this will require them to start small with equipment like a PVC pipe. I use PVC pipes every time I train because they simulate a barbell and you won’t get tired from holding 35-45 pounds. This is also a safer method of teaching brand new movements because it allows them to slow it down with barely any weight.

The listener:

The listener will pay the most attention to cues given throughout the demonstration of the lift. For example, if I was teaching someone how to a squat and gave verbal cues like sink your hips back and keep your weight in your heels like you’re sitting in a chair, it would light a light bulb in their head and make sense. I give cues like this a lot because everyone has done a squat before and most people do it multiple times throughout the day. A lot of movements in CrossFit are functional movements that we preform on a daily basis. Cues will help people do them correctly.

The Replay learner:

Last but not least is the “Replay learner.” The replay learner will use concepts from the three types of learners above, but will still need extra assistance. The extra assistance may be recording a video of their movement to slow it down so they can see the mistake they’re making first hand. Another may be stick figure drawings to put in perspective what to do vs. what not to do. I have used both of these techniques in my classes and they have both been very beneficial.

Something to keep in mind when reflecting on which leaner you may be, is that people fluctuate between the different kinds depending on the movement. Someone may have a base knowledge of squatting before coming to my class, but may have never done a snatch before. It depends on the movement as to which type of coaching will help them the most.

Now, most people would think that a coach loves a Visual learner because they need little guidance, but I don’t think that’s true. Sometimes as a coach, watching someone complete a movement correctly and with ease will actually hide a problem that will later come out. For example, power cleans are a very difficult movement to learn. If someone has a perfect power clean with an empty barbell or with little weight, they may continue it increase. When they do, they may struggle and it may take longer to find out what the problem is since they move so well with little weight.

I love finding new method of coaching and implementing them into my classes because it makes it fun and is rewarding when it works!

Thanks for reading.. this week is a pretty big week for PSU CrossFit because we are hosting the MACC, which is a competition between various different colleges and PSU is hosting it! Next time, I’ll give you an update of how the competition went!

Wish me luck!

-Nevaya