Online Athlete Coaching
Who are SW Sports Performance?
SW Sports Performance provides a large range of sports services including sports therapy, sports massage, sports rehabilitation and online or face to face coaching services for triathlon, running, strength training and nutrition advice.
Our online and face to face coaching services are designed for people of all abilities and experience – you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to benefit! Whether you’re a novice or simply looking to challenge yourself – SW Sports Performance can tailor your programmes to ensure you reach your potential.
Triathlon Coach and Sports Therapist, Sophie Whittingham is passionate about helping people be the best they can be. Through her years of helping clients back into sports after injuries, she is aware of how important it is not to overdo training. Coaching services are delivered by Sophie and close friends Laura Weightman, Emma Gage, Harriet Ballantyne, Anna Iley and Emma Keeton. Singularly we have all perfected our training specialisms, but collectively we create a bespoke powerhouse of coaching packages for athletes. No matter what you are looking to develop in, each coaching package has been designed by a highly qualified professional.
With SW Sports Performance you receive coaching that has been designed to progress your performance and prevent injury at the same time. We believe that you don’t have to be amazing, but you do need to be in it!
We have all competed as athletes, so we understand what it takes to train this way. We are also highly qualified.
Who is online triathlon coaching for?
Whether you’re just getting started, looking for those extra gains or preparing for an endurance event, having a coach can make the world of difference in your development as a triathlete, runner or swimmer.
SW Sports Performance focuses online coaching to both Novices and Intermediate athletes. Novices can make significant improvements very fast with a coach’s help and support. An experienced coach of beginners will be able to help structure a suitable training load, through adjusting the volume, frequency and intensity of the training. Local coaches can also help with technical aspects such as swim stroke, cycling and running. If all your coaching is done online then sending training videos of you swimming, cycling or running can help your coach analyse your technique and then make improvements.
If you are an intermediate athlete and you’re looking for the next gains, keep getting injured or you’ve plateaued, a coach can help to make those subsequent improvements. If the most pressing reason you have for wanting a coach is to improve something technical, then you want to be looking for someone close to home who you can see regularly. However, if you want someone to help re-structure training, provide new ideas, look at areas such as nutrition or using a power meter, race strategy, all of those can be accomplished effectively via internet support.
Get in touch for a free, no-obligation chat!
The benefits of online triathlon, run and swim coaching
There are many reasons why athletes work with a coach. One of the biggest benefits of online triathlon coaching is that you’ll be training smarter. Instead of just swimming, cycling, and running a lot, your coach will design each workout with a purpose – speed, strength, endurance or technique.
Below are 7 reasons why any person can benefit from online triathlon, run and swim coaching from SW Sports Performance.
1: Structure
For many athletes, setting up the structure of their training is the hardest step. There are many components involved in how you prepare for your event. Factors like experience, goal time, time to train and others all come into play. This also makes it confusing. When should you do a base period? How long should your build be? You can certainly work to manage all of this, but it can frustrating, having a coach can take the pressure away.
2: Accountability and Motivation
Accountability is something a coach can provide in a one-on-one manner. For some, knowing someone else is going to see if they miss or shorten a workout gets them out the door. For those that need to have someone else to be accountable to, nothing is more effective than a coach. Hand in hand with accountability a coach can greatly improve motivation to train and get sessions completed. Although very rewarding training very consistently can be draining. Having someone else to cheer you on and push your limits can make all the difference. The mental aspect of training cannot be underestimated. When you have support, you can reach your highest potential.
4: Knowledge and expertise of a coach
There are certainly plenty of resources available to athletes- at times it can be too much. Picking and choosing the correct articles to read on training can be time-consuming and stressful. Having someone invested in your goals and provide a clear plan allows you to focus solely on getting the work done.
5: Lower the chance of overtraining / injury
Endurance training can be addictive, and overtraining is a real concern. Having someone else to monitor not just your daily workouts but your overall health can keep you from overdoing it
6: Time Management
Quality training over quantity!!
The majority of athletes have limited time to spend training, so ensuring that every session matters and no time is wasted is key. Having a coach to create a plan that works with your schedule and directly address your strengths and weaknesses can take you to the next level without wasting your time.
7: Do the thinking for the athlete
Whether it’s analysing a run, looking at your overall season, or addressing a weakness, there is a seemingly never-ending list of elements to incorporate into your plan. This can be overwhelming to many athletes. This is where the coach not only saves time but frustration as well, they can assess all your data then have a chat in person, over zoom, phone call or email to discuss where improvements can be made.
Training peaks
SW Sports Performance coaches use training peaks to set the weekly training plan, track completes and non-completed sessions, precisely analyse athlete’s data and look to see if your athletes are progressing as they should be.
Training Peaks is an online system designed for athletes and coaches wanting to structure their training and achieve sporting success maybe as an elite athlete, on the local club run, or chasing segments.
As a coach, one of the most important data points we like to receive is your subjective feedback on how you felt during a workout. Logging feedback in Training Peaks after workouts provides both coach and athlete valuable insight into how training is going. Doing this consistently attaches a valuable subjective perspective to all the data that can be tracked through the app and also lets the coach know how the athletes are feeling and any concerns they may have.
Within the SW Sports Performance team, each athletes Training Peaks account subscription will be included within the athletes monthly coaching fee, so all you need to do is set up a profile.
Summary
A Coach is certainly not a requirement for participation in endurance sports such as triathlon, running and open water swimming, however, there are many benefits that a coach can bring to your day to day training. A good coach’s experience, depth and knowledge can help athletes reach their full potential and reach those goals that they did not think were possible. Take time to pick the correct coach for you, ensure they are able to help you with elements that are important to you
