EVERYONE NEEDS A COACH

Does the person described below sound like he needs a coach to write a training program for him?

He is 34 years old and has been training since age 15. He himself has been a strength and conditioning coach for 15 years. He played soccer in college and, in some aspects, is in better shape now than he was then. He has spent over 1000 hours writing programs for people ranging from 8 years to 82 years.

You might be thinking, well of course this guy doesn’t need a coach. He sounds like he knows how to train and should be able to take care of himself. Well, the person described above is me.

In fact, I have been writing my own program for probably 11 out of the 15 years I have been training. I can’t take full credit for independently writing each one because I take what other people have been successful with and then adapt it to my own situation. But for the most part, I have been doing the work and making the adjustments. I have been successful. I feel good. I am strong and I can still keep up with our athletes in the facility. Yet over the past 2 years I have come to a realization.

Everyone needs a coach.

Last year, I just got tired of writing my own program. I kept getting about 75% through one, and then either I would read something new and want to incorporate it, or tweak a body part and have to adjust my training. I went back and looked at where I had been successful in the past. I had always done well with training programs from one coach who I paid for his services. So I invested again. Low and behold, after 4 months of doing this other coach’s program, I was stronger, moving better and very consistent.

There are a host of benefits having a coach offers, but the main ones are

· Being objective
· Keeping one accountable
· Seeing the path from a bird’s eye view

This year alone, I have outsourced my training and nutrition to other coaches and I have seen success (gained 11lbs and increased my bench and deadlift by 15lb/10lbs). It just goes to prove that no matter who your are, how much you think you know, or what type of shape your in, a coach could help you take your training to the next level.