What Makes You Soft

In The Soft List, I wrote about the method I am using to track how many times an athlete misses a designated training session.

In this article, I want to delve deeper into this topic of "softness".


How I feel when I someone misses a session...

In my mind, there are 3 types of "softness" that would allow an athlete to make The Soft List.

1. Physical Softness

Physical Softness is when you are physically too sore to attend a training session.



For those of you who actively follow this blog, it should be no surprise that this is seldom the reason why someone would miss one of Advanced Training's sessions.

We actively prescribe to the "Less is More" concept, and unless you are Throwing Paint on the Mona Lisa, there is no reason this should ever happen.

2. Mental Softness

Mental softness is when you are not smart enough to remember when and where a training session is being held.




This one always entertains me the most, because athletes think it is an acceptable reason to miss a lift.
Unfortunately for them, I never allow ignorance to be an option.

Either you are not smart or you are a liar.

Regardless, you are soft.

3. Social Softness

Social Softness is when you lack the social skills to find it necessary to inform me that you will be missing a training session.


This softness is the one that actually irritates me the most, as it is rude and disrespectful.






When an athlete demonstrates social softness, it shows that they do not value my time.

They do not value the time I spent going to the gym.

They do not value the time I spent writing their program.

And they certainly don't value the time I spend after the session wondering where they were or how they were going to catch up to the rest of the group.


In Good Company

Right after I introduced the concept of The Soft List, Rob Mulligan (our all-time record holder in the deadlift) informed me that the LSU strength coach used a similar tactic in his weight room.

He would post the names of all the athletes that missed training sessions and show them to NFL scouts.

Below is an actual picture of his Soft List.














The Soft List

Athlete X: "Coach, what happens if we miss a workout? Do we get extra conditioning?"

Me: "Worse"

Athlete X: "We get thrown out?"

Me: "Worse"

Athlete X: "What's worse than that?"

Me: "Making the Soft List"

"Coach, I really want this. I promise."

What Is "The Soft List"

The "Soft List" is a list that tracks how many times each athlete misses a workout without advanced notice.
It is a simple way for the world to see who really wants it and who is soft.



The chart below is a sample image of what the "Soft List" looks like.
Actual names have been removed from this blog, but they are and will be posted HERE

As an added benefit, I will be periodically sending out Soft List Updates - so you guys can continue to monitor who's soft.

If you think this is too harsh, you are probably soft yourself.
Please give me your name and I will add it to the list.




The Soft List Point System:
  • 1 pt - missed workout
  • 1/2 pt - late to a workout 
* No points awarded to a player if legitimate advanced notice is given or if there is a true emergency.



January Power Points - Class of 2013


Enclosed are the starting Power Point numbers for the Class of 2013.

"Overall Rank" shows how these guys stack up against every other person who has ever tested in Advanced Training. 

If history means anything, than it is pretty much a GUARANTEE that each of these guys will see HUGE gains by the time we test again in May.

2013 Power Points



How Do They Compare?

Both King and Spears earned their way into the Top 20 Power Point Leaders of all-time.

While this was good news for them, it was bad news for Abrom Shepard and Gerald Amerosi.
Each of them had been on the list since 2011.

(The Power Point List was established in 2005 and has almost 150 entries.
Earning your way into the Top 20 is a major accomplishment.)


Top 20 All Time Rankings


Duplicate names have been removed for people who have placed in the top 20 multiple times in different years. Only their highest power points from a given year have been used.

* The Top 20 Rank shows where they stand within the list above (no duplicate names)
* The Overall Rank shows where they stand within all power point totals, had duplicate names not been removed.