“The Journey to 300,” Part 6: Coaches Need Coaches
Editor’s Note: This is the sixth part in a multiple-part series written by Athena Perez, chronicling her year-long weight loss challenge, which she now calls “The Journey to 300.” Perez has documented her weight loss and fitness journey across social media and in her articles for Morning Chalk Up. You can read the other parts here and here.
Upon receiving the news from my previous coach that he would be unable to coach me any longer, I immediately began making phone calls within the first half-hour. However, I must confess the initial days were steeped in a cocktail of shock and confusion.
The details of those first few days may be somewhat hazy now, yet I am certain that quitting was never considered. I was going to proceed with or without a coach.
During this time, my inbox also began to fill with direct messages and emails from various coaches across the space, each offering to step in.
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Numerous scenarios materialized out of the ether.
For instance, one coach suggested that they would take charge of my movement training, but someone else on their team would handle my nutritional needs.
Another coach offered to manage my nutrition but expressed reservations about addressing my scaling needs. There were also immediate and future concerns about time and availability with a few others.
In essence, the landscape was overflowing with potential and promising opportunities, yet the perfect arrangement remained elusive.
On the Friday night of that initial week, I was immersed in the mundane task of doing dishes when Coldplay’s “Army of One” began to play softly from my playlist. As I listened to the lyrics, it conveyed a powerful message of unwavering dedication, resilience, and the determination to fight for and protect this journey no matter what.
The thought of navigating the rest of the year solo without a coach became a compelling consideration. Nutrition had seemingly been on autopilot since the second day, and because I’m a coach myself, I could modify movements like nobody’s business.
However, my concern was that I tend to be overly cautious and don’t push myself the same way a coach would.
On the other hand, how could I possibly reject the chance to evolve, receive support, and gain wisdom?
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The next day, I was engrossed in the materials from the “Working with Larger Bodies” course, gearing up for the upcoming Gym Accelerator Summit and Seminar in Nashville. Intriguingly, there’s a particular section in the course where we delve into a candid discussion about our nutrition approach with coaches.
We shed light on the potential pitfalls of coaches attempting to juggle multiple roles. While some excel at this multitasking, others falter, and the repercussions can be harsh. Instead of merely losing a nutrition client, for instance, they risk losing a gym client as well.
This insight underscored the importance of specialization and the potential risks of overextending oneself.
Each time we conduct a seminar, it’s as if you can peer into the faces of numerous coaches and witness a wave of relief washing over them the moment they realize they don’t have to shoulder every responsibility. It’s palpable almost every time.
We tell coaches it’s okay to refer things out. A single coach doesn’t have to wear every hat imaginable.
There’s a common misconception that we’re limited to seeking guidance from just one coach — but who set this rule in stone?
When do we ever consult only one type of medical professional?
We routinely visit a variety of specialists, such as chiropractors, optometrists, dentists, and physical therapists. So why should our approach to coaching be any different?
Reflecting on those familiar expressions I had grown so used to seeing, I realized it was a moment of epiphany.
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In the blink of an eye, I grabbed a whiteboard pen from the kitchen and hurried out to the box. Hastily, I wiped the whiteboard clean, standing there for a brief moment, my chin thoughtfully tapped by the end of the marker cap, as I stared at the blank canvas before me.
With conviction, I declared, “Redesign it!”
Why did it NEED to be an army of ONE? Why couldn’t it be more than one?
I wasn’t replacing my previous coach; he was already gone.
This process wasn’t a critique or endorsement of the previous eight weeks. It was simply an opportunity to reimagine and reshape the road ahead.
Crafting a vision for the future is a cornerstone of personal growth, and for good reason. I owed it to myself to dream without boundaries, without the constraints of realism. The goal was to pinpoint the support I wanted to advance on my journey, irrespective of whether this precise vision materialized or not.
I wrote down “movement” and “fuel,” as these were the spheres I was already honing in on.
Yet, I was profoundly conscious that 80 percent of this journey revolved around mindset and an additional unquenchable desire to keep my faith paramount, so I also inscribed “mindset and faith.”
Beneath these three pillars, I listed everything each should embody. I gleaned lessons from the preceding eight weeks, pinpointing the areas that flourished and those that needed change. Not because things were “wrong” but because I got the opportunity to pause and reflect, whether I asked for it or not.
I was aware of the inherent risk in seeking “the one.” It was improbable to find a single coach who was an expert in all the areas I was interested in. Even if such a person existed, it was unrealistic to expect them to possess all the answers, let alone the time and energy required.
By diversifying my selection of coaches, I could obtain the support I wanted without overtaxing any one person. This approach would also allow me the opportunity to take advantage of the undeniable gift of working with several of these amazing new mentors. The gift was to learn from them and attack an additional area that never made it to the board: to be a better coach along the way.
To me, it was nothing more than a journey strategy. If one of the pillars falls for any reason, the impact going forward will be minimal.
Three hours later, I had a new blueprint for the rest of the journey and a potential coach identified for each pillar. I stood there smiling at this new design and anxiously wondered if the coaches would agree to the idea and special areas of focus. “Mindset” was the common overlap in all three areas, but for the most part, there wouldn’t be any stepping on toes as the focus differed.
Admittedly, it was one hell of a toolbelt. I figured the worst that could happen is they’d said no.
I told myself, “Be braver. Go for it”.
They didn’t say no.
This was nothing more than an obstacle, and I was designed to overcome them.
I’ve got staying power. Is this truly a matter of quantity, or is it about the extent of what you’re willing to confront and DO to reach your goal?