Performance coaching is designed to increase the level of performance; in elite athletes, athletes looking to master their field of sport, performance coaching is often focused on performance in big events and focuses on both psychological and physiological preparation.
You however do not have to be an elite athlete to benefit from performance specific coaching- you could for example have a goal of an endurance race or powerlifting competition to work towards for the first time and have no idea where to start!
Training for a specific sport differs from personal training in that the athlete is conditioned and prepared properly to compete in their sport of choice, rather than broader general fitness… which is what personal training is.
Things that would require sports specific coaching, inclusive of but not limited to-
POWERLIFTING, CROSSFIT, MARATHONS, TENNIS
GYMNASTICS, BODYBUILDING, BOXING, STRONG MANS, IRON MANS
Specialist coaches can then deliver enhanced technical and skill-based techniques, a specific diet that follows a progressive developmental pathway that’s sport-specific. Here are some examples.
Sport-Specific Prehab Work
Prehab work refers to the exercises and drills an athlete performs to prevent their risk of incurring an injury. For example, certain sports require repetitive movements in a certain area, which can lead to injury. To prevent injury or post-injury sports specific rehab work will be necessary for the athlete. For example, for a tennis player, you’d be working on strengthening the muscles around the elbow joint and shoulder.
There are of course going to be some overlaps, but with my athletes, the prehab work is where you’re going to see the most sport-specific variation.
Sport-Specific Power Training
There are three major planes of motion—the sagittal, frontal and transverse. These planes encompass any motion, but we are going to talk about them specifically as they pertain to power movements. Sagittal plane exercises are the most common power exercises and they are beneficial for linear sprinting and jumping. An example of a sagittal plane power exercise would be the Clean. Frontal plane exercises are beneficial for lateral power. A Lateral Bound would be an example of a frontal plane power exercise. Transverse plane exercises are beneficial for rotational power. A Rotational Med Ball Toss would be an example of a traverse plane power exercise.
Power is plane specific, which means power gained in one plane does not necessarily transfer to another. A good training program looks at what planes of motion are most commonly used in the sport so that the power gained in training will transfer over efficiently. Every training program should train power in every plane but emphasize what’s needed most in the relevant sport.
Sport-Specific Conditioning
Every sport has a unique energy system requirement. Athletes should condition for their sport based on the rate of play.
Sports have drastically different needs from their conditioning programs. For example, a footballer’s conditioning program would be lower volume and have a greater focus on speed endurance. The soccer conditioning program would have a greater volume and a greater focus on aerobic capacity.
A good sport-specific training program looks at the common injuries inherent to the activity and prehab them appropriately, examines the crucial planes of motion in the sport and prioritizes them accordingly, and considers the metabolic needs of the sport and implements conditioning to enhances those abilities.
If you’re looking for a performance-based coach, look no further, my team is the perfect fit for you- from coaching professional tennis players to cross-fitters my team of coaches, physio, and rehab experts are here to ensure your journey will be the best one you can be on!
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is performance coaching?
No matter how good you are the fact is that at some point of your life and career you may need some advice or expert suggestions. This is where the role of ‘coaching’ comes in. In our everyday life our parents act as the coach, but when you step into your professional life, your parents may not be enough. At that time your task will be lot more easier if you have the right ideas about ‘performance coaching’.
First of all, what is ‘coaching’ actually? In plain words, coaching is a process that helps someone to improve his/her performance in the real time rather than referring something to the past of the future. Well, there are different types of coaching models and different people follow different ones. It depends greatly on the person who is supervising you.
Well, the fact is that there is a bulk of differences between teaching someone first-hand, spoon-feeding in other words and helping them to learn. Those who are interested in the second one are ideal candidates for ‘performance coaching’.
To define the term, ‘performance coaching’ is a process of improvising one’s performance with the help of another person facilitating the whole process of development and action plan. The main aim of performance coaching is to bring about some positive changes in a person’s life. In this process the coach does not advise you directly or provide you with insights of real-life experiences. Instead, he will facilitate the learning process and help you boost your performance at your own pace by means of building a relationship based on mutual respect and trustworthy relationship.
However, experts in the arena also define this as high-performance coaching. This is all about helping people or aspirants to reach their full caliber so that they can put the best out of their capabilities at their workplace or anywhere else. This may involve working with an individual coach or a group of members from any particular organization. When you are working with a group, you will have to collaborate with them. In the process you will end up learning so many skills and new things which will certainly improve your own performance.
So, how does working with a coach improve your performance? Performance coaching and a coach will help you in multiple ways. For instance- a coach will help you identify the obstacles to reaching your true and highest potential after setting practical and achievable goals for you. While collaborating with a coach you will also keep learning new skills and how to figure out your pitfalls. Dealing with your weakness overcoming the stress factors, developing a grasp over your longings and needs, comprehending the reactions of others and motivating a team towards success are all part of the performance coaching process.
However, don’t forget that ‘performance coaching’ can bring about revolutionary results in a business context as it can be used as an effective tool to enhance the performance of the staff. In this regard, realizing the behavior pattern and social networks are an effective way to give a boost to your performance.
How could you identify performance problems or difficulties with your coaching?
There is no denying that ‘performance coaching’ is an excellent idea to ramp up the performance of an individual or a group of individuals. It’s indeed a nurturing process. However, while enhancing your performance, you may face some barriers. In plain words, there could be some performance problems or some difficulties with your coaching. So, how will you know that? Is there any way to sort out the problems or what’s is wrong with your high-performance coaching? Read on to find out the answers.
Well, there is no doubt that coaching can be a very rewarding experience for both the learner and the coach. However, you will have moments when the experience can be stressful. At that time it is important to find out the reason of difficulties or the areas of problems. Under such a circumstance, ask the following questions to identify performance problems that may create obstacles to your path to success.
Is there any lack of objectivity?
Whenever there is any scope of interaction, there will be chances of misunderstanding as well. The coach may have been providing the right suggestions, but may be the person being coached is not getting the points clearly. Or there may be some kind of miscommunication from the learner’s end. There may be some confusions as well between the coach and the performer on how to do something. Lack of objectivity can result in all these problems. To overcome this problem, it is important to talk about the issues and solve those at first and then move on to the next step.
Do you have a long-term plan?
Very often we encounter problems because we don’t have any clear vision and plan in place. This is true in terms of performance coaching as well. If you fail to set any plan or target while going through the steps of high-performance coaching, then you are sure to fail at the end. That’s why it is important to map out a plan about where you want to reach or what particular skills do you want to achieve. Remember that there are so many factors that will play a part in your coaching and unless you have a concrete plan, you are going to reach nowhere.
Are you measuring your progress?
Do you know that there are indeed some parameters to evaluate your performance? Are you using those to measure your progress? If not, then you have problems with your coaching. Track your performance and make the necessary changes in order to step up your performance in the long run.
Finally, you must have the mentality to commit to actions. When you are facing difficulties while being coached, it means you have problems in your commitments. May be you are not committed enough to improving your performance. In that case, you need to explore the afore-mentioned points and check whether you are making mistakes or not. Once you are done with the task of finding the problems or difficulties, you are good to go forward with performance coaching.
