Nick Showman is the owner of Showtime Strength & Performance and President of Natural Ohio Bodybuilding Association (NOBA). He has nearly a decade of lifting experience under him and he's only 24 years old. He has developed a ton of experience through his trainings and competitions in: powerlifting, bodybuilding, and strongman. Through his mission statement (below) you know that Nick Showman is a qualified and knowledgeable coach dedicated to improving the athleticism and decreasing the risk of injury of his athletes. He is a Youth Exercise Specialist, and it shows because his primary cliental is young athletes. Showman has developed a reputation as one of the best strength and performance coaches around for softball specific athletes.
“We are the premier strength & conditioning facility in central Ohio that is dedicated to increasing the performance of athletes on and off the field.
Our programs are designed to better prepare athletes for their sport. This will be done through strength, speed, and plyometric training. Our goals are to decrease the risk of injury, enhance the athlete's performance and prepare them for the next level in their athletic career.
We will teach athletes how to properly: strength train, jump and land, sprinting mechanics, and rest and recovery methods to maximize their training sessions.
Our facility is over 6,000 square feet and is outfitted with the best equipment of any strength & conditioning facility in central Ohio.”
The elitefts™ interns: Codi Casper, Andy Hingsbergen, Andrew Triana, and Hunter Winans; interviewed Nick Showman on June 18th.
Codi Casper: How has being involved in Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, and Strongman shaped your values and experiences as a strength coach?
Nick Showman: Being involved in all three strength sports has broaden my knowledge as a strength coach. Each strength sport brings a different angle to training when it comes to setting up a program for athletes. The bread and butter of a training program comes from the training regimens of bodybuilding and powerlifting where we focus on strength in the form of power and speed lifts to strengthen the athlete. Strongman is a different animal because strongman workouts are a great source of cardio. It is imperative that each strength sport is implemented into an athlete’s workout program so that the athlete can be more well rounded and not hindered by only one source of training.
Andrew Triana: What is the biggest limiting factor in training a group of youth athletes?
Nick Showman: There’s a huge variances from athlete to athlete, especially in age, and you can’t motivate them all the same. Some athletes are forced by their parents to come and train and it is evident in their effort. These athletes are a little more difficult to deal with, and they typically weed themselves out quite fast. It is common to see a lack of strength in youth athletes’ major muscle groups, especially their posterior chain.
Andrew Triana: What’s the biggest difficulty in programming for athletes who are always in season?
Nick Showman: The athletes will give me very little notice of when they can’t show up and have to cancel. Even when using the tier system it’s difficult to plan because athletes are often inconsistent with their attendance during season and it inhibits the long-term plan.
Andy Hingsbergen: Do you still think your location is big enough/optimal for your clients’ needs?
Nick Showman: Yes, we are very comfortable at this location. We quite recently moved into this place.
Andy Hingsbergen: What is the sport breakdown for your clients, in terms of percentages?
Nick Showman: There is a total of about 75 clients a day: 50% are softball, 25% are baseball/basketball, and the remaining 25% are miscellaneous.
Hunter Winans: Since you have an extensive background in Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, and Strongman; how have you developed a cliental of youth athletes, specifically softball players?
Nick Showman: It pretty much started with one softball athlete; the previous year she suffered some injuries and didn’t play very much. She started training with me and I noticed some of her postural and strength deficiencies… We worked on improving those and she ended up not only playing her whole next season, but also earning a scholarship. After that a nearby softball coach started referring their players to me.
Hunter Winans: Dealing with youth athletes, how do you motivate them to give you 100% effort during all exercises?
Nick Showman: I make them rest. Many youth athletes can’t focus on the big picture of what we are trying to accomplish; they just want to exercise. I have to explain to them that I need 100% of their effort when they are at 100%, not 100% of their effort when they are only at 65%.
Showtime Strength & Performance Facebook Page
www.showtimestrength.com
Hunter Winans is a rising senior at Denison University. He is a member of the football team and an athletic training major. He is currently interning at elitefts™ to further pursue his interest in the fitness world; and to further develop his knowledge in strength and performance training.
Andy Hingsbergen is an intern at EliteFTS. He's currently finishing up a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at The Ohio State University. Andy competes in powerlifting and is currently setting his sights on taking the physique stage. He is originally from Springboro, Ohio.
Andrew Triana is a Springfield College student studying Applied Exercise Science. He competes in Strongman.
Codi Casper is from Carrollton, Ohio. He recently graduated from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in Applied Journalism while playing strong safety on RMU's football team. New to the powerlifting circuit, he placed 3rd in his first ever meet this past April. He competes in a full meet this August at Lexen Extreme.