No. Not that kind of kiss.
Keep It Simple Stupid. That one.
Speaking of simplicity, here’s a great quote from a genius:
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein
When I first started my adventure in strength training, the availability of information was overwhelmingly abundant. One of the books I purchased, for example, contained 50 pages of instructions on how to perform the squat (or at least the author’s version of the squat). That’s not a typo. 50 pages on how to squat. (And in retrospect, the squatting method taught in that book did not even resemble that of the high-bar Olympic squat.)
Then the sport of Weightlifting discovered me at the age of 38.
The more books I read, the more conflicting information I received, and the more confused I became. “Jump and shrug vs don’t jump and shrug. Scoop the bar vs keep knees back. Conscious double knee bend vs don’t think about double knee bend. S-curve vs pull straight.”
My head was spinning like an over trained CrossFitter who just completed ten rounds of burpees.
So I decided to get coaching.
For many years I was fortunate enough to have been coached by others who were from other countries where Weightlifting was as popular as football, basketball, and baseball combined. I received quality coaching from three different coaches. Their methods of coaching were unique. Their programming philosophies different. But all three had one thing in common: THEY KEPT THINGS SIMPLE.
And as luck would have it, coaching others fell on my lap. It was my turn to share the knowledge I have learned over the years.
In the field of engineering, particularly Continuous Improvement, there is a tool we use. It’s called PDCA. Short for Plan Do Check Adjust. It is an iterative, four-stage approach for continually improving processes, products or services, and for resolving problems. It involves systematically testing possible solutions, assessing the results, and implementing the ones that have shown to work.
The problem solving skills I learned as an engineer somehow made its way to the way I coach my lifters.
The sport of Weightlifting is simple: Pick bar up and bring it overhead. Paradoxically, its simplicity oftentimes is also the source of its complexity. But only if we let it.
So listen to Albert Einstein. He did not even lift, bro. But he knew what he was talking about.
HoofGripWL 