Warrior Coaching
Resilient - Determined - Competent
Based on more than 20 years of experience in coaching and mentoring in the armed forces, in sports and in business, we have created this six-month coaching course build on the classic warrior ethos - courage, discipline, integrity and sacrifice - for persons who have recognised the need of change in lifestyle and who are ready to face the challenges head on.
Warrior Coaching is more than a traditional coaching course or a weekend trip on the mountain. It is a personal development course that aim at lasting lifestyle change using our entire catalog of experiences and skills within coaching, training, nutrition and mentoring, to build robust, determined and competent "warriors".
Our work during the course targets personal development using specific interventions, selected and adapted to the individual's situation, competences and limiters.
Your goal - your course
In Warrior Coaching, your personal coach guides you through an individually created course that includes sparring sessions every two weeks, unlimited exercises and mental training as well as ongoing communication to ensure your wellbeing and development. In addition, you receive personalised training and nutritional guidance as well as mentoring that supports your personal goals.
A holistic course
In Warrior Coaching, we apply our holistic principle to support and develop the whole person. We therefore have the benefit of being able to work across life domains and intervention specialties from coaching, mental training and mentoring to physical training guidance and personalised nutrition. We use the tools you need to achieve the change you seek.
Target
In an age where classic masculine values are berated and shamed, many men find it difficult to act in the world in accordance with their nature. They either suppress their inherent masculine values in order to conform, or, they take on a variety of stereotypical masculine traits to simulate a caricature of a man. In both cases, they lose touch with their character and nature. They lose touch with themselves.
Warrior Coaching is for you who want to develop your positive masculine nature and create the man you have the potential to be, as a good force in the world.
The world needs strong and competent men!
Lars, aged 32, and his girlfriend were expecting their first child. Lars was a lawyer and worked in a large law firm. He spent his free time with family and friends, walks with the dog and jogging, once in a while. When his girlfriend became pregnant, Lars began to wonder about his place in the world, who he was and what he should be for the rest of his life. What would he be like as a father and man?
When Lars approached Optimum, we discussed these questions and we outlined a man and father figure that Lars would like to be. This figure was physically and character-wise a completely different place from himself. The figure was physically robust, strong in character, well-versed in literature and with a well established character - "a real man that a boy or girl could look up to in every way".
Together we made a plan for Lars to gain these values and we set specific measurable goals six months ahead. We created a physical training plan and a personal nutrition plan for Lars as well as a character development plan and a reading list.
The Goals:
- Lars wanted to run a half marathon in under 1:40:00
- Lose 5 kilos of fat
- Eat varied foods with lifelong health and performance in mind
- Gain greater awareness of his values and the ability to act accordingly, as well as being able to maintain composure and in stressful situations
- Use books as a primary source of entertainment and mental and cognitive development
During the six months, Lars received ongoing coaching exercises and we held sparring sessions every two weeks. Lars already seemed more determined after the first month. He followed his workouts and ate, almost, exactly as prescribed. He followed a reading list and had made it a habit to make a fire in fire place after dinner and spend his evenings reading in it's warmth. The phone remained in the kitchen and he did not do any work after 19.00.
It is difficult to say when the actual change happened, it is a smooth transition, but somewhere around the fourth month, Lars appeared as a different person. He seemed taller, slimmer, but stronger, had a look that only the well-adjusted and competent person possesses. He accomplished more at work even though he worked less (he spend his time on recreation when not at work). He felt more comfortable in his person and his girlfriend, who had initially been very skeptical about the process, had expressed great enthusiasm for his change.
When the course came to an end and Lars had to run his half marathon, he smashed his goal by setting a great time of 1:28:00. He had lost 4.5 kilos of fat - definitely approved. He ate varied meals, often, and with great pleasure. He touched alcohol only in limited quantities, but with greater pleasure when he did. He had read ten thick novels, but more importantly he could show several additions to his reading list - books he had to read. As a person, Lars stood out as a competent, strong character and an energetic man who will make a great father figure.
Patrick, aged 25, had a good job as a craftsman and spent most of his time on training, diet and self-optimisation. He took daily supplements, used mindfulness exercises and had a network of like-minded, both at the gym and online. On the surface, Patrick looked like the end goal other men aspired to.
So why had Patrick ordered a coaching course? His last relationship had lasted over two years. Although there had been several warning signs along the way, it still came as a surprise when his ex-girlfriend suddenly broke up. It turned out that she had been having an affair for several months. Worse, Patrick found out that the man was just a scrawny office type. It was a blow that sent him right to the edge. Why had he been discarded for such a wuss? At first he was angry, then defiant, then bewildered. He trained more than ever and set a goal to bulk up even more. He bought self-help books and endlessly read the latest self-optimisation tips on internet forums. He had to show her that she had made a mistake. He didn't want her back, but he wanted to show her what she had been missing. However, that plan failed during a night out when he met one of the ex's friends. He practically assaulted her with questions about what had gone wrong in the relationship. When the woman had had enough of him, an answer came that he had never anticipated, "you are not a man, but a boy". That phrase stuck with him for weeks. "Not a man, but a boy".
As a coach, the phrase and Patrick's reaction were worth their weight in gold. It was an obvious starting point. Patrick had not formulated a goal at the start of the course, apart from having read that the course would help him find his inner man, his inner warrior. Patrick's male ideal was a strong macho man, independent and unwavering. The problem was that Patrick was neither independent nor unwavering, he just seemed that way. He followed all the advice he was given and changed interventions when new ones were presented. He was neither critical nor fixed in character. He looked like a macho man, but underneath the surface he was insecure and scared. Patrick used training and self-optimisation to gain recognition among peers, but had not considered how others, outsiders, perceived him. Nor, how it affected himself and his character. Although the physical optimisations in the form of exercise, healthy diet and nutritional supplements, mindfulness and self-help books all serve to promote health and wellbeing, they are tools that, if not used correctly, do not only do unconditional good. Patrick used them as treatment for a bigger problem than the one they were intended for.
We made a plan for how Patrick could change his perspective and gain better self-esteem. He began keeping a daily journal with specific questions he had to answer. He was given homework in the form of books we had to discuss and he was put on a nutrition plan where all nutrients, vitamins and minerals had to come exclusively from real food - no supplements. We let him continue his training, which he had a good handle on. His problem was not training, but the motivation for training. This is where we focused our efforts. In other words, the goal was for Patrick to achieve a higher degree of self-esteem that would build his character.
Patrick was sent in the woods for a weekend, alone, with no phone, reading or music. He just needed to be alone with his thoughts. He was asked to formulate the life he would like to live in five years and in 25. He was sent on a fishing, mountain biking and hiking trip. He began, without prompting, skipping training days to go for a walk instead. He lost some muscle mass, but on the other hand he got faster on the mountain bike.
He started going on outings with some of his friends. They went on hiking and camping trips. One of the tough nuts to crack was reducing the use of social media. Here we started with targeted habit-changing exercises. These had the positive effect that we got his mindfulness exercises to replace doom scrolling and we adjusted the meditations themselves so that they focused on what we wanted to improve.
By the end of the course, Patrick had reduced his self-optimisation interventions to what he actually felt had an effect, not just physically or chemically, but on his soul. He was happy with himself and his person and had a plan for where he was going and how he was going to get there.
6 months course
1.675€
Alternatively, contact us for a non-binding conversation about your wishes and needs.