With the New Year approaching, people are starting to reflect on the end of a decade. There is a sense of renewed zest and people making goals and resolutions. It is this goal setting and planning that makes me think about one of the best decisions I ever made… hiring a coach.
BIAS ALERT: I am a coach, I am an athlete and therefore I have a coach. I have a coach for business, fitness and nutrition. I have been willing to pay a lot of money for people to assist me in various aspects of my personal and professional life. Honestly I believe that everyone should have one! But I want to tell you my reasons why.
Your coach is your accountability.
Making new habits is HARD. Reaching a goal … is HARD! At the very beginning when we start on this journey, we are super motivated. Energy is high. We are going to change the world. But eventually we hit a challenging day. We don’t want to go to the gym. We don’t want to take our dog for that 30 minute walk we promised ourselves we would do every day in 2020. It’s that snag that is the tougher hurdle. My coach is sometimes the reason I train. That sounds funny but it’s true. I know, my coach is checking in. If I haven’t filled out my training log for the entire week… he’s going to know that something is up! Then I’ll have to ‘fess up! When all else fails, that is sometimes the one factor that gets my butt into the gym.
It’s nice to have someone making decisions for you
It’s nice to have someone making decisions for you I own a business, I am a coach and I’m a physiotherapist doing her PhD. I make decisions ALL DAY. Even as a mom, I have to decide is my daughter hungry, tired, needing something. It can be exhausting! Do you know what I don’t have to make a decision about? What my workout is today. My coach helps with that. He lays everything out. Sometimes even the weights I’m using. I just follow the plan (sometimes begrudgingly). It is the one aspect of my day where I’m not making decisions, I’m just following directions. I love it!
My coach makes me do things I don’t want to do … but I know are good for me.
When you are making decisions for yourself, you aren’t going to choose to do the things you don’t like! Why would you do that?! I HATE doing things like split squats. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t do them. Or I would on the very rare occasion. But doing RDLs and split squats are accessory movements that have made me a better athlete. It’s like when your mom tells you to eat your vegetables. I know veggies are good .. but I would much rather eat pizza for dinner most times!
You develop a relationship with someone you respect who genuinely has your best interests at heart.
My coach was one of the first people to find out I was pregnant with Mya. Like legitimately knew before my parents did. He had to. I was prepping for a weightlifting meet and I didn’t know how my first trimester was going to go. He also helped me get back on the platform after Mya was born. We worked together. I helped judge the physio side of my recovery and he made sure I was ready physically within the parameters I set. I now consider him a friend of mine.
With the athletes I coach, I get to know them. I know when they are stressed out. When they are sick. When something just hurts or they’re having a crummy week. I love that I get an inside scoop. That I am getting to know these incredible humans. That they trust me with their goals and that I can help facilitate them reaching them! It is so so cool!
I get to my goals faster!
You can always reach your goals quicker if you have people on your team that are trying to help facilitate them. A coach can help you see variables you don’t see. Think forward to barriers you don’t even at this present moment, think are barriers and work to remove them. A coach can push you outside of your comfort zone faster and more often than you would probably do yourself. And you need to do that! If you don’t, you can totally stall progress.
When it comes down to it, a coach is an investment in you. Your goals, your ideas, your person. But it comes down to a relationship with another person. If you are thinking of getting a coach, whether that be a life coach, business coach or personal trainer, try to get a good feeling of if your thoughts and beliefs align. Do they understand your life and challenges you are facing? Are they empathetic to that? Could you see yourself spending time with that person and trusting them enough to be honest with them? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you have found a good fit!
In the New Year, some of our trainers are taking on new clients (myself included)! So if you are interested, shoot us a message! If you are interested in working with MY coach – his name is Lorenzo Robiso and you can find his email on his website, Power Performance Systems.
Have a wonderful holiday season everyone!
Christina
