Noted Cebuano strength and conditioning trainer Roger Justine Potot. | contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—While athletes always take credit for their success, there are those who work behind-the-scenes who deserve to be lauded.
One of them is the strength and conditioning trainer.
Roger Justine Potot is one of Cebu’s most-hired strength and conditioning trainers.
Guys like Potot specialize in reinforcing an athletes’s overall physique and help them reach their optimum strength and performance with science-backed programs.
The 35-year-old Mandaue City native, the founder of Cebu-based NXT LVL Conditioning, shares valuable insights about being a strength and conditioning trainer.
As an expert in his profession for five years, Potot isn’t your typical strength and conditioning trainer.
He is one of the most in-demand trainers in Manila and Cebu. He is the strength and conditioning trainers of the University of the Visayas Green Lancers’ men’s basketball team.
He also trains the ARQ Sports’ boxing stable and its professional basketball squads.
Potot also trained several players from Gilas Pilipinas such as Dwight Ramos, CJ Oftana, Matt Nieto, Allyn Bulanadi, Rey Suerte, and Kevin Quiambao.
PBA cagers JR Quiñahan of NLEX and Shaun Ildefonso of Rain or Shine are also under his watch.
In Cebu, he is one of the favorite trainers of Cesafi and pro players.
Potot also served as the trainer of newly crowned Binibining Pilipinas International Nicole Borromeo of Cebu.
“Strength and conditioning training is very important because when the athletes are in peak condition, whether in E-Sports—S&C Training is present also in E-Sports—or physical sports like basketball or boxing, they can sustain their performance and showcase their skills better since they’re stronger, faster and more resilient,” Potot shared.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
But being a successful strength and conditioning trainer didn’t come easy. Potot needed to overcome several challenges.
One of them is collaborating with other coaches, which is crucial to maintain the athlete’s overall condition, without affecting the latter’s progress in training.
“It’s difficult because you have to collaborate with sports coaches and properly plan the strength and conditioning training so it won’t affect the athlete’s sports training,” said Potot.
Another challenge he needed to overcome is the continuing learning in his profession. Strength and conditioning training requires continuing education to keep himself updated with the latest developments in his profession.
“I keep myself updated with continuing education monthly with training, online certifications and lectures as well as reading books, research papers, articles and podcasts,” added Potot.
Potot revealed that the pandemic also posed a challenge for him in supervising his athletes. Most of the time, Potot and his athletes and clients are limited to virtual trainings due to health restrictions.
RAISING AWARENESS
Despite the advancement of technology and the availability of information online, many athletes, not just in Cebu, are still not aware of the importance of strength and conditioning training.
With that in mind, Potot is also in a mission to raise awareness about the importance of his profession and his role to an athlete.
Many athletes and coaches are still applying the “old school” way of training, which often results to poor performances, and worse, injuries.
“I can’t say it’s overlooked because I believe that sports training is important too because you have to have skills sa sports in order to play the sport. But for these athletes to build their bodies and physical attributes better for their sports and they need to work on their strength and conditioning training,” Potot explained.
“The knowledge of it is very broad for most athletes. Some will just enroll in their neighborhood gym and follow the generic program on the wall sa gym. That can help, but in order for you to be better built for your sports training, you must apply strength and conditioning to your routine.”
Potot encourages athletes to explore science-based strength and conditioning training programs to unlock their full potential.
Potot guarantees that with proper guidance and proper training program using the methods of a strength and conditioning coach, athletes would notice stark improvements to their overall performance.
Currently, Potot continues to develop professional and amateur athletes. At the same time, he also caters to non-athlete clients who want to develop their overall performances in their chosen field.
/bmjo