What Is Strength and Conditioning?
Strength and Conditioning Coach: A physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription for their clients to achieve their specific goals.
Im Not an Athlete…I Don’t need “Strength and Conditioning”…
Okay, you aren’t playing a D1 sport…you don’t need to run a 4.5 40 yard dash or do an NFL combine bench test. So, what? In our opinion strength and conditioning is easily the best model for basically any client and here’s why. The whole point is a good strength and conditioning coach will use exercise prescription for their clients. This means every program for each client will be written from the ground up for THAT client.
Our clients range in age, ability, goals, needs etc. Just because you are not an athlete doesn’t mean strength and conditioning isn’t the best option for you. In general, it gives you the best well rounded model of fitness. It’s not bodybuilding, powerlifting or marathon running. But, you will be aesthetic, strong and have great cardiovascular ability.
The other massive benefit (to a good strength and conditioning program) is injury prevention. Even if you are older and just starting with a trainer/coach…weight lifting and conditioning in the right setting will drastically reduce your chances of injuries.
Strength and conditioning involves LOTS of functional movements. Functional movements do not include barbell snatch/power cleans for a middle aged male/female trying to lose weight… Functional is the ability to easily complete difficult every day tasks without injury. Functional is the ability to play soccer with your kids and keep up. Functional is being able to run up a flight of stairs and not be winded. A D1 linebackers weight training program used for the average person is the epitome of non-functional.
Bottom line here… a GOOD strength and conditioning program should be built for each client specifically and/or each team specifically depending on their needs and goals. Which brings me to my next point…
Age of the Cookie Cutter Programs…
One of the biggest pet peeves of ours is in the fitness industry today the flood gates have been opened with “fitness professionals”, “trainers”, “coaches” and “programming”. Those terms now seem to apply to anyone on Instagram that has worked out for more than 6 months.
Unfortunately, this applies to some gyms as a whole. They use the same exact program for each and every client. I’m not saying that you wont get a decent sweat going…but is that really maximizing your potential and minimizing the time it takes to get to your specific goal? Probably not. Every person has their own strengths and weaknesses that must be addressed by the coach and dealt with accordingly.
The worst part of this is a lot of brand name chain gyms are the biggest culprits of cookie cutter programming. Nationwide they are all using the same workouts, why? Because it eliminates the need for REAL coaching. Write it on the board, count reps, say “good-job”… repeat. Great corporate business model- cheaper, less education, less experience needed, more $$$ for the chain…lower level of quality for the client.
So Why Black Flag?
Whether you are a high level athlete, an average client looking to shed a few pounds and live a healthier life, or a marathon runner trying to solve knee pain…we’ve been there and done that. We have a HUGE range of clients and can successfully get them to their goals with the right will power on their end. That’s all we ask for…commitment.
All of the trainers here at Black Flag are tried and true strength and conditioning professionals. This isn’t something we picked up later in life…this isn’t a hobby we turned into a job…this isn’t a part time gig…we’ve been doing this to some capacity since we were about 12 years old. We can get you to where you want to be… just buy into the programs mentally and commit!