I wanted to be the best in the world, so I got a gym membership. It was the old YMCA in Westchester by my house. Since I was in my teens, I was at an age where any training was a bonus. I’d show up and do some leg machines, mimic some movements like curls, and I always finished with abs (because that felt pretty comprehensive). 

It’s all I knew and I was doing my best. 

Then, I arrived on campus at a TOp 25 Division I NCAA baseball program. On the first day of 6:00am weights, our strength coach, Hans Straub, was explaining an introductory circuit. [Sports science literature says that a week or two of circuit training can lay an important foundation for strength progression after a detraining phase (offseason).] At the back squat station, one hundred and thirty five pounds was loaded on the bar and he said in passing, “Back squat.. Has anyone trained this movement?” 

I couldn’t get my hand up before he moved on and I could realize that I was the only one who hadn’t ever squatted. Fifty minutes later, several  of my teammates were puking and all of me and my teammates were completely throttled. 

Yes, I had been to the gym before. But, no, I’d never trained before. 

The silly marquee I made above isn’t meant to be egotistical or a jab at a neighborly gym. It’s just stating the obvious. We all need a program and without one, we’re likely spinning our wheels.