Why the animosity toward Coaching and Coaches? (Page 5)

Of course, managing an athlete's training load is part of the motivating and provoking.  Just wanted to point that out so the coaches here don't infer any animosity.  

Ah, yes, but for the regular folk not blessed with the genetics for this stuff, like me, the following would run me right into injury and out of a season....

1. Run twice a day, as many days as you can. Hopefully five, six or seven days a week.
2. Run more. How much? I dunno. You figure it out, but find out for yourself.
3. Run it faster.

Note the caveat I bolded.  Of course, you have to address any injuries and factor your current level of running fitness before plunging into his "plan" literally. 

Everyone is an individual and that's why the specifics of plans can vary dramatically (and result in much of the confusion people end up with in their own training).  But the concepts are constant.

Yes, and obviously any coach-designed plan will eventually have you running more, farther, and faster....the same concepts. Just saying that it's really not that easy.

But, I might be bitter seeing how my training is monitored by a coach and medical professionals and is very conservative (at least the run part), yet I'm always injured.....

(And, I'll admit I hadn't read the whole thread, so maybe my post was out of context as I wasn't really familiar with the current tone of the thread.)

ETA: But I am not bitter towards coaches; I love having a coach .

For the record, I didn't post that to show that anyone can do it.

I posted it to show that there is a specific need for a coach.  And it is listed there.

But it also shows a compare/contrast.  It's not a denigration of coaches.  It shows that the basics are simple, but the nuances are complex. 

nm, was responding to post above, which was no longer the post above.

Just adding to what Jorge said that even some very good coaches still have their own coach, even though they are obviously perfectly capable of putting together a good plan.

Cool. And, I apologize, because I probably misintrepreted your post....which might not have happened had I actually read the entire thread...

My bad .

No worries.

My only real complaint is with the "genetics" argument.  But that's a personal pet peeve of mine, and I understand your frustrations. 

Edited to remove all that figurative language .

Training, dieting, losing weight, gaining strength, gaining endurance, are all simple. But not easy. As many here have said, part of the reason to hire a coach is for motivation/accountability. If having a coach makes it "easier" to train, then it makes it worthwhile.

I guess my point is more around the fact that some people choose to get a coach for whatever reason and other don’t even need one. IMO the good coaches (for running, cycling, triathlon, swimming etc) are not only those with great experience/knowledge but also those who fulfill their clients’ specific needs/expectations beyond just setting a plan and asking him/her to go out and train lots! In the end in order to improve the athlete have to do the training, and the more you can do the more you will improve, plain and simple. For most around here the answer to achieve better performances is simple as you pointed out; where it gets sometimes a bit tricky is laying down the details or mapping out the best way to accomplish that. Sometimes as athletes we haven’t train enough to develop that feel for our bodies or better judge when we should focus on what part of our training load.

For 90% of the BTers a simple dose of training lots (JFT) should allow them to experience great improvements. Unfortunately some misjudge how much training load they can handle and/or just aren’t patient enough, hence they rack up their load and battle with injuries or suffer inconsistent training as they have to recover extensively from session to session.

BTW, I am waiting until you choose to coach a few folks cuz I could use help! Maybe we can convince scout to help us with the marathoners

God help you that you've even contemplated that idea.....

In seriousness, I've thought about it.  I figure if I can get spokes to actually run and complete a marathon, I can work all sorts of miracles. 

I just go back to what I had said in the original thread.  There always comes a point in the self-coached athlete's training where they hit a stagnant place and don't improve the way they had been.  Either they need to recognize this and be willing to make their own adjustments, or they go out and seek outside assistance.

For me it was swimming.  So I hired a coach for 3 one on one sessions and saw immediate improvement.  Now the only reason I'm not seeing more is because my swimming volume is just barely above my cycling volume (which for the record is 0 miles since mid-December).

As for the "motivational" aspect?  A coach is not (usually) going to be there at 4:30 in the morning to get one's lazy butt out of bed and on the road.  If someone doesn't want to do that, it doesn't matter who they pay ..... it just ain't gonna happen.  Bottom line, if an athlete is lethargic and lazy it is more than likely even a coach isn't going to change that unless they are present and on hand 24/7 to keep them moving.  And chances are, then you'd just have a bitter and resentful athlete.

And if that new bike makes it "easier" to train.  Or if joining a group/team makes it "easier" to train.  Or if your fancy HR/GPS/MP3/WiFi gizmo makes it "easier" to train.  Basically, whatever it takes for you to get out the door day after day is good and may very well be "worth it" for a given individual.  But whatever does it for you, you still have to do it.

If you could get him to stop whining, too, I'll nominate you for sainthood.

You are already a coach. You ought to be a paid one. You are very knowledgeable, for one thing, which is great, but you also have that magic Malmo touch, so to speak.

I haven't noticed any animosity towards coaches, but more the attitude seems to be "You can do it yourself (tons of resources, etc.) but if you want to you can hire a coach."

And, of course, buyer beware, and make sure that your coach is going to give you what you need.  I don't see that as animosity though, more along the lines of don't spend your hard-earned cash if you're not going to get your money's worth. 

*snerk*

That's beyond miracle level.  I think that's deity-level stuff right there.