Coffee Talk: My Journey – “Is it REALLY necessary?”
“I thought you were a professional personal trainer … “
I am.
“But I thought you had been doing this for over 25 years … “
I have.
“Wait, don’t you own a successful business that you started by yourself from the ground up … ?”
Yes. Yes I do.
“Soooo — connect the dots for me — is it REALLY necessary for YOU to hire a coach … ??? “
Without a doubt, hands down, absolutely, positively — YES!
As I walked out of the gym I mustered every ounce of self pride I had left in me to look like I was walking “NORMAL”. I was, in fact, about to fall over!
You see, it was a LEGS DAY.
Now mind you — I’ve had many a legs day in my 25 years of fitness leadership. And many of them have destroyed me, in a good way, leaving me crawling to my car. This particular legs day was no different from those legs days (in end-result muscle fatigue), but very different in other ways.
The differences make all the difference in the world!
Here’s what set this LEGS DAY apart from some of my other legs days —
- I didn’t spend any energy devising the evil plan that would kill my legs
- I couldn’t see myself from a 360 degree circumference
- I didn’t have to drum up any extra motivation besides making sure I came to my appointment
- I was granted inside knowledge about a sport I am getting to know better
- I didn’t have to rely solely on the mental cues inside my own head
On this particular day I walked out of the gym (or rather “attempted to walk” out of the gym) and a lightbulb came on! I had an “AHA” moment where all five of those topics above came to the surface and I began to thank my lucky stars for having a coach, though I myself am a coach.
Maybe these will also help YOU realize how much value it is to have a coach, a mentor, a trainer, a teacher — anyone who is an expert in their field who can provide these same benefits to YOU!
WHO IS MY COACH?
Coach Ryan
I have known of Ryan for several years as he works as a trainer at my gym. I had also seen him at the local “competitor’s gym” when I was working with a different competition trainer several years ago. So, I’ve seen him around.
I watched the progress he made with one woman as he prepped her for figure competing last year and the wheels in my head started turning.
“I wonder if I should consider hiring him?”
I did a little homework on him as I continued to watch the results of his clientele.
- He definitely stands out because he looks the part
- I’ve seen him on his own personal training days and could tell he knows what he is doing
- He has a quiet, focused demeanor which speaks volumes
- He obviously knows how to build bodies because he has built and maintained his own
- He won 1st place in the 2019 NPC Colorado Cup Heavy Weight Championship
- His rap sheet is impressive and adds to his credibility as a coach
Hmmmm …. So I set up a consultation and learned he has been competing for 15 years and understands the ins and outs of this aspect of the fitness industry. He takes on only 1 or 2 competition prep clients at a time so that he can focus his full energy on their success — all the while STILL holding strong with his own conditioning. And he has produced success stories.
Right then and there I made the decision — paid it forward and the rest is now history. I wanted to see where this coach could take me — at my age of 50+, having suffered from the hormonal shift that is the bane of existence for my age demographic, with the past and current injuries, setbacks and whatnot. My mind was made up and determined. This would be MY YEAR!
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Going back to those 5 Differences I mentioned above on that day I could barely walk out of the gym –
Here’s why a COACH like me needs a COACH
1. THE PLAN IS IN HIS HEAD, NOT MINE
I cannot begin to tell you how valuable this is in regards to hiring a coach!
I spend hour upon hour, as your coach, devising your plans. I have these plans written down on scrap sheets of paper, drawn out in stick figures in thick binders filled with other drawings, played out in video clips, demonstrated in still photos, etched into my brain. If I took all these resources and pulled them together as a single unit, the price tag would be nearly immeasurable!
Why do I hire a coach??? Because SOMETIMES I would prefer someone else to think, to scheme, to devise, to plan FOR ME rather than always having to plan for myself.
Well worth the investment!
2. HE HAS A BIRD’S EYE VIEW
I am a very hands-on coach and I want any coach I hire for myself to be the same way. When you are in a session with me, I do not stand there, phone in hand, eyes wandering around the room, the look of boredom on my face. I am ENGAGED. I am walking around you, kneeling down beside you if needed. Heck, I’ve even lain on the floor with you whenever it was required.
My coach has a passion for what he does and ENGAGES as well. He sees my movements from every angle. He can spot a necessary tweak in my form or technique because he is right there beside me – to my right and to my left, down on one knee if needed and even in a position of demonstration to help me connect the dots on all levels.
Why would I NOT want all the benefits of having a coach that you get when you hire me?
Again — invaluable!!
3. HIS EXPECTATION OF ME DRIVES ME
Some days I just run a little dry on my personal motivational scale. On many levels I feel that I offer up my internal drive to each of my clients who walks through my doors and on some days (not all) I come up empty when it’s time to motivate myself.
Having a financial and scheduled commitment to my coach insists that I show up. I may be low on energy, drive, motivation but I MUST SHOW UP. He expects me to be there. And time is valuable, so I take my commitment to his time very seriously.
For me, walking through that door and meeting my expectant coach – no matter what kind of day I’ve had – fans a flame of drive and motivation that I may not have had before I walked in. He is relying on me to do my part. He expects me to show up and be ready. And that, in and of itself, is enough to spark a push from me – even if it’s the very last ditch effort push I’ve got for the day!
Who could place a price tag on that?
4. HE GIVES ME AN IMMEASURABLE GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE
Sure … I’ve been a fitness trainer/coach/instructor for a very long time. And YES — I know my stuff! I can honestly say I am an expert in my field. However — that expertise isn’t ALL ENCOMPASSING nor does it mean I KNOW EVERYTHING or remotely grant me a pass to never need to be in the student’s seat.
My coach has been part of the NPC Bodybuilding Association for 15 years. He has built up a knowledge within this particular side of my (our) industry that I don’t have simply because I have not been competing for as long as he has. There is much to learn!!
And guess what??? I get access to all kinds of knowledge about the ins and outs of this sport. This knowledge I can apply to my further development as a competitor and also pass along tidbits of that knowledge that bleed across the board into general fitness.
Every time I am in session with my coach it’s as if I get to sit in a classroom and soak up all the “schooling” I can get. And for me, one who loves to learn and hopes to ALWAYS be in a position of learning, it’s absolutely “delicious”!
I repeat — IMMEASURABLE VALUE!
5. HIS VOICE IS IN MY HEAD
When I exercise by myself, I take note of the mental cues in my head as they pertain to form and technique.
“Don’t forget to hinge correctly without rounding your thoracic spine.”
“You need a anterior pelvic tilt here”
“Elbows forward, scapula tight”
When I’m with my coach, I am able to turn off my own voice in my head and listen, in real time and out loud, to his cues, based on what he sees in the moment. He can tell exactly when my technique begins to wane and as soon as he sees it, he cues to me to
“REMEMBER”
“CHANGE”
“DON’T DO”
“THAT’S PERFECT”
There’s something to be said about getting out of your own head or even worse, not listening to any cues at all and just motoring through the motions.
His voice in the moment becomes the voice in my head.
Reiteration — PRICELESS!
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And, my friends, my list of reasons WHY I HIRE A COACH could go on. But, I will spare you …
Maybe somewhere in there a lightbulb went on for you, too! Hiring a coach doesn’t mean weakness or that you know NOTHING or that you are incapable of directing yourself.
It means you understand that there are so many more benefits that allow you to take your hands off the wheel for a little bit while someone else does the driving, navigates the road map, sometimes takes a detour, adjusts the volume levels, slows down, speeds up, puts on the brakes.
And I don’t know about you, but I’m all for being in the passenger’s seat every now and then, being a student under someone else’s tutelage, soaring on the flap of another’s wings, sitting in the huddle while the coach calls out the next play!
Here’s to staying in the game, maintaining a teachable spirit and smashing goals while leaning into the nuggets of wisdom from one coach to another!
