How to Pullup #28 – Coaching Basics

Coaching can be tough. It's a skill, just like any other, that needs to be practised and constantly improved, analysed and refined.

Teaching the pull-up, even though it seems like a simple action, can have a lot of problems. In this video, I try to cover the basic things you should keep in mind and remember to do whenever instructing others.

RULE 1 is to Do no harm.

It seems like a simple rule, but in reality, can be a little tricky. 'Harm' can be both short-term and long-term. By teaching someone incorrect technique or not correcting bad habits will harm them much more overall. This falls under Rule 1.

By not educating your students correctly, but promoting poor mechanics or making them do more weight than they should, again will hurt them in the future. It's your duty, as the coach, to educate yourself, correct yourself when wrong, call out any bull-shit from your students, keep up-to-date and do everything you can to pass on your experience and knowledge.

What is the goal

If there is a clear target for the student(s) to work towards, they will be much more motivated to achieve it. Making difficult but realistic and achievable goals requires planning, but the more experience you get, the easier it will become.

Having goals also has the added benefit of tracking progress. Once a goal is achieved, you can then move onto the next.

Fun yet Focused

This really comes down to planning and experience. Ask yourself, would YOU enjoy this session and have fun? How about the unfit office-working first-timer beginner who is very shy, knows no-one and hasn't ever done pull-ups before? What about the veteran, international parkour performer who is much better than you?

Yep, you need to make teaching EVERYONE fun but in a way that they remain focused on the goal and get something out of your session. With pull-ups, this can be tricky because it's not a very 'glamorous' exercise. However, it can be done... you just need to put in the work to think about how.

Time

Be aware that improvements in strength require constant exposure to the training for long periods of time. Anyone expecting to improve in one session will be disappointed.

Consistency is key here. Making your students aware that they have to keep training to make a difference is something you have to do as the coach.