Commando To Coach
Jerome Scherrer is a veteran British Royal Marines commando of 13 years service.Now a personal trainer, I take the lessons learned as a marine to the gym.
No matter how you live, I hope most of you fulfil your potential. There is a desire to operate at the peak of our abilities. For Royal Marines, it's not only the combat element that we excel in, it's in our teamwork. We are great leaders and perform not only on the battlefield but in all tasks. We are the elite.
Philosophy
No Plan Survives First Contact
To work through highly detailed planning phases is difficult – but to successfully deliver those orders to men when the risk is everything is different. Things get confusing fast and people will often lose sight of their responsibilities in high stress environments. The importance of relaying information is much more complex than just laying out a plan of attack.Rule number one should be clear and precise communication. The team leader can be part of a highly sophisticated plan, yet if the information being decimated is not clear, the roles of each of the team will be muddied in the water. This is often what happens in the personal training world.The marines work differently once the planning phase is complete. We move onto often complex orders and speak to each man in a clear and concise manner. You must have intelligence on the operation prior to delivering orders. Similarly, this is the best way to vet potential personal training clients.When issuing orders, it is your job to speak loud, clear, and with pauses so there is no mistaking what the job is. Deliver the message with calm and mannered communication. This is leadership. Understand tactical responsibilities and offer questions as you never know when a team member may provide information we have overlooked. This is where client feedback can be an asset to your program.
Values of the elite
Laughter in the face of adversity is a strong value to marines. It means no matter what we face we will find a way to have a 360 degree of perspective on the actions taken that day. Our ability to operate at a high level for hours on end helps to measure each success and failures. We look to improve from mistakes and be more technical on the next mission. Trainers can learn from our processes.
1. Establishing Command
Creating teamwork between the trainer and the client takes leadership - start in a strong position and inspire respect and new clients will fall in line quickly.
2. Handling Responsibility
Responsibility in the marines is high, because the situations demand it to be. So manage your clients expectations and reward them when they step up to their obligations. Focus on the positives and make the negatives work for you.
3. Handling Mistakes
Elite marines work in a world of strong team responsibilities. What we say, we do, simple? Not quite. clients may have the tendency to sherk off responsibilities. Sometimes with little regard to their mistakes. As a trainer you should drill into them early the merit in taking responsibility head on and it's the fastest track to success. No one expects perfection, but communication and trust will keep everyone accountable.