The Weight Room

More than just heavy lifting…

The weight room is a relatively simple space. Fill a room with heavy things like barbells, plates, dumbells and kettlebells. Add some benches to sit or lay on and you have yourself the “bones” of a weight room. However, just like with a person, there is much more to a weight room than the skeleton.

CHARACTER

Visit a few different gyms or training facilities and you’ll see a lot of the same tools (similar skeletons). That said, you’ll most likely experience a very different vibe/impression from each weight room that has absolutely nothing to do with the heavy items in the gym.

This feeling comes from the athletes training at the gym – their goals, support for one another, commitment level and attitudes. The athletes in the weight room share a special bond from training together, celebrating successes and helping each other push through the tough days. These athletes become the heart of the gym.

The coaches who pass on their training philosophies and set the standard of quality in the weight room make up the brain.

Together the influence of the members and the coaches make up the gym’s character or personality. Ideally, the character and personality of the weight room are so strong (no pun intended) that you feel the excellence as soon as you walk in the door.

A weight room with good character, built from dedicated athletes and knowledgeable, supportive coaches, leaves you with much more than a smaller waist, or a bigger vertical leap.

INTEGRITY

Athletes have no choice but to learn the importance of integrity in the weight room. Exercises like the squat, deadlift, bench press and military press all require a high level of technical proficiency. If your technique isn’t perfect, you can get injured. It doesn’t matter if you’re exhausted or if you’re just starting your first set, the athlete still needs to commit to that standard of integrity. The lesson of performing well even when you’re tired is easily learned in the gym.

My mentor does a great job at getting this point across by teaching people a technique and then he finishes by saying “…and if you don’t do it that way kittens die”. If you want to have pride in the quality of your training (and you don’t want to kill kittens) train with integrity! If you don’t care too much, do a ton of thrusters, burpees and kipping pullups…and stay away from cats.

HUMILITY

One of the greatest bonuses of getting high school athletes into the weight room is that they learn how to be humble and honest. If a 17 year old kid is the strongest athlete in his high school gym, he very quickly identifies himself as a super hero. Get that same 17-year-old kid into a facility with other strong athletes, or into a state competition where kids half his size are squatting the same weight as he is, and amazing things begin to happen.

The barbell is a level playing field. It has no prejudice – 405lbs is 405lbs, no matter the weather, how many touchdown catches you have, whether your are a special forces expert or a financial advisor. The barbell treats the star running back and the kid who has no interest in field sports equally. You will not intimidate a barbell.

Prepare to be humbled.

COMMITMENT

We love instant gratification. Patience is not a strong suit for the majority of us. We have apps on our phone to make everything easier and faster so we don’t have to waste any time. We bounce around from one fad diet to another seeking immediate results.

It’s a bit different in the gym… no goal in the gym is achieved instantly and even small improvements take time to achieve. There aren’t a lot of short cuts in the weight room. If you want to run faster, ache less, or look better you need to show up and you need to put in work over and over again.

CONCLUSION

The tools in the weight room are not as important as the members and the coaches that influence the atmosphere of the training facility. A training facility with good character will help you to be more successful in achieving your goals. Take an honest look at your weight room and the people training in it and ask yourself some of the following questions:

Am I being held to a high standard at my gym? Are the people I’m training next to trying to improve themselves like I am?

Are my training partners and coaches humble and compassionate? Is the person deadlifting the most weight helping the newbie rack his/her weights? How are people carrying themselves?

Are you surrounded by others who are going to help you reach your goals? Do you heighten your expectations of yourself because of those around you?

Although the weight room appears to be a simple space, the athletes and coaches spending hours putting in hard work make it about so much more than just heavy things.

About The Author

Steve Sheppard is the head strength and conditioning coach at Skill of Strength. He specializes in working with athletes of all levels of competition and has a passion for using his knowledge to help his athletes reach their full athletic potential.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and Exercise Science from Endicott College. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Steve is also a StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor (SFG), Hardstyle Kettlebell Certified (HKC) as well as a Sports Performance Coach through USA Weightlifting (USAWL1-SP).