How To Get The Most Out Of A Coach
The relationship between coach and client can be a pretty damn special one. I’m fortunate to work with some damn wonderful people among my team with whom I have really beautiful connections and achieve some pretty awesome outcomes. I also have a wonderful relationship with my own coach. He is a great friend to me and has and continues to play a huge role in shuttling me towards my own goals. But none of this has happened by accident or without significant effort from both parties. It takes a lot from both coach and client to move towards the desired outcome in a way that is enjoyable and at a rate that is deemed acceptable.
Which raises the question — as a client, how do you get the most out of a coach?
I put a question box up on my IG asking this not so long ago. Almost every single person responded with “communicate”, “good communication” or something to that effect. And I completely agree. So in this article we’ll unpack that a bit and explore more deeply exactly what and how you should communicate with your coach to achieve the most fruitful outcomes.
Get super clear on your goals, values and priorities as early as possible.
A coach will help you do this, but you need to at least start this process on your own and engage with them as they guide you. An important part of pursuing any goal is knowing exactly where you want to go and what you’re willing to do to get there:
What are you willing to give up?
What are you not willing to compromise on?
Where do your strength, fitness and body composition goals fit in the mosaic of your life?
Read: You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat It Too.
Both you and your coach are going to have a very unpleasant time if you’re consistently acting out of alignment with your stated values and goals, because you’re not clear on them yourself. Spend some time getting clear on these things. If you’re struggling to do so, your coach can probably help you with that. But you’ll get from A-B significantly faster if you can identify that you need help with this part of the process and communicate that to them. Get clear. ASAP.
Learn the systems of your coach.
Each coach will have their own systems for providing a coaching service. Some will use a Google Drive, others emails, Facebook, Whats App, a coaching app or whatever else. Some will touch base with you daily, weekly, fortnightly, etc. Learn the systems of your coach and do your best to follow and use them.
If you can use the systems of your coach, they will be able to coach you more effectively. Reducing time in admin provides more time for them to do the valuable stuff that you actually want to pay them for.
If something isn’t working for you or there is something that you don’t like, communicate that. They may accomodate or find an alternative, or they may not. They’ll appreciate your feedback in any case.
If you are unable to agree on a method to communicate between you, then perhaps it is best you part ways.
In any case, there is no benefit to you not following protocol and/or not sharing your negative experience. You’ll both only get salty when you hate the process and they hate that you’re making their job difficult. Follow the defined system or if you are unable, let them know.
Fulfil your side of the deal. If you can’t, say so.
An important distinction to make is that a coach is just a player in your team; they are not the entire team. And you don’t pay them for results; you pay them for their expertise, guidance and support. A good coach will provide that, but you still need to put in the hard yards if you’re going to make any noteworthy progress.
You need to do the work.
If you can’t do what was agreed upon, explain why. And do so proactively.
Do your training, complete any tracking and feedback that is required when it is due and in the agreed upon method.
If you didn’t train or you didn’t track or you had the week from hell — say so. Don’t wait for your coach to prompt you with “why didn’t I hear from you this week?” Get on the front foot and complete your check in/feedback with the obstacles you faced this week. Your coach isn’t only there to support you when things are going well. If anything, the role of a coach is more important in the weeks that everything goes to shit. But they can only fulfil that role if you provide them with the insight and the avenue to help you. And they want to help.
Don’t just provide problems. Provide solutions.
Even better than just communicating the bullshit week that you had is communicating how you can get back on the horse and how you can better navigate those same obstacles if and when they pop up in the future. Since a coaching relationship is a collaborative one, reflect on the week that has been (not just at the end of the good weeks, but the bad weeks too) and give something to your coach. Maybe you have a solution; maybe you don’t. Maybe you have some insights that could help you come to a solution together. Any insights that may contribute to a productive way forward are valuable to a coaching relationship. This communication also indicates to your coach that you are willing and wanting to address the slump and move forward together.
Actively engage in the coaching process and take ownership.
As above, reflect on each day and each week and make note of things you did well or could do better next time. Communicate these things proactively. Seek out solutions to problems yourself. Be an active participant in your own success.
Something that I see done both very well and very poorly is analysing your own training. A coach will provide feedback on technique execution, but you can critique yourself in an even more timely manner, particularly when coaching is being delivered online. Film your training and watch the clips back. Ascertain yourself what you could improve on. Work on it immediately. Communicate with your coach what your observations were. Tell them what you changed or shifted your attention to and what difference that made for you.
When your coach provides technical feedback, summarise it in your own words. Review it prior to each session. Write it in a note book or on a white board so it’s front of mind not only for your heavy sets, but for all of your warm ups too.
Bringing this level of mindfulness to your sessions is arguably one of the best things you can do for your gains.
Read: Quit Majoring In The Minors. What Actually Matters For Strength Development.
All of this can too be said about how you approach nutrition. Reflect on your own habits and intake each day and each week. Communicate to your coach what you did well and what you could do better; what you picked up on in your mid week reflections and how you responded to that. When your coach provides recommendations, really think about what that means for your daily habits and your individual meals so you can integrate those recommendations in to your life as effectively as possible.
Communicate the factors that influence your training and nutrition.
There are so many factors that affect the quality of our training and our food-related behaviours: stress, work, study, family, relationship stuff, commitments, sleep quality, sleep quantity, other health issues, exams, travel, your cycle and so much more. The more your coach knows about what is going on in your life, the better they can adapt your training protocols and the more they can support you in your approach to and you ability to tolerate (and even thrive) in the face of all of it.
Depending on your relationship with your coach, you may or may not want to share a heap of detail, but if you are just able to add a few notes here or there to give them some small insights, that can be damn helpful.
EG:
If I weighed in exceptionally heavy one day and had some inclination as to why, I’d note that — day one of my cycle, late night burgers yesterday, etc
Similarly if I weighed exceptionally light — dehydrated from too much wine, early dinner the previous night, etc
If my recovery from training was trash and I had an inkling as to why, I’d note that — perhaps I split my sessions poorly, completed heavy training on successive days, did more cardio than usual, poor sleep, stress etc.
Communicating any of these things takes a heap of guess work away from my coach so that he can make more informed decisions. He won’t feel baffled by wild weight fluctuations that I know can be explained by a fluctuation in my hydration status and he can better inform my training for successive weeks if he knows why my training was so bad on a given week and that I have a plan to combat that going forward.
A snippet from a recent trash training week.
If you don’t like something, speak up.
Kinda said this already, but in a more general sense. If you hate the programming or your nutrition feels too restrictive, whatever, speak up. A good coach will either adapt, find a middle ground or explain why the protocol is necessary. Trade offs are of course necessary in order to make any noteworthy progress. Perhaps you’re willing to do whatever it takes or perhaps you are willing to make fewer/smaller trade offs for slower/less progress in order to have more time or less hunger or a higher quality of life. However, without communicating what you are and are not willing to do, your coach is left guessing your preferences, and they’re not gonna nail it every time. They don’t want you to suffer any more than you do, so let them know and work together.
Use manners.
Not hard to do well, but goes a long way. Use your pleases and thank yous always, please and thank you.
Seek out feedback and criticism.
It is a tremendous quality to be able to ask where your faults and weaknesses are and to be willing to hear sometimes negative but definitely constructive feedback. Seek it out. Ask for it often. Open up conversations that serve to propel you forward.
Actually apply the feedback given.
Probably all that needs to be said on that…
To the best of your ability, apply the feedback your coach has provided.
In a training sense, do your best to interpret the feedback provided and apply it. If you don’t quite understand what is being conveyed, ask for clarification. If they’ve provided verbal feedback but you feel you’d benefit from a demonstration, ask. Then apply the best you can and ask for more feedback. Did I nail it? Did I improve? Or did I miss the mark altogether?
In a nutrition sense, be open to their suggestions and again, apply to the best of your ability. If the feedback or recommendations provided seem completely unreasonable and inappropriate for you, communicate. Explain why, propose alternative solutions, or seek to find a middle ground.
In any sense, please don’t ignore feedback or push it under the rug. Acknowledge any feedback provided and proceed appropriately.
At the core of all of this, coaching is a collaborative relationship. It takes very active involvement from both parties to achieve positive outcomes. The most successful lifters and clients are those that are extremely active participants in their own success. Be active, be mindful and complete your share of the work.
Sincerely, one of many coaches who want the best for you, but need your input xo