Why you should get a coach

Someone asked me this the other day,  "Why should I be hiring a Triathlon Coach?"

I see so many athletes chasing performance and trying to achieve their goals but wondering why they underperform at their big race, get sick leading into the event, or acquire an injury in training.

Any training program should be the athlete's individual program.

For many age-group athletes training is just part of their lifestyle.  Many other key, and often more important, factors have to be incorporated into the athlete's program.  Coaches need to be able to adapt the plan to the challenges of work, family and life.

What works for one athlete, will not work for another athlete!

So, why do you need a coach?

I thought I would put together some other reasons on why you NEED to be hiring a triathlon coach:

Expertise - a professional coach will have spent years learning their craft and developing their skills, experience, philosophies and knowledge.  I have been doing this nearly 20 years and I am learning on a daily basis!

Enable clear goal setting - working with your coach will enable you to specify your goals and work specifically towards them with manageable interim targets.

Competitive advantage - an experienced coach will have worked with many athletes and have the experiences of their achievements and failures to work off.

Best use of your time - many athletes come to F4L Triathlon Coaching and actually end up training less hours and racing faster.

Honesty - your coach will tell you what you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear.

Empathy - a great coach will listen and empathize with your wider situation

Identify weaknesses - and then work on your development as an athlete.

Objective feedback - a coach should only ever have your best interests in mind... they want you to perform at your best.

Balance your life - a coach will make sure there is time in your training program for family time, work, school and being normal!

Make your training is sustainable - doing too much in one go will cause injuries, sickness.  An professional experienced coach will know how much you can do, how far to push you, without breaking down.

Source of strength - during tough times your coach can help keep focus or re-channel frustrations.  They are also excellent listeners.

Offer confidence and self belief - your self belief... in you!  You may doubt yourself... your coach will help turn that into self-belief.

On top of all this I am going to empower you to be accountable for your training.  Miss a planned session... I'll ask, "Why?"  "Why did you do that?"  "Is there something going on you want to talk about?" "Is there something I, as your coach, can do to help avoid that in future?"

I will also empower you to provide feedback to help me plan future sessions and allow you to grow as an athlete.

Training should be fun.  I encourage athletes to join groups and train with others, comes back to that balance.  I'll incorporate group sessions into your training plan, for example a squad swim, a group ride or a club track session.  I will also encourage you to race.  Support the local racing community.  Use some races for training, practice, social life.

"Of course this list could go on and on... coaches do so much more than just coach: mechanic, pack horse, marriage councillor, psychologist, nutrition guidance, masseuse, taxi driver, travel agent and training partner to name a few."

Hiring a triathlon coach will enable you to train consistently and maximise your potential to achieve your goal.  Our individual Triathlon coaching packages start from £125 a month.

A good Triathlon Coach will help you achieve your success.  Think of hiring a Triathlon Coach as an investment.  Many triathletes will go out there and spend thousands of pounds on a new set of wheels or a new wetsuit... to save a few seconds in a race.

Well hiring a triathlon coach will cost less than that... and potentially save you minutes in the process!