WEIGHT ROOM TECH
3 ways
TO EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY IN THE WEIGHT ROOM
BY WILLIAM FLY, USAW, RPR-1, 2020 NORTH CAROLINA STRENGTH COACH OF THE YEAR, NORTHWEST CABARRUS HIGH (N.C.)
A
s our athletes continue to evolve and change, we as strength coaches have to be able to adapt this “next normal”. The days of shying away
from technology are coming to an end. Coaches have to be able to embrace technology in the weightroom in order to continue to create belief within your strength programs. One of these technologies we use is an online software called TeamBuildr. TeamBuildr allows us to create a completely paperless strength program that streamlines everything to a device straight to the athlete. I strongly believe Teambuildr and all of its features has set our program apart from others in the state. We are able to cater to our athletes, give them what they need when they need it, and allow coaches to spend more time doing what we love -- which is coaching. If you are in need of a software program for your weight room, give TeamBuildr a look.
In our program at Northwest Cabarrus, we utilize Teambuildr in three critical ways.
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Programming
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Workout Data Entry
3
Whiteboard and Weight Room Session Management
Teambuildr allows us to make programs based upon training age, skill level and what particular phase of training they are in. Once the workout is placed on a particular calendar, it can then be assigned to the athletes with the click of a button. This feature also allows all of our coaches to see what is programmed on a given day, just like a practice plan, and they can coach accordingly. We can provide cues for each movement to empower our assistant coaches and/or volunteer coaches to coach with confidence & clarity in the weightroom.
Once we have made the calendar as we have just discussed, we can assign it to our athletes. From here, this is where our “paperless” concept comes into play. Using chromebooks, tablets and iPads, athletes at a rack can pull up their workout and see their given loads and reps for a particular exercise. With this, the hardest thing an athlete has to do is figure out how to load the bar accordingly. Also, we empower our athletes to insert their data so that they “own” their progress and growth in our program.
■■TeamBuildr offers an online platform for programming workouts. ■■Northwest Cabarrus (N.C.) strength coach William Fly
One of the most underrated features that TeamBuildr has is the Whiteboard feature. Using the TVs in our room, we are able to set up a timing system that essentially runs the room for me and allows me to spend more time coaching our athletes. We place three athletes per rack and tell them to pick a section of the screen to follow during the course of the session. By simply following the screen, they know what movement/exercise they have, how many reps and what the next movement is. We also set a “transition” time to go from our first tier to the next. This establishes urgency and tempo so our athletes can get used to moving quickly from one part to the next, just as we want our athletes to move with a sense of urgency from one segment of practice to the next (i.e Indy to inside run, 7-on-7 to team).
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