Tired? Hurt? Overwhelmed?
Have you tried to take your performance to the next level, but instead of experiencing “the zone” find yourself tired, hurt, or overwhelmed from your efforts?
Take a deep breath. Now let it out slooooooowly. Here is the good news, I am here to tell you it does not have to be that way. There is a way to pursue your full athletic potential in a systematic, organized way, that builds on your strengths, addresses your weakness, and fits into your life schedule.
The Athlete’s Dilemma
When I was a young athlete I ran into two major problems in my quest to be the best I could be — I either was unable to find the information I needed to excel or I received bad information. The advent of the internet and the explosion of training facilities, started by excellent coaches have virtually eliminated the problem of no information and made it more likely to get good information. However, I have found that the accessibility to information has created a new, more insidious dilemma for many athletes that come to me seeking guidance; the inability to sort through and organize all the information into an effective and efficient game plan that fits into an already crowded life schedule. This information overload has created a reactionary “add-on” philosophy and management style. Not wanting to miss out on any competitive advantage, today’s athletes’ simply “add-on” more workouts, more practices, and coaching sessions, in a shotgun approach hoping to cover all the bases. For many athletes this leads to career ending results:
- Burnout – pilling on more practices, games, training sessions, to an already crowded work, school, and life schedule ends in mental burnout. The love of the game is lost and even the thrill of victory loses its motivating spark.
- Injury – simply put Athletes Aren’t Hamburgers, one size does not fit all. To many athletes are forced into a preprogrammed routine with other athletes of varied skill, motivation, and with little or no accounting for outside practice sessions. They find these generalized programs leave them feeling tight, bulky, less fluid and athletic overall in their sport. Unfortunately for these athletes a series of blanketed generalized workouts without proper management of overall workload and outside stress levels leaves them more prone to injury not less.
The vision for creating The C.A.P Method of Athlete-led Coaching is to address the problems of burnout and injury caused by the current training culture:
- Addressing Burnout – help athletes organize and prioritize their daily, weekly, and yearly, schedules in a way that allows them to efficiently and effectively meet the demands of their sport, while maintaining the passion and love of the sport.
- Injury Reduction and Rapid Recovery – I don’t believe in “injury prevention”. The truth is if you are an athlete trying to find your performance limit it is not a matter of if you are going to get hurt, but when, how badly, and how quickly are you going to recover. My goal is to create a supervised training environment that adapts the training for the day in real time, based on the athlete’s mental, physical, and emotional state. The training sessions will be tailored in a way that maximizes productivity for the day and supports future planned workouts and performance demands.
Taking Control of Your Body, Programing, and Life – C.A.P 3 Phase Processes
- Clarify – If you want to maximize your time, energy, and schedule, you must be very clear on your goals and motivation, make sure you have the time and resources required, then organize your life using the 21 Training Blocks. You will have a very clear vision after the first session of what you will be doing day to day and why.
- Align – Being a C.A.P athlete isn’t about learning a “new system”, it’s about knowing what you know, learning what you need to know, and aligning it all with the outcome your efforts desire.
- Personalize – General programs are great for people who just want to get into shape and stay active. If you want to maximize your efforts, you need to stop hoping someones else’s generalized programs and templates and going to lead you to your specific goal and meet your specific needs. NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR PROGRAMING AND DESIGN THE PERSONALIZED PROGRAM THAT LEADS YOU TO YOUR GOALS AND FITS INTO YOUR LIFE.
On-line Tools for Athletes
I am one man. I simply can not see all the athletes that want to see me 1-1 and who I want to help with these problems. To aid me in my vision of helping to create self empowered athletes I have created the FREE on-line course, “Surviving AAU – Understanding the Stress Cycle”. If you are an athlete seeking to maximize your potential this course is a must! The knowledge, understanding, and skills that you will gain from it will dramatically improve your ability to recover, your game time performance, and reduce your risk of injury while allowing you to play pain free. But don’t take my word for it. See what these elite and professional athletes have to say and then check it out for yourself.
If you have a specific athletic outcome that you are trying to achieve and are ready to put together a game plan that is going to give you the dynamic physical, mental, and emotional energy you need at game time, then becoming a C.A.P. athlete may be the right step for you. Take the next step in creating your own Individualized Strategic Blueprint by completing the Athlete’s Application and setting up your first strategic planning session.
Cheers!
Hank DeGroat CSCS LMT
FAQ
Why is the C.A.P. Method Different?
The C.A.P. Method separates itself from other coaching platforms in 3 distinct ways:
- The C.A.P. Method is athlete led. I teach you how to connect with your body, organize your training, and give you the tools to take control of your unique athletic journey. My goal is to help you, find your limits, play your best game, and be able to look in the mirror at the end of your athletic career, knowing with no uncertain terms that you have exhausted every resource to accomplish your athletic ambitions.
- The C.A.P. Method builds you mentally, physically, and emotionally in ways few programs are able. My taking control of their journey C.A.P. athlete’s train and play with a confident and coachable attitude, are better focused on and off the field, and better able to handle the emotional trials of the athlete’s life. The C.A.P. athlete isn’t cocky, but carries a confidence they have earned, shaped, and molded with hours of sweat, preparation, and perseverance.
- The C.A.P. Method gives you direct skills to excel in every area of life. Lots of athletic training program give secondary and have soft carry-over benefits to the athlete’s life. The tools, information, and way of thinking you gain as a C.A.P. athlete will have a direct carry-over into every area of life you want to improve. You won’t have to guess how they imply. I will show you how it is all connected.
What C.A.P. Is Not
C.A.P. is not a “program.” Athletes Aren’t Hamburgers – and as such their programs cannot and should not be made and served up in a default “one style fits most”. Each athlete has individual objectives and goals, while many may share the need to use similar tools; the personal application is always understood by the athlete and aimed at their individual goal, current training cycle, sport, and unique body size and biomechanics. My aim as a coach is not to have “The Answer”, but rather collaborate with the athlete in constantly adapting and improveing over a series of training cycles and seasons. The paths of athletes are diverse. Their solutions will be varied.
C.A.P. is not a “fat loss” workout or Crossfit style exercise competition. C.A.P. is a series of systematically planned and executed workouts designed to improve specific performance outcomes of the individual athlete. While body composition changes may lead to fat loss and training sessions may be competitive, a “good” training session is not necessary one that crushes or exhausts an athlete. Rather the C.A.P. athlete recognizes that the training session is not the competition, but preparation for an ultimate performance.
Who is a typical C.A.P. Athlete?
Age, gender, or level of sport mastery does not define a C.A.P. athlete. A typical C.A.P. athlete has a performance-based goal that they are working towards that requires them to have a Individualized Strategic Blueprint (I.S.B.) to achieve the level of sport mastery they desire. The diversity of a C.A.P. athlete range from a college bound high school athlete looking to take it to the next level, a middle age dedicated amateur prepping for their next soccer tournament or triathlon, to the retiree who had declared retirement from the workforce, but not the physical challenges and pleasures they now have the time to enjoy.
Do you only do in-person coaching?
No! The beauty of the internet and the digital world is that I work with clients virtually all around the world.
How Can I Become a C.A.P. Athlete?
Step 1 – Complete the Athlete Application.
Step 2– I’ll be in touch to fill in a few details and if I believe I can help we’ll find a time that you and I can meet 1-1 for an evaluation.
Step 3 – Complete a 1-2 week trial. Think of it as a tryout. I’m looking to see if you are a good fit for the C.A.P. environment and you are seeing if the C.A.P. environment and my coaching style is a good fit for you.
Step 4 – If we both decided it’s a good fit we start the process of building a long-term game plan.