Welcome to my first blog post!
I'm Aaron, a kendo player, strength & conditioning coach, and sport nutrition expert. I provide online training & sport nutrition coaching to people who value their performance and health
I've always felt I was stronger at writing than talking. Admittedly, I'm not great at social media, and I'm not sure how much my posts will even reach those who they're relevant to, but I decided to undertake writing because it's something that I enjoy doing.
It's very important to me that I write about evidence-based practices. Mistakenly delivering misinformation is a gutting feeling to me. So writing publicly will also help me continue my education in a way, because I research my topics deeply before I post them. This helps me learn and become a better coach, and helps you learn and become a better person.
I got started...
...with practicing kendo in 2017 in Omaha, Nebraska. After gaining an incredible foundation at Bushinkan, I trained for a couple years at Kansas City Kendo Club before moving to New Zealand for a year and having the opportunity to train with Blake Bennett sensei's dojo in Christchurch and joint practices with the various other schools there.
Initially wanting to be the best I could be at kendo, I started studying for sport nutrition and strength & conditioning for my own benefit, not to coach. I now hold more certifications for both training & sport nutrition than I can remember at a given time, including a rare one from Renaissance Periodization that I'm quite proud of.
After spending a long time around kendoka, I realized that not many people knew how to improve their conditioning, (hint: it's not running long distances), knew how to eat for favorable body composition or to support their hard practices, (much less the things people would eat/drink before shiai!), or knew exactly how to best spend their time in the gym. On top of that, the local trainer at the gym also has no idea what kendo is or how to best support your training.
So I opened up everything I've learned and experienced up to this point to anyone who's motivated to apply scientific training principles to enhance their health and performance, whether that's someone vying for a nationals team position, the casual kendoka who just wants to be more active and healthier, to anyone in between.
This blog will hopefully be my way of providing some practical education around the topics of resistance training and nutrition, provided anyone ever see's it, lol!
Stay tuned for more and you can find me @aaronh_fitness, or visit my newly designed and in-progress website at aaronhcoaching.com
-Aaron
