Why you need a coach

[Jr_Geezer]

I'm fortunate enough to live near Santana's Weights & Plates gym so I can regularly take advantage of his knowledge and insights. I'm currently prepping for a meet at the beginning of August and his guidance has been invaluable. The main benefit I get is that he can see my lifts from an outsider's perspective and his experience then can guide me in what I need to lift next. Two weeks ago he told me I need to squat 405x3. I said I don't think I can do that. He said sure you can. So I trusted his judgement and gave it a try. Sure enough, I was able to complete the set, with some minor form issues. Today he tells me I need to do 415 for a single. I said I don't know if I can do that. He said, sure you can. So I did it. In fact, I did it so well, he said "That was too easy, move up to 425." I said "Now? Today?". He said "Yep, today". So I took a bit of a rest and gave it a try and completed the rep (and actually fixed the form issues from my 405 set).

What I'm saying is you need that experienced eye telling you what you can do, and not rely on yourself telling yourself what you think you can do. No way would I be pushing the weights I am without Robert's expert guidance and encouragement.

[J. Killmond]

Everyone near a coach should do that--it's a big advantage!

[HailMary]

A good coach is worth every dollar. One of the best decisions I've made.