Are coaches worth it?
surista
Posts: 141
As anyone that has seen my posts recently knows, I'm a beginner cyclist. After reading a host of posts noting that coaching was the best way to navigate the early beginner stages, I have found a coach and am in my second week of training so far.
I am fully committed of course to putting in the work, and I am quite confident my coach is also committed to getting me to perform better. But - and maybe this is just because we live in the Internet age of Twitter and Blackberry and ubiquitous email, and instant communiation/feedback/gratification, I find I'm already feeling a bit frustrated at the lack of feedback given at my plan level. And part of me is wondering about the whole coaching business model as it seems to be at present, and the cost/benefit analysis of the coaching most amateurs get (i.e., the coaching that is available to most of us with finite disposable income). Let me explain.
Most of the training plans I've seen so far start out at c. 40-50 GBP a month, which seems pretty reasonable. However - at that low end, you get pretty minimal contact: an email maybe once or twice a month at best, and plans are put in place for anywhere from one to three months at a time.
At the level of service where you'd probably see more direct improvement directly related to the greater frequency of contact, I suspect that prices are simply too high for most non-professional amateurs. One of the more popular coaching programs in the US offers various plans for $200-300 a month for between 8 and 12 emails a month. If you want one-day turnaround of email - up to 15 a month - l and a phone call twice a month - be prepared to shell out $500, or over 300 GPB!
For people on a three-month program - and really, do we know how unique/tailor-made these plans are, especially early on? - with a couple of emails a month, maybe a phone call, and a new plan in 3 months....Part of me wonders: at that level of contact, isn't any benefit they are getting from the plan mostly derived from the high probability that just about *anybody* will see improvement if they follow *any* plan consistently for three months? My key point is - how do we know when we've found a coach that is really adding value?
I've run my own business, so I'm well aware of the limited time available in a day when you're a one-man operation, and the need to use pricing to ensure you make the most efficient use of your time. And I suspect that - especially in the US, where cycling simply isn't as popular as in Europe - coaches need to balance making a living and allocating their time as efficiently as possible (plus, in many cases, doing their own personal training/racing etc).
But I for one would love to see coaching move away from a business model that uses gold/silver/bronze plans and pricing to limit contact/feedback.
I am fully committed of course to putting in the work, and I am quite confident my coach is also committed to getting me to perform better. But - and maybe this is just because we live in the Internet age of Twitter and Blackberry and ubiquitous email, and instant communiation/feedback/gratification, I find I'm already feeling a bit frustrated at the lack of feedback given at my plan level. And part of me is wondering about the whole coaching business model as it seems to be at present, and the cost/benefit analysis of the coaching most amateurs get (i.e., the coaching that is available to most of us with finite disposable income). Let me explain.
Most of the training plans I've seen so far start out at c. 40-50 GBP a month, which seems pretty reasonable. However - at that low end, you get pretty minimal contact: an email maybe once or twice a month at best, and plans are put in place for anywhere from one to three months at a time.
At the level of service where you'd probably see more direct improvement directly related to the greater frequency of contact, I suspect that prices are simply too high for most non-professional amateurs. One of the more popular coaching programs in the US offers various plans for $200-300 a month for between 8 and 12 emails a month. If you want one-day turnaround of email - up to 15 a month - l and a phone call twice a month - be prepared to shell out $500, or over 300 GPB!
For people on a three-month program - and really, do we know how unique/tailor-made these plans are, especially early on? - with a couple of emails a month, maybe a phone call, and a new plan in 3 months....Part of me wonders: at that level of contact, isn't any benefit they are getting from the plan mostly derived from the high probability that just about *anybody* will see improvement if they follow *any* plan consistently for three months? My key point is - how do we know when we've found a coach that is really adding value?
I've run my own business, so I'm well aware of the limited time available in a day when you're a one-man operation, and the need to use pricing to ensure you make the most efficient use of your time. And I suspect that - especially in the US, where cycling simply isn't as popular as in Europe - coaches need to balance making a living and allocating their time as efficiently as possible (plus, in many cases, doing their own personal training/racing etc).
But I for one would love to see coaching move away from a business model that uses gold/silver/bronze plans and pricing to limit contact/feedback.
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Comments
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at beginner level there is no substitute for 'just riding your bike' - not really sure you need a coach to tell you that.
ps - that will be £50 please.....0 -
I had a coach for a short time when I raced mountain bikes at expert level for 12 years. He gave me plans, aims etc but the truth is (with hindsight) if you read Joes Friels book - The Cyclists Training Bible, my coach was only telling me essentially what is detailed in this book.
There are clear training plans, and what to be doing at each point over the year. Also with a bit of thought the training plans can be tailored to your own lifestyle. Like you I need to be very aware of time management as I am a senior manager in one of the worlds largest companies, I am undertaking a Masters Degree, I have an 17 week old daughter... and I am trying to get up the ranks in road racing!!
A coach will help to keep you focused, but he needs to be in very regular contact for that to be really effective. I have just looked back at my training records from 1998 and it is clear if I didn't want to, or couldn't train, then I didn't...coach or no coach!0 -
What business model would you propose/prefer?surista wrote:But I for one would love to see coaching move away from a business model that uses gold/silver/bronze plans and pricing to limit contact/feedback.0 -
Alex - let me preface by saying that I'm a long-time fan of your blog and Wattage group posts. Your posts are always amazingly informative (even if it is only recently have I been in a position to actually put that info into practice). I for one would probably buy a book by you talking about what you put into your coaching; I think it would be fascinating to see everything that goes into it.
Anyway - I'm not sure there even is a better business model - maybe that's just the nature of the discipline. Part of it comes down to not understanding how long it takes to prepare plans, prepare feedback, etc - what is the normal number of students for a coach to have? 50? 100? Does preparing feedback take an hour? two hours? an entire day? Most teaching jobs (think guitar, piano, chess) are on a strict 'by-the-hour' scale - and there is a limit to how many students a teacher can physically teach in one day. This isn't the case for most online cycling coaches that probably rarely meet their students IRL.
At the very least I'd like to think that I can always email my coach with a specific question about something (especially as a beginner) and get relatively timely feedback, without thinking that I'm going against some quota. I suspect I need at least weekly feedback; otherwise I think I end up feeling like I'm operating in a vacuum. And I'm not sure if I'm convinced that a coach could have an impact if feedback is only given once a month (correct me if I'm wrong!) Part of me would prefer a plan that is really made specifically for me (although i also suspect and realize that a cookie-cutter plan shouldn't matter if I'm still getting results from it).
Is 1hr a month (as an example) of feedback enough to ensure that a coach has a significant impact on a rider's development over, say, three months, compared to someone that threw a plan together on their own, and stuck to it for three months, with the same time and intensity?0 -
surista wrote:My key point is - how do we know when we've found a coach that is really adding value?
It is true that coaches at a lower level of involvement are going to be a bit like using a training book. However, there should be more of a sense of motivation and involvement from working with a real live coach rather than a book.
If you really follow a structured training program you will improve. You are more likely to follow a program from a coach than a book. That's the difference and the added value.0 -
[/quote]If you really follow a structured training program you will improve. You are more likely to follow a program from a coach than a book. That's the difference and the added value.[/quote]
That is absoultey true, and as I found out the contact has to be regular and structured. I just wasn't seeing my coach enough, which allowed me to stray too far off my plan. Interestingly, since I have been working to my own plan which is (or has to be) more flexible, I feel better, as previously I was following my coaches prescibed regime and felt I was always playing catch up if I couldn't stick to it.
Now I tend to work on ensuring enough sessions per week, enough rest and enough focus on specific types of training on a 4 week increasing cycle. I guess we will never know if I could ride faster/harder/longer of I trainied differently, but I have realised that to race fast you have to train fast!0 -
This would suggest that the value added from a coach isn't the content of the plan itself (which would be the same as in a book), but in the delivery method? In other words - the question is, is the coach able to create a better (more suitable) plan for the student than what he could get in a book?vorsprung wrote:If you really follow a structured training program you will improve. You are more likely to follow a program from a coach than a book. That's the difference and the added value.0 -
I would consider 15-20 athletes to be a full coaching load, depending on the average level of service they were receiving/paying for. You can do the maths on a 40-hr week (say) plus running a small business.surista wrote:Anyway - I'm not sure there even is a better business model - maybe that's just the nature of the discipline. Part of it comes down to not understanding how long it takes to prepare plans, prepare feedback, etc - what is the normal number of students for a coach to have? 50? 100?
Anyone who has more than that isn't coaching.
Yes, but that depends how smart the student is in learning about all the facets of training well. A good coach will shorten both the path to better performance as well as the learning curve for the athlete.surista wrote:
This would suggest that the value added from a coach isn't the content of the plan itself (which would be the same as in a book), but in the delivery method? In other words - the question is, is the coach able to create a better (more suitable) plan for the student than what he could get in a book?vorsprung wrote:If you really follow a structured training program you will improve. You are more likely to follow a program from a coach than a book. That's the difference and the added value.
As has been mentioned, in the first few months for a new/untrained rider, most half decent plans if executed will result in fitness gains. But what about after that? And the next season when you want to set your goals a bit higher again?
Mind you, I practice what I preach - I have a coach myself whom I've been with for several years (Ric Stern) and several of my long term clients are professional coaches themselves. Since most of us know already what the content of a training plan should be, it is clear that there are more benefits than just what's in the training.0 -
Hi Surista,
Your questions are interesting & do hit a few nails on the head so to speak.......
ALL coaching needs to be individual & specific for EVERY client!
If a coach has not fully assessed you as an individual how can you be sure if their part of the "cure" of part of the "problem" ??????
There's a little quote Paul Chek says & it's so true "If you're not assessing, you're guessing!"
So........The one size fits all approach as you mention is used by so many coaches/personal trainers at best if your lucky will get limited results, (similar to the one size fits all approach a book offers, after all how does the book know who's reading it?) & more than likely using the "one size fits all" approach will cause further neuromuscular, nutritional ,skeletal & hormonal imbalances.
It is absolutely critical to assess & establish every clients individual physiological load (nutritionally, lifestyle, commitment, willingness to make change, realistic goals etc etc), assess muscular function (hypo/hypertonic etc) & posture plus much more.
Programs may also require adaptation daily, weekly or monthly as the clients body changes, so regular communication is critical!
The reason I do a 5 hour minimum coaching package is it take me that long to assess each client & that excludes muscular & postural test!
I personally can not & will not write any corrective or performance program until my client has completed all assessments, as I said before:
"If you're not assessing you're guessing"
Kind regards
Mark Johnson
C.H.E.K. HLC & PT
http://www.markjohnson-coaching.350.com/home.htm0
