Do You Need a Coach to Push Yourself?
I am really good at motivating myself. I have been able to lose weight, change my diet drastically and maintain a really good fitness routine, all while fighting the influence of my family, who at first, thought I was crazy! When I first decided to change my eating I embarked on a very gruelling cleanse! It was absolutely worth it, but at the time, while I was eating nothing but plain chicken, rice and vegetables my husband sat beside me eating Doritos! I know, right! How rude! But I did it! So I think my motivation is pretty good.
But a couple of weeks ago I realized the power of having someone else motivate you. Being a Personal Trainer I am always the one motivating everyone else. I became comfortable in the fact that I didn't need anyone else to motivate me. I was wrong!
I started running about five years ago. It's an exercise I never liked before, but the peace of the road and the short length of the workout crept into my bones and my attitude towards running changed. But I suck at it! I am slower than a turtle! And no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get faster. It's a little embarrassing! So I started tracking my pace with an app (that I swear at frequently) and tried pushing myself when I run. Nothing! Slight change, nothing drastic. In two years I shaved off 10 seconds a km!
I decided I was just not a runner. It was okay, I was never going to be fast at it and I would just have to be comfortable with that. Enjoy the run, I told myself. Stop being so competitive! Relax! Who cares! And I was right. It doesn't matter at the end of the day. But then something happened to change everything.
I started running with the neighbourhood running group. More so to meet some new people doing something I enjoyed. And it was great! Unfortunately, I haven't been as consistent with them as I would like since I've been teaching cycle classes like crazy. But I still found running with the group really rewarding. Then after a couple of weeks away from it I went back and was running with a woman who's very fast! I didn't think I would keep up with her (and I'm sure she was slowing down for me) but I did! She kept my focus on something else while she talked about things in her life, past marathons etc, and it was really interesting! I felt tired but not too bad! And I finished that run at a pace 20 Seconds faster than my usually pace! A pace I maintained almost the entire 5 km! I was shocked! I had never ran even close to that before.
Right then and there I realized the benefit of a coach! It is so much more than someone else guiding you on how to do something the right way. It's about being pushed out of your comfort zone to go where only they know you can go! It's about growing and going to place you never thought you could visit!
I am a coach. But that doesn't mean I don't need a coach. I need it just as much as anyone else. And at the end of the day, me having a coach makes me a better coach! And what a reward when you achieve what you never thought you could! It's an amazing feeling! So get out of your comfort zone! Get someone to help you out! What do you want to achieve? Let's go get it!
