Tolerable Middle

I was a young coach a seminar and the speaker was telling us whenever you’re unsure of how you’re doing as a coach, pretend there’s another coach looking through the window and judging your session. How would they grade you? Would they be able to tell you know what you’re doing? How would they rate your clients’ form?

This stuck with me for a while, and I still sometimes reflect on it, but one thing has changed - I learned that a good coaches let not-so-perfect reps go. They are a necessary part of the learning process and over cueing and correcting to achieve perfect reps isn’t the best use of time and often leads to frustration.

What we’re looking for when teaching someone a new movement or skill in the gym is the tolerable middle. That space between the perfect repetition and not good enough. That’s where you’ll make the most progress too. If you’re able to make every single rep of each and every movement perfect - it’s not challenging enough. That tolerable middle is a nice indicator that you’re working at the right effort.

Justin Miner

@justinminergain