Coaching - online and otherwise

brisneyland

Likes Dirt
Hey kids,
So I just happened to ride past Active Cycle Coaching (in Milton, Brisbane) today and stopped in for a chat.

They offer indoor group training sessions (but I don't have any kind of bike that will work on a trainer) and personalised coaching (for a shite load more).

There's also a few online cycle coaches around but they seem to be even more expensive!!!

Has anyone used services like these? Is there genuine value in forking out $200-300 a month for this stuff?
 

disappearin

Likes Dirt
I've heard good things about PCS coaching. Think it starts around $130 a month...

I wouldn't spend that much on a coach. Find some fast guys to ride with and learn from, will save you a lot of $$.
 

cleeshoy

Eats Squid
Wife has used PCS in the past - was happy with the results - can recommend. PCS training schedules focus around your Heart Rate so you will need a heart rate monitor.

Kelly Coaching also comes highly recommended - for around $220 a month they tailor a program based on watts (power) - much more accurate compared to Heart rate. You can contact them via phone or email and they will modify and change your program where required. The fact they customise the program as opposed to using a "one size fits all" is a huge advantage - everyone recovers at different rates, etc

If you want to improve your results, then a coach is a worthwhile investment. A good one will tailor a program to your lifestyle and available time.Of course you have to commit to it - if you're paying $X a month, that's a pretty good incentive to get out there rather then sleep in and watch TV :)

Sure you can try and learn off some fast guys but chances are the won't divulge everything they know - after all, most of them are paying for a coach too.

The way I see it - you get what you pay for.
 
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railbum

Cannon Fodder
$50 a weeks been worth it for me, using Crankpunk training for over 6 months. I'm well past middle age,was a runner who rode occasionally, now enjoying riding a lot more and fitness gains have transferred to running.
 

mtb101

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Not clear where you're starting from, what kind of event are you aiming at? Mtb.? Sure you can pay the money to do monkey spin classes, in the long run they'll kill your desire to ride. You're in Brisbane mate, warm, sunny, climbs out back - Why go indoors for training?

Find a roadie group for endurance work. Mtb loop for intervals - skills etc, use the cash saved to enter events. Interval training aren't rocket science - it's really about managed intensity & recovery. Get your nutrition right, bmi, you'll be enjoying your riding and occasionally riding at a furious pace. So guess I'm saying money could be better spent elsewhere.
 

DoubleD

Likes Dirt
I agree with mtb101, but spend the first month's savings on some good books, either Friel or Cunningham although the latter's association with Lance is a big turnoff. Learn the basics of periodized training and learn as jot the different energy systems. That should give you plenty to build your own fitness program for a year or 2. After that you may want to engage a coach to help refine it. Skills coaching is a different ballgame. Spending a few sessions a year with a good skills coach is, I've found, money very well spent.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 

Cúl-Báire

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I looked into coaching a sort while ago, I found PCS was the most responsive and by far the best to deal with initially; Donna was a fantastic help and safe to say sounded a little disappointed I gave up on the idea of coaching as I wouldn't be able to commit the time /effort to it right now.

Without knowing what you are gunning for it's hard to give too much advice as it will be very general in nature.

That said some other good sources of info are Hunter Allan and Andrew Coggan, their methods are a little different to Friel and Carmichael but offer some great ideas, and tons of theory behind it.

Training Peaks is a good source of ready made plans, I've used a few in the past with some reasonable success.
 

brisneyland

Likes Dirt
Hey guys,
so some background:
I'm in my thirties, had a sedentary job for the last 5 years (with a lot of study before that) and my fitness isn't what it used to be when I was doing a fair bit of manual labour and snowboarding, mountain biking and climbing at every opportunity. I'm not unfit (I kitesurfed across the Torres straight earlier this year), but definitely need to pick up my fitness for...

... the 2014 SDBC. 600km of very soft sand, tall dunes and blistering heat. I need to maintain an average of 13-14km/hr at a heart rate that will enable me to do it for 5 days straight.

So that's the objective. I have a HRM but power meter is out of the question. I don't have a roadie and don't want one - I like my legs hairy and shorts baggy, thank you very much. Road riding bores the shit out of me (did 25km on the road yesterday and it sucked!)

I've emailed Donna from PCS but haven't heard back - makes me a bit wary for a so called 'online' coaching team.

I'm reading "The Time Crunched Cyclist" at the moment and it's interesting. I'll chase up some of the other info you guys have mentioned - thanks, and keep the info coming!
 

driftking

Wheel size expert
Time crunched it great. If you haven't reached or flicked through the book there are schedules in there that he has outlined. So if you have the resources following one of those is going to be easy.

As for the training what do these trainers do is it just cardio? Or are they incorporating gym work and skill work schedules too? If you want a all around routine a trainer is great because they can help with keeping things organised to prevent over training and maximize your time.
 

geoff_tewierik

Likes Dirt
I've emailed Donna from PCS but haven't heard back - makes me a bit wary for a so called 'online' coaching team.
That's a bit weird, she's usually on top of that stuff.

Got a couple of mates who use PCS, they get a lot of benefit out of it. One has Jodie Willet as his coach and she's got him through prepping for a bunch of big races with respectable results for his age group.
 
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