online coaching

[ckel101]

I want to bump up my training this winter and be full loaded for next season as most of you feel the same way. I have been looking into online coaching because there are no local coaches here. What do you guys feel is the best program out there via the internet? thanks guys and girls

 

[Alex Simmons]

I want to bump up my training this winter and be full loaded for next season as most of you feel the same way. I have been looking into online coaching because there are no local coaches here. What do you guys feel is the best program out there via the internet? thanks guys and girls

There are several coaches here that I'm sure would love to help and no doubt they'll pop a message here or send a PM. With someone like Ric Stern you won't go wrong. Hey even I do some coaching but it ain't my full time profession.

The best program (Internet or otherwise) is one that is specifically tailored to your needs, characteristics and goals. Programmes taken from the web might be a lot cheaper and will result in improvements (almost any plan is better than none) but they may not elicit the best improvement. They certainly don't provide any flexibility / capacity to adjust as needed (e.g. what happens when I'm sick for a few days, or have to travel for work etc).

Not sure what you mean by online coaching, presume coaching via by remote communication such as email, not face to face. IMHO - if you don't have local coaching access then doing it remotely is most effective with the aid of a power meter (as it acts as the coach's eyes and ears and if used properly it tells the truth). Only then can a remote coach truely know how you are performing.

Good luck!

 

[ZimboNC]

I've also considered it but as a TrainingPeaks subscriber (and purchaser of the preconfigured training plans), I've wondered if having a human coach is worth the extra money.

I presume that the good things about having an online coach are:

- Relatively inexpensive compared to one-on-one in person coaching
- Input as to the best training regimen
- Customization not possible with the prefab plans
- Accountability (you know someone is going to check on your workouts)

For those of you who have an online coach:

What is the best thing about it?

What are the downsides?

Is a 24 or 48 hour turnaround time to your email (typical with the lower level online plans) sufficient or do you find that you've answered your own question by the time you get a response back?

Do you find yourself taking advantage of the monthly call(s)?

Do you feel like your training plan is actually customized specifically to you or does it seem like it's pretty much just a standard plan?

It seems like to me the best part about having a coach would be the accountability. If I skipped a workout or didn't do what the workout said to do, I would have to tell my coach that I didn't follow through on our plan. I'm still trying to decide if that's worth $150-$200 per month.

--Steve

 

[Alex Simmons]

I've also considered it but as a TrainingPeaks subscriber (and purchaser of the preconfigured training plans), I've wondered if having a human coach is worth the extra money.

I presume that the good things about having an online coach are:

- Relatively inexpensive compared to one-on-one in person coaching
- Input as to the best training regimen
- Customization not possible with the prefab plans
- Accountability (you know someone is going to check on your workouts)

For those of you who have an online coach:

What is the best thing about it?

What are the downsides?

Is a 24 or 48 hour turnaround time to your email (typical with the lower level online plans) sufficient or do you find that you've answered your own question by the time you get a response back?

Do you find yourself taking advantage of the monthly call(s)?

Do you feel like your training plan is actually customized specifically to you or does it seem like it's pretty much just a standard plan?

It seems like to me the best part about having a coach would be the accountability. If I skipped a workout or didn't do what the workout said to do, I would have to tell my coach that I didn't follow through on our plan. I'm still trying to decide if that's worth $150-$200 per month.

--Steve

You forgot another key point: Objectivity.

When self-coaching (and I posses some cycle coaching qualifications myself) I found objectivity much harder the closer I got to target events (even with power meter data - the ultimate objective tool).

Now I just focus on implementing the plan, rather than worry if the plan itself is right.

I'm going to write about my experience in more detail but all in good time. It'll go on my blog at some stage. Essentially I have nothing but positive things to say about the experience so far. It is really important that both coach and athlete have a good line of communication (even if it is infrequent) and that there be clear set of expectations on both sides.

Here's an item on this topic:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/default.asp?pg=fullstory&id=4084

 

[ric_stern/RST]

I want to bump up my training this winter and be full loaded for next season as most of you feel the same way. I have been looking into online coaching because there are no local coaches here. What do you guys feel is the best program out there via the internet? thanks guys and girls

I guess it may depend what you mean by best (because, obviously, everyone may have a different idea of what "best" means).

It could be that best means something like, least expensive option with just a training plan (which could be template driven) or best may mean something upon the lines of every single detail taken into account. or it may mean something in between.

my feeling is that at the very entry level into the coaching market you _may_ be better off with a very large coaching business who are able to deal with a vast number of riders, not actually assign a specific coach to you, and give you a template driven programme. this may or may not be what you're looking for. I've seen some very cheap coaching that we (RST) can't match.

On the other hand you maybe looking for something far more detailed where the coaches care, and are responsible for you. There's a few companies that offer this sort of detailed service, but for reasons that are obvious, I'm only suggesting RST (www.cyclecoach.com)! The sticky at the top of this and the power forum, is there to notify that we have very few places left for coaching, and i would expect them to be all taken by the end of the month.

On the other hand you could ask Alex what his coach is like and the service he gets.

Two final points about coaching, if you'd like to be coached by RST you'll either need to have a power meter or be getting one when you join (we sell Power Tap and SRM) and it's always worth having a chat by email or phone with the coach to make sure you 'gel' together. Not everyone works well together.

Don't hesitate to give me a shout
Ric