Ryan McKie, Jason Nutting

First day back with Ryan McKie and Jason Nutting

Why I Need a Coach

This past week I was glad to get back in the gym. Since New Years, I’ve been sidelined with a knee injury from a sliding adventure in Iowa over the holidays.  I’ve realized I’m not as young as I once was, because it’s taken me longer than usual to recover.  Even though my first session back at the gym was painful, my coaches helped me get through it!  I’ve noticed, I do more with coaching than when I try to do it alone!

A problem with some is they think they need to be “self-made”.  Anytime you see someone successful it means in someway he’s gotten a whole lot of help along the way.  You always move faster when you’ve got a person in your corner pushing you.  Great achievers know they can’t do it alone, so they reach for a coach.  I’m glad I’ve got the coaches at Performance QSA in my corner.  I continue to hit new fitness goals because of what these coaches do!

3 Things Great Coaches Do

They Provide Accountability

I like to live in the world of abstract and idea creation.  The challenge for me at times is execution.  We all get paid to get stuff done and having accountability pushes me with deadlines to make it happen.  Accountability pushes me to get projects done faster!  My fitness coaches provide the accountability that pushes me to the gym.  Who provides you with accountability to get stuff done?

They Provide Encouragement to Do the Hard Things

Honestly, at times some of my decisions are more emotionally based than logical so I need someone to hold my feet to the fire and do the hard things.  People usually take actions for 2 reasons, either to avoid pain or get pleasure.  I know I shy away from hard things so I need someone in my corner encouraging me to get the hard stuff done.  That first day back at the gym was hard but I did the work because my coaches believed I could.  Who gives you the encouragement to do the hard things?

They Provide Feedback

I believe what people need the most but get the least of is, constructive feedback on their own behavior.  Think about when was the last time you actually got feedback?  When I’m working with organizations one of the first complaints I hear is, “Dennis, I just don’t get enough feedback!”  Think about it for a moment, if you’re not getting feedback, whose fault is it?  Be careful not to fall into The Drama Triangle but take responsibility for getting feedback.  “You have not because you ask not”.  Even though at times it’s painful to hear from my coaches how I’m not doing a certain exercise, I need to push through and receive the message.  Who is providing you feedback on your own behavior?

What Do You Need From a Coach?