Why hire a coach?

For many individuals, the on-going process of learning about fitness and exercise can seem very daunting. There is a lot of information on the internet and it is often conflicting. It can be very hard to absorb it all, much less discern what is right and what is wrong.

As a beginner to exercise, you may have some of the following worries:

• How do I make a workout routine fit for my goals, and how do I make sure it’s good?
• What am I meant to eat/how much in order to gain weight/lose weight/maintain my weight?
• How frequently am I meant to work out?
• My [insert body part] hurts, what does that mean for me?
• Am I doing [this exercise] properly?
• I am not making any progress… What am I doing wrong?

Even if you are able to answer many of your own initial questions yourself, an onslaught of many more arrive as you seek to better understand what to do, why to do it, and how to do it best!

These questions can be time consuming and difficult to answer on your own, especially if you don’t have a lot of time, desire or ability to do a lot of reading and inquiring online on fitness websites and forums. Hiring a coach cuts all that time, effort and uncertainty out of the process, and lets you get to straight to work with confidence!

Why Online, why not in-person?

Hiring a coach online or in person are both viable options with their own pros and cons. However the biggest drawback if you were to hire a personal trainer in person is that you are limited to the personal trainers around you geographically. If you don’t live in an area with any good coaches, you are out of luck! Conversely, the biggest (yet still relatively minor) drawback of online coaching is that you miss out on the ability to physically interact, which can be an especially useful tool in the teaching process when correcting form. However, physical cueing is only one of many tools in the toolbox of a good coach, so this is easily mitigated by effective verbal communication and visual aides (particularly through the use of my exercise library and bespoke videos for clients outside of session) and I have taught many absolute beginners very effectively from halfway across the globe!

Whereas personal training has a necessarily more practical focus on the workout at hand, the potential scope within online coaching is much broader and can not only cover the practical aspects of in-person training but can do so in a way that fosters more independence and autonomy, and provides more opportunity for education!

From my perspective as a coach, education is paramount to the coaching process and my goal with it is to make you as educated, empowered and independent in the management of your training as you can be by the end of our time working together. This is a goal I find far easier to achieve with the online coaching format than in-person. I do not think that you should be dependent on me forever, and if you were then I will have essentially failed my job. I do keep long term clients, but that those clients stay with me because they decide to do so based on the quality of our coaching relationship and the added value I bring to their training, and not because they are dependent on me.

How does Online Coaching Work?

Standard Coaching (Monthly/3 Monthly)

The coaching process takes place largely in weekly 1 hour video calls at a regularly scheduled time (but flexible when needed). The topics of these calls are individualised based on your needs. In some calls we may be doing practical work such as learning new movements/exercises for your training program, or even having a more traditional ‘personal training’ session where we go through your workout together and provide live tips and form checks (if you have a home gym or train at home). In others it may be more discussion focused, where I can answer your questions you may have (whether it is on the previous week of training or in general) provide form checks on self-recorded exercise videos, or provide education as needed and relevant to you and your training (e.g. on topics such as functional anatomy, nutrition, training theory, injury prevention/management/rehabilitation, and much more).

Alongside these calls, you will have a spreadsheet containing your training program that will be updated/altered on a week by week basis, based partly on the content of our calls. All clients receive free access to my exercise library during the coaching period, and entries from the library will be used whenever possible to supplement the spreadsheet for reference purposes.

Beyond this, during the week between calls you will be tasked with recording some/all of your training and sending it to me so I can review it and discuss it during calls.

Consultation Call:

Aside from the standard, longer term coaching process, I also offer consultation calls (30, 60 or 90 minute options). In these call, I am essentially yours for an hour to discuss anything related to training, nutrition, Mobility, injury or any other fitness related topic you like. This may take the shape of doing a series of form checks, spending time troubleshooting a Mobility/joint issue you have, helping to critique and/or design improvements to your existing training program, just to name a few examples!

Rates:

My rates are shown in the table below (Outdated: To be Updated)

If you’re interested in coaching, get in touch with one of the buttons on this page and we can book a free inquiry call to have a conversation about what you are looking for from coaching and determine whether we would be a good fit to work together.

If you are interested in a one-off consultation, contact me and let me know what you’d like to discuss and we can schedule a time for it!