Yup, that was a sentence said to me last weekend.
It’s not the first time that sentiment has been aired.
Personally I take it as a compliment.
It usually means I’m doing something right.
In this instance it was down in Limerick at the recent IKFF CKT 1 course with Steve Cotter.
One of the attendee’s was carrying a shoulder injury that was causing a lot of pain. As tough as this lady obviously was, there was no way she’d last the 2 days, probably not even get through the fitness test without doing some serious damage.
So I got my hands on her and managed to free out her scaps and release the injury with a bit of Anatomy in Motion.
About three 5-10 minute sessions over the two days and she not only passed the fitness test but completed the course pain free.
So why was she telling me I was an asshole?
Simple.
Her problems were completely habitual.
To help her get out of pain I had to do more than just stretch and mobilise a few muscles, I had to get inside her head and try to retrain her thought processes.
And that was a battle.
Of course I won!
But once we got through the mental block, the body started to respond, and this is when she amended the “asshole” statement to “Nice asshole”
And this is what coaching is all about.
It’s the big difference between coming to Wild Geese or going to a commercial fitness centre.
A good coach will challenge your boundaries, your thought processes and your beliefs.
A fitness instructor will cheer and tell you your awesome.
A good coach will see you succeed and will be already setting the next challenge.
A fitness instructor will be high fiving you and group hugging.
A good coach will keep you uncomfortable. Because this is where the truth lies, this is where progress is made.
Even if that progress is in letting go of certain habits in order to save your shoulders from surgery inducing injury.
If you can’t get to Wild Geese, fond yourself an asshole, albeit a nice one, to train under.
Failing that, once the membership area is open, I’ll be your online asshole critiquing your training logs and the training video’s you upload there.
Stay tuned for the launch of that, it’s coming very soon.
Till then, train smart and hard.
Regards
Dave Hedges
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