Training Plan or Coaching

36spoke

Hope for some advice here on training / coaching options. Was thinking of getting coaching to make the most of my time and get the best out of the rest of the season and next season.

My question, a lot of coaches offer "personal coaching", with email and telephone support on a weekly basis, but also offer personal "training plans" with monthly contact and plan adjustments. There is a significant difference in cost and I am trying to figure out if the extra is worth it for "coaching" or if a personalised training plan is sufficient.

Anyone have experience of both ? Or those getting coaching or have a training plan can you share you thoughts ?

Thnaks

SBezza

I think some of it will come down to how serious you are with regards to your activities, if you are serious about wanting to improve then I would say going for coaching rather than a training plan might be a better idea.

I followed a training plan last year, but it was just a generic plan, and not tailored at all to me, it worked pretty well but not ideal for what I was preparing for.

This year I have a coach (and a very good one at that), and I think thanks to the coach I have progressed very rapid indeed. Some of this is the training being more targetted, other parts is the weekly feedback of how progression is going. There is also support in other ways as well, which all helps.

I selected my coach very carefully, based on what I wanted to achieve, and I waited about 4 to 6 months before a space became available. Then again I am a pretty serious TT'er, and take racing very serious, though still have alot of fun. But if you want the best out of it, you must stick to the plan.

Getting a coach was the best thing I did personally, though it doesn't work for everyone. Also pick and choose wisely, don't just go for the cheapest plan available, as the prospective coach questions before choosing.

hopper1

I'd agree with SBezza. I, too, waited a few months to get on the books of the coach that I felt best suited my needs.
I am very happy with progress and I like the weekly emails/chat to point out my progress and encourage me to stick at it...

Percy Vera

SBezza just being nosey, who's your coach?

SBezza

Percy Vera wrote:

SBezza just being nosey, who's your coach?

Ruth Eyles, BeaconRuth on here.

36spoke

thanks for the advise, i would like to dig a little deeper though....

there are various coaches recommended on here, Ruth Eyles, Adrian Timmis, Dan Bennett etc all I am sure are very good and I am sure their personalised coaching is excellant and will produce results

but personalised coaching costs quite a bit more than a personalised training plan, I am not talking about a generic plan

so my next question

anyone have a training plan from one of the above mentioned coaches or another coach that could be recommended

is a personalised training plan the ideal solution falling as it does inbetween generic plans and personal coaching ? or is personal coaching the only way to go ?

jibberjim

36spoke wrote:

is a personalised training plan the ideal solution falling as it does inbetween generic plans and personal coaching ? or is personal coaching the only way to go ?

I don't think there's really any such thing as a personalised training plan that isn't coaching - since the personalisation of a training plan is about changing it as your fitness, goals, fatigue, circumstances etc. etc. all change. Without the feedback of how easy or hard a session was, and without regular testing to show what's happened, then your personalised plan will quickly degrade to be equivalent to a generic, even if it was particularly personalised in the first place.

A coach won't know if you'll stop responding to a particular block after 3 or 5 weeks (say) just the same as a generic won't.

So I don't think a personal plan is very cost effective, you'll be better off saving your money and taking something generic, and investing in tools to improve your training.

Eddy S

jibberjim wrote:

A coach won't know if you'll stop responding to a particular block after 3 or 5 weeks (say) just the same as a generic won't.

What do you think coaches use the feedback process for?

Alex_Simmons/RST

jibberjim wrote:

36spoke wrote:

is a personalised training plan the ideal solution falling as it does inbetween generic plans and personal coaching ? or is personal coaching the only way to go ?

I don't think there's really any such thing as a personalised training plan that isn't coaching - since the personalisation of a training plan is about changing it as your fitness, goals, fatigue, circumstances etc. etc. all change. Without the feedback of how easy or hard a session was, and without regular testing to show what's happened, then your personalised plan will quickly degrade to be equivalent to a generic, even if it was particularly personalised in the first place.

A coach won't know if you'll stop responding to a particular block after 3 or 5 weeks (say) just the same as a generic won't.

So I don't think a personal plan is very cost effective, you'll be better off saving your money and taking something generic, and investing in tools to improve your training.

Well perhaps, however the nature of personalisation in the (Level 2) plans we provide at RST cover things like:
- available training hours/days (e.g. if a client tells me they are unavailable to train on a Sunday, I don't schedule training on a Sunday)
- building in nominated key event dates and having training planned accordingly
- what training you've been doing
- current fitness level (as well as perceived personal strengths and areas of development)
- the nature of event(s) being targeted

We've had a lot of success with rider's using these plans.

While there is no direct coaching relationship with these plans, we do provide access to coaches via our own members' forum so that riders can post questions or feedback and have a coach respond that way. e.g. some ask things like "what should I do when...?" and we provide some advice.

Of course establishing a good coaching relationship is a superior option, however not everyone has the budget for that, so such plans still offer a good way to improve performance and provide an introduction to sensible training.

I think we've got a really good option for a lot of people (and given the high number of repeat buyers, they do too) that sets up a plan that's right for them, and offers the opportunity to interact with coaches as needed.

See here for details:
Level 2 Training Plans

- and a 10% discount during July as a TdF special!

SBezza

36spoke wrote:

is a personalised training plan the ideal solution falling as it does inbetween generic plans and personal coaching ? or is personal coaching the only way to go ?

I still think it depends on how serious you are. Only you know what you want to do, whether it be ride a gold standard time at a sportive, race for fun, race seriously etc. I think if you are doing anything serious, it is worth spending that little bit extra, but like you say personal coaching is more expensive, and your budget has to play a role in your decision.

As Alex has said RST plans seem pretty good, and you do get feedback from coaches on their forum, but alot of individual coaches won't offer this. This is why I said look into it very carefully, and ask questions of a prospective coach.

36spoke

ok, so if i decide i cannot afford the personal coaching where you get lots of weekly feedback and plan changes where necessary, but to go with a personalised 3 month training plan, anyone got one of these that can gave some feedback ?

there seems to be some recommended coaches here that i would need to check out including Dan Bennett, Ruth Eyles, Adrian Timmis, Alex Simmons but there may also be other very good coaches

if anyone has used a personal training plan maybe they can gave their thoughts on its effectiveness, and comment on how much communication and feedback / help was available from the coach

I am thinking that if a coach knows what level i am at now, and how much time i have available and what my aims are, then they should be able to produce a good plan

then if all goes accordingly and i can stick to the plan.....great

but if something crops up that affects how i can complete the plan, then how does the coach deal with this

these are the type of things that would be important in my decision which coach to get a plan from

many thanks

steelwheels

we would need to know more about your level, your current training and your aims

if you are a beginner then more riding will see big improvements but depends what your goals are

i would always recommend getting a plan or a coach if you can afford it and are serious about getting the best performance you can with your ability and available time to train

it will be the best money you spend, just think how much we spend upgrading parts and wheels and tyres and getting the latest bling !

you could certainly devise a plan yourself if you do your research and read some of the better training books, but getting a plan from a coach means that you know it will be right for you, and you can depend on the coaches experience

it also means you might have the extra motivation to follow the plan, I always think if you pay for something you value it more, so it kind of can be motivational in this way

whatever you decide, good luck

36spoke

i only started cycling at the beginning of this year in an attempt to lose weight and get fit, so far i have managed to get fitter but remain at 189 lbs !
once cycling for a while i thought i might as well join a club and then i started to get an interest in tt's and races
i have done a few club races and some tt's my best times being 28:48 for a 10 and 1:12:05 for a 25
i am feeling a lot fitter and stronger this last 3 or 4 weeks but still feel that there are two issue holding me back, being overweight and lack of structured training
i would normally train anything between 4.5 and 12 hours depending on work and family commitments, probably averaging around 7.5 hours per week
so while my performance are not really that good i would hope that with better training i could see significant improvements
as to my aims, i want to be able to perform the best i can for the time and training i can do, so obviously would like to maximise the time available to me and train smart
so thats the story, and therefore the question about should i just buy a training plan that has been personalised for me that i can afford, or dig deeper and sacrifice something to get personal coaching if that is deemed to be so much better ???

ut_och_cykla

36spoke wrote:

i only started cycling at the beginning of this year in an attempt to lose weight and get fit, so far i have managed to get fitter but remain at 189 lbs !
once cycling for a while i thought i might as well join a club and then i started to get an interest in tt's and races
i have done a few club races and some tt's my best times being 28:48 for a 10 and 1:12:05 for a 25
i am feeling a lot fitter and stronger this last 3 or 4 weeks but still feel that there are two issue holding me back, being overweight and lack of structured training
i would normally train anything between 4.5 and 12 hours depending on work and family commitments, probably averaging around 7.5 hours per week
so while my performance are not really that good i would hope that with better training i could see significant improvements
as to my aims, i want to be able to perform the best i can for the time and training i can do, so obviously would like to maximise the time available to me and train smart
so thats the story, and therefore the question about should i just buy a training plan that has been personalised for me that i can afford, or dig deeper and sacrifice something to get personal coaching if that is deemed to be so much better ???

If I were you - I would choose a personalised plan - perhaps with a weight loss focus - for say 3 months - see how you get on and then either do a new plan or go for the personal coach - hopefully with the company you used for the 3 month plan or perhaps (if you weren't that impressed) with someone else.
This approach would allow you to try out structured training at no great cost , define strengths and weaknesses (did you actually follow the plan for example ?) and if it works you'll have got fitter/lost weight adnand be on the way to a new fitter you!