Personal Training - Watertown, Waltham, MA and the Greater Boston Area

November 2009: Interview with Glenn Harris

The January, 2009 edition of my PC Conditioning newsletter featured an interview with the head coach of Strength & Conditioning, Glenn Harris. If you missed it, you can still check it out here http://pcconditioning.com/newsletters/2009Jan.pdf. I talked to Coach Harris a couple weeks ago and asked him if I could ask him a few follow-up questions for this edition. He agreed and was also kind enough to run through a workout with me.

PC: Can you fill us in as to how things are currently going @ BU?

GH: Things are going well. The teams are in full swing and training hard. The fall sports are gearing up for their tournaments soon and the winter sports are beginning their seasons. The spring sports are beginning their off-season training.

PC: What teams are prepping for the winter season?

GH: Basketball, Track, Wrestling, Ice Hockey, Swimming and Diving are the sports during the winter. Some of them have already started their competitive seasons. They have all been training since the beginning of the school year.

PC: How are their sessions going?

GH: They have been working hard.

PC: Any predictions for some of BU’s winter sports?

GH: Everyone will compete hard.

PC: Any major changes for the 2009-2010 year @ BU as far as athletics go you’d like to share?

GH: No

PC: Since we last spoke, what projects have you been working on?

GH: I have been busy at BU and also I have been busy with my business Game Fit Performance Training, LLC. It is a strength and conditioning business geared towards training active individuals of all abilities from weekend warrior to professional athletes.I have also released my first strength and conditioning training manual for women’s lacrosse.

PC: Can you give us some insight on what training modalities you’ve found to be the most successful during your career @ BU?

GH: Using free weights. When you train with free weights, exercises can become functional when compared to other modalities that are fixed in one plane of movement.

PC: Overrated exercises?

GH: I hate to say it but I think the Kettlebells are becoming overrated. I like the kettlebell, but it seems like every time you see someone in the strength and conditioning business, they’re pushing kettlebell training. Then you have these young professionals that think the only way to get stronger is through kettlebell training.

PC: I agree to an extent about kettlebell training. I think too many people though they were the panacea. In addition, they’re different than dumbbells so a lot of people thought they’d be better since they were new. And how about the most underrated exercise(s)?

GH: Trap bar Dead lift.

PC: You know that’s my favorite exercise Coach. Nice answer! What’s the best article you’ve read lately?

GH: I read a lot of articles during the week so it would be hard to select just one that I would say is the best.

PC: Best book you’ve read in 2009?

GH: “Never Let Go” by Dan John

PC: As a veteran in this field, what are the biggest training mistakes NCAA athletes make?

GH: I get frustrated when I see a program with too much volume in it. I think that people/athletes/coaches forget that everything creates volume. From practice to the weight room, there is only so much volume that the body can handle. It is important to be aware of the volume in order to prevent overtraining.

PC: Same question as above, but nutrition mistakes?

GH: I think people don’t realize that everything you put in your body counts. A nice healthy breakfast counts…a late night pizza counts too. Both meals and everything in between will have an effect on how your body performs. I tell athletes that they have to treat their bodies as if they were a high performance car. If you have a high performance car, you’re going to want to put in some high octane gas.

PC: Best advice for athletes

GH: Be Accountable for what you do.

PC: Coach, I know outside of your BU duties, you also have a web site and blog like me. Can you tell my readers where they can find your blog and web sites?

GH: Sure Paul. The URLs are as follows:

• Blog: http://gamefitperformance.blogspot.com
• Web Site: http://gamefitperformance.com

PC: Thanks for taking time out of your super busy schedule to chat. I enjoy picking the brains of you and your staff all the time. It’s also a luxury that you allow me to work out in your facility around all these talented athletes and hard-working staff. I love that your entire staff practices what they preach. It’s awesome training alongside them each week. 

GH: I’m glad we could chat PC.