Virtuosity

What do you think of when you hear the word "virtuosity?" Do you think of a master gymnast, or a concert pianist? A great artist, or a star athlete? Virtuosity is very elusive, but attainable by all. It is defined as "doing the common uncommonly well." With enough practice and hard work, anyone can achieve a level of virtuosity in at least one aspect of their daily life. I'm not only trying to achieve this uncanny level of performance in my workouts and my music (I play and teach guitar - didn't you know?), but in my CrossFit coaching, as well. I struggle to deliver a coaching experience that unparalleled by my peers because I'm capable of doing it, and my clients deserve it. If I'm capable of 100%, but settle on only giving you 70%, then what the heck are you paying me for, right? So what am I doing to reach this rare pinnacle of performance? Here are the top three things:

For starters, brutal honesty. What we want to hear, and what we need to hear are rarely the same when we are struggling through something. The reason I'm there is to make you better, and lying to you by telling you you're doing a great job when I'm actually a little embarrassed for you isn't going to get you where you want to be. A false sense of confidence can also be dangerous. If you think you're an ace and I don't tell you any different, you could end up loading yourself with too much, too fast and injuring yourself. Nobody wants that, and that leads me to my next point...

Progressing and regressing appropriately. What does that mean? It means that there are a lot of really cool exercises and moves out there, and a lot of really big numbers being put up by your peers, but until you've mastered the basics, that stuff is off limits. If your squat is 90% there, you've still got work to do until you are ready for the next level in the squat progression. The same goes for regressing. As much as we all hate to take a step backwards, if your form starts to suffer, it's time to take it down a notch. This is just as hard for me to dish out as it is for you to take, so please, no dirty looks!

Lastly, I'm trying to achieve complete transparency in my spoken directions. Whenever I give an explanation of an exercise or a verbal cue for a client to change their posture, I want that language to be so crystal clear that they respond immediately and get it the first time. If I'm repeating myself or rephrasing, I haven't quite got it yet. I'm constantly listening, watching, reading, and learning new ways to explain things and fix problems so that everyone under my tutelage gets the most out of their time with me. This makes me a better teacher, and you get more bang for your hard earned buck.