Seven Questions With Bryan Marshall
Bryan is a friend of mine and great coach who mainly works with hockey players. He took a little time to share some of his experiences by answering these seven questions. Enjoy!
1. What’s your favourite movement assessment and why?
Absolutely without a doubt its the squat. So much necessary information can be obtained from evaluating someone's squat pattern: hip mobility, ankle mobility, patterning. By assessing someones squat we can better prescribe and alter exercises to improve performance.
2. What’s your favourite way to test fitness and why?
There are many ways to test fitness, but I would say my favourite, or most effective method really depends on my clients' goals. If I'm training an Olympic lifter that wants to improve their snatch and clean and jerk, then my performance assess would be their snatch and clean and jerk. If I'm training a hockey player who needs to improve speed and acceleration, I would test their speed and acceleration on ice with timing gates. I think too much emphasis can be placed on finding the "perfect" test and not enough time is spent determining what information will be most valuable to each athlete and their training goals.
3. From what you’ve seen, what’s the biggest thing that separates those who succeed and those who don’t in their health/fitness goals?
Success leaves clues, and there is one thing that I've noticed over the years that all successful people have in common when it comes to their health and fitness. That is the adoption of a "lifestyle". Health and fitness is not a program, or a diet, or a product that one can take whenever we need to "kick it back into gear". True health and wellness comes from a balance of healthy lifestyle and eating habits.
4. If you could change anything about the fitness industry, what would it be?
I would ban the selfie! Too much emphasis is placed on how we look and not enough on how we feel!
5. What’s the biggest mistake that you’ve made in your own training?
My biggest mistake has also been my greatest learning experience. I have always been thirsty for knowledge so I was notorious for bouncing from program to program to program, consulting coach after coach so that I could learn as much as possible. As a result, I didn't give enough time to any one program or principle.
6. If you could give one piece of advice to a novice in the gym, what would it be?
Get a coach and put in the time!
7. If you could give one piece of advice to an advanced athlete, what would it be?
Get a coach and put in the time!
Bryan has earned a reputation for being one of the most knowledgeable and sought after professionals in the industry. He has worked with well-known organizations such as Western Ontario Mustang’s football team, the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. Also, Bryan has been a competitive Olympic Weightlifter since 2005. He has competed at the national level winning six Ontario Weightlifting Championships and in 2009 earned a place on the Canadian National Team. He still holds provincial records in the sport for his weight class.
His new online coaching site is www.olywod.com
