The Importance Of A Coach

Did you ever think or ask yourself why the top athletes of every sport have a coach/ numerous coaches to help them with their particular field? There are many reasons as to why a coach is valuable to everyone participating in any sport, especially in the case of powerlifting. This can be broken down into the programming/ training and the nutrition side of things. I’ll explain the obvious benefits behind why a coach is beneficial, also the logic behind why they are worth your money.

When it comes to programming, it is always most effective when someone from an outside perspective formulates a program for you. There is no emotion attached when the coach is programming in certain numbers/ exercises. When it comes to numbers, a person will either try to program numbers in that are too high (if they are ambitious) or numbers that are too low (for cautious people). Numbers that are too high for the individual will be unideal as fatigue will be way too high for the program, technique will be off and continued failure is likely. Numbers that are too low will not cause the individual to adapt as they need to. Your body will only adapt when enough stress is applied to the system. Either way, too low or too high numbers are going to be less efficient. If a coach can give their unbiased opinion, it will generally be better than yours.  

Another aspect to programming is exercise selection. A coach knows what’s best for you, what your weaknesses are and what you need to work on the most. Generally, the exercises that you are weak on are the ones that you dislike the most. If you were to program for yourself you would likely not input the required exercises, as emotion is attached.

When training with a coach, in a personal training session or even as a client for an online service, you will find that the intensity and seriousness when it comes to your training amplifies. This is due to the fact that you are not only doing this for yourself but your coach/ trainer also. If you miss a session/ rep, you don’t just miss it for you, you miss it for your coach as well. If you fail a lift it won’t only feel bad for you now, it will feel bad for your coach too.

The extrinsic motivation that is achieved when you have a coach really does impact your training in a positive way. Away, from the emotional side of things, a coach once again can be that third eye. Form critique from an outside view is vital, you are experiencing the lift with emotion and discomfort, while your trainer can see from an unaffected viewpoint and offer the most sound advice when it comes to how you execute a lift. Without that third person eye/ opinion, you may not have made the recommended adjustments necessary to make your lift more efficient. The value here is enough to turn most people, many personal bests will be made with an efficiency increase.

In the world of nutrition, everyone needs that accountability when it comes to making smart food choices. As well as the education and recommendations that a coach can make when altering macros/ calories to line up with your goals, adhering to a diet requires resilience and perseverance. If you have someone whose sole job is to not only recommend what you should be eating, but also keep you consistent while dieting, then don’t you think that maybe this may help you achieve your goals in the realm of nutrition? Having someone to stay accountable is a big motivator when it comes to adherence of your eating plan. Once again not only are you doing it for you, but you are also doing it for your coach. You don’t want to let them down and if you do it won’t feel very good. Once again the positive extrinsic motivation comes out to support you on your mission.

With all 3 of these components of lifting, the main aspect that a coach will provide is a 3rd eye. This will ultimately provide unbiased opinions and the motivation and influence required to consistently adhere to the plan that your coach set out for you on the pursuit of your goals.