To become a great Coach, you must build on each one of these pillars.
By: Richard Aceves
The Four Pillars of a coach consist of The stuntman, The Philosopher, The Scientist, and The Businessman. Each one of the pillars holds great value, therefore, understanding which ones are your strengths and which are your weaknesses is crucial.
The Stuntman
The stuntman is the one that can perform everything he teaches. He usually has great visual cues and is one that is able to easily learn new skills, and quickly create an aesthetic change. Some of the downfalls could come from a lack of understanding with clients who are not as gifted. At times the other types of cues may fall short because a visual explanation is easiest.
The Philosopher
The Philosopher is great about talking theoretically and letting you experience the movement through a story. The Philosopher often spends a lot of time explaining workouts or training sessions. He is a great thinker and has new and creative ways to approach training. A downfall of the philosopher is that he may get stuck exploring movements or training too much and not exploit it enough.
The Scientist
The scientist is the one that loves the data and understanding all the newly reviewed articles and papers that are coming out in the field. They tend to be driven by science-driven papers only and will exploit theses findings. The downfall is that at times there is too much information and data collected without thinking of the person in front of you.
The Businessman
The businessman understands his market, his product, and his brand. He understands how to make a sale or gain exposure where needed. He is great at overseeing and managing the gym or fitness space. The downfall is that at times the businessman forgets that the fitness industry although about numbers, its really about nurturing and helping people grow.
In Conclusion, always be the student and build your weakest pillar. Find Mentors from all arenas and expand your knowledge not just in movement or training methodologies but in business, art, philosophy, neuroscience, and many more! The principles from other disciplines can always add tremendous value to your craft of coaching. Stay Curious, my friends!