Considering it. What's your experience? What package? Results?
Many thanks.
What do you want to achieve from it? Is it for racing, for sportives/enduros or just to get fitter?
I'd be interested in coaching too, but feel there's a bit more I can do on my own first. Then again coaches are supposed to be good for motivation.
Racing. Doing ok with sorting out my own training but don't really have the time to get it wrong. Want to bring a bit more knowledge and expertise to planning and training.
I used to work for / with the guys at RST - they are a good bunch.
I have my own coaching business now. I know "advertising" is frowned upon so email me if you want to know more about it. Brief overview: I am an ex-elite MTB racer, phd in exercise physiology, look after some really good riders - I have two young riders in the top 20 on GC at the Tour of Britain at the moment for example.
Jon
LabMonkey, thanks, shall email you later today.
Was just going to mention LabMonley but he beat me to it. I can highly recommended Jon.
Oh hello Lee! It's been a while - hope you are well! And, thanks for the recommendation.
Quick bump for the lunchtime browsers.
Isn't that iDaves' lot? Remember him?
Oh [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/blatent-coaching-plug-with-chipps-blessing ]apparently so[/url]. Not the most popular individual around these parts I seem to recall.
Can recommend my coach, Total Cycle Coach, worked with him for ~ 17 months now, always there when I need him
(including phoning him in tears at the weekend), he's helped with proper warm up, we Skype every week & additional emails if needed, race tactics etc are all part of it, and he's brilliant at analysing my power data & using that to tweak my training plan (hello more evil intervals!)
Maybe give Rich Simmonds a look? I can only talk from a TTing perspective, but he has made me go faster. I know of one top notch tester he has really helped and one elite roadie who really rates him. He is a nice chap too.
http://personalcyclecoaching.com/pcc/testimonials/
The middle plan in £70 a month. I did a 49.35 on the R25/7 (not the cheat course) this year compared to 51.5x something last year on the same course and better conditions last year too. I occasionally beat guys who I would normally consider much better riders than me and managed to win the Welsh 12hr with 280.4 miles.
I am no athlete either!
Not the most popular individual around these parts I seem to recall.
I think he really knew his shit though. Just promised (and got paid for) a lot of things he couldn't deliver. then went to france to ride his bike 😀
dirtygirlonabike, that looks pretty good. I like the weekly update thing. Nice that they work via TrainingPeaks too.
iamconfusedagain, main focus would be TTing anyway so that's a good fit. Looks a bit cheaper but less frequent contact.
Need to be fairly flexible in terms of juggling sessions about (with two small kids who don't always sleep well so sometimes just mentally too knackered for a hard session!) How does that work with training plans you get given? With my own plan I can tweak and shuffle things about.
I just drag my sessions around on TP if i need to move them for whatever reason. My plan is usually set out a bit in advance and then tweaked weekly / daily depending on where in the season i'm at - daily would be if i've come back from illness for example, or maybe as a result of my comments from the session the day before. Have to say for me the contact is important esp when things aren't going to plan (like injury, illness, busy, whatever) I filled in a few questionnaires before we started working together to outline the time i have to train, my timing preferance etc. Although i don't specifically race TTs, he coaches friends who both RR and TT and they are amazing testers. He seems to think i'd be good at it too if i didn't find it so dull compared to RR. 🙂
Rich does his stuff by training peaks too.
With the middle package I am unsure quite how much contact you are allowed, as I can normally do the planned sessions, but it sounds like you can get quite a bit more contact and flexibility for the £100 a month? For me it normally averages out a few emails a month, usually a quick question and the occasional quick phone call.
I have certainly emailed when I have problems or had to switch sessions round, and everything gets sorted out quickly. I normally ask when we have a chat how things could be modified and he gives me alternatives or lets me know if I can swap a Sat for a Sun workout for example.
If you do timetrialling you might have seen Rob Pears on a few results sheets? The reason I signed up is Rob has got faster since using Rich and does regular 18 minute 10s, even though he is in his early 50s!
Another one to add is [url= http://mylifept.com/training.php?p=cycling
]Andy wadsworth[/url]
he has coached oli beckingsale, liam kileen and lots of elite cycling guys/gals in Bristol
Thanks all, some great info. Shall get in touch with them and see what fits best.
Assuming you all think it'll well worth the investment as it is quite a bit of cash.
he has coached oli beckingsale, liam kileen and lots of elite cycling guys/gals in Bristol
This almost puts me off as I'd wonder if they'd really be interested in coaching a plodder like me! 🙂
well i think it maybe shows he knows his stuff. He coached me for 5 months yonks ago and i improved massively.
Also Mulletus Maximus from this parish was coached by him for a while
I think the other thing to consider is what you're doing off the bike. A lot of coaching support companies just provide the on-bike training. That is awesome in it's own right but requires an efficient, smooth running engine (you) to get the most of it and best gains.
Get the rider moving well and strong and then you can get the most out of individualised training programmes. I work on the principle of minimising energy waste through bad mechanics and compensations before trying to get maximally stronger. Build a solid foundation to improve efficiency and minimise over-use/compensation injuries from a big jump in volume or intensity. Aim for a holistic approach of quality movement and control, then get stronger and you'll be able to get the most out of the best on-bike programme.
I'm a strength & conditioning coach and have worked with elite/international athletes for about 10 years. Happy to point you in the right direction as have lots of S&C contacts all over the place. Drop me an email if you'd like.
Cheers
Thought I'd do a quick follow up.
Spoke to a few coaches and went with Jon (LabMonkey/Palmares) in the end. Seemed like a good fit. Been a good experience. Going since Nov but the first month was a bit of a write off thanks to being wiped out by some bug.
He's had me doing things I wouldn't otherwise have been doing and he's had to put up with a fair bit of questioning/whinging as some of it tested my faith a bit. It's been quite a commitment in terms of time and sticking to the plan, some of it's been hard, and at times I've felt bloody awful. And juggling it all around two small kids and a busy job has been tricky. But it all feels like it's coming together very nicely now that it's time to go racing. And I enjoy riding my bike so it's not so bad!
Main benefit for me over, say, some plan off the internet, is that I have a lot more confidence in what I'm doing which for me is essential if I'm going to stick with it (chopped and changed approach too much in the past.) Being able to have a good dialogue adapt to what's going on has been great. Reckon race results are going to show good improvements too 🙂
Edit... just to add, I am a pretty average rider, but if I'm going to go to the efforts of putting in what for me is a lot of training I want to make sure I'm getting the most out of it and not be wasting my time! I'd recommend it to anyone in a similar situation.