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Post by jrblack on Mar 25, 2018 21:08:16 GMT -7
Has anyone ever hired a trainer or coach? I'm very tempted to since I could use the wisdom who knows more than I do about all of this. But the two guys who are local here (Boulder, CO) don't appeal to me.
Justen Sjong seems to be more focused on mental game, placing your feet with love, breathing, etc. Although I think I could use help in those areas, I'm worried that his style doesn't vibe with mine (I'm much more into the scientific RCTM style of training).
Kris Peters seems to be more of a general athletic trainer who does a lot of aerobic (including running) and core work that I'm not convinced would benefit me at the stage I'm at.
So instead of looking further, I've just sort of given up. My friend Kevin Capps was kind enough to write out a training plan for me, and I've been following that, but he's too busy to really do the trainer thing (ie, check my progress, update the plan, meet for training sessions).
Most people here are self-coached? Have you ever had a coach or trainer?
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Post by jetjackson on Mar 25, 2018 21:39:09 GMT -7
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Post by avaserfi on Mar 26, 2018 8:21:35 GMT -7
I found hiring a coach invaluable. My weaknesses aren't really related to physical characteristics for the grade I climb so I wasn't looking for someone to create a training plan. I've personally found that pretty attainable with existing literature. Instead I got insight into my movement weaknesses I hadn't noticed before and was given the tools to start fixing these problems.
I think the first question to ask is what you want from your coaching experience? The better you can articulate your expectations and goals the more valuable your time getting coached is.
If there are no local options, there are also some great online options depending on your goals. Nate at Power Company Climbing blew me away with his keen eye and attention to detail and really helped me hone in on a few problem areas remotely. Incidentally, I got to do a session with him while at Hueco Tanks, his understanding of movement and ability to consolidate complex action into a relatively simple and easy to follow verbal cue was astonishing.
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Post by erick on Mar 26, 2018 11:33:22 GMT -7
My weaknesses aren't really related to physical characteristics for the grade I climb so I wasn't looking for someone to create a training plan. I've personally found that pretty attainable with existing literature. Instead I got insight into my movement weaknesses I hadn't noticed before and was given the tools to start fixing these problems. This the reason I would hire a coach. I don't really see glaring weakness in my movement, and has been talked about at length on this forum, its very hard to understand what good movement actually is. If I was to hire a coach I would pick someone who I thought really understood movement well and could create drills/workouts to help you train those movement patterns as well as strengthen the muscles that will make them easier to execute. The problem is how can you tell if someone can actually do this? I had a convo with Steve Bechtel where he straight up told me that he does not feel like he is the best person to coach movement skills. I wonder how many coaches would actually be this honest? |
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Post by avaserfi on Mar 26, 2018 15:51:34 GMT -7
My weaknesses aren't really related to physical characteristics for the grade I climb so I wasn't looking for someone to create a training plan. I've personally found that pretty attainable with existing literature. Instead I got insight into my movement weaknesses I hadn't noticed before and was given the tools to start fixing these problems. This the reason I would hire a coach. I don't really see glaring weakness in my movement, and has been talked about at length on this forum, its very hard to understand what good movement actually is. If I was to hire a coach I would pick someone who I thought really understood movement well and could create drills/workouts to help you train those movement patterns as well as strengthen the muscles that will make them easier to execute. The problem is how can you tell if someone can actually do this? I had a convo with Steve Bechtel where he straight up told me that he does not feel like he is the best person to coach movement skills. I wonder how many coaches would actually be this honest? The world is pretty small these days. Watch some videos, find coaches whose climbing style is thoughtful. If they write about climbing somewhere, how thoughtful are they? Another thing that helps is start with a smaller commitment. A single session to see if you two can work together helps. There are some coaches I'm sure are great, but based on their style and writing, I wasn't interested in working with. Walking into my first coaching session, I was not expecting the feedback I got. I thought my general movement patterns were solid, but I was making mistakes I didn't even know about or see when I watched myself climb. The outside perspective really helped. |
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Post by jetjackson on Mar 26, 2018 16:55:19 GMT -7
Yeah, I think in person coaching for identifying technique issues could be very valuable. I'm not convinced that video analysis is all that great a tool.
Although I'd be wary of technique criticism that didn't directly translate to making moves possible, or making moves feel easier. As per our other thread on technique I'm suspicious that a lot of technique criticism is around factors that are more of a style issue.
I think you can get a lot of feedback from climbing partners, so I'd want the person I'd be paying to have a lot of experience coaching technique.
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Post by jrblack on Mar 28, 2018 15:45:12 GMT -7
I think another thing a coach/trainer brings is accountability. For those of us who need someone to keep us motivated and push us when we're not pushing hard enough, a coach can be quite useful.  |
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Post by jetjackson on Mar 28, 2018 18:20:29 GMT -7
I think another thing a coach/trainer brings is accountability. For those of us who need someone to keep us motivated and push us when we're not pushing hard enough, a coach can be quite useful. If you want, I'll give you a once-a-month skype hookup for free where I blast you for not doing your antagonist exercises  |
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Post by jrblack on Mar 28, 2018 18:29:38 GMT -7
I think another thing a coach/trainer brings is accountability. For those of us who need someone to keep us motivated and push us when we're not pushing hard enough, a coach can be quite useful. If you want, I'll give you a once-a-month skype hookup for free where I blast you for not doing your antagonist exercises Lol, free is good! And, coincidentally, I just got back from doing antags! So there, coach... |
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Post by aikibujin on Mar 28, 2018 19:31:03 GMT -7
I think another thing a coach/trainer brings is accountability. For those of us who need someone to keep us motivated and push us when we're not pushing hard enough, a coach can be quite useful. If you want, I'll give you a once-a-month skype hookup for free where I blast you for not doing your antagonist exercises Even better: since I climb at ET from time to time, I can give you once-a-month in-person motivational training session for free, during which I will scream stuff like "CLIMB BETTER NOW!" "STOP FALLING!" "PULL ON THAT HOLD!" "ZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAH!" in my best try-hard voice. Guaranteed to add a number grade to your climbing or your money back. |
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Post by jetjackson on Mar 28, 2018 20:17:32 GMT -7
We joke, but if you just want the coach from a keeping you honest perspective, I'd be happy to do a once a month google hangout of some kind, where we hold each other accountable for our training commitments. I don't think you'll get that for less than $80 a month from an online coach. The PT relationship is often hampered by the fact that you pay them money, so they hold back from pushing you so hard you quit.
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