If You're a Coach, You Need a Coach

Hey strength seekers,

Tank here.

I consider myself a pretty good coach. I've been in the lifting game a long time and produced a lot of good results for myself and my clients. Since I opened the Primal Strength Gym, I've had a real good run of Strongman finishes. I spend a great deal of time reading and investing in my knowledge so I can keep improving my craft.

But if there is one thing I've learned in my lifting journey, it's that I really don't know much at all. I've learned that if I want to keep progressing, I can't be my own coach and that I need someone smarter than me.

A lot of strength athletes would say, "I am a coach, why the hell would I need to hire a coach for myself?". Or, "If I'm trying to be reputable and credible to potential clients, why would I discredit myself by hiring someone to do what I'm supposed to be so good at?"

 Well that's your ego talking.

Strength athletes, especially amongst business owners, can be very prideful.

Nowhere else in the sports world have I seen some people so resistant to coaching. Everyone wants to be a guru and everyone has the answer. For contrast, in team sports for example, every position player has multiple coaches for the most part.

Look, I know you think you're an awesome coach. For those I surround myself with and follow across the interwebs, I know they are awesome coaches actually. Coach Sean Murphy? Check out his website and all of the transformations he's done. Nate Schwartz? I PR'd my keg clean and press one day when he visited my gym and was helping me out.

I'm sure you've done a lot of great things for great people and you deserve all of the credit for those results. But I can also say with almost certainty that you can't do the same things for yourself, or at least to maximum potential. Outsiders will have an entirely different perspective on your lifting without the inherent biases we carry through our own education and lifting experience. And that outside perspective is healthy...

I recognize the power of an outsider, which is why I hired Mike Westerling to coach me. If you don't know Mike, he's one of the best in the biz. He's had a ton of success in his career, including coaching 5x America's Strongest Woman, 3x Worlds Strongest Woman Kristin Rhodes.

I hired Mike because he trains far differently than I ever have before and how I even train my own people. But his success speaks for itself and it's obvious his methods work.

As a coach it's your job to serve, and you can't truly serve your people if you're only trying to serve yourself and preserve your ego. To get better, you need to learn from those who are better.

It's not a knock on your skills as a coach, and if anything, it's a testament to your self awareness and your willingness to do whatever it takes to be better yourself, which obviously has tremendous upside to your success as a coach and ultimately your clientele...