mike12

I'm thinking about getting a coach for next year and don't really have any input from my friends as they have never used one. I'm fortunate enough to have the means to afford one & feel that a coach would help me improve. I only race a few times a year, but do like to compete against myself and do well at the local charity rides which are about the same as a race around here. My concern is that the structured nature of having a coach would take away some of the fun I currently have in cycling.

Right now I do structure my rides, but I don't feel bad if a buddy calls up in the morning and change my plans. I'm wondering if a coach would make training too rigid for enjoyment b/c if I pay for a coach I'm going to do what they say. I'll probably get one to see if I like it and if I don't just cancel the relationship, but any insight would be appreciated.

thump55

Does having a coach take the fun out of it?

Cycling: No

Sperm donation: yes

robbyville

I had a similar decision last late winter early Spring. I got a coach, and frankly very much enjoyed the structure of the rides, it made me a better cyclist faster than my previous training. Plus I liked that he would help me to interpret my power data, etc. Like you I don't race much, maybe 5-7 races each year plus I do a bunch of charity rides. I gave him a calendar of how much training I could do along with the races I was planning, he built my monthly calendar based on the season. He also helped by giving me some upper and lower body workouts using common household stuff since I wasn't planning to buy anything and live in a rural area with no gym. This helped me a fair bit too.

It did change the few rides I do with others, my riding partner understood that there were times where I'd go off to do an interval or wind down. It didn't adversely affect my enjoyment of riding, but my coach understood that was important to me so he had me doing lots of recovery rides where I could spin and smell the roses.

In the end it only lasted for about 4 months since my work started to get in the way of my training hours but it did work for me and it didn't take away. I hope to do it again at some point.

merlinextraligh

It won't if you find a good coach that understands your goals, and your schedule.
Remember the coach works for you.

A good coach will give you plenty of leash, but also let you know whether your deviations from plan are hurting your performance.

gl98115

It's like trainers in the gym. Whether the client is sweating under a barbell or just sitting around chatting for the hour, the trainer is still getting paid $60.

bt

I used to love my couch after a hard ride, so for me, no.

surgeonstone

Agreed, no substitute for a good couch.
Coach on the other hand...I don't need no stinkin coaches.

GravelMN

Depends on the coach and what you enjoy about cycling.

kbarch

If you're concerned about a coach taking the fun out of riding itself, I'd say definitely not - it should just be a different kind of fun. But if you're concerned about some schedule or routine that would be contrary to a more casual, impromptu approach to deciding when and where to ride, well, that's different. If you don't want to make it a priority, then don't, but you should be able to get some coaching on an occasional basis as well. Our club has some accomplished racers who give classes and also make themselves available for private lessons, and the only time I ever paid for coaching, it was just a single session - no need to sign up for a package or contract term.

Clyde1820

Depends on you, the coach's style, and how you respond to such guidance. Couldn't say. You'll know yourself best.

I've coached some, and I've had several coaches. (Though, not with cycling.) There's generally a regimen, a combination of steps and focus that gets the results. Some like to be shown that, even when it gets really focused and "gritty." Some get cranky when the volume gets pumped up. The quality of the instruction can often smooth things, if accommodating the given student. So long as such stylistic changes still yield the results intended, that should be fine. Some coaches are experienced enough, and good enough listeners, to be able to make some such changes.

With running, I always viewed, say, interval training on hills as being the one workout that risked my good views on the sport. But I knew what the goals were, I knew the value of that regimen, I knew I was improving based on the quality of the intervals, course, and amount of effort/focus I put into it. During such training, of course it was a sport to lambast the coach ... but it would have been infinitely harder to get the same benefit without the coach. (At least, on the hills and the type of intervals we were doing. Much simpler with a coach, for all the good-natured grousing we did, at the time.)

mike12

Thanks for the comments. I'll certainly keep these comments in mind when in making the decision to get a coach & choosing a coach, if that's the route I take.

revchuck 

Mike - Keep in mind that since your training builds towards a goal, some of the stuff you'll have to do just won't be fun, even though it's worthwhile. If you're serious about attaining that goal, you'll have to sometimes beg off of rides with your friends when invited. If you do go with a coach, be sure to let him/her know that that aspect of riding is important so they can schedule group rides as part of your training. My group rides are almost always with my team, so they're always high-intensity/near race pace rides, and my coach is happy to have me do them when they fit with my goals.

OTOH, when your coach schedules recovery rides, your inner voice is going to yell that they're too slow. Many folks have a hard time doing them for that reason. This is where you need to listen to your coach instead of your inner voice.

Having a coach has increased my enjoyment of cycling, because I'm faster and stronger.

pdedes

My favourite coaches have been the ones that helped me design and self-administer my own programmes. I wanted to be an intelligent athlete, self-reliant, and have the tools to measure my own progress. However, at a provincial match sprint on the track, I had a fractured elbow, (happened in the semis) so I was riding for bronze. My coach saw me race the first of the best of three conventionally and lose. He gave me a radically different tactic and strategy to use, I took the remaining two rides and got a medal.
Whether with a coach or not, if you are riding for competition and looking to get as fast as possible, most of the experience is unpleasant. I'd posit that 97% of the time, the training was difficult. But for that 3% of the time, my form was glorious and I'd ridden faster and what seemed to me, effortlessly, beautifully, scintillatingly.
This year a recurring back injury kept me from M1 competition. I took all the computers off the bikes. Took a camera instead. I had a pile of fun riding, still went pretty fast, and got some great pictures.

BillyD

Maybe he'll take the enjoyment out of it, maybe he won't. Like you said, try it and see.

Find a female coach and most likely it will add extra enjoyment.

chaadster

I love having a coach (starting 3rd year), but remember there are different types of programs. Some train for racing, some train for fitness, others train power. I appreciate my power program, most of which is done on a Cycleops stationary, and which allows me to work with the coach year-round; we're always in the studio, but ride together with the club in the summers only, so there's still plenty of time for my regular ride buddies. Well, not plenty; I've never enough time to ride as much as I'd like to!

revchuck 

Nope. Mine was a Cat 1 road racer before she got married and had kids. I get no mercy!