Why Should I Hire a Triathlon Coach? - Part 1
As a Triathlete who may be considering a Coach hire you want the answer to the question: “Why Should I Hire a Coach?”
A triathlon coach plays a wide variety of roles in their Athlete’s training life. The first part of this 2-part article will hit on a few of the roles a competent Coach plays throughout the training and race season. Part 2 will provide a few additional roles a Coach plays and provide a few tips and questions for interviewing Coaches.
Who should consider hiring a coach?
Athletes hopeful of doing their first triathlon, those with the goal of qualifying for Nationals or World Championships, athletes hoping to PR and still others hopeful of increasing their race distance to Olympic, 70.3 or 140.6 could benefit from the mentoring a qualified, certified coach can provide.
Some athletes tired of training the same way year-after-year and getting the same unsatisfactory results could benefit from some coach provided structure.
Other seasoned athletes with limited training time may want to stop spending “family time” writing their training plan and turn that responsibility over to a professional.
Having been a coached athlete for many years and now a coach with multiple coaching certifications, 10+ successful years of coaching experience, a few hundred IRONMAN athlete finishers and over 1000 coached athlete triathlon, running and cycling race finishes at varying distances, I know personally and from communication with our athletes there are real benefits to using a qualified, professional triathlon coach with appropriate certifications.
Why Did You Hire a Coach?
We asked coached athletes from BarryS Coaching and other coaching programs to share their reasons.
Here are their top reasons:
Accountability
When an athlete knows a professional who is invested in their success and reviewing post-workout metrics, they are often more likely to complete scheduled workouts. The added accountability can provide extra motivation and consistency. One athlete shared, "A large part of my 2016 IRONMAN success was because you were looking over my shoulder and had high expectations of me."
Professionalism
Many athletes are busy professionals such as lawyers, physicians, executives, teachers, parents, and brokers. Professional coaches are trained to manage and adjust training plans to deliver the greatest results possible while making the most efficient use of an athlete's limited training time.
Structure
Professional coaches understand training phases such as Base/Aerobic, Strength/Endurance, and Speed/Endurance, along with macro and micro training cycles. This expertise helps create training progressions that minimize injury risk and maximize progress toward an athlete's goals.
Many athletes appreciate having someone else manage the planning and decision-making process. One athlete said, "I hired you so I could stop obsessing about my workouts and be the employee I was being paid to be and the parent I wanted to be."
Injury Prevention
One of a coach's primary objectives is helping athletes arrive at the starting line healthy. Coaches monitor training progression and athlete metrics for early signs of excessive fatigue, injury, or illness.
Given the choice between being slightly undertrained and healthy versus highly fit and injured, most experienced coaches will choose the healthy athlete every time. Consistent monitoring and carefully planned training progressions help athletes remain healthy while continuing to improve.