As coaching month here at Positive Performance Continues I thought I would share with my readers what a coach can do for them. In my last article “Is it time to hire a cycling coach?” I based the article on questions you maybe asking yourself that are usually good signs that its time to hire a coach. Now that many of my readers have called me to enquire on my coaching services let’s talk about what a coach can do for you.

By now many of you have read that I offer wide range coaching services and products to adult men and women. I am privileged to coach Recreational Cyclists, Event Cyclists and Competitive, Road Racers, Mountain Bikers, Triathletes and Duathletes. Many of these individuals start by calling me and asking what it is I do as a coach and how it may benefit them as athletes.

Here is what I tell them:

Structure

I provide all athletes structure of their training, goals, wishes and desires to be the best athlete they can be. Everyone who has hired me has come to me because they want to improve some aspect of their performance on the bike. Structured training comes about after I speak with an athlete about their goals as a cyclist and help them refine and improve their goals by adding training objectives. Once the athlete and I have established what their goals and objectives are going to be for the season we then schedule races, events and training around their real life schedules. I am not a fan of big training volumes. I believe we should only train enough to meet our training objectives.

Accountability

Many athletes come to me because they feel they lack the time, knowledge and or the discipline to create and execute an annual training plan. This means that the athlete looks to me to be their conscience. Meaning I get to ask the tough questions about why training isn’t getting done or why they think that training objectives may not be getting met. Don’t get me wrong I do not coach a single lazy person, not one! Each an every person I coach has lives that some times interfere with his or her athletic desires. This is where I come in as a partner to find ways to make the training occur or to update training to ensure that objectives are being met and the goals are on track.

Guidance

I am often asked from readers and athletes what I think about this new way of training, this new product or should I be taking this supplement or eating this food. I spend quit a bit of time answering questions that are meant to guide an athlete decision making processes. While I don’t always have the answer on the spot I relish the opportunity to learn something new about the sport of cycling. I really love researching sports science, products and everything else that offers some hope of improving an athlete’s performance or ability to understand their chosen sport.

Experience

Many of the people I coach are new to the sport of cycling and expect that my experiences are deeper than their experiences. In many cases this has been the case but in some I know for a fact that the athlete in question is stronger, faster and fitter than I am. Does this make me the wrong coach for this athlete? Maybe, maybe not… Great coaches are not often great athletes. Great athletes spend amazing amounts of time perfecting form, fitness and sports specific strengths. While I do race, train and for now hold down a day job my goals are not exclusively that of a racer. I want to not only become the best cyclist I can be I want to become a great a coach! I spend hours upon hours researching topics like periodization, recovery, power training, strength coaching, running, sport psychology, nutrition and the latest advances in technology on and off the bike. Great athletes would rather train than spend all the time I am taking learning everything I can.

Listener

Some days the best thing I can do is shut up and listen. Coaching isn’t always about the sport some times I just need to listen. Athletes who are putting so much of them selves into their sport will some times find them selves anxious, stressed out, worried and even depressed. As I wrote earlier life gets in the way of our cycling and we get frustrated. When an athlete has burned out their friends, spouse or significant other on the issues surrounding there concerns I am the one who listens and offers guidance and experience when the athlete needs it.

Friend/Advocate

I like to think that I am friend to all I coach and write for but I know this isn’t always the case. I can tell you that many of the people I coach are some of my closest friends and I always look forward to talking with them and hearing stories of not only how their training, riding and racing are going but how their family and professional lives are going. I also strive to be an advocate of their successes. I love to brag to everyone how well my athletes are doing. I am not talking about just the wins but the efforts and the first time an athlete could do X. I know this may sound a little self serving of me but that isn’t why I brag about my athletes its because they are friends and I want my friends to do well and succeed.

Contacts

While I know that there are many coaches with many more contacts in the cycling industry than me I strive every day to build new relationships with other cycling professionals, manufacturers, teams, clubs and athletes. Why is this important to a coach? Simple its networking. While it may sound like I have lots of experience as a coach my knowledge didn’t happen over night. I lean on other experts to get the best answers, goods and services for my athletes.

Like the previous article on coaching, I want to give you the reader an understanding of what a great coach really offers to their athletes. I can justify countless scenarios where it makes since to hire a professional coach to work with athletes but I want to talk with you directly to understand your needs as a cyclist, tri-athlete, duathlete and or road-racer.

So for the month of May I have an offer to ALL of my readers and their friends.

• Free set up
• Free athlete performance assessment
• Free goal and objectives planning
• Free coaching for the first month
• Free basic Training Peaks account
• 15% off of all coaching services to individuals
• 25% off of Group and Team coaching services

This offer is only good for the Month of May!  If you are at all curious about the coaching services and how they can make you a better cyclist. Call Coach Rob or use the contact form to inquire about this offer. There is still plenty of time in the season to improve.

The best upgrade you can make is YOU!

Coach Rob