Ask Alex@RST A question

whojanicanackerov

With Alex@RST being a professional coach, a frequent user and great help to all here on training maybe we could make this a sticky where we could ask him questions .well that`s if he agrees to it.

alihisgreat

maybe asking Alex first would have been a good idea?

fearby

that is my first question to Alex: Do you mind if we ask you questions?

GiantMike

I want to get faster and stronger. I haven't ridden a bike for a while and I don't have any targets, but can you suggest a training plan for me please? Do you think I should enter a Sportive Race?

whojanicanackerov

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

maybe asking Alex first would have been a good idea?

Point taken and your so right what was I thinking :oops:

Giant mike I`ve just read your Powerblog your a fantastic rider. How do you deal with the pain?

GiantMike

whojanicanackerov wrote:

Giant mike I`ve just read your Powerblog your a fantastic rider. How do you deal with the pain?

Ha! I wish.

Regarding the pain, part of the reason I'm doing a blog is that it forces me to work through the difficult uncomfortable bit to get to the end because its very hard to publicly admit that I didn't complete a workout that was achievable but uncomfortable. I can think of 2 workouts in the last week when I would have bailed out earlier if I wasn't blogging about it.

okgo

I'd be less than pleased if I was paying for Alex's advice and he was dishing it for free on here!

whojanicanackerov

okgo wrote:

I'd be less than pleased if I was paying for Alex's advice and he was dishing it for free on here!

He already answers to many a post on here and it`s all good advice.

okgo

Yes, and that would p1ss me off, which is one reason I doubt I'd use them.

But then again, why should you initiate this? If you want his advice, pay for it!

Tom Dean

Huh? do you really think a coach posting on here detracts from the service they provide to paying customers?

okgo

Who knows, not something I intend to find out really for the reason I mentioned.

If I asked my boss whether spending hours on here each day was detracting from my day job he'd probably say that it was

Anyway, while we're at it, Alex, can you tell me how to improve my FTP by 15% by Feb?

Tom Dean

If it's a question of wasting time, of course, you could say the same for all of us! An athlete is not his coach's boss though.

I'm sure even the experienced coaches can learn something from discussions about training, even on here. That would only benefit their clients. There is obviously a line between general discussion and specific advice that coaches charge for, I'm sure most professional coaches are smart enough to know where it is.

A question to Alex: do you come on here out of the kindness of your heart, as a favour to the rest of us?

whojanicanackerov

okgo wrote:

Yes, and that would p1ss me off, which is one reason I doubt I'd use them.

But then again, why should you initiate this? If you want his advice, pay for it!

I do pay for it.I was merely thinking of others.

ShutUpLegs

They get the balance right between answering questions and self promotion of their own interests.

And coaching the editor here may help

Alex_Simmons/RST

fearby wrote:

that is my first question to Alex: Do you mind if we ask you questions?

People can ask me questions but I usually jump in every so often on threads if I have the time and inclination. Advice is always only ever going to be general in nature. Hopefully it is mostly of some interest and helpful. I do it for various reasons. There are other good people here that provide sound advice as well, everyone has their own style. I don't see why questions should be specifically for me.

For me forums like this are part entertainment, part a way to stay in touch with what people are talking about/interested in. I like answering questions as it also keeps me on my toes about my own understanding of the science and art of coaching/training and related activity and how to communicate those concepts, and yes it's part promotional (I earn a living from coaching and related activity).

As for the latter, I can't say I really get a lot of business this way, but you get to interact with people from all over the world and I have made many good friends over many years that started via a forum chat. It would be nice to be able to advertise, but the rates are more in line with corporate budgets than a small (albeit global) business.

In most forums I like to think my contributions outweigh any gains I make.

Keep in mind also that forum discussions can tend to make us focus on differences, rather than the vast bulk of stuff we most likely agree on.

Alex_Simmons/RST

GiantMike wrote:

I want to get faster and stronger. I haven't ridden a bike for a while and I don't have any targets, but can you suggest a training plan for me please? Do you think I should enter a Sportive Race?

Not really questions I can sensibly answer. It's not my role to tell strangers what their cycling goals should or should not be. If you think you'd enjoy the challenge, then sure, why not?

As for any specific training advice, that's out of scope really. It's not so much for commercial reasons (although I suppose that's a reasonable consideration) but it would be inappropriate to do so without better knowledge of an individual's circumstances.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Tom Dean wrote:

A question to Alex: do you come on here out of the kindness of your heart, as a favour to the rest of us?

I think I've answered that already. and I actually enjoy sharing knowledge.

Alex_Simmons/RST

okgo wrote:

Anyway, while we're at it, Alex, can you tell me how to improve my FTP by 15% by Feb?

Check your power meter slope ;-)

springtide9

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

okgo wrote:

Anyway, while we're at it, Alex, can you tell me how to improve my FTP by 15% by Feb?

Check your power meter slope ;-)

@okgo: I'd recommend some professional coaching to help achieve your aims

okgo

Why's that then?