Why I Hired Myself a Fitness Coach (Even though I’m a coach!), by Coach Chris
At Ripple Effect, one of our core beliefs is that everyone does better with coaching. Whether that’s in person in a physical space, or over Zoom, or just via email — we all go further, faster, when we have help.
One of the problems we see in the fitness industry, is that nobody coaches the coaches! Often times we see folks make that jump from being a member at a gym, to being a coach, and suddenly they’re not getting any coaching themselves. As a gym owner I’m guilty of falling in this trap myself. The truth is, even the best coaches, and best athletes, need coaching.
All of us coaches have our own biases, strengths, weaknesses, and barriers to overcome. Just because we are experts in helping others reach their goals, doesn’t mean we can reach our own goals without any help!
In a perfect world, I’d be attending classes regularly at my gym, so my own Ripple Effect coaches could help me. Unfortunately, between the family schedule with two kiddos under 5 years old, the hustle and bustle of business ownership, and coaching 20+ personal training sessions and classes most weeks…it’s just not realistic for me. I work out at random times whenever I can fit it in.
I’ve been able to develop some great habits on my own. I almost always workout 4-5 times each week, even if it’s quick. I log my results every time. I’ve gotten much better at ignoring my ego and modifying my workouts when I need to. However, I’ve also developed some BAD habits!
The biggest one for me is half-assing my warmups and cool downs. I’m always in too much of a hurry. “If I finish this workout 10 minutes faster I can do that other thing on my to-do list before I coach” often leads me to rush my warm ups, which negatively affects my performance in the workout, and often causes my recovery time after workouts to drastically increase. I’m not exactly a spring chicken anymore, so cutting my warm ups and cool downs short also leaves me more susceptible to minor tweaks and aches. When I’m working out alone, and coming up with my own warm ups and cool downs, there’s nobody there to make sure I do it right! Even with all my years of experience as an athlete and coach…I’m still human, right? I feel like I keep running into the same issues over and over, and my own solutions haven’t worked.
Enough is enough! This week, I hired myself a remote coach. I did informational interviews with several coaches, and went with the one that felt right in my gut. He’ll be writing workouts customized just for me, but more importantly, he’ll be programming my warm ups, mobility work, and cool downs that are specific to my body’s needs. He’ll review videos of my movement, and help me work towards my goals in a sustainable way. The fresh outside perspective will be extremely valuable.
One of my main goals is get stronger in my barbell lifts. It’s always been a limiting factor for me. But every time I’ve tried to follow a cookie-cutter strength program that I found online, I A) half-assed my warm ups and B) did too much volume too fast. Usually this meant blowing up my body two weeks into the program and giving up. My coach will understand where I’m coming from when he’s building my program, so I don’t go overboard or lift heavy without preparing my body properly.
Another reason I hired a coach (especially one outside my regular sphere of local coaches) is to continue my own coaching development journey. One of the best ways to improve our coaching skills is to observe other coaches and learn from them. It’s a win for everyone — me, my own clients, and my other RECF coaches since I’ll be able to share my learnings with them.
I believe 100% in the value of coaching, and how it supercharges our progress in the gym. It’s about time I give myself that same opportunity!
