Coaching Dilemma!

            As I have become increasingly involved in competitive, amateur endurance sports such as triathlon, I am confounded with the question of the necessity in seeking out a personal coach.  My competitive nature says “why not, you can’t PR Ironman Arizona alone” while my Competitive Nature says “wouldn’t it be incredible to PR Ironman Arizona alone?”  Or, is seeking out a health professional more than just for feeding my competitiveness?  There could be something to say for a full life of health and wellness guided by the people that know best.  As I have a more positive, optimistic personality, I tend to enjoy comparing the pros in both scenarios.

Coached

1.       Personal fitness assessments, testing of current fitness level, performed by someone far more knowledgeable than myself

2.       Personalized goals based on the above assessments that push me forward without the risk of injury or burnout

3.       A streamlined monthly workout schedule that saves me a countless amount of hours to design

4.       My own encouragement guru, coming alongside daily to lift my spirits as I grind inconsistently through the program

5.       Someone to watch me cross the finish line while offering a high five, smiles, and a much needed sports drink

6.       A professional who not only accompanies me through the short-term but provides an outline for life long health and fitness weaved intricately through a busy American lifestyle

Un-Coached

1.       Possibly saving $120 - $240 per month (based on 1 training session per week at a corporate club such as 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, Gold’s Gym, etc.)

2.       Becoming a semi-professional trainer: Sifting through thousands of blogs, forums, health & fitness websites to gain the knowledge necessary to train efficiently and effectively without causing long term injury while attaining my goals

3.       Becoming a master in self-motivation: Rearranging my schedule to squeeze in two workouts on Thursday because for the 3^rd straight week I forgot about that work team building exercise on Wednesday evening

4.       Proficiency in social skills: Mostly at races because no one is there to greet me at the finish as I desperately need to discuss the ups and downs during that competition’s various trials

As we face the question together of coaching versus solo, we cannot undervalue or underestimate what coaching brings to the table.  Sure, we can all surf the highway of knowledge and piece together a pseudo workout program that may or may not bring us temporary happiness in the short term.  The bigger question is whether we have the time to invest alongside jobs and family as well as money to invest in potential future injuries.  I can’t stress enough that fitness is a life-long pursuit and smart investments now can lead to health savings later.

As for our competitive natures, well, it’s not always about the podium finish. 

This is my first post on the new blog!  So excited to see the impact we can all have on each other in health in the coming years.

I hope this blog will offer practical advice, fun ideas, and bring together all of the information available to us that people just don't have the time to learn.  We are all so busy pursuing life that we forget to pursue ourselves and our loved ones in one of the more important areas, health.  Without a knowledgeable awareness of our bodies and how we are treating ourselves through food and fitness, we cannot hope to provide ourselves with any effective means of fighting this issue.

Recently, my wife's youth pastor from high school passed away from a heart attack.  He was in his early 60's, has kids as well as grand kids, and loved life fully.  Throughout the past decade he has battled heart attacks and had multiple stints put in place to improve his health.  Now for his family they are left prematurely with the thought that maybe something could have been different.  How many times does this occur in America today?

According to Cooper Institute and the American College of Sports Medicine, there are 830,000 deaths annually due to cardiovascular disease with around 400,000 specific to heart attacks.  About 90% of these heart attacks occur at rest as opposed to during physical activity.  They have also stated that there are approximately 1.25 million heart attacks each year in America.  Lastly, since the flu epidemic in 1918, CVD (cardiovascular disease) is the number one cause of death in our nation over the past century.

There is actually a solution to this problem apart from medication and thousands of dollars in healthcare, physical activity coupled with a healthy diet.

• The ACSM states that for minimum fitness an individual should perform moderate activity 5 days per week for 30 minutes per activity or vigorous activity 3 days per week for 20 minutes per activity. 

This is possible!  We must find the time in our busy schedules to work these into our days.