During class when there is a larger number of athletes in attendance it is vary common for the coach to have you pair up with a partner or two. During these strength portions of class it is important to know how to be a good rack-mate as to get the most out of every session.

Knowing your numbers
Many of you are at different strength levels and have different records on the various lifts. This is an important thing to remember when sharing a rack with someone. Your warm up sets may be vary different from theirs. If your record on a lift is 50lbs higher most likely you should be changing weights back and forth every warm up and work set. When one person finishes a lift the next person should already know exactly what they want to either take off the bar or add to the bar. This will help cut down transition time and allow for more rest or more time to go for that new pr.

Managing time
You might have noticed that during the beginning of class now the coach will say when the strength portion should be done by. Many of you are great at adhering to the time limit and are having no trouble fitting in your lifts. A few things to remember is this... when you start warming up you don’t need as much rest time between sets as you do when it is you work attempts. I personally prefer to warm up fast and save my rest time for the heavy PR attempts. Warm up sets don’t need longer then a minute or two between them. Although when you are going for a max by 3 of back squats or deadlifts... you may want 3-4 minutes of rest. If you space out your warm up sets too far you will force yourself into a sub optimal position for your last sets.

Coaching
Don’t do it. We love to see the athletes in the classes cheer on and root for each other. There is nothing wrong with that at all. You can also feel free to discuss different parts of the lift and what normally helps YOU lift better. If you have a question about something ask a coach that is around and they can help you. The coaches have been looking at people move a lot longer than you have and also know each athlete better then you do. There are many times where i will give a cue to one athlete that I would not give to another. Every one has different geometry and different physical limitations because of this and it is the coaches job to help people work with what they got. If you and your rack mate are unsure of what will help your move feel free to call over a coach and they and answer any questions you have most likely.

Here are some other helpful notes from a local box out in Romona!

Coach P