A Step in the Right Direction

I went to a USA Weightlifting certification this past weekend. My muscles are a little tight from two nights on cheap motel beds, and I'm surprisingly sore from the lifting we did (it was all at low intensity). But I'm coming back a little wiser, hopefully.

You can read all you want online. You can actually learn a lot in the process. That's all I have done to learn so far in my journey to first become fit and then instruct others properly. I read all of the CrossFit journals, we just got a subscription to performance menu, and I browse through everything from weightlifting message boards to NSCA journals. I've bought and read a couple of books, Rippetoe's have been really helpful in learning how to correctly perform the power lifts.

But there's something to be said for hands on instruction, and for learning directly from someone who has had years of experience. Not only do you get the benefit of their knowledge, having that person teach you. You get to see how that person teaches, their little tricks, their demeanor. The interaction between teacher and student is not something that can be read about. It is something that must be learned first-hand, both through seeing someone else teach, and through teaching yourself. No one can be expected to be a great instructor because they keep up with all the latest fitness crazes, what all of the big names are saying at this moment. You can tell clients "well, so-an-so says you should do a power clean like this, and that's why you should do it this way". Anyone can gain that type of knowledge. Any mildly determined person can find that out. You have to be able to effectively instruct based on your own experience, and your teaching style, also in a way that others can understand. It's something that takes time, research, and practice. It's something I'm working on, and this weekend felt like a step in the right direction.