In my younger years as a competitive swimmer, I was part of a local team with a handful of kick-ass coaches leading us to greatness. We were constantly getting feedback; tweaks we could make both in and out of the pool to be better swimmers. As my abilities developed, I spent extra time working one-on-one with a coach to perfect my stroke (thank you Mom and Dad for believing in and supporting me…. AND for paying for allll of that). I hit amazing peaks under the guidance of my coaches.

But as I got older things changed. I started college and started to explore other sports (even including underwater hockey, and no, that is not a typo. Good times.) My interest in general health and wellness grew too and I eventually became a certified personal trainer.  But before we get too far, let’s start with the basics.

The magic of a coach

The internet says a coach is “an athletic instructor or trainer” (technically, this is the second definition behind “a horse-drawn carriage”). That definition makes a coach seem very simple and unimpressive, but my experience has shown quite the opposite. 

I’ve been lucky to have some incredible coaches. What they provided me was:

• Expertise – Their knowledge of the sport guided me in improving my form and understanding movement patterns. I had the best resources for finding a sure-way to get better – proper form and technique.
• Encouragement – If you’ve ever tried to stick with anything challenging (not just sports-related), I imagine you’ve been appreciative of any encouragement you’ve received along the way. “Way to go!” Or “keep it up!” can do wonders for someone. I’ve had coaches (and many other amazing people) provide seemingly critical words of encouragement throughout my journey.
• Accountability – Some people need a kick-in-the-butt to get stuff done, and some people don’t know when it quit. In both cases, a good coach will keep you accountable (and also be flexible) by encouraging you to stay on track with where you are, not where you wish you were (and though they are encouraging you to do what you need to, I am not including this as technical “encouragement” 😇)
• Planning & progression – My coaches have shown me how to keep taking steps forward. Even when they feel like small steps and “I’m ready for more, coach!”… your coach will still know how to develop your training plan and progress you in a way that keeps you both happy and healthy. 

I share all of this because my choice to be a self-coached athlete for the past decade is a personal one – I am fully supportive and aware of the value of a coach for athletes!

So why go it alone?

That’s the right question to be asking (especially after that monologue on how amazing coaches are). When I moved away from focusing solely on swimming, I let my curiosity lead me to different activities. I had no commitment or specific pursuit; I simply enjoyed trying new things. Within that, I didn’t feel a coach made sense for me. 

Fast forward a few years. I get my personal trainer certification (no longer certified, but I’m happy to share my knowledge, just like this!) I was so excited to work with others and help them find the same joy in movement that I have. But my excitement did not make me an effective business owner (yes, I started my own company – such an adult thing, right?!) I thought to myself, “Hey, if I can guide and coach others, why can’t I do this for myself?” This is when I shifted from training others and started building my own workout programs.

Purely out of interest, enjoyment, and self-empowerment, I became my own coach.

I started to empower myself. “I have the knowledge to be my own coach, so let’s see what I can do”, I said to myself. Just as I want to get better and stronger physically, I also want to improve my knowledge around training, nutrition – honestly, the entire human body is incredible and fascinating, so I want to learn everything I can! 

I’ve learned a lot through coaching myself

…and some of these lessons I believe I would have learned sooner if I had a coach. But I have to touch the hot stove to know it’s hot – if you only told me not to touch the stove (because it’s hot), I’m not sure I’d believe you (I am aware I am a stubborn child lol). My curiosity led me the long way, but I feel wiser for it. So while these lessons may have been learned sooner, I cannot say for sure that they would have stuck in my mind the way they do now.

I am stronger than I thought

My training focus and plans have evolved over time, due in part to my growth and in part to my impatience (because I didn’t have accountability in NOT changing the plan, I would keep tinkering instead of seeing how things played out). But through the trial and error, I found A LOT of what works for me. I continually explore and push the boundaries, since my body will start to adapt and I’ll need to challenge it in new ways, and I know how to do that effectively. It’s really cool to know you can create those kinds of changes yourself. 

Consistency really does matter, and it allows for flexibility

In a previous post, I shared how flexibility is an important part of creating your own training plan. This took me a longggg time to truly grasp. I was wrapped up in being “consistent” – to me, that meant show up every day. But it was more out of fear that I wasn’t doing enough training, rather than an obsession to constantly be improving. Despite knowing that the real gains are made on REST days when your body can recover from the stress of your training, I continued to push. Now, showing up consistently looks like hitting 80-90% of what’s planned. I build in room for my training plan (and myself) to breathe.

The basics are effective

I really like being efficient and effective in everything – an optimization queen, you could say. It’s one of my toxic traits, honestly. In exploring how I could optimize my training, I tried to schedule my training around every variable that could impact both my performance and my enjoyment. I wish I were kidding, but this is how I was trying to optimize for a period of time: starting with all my workouts for the week, I would schedule them around what days I was working in the office vs. at home, what the weather would be like, what part of my cycle I was in (lady cycle, not training cycle), how I could get the most sleep in the morning and not have to workout after a work day, how I could eat enough before and after at the best times… it wasn’t sustainable. Put in the work, be smart about recovery (nutrition, sleep, etc.), and be consistent – that recipe will get you there, eventually. ❤️

To get a coach or to self-coach, that is the question

If you’re exploring getting a coach or coaching yourself, here are a few considerations to help give you insight to your needs.

• Be clear on your goals. Even if your goal is open-ended, like “I want to move in some way for 20 minutes every day”, be clear with yourself on what you’re trying to accomplish. Consider the gap of where you are now and where you want to be. If this is your goal, as an example, you might want to get an accountability partner if you think you might have trouble showing up daily. 
• What else is going on in your life? Would you have time to dedicate to determining what to do for training, or would you rather focus on getting the work done? There are many online resources that could provide you a basic training plan, but you’ll need to know how to adjust, adapt, and listen to what your body needs.
• Do you have the basics down and want to level up? Hands on guidance and insight from a coach can be valuable here to improve form and efficiency with movement. They’ll be able to see and address things that are hard to identify yourself, possibly because of habit or because you don’t know how it could be better! 
• Has what you’ve been doing not gotten you the results you want? Are you unsure of what changes would get you there? Another good scenario for a coach, unless you’re in no hurry and want to explore what works best for you through trial and error (or guess and test, whichever phrase resonates). 

You can also reach out to friends who have coaches to hear about their experience or connect with a coach you’re interested in working with – most have consultation calls where you can meet them and discuss what’s on your mind. 

Whichever you decide to pursue, you can always change your mind and pivot if something isn’t working. The ultimate goal is for you to chase your goals in a way that is enjoyable (even when the workouts are tough!)