This Hurt Me in High School!

This Hurt me in High School:

When I played high school football at 6’2, 290lbs (Obese but fast & strong), the coaches took me into the weight room and demolished me. They expected me to bench press, squat, clean/press and deadlift huge weights because I was a big & strong guy and it crushed me. Other than some bench press at home with my brother a few times I had never been taught any proper strength training or safe exercise techniques. They had me doing too heavy of weights, bad form, and going too deep in form. I did everything they told me…even though painful. I completed it for fear my teammates would pick on me if I said no. I was hurt and never went back to lift with the team. Bad first impression and intro to strength training.

That story is in the back of my head every time I take on a new client or athlete. We start over, building a foundation of strength and then build up to the tuff stuff.

The body cannot start too hard, too intense, or too heavy. Our joints, ligaments, tendons, bones, muscles, digestive systems, and Central Nervous Systems have to adapt and overcome. We have to slowly acclimate and adjust. It’s a process.

Weekly I have athletes whose coaches hurt them from elementary school/youth sports up to D1 Collegiate, Semi-pro and Professional sports. I can tell y’all some crazy stories.

Too many inexperienced trainers and coaches are daily hurting their clients and athletes having them do exercises they aren’t ready for, using bad form, over-working without proper recovery, running every day, going too heavy too fast, hitting the same body parts everday, forgetting the small muscle groups, or worse.

Proper Strength Training is fun, safe, and healthy! It’s the foundation to any fitness plan or sports conditioning plan. Strength Training should never be painful.