Today, I am talking with Harold Gibbons a strength coach and program design manager at Mark Fisher Fitness. He has created personal exercise programs and group training classes for over 800 of New York’s most ridiculous humans. At an early age Harold discovered that he loved lifting weights and going to the gym was an escape. He went on to study and teach physical education, and is now a coach who wants to help his clients build the best life possible.
On today’s show, we discuss how Harold started training at Mark Fisher Fitness, strength coaching, and how he designs programs that blend progressive exercise strategies with contemporary coaching concepts to create an empowering experience at all fitness levels. Harold finds coaching at Mark Fisher fitness so amazing that he would be willing to come to work for free. He shares all of this and more in today’s show.
Today’s topics include:
- How Harold was voted as the funniest man in college.
- Harold shares his background and fitness beginnings.
- He played LaCrosse and was a drummer in the marching band.
- He discovered that he enjoyed lifting weights more than LaCrosse.
- The gym became Harold’s escape and he started studying exercise science.
- Harold met Mark Fisher at a fitness conference and thought he was a complete crazy man.
- Harold loves coaching at Mark Fisher Fitness and would do it for free if it were possible.
- How the Broadway world is it’s own demographic.
- The way that people at MFF become friends and play games and hang out together.
- Bear crawl tag and how everyone is it.
- Finding a community and making friends while doing something you enjoy can keep you motivated.
- Harold shares how much fun he has mountain biking by himself.
- Workout plans and finding an online community when getting started.
- Harold’s programs begin with science, but stop when they are no longer emotionally supportive.
- The app that they use to write individual programs for people.
- Semi-private training and making an app to track everything and describe exercises. Time can now be spent talking about the emotional aspect.
- The goal of promoting autonomy from the very beginning.
- How important it is to design a program that people will actually do and want to do it on their own.
- Getting into the action instead of getting bogged down in the variables.
- More important than goals is making fitness a habit.
- The MF15 and teaching specific strategies for coaching things and teaching humans.
- Being a trainer who regularly chats with other people is important for finding ideas.
- Taking well-educated trainers and teaching the soft skills.
- Biggest lesson learned is the importance of caring combined with having knowledge.
- The importance of being able to adapt training programs to the stressors of life.
Links and resources:
- Mark Fisher Fitness
- Harold Gibbons
- Harold Gibbons on Facebook
- Harold Gibbons on Twitter @Harold_Gibbons
- Fitocracy
- StrongLifts 5×5 Workout
- Trainerize
- Motivate and Move
Quotes:
“Exercise is so transformative for people’s bodies and their mental and physical health.” Harold Gibbons
“Workouts should be done because they make you feel good.” Harold Gibbons
“Most people we train need the education side of training so they can do it on their own if needed.” Harold Gibbons
