Best time of year to get a coach

lc1981

I've been thinking about paying for some coaching for a while now. I do quite a lot of training each week, have a power meter and try to maintain some sort of structure to my training, but I feel that I'm not getting the most out of the time that I put in, and would like to make a bit more progress racing next year. My question is, does anyone have any thoughts on what time of year is best to start working with a coach? Part of me thinks that round about now would be perfect, as the racing season is over and I can start to plan for next season, but then I wonder whether I'm just going to be paying someone to tell me to put in winter base miles, which I can do without much guidance (I'm over-simplifying things there, but you get the point). Any thoughts from people who have experience with being coached?

danlikesbikes

Logically now would be a good time but does depend on what races your looking to target, when they are & what goals your looking for and your current fitness levels.

I'm not an expert & really did benefit from coaching, however I also benefited from reading up and writing my own structured plan and listening to my body and adapting my training accordingly.

BeaconRuth

I tend to find I'm telling people to go and chill out and enjoy themselves at this time of year - unless they're riding cyclocross of course. It depends how serious someone is about performing at their very best next season but I usually reckon that the task before Christmas is to get fit enough to train very hard after Christmas. So generally starting with something structured and focused around early/mid-November makes sense. That gives a good block of about 6 weeks before the end of the year.

Ruth

ric/rstsport

In my experience of coaching (which involves working with a wide variety of abilities from recreational through to world class elite) and for people in the northern hemisphere my suggestion is to have a *couple* of easy weeks (or off) and then to start training properly if you want to make year on year gains. If you just want to repeat what you've previously done (or only improve very slightly) then you could likely take slightly longer off.

As you become fitter (i.e., higher power output over whatever your goal duration/event is) the gains become harder to achieve. This means that more 'work' needs to be done (in some way, it could be longer duration, it could be higher intensity, it could be a different approach).

Taking long periods of time off reverses (rapidly) the physiological gains that are made. Both cardiac/metabolic and strength changes occur rapidly, with decreases in e.g., VO2max/MAP and FTP occurring within less than 2 weeks of rest. That's not to say that rest isn't important (as it is), but there are ways of maintaining current fitness and reducing overall workload for a few weeks. It's also important to not underestimate the mental stress of hard training and this can sometimes be a driver more than the physiological requirements (that said this is usually more the case for full-time cyclists as opposed to people doing a few hours a week).

This time of year is also an important time to do some work on weight loss (if that's something you need) as aiming to lose weight either in the season or just before it can have a negative impact on performance.

There are also other considerations which are important, such as, developing goals, working on other aspects of performance not related to 'physiology' (such as skills, or psychological development) as well as understanding that a coaching relationship is a relationship (as opposed to just having a training plan) and it takes time to develop and for both parties to understand each other.

FWIW, from a personal perspective, i had 10 days off in mid-summer (family duties) and i'm only just getting back to where i was before i took the break. Given that winter is approaching and there's likely to be periods of utter naff weather where i lose some time i won't be taking another break until then.

Ric

--Darren--

Have a chat to some local coaches, see what they say. Do your goals fit in while their views? Could try Adrian Timmis

--Darren--

Have a chat to some local coaches, see what they say. Do your goals fit in while their views? Could try Adrian Timmis

lc1981

Thanks for all the advice. I think that pretty much confirms what I was thinking already, but there's some other points to consider that have usefully been flagged up. I think my general fitness level and endurance are pretty good and I doubt I could lose much more weight. I found myself finishing in the bunch in crits a lot this year, but never really had enough to do well in the sprints, and I think working on both my FTP and shorter efforts is required to address that. Adrian Timmis is already on my radar; I was just looking for some impartial advice first.

BenderRodriguez

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

a coaching relationship is a relationship (as opposed to just having a training plan) and it takes time to develop and for both parties to understand each other.

Which might take some time, especially if your £1,200 per year 'coaching plan' only permits you to chat with your coach on the phone 4 times per year!

Alex_Simmons/RST

BenderRodriguez wrote:

Which might take some time, especially if your £1,200 per year 'coaching plan' only permits you to chat with your coach on the phone 4 times per year!

Thanks for your unconstructive input.