Are You in a Broken Triathlon Coaching Relationship?
There are some very good triathlon coaches and programs globally, and like any industry, a few with room for improvement. However, on the other side of the coin, many folks fail to consider whether a coach or program's approach is a good fit for their unique life and sporting goals. This issue becomes most apparent for amateur athletes who are time-starved. Additionally, some coaches excel at the elite end of the sport but are ill-equipped to support the needs and challenges of time-starved athletes. Carrying an excellent reputation for helping Olympic or IRONMAN and Half IRONMAN World Championship athletes to glory is a very different skill than building a program for and managing an athlete navigating the challenges and demands of a time-starved life.
It takes a particular passion for triathlon coaching at the elite level, which I am lucky to have been a part of for more than 15 years, but it takes a different drive to meet the needs of a seriously time-starved athlete. Purple Patch started with a stable of professional triathletes I was coaching, but the true purpose behind forming the business was to right a wrong. I saw many athletes chasing high performance but walking around in a fog of fatigue and underperformance. The situation has evolved, but there are still far too many folks missing the opportunity to excel across health, work, life, and sport, because of the same old problems. I wanted to support and guide these people to better performance.
I cannot tell you how many athletes reach out to discuss their training and assess their options at Purple Patch, with strikingly similar tales of frustration within their current coaching situation.
These frustrations boil down to:
I am just so tired all the time.
I don’t know why I am doing the training I am doing.
My coach doesn’t listen and builds sessions that don’t fit into my life and travel schedule.
I don’t have the option to alter the training plan when ‘life happens’ (which it always does).
These calls with athletes are paramount for us because they ensure we can align the athlete to a program that fits their needs. It may come as a surprise that many of our Squad (a program that doesn’t include 1:1 coaching) athletes report feeling more empowered, listened to, and understood than they ever had with their prior coaching relationships. This is because the athlete's education, the flexibility of planning, and the promotion of independence are the driving forces behind the Squad program.
Many of their prior coaching relationships are not broken due to laziness or poor service. Instead, the coach doesn’t have the required expertise or experience to build programming, feedback, and empowerment for the athlete seeking performance within the chaos of many other stressors. Most coaches have a methodology that works, and they apply that methodology to their athletes. It might be steeped in science and research, drawn from the training of some of the best athletes in the world, and watertight in its ability to help an athlete perform, yet it may not be the suitable method for you. A time-starved athlete is a different animal, and performance success often comes from applying sensible principles within the context of their life.
With all this in mind, here is a red flag guide to help you spot the signs that your coaching relationship or program is due for a change. The guide is split into four areas to help you identify where the problems lie:
Triathlon Plan Organizational Red Flags
We begin with the more prescriptive side of coaching and how the program is applied to you and your situation. Many of these red flag situations can be rectified with clear communication and adjustments in programming. These are critical fixes to make if you want to be successful:
Rigid Programming:
This is all too common. One of my most overused ‘Dixonisms’ is that life is not a spreadsheet. I saw a message from a well-respected coach that said, ‘control your life to control your training.’ This message highlights a lack of appreciation for the unpredictability and chaos of a seriously time-starved life. You should plan to control as much as possible, but when the rigors of work, family, and life come into play, the simple fact is life happens. It is impossible to be successful without a dynamic plan.
Plan Overflow:
Athletes are often unaware of their training capabilities. When training is dumped on top of life and is more than you can absorb emotionally or physiologically, disaster strikes. An integrated plan will produce a better training yield than squeezing more hours into a cramped life.
The Magic Method:
Many coaches aim to apply a single method to every athlete without any flex or tools for different situations. A program designed for an athlete with few time restrictions - training 15-20 hours a week - is simply scaled in duration without any other shift in prescription. The result of this dilution effect is nearly always underwhelming performance.
Well, it worked for me!:
This is a timeless mistake, usually from a successful athlete turned pro, who applies the same approach that worked for them to all their athletes in a blanket fashion. The unfortunate part of this is that many ex-athletes don’t truly understand why any program worked or didn’t work, so using it for their clients is frequently a recipe for failure.
Triathlon Coaching Relationship Red Flags
Beyond planning and prescription, there are a few flags to look out for around the way your coaching relationship is set up.
Plan Swallower:
Some coaches love athletes to simply follow the plan without question. In my opinion, ‘because I say so’ as a reason for doing work shows a lack of confidence and credibility from the coach. The coach hides behind credentials instead of truly partnering and engaging with the athlete and working together for optimal performance gains.
Low Empowerment:
If you are unclear about the key focus of your sessions, self-managing or even shifting workouts around is impossible. An obsession with planning can be damning for a time-starved athlete. Being poorly equipped to self-manage is a serious red flag.
Lack of Empathy:
Some coaches fall into a broadcast mode and don’t have the skills or desire to listen. For time-starved athletes, this tends to result in sessions that don’t fit life or travel schedules or no adjustments in the training when fatigue emerges from external factors. A coach’s ability to simply listen and empathize with the broader situation is essential for time-starved athletes.
The Plan Casserole:
If you cannot identify key sessions and lighter supporting sessions in any given week of training, then there is undoubtedly a communication breakdown. If your training schedule is full of sessions set up in an equal priority hierarchy, you are in the world of plan casserole.
Fatigue Red Flags
Of course, one of the most glaring red flags comes from signs of fatigue and other related challenges.
The Life Lag:
Your training shouldn’t feel like a second job, and you shouldn’t consistently struggle to show up for other areas in your life. While fatigue is often a part of the training journey, the overriding result of training should enable one to become more vibrant, energetic, and healthy. Of course, you can expect to be challenged and tired, but it shouldn’t be a constant cloak of fatigue that you have to shoulder through all aspects of life.
Poor Performance Predictability:
If you experience highly erratic energy, mood, and performance in training sessions, then there is something wrong with your overall recipe. It will often be the prescription or execution of the plan and can even be related to under-fueling. Whatever the reason, it is imperative you don’t rely on random performance readiness, as this will result in race day being like a roulette game.
Injury Cycles:
Some introspection is necessary if you are stuck in a cycle of overuse injuries. Injuries happen, and it certainly isn’t always the program's fault, but repeated cycles of setbacks signal reason for reevaluation.
Social Red Flags
I’ve saved the best for last. Many of you are surprised to see these points in a piece like this, but I feel they are vital considerations.
Lack of Enjoyment:
Training can and should be fun. The most successful program isn’t just scientifically valid, but one that you can consistently execute well and have fun doing. It’s okay, even preferred, if you occasionally stray from specificity and include soul-filling explorations and adventures. If your training is stale and repetitive, why punish yourself? Consider a different approach.
A Monkey on Your Back:
As I previously mentioned, your training should not feel like a second job. This is so important, yet many athletes cannot wait for a break after a big race as they think they have a monkey removed from their back. If this sounds like you, ask yourself why? Integration into life equals success, and if you always feel like training is a roadblock to enjoyment, you might benefit from a shift in approach.
Isolation Nation:
A pet peeve, I cannot stand coaches who encourage athletes to never participate in group events or training for fear of losing some magic specificity. What in the world is the mission here? Community, connection, shared suffering, and joy are valuable parts of the athletic journey. These facets of life and training shouldn’t just be encouraged, they should be integrated into the programming whenever possible. The smiles from a group setting can be a powerful catalyst for broader performance change. Don’t allow yourself to go on the journey alone.
This guide aims to steer you toward greater empowerment on your journey and ensure alignment with the best program and coaching set up for you. A shared mindset is an integral part of a trusted and successful journey toward your best performance.
Cheers,
Matt Dixon