Finding the right coach to suit your needs as an athlete is one thing, but answering the question of do I need a cycling coach or do I need a triathlon coach is another, and one that we see and hear a lot. We may sound biased as we’re in the coaching game, but the benefits of having a coach on your side are plentiful, and we’ve picked out some of the main reasons to help make your decision easier.
Expertise
A qualified cycling coach or triathlon coach is trained and educated in the world of coaching and physiology, and in understanding how to make someone’s body perform better in their chosen activity. What’s more, they’re experienced in cycling and triathlon, and can leverage this knowledge to help others. If you decide that you’d rather coach yourself and learn how to do so, you’ll spend a lot of time and effort in developing your skills and understanding, which is time that can better be spent focusing on training towards your sporting goals and ambitions.
With coaching it does not stop at just a training plan too, with advice readily available across a range of wider subjects relating to performance. Whether it’s nutrition, race tactics or even equipment, having an experienced coaching team in your corner who’s been there and done it will help you progress and improve in many ways.
Leave it to the experts.
Motivation
We’ve all been there, lying in bed trying to motivate yourself to get up early and do something under your own steam. However, as soon as you add in an authoritative voice telling you to ‘get it done’ the mind thinks and reacts differently. You’ve got a responsibility to perform and to report back with results – this level of motivation makes it easier to get out when you really struggle.
Speaking to your coach when you’re low on morale and motivation is also a great way to energise or motivate yourself when it’s tough. When it’s wet and cold outside and you’re facing your final hard session of a big week, it’s often easy to think that you’ve already put ‘enough’ work in and that skipping the session or cutting it short won’t do any harm. But having the drive of your coach in your ear to remind you of why the hardest days pay off the most is motivation that you won’t be able to replicate on your own.
Objectivity
One of the great benefits of having a coach over giving yourself feedback on training, performance and fitness is the ability to be objective. Whether it’s giving objective criticism on the way that sessions are being carried out, or identifying a problem, having someone else overseeing your plan and progression is much more effective.
Goal Setting
There’s logic behind any goal setting, with specific, measurable and achievable targets being something to consider. But at the same time your goals should push your limits and drive you to improve in your discipline. Setting targets on your own is a first step but this can be done more specifically and objectively with the third party input of your coach who knows what you’re capable of achieving within the boundaries of your life around training, but also what will test you and require effort to achieve – otherwise what’s the point of training!
Preparation
If you’re someone who likes routine and order in your life, and want clear planning and feedback on how your fitness is progressing towards your goals, then a coach is a necessity. A coach does the hard work for you in planning a training structure to fit into your daily routine, with clear reference points to monitor progress. No thought needed – just get told what to do and when.
Flexibility
Working closely with a coach who understands you and your schedule will help to give you flexibility when other life events get in the way of being able to train properly. Instead of coaching yourself and just missing a session due to work or travel, having a coach overseeing your training plan can give you the flexibility to better understand how that week’s training can be tweaked quickly and easily to mean that you’re still progressing and moving forward towards your goal. This saves you the head space to work out how to be flexible with your training when things are busy and life’s hectic.
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Everybody looks for something a little different from a cycling coach or a triathlon coach. For some it’s a structured plan they can perform and know they’re getting better, for others it is expert advice to know they’re doing the right training. For many it’s a motivational tool and a sound board to bounce ideas and thoughts off as they fine-tune fitness en route to reaching their goals.
Whatever your reason, we’d greet the opportunity to understand your goals and objectives, and to build a plan together that suits you to help you achieve these. Get in touch with one of the coaching team today to find out more.
