Speaking of bettering yourself as a coach and training your athletes more efficiently, let's talk about training athletes together. It can be difficult at times when some members are injured, or if your group is at different levels. Here are a few tips you might find helpful:
Leveraging software
While premier training software is now acting as another assistant coach on the floor with you, the best tools also allow you to deliver individualized training days from 1 program. Meaning, build 1 plan for an entire team or group of athletes, all while knowing they'll each get their individual weight prescriptions. Individualization without wasting time. Checkmate.
Don't be fooled, when you use platforms like Bridge, you're not lacking individualized approaches, rather you're allowing yourself to spend more time on the floor with every athlete all while knowing their plans are automatically adapting to progress. One-on-one time with each athlete was one of AS Roma's biggest accomplishments after implementing an effective structure. Want to know why? Listen here to find out.
Using online training programs such as Bridge in this way makes it easy for unexpected changes. If an athlete gets injured or is sick you can quickly and easily make adjustments to their workout for the day or week. You can spend your time checking in with different athletes while making edits on the fly. Say goodbye to flipping through excel sheets to find what was done a few week's back. This can be especially handy come holiday season when you and your athletes are miles apart - everyone can still be working as if they never left the training center.
Managing Your Methodology
Let's turn to your methodology. Not sure if you have one? Trust us, you do, even if you don't know it yet. This is an area few systems can help you mold, but those that do are complete game changers.
For example, say you're on-boarding a new staff... stressful right? Leveraging systems that allow you to create a robust training structure, defined by your varying training cycles will help get everyone on one page must faster than your current model. Don't believe us, see how EXOS uses our system to enhance their education across 200+ sites globally.
Platforms like Bridge will not only allow you to build a complex training ecosystem, it will also make your life a lot easier. Think back to the last time you did have to onboard a new coach, especially one with little experience. Was it difficult to teach them about the movement modifications you prefer? If an athlete can't perform one level of an exercise, it can be difficult to know which replacement to leverage.
Management systems can help immediately populate a list of variations based on training level and equipment access- allowing even your newest staff members to get ramped up quickly... and learn along the way.
For some inspiration on movement modifications, here's a list created by Verywellfit on exercises athletes can do based on their injury. Check it out.