Being the Oak tree and bullet points and why they work and are important

Being the Oak tree and bullet points and why they work and are important. 

By: Wade Johnson 

How’s that for a title?

I am the head ogre, coach, Oak tree, owner and story teller at the Ogre Compound. For anyone that doesn’t know me, I’m a powerlifter, strongman, weightlifter competitor passed my prime but, I have a love for the strength sports and more, the athletes that train and compete in these sports, as well as others. I have been fortunate enough to compete and do well in the 3 strength sports listed, won a few cool meets/titles along with breaking some decent records and built a gym/training compound, if you will. My joy is the pursuit of strength and the pathway required to do them well. I am lucky enough that many lifters past and present, share that passion with me. Okay then, enough about my fat ass. 

If you have read any of the blogs by some of the ladies that train at our place, you see a pattern with them. They find things that they can attach an understanding to whether it be for inspiration, understanding or simply because it puts them in their spot, so to speak. What I have learned over the years, is coaching is more an art than science. I know, there are those out there that will argue that. They will tell you why you shouldn’t do a particular training method because the method or ebook or whatever they are selling is better. They will dazzle you with science and almost sound as if they are walking around the gym in a lab coat. Well, bullshit…Hey, I like the science behind things and most of those guys out there that are selling training, are way smarter than me and I can totally dig the fact that they “know” what they are talking about but…and I digress, it’s when you are in the thick of it in training and the trenches of competing on the platform that if you have done your job as a coach, art comes through and wins every time. I don’t want to discount the intellect, the science and such of it all but, all that shit is meaningless if it doesn’t translate to the athlete and the sum total of this, is success on the platform. 

Something my girls like, and before you militant types carry on about me calling them my girls, it’s an affectionate thing. They know, first and foremost that I respect them. I am coach, I watch over them and so, therefore, are my girls and I love them. SO, simmer down before you get ruffled up by what I call them. Anyhoo, my girls will attach meaning to something I say. Jenn likes to call them bullet points and I’m for whatever works. I think it was Annie who first call them Wade-isms and that was followed up with Cory wanting to do a girls beer drinking and list all the wade-isms…see why I love them? So, I am doing 10 that I can remember off the top of my head and they can do addendum blogs, post or whatever you kids call it these days. 

Warning, I usually forgo anything off color on the podcast and article stuff I do but, in this case, it would lose its flava and simple realism. We are in the gym and we aren’t working out, we are training and these lifters are trying to win, break records and be elite. We are in there to get shit done, not fucking play checkers. So, if you are offended, you should have by now, already closed this out.  You start posting shit and I’ll tell you ahead of time, go fuck yourself. Find the positive here and understand, a lot of these lifters are already elite, hold records and do so in multiple sports and there weights aren’t heavy, they are lethal so, being polite is reserved in greeting them and saying have a great day when they leave. 

Wade-isms

In the gym

1. Create your own groove

This came to be with Annie. A little back ground, I was the head judge at Annie’s 1st real meet and she was green, very green but, she is vivacious and spirited and more, she really wants this and that’s all I need to see. She has since then totaled elite raw in 2 weight classes and is close in a 3rd.  The moment this came into being was a deadlift session. Annie lifts the most weight here but, was having form issues and was particularly frustrated at her performance and exclaimed, “I keep trying to find my groove!”…and I yelled, or said loudly as yelled may be overstated, “don’t search for your groove”. “Create your groove”. Annie needed to dictate what she wanted the weight to do. Seems simple and you will find that all these isms are very simple as I’m no cerebral giant but, I have learned that simplicity serves you better than complicating things. It was the cue she needed and now, it helps her be intuitive with her form and approach to all facets of her training and lifting. 

2. Don’t lift the weight, execute your form

Seems simple enough…this is where a lifter is so worried about all the technical things. Stay tight, pace, be explosive and the list goes on and on and that’s too much to think about in the 5-10 seconds it takes to complete a lift. The focal point becomes the weight on the bar and that’s where it goes awry. Focus on the execution. Visualize, do what you have done every time we train. Make it intuitive, automatic. 

3. Square and squeeze and show them

This started with Missy. She was having issues with the shoulders being pulled forward in the deadlift. I told her to square the shoulders…most lifters initially will arch the back and not actually square anything, let alone the shoulders. So, I asked her, “how would you show me your boobs?” “Would you have your shoulders pulled forward and leaning forward or would you square up and push them up where I could see them?” And boom, she got it and has since added 25 lbs to her deadlift. It’s a cue we use with everyone, both male and female. 

4. I don’t give a fuck how you feel

I think this came into being Missy as well. Now, Missy is very technical. She is a nurse and really smart, too much for her own good in this setting and realizes when her glutes don’t’ fire right or something is out of alignment or something else that is preventing her execution of what I want her to do. It’s fucking infuriating and I finally exclaimed one session, “I don’t give a fuck how you feel?” Now, does this mean that I don’t care? No, it doesn’t but the bigger deal is, what happens if something doesn’t feel just right or perfect on meet day? Are we quitting, are we not going to do our best or not perform? That’s not going to happen. So, I don’t care if it feels perfect and I’ll go a step further. We video almost everything, certainly main lifts. I can’t tell you how many times I hear and I have even said myself how something looked way better than it felt. I’m going to let a really big cat out of the bag here. It’s fucking heavy, this is powerlifting and shit is really hard to do. So…it’s going to feel hard and even awkward and difficult. That’s what it’s supposed to do. It’s our job to be taught and learn how to execute but, it’s still weight and really hard to do. 

5. Punch and squeeze

This was a cue that came in weightlifting and not with anyone I coached. It was with a team of lifters that are weightlifters that I trained with. We use it when we bench at the gym. To explain, a lifter was doing the jerk portion of the clean and jerk and right before locking out, would lose tightness and miss the lift. So I yelled punch. The punch is something that cued the lifter, who was a girl by the way, to be tight, not just ballistic but, maintaining tightness and to really punch the weight to lock out and then squeeze, to maintain the tightness to hold it at lock out while completing the recoup portion of the lift. It really clicked with her and in the bench press, same principal. How many times have you seen a lifter really explode off the chest and lose a lift that looked like it was going to be automatic? So the cue became a perfect reminder while lifting to maintain the tightness required to get the weight ot lock out and hold for the rack command and punch and squeeze sounds a lot cooler and is easier to say that all that shit I just typed. 

6. Don’t press the weight, push it away

This is a bench press cue and overhead cue. For me, personally, if I lift the weight, the focal point of the weight is in my hands, versus my entire body, if that makes sense. When I think push the weight away, I immediately change my approach and use the bench pad as leverage to push the bar away from versus press the weight up. This has been very effective it cueing the lifter to really engage the upper back and lats. It’s not fancy or really all that clever but, has been every effective.

7. Be patient

Again, this start with both Annie deadlift, as well as, Missy. They would rush the set up and then get over the bar and be pulled forward. So we are patient with the loading aspect of our pull form and the results have been really good. It makes the lifters go through the entire set up process, where most lifts are actually lost in my opinion and teaches them to be habitual or ritualistic with how they approach the bar. This makes the entire set up process very intuitive and makes the start point of each lift very consistent. 

8. There are 2 answers yes or no

I am unsure when this started but, this is something I hit Bobby and Skwrl with a lot, not to mention Missy. I will ask a question and I will get all this information. That’s usually good but, in this setting, I need to know yes or no-see, black and white. There is no gentle gray area with powerlifting and strength, for that matter.  Did you lift it, yes I did, no I didn’t. All the other words are bullshit and waste a lot of time and in general, piss me off.  With strength, there are 2 things and 2 things only. I did or I didn’t, everything else is meaningless. 

9. Quit being a fucking pussy

Seems simple enough. It’s an oldy but a goodie. It’s really simple. There are times where people are trying but, they aren’t pushing hard enough and I have yet, in this setting anyway, seen anyone that enjoys being pointed out as the gym pussy. I have seen this over and over convert and transform a lifter being a baby into an intense lifter…job completed. And, you know, sometimes you just have to be reminded you are being a fucking baby, pissing me off and need to shit and get it and get the job done. It’s one of my favs

10. The premise of strength is easy but, it’s really fucking hard

I know how ridiculous this one sounds but, this is probably the most profound thing I ever say and it even has a hint of being philosophical. You will see people in articles and online and at meets and every gym that use lots of big words and heavy vocabulary and can use a square and trigonometry in trying to explain lifting. I like things to be broken down in its most basic and simple form. I have also learned with strength and most facets of life, things are relatively simple. That said, they are rarely easy and simple and easy are never quite the same thing. Strength is easy. You pick it up, you pull it, push it or squat it, maybe you even throw and/or kick it but, as simple as all that sounds, to be the best at it, it’s really hard to do. 

So, for now, that covers a list, not even top 10, just the ones I could remember. Hopefully, the team can come up with more and perhaps better translate the meaning of what they think I’m saying and some cool and colorful stories along the way. 

Until the next time I decide to do this…

Lift heavy, train smart & eat more pizza.