S05E191 The Art and Science of Coaching Excellence with Guest Michael DelaTorre
Veteran CrossFit coach Michael DelaTorre @thecoachmiked joins the coaches David Syvertsen @davesy85 and Sam Rhee @bergencosmetic to share wisdom gleaned from coaching an estimated 15,000 classes across multiple facilities. This conversation dives deep into the evolving nature of coaching across different environments—from young professionals in urban settings to diverse suburban populations.
Mike reveals his coaching journey, which began with track and field in 2000 before discovering CrossFit while still a bodybuilder. His story highlights how the joy of seeing others progress became a driving force in his career, despite the modest pay and demanding hours.
Through transitions between various facilities—Motown, Hoboken, Parabolic, and now Bison/Outlast—Mike learned valuable lessons about adaptability and maintaining core values. His time at a sports performance facility taught him to sometimes slow things down for longevity and simplify approaches for the average fitness enthusiast. As he notes, most people don't need complicated programming to get fit.
Perhaps the most fascinating discussion centers around a philosophical shift: moving from "building culture through fitness" to "building fitness through culture." The hosts explore how creating welcoming environments and fostering relationships might be more sustainable and inclusive than the traditional high-intensity CrossFit approach. This represents not just a change in coaching style, but a maturation that comes only through extensive experience.
Whether you're a coach seeking wisdom or someone interested in fitness community dynamics, this conversation offers valuable insights about maintaining passion through life's changes while creating environments where diverse populations can thrive. As Mike concludes, "Always find the joy in what we do"—advice that transcends coaching and applies to any meaningful pursuit.
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S05E191 The Art and Science of Coaching Excellence with Guest Michael DelaTorre
TRANSCRIPT
David SyvertsenHost
00:05
Hey everybody, welcome to the Herd Fit Podcast with Dr Sam Rhee and myself, coach David Syverson. This podcast is aimed at helping anyone and everyone looking to enhance their healthy lifestyle through fitness, nutrition and, most importantly, mindset. All right, welcome back to the Herd Fit Podcast. I'm here with my co-host, dr and Coach Sam Rhee, and for the second straight week we have Mike Delator, coach Mike Delator, sitting in between us and if you don't know Mike, mike is one of the most experienced coaches I've ever met in my entire life in a CrossFit space. I would say if you took a poll of every CrossFit certified coach in the world, I bet Mike is in the top 1% of the amount of years and how many classes he's coached and how many different people he's coached as well. And I believe there's a wealth of knowledge inside of Mike that I'm going to try to squeeze and extract from in some ways here.
00:56
A to help some of you coaches out. We have some. We have a new coach starting here at Bison, we have a couple of new coaches starting here at Out outlast fitness and there's a lot of you out there that want to coach someday or have coached and you're trying to just always you should always, as a coach, always try to get better. Uh, should never. If you're ever not trying to get better, you're probably getting worse, and I think there's part of getting better as a coach is taking in content, videos, articles, anecdotal advice from people that have been doing it longer than you.
01:24
Even if Mike is a different style of coach than you, there are things you can learn from him and there's things that Mike can learn from someone that has a very different style to him, and Mike is on, I would say Mike, I would say errors towards the intense side of coaching, not like when, uh, 2011, when he'd he'd run four miles per class from station to station, um, on his tippy toes. Uh, but I do think Mike does, I like. One of the reasons why I like taking Mike's classes is I feel I get more intensity out of myself when he is coaching, and just him hearing my, just hearing my name out of his mouth reminds me. Hey, I have to say people's names when I coach Because I know it does something to people, and especially if it's his voice. I have a very long history of listening to that voice, so there's just a lot in him that I think we're going to try to get out of him from this episode.
02:19
Mike, we've had you on before talking about your biography as a coach. We've had you on before talking about, like your biography as a coach. But for those that have not listened, just a real quick synopsis of when, where and how long you've been coaching.
Michael DelaTorreGuest
02:32
Yeah, so I started coaching actually in in 2000,. I started coaching track and field if you believe it or not, mostly the field side, no. And then I I fell in love with fitness and I discovered CrossFit. At the time I was a bodybuilder. I started coaching CrossFit in 2010 and I've been pretty much consistent with it from that point until now. I took a little bit of a break. I went into sports performance for about a year, okay, and then I went back into CrossFit in 2017.
David SyvertsenHost
03:09
So what got you into coaching? Was it and be real about this, because I think a lot of coaches get into coaching because two reasons they just like CrossFit, or they like the sport in which they coach and they want a free membership. I think that's a reason why a lot of people get into coaching. What was your? Why, Like why did you get into it?
Michael DelaTorreGuest
03:27
I actually wanted to be a teacher when I was younger. I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to teach high school. When I started coaching track and field, I realized I'm not meant to be a teacher Because you know, as a coach in a high school setting, you have a good amount of control, right. If there's a child that you don't really get along with, you can say you can kind of get rid of them, like you know, like cut them from the team type deal. I was like I can't do that as a teacher. I can't just send a kid to the principal's office every single day.
03:58
But there was something about teaching and instructing that I really enjoyed. That. I really enjoyed and seeing people progress. And then, when I got into fitness myself, you're training as a bodybuilder, as a man, I really want to. I want to teach people how to do this stuff. And you know, like live a good long life. Crossfit just completely turn it around because and that was like the final like step because it taught me that I had a lot more to learn. I thought I was super fit at the time and I wasn't. I got thrashed by a workout, um, and that's how I really got into CrossFit, I was like there's something behind this that can really help a lot of people help a lot of people that I care about in my life and I dove head first.
David SyvertsenHost
04:43
Sam do you have? I think you're one of the more interesting coaching stories as well, and this isn't a Sam biography. We have an episode that's coming up on Sam that I'm going to be interviewing him on some stuff. Um, but you, you know, you're a surgeon and you coach CrossFit to me. I mean, I don't know and I'm really curious to see this down the road, not open up this can of worms yet, but tying those two together. Why do you coach, like what was? Because I'm trying to tie our three reasons why we coach. I'll get into mine. Why do you coach knowing that really that's not what your career path is at all?
Sam RheeCo-host
05:20
I really enjoy helping and it really pushed my boundaries. Let me put it this way it's I do it more for selfish reasons, all right, it's not like like there are a lot of ways you can help people, right, absolutely yeah, um, and this is one way of helping, but it's the way that I can help people in a way that pushes me in a different space, got it Like? It's such a challenge, I think learning how to teach people to move better, to increase their fitness, to get to know them on a physiologic level, in terms of what they're doing, and also mentally like that's a big thing. It's such a challenge when people are talking to you and like should I do this? Like can I switch from a band to this? Can I try this instead of Ring Rose today?
06:20
And a lot of it is knowing that person and knowing their mental sort of state and their physical state and sort of you know, being that person that can really help them with that or or with their technique or anything. And and every time I coach, it's been such a learning experience for me. I mean, I hope my athletes are learning too, athletes are learning to, but but uh, and so I am sort of unorthodox because I didn't come from a traditional like strength and fitness background or a physical education background or or any of that. Um, I'm just someone who comes from a completely different occupation, who just moved into it. Um, the one advantage I have is that I'm older, so there is a little bit more like life experience that I might have, but it was.
David SyvertsenHost
07:10
It's such a challenge every time I coach that, but it just it really stretches me mentally and and I love that part of it- I think the other thing that's set you apart, too, from a lot of people is that you're very educated, and and I do, I think you're very intelligent, very smart, I smart, I think. You know not that other coaches aren't, but you have a different kind of intelligence and education that I think blends into coaching if you know how to use it really well.
Sam RheeCo-host
07:35
I I do, but I'm also a little emotional. I just wanted to tell you I guess kayla thought it was hilarious. This past week I coached the um push-up, uh, the push-up air squat workout on Thursday. You know the half Murph, what Henny, all those herring match-up, and listen, as a coach, that's like one of the hardest ones to coach, because everyone breaks down at the end. No one's doing real push-ups and no one's doing air squats. And by the time my third class came around, I was like listen, I'm not going to judge you, but God will judge you. I didn't know what else to say because there's really nothing else I could say. So at that point Kayla thought it was like the most effing hilarious thing, but I didn't. So I was sort of at my wits end as a coach. So, like every time I coach, there's always something that, like I can't figure out or I got to think about.
David SyvertsenHost
08:25
I'm glad you're not coaching Cindy next week. We're doing your Friday.
Sam RheeCo-host
08:27
Okay, so it's always a challenge.
David SyvertsenHost
08:31
But for you yeah, I mean for me coaching. I played a lot of sports growing up and I pay attention to a sports now not just like the result and the action, but like the stories behind it, the coaching and I think good coaching and bad coaching makes enormous difference in other people's performance, other people's minds, mind space, and I grew up really paying attention to that stuff. I can tell you right now my top three coaches I've ever had and I could also tell you the three worst coaches I've ever had, and it really came down to how much they cared and put into it and I remember thinking like I knew I wanted to coach something. I still, in the back of my head, want to coach sports, maybe as Brock gets older or I don't know. I just went to a high school baseball game a couple of weeks ago, last Saturday, and I just I think the coach and the presence can make an impact that can last forever. And right now, here I am, I can talk about coaches that I've that can last forever. And right now, here I am, I can talk about coaches that I've had 25 years ago and I think if there are certain people that approach it that way and they're the best ones.
09:32
I think coaching in professional sports, nfl, for example I think the gap between the good and bad coaches at that level, the top level, is significant. I really do believe that and you know, that's why I've gotten to coaching, because I feel like that's where I can or want to try and to excel. Now, mike, you coach. I want to blend Motown and Hoboken because the very similar crowds, vibes and your time of life in which you coach there. What's one or two things that you can recall from that time Motown and Hoboken that sticks with you, and it could be good or bad. It could be a good lesson or bad lesson hey, I did this wrong or hey, like I'm taking my time from there and applying it to what I do now.
Michael DelaTorreGuest
10:15
I remember the, the, the joy of coaching and that, that, that passion and that fire that I had and I still have. But it's harder today. I've got three kids, I have a wonderful wife who puts up with all my craziness she really does the general stress of life. So there's some times where I have to remind myself of that, of why I got into it and that that joy of being in the environment. And you know, I have to stoke that fire every single day. You know, when I was coaching in Motown and Hoboken, life was a lot simpler, yes, a lot simpler. So a lot of time I could just really focus on coaching and I was I was selfish, you know focused on coaching and focused on myself and and and and all that kind of stuff. Um, but those two things that really, uh, sticks out from that time.
David SyvertsenHost
11:17
Yeah, and you you are. You were very passionate about coaching. I think that was something that made up. I mean, I just got talked about making coaches and I think Mike's on that list for me, just so you know, mike, like when I talk about my best coach I've ever had, like I think Mike really inspired me to get into CrossFit coaching because I saw the joy that he put into it and honestly, like Sam said, it actually is true Like Mike selfishly got something out of coaching because it was like it just gave you joy. But you're also creating a lot of joy for others and I think that's part of what makes you happy about it. Like if no one liked your classes or no one liked CrossFit, it probably wouldn't make you happy, right? But you know, if you have a good cloud, you know those classes were like bro, I crush that. Like you had those classes, like you made a, you made someone's day in a lot of cases and that gives you joy.
Michael DelaTorreGuest
11:59
Yeah, absolutely.
David SyvertsenHost
12:00
Um, parabolic. Um, I actually think parabolic changed you in a good way, because I think it gave you parabolic was not a CrossFit. I remember when you went there and we talked about it, it was like oh, Mike's going the professional route, he probably has to wear a collared shirt. Did you have to wear a collared shirt?
Michael DelaTorreGuest
12:18
I had to wear yeah Packies Like like just like a physical therapy caliber outfit. Kind of yeah.
David SyvertsenHost
12:29
It outfit kind of yeah, it was kind of weird, yeah it was cool, but kind of good experience, bad experience don't need to like get into that or trash anything and you know there's every place is a fit or not fit for someone else. But that had a little bit more of like a pt movement screening anatomy kind of background. But I think it actually helped you, coach, because I remember listening to you talk after you got out of there, warming up classes and explaining the why behind things, and it expanded your, your knowledge a little bit. Can you touch on that?
Michael DelaTorreGuest
12:55
Yeah, definitely, um it. It definitely helped. I enjoyed my time there. It overall it wasn't the right environment for me, but I learned so much from the other coaches there there was was. It was a sports performance and rehab place, so there were great physical therapists there. My buddy Joe was the one who restored my shoulders, which is how I started learning about all this stuff. He took me under his wing, you know, under his wing.
13:26
It showed me a couple of things. It showed me that number one, it's okay to slow things down from time to time, right, like as as as a CrossFitter, like we strive for that intensity, right, which is great, to a fault. Sometimes we get addicted to it and we don't slow things down when we should, and it taught me that. Okay, look, there's certain things that you need to do for longevity, to maybe slow it down a little bit and make sure that you can do this for the long run.
13:56
It also showed me that the general person, the everyday person, doesn't need something super complicated to get fit, and I think that was one of the things that I struggled with there, where, and like I said, it was just a different environment, but I think that sometimes, as coaches, we can overthink what we're applying to people. Sometimes that's appropriate, like if you have a professional athlete who, hey, this is their livelihood. Like you need to make sure that everything is really thought out and planned super, super well, or that super well is a wrong, wrong term. Like you know, plan to a T. Like you know, you have a schedule, kind of Right. The general, general person doesn't need that, nor do they want that, because it can be kind of boring, you know. So it taught me to also simplify things.
David SyvertsenHost
14:49
Sam, this is actually something I want to ask you. You're, in my opinion, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're pretty scientific and objective, right, like hey, as much as possible like black and white, right or wrong, true or false, because you're a doctor and that is a lot of how you operate on a day-to-day basis and just knowing some of the stuff about you outside of that career, you're very you know, with the technology, this whole operation, everything here is all Sam, all these wires and sound and all the production, and Sam is just very good at having these processes done. And that's part of what I need to be better at with some of the stuff here at Bison and that's where, like, I think, sam adds a lot of value to myself selfishly, but also us as a business. And when you hear something like that, because I err towards more the art, the subjectivity, the adaptability when it comes to fitness, because I do agree with mike and this pisses off these traditional strength and conditioning coaches that, like I'm not very like, yes, at 1004, eat your four almonds.
15:57
At 10, 11, have the oatmeal. At 1204, do the bulgarian split squat six by four with a three second tempo at 61 of your one rep max and then and then go do a four and a half minute rest, like I don't think like that and I don't think it's necessary and, like Mike said, I think it kind of gets people away from what we want them to do and live healthy, fit lives. Where do you find the blend of the two?
Sam RheeCo-host
16:19
It's really hard. I go back and forth. I remember when I first started coaching, someone gave me feedback you don't really talk enough to the people doing scaled movements, you're sort of catering to the elites. And I was like, wow, I didn't even realize that and it was because I had sort of gotten all this stuff about reps per minute and your performance and you know, like, how do you transition from here to here and this is where you're supposed to rest and this is where you're supposed to push, and it was all very performance oriented.
16:48
And then I don't know, maybe for a while I might've gone back to the too far where I'm like don't injure yourself, be super careful with this, don't? You know? Like don't try that hard, don't try right. Like yeah, this workout is really dangerous, be careful, like so I might've kind of. So I'm kind of like going, like I'm trying to find that nice, the blend blend, where, like I, I want people because I I, like I said, I love CrossFit, I love the performance aspect of pushing yourself. But then I also realize, like I will come in because I'm a Thursday coach, so I also see the people come in and we're like, boy, those 60 toes to bar on on Tuesday really jacked me up and I'm like, okay, well, let's see what we can do here and try to figure things out. But then, like sometimes they're like, oh, you know what, I felt better, so I just wanted to push and I'm like, well then, what blend is? So it takes so much skill from a coach, and that's what I'm working on every week, basically.
David SyvertsenHost
18:02
Yeah, relationships and culture. They're never going to be clearly scientific and objective culture. They're never going to be clearly scientific and objective. It's it's, it's too different from person to person and that is really what most crossfit gyms or gyms outlast. They're built on culture and relationships and, um, you know that that is where I think it's difficult, but I think that's where you just have to have your finger and I think you're approaching it. The right way is you're critically thinking, you're thinking about different perspectives, you're thinking about different ways to challenge yourself and others.
18:31
Mike Caldwell and Bison were your two stops after Parabolic, and I still consider Bison your current. But you're going to Outlast right now, but it's still under Bison, and you're still going to be coaching some CrossFit classes too, but where and you really don't have the experience there at Outlast, none of us do. But this is like. It's like suburbia. Now you know, and it's funny to me, I don't think it's coincidence that your life has gone to suburbia, right, you're no longer living in Hoboken, going out three nights a week and party, going hard, play hard, work, hard, play hard. All this stuff right Now. You a coach.
19:08
You know your typical suburban area. We have some young, we have some old, a lot of people right in the middle. You know a lot of young families, people that are career driven, people that used to have like the fun life in the city but now they're trying to settle down or in the process of that, and but also outliers on on either side. You know, I look at some of the young people we have here, including kids in high school and I've we have some outliers that are in their sixties and seventies. That's still pushing through here. I think that's the most challenging kind of place to coach at, because there's so much variety. Have you been able to? I mean, obviously you've been doing an outstanding job but have you been able to take these past experiences from your other stops and kind of improve your brand here to take?
Michael DelaTorreGuest
19:48
these past experiences from your other stops and kind of improve your brand here. Yes, definitely, I think nothing can replace experience, right? So, like I'm just lucky I'm lucky that I've been coaching for so long and lucky that I've been coaching so many different people that every stop that I've been at I've been able to just take something from it right and not every stop has been comfortable right. Like there are stops that I've had. There have been places I've worked where, like I said, just wasn't the right spot for me and I knew it. But while I was there I was like all right, let me make the best impact I can and from my experience, from my perspective, let me take and learn as much as I can. So, being in all these different environments Motet and Hoboken where Hoboken especially, where, like everyone when we were there, was like super young and like type a, like go get it intense, right, that was that's pretty, that's pretty fun miss those days you guys are a lot younger is this?
David SyvertsenHost
20:56
why is this so much? Life was so much easier, so much easier.
Michael DelaTorreGuest
20:59
Um, and then moving to suburbia where you have generally like an older, yeah, population with what talked about like more stress, more outside influence of of man. They can't get after it maybe quite as hard, and maybe they're. They played sports when they were younger. They're a little bit more beat up.
Sam RheeCo-host
21:20
Maybe their kids kept them up all night until you only got two hours of sleep.
Michael DelaTorreGuest
21:23
Yeah, exactly, amen. Yeah, thank you, murphy, for your molders coming in. So, having been at all of these different places, I've been very lucky, just very lucky, to take those experiences and translate them here and it's like I said, it's just kind of luck of the draw. It's just you can't beat experience.
David SyvertsenHost
21:46
Yeah, you can't. And I think what one thing experience gives you and I feel like I've hit this point. I started feeling this way last year, maybe the year before that I'm not surprised by anything anymore at the gym. Nothing catches me off guard. When I see someone walking towards me to talk about something, I almost can speak for them. I already know what they're going to say and it's partially knowing the people. But it's also even drop-ins, like certain drop-in situations, like could talk to someone for about 30 seconds and know how, exactly how this is going to go. When will this happen?
22:19
Because I, it's well, I'm not even close to where that was going to be for me. And this is where I've talked to Liz about this in terms of, like her rules of how many classes people have to coach and, like you know, we've massaged this idea like is this too much, Is this too little? And she says the only way a coach is going to get better is with experience. And if we keep letting them not coach that much, take off whenever they want, not coach a lot of classes, not coach tough classes either, they're probably just not going to get better. And I actually have coached less classes in the past three months than any time period since I started coaching CrossFit Because, as we're building this, as we're all like this, we really took them off the schedule.
22:57
People are like I do not coach anymore, but the that is, and I can tell when I go coach a class. Now I'm like, Ooh, I'm a little rusty, like a couple of rusty, a couple little brain farts that I would never mess up. I don't even know what the class notice is. They probably don't. No, they don't. In my head I'm like man, I have to almost refocus. That comes from so much experience of coaching. How many hours?
Sam RheeCo-host
23:25
do you think you guys have coached each?
David SyvertsenHost
23:26
I've done some math.
Sam RheeCo-host
23:27
Really how many, how many hours.
David SyvertsenHost
23:28
Do you think you guys have coached?
Sam RheeCo-host
23:29
each. I've done some math. Really how many? Like 15,000 classes, I was guessing maybe 10,000.
David SyvertsenHost
23:32
I think 10,000 probably a few years ago as we were moving over here, Because I coached a lot of Hoboken. I coached 30 to 40 classes a week when we opened here.
Sam RheeCo-host
23:44
I mean it was a lot. My first few classes, I probably was expert.
David SyvertsenHost
23:47
Yeah, they say 10,000. I mean you're well above 10,000. I guess. So Bad math, so I don't know. I mean I think Hoboken and Caldwell used to bury you with just too many classes. That was one thing we changed about Mike when he came over from Caldwell. It was just. I think you were. I actually remember I think it was 25 classes a week. It was a. Honestly, I think the number for a coach should be anywhere between. A full-time coach should be anywhere between 15 and 19, like somewhere in that range. 20 is like if you need it, but 15 to 19 is where I think a full-time coach should be, and not a business wise, but B for them to make sure they stay on top of their game.
Sam RheeCo-host
24:21
Yeah.
David SyvertsenHost
24:22
Um, I also think it's really important to coach different classes too, but that's that's another discussion. Sometimes that's not logistically possible, which is okay. Embracing change because you're taking on another change, mike, and I actually think the best version of Mike is when he gets like that, like here we go, new spot, let's go Like. I remember your first class. I remember videotaping this your first morning at Bison in 2019, he was a 5. Am coach and anytime someone would walk in, he'd walk, greet him and give him a hug and people were like who wait, who are you? And dave voke, I remember, messaged me after that first five he goes.
24:58
What an addition. Like his energy was awesome and I think that's like anyone, when there's something new, you're excited about it. The real challenge is a year or two in, when you start having those bad days and you're not motivated. You still have to coach at a high level, but can you talk about because you've changed gyms a lot? And how does one embrace that with good intentions and excitement rather than anxiety? How do you do that? Because you've done it multiple times at a high level.
Michael DelaTorreGuest
25:29
That's a great question. I don't know.
David SyvertsenHost
25:32
Okay, it's okay if you don't know that I don't know, because I'm a naturally introverted person.
Sam RheeCo-host
25:37
Yeah, you are.
Michael DelaTorreGuest
25:38
Yep and I have anxiety, so drinking caffeine obviously helps me. I'm just kidding.
David SyvertsenHost
25:45
I think I know the answer and you don't even know it, but keep going.
Michael DelaTorreGuest
25:47
Keep reflecting on. I guess two things come into mind. There's something about going into a new place and knowing that, hey man, you've got this responsibility to uphold what the current coaches and community have established. That's a huge responsibility which, yes, can be scary, but at the same time, I think it's kind of cool. I don't know. I I just as introverted as as I am, I do like talking to people you do.
David SyvertsenHost
26:25
It's weird I, I think, one of your greatest traits. I told you this before. I've had other people tell me this too that aren't connected to you in like a friendship kind of way. Like you'll, you'll ask someone how their back feels, because seven and a half weeks ago they told you their back, your back, hurt, and like that. That's a skill that not everyone has, like you, just have a recall on what people are going through, and it could be stuff nothing to do with their back, it could be life and um, and I think people appreciate that a lot about you is because and I think that's where a gym, people, people we can fall short, and it's not intentionally, it's like you're busy, you have a lot of stuff, a lot of things going on, and you kind of almost do you almost forget about something. There's people that came in that will come into the gym on the Tuesday. Dude, I haven't thought about you and they tweet. You're not going to say that, but I just haven't seen you in a long time. How are you? That kind of stuff, and I think that's a good trait of yours.
27:26
I think another thing why you thrive when you make a slight change or even a big change, is that you have morals, in my opinion, that you circle back to when there's unstable ground. So tomorrow you're going to be coaching the first class here and I'll be here with you, by the way, 15 at outlast and this is it's unstable. You're going to know almost everyone in the class, but it's still unstable. Like I'm nervous about coaching these classes. I am really nervous about coaching them and the when you get nervous, people have a baseline moral that they go to, and I think one of yours is keeping the main thing. The main thing when you are in charge of a class and you're it is you use the word. It's a responsibility. I was hoping you would use that word. It's a responsibility that you have to control that class and create the environment for them to feel comfortable, because it's not about your anxiety, it's about them. You're not here for yourself, you're here for them. You're here to serve them and I think that's why you do well, because you're on. You're on unstable ground, your head's going a little crazy. What do I do? You resort to what you know, and what you know is you're here to serve people and help them and keep the main thing, the main thing run a good class. I think that's why you thrive there. Thanks, why you thrive there. Thanks, man.
28:41
Sam, thoughts on you're going to be coaching over here too. You're going to be like one of the hybrids. Right, I'm a hybrid, you're a hybrid. Do you have any? Are you circling back to some of the experience that you had as a new coach at Bison or like? Does that experience help you Like you? Are you more confident walking into this? Even though it's slightly different workouts, it might be some different people. Can you walk into this with more confidence because of what you've done at Bison?
Sam RheeCo-host
29:00
Yeah, I mean, obviously, having coached for a couple of years now at Bison, I'm definitely a better coach in general now than I was three or four or five years ago. But I would say, just thinking about the layout, the logistics, the's, it's really you can't take the same approach as a coach, and I'm I'm I'm a little worried because I don't know how that's going to play. As a coach, like, I'm going to have to just get more, some, some classes. Right, yeah, come take a class or two.
David SyvertsenHost
29:33
Yeah.
Sam RheeCo-host
29:33
And and also just sort of get you know, get going. Like I think it's not hard and I've realized this with just coaching in general to coach a class. Like it's really hard to coach a completely terrible class, right, Like everyone I've seen, even on their worst day, like everyone has up and down days. Like I've taken a lot of classes and I've had coaches that were not on their best but it was still acceptable, right, it was still satisfactory, right, and that is uh, and I've had a bunch of classes like that with a bunch of different people, just because of whatever, and so, and me too I've, I've coached classes and I know afterwards I was like that was acceptable, that was satisfactory, uh, but Right.
30:17
But my goal is always like how can you get to that point where, like you said, an athlete sort of feels like you met or exceeded their expectation for that class? And sometimes it's something as stupid as like the music, like all right, music was pretty good, like that's why I think you're curating the music to be very different here than the other side. And it was so funny when we just did this workout and I noticed the music wasn't as like adrenaline pumping.
David SyvertsenHost
30:50
And I did not like it, but it didn't matter.
Sam RheeCo-host
30:53
Right, but it did serve its purpose in terms of, like, moderating my intensity to the point where I needed to be, exactly, and if you had put something that was like what we normally play on the other side, it would have changed. My God, that is Viking music, right, right, right. The death row stuff, right, the rowing, like dirge stuff, like funeral stuff, it would have been different. Like dirge stuff, like funeral stuff, it would have been different. And so the fact that you have specific music, specific experiences as a coach, you are going to be part of that, and so that is where I have to learn to calibrate myself into that experience, and that's going to be a challenge.
David SyvertsenHost
31:37
Yep, it's going to be a challenge and it's like just follow what we Yep, it's going to be a challenge and I just it's like just follow, like what. What we've done and what I know you'll do is just like just keep the main thing, the main thing run good classes, help the people out. Last thing here I've been writing a lot the just for myself and I'm putting together discussions. I've talked to our staff more than I ever have about big picture stuff lately owners as well and one thing I'm working on right now is like I'm I have it already written down but I'm just trying to modify so it's easy for other people to read if they want to read. It is like what is the vision of the place and how do you execute it? Like what is what are we? What are we actually trying to do? And it's not, it goes much deeper. It's pages than want to help people. Right, that's the, that's the easy answer that I would tell someone walking down the street. And one thing I wrote down that I circled. That is making so much sense to me and I want to challenge all of us and I want Mike to reflect a little bit and we'll wrap it up that we are very used to building a culture through fitness. Right, like that's how we all come to the workout, stay for the community, that kind of thing. We go through nasty workouts and sweat our ass off and hot, especially across the hill, and our hands are bleeding, we're lifting weights to max, we're screaming, our shirts are flying off, and then that builds the culture, right.
32:57
What I want to do now, especially here at Outlast but this might even be a long-term thing is build fitness through culture. So, like you build the culture and you build the community, you create relationships and then from there we try to get fit together and it'd be. I think it's a lot more sustainable and I also think it's a lot easier and more welcoming to people that come in and see us from the outside. Or, you know, we have athletes running up down the street like you know, reno, how jacked he is, and and Amy Edelman and just like, and Alex trying to, like you know, run it like, and they'll drive by that and they'll be like yeah, I'm good. I'm never going there because I'm intimidated. Those people look so fit. But if you can get people to start really coming together and being friends, no matter what you look like, no matter how intense you work out. You build a culture, then we get fit.
33:44
That is where I feel like there's a shift coming, and Outlast is going to be part of that. That vision of that is going to be the requirement and that might actually sound really unattractive to the people that want to go crazy with their workout regimen, and we will support everyone that goes crazy with a worker. I think I'm crazy when I when I really want to work out hard, but you don't want those people feeling judged either. You want them to be a part of the culture you want to find. You want them to find their circle. Can you see that blend the difference between the two?
Michael DelaTorreGuest
34:19
Yes, I can, because it's something I remember reading this a few years ago I think, back when I actually I was at Parabolic and I'm paraphrasing. I forget where I read it from, but it was essentially as a coach, one of the most underrated things that you do is you set the environment and you let the athletes loose to do their thing. I'm like, huh, that's really interesting Because, yes, as coaches got to make sure everyone's safe, especially with the CrossFit background, like technical movements, we got to teach all that stuff, blah, blah, blah. But it is a cool thing once you get everyone going, you have the music going, you've set the tone for the class. You let the athletes lose there.
35:05
There's days now I don't say too much, right, yeah, I don't yell too much. In the middle of a workout, I'll yell encouragement, you know, to get things going. But you set the tone and you let it ride and I think that's a great. What you just said is so key because with Outlast we have that opportunity to set the tone for people and they'll be getting fit, whether they realize it or not.
David SyvertsenHost
35:36
Yes, I steal. You know, I think it's great, yeah, you build that culture, and then they will get fit, and they get fit, whether they realize it or not. High steel, you know, I think it's great, yeah, you build that culture and then, and then they will get fit and they get fit.
Sam RheeCo-host
35:41
Yeah, I think there are. I mean, a lot of people could ask why are you doing this when there's so many other boutique fitness places out there? Right now it's very popular, they're popping up all over the place, all these chains, all these other places, and you guys are just sort of trying to cash in on that. And I would say we're different for two reasons. One is I think the programming is going to be better because we're coming from a CrossFit background. Agreed, yes.
36:06
And then the second thing, which is even, I mean, as important, if not more important, as you mentioned, is the culture and community we have. One of the biggest part of CrossFit has always been community, and there's no way that any other boutique fitness place, I think, will be able to match the know-how, the knowledge, the sort of team building, community building, culture building that we've experienced over the years, whether it's at Hoboken or at Bison or anywhere else. We know that, we know how important that is. That's always been front and center and so, uh, regardless of what other places and I know other places don't have that like there's just no way, um and so, for us to be able to build that. That's what's going to make this part this place better and set it apart from other places.
David SyvertsenHost
36:59
Yeah, I think as Outlast opens I guess as this comes out, live it's opening today. Day one is today. That's a huge focus for us and I think it's just going to expand the community, the bigger picture, the broader picture of the people that come here, and it's just going to create more relationships and it's inevitable that those relationships are going to take off, but that it takes time and a lot of experience and people that are making decisions with a lot of experience too, like a decade it's taken literally here, and that doesn't even include the previous experience that all of us have combined. So, mike, that was really fun. That was a lot of fun to reflect on some of the experiences that you took, on Any lasting words.
37:38
If not, it's okay, but I'd like you to end this one, not me, if you feel like there's anything else that you can think. Macro level, all this experience that you have because you probably don't reflect on it enough and what it's doing for you now and what you want it to do for the future, and what other another coach could take it from uh, could take from you always, have always, find the joy in what we do, always find the joy in what we do because, look, it's not the best, we're just being honest, right, it's not the best paying job in the world, right?
Michael DelaTorreGuest
38:13
um, it's, the hours can be long, there's lot of thinking, a lot of emotion that goes into it, but there's also a lot of just joy and happiness that you can get from making sure that you bring that to other people. So never forget that. Always keep that in mind, all right.
David SyvertsenHost
38:34
All right. Thank you, mike, and we'll see you guys next week. Thank you everybody for taking the time out of your day to listen to the Herd Fit Podcast. Be on the lookout for next week's episode.
