Having someone coach you in your health and fitness pursuits is an immensely valuable commodity. Personally, it has been one of the best decisions I’ve made when it comes to my own training. Why, you ask? I have three reasons:
- Objectivity
- Accountability
- Knowledge
Objectivity is the first reason a coach is a great idea. This is beneficial because a coach is starting from scratch with you and is not swayed by your past successes or failures. The slate is clean as they won’t be bringing your own personal biases into the equation. A coach’s sole focus will be on taking you from your current state and propelling you toward the goals you specifically highlight. They will speak the truth when it needs to be spoken (hopefully in a way that resonates with you) and be honest with you about your strengths and weaknesses. The neutral, unprejudiced words and wisdom from a coach can be a powerful catalyst for eliminating stagnancy and jumpstarting you in the right direction. However, it can only happen if you are humble, hungry, and open to some constructive criticism. Some exercise enthusiasts are too prideful to receive help and unfortunately, this will be their downfall. Please don’t be like this. If possible, hire a coach and let them be the voice of reason when your vision becomes blurred by a concoction of your own limited perspective and mindset.
Next, accountability is the second reason hiring a coach is a great idea. Why? Because there are a whole host of things relating to health and fitness that would be good for us but we would rather not do. Whether it’s doing cardio (I’m guilty), eating your veggies (I’m guilty), doing mobility work (I’m guilty), or something else, there are all things that we could do better if we had to report to someone. Research has shown the validity of accountability with exercise. This couldn’t be more important right now with the Coronavirus pandemic. The oppressive temptation is to let the circumstances drive us into a cycle of sluggishness and poor decision making, therefore compounding the bad stress in our lives. However, the beauty of having a coach is that they can keep you in line when you are starting to go off the rails. Personally, working out at home for me is a big distraction and not the most enticing thing in the world to do. It is a challenge to do my workouts when I’m by myself, alone in the basement. Thankfully, I have a coach to answer to and that keeps me motivated for compliance. If that wasn’t the case, I’d probably still be in a food coma and Netflix trance on my couch. As a result, having someone hold you accountable for your health and fitness actions and habits is a great way for your goals to be achieved sooner rather than later.
Knowledge is the last reason I believe having a coach is a great idea. As we all know, there is no shortage of information available on health and fitness topics. This vast expanse of information can be overwhelming and confusing, even for someone (like myself) who is in the actual field. Once again, this is where a discerning coach can come in handy. They can cut through all the noise and find the most pertinent and effective approach to get results. Not every method might be the right one for you, so a coach can take all his or her years of knowledge accumulation and put it to work as they design the most appropriate program for you. For example, I have trained under a couple different strength coaches and they have enabled me to get stronger while also exposing me to different but valuable training techniques. The extensive amount of learning that has taken place through my interactions with the coaches has been instrumental in giving me an enlightened perspective on strength training. Without their guidance, I would have been tirelessly spinning my wheels and probably not making the type of progress that I actually experienced. So, pick an educated and well respected coach and use them as a resource to build up your brain power and knowledge relative to health and fitness.
Overall, I hope these were three convincing reasons for you to hire a coach. As I stated before, I think hiring a coach would be a great move, especially if you are struggling during these stressful times. Your health is your livelihood. If you are failing to exercise consistently or eat well, please reach out to a coach for help. There are plenty of quality coaches here at the JCC that would be more than glad to assist. If money is an objection, you can always hire a coach for a short period of time to lay out a program for you and then follow up once you are done after 3 or 6 months. I’ve done this with clients before and it can be a real benefit to them even though they are not working with you individually on a regular basis. Nevertheless, take care, be safe and please let me know if you have any questions or comments. And, as always, SETTLE DOWN, SLACKERSSS!!!!!