Train without a coach?

Following up one a good point made this week in regards to using a coach when taking doing a training program to avoid injury, improve performance and prevent bad habits. To make this post simpler to follow I'll focus on running and cycling as the sports to use as examples.

Those that take up sport to improve fitness or have a casual goal they wish to achieve. Hiring a coach just may not be practical or feasible for them. Myself I started my training schedule to get back into running. Those looking to take up a training program without the use of a coach and are following a plan made online or self made listening to your body is vital to make the most of your training. 

When starting its very easy to develop bad habits quickly, we tend to focus more on completing the days goal of distance, speed etc. But we don't focus on our technique or what we're doing whilst training.  To help prevent bad habits you have to be actively aware and be aware of what you're doing and actively work on improving problem areas. 

Take me for example and my posture. Whilst running. First week I realized I'd slouch whilst running. So next run I actively focused on improving that area by keeping my shoulders back and relaxed and so on.. If I were to not try to improve my posture my technique would be terrible and I would be developing a bad habit right now. I had self diagnosed a problem and focused on rectifying it. Now there is a difference between self diagnosing effectively and making a problem worse. Someone who can self diagnose knows their body and can workout what changes need to be made to negate injury and improve technique. 

In today's digital world so much information is available to us in the form of "How to" videos and do it yourself websites that can be very effective to improve technique and prevent bad habits in the long run. 

For example someone who finds their right knee moves out at the top of their pedal stroke can get on you tube and search "How asses knee tracking for cycling" and be greeted with useful videos. This is here is where someone could make the problem worse or fix the problem, a good example of self diagnosis in this case would be opening up the hip angle by raising the handlebars or reducing the length of the stem.

Remember what you read or see on the internet may be good advise for some people but may not be good for yourself. I usually find reading books on bio mechanics and training helps me understand if or when I get discomfort whilst running what the cause could be and how to fix it. 

Coaches can take the information you give them and use it to make adjustments on your technique and if need be, your training plan. For example you can describe outer knee pain, and the coach can assess your stride or pedal stroke to help determine what the cause could be and what the solution could be.  

One thing you can also get from proper coaching is diet/nutrition. Again what we read on see on the TV or internet wont apply to everybody and since nutrition is important in performance having proper coaching in this area is highly recommended. 

On a last note anyone seeking to improve on current performance, training for a event or have a pre-existing injury you want to avoid I highly recommend hiring a coach. There's only so far you can go by watching videos, reading websites until you no longer can progress in your given sport.The great thing about having a coach is your given guidance to ensure you can meet your goals. They can track your progress, make adjustments to your training plan to create a constant platform to improve. By having a coach you'll feel safer in the knowledge that your training plan is specifically designed for you and your goals.

Remember many athletes train without a coach and get by just fine on their own. To help your training you may decide to run with a friend or a group, this can also help in realize bad habits that form in your technique and also provide motivation.