Does Coaching Provide Structure?
I came to competitive cycling relatively late but I really enjoyed it especially in South Africa where there are a great set of really well organised competitive road races. I quickly decided I was going to try and be the best I could given the constraints of also juggling work and home responsibilities.
Having got to a level I recognised that I had plateaued and I needed to take another step to be as competitive as I thought I could be. That’s when coaching started to make an impact.
Despite the fact I had always trained hard and felt as though I was putting in maximum effort, coaching enabled me to understand how to train smarter. I now know when to put the effort in, the importance of rest in the training schedule, nutrition and the true value of having someone who is watching your output and giving good advice.
Coaching provides structure. I had been focusing on volume and intensity and not on seeing the value of viewing it as a progressive programme, when it’s important to put the effort into training and when its vital to rest.
Having a coach can help you to put your effort in the right places at the right time.
The benefits to me were immediately apparent and they showed in my results. Not only was I more successful but I enjoyed what I was doing a lot more. I wasn’t constantly tired, I knew when to put the effort in.
Many elite athletes refer to the importance of a training relationship and when you dig into the story about how they become successful its often the voice of the trainer that provides the most insight. Developing relationships with the people who can help you get better is second nature to athletes, but maybe less so to people in business as asking for help is often seen as a weakness and taking well deserved rest as an indulgence.
The athletic analogy holds true for all who play a role in business whether you’re an entrepreneur or part of a much larger organisation. Understanding when to put the effort in can make all the difference, not just working hard, but working smart. Finding a coach who can help you improve may just be the next step to even greater business success.
