My Secret to Achieving PBs (personal bests) – Part 2

 In my first blog about PBs I realised that I left something out, it’s something that comes naturally to me which is why I forgot about it, but it’s probably the most important thing overall:

Be COACHABLE

So, what does this mean?

When we have a goal in mind, doesn’t have to be training or nutrition related – it could be business/ relationship/ self-love/ etc.; most of the time we will hire someone to help us achieve those goals. 

In my case, I started working with Henk at Barbell Bullies for powerlifting-specific training. Long story short – I never thought that I would go into something like powerlifting. But now, I fucking love it. I don’t think I will ever go back to traditional weight training again. I might though, who knows? I’m only 29 years young. 

When I started with Henk in October 2020, I had an ok-ish strength base in terms of squats (even though at this point every time I squatted I was in pain and I wasn’t squatting below parallel) and deadlifts (even though my form was super shit). Bench was meh like most ladies if they don’t train to be strong in the bench press. We started working on technique, working with my body, and so on. 

Two years later, my lifting seems to have dramatically improved. But, along with all the majors and minors, I am very coachable. 

Being coachable means being open to asking for and receiving advice/ feedback/ criticism, looking internally at how you can move forward, and being interested and invested in growth. While I had 9 years of weight training experience, Henk is a specialist in powerlifting and has been a coach for the last 20+ years. While I thought I knew a lot when it came to training, I have learnt so much from Henk in the last 2 years and I still learn from him and Laura every single day! I go to every training session with an open mind and the intention to do what my coach tells me to do. But at the same time there is give and take in our relationship – if I am feeling weak or sore (which Henk is good at sensing before I even say anything) or I just can’t finish the workout then he lets me be and we carry on. He knows when to push me and when to hold back. 

If you want to improve in any area of your life, you can’t take things personally. Instead, you should see it as an opportunity to learn. You listen, try to apply it in some form or another, and use feedback to examine your own performance to achieve what you’ve set out to. It doesn’t mean you have to take everything others share with you as “truth,” it means that you’re willing to look and examine if it fits. You are still entitled to have your own opinion, in fact, it’s encouraged. 

Sometimes, you even have to unlearn something or let go of knowledge or opinions that no longer serve you. 

“People who are right a lot listen a lot, and they change their minds a lot. If you don’t change your mind frequently, you’re going to be wrong a lot” – Jeff Bezos. 

I had to unlearn my deadlift technique to learn the correct way and to get stronger. 

I let go of my opinion that I had to train 6 days a week to get results. 

I let go of the opinion that I didn’t eat before early morning training because I wasn’t hungry – because when you are fuelled correctly you will have more energy to expel = more strength. 

So next time you wonder why you aren’t achieving your goals/ progressing, ask yourself: Am I coachable?

I hope this helps you achieve PBs in the gym and in life.