I know I was supposed to talk about food/nutrition this week but I fell into an internet hole the other day and really got to thinking about the notion of coaching after reading this New York Times article. After all, there are coaches, there are people who love being coached, and there are the individuals who coach themselves. And this doesn’t just relate to athletic endeavors: it’s an everywhere-in-your-life thing. So this week I’m leaving the yoga and the strength training and the running (ugh, I can’t quit — signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle — training starts next week) and the monetary cost of my new fitness endeavor behind, and I’m going to challenge everyone out there to recognize where they coach, where they’re coached, where they coach themselves — and then to maybe change it up a little.
Like the author of New York Times article, I was taken aback when someone actually asked me to be a coach. In terms of sports, I’ve always been the hear a command, carry it out type of person (hence loving to row — all I have to do is sit in a boat, and the coxswain tells me what to do). But I went and got my US Rowing certification and now you’ll find me out there, yelling with the best of ‘em. And man, it can suck out on that river, being in charge. Sometimes dead birds get stuck in the launch engine. Sometimes you have to screech through a megaphone at drunken pleasure-boaters screaming along in no-wake zones, worrying the waves capsize your rowers. Sometimes you have a mish-mash of skill sets in one boat, and you have to beg the achievers to take it down a notch and challenge the novices to dig down and find a bit more strength. But nothing beats seeing a novice move up into a master’s boat, or seeing someone click into gear and “get it.” Coaching is humbling and stressful and wonderful all at the same time. Lesson I learned? Try stepping into those coaching shoes sometime, even if it’s scary, or you think, “ugh, I hate telling people what to do” or “I could never do that.” You may be surprised.
Then there are those who LOVE to be coached. You know how I whine about hating to “work out by myself?” You know what fixed it? A recorded female voice that tells me what to do through my headphones (Nike Training Club, free in the iTunes store). My yoga instructor tells me how to further contort my body and I do it. I receive an assignment at work and I do it. 90% of the time, my natural intuition is happiest when presented with a task that has specific measurable results and being left on my own to decide how to complete it. Funny thing is I had no idea this was the case until I was forced to be a coach myself, and finally saw how much of my time I spent having my hand held.
Hate to be coached, or love to push yourself and yourself only (long distance runners — I’m looking at you, you freaks!)? You guys are who I especially challenge to try a different type of coaching (and I’m also intensely envious of your ability to wake up at all hours of the morning to get your solo workouts in). But what if you used some of that individual drive to coach someone like me into a more active decision-making or project suggesting role? Or what if you let yourself be coached, and find that it drives you to a new performance level?
Ultimately, some navel-gazing about how you interact with others and how it affects your performance is worth it from time-to-time. And not just in the gym — who knows what could happen if you take this idea to the office??
- Sheena Moore
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