Online fitness/nutrition coaching?

terizius wrote: »

Has anyone used online fitness/nutrition coaching? What are your thoughts and/or experiences?

I think you're going to find a very wide variety in terms of price, expertise, and services when it comes to coaching. My coach is Eric Helms of 3DMJ but he is primarily an advisor/educator for me. I originally hired him specifically so I could "get my nerd on" as we call it. I will session with him on Skype and just ask him questions the whole time, because in my opinion he's brilliant.

I'm also a coach, and I hired him to make myself a better coach. Then, I got an interest in powerlifting so I also had him program for me, and teach me about program design in the process.

I also know a handful of other coaches and I've been able to talk shop with them so to speak, to learn about how they do things and in my opinion there are similarities among the ones I consider "good" and then you also have coaches who call themselves coaches but really just hand out templates and don't take an interest in their client on a personal level, nor do they customize their approach to things.

One of my clients sent me her previous package from the coach she had and it was literally a template with another person's name on it and very clearly wasn't considering her goals or preferences.

A good coach is going to do a lot more listening than talking, and they should be taking your individual circumstances (goals, preferences, limitations, history, and how you are feeling about things) into consideration when it comes to their methods and interactions with you.

Having said all of this, I know that @LolBroScience and @Sarauk2sf have used online coaching for themselves, so I'll tag them and hopefully they will chime in with their experiences.

Generally I think it can be a great idea but it's not for everyone, and I'll also add that not every coach will be a good fit for every client.

@SideSteel pretty much covered it.

I learned quite a bit about the importance of being consistent, how and what my body responds to, etc. I worked with a coach for a little over a year, and then decided go off and handle my own programming and nutrition as I felt I was comfortable and knowledgeable enough to do so efficiently.

More than anything, they were able to be a resource (other coaches in their network who are very knowledgeable) for questions regarding diet/training, as well as mental support.

terizius wrote: »

Thank you all for your feedback. Sidesteel, welcome back from your trip. I hear it was great (I pseudo-follow you through Sarauk). Do, you both feel that online coaching was valuable, and worth your time and money?

Yes, it helped me to take the burden off myself back when I was not confident enough with my own knowledge base.

If I were to do coaching again, knowing what I know now... I would only do it if I were to compete.

I have not - because I'm very skeptical about the 'expertise' one might get. Its kind of hit or miss, you may get a great coach or someone who thinks they know it all but is totally clueless. So I've done my own research. I'm not an expert, but thru reading/research + trial & error I've found my way.

terizius wrote: »

Has anyone used online fitness/nutrition coaching? What are your thoughts and/or experiences?