Some random thoughts and ranting here, hopefully to make you THINK a little deeper. And, as I write more, I think a bit deeper and take more action. Things in this world are constantly evolving, especially humans. We can not rest on what we did yesterday or what worked yesterday.

I'm deeply intrigued with cracking the code on how to better change the lives of more people through strength in mind, body & spirit.

As I write, I've been awake since 4 AM. LOTS on my mind and work has to get done. So instead of staring at the ceiling I got up and made some tea. I'm on my 2nd cup of tea as I write this.

It's been a while since I've drank  coffee minus my drive to Ohio some 6 weeks ago and I think that coffee crushed my stomach. I never thought I'd ditch coffee but it's been easy. Discipline.

Here's my 7 random thoughts......

1) Brilliance with the basics.

There's too much software being attached to athletes nowadays and not enough true, coach's eye being applied. I see some crazy exercises being performed, sometimes the exercises look cool but I question, are those fancy exercises truly a strong enough stimuli to create change and improvement for the athlete?

If the software says do XYZ but I have seen Johnny athlete crumble against a stronger athletes during competition, then my coach's eye is now an antagonist to what the software is saying. Who are we serving? The software score or the athlete?

I like the software tools that allow us to assess mechanics but think about how many athletes have won Gold Medals in The Olympics before all this software.

And then, think about what is TRULY correct technique, regardless of sport? Some of the worst lifters in the weight room are the best athletes I've seen. That's right, the connection is NOT always there.

Michael Johnson sprinted with what experts described as inefficient or incorrect running mechanics. He had a slight angle, leaning backwards when sprinting!

Back to the athletes & coaches who are too worried about this and that software, plus this obsession with "speed training" ......

It's amazing how athletes watch their hero on Instagram training with some crazy routine and now, these athletes simply can NOT train in a manner unless it copies the instagram workout of their hero.

If Johnny loves speed training but I see him losing from getting out muscled by an opponent, then I have to build the confidence in Johnny by getting him Stronger. I then need to blend what Johnny WANTS with what I know he NEEDS.

This needs analysis comes from watching the athlete perform in competition and practice, under stressful circumstances where wins / losses are determined.

He needs to experience some struggle in the weight room to build confidence to WIN the struggle in the sporting arena. Psychology within sports performance is tremendous. There are many moving parts under the performance umbrella to build confidence, we must find the most crucial moving parts to best improve the athlete's performance.

If you rely too heavily on the software or achieving a certain score on said software, you begin denying your intuition, you begin blocking out the verbal and non verbal communication you get from the athlete and / or the coaches. You begin training to beat the software, to appease the software.

You must be able to take all of these variables into account and then you can plan. The tricky thing about planning is things often do NOT go as planned. So now, you need Plan B.

#STRONGLife TIP OF THE DAY 👊👊🔨🔨

A post shared by Zach Even - Esh (@zevenesh) on Apr 17, 2018 at 7:31am PDT

Software can be a piece of the puzzle but as a Coach, you need to pick your head up and see the BIG picture, the athlete's lifestyle, sleep, stress, nutrition, effort during practice, mindset and more. Do not be a slave to the software.

Do not be a slave to the program you mapped out when you clearly see that something else is needed. The plan must be flexible and focus on doing what the athlete needs, not what your spread sheet or software says to do because of something you planned 3 weeks or 3 months ago.

2) Less Fads and LESS in General.

Strip it all down the essentials.

Do these multi million dollar weight rooms build better athletes?

NO.

Nobody gets better at sports because of a more expensive barbell.

It certainly helps recruiting.

But having a fancy weight room or fancy machines will NOT build superior athletes.

I've trained some hammers in those dungeon style weight rooms. The imperfection is where the beauty was found. I remember when I began training The Lehigh University Wrestling Team, they had just begun training in their new, high end facility.

The older facility was a 700 sq ft dungeon of a weight room. Upon our first week of training, I immediately took them outdoors to the field near the mountains. We trained with sleds I built from tires, water filled kegs and calisthenics. It set the tone for the type of work we would need to put forth to succeed.

Once the tone and work ethic was in place, we began utilizing the weight room and consistently blended the outdoor training.

The new fad MIGHT be these multi million dollar facilities with all the bells and whistles, BUT, is this athlete now more durable? Stronger? Tougher? More Explosive?

I argue against it! The less spoiled you are, the better!

3) Auto Regulation + The Coach's Eye

Prepare to change the plan on the spot. Yes this is a bit repetitive but I still recall a conversation I had with Buddy Morris around 2003. He told me he will see the athletes warming up and from the warm up, he will start erasing and changing the training for that day.

Whether you coach others or not, you should apply this auto regulation to your own training as well. On the flip side, we must also learn to "over reach", to go beyond. If we only listen to our body then we will fail at the end of season competitive times, when everyone has some injuries of some sort.

Find a way or find an excuse.

Even for those who follow my online programming, I emphasize to never be a slave to the programming.

You must learn to be your OWN coach.

If I feel run down myself, I have learned to go on a minimalist style program. I adjust sleeping and nutrition and find multiple methods to get myself back up to speed.

4) Common Sense Goes a LONG Way

Use common sense, it will take you a LONG way in training and life.

If you feel run down, sleep more, eat better and step back from training.

Not getting results?

Follow the above and assess your training. Have someone better than you look at your programming and even program for you.

Return to the basics of both training and life.

Barbells and Bodyweight. Great lifestyle; sleeping great and eating great.

5) Get Obsessed

There is certainly power in some middle ground, but, if you're not thinking about your goals throughout your day, then you're just interested.

Get fired UP to do something great.

Too many people of ALL ages walking around, happy to just be good enough, go through the motions and be a clock puncher.

I am actually shocked by how many people are simply happy to be good enough, whether it's sports or life. The mere thought of being uncomfortable causes people to over think things.

On the flip side, this reminds me to audit my social circles. I actually don't have a social circle. But if I think about Spartan Race, THOSE people get after it. Life is powerful when you surround yourself with Great people!

6) Delayed Gratification

Last Saturday night at my son's Baseball game it was COLD out.

I was wearing a sweat shirt and jeans. But it was the type of weather for a jacket, gloves and hat. The wind made it tougher, I could feel the cold and the wind hitting my bones.

My wife told me I should wait in the car.

I told her NO way.

I my mind, all I was thinking was, A little suffering is good.

A little discomfort is good.

If you're always comfortable, forget it, you will never grow.

7) Gyms, Gyms Everywhere......

I do mean EVERYWHERE.

We got all these seminars to teach people how to make more money in the gym business. From people who don't own gyms.

Seminars where the best coaches get together to share best practices, where the best coaches get better.

But......

Kids STILL struggle to do push ups, jump rope, demonstrate discipline.....

Multi million dollar weight rooms.

Monster sized Private facilities with collegiate equipment, turf that NFL teams use and more.......

Coaches tell me they opened their facility with hopes of training athletes but they now train the majority of adults.

There is still something wrong because I don't see a bunch of BEASTS walking the streets.

The system is broken. We have very little interaction with the public schools, which is where all the kids are.

Are we only serving ourselves?

Is the market adults and pro athletes?

Or, is the market the Gurus who want followers without building leaders, careful now, disagree with the Guru and you are OUT.

I am looking to crack the code of impacting MORE people, especially kids. I believe that is the HARDER journey but it is also the RIGHT journey for ME.

I'd say I feel like this with where I got into this "fitness industry"......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7oDRhHG5xs

I used to run my USC Cert on the regular, helping Coaches all around the world, but the struggle to impact more people, more kids, was still there. I created something that was great for Coaches yet the missing link was, impacting more people!

Food for thought!

I'd love to hear your comments / thoughts, please post them below!

Live The Code 365,

Z

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