Bartending, Coaching and the 3 Drink Limit
- Jun 1
- 3 min read
There are many coaching parallels that I love but probably one of my favorites is that of the bartender. Not just because of the excellent Dad joke potential but also because it translates pretty well to the actual job responsibilities of responsible coaches. Now I hope that most coaches aren't actually serving up spirits as part of their duties but I do know there have been precedents like this in the past within certain powerlifting populations. I have never done laps in that pool so I can't tell you whether it's worth it or not but what I can say is that in general the wilder the protocol the more likely it will not work for a broad section of people. Without further ado......the metaphor!
The bartender is the wise man of the bar. He cleans the bar, mixes the drinks, doles out worldly wisdom to the ones in misery and on occasion has to stop people from drowning themselves at the watering hole. This is often referred to as the 3 drink limit. It's in this rare instance that we see the truth of this situation. Alcohol, as we know, is poison. Like it or not it's just what it is. The bartender knows this either through life experience or through their deep dives into the medical research on liver function. Either way they know that too much poison causes problems for people at the bar.
Coaching needs to be viewed in the same way. Too much training stress is poisonous. Whether we want to believe it or not, over training does exist. If you don't believe me just ask anyone in the medical community what rhabdomyolysis is. Too much work in too brief of a time period ends up in not just being "really sore" but a life threatening condition where your kidneys quit functioning.
You don't have to believe me. Just listen.
This is similar to cirrhosis of the liver which can be a result of heavy drinking.
So it seems that the bartender and the barbell tender(Coach/Personal Trainer) are often closer in skill set than one might initially think. Both allow you to handle some stress in a relatively safe environment. However, both should be relatively in tune with what happens to people when too much stress is being absorbed in too short of a time span. More liquor and more deadlifts are not the sole recipe for all problems but when consumed in high volumes too quickly what we learn is that too much from either side of that fence is just that..........too much!
The next time you are doing a workout that seems like it might be too much for that day remember your 3 drink limit. If you are 3 in already and starting to feel it then walking away gets to be the wise course of action very quickly. The bartender would most likely tell you that you've had enough. A good coach would recommend pulling back as well. Consider these realities when faced with a good time at the bar as well. More than enough can happen pretty fast and before you know it a good time is now a bad time. When in doubt trust your bartender and your barbell tender and everyone will get home in good shape.
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