We talk a lot about taking a smarter approach to training, not being competitive or reckless about it, and taking a more rational approach to exercise and health in general). While this is absolutely our training philosophy, it can sometimes be misconstrued as overprotective and ‘soft’. Every now and then, clients get annoyed at our coaches for slowing them down and being too strict on form.

While it may be annoying to have someone tell you to slow down, don’t misinterpret our intentions. We’re not here to make your workout ‘softer’ or ‘easier’, or to lessen your training effects. In fact, our intention is exactly the opposite of that. We’re here to help you maximize your training efficiency and training effects. Just so we’re clear – we offer 20-minute training sessions, and they are hard. Yes, we’re sticklers on using great technique, but this doesn’t in any way mean we’re afraid to help you push hard and really get after it during a session. We know that for this training to work, you’re going to need to push hard. We’re here to make sure you do it right. Let me explain how.

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A major part of our role is to create safe boundaries for you. The specific advice we give and the cues we use are absolutely intentional and purposeful. The attention to detail is our way of helping you put up guardrails. During a session, we’re giving you information on and encouraging familiarity with your upper and lower limits, so you can ‘smash your workout’ safely and effectively today. We’re trying to help you discover that fine balance between intensity, safety, progression and long term health.

 

You see, we’re not here to hold you back – we’re here to help you discover the boundaries within which you can get your best results, based on all kinds of information we receive from your technique, feedback, imbalances, breathing patterns, pace, frequency and goals, amongst other things.

 

In fact, we designed the gym and session format the way we did because we care about these details so much. Sure, we want it to feel private and personalised for you, but we also set it up like this so we can keep a close eye on all this important information, and so we can in turn demand attention to detail and specificity in feedback from our coaches. Everything from our in-house staff training programs to the technology we use in the background are crafted to encourage familiarity and efficiency. The more personalised, the better.

 

Now that I’ve (hopefully) convinced you that we’ve got your best intentions at heart, I’d like to challenge you to acknowledge this: You’re not fragile. There’s a part of you that knows you have it in you to do even better. If you’re new to this kind of training, sure, take the time you need to figure things out and get comfortable and get used to the intensity. But once you feel your confidence build, be brave and challenge yourself. Trust that we aren’t here to slow you down – we’re here to enhance the experience and keep you safe. Trust the boundaries, and acknowledge that within those boundaries, you’re not fragile. Learn to tap into your intrinsic desire to exert, connect with your physicality, and get after it. Success is yours for the taking. Decide you’re going to bite down and grind this one out, that you’re not just here to get through it; you’re here to do your best. If you really feel like challenging your limits today, feel free to tell a coach if you think that might help. Own it. Step up to the plate. Tell the coach you want to push your boundaries today, and ask him to keep you safe. That’s the kind of talk that will get us all fired up and tuned in so we can conquer this together.

 

You’re not fragile. We’re here to help you learn that, too.

 

Be Brave

Ian