I have been a strength coach for almost 20 years, one thing I have prided myself on is finding time to workout each week. It may not have always been pretty, but it was something. 

This is an important topic to talk about for Strength Coaches. It is the one truly perfect amenity we have as a Strength Coach. We do not have much when you think about it, but we have access to some of the best facilities in the world. If you are passionate about S&C, you should be overwhelmed with the opportunity to workout in this narnia of a place we call work. 

So why is it that we struggle to work out on a recurring basis? You could argue this is not as big of a problem as I am making it out to be. I would come back and say that I have been a part of enough staffs to see about a 20-30% compliance with S&C staffs actually working out. It could possibly be, maybe they just do not like to workout and thought being a Strength Coach was going to be fun. If that is the case, that sucks and you should quit. There are too many people that have sacrificed too much to listen to you whine about not wanting to workout. 

But let’s say you are passionate about S&C and you struggle to find motivation. To me, this is where we can have a healthy conversation about discipline and dedication to something. This is the perfect opportunity to develop empathy to your athletes and clients and their struggle to adhere to a program consistently. It is also a critical period to develop what motivates you and gives you purpose in life? 

I get it, you were up at 4AM, had your groups from 530Am to 1030AM, 4-6 cups of coffee just to stay awake, and you are completely exhausted. Asking yourself to workout is hard conversation to have. But that begs the question, if you are unmotivated to workout, should you be doing something different? See this is where the problem and solution lie in regards to motivation to workout consistently as a Strength Coach. 

Think back to when you were really motivated to workout. It was new, you achieved immediate gratification from seeing tangible progress, you were learning something everyday, and you were getting validation from others from your efforts. Now you have been doing this for over a decade and you are hanging on to what you were. Every time you workout you are faced with disappointment of not being able to perform the same way you used to. So when faced with doing something, you choose nothing. 

But that is where the solution is as well. We need to force evolution within ourselves. We need to evaluate what we are good at and explore areas we are not good at. If you are a powerlifter, just stop. It’s a pointless endeavor. We can see this all over the internet: a bunch of Non Athletic Regular People (NARPs) doing sumo deadlifts with Chucks, knee sleeves, and a triple ply belt is not what you want to be associated with. They do not have the same pedigree as you, they do not know as much as you, and quite frankly they cannot do anything else. If you are committed to finding out the best version of yourself, it is outside of what you already are. 

We all have a spiel or thing we are known as. I’m a weightlifting guy, I’m a track guy, I’m a nutrition guy, etc. You are known for that, you receive recognition from that, you associate with the people that resonate with that, but that is what is holding you back. You lack motivation because you have tapped out anything you could get from that thing. It is time to diversify your S&C portfolio. The kicker is that you will suck for a while at anything new. This is especially true if you are exceptional at something already. 

The truth is that there is no need to keep pursuing something in S&C you are already good at. You will not make money from it directly. No one really cares about your 405 low bar box squat. It’s important to you, but that does not mean much to anyone else. Embrace the suck of learning something new. Who cares what people think? What matters is what you think. The only way to change a loop, is to break the loop. 

Motivation is a fluctuating entity. We all have good and bad days and weeks. The thing is that we need to leverage motivation with things that challenge us. Holding on to what we once were or doing something that we are already good at is not motivating. Yes there is a learning curve with doing something novel. That will lead to moments where you are discouraged, but at least you are being challenged. Here are some recommendations for certain focal points I think would be good: 

• Weight Lifting Focus – Try Track & Field
• Track & Field Focus – Try Weightlifting
• Powerlifting Focus – Try Track & Field
• BodyBuilding Focus – Try Weightlifting 
• Rehab – Try Bodybuilding 

Obviously those are not hard and fast rules. Just some recommendations. Part of the reason behind those progressions is they would be really hard. Not for nothing, but in order for this to be something that is transformative you will need to do something you will be really bad at. We could go off the rails and suggest endurance for all those focusses. There is credence behind that logic from a health and function standpoint, but for sake of motivation, something that you will be really bad at in a very noticeable way is more important now. 

Think of the bigger picture. What will get you off your chair, productively procrastinating at a desk on excel or checking emails? What will get you inspired to workout and rekindle that initial flame? That is what we want to go through here. Find that motivation and that time to workout by having a sense of urgency you had at one point. You can overcome a lot of inertia by simply having a mindset of growth based on struggle.