Atmosphere is Everything
Check out our new Seminar Schedule here! Eagan, MN at Undisputed Strength & Conditioning is next February 7th:
Donnie Shankle will tell you that one of the 5 necessities for becoming a world champion are a “competitive group setting”. Basically when you put a group of elite athletes in the same room, records will fall. If you look at MuscleDriver USA or the Olympic Training Center, you will see what I am talking about. Champions will let their competitiveness take over to not let anyone beat them. If someone hits a big number, a champion will make an even bigger number and so on.
Now for this group to be perfect, a lot more is required than just a lot of amazing athletes. The group must get along and like each other. No one likes to train with a bunch of people that they don’t like. It creates a bad feeling in the air, and no one will thrive in that type of environment. I now train with Will Hall, Paul Stewart, and Mike Priest in preparation for the 2015 Grid League Season. I have trained with some of the best athletes that America has ever seen, but this group is my favorite.
Number one it is a great mix of athletes. Will Hall is the weightlifting specialist. None of us are going to beat him in the Snatch or Clean & Jerk since he snatches 157k/345lb and Clean & Jerks 187k/412lb. He is also amazing at anything overhead, and he is pretty good at all the events in the Grid. Paul is a body weight specialist, but is getting pretty dang strong. Heck he Clean & Jerks 308 lbs, deadlifts 575lbs, and just did a 25m Farmers Walk with 275lb per hand with ease. Mike Priest is the all-around guy with an engine that won’t quit. He also kicked my butt in Farmers Walk just yesterday with a 25m 300lb in each hand topped off with a handstand walk. I am the power guy. I am going to win in the squat or deadlift, and I am pretty good with the snatch and clean & Jerk.
We still train at the same time as the other Mash Mafia Advanced Athletes like Chuck, Cooper, Rabbit, Dylan, Mike M, Eze, and B, but we are just doing something different than they are. In that group you have weightlifters, powerlifters, and more. Everyone just kind of supports each other no matter what the goals are. We just want to see each other dominate whatever sport that they are attacking at the time.
My favorite part of the group is that we are all great coaches, so we spend the entire time coaching each other. We are also very supportive of each other. It’s been a long time since I felt a part of a team (I am talking about me as an athlete not teams that I am presently coaching), and this feels like a true team. We are all trying to catch each other in the things that we are missing while encouraging our teammates to catch up in the things that they are missing.
This is a culture that we should all strive to build wherever we are training. If you have one athlete that is selfish and problem causing, I recommend cutting that athlete. It’s not worth sinking the entire boat just to keep one person. Plus experiencing the camaraderie of a great team is like nothing else in sport.
What is even cooler is watching this awesomeness spread to the rest of my athletes at the Mash Compound. They see us training with ferocious intent, and that causes them to do the same. All of my athletes are exceptional in their sport whether it’s football, softball, weightlifting, powerlifting, or the Grid. Exceptional athletes will always bring their games up to the level of the people that they are around. I would say that right now everyone’s level of play is being shifted up right now.
Here are the Keys to a Championship Atmosphere:
• Exceptional athletes
• Encouraging and supportive athletes
• Competitive Athletes
• Fun and Family like feeling
• A true desire for each other to excel
My prayer is that you guys will be able to experience the same bliss at your gym. I feel very blessed to have this group, and I don’t intend on losing it any time soon. Go follow these boys on instagram to watch the awesomeness unfold:
Will Hall: WILL_HALL13
Michael Priest: MICHAELPRIEST40
Paul Stewart: PSTEWS
I am so excited for the future!
2015 is going to be an exciting year for us. We hope that we can help as many people reach their goals as possible. Here are a couple ways that we can help you:
1. If you are a weightlifting purist and are searching for a team and coach, try out the Mash Mafia Weightlifting Team. I am going to keep the prices the same for the first couple of weeks, and then they will increase to reflect the quality. To check out the online team, click on the link below:
2. If you are looking to get a hold of your nutrition and/or workouts, check out the “Eat and Lift What You Want” Online Team. To check it out, click on the link below:
3. For Coaching based on any goal that you might have, Online Coaching with Coach Mash is perfect:
Online Coaching with Coach Mash
If you want to host a Learn 2 Lift Clinic(options of Eat & Lift What You Want, Coach McCauley, or traditional Learn 2 Lift), email me at: Travis.Mash@MashElite.com.
I am excited to partner on some of my seminars with Coach Don McCauley, Level V Senior International Coach and with Adee and Hayden from Team WAG. Lots of great options so let’s get your facility some education in 2015.