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Motivation
Manifesto
Champion Strategies to Ignite Team Performance
Ben Crookston
CEO + Founder, TrainHeroic
Contents
Why?
Users Manual
Athlete of the Month
Game Time
Share it on Social
Monster Max Out
Ration the Rap, Dose the Dubstep
Movement Master Videos
Pin the Skins
Rack em and Stack em
Culture Quotes
Strongman Series
Standards of Excellence
Outro
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Why?
6 years ago, I was a teacher and coach on the Southside of Chicago at one of the
worst schools in Illinois.
We were in the last 1% in nearly every statistical category.
Our facilities were haggard, the neighborhood was riddled with gang
violence, and hope was more a fleeting abstraction than tangible reality.
The experience changed my life.
In those roles and environments, I learned an abundance about human
behavior, social structures, and skill acquisition.
And, while those lessons proved valuable, the most important lesson I
learned was this:
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The
impediment to
action advances
action. What
stands in the
way becomes
the way.
- Marcus Aurelius
2
Expert
Instruction
1
Specific
Goal
3
Focused
Training
4
Immediate
Feedback
Ben Crookston
CEO + Founder, TrainHeroic
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3) K.I.S.S.
Keep It Simple, Stupid.
If what you do is complex (and complexity comes thru a volume of random initiatives) you wont follow
through on any of them.
Lack of follow through is worse than not starting something in the first place. Youll crater your
credibility, confuse your athletes, and lose their trust.
Instead, heed Bruce Lees words:
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Oh, how
blessed young
men are to
have struggled
for a
foundation and
beginning in
life.
- John D.
Rockefeller
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Game Time
Why - Three things will make
your team unstoppable
1) The willingness to compete
I dont care if its going toe-to-toe with their grandmother in
Scrabble, your athletes must be willing to compete. They
need to be encouraged to compete for every extra yard,
every loose ball, and you must provide every opportunity
for them to compete whether in-or off-season.
Athletes that love to compete will fight for you on game
day or any other day of the week. Theyll fight for their
teammates and theyll love every second of it, whether
they win or they lose, they will be fierce competitors and
that type of team is scary.
3) Having fun
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Game Time
How - Stay Focused
Keep it relevant. Focus on building
better athletes.
Games should be aligned with what
your goals are in the weight room
and physiologically they can benefit
your teams development too.
Dodgeball
Tug of war
Tag
Capture the flag
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Share it On Social
Why - Notifications on social apps drip dopamine faster than your
granny's broken faucet leaks water
Today's athletes live on social media.
You can chose to embrace that reality or you can fight it.
Fight it, and your athletes will fight you. Lean into it, have fun, and you'll reap the benefits of connecting
with your athletes.
Creating an account on social media to spotlight your teams efforts is a free, effective, and low-effort way
to drive athlete engagement.
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What - Be intentional
Believe it or not, if you blare music all the time, the stimulus it
provides weakens in direct relation to the amount it's used. Use it
too frequently, and you'll dilute the motivational effect. Like any
stimulant, reckless dosing will dampen the nervous system's
response and increase tolerance.
Make sure your beats pack a punch. Apply them sparingly.
Successful
people have a
bigger fear of
failure than
people who've
never done
anything
because if you
haven't been
successful, then
you don't know
how it feels to
lose it all.
-Jay-Z
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2. Mix it up
Don't have the athletes max out everyday as
your de-facto leaderboard application. Use
leaderboards on fun warm-ups, conditioning
workouts (met-cons), heavy barbell
movements, and any skill practice you might
naturally prescribe into your team's training.
You dont have to trade the proven science of
your program in for some extra engagement.
Be creative.
Like a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine
go down, a leaderboard in your weight room
makes the barbells go up.
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Culture Quotes
Why - Start with the Why
If it is important, do it every day. If its not important, dont do it at all. - Dan John
Scrawled in white paint on a deep navy backdrop, that quote sat on the West wall of the USD Varsity
weight room.
It spoke to us each day as we stepped foot in the facility and has been etched in our minds everyday since.
In fact, if you were to look at the other walls in that 5,000 sq ft. sanctuary of performance, similar sayings,
each profound in their own simplicity, galvanized our purpose.
Stephane Rochet, our
strength coach at the time,
took the time to paint those up
there. Each quote made us
think of him. They made us
think of the work we had
ahead of us and they made
us think about our
commitment to what we'd sign
up for.
They bonded us.
Like we remember Rochet's
quotes, your athletes cling to
every word you say.
But sometimes, you're not
around.
Reinforce your message and what the team stands for by painting quotes around the weight room that parrot the
positive language and culture in which you believe.
This small investment in culture shows up in serious on-the-field ROI.
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Culture Quotes
How - Round up the Staff and some 12 oz. Inspiration
Pack your staff into a team meeting room with laptops, a printer, and inspirational fuel (coffee,
beer, pizza, etc.).
The name on the front of your jersey is who you play for, the name on
the back of your jersey is who raised you. Do them both justice.
-Herb Brooks
What - Remember, this is an investment
Though it's a short activity, the ramifications of your efforts are permanent (or at least until someone
stumbles upon the desire to paint over your art).
Make sure you're deliberate in your approach.
Spend time in your brainstorming process.
Ignore the clich and the most known quotes. Dig for something unique to your squad.
If you need a kickstart, read Ryan Holiday's The Obstacle is the Way. It's packed-full of examples to ignite
your inspiration. Make it required reading for your team/staff.
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Strongman Series
Why - Strongman is universally cool
Every kid has spent at least a few sick days on the couch locked-in on ESPN, watching re-run episodes of
The World's Strongest man.
It's fun. It's addicting. It's a little weird.
Every athlete loves it.
And, while recreating your own Strongman contest is a surefire way to break up the monotony in your
program, it's also sound and proven strength programming.
Strongman lifts (odd objects, carries, etc.) are incredibly functional and applicable to the world of sports.
Strongman activities develop efficient movement patterns (hinging, pressing, balancing, etc.) and power
output in a manner second to none.
Toss in a day of Strongman to let the kids get a taste of something a bit different. Their bodies and minds
will thank you.
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Strongman Series
How - Get em Outside
Swap your Strongman day in for a previously scheduled end-of-the-week training session.
Give out awards for the Team's Strongest Man (or woman).
Pick a handful of events to balance the program. Included in your roster of contests should be some
variation of a carry, a throw, a hold, a press, a pull, and a drag.
Pro move: Double up and make your Strongman event a fundraiser.
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Standards of Excellence
Why - Everyone needs a goal
Id attribute a singular poster in my high school weight room as the catalyst to every athletic achievement
(and arguably every life achievement) in my career.
The poster was as basic as could be.
Just a simple table showing the standard progression of the 40-yard dash for an athlete from their
Freshmen to Senior year.
I triangulated the coordinates on the table to find that if I wanted to run a 4.5 40-yard dash by my Senior
year, I needed to be able to run a 5.0 40-yard dash in my Freshmen year.
As a gangly, incoming 8th grader staring at that poster in awe, I knew I had work to do.
I had just blazed, or more accurately, crawled to 5.2 second 40 in our testing session.
However, that singular target was all I needed to get the fire in my belly to chase down my dragon.
Everyday from that time on, I ran thirty 40's each day, lifted like Rocky, hammered on my running
mechanics, rehearsed starts, and raced every kid in the school till they quit.
At the Nike Combine, I ran 4.44 and was ranked as the 9th athlete in the country.
That poster started the fire.
The formula for the spark is simple:
Help someone find their target
Show them what's humanly possible
Provide them context and clear path to achieving the goal
Then, get out of their way.
Similar tactics could do the same for your kids.
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Life can be
pulled by
goals just as
surely as it
can be pushed
by drives.
- Viktor Frankl
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Thank you.
Thank you, Coach, for the time you invested in reading this eBook.
Time is one of your most precious resources, and the time you spend with your
young athletes can change lives.
You'll never know, but that time you make the team do 50 burpees for your
sophomore running back showing up late for weights may teach him a life
lesson about accountability to others and that there are consequences for
one's actions.
Just maybe, that lesson you taught him (and the resulting feedback from this
teammates) may really hit home and propel him to some greatness. Perhaps
more likely, he will at least be a better, more responsible person.
TrainHeroic empowers coaches and their athletes in the weight room. Its a
tool and resource that saves you time and, as a result, increases your impact
on athletes.
We would welcome the opportunity to learn about your needs and see if we
might help you "win in the gym."
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