Did you know the word COACH comes from the Middle French word for carriage?
And for years I’ve said my job is NOT to give people a free ride to their end destination – HAH!
The word coach can be traced back to the 1550s, but it didn’t become used to define the role of instructor, trainer, or tutor until it was used as an Oxford University slang word in the 1830s.
In the 1860s it made its way to the athletic world.
Recently, the term coach has worked its way to business, education, and just about every field out there.
Today, coaching is regarded as the skill of unlocking a person’s potential to maximize performance in a variety of fields.
As a coach, I know this world has blown up and become quite watered down. It feels that everyone you graduated high school with has some type of coaching title.
And yet, hundreds of thousands wake up every day feeling underachieved and as though they’re miles away from their full potential.
Why?
Because nobody has ever shown you how to find the IDEAL coach.
Think back to the coaches you’ve had in life.
Sports?
Music and theater?
Business?
Life?
Why don’t they coach you anymore?
You may have grown out of some, but others just weren’t the right fit.
Coaches, like so many other things, need to fit your personality, goals, communication styles, and lifestyle.
Since this is The Complete Guide to Finding Your IDEAL Coach, let’s dive into all things coaching.
Goal
First things first, you need to identify your goal.
If your goal is to lose body fat and build your leanest physique, then hiring a business coach is not right for you.
You need to know your goal, and not just “Lose weight” or “Be healthier.”
Your goal needs to be specific so you can pinpoint the perfect coach with the right skillset to help you achieve it.
If your goal isn’t specific enough, then I recommend you check out The Ultimate Goal Setting Guide to help you get ULTRA clear on your goals. I have all of my in-person and online clients complete the guide, and you can grab your copy for FREE HERE.
Fitness
A goal related to fitness relates to your physicality and health.
Examples include:
- Strength Goals
- Performance Goals
- Body Composition Goals
Positions:
- Personal Trainer/Coach – One who trains your physical fitness in a 1-on-1, small group, or large group setting. At Complete Performance (Circle Pines, MN) we offer both 1-on-1 and small group training.
- Physical Therapist – One who trains you to strengthen specific areas of weakness or injury. This requires a higher-level degree and is outside the scope of practice for our Complete Performance staff.
- Sports Performance Coach – One who trains you to improve your skillset and overall individual performance in sports. We have an entire division dedicated to training to sports performance, wherein we train athletes from our local community (Circle Pines, Blaine, Centennial, Mounds View, Coon Rapids, Andover, etc.) and virtually for those who live at a distance.
Nutrition
A goal related to nutrition relates to the food you consume and how it relates to your overall growth, heath, and well-being.
Examples include:
- Fat Loss
- Prevention or Treatment of a Condition (Gastrointestinal, Autoimmune, Neurological, etc.)
- Bulking
Positions:
- Nutrition Coach – One who educates you on what is nutritionally necessary for your body based on your individual goals. At Complete Performance all of our clients have the option to pair nutrition coaching with their body composition or sports performance membership.
- Physique Coach – One who educates and manipulates your diet (and likely your training) to prepare you for a physique competition. This is a unique skill and practice for a nutrition coach, and one we refer out for at Complete Performance.
- Registered Dietician – One is professionally trained through higher education to take improve your overall health or treat for specific conditions. Another skill that is out of our scope of practice, and one for which we refer out.
Business
A goal related to business relates to the development of your professional career.
Examples include:
- Career Advancement
- Business Formation
- Skill Development
Positions:
- Executive Coaching – One designed to aid senior leaders to improve leadership and personal performance.
- Team Coaching – One designed to aid corporate teams improve connectivity, productivity, and effectiveness.
- Career Coaching – One designed to help individuals identify their skillset and pair it with the appropriate job or career.
Lifestyle
A goal related to your lifestyle relates to personal growth and development.
Examples include:
- Relational Development
- Personal Growth
Positions
- Finance Coaching – One who helps to improves your overall financial status or prepare for future endeavors.
- Mental Health Coaching – One who helps to improve mental health status by working on one’s emotional, mental, or spiritual health.
- Relational Coaching – One who helps to improve relational health, romantic or otherwise.
Contact Style
Once you’ve determined your goal, it’s time to shorten the list of coaches by determining your contact style.
This is something HIGHLY underrated by many.
Originally, you’re so excited to find a coach who can help you get to your end goal that ANYONE sounds to be the right fit.
Then, you get started and feel misled and alone because your coach isn’t communicating in a way that fits you best.
So what are the ways one can be communicated with?
In-Person
This style of coaching means your coaching sessions take place in person.
While the frequency of communication depends on the individual and coach, it’s important you invest in the amount that suits your goal and needs.
Pros:
- Face-to-Face Interaction
- Questions Immediately Answered
Cons:
- Travel To and From
- Reliant on 2 Schedules (Your’s and the Coach’s)
Complete Performance offers in-person coaching at our Circle Pines locations. We have clients who meet us as little as once per week to a maximum of six sessions per week.
Online
This style of coaching means your coaching sessions or interactions take place virtually.
Now, with the technology that surrounds us, online coaching can be more than emails back and forth.
Online coaches utilize video communication, video recordings, voice recordings, digital trackers, text, email, calls, and a number of other variations.
Pros:
- Communicate on Your Schedule
- No Travel Time (which means you can work with the IDEAL coach regardless his or her location).
Cons:
- Response or Feedback Is Not Instantaneous
- Not Always Getting the Full Picture
Complete Performance offers online coaching for Body Composition and Sports Performance clients. We treat these clients just like our in-person and allow them access to us 24/7.
Hybrid
This style of coaching combines in-person and online styles.
This style of coaching is up and coming but is one that’s taking off because of its flexibility for both the coaches and clients.
Pros:
- Schedule Flexibility
- Still Receive the Face-to-Face Communication
Cons:
- Travel Still Required
- Reliant on Schedule Coordination
Complete Performance offers hybrid coaching for both divisions as well. One of the best parts about the COVID-19 shutdown is that many have their own at-home gym settings, and our hybrid coaching now extends into one’s home gym.
Coaching works.
Regardless the type of coach you hire or the field in which you’re looking to maximize your potential – it works!
Productivity jumps to 88% with coaching as compared to 23% when working alone.
Return on investment also jumps from 88% from 22%.
Studies have found a 17% performance difference (for the better) with coaching.
Other areas that have shown improvement include:
- Goal setting
- Stress Levels
- Confidence Levels
- Time Management
- Communication
- Income
- Motivation
- Relationship
- Health
- Quality of Life
- Goal Achievement
You get it – it works!
So, what’s stopping you?
I’m willing to bet one or more of the following.
Time
There are HUNDREDS of things that come before you – family, work, friends, pets, your church group, and literally ANYTHING besides your own personal needs.
You jam your day packed and buzz through it wishing for more time to do things for you.
The problem is that you’ve been a “Yes” Woman or Man for far too long, and it’s left you with a packed schedule and no time for YOU!
So how do you get out of it?
SAY NO.
Find the things you want most in your life (another plug for you to complete The Ultimate Goal Setting Guide) and start saying “no” to anything that’s NOT one of those.
More time won’t just magically appear, but you CAN make time.
Money
“Oh, money’s tight right now.”
“That’s just out of my price range.”
“I just can’t afford it.”
Finance is quite a limiting factor for people.
The hardest part about coaching is that the price comes up front because you’re paying for DAILY tasks, work, and coaching.
Take a look at this.
Our LOWEST coaching membership is $117 for the month, and that gets you unlimited group workouts for a month. Classes are offered 6 days per week throughout the day, which means your membership could end up being less than $4.00 per day.
How much do you spend on coffee in a day?
Alcohol in a week?
Eating out?
Online shopping?
Or worst of all, cigarettes?
I’m willing to bet that if you cut back on those purchases by 10%, that you’d be able to afford DAILY workouts for an entire month.
The truth is that we’re so quick to spend money on things that provide instant gratification, yet what we don’t realize is that it’s hurting our long-term satisfaction and happiness.
Fear
Time and money are the most common excuses, but in my experience it’s FEAR that’s the TRUE limiting factor.
You’re comfortable where you’re at because you KNOW the result of your day-to-day actions.
The idea of discomfort is scary and uncertain.
You have NO IDEA what the future holds, and more than likely, it requires you to change who you are and redefine your identity.
But if fear is stopping you, I’d challenge you to imagine what’s scarier – the path you’re headed down now or the one that happens if you make a life-saving change.
In my life I have been blessed with so many great coaches, and I want to take this time to thank them for the skills they’ve taught me.
Troy (Team Impact, Andover, MN) taught me discipline and how to be a teammate.
Dan (Coon Rapids Basketball) taught me tenacity.
Drew (Volleyball, Fridley, MN) believed in me as the underdog.
Paul (Softball, Fridley, MN) taught me that knowledge is just important as physical skill.
Ken (Powerlifting, Maplewood, MN) introduced me to the sport of powerlifting and helped me fall in love with training again.
Cody (Business, Life, & Nutrition, Seattle, WA) has coached me in it all. He’s helped me grow into an effective leader, coach, and blog writer 😉
About The Author
Jordan Davies is the Co-Owner of ,Complete Performance. Jordan has her B.S. in Exercise Science and Psychology, and her M.A. in Holistic Health Studies. She is a CSCS certified strength and conditioning coach, and a PN-1 and NCI-1 certified nutrition coach. She loves to study how the human body needs to be moved and nourished and making that fit to your unique lifestyle. ,Click Here Now to Apply for Coaching with Jordan.
