What Happens When you Sign-Up for Online Coaching?

Getting Started Couldn’t be Easier

Signing up for online cycle coaching may seem like a big step. But actually, over time, I’ve found it can be made really easy for new athletes to get into the groove really quickly and start making gains.

Here’s What happens if you sign up with me?

Most people contact me through the website contact page, and that’s a great way to get things started. I recieve your email and we can set up your free coaching call. I don’t expect anyone to sign up without a good chat first…You want to know what you are letting yourself in for!

What do we talk about?

The first thing about coaching has nothing to do with intervals, sets and reps. I need to get to know and understand you and your goals.

So it’s a pretty informal chat, and it can be about anything. It’s nice to hear about your training history and what drives you to achieve your goals. But it’s also nice to hear what constraints we will have to work around; job, family life, other hobbies, etc.

The conversation may also include what type of training we might use, and you can get an idea if it’s what you want. The training has to be something you will enjoy; that’s how to get the best results.

Training is tailored to you. I write plans that take into account not just your training needs but your home, work, and family life too…so you won’t get a nasty shock with a load of training you can’t do.

Once you Sign Up

Getting started couldn’t be easier. There are a couple of documents that I email over that make it very easy to get the important information I need to get your training plan underway.

I will also share with you your live diary. This means both of us can edit it, and it becomes one of the ways we can communicate about your training.

Your First Plans

Once I have the information and have seen some of your old training diaries (if you have them). I will write your first week’s plan. I write two plans, one overview plan that stretches a few months into the future and a week plan. I only write in detail the plan for the coming week. This means that the plan takes into account all relevant details that impact your training.

I upload your new plan every Sunday Evening so you know what you have to complete in the week ahead. Most athletes prefer me just to write the workouts, and then the athlete decides how to fit them in their week. Some like it written fully into the week…both are fine, so it depends on what you want.

What Happens Week to Week

Communication is Key

This is very individual; it’s a combination of:

WhatsApp is a bit of a favourite with most. This is for quick questions, quick feedback and works really well as it’s in real-time. Some people prefer normal text or FaceBook Messenger…all of which are fine.
Coaching calls are a great way to communicate. Either on the phone or video call, we can get stuck into the details a bit more. I get to learn more about you, and you get to learn more about the process. Both have real benefits in tweaking the plan and getting the best results.
Training Diary is a way you give feedback on both your rides and your week. It doesn’t have to be much. But a few words go a long way and helps me see little things before they become bigger problems.

Everyone is different, so we can work with what you prefer, but most people have coaching calls regularly and in between we use the diary and instant messaging, so if something comes up and we need to change things up…we can 🙂

How do I Analyse Your Training?

I use a combination of intervals.icu and WKO5 to look at your workouts and overall training progress. Once set up, the information automatically comes to my coaching account, so there’s no extra work to do.

If there’s something urgent, I’ll WhatsApp you, and we can adjust things going forward…communication is key!!

Summit Cycle Coaching

Mini Case Study

A female athlete who signed up this year for online cycle coaching had a recent training history based on high-intensity spin classes and one long/hard group ride each week. They were training hard and putting a lot of effort in, but not really progressing…and on the way to burnout.

After the initial consultation, we worked on understanding how to balance training volume and intensity. Personally, I think a lot of the gains came from understanding how training works and the value of training sessions at low intensity. The training improved and over a few months, I would say progress was quite quick, quicker than I would have predicted.

Data from key sessions showed much better control of heart rate at different intensities, so we knew we were on the right track. You can see in the top graph on the right an early session where the HR response is high at all intensities and then later how much distinction there is between work and rest intervals. The bottom graph is much better, clear work and rest bouts…much better metabolic control.

In real terms, these gains are seen in the power at LT1 and their FTP. Over the first 6 months, LT1 increased from 120 to 155 Watts, and FTP went from 156 to 183 Watts. And there is more to come!!

What the Athlete had to Say

‘Neil’s knowledgeable coaching has already helped me achieve more than I initially thought I was capable of.
A structured periodised plan built around my goals means I have continuity and focus, but with flexibility and adaptations when needed.
I have a much greater understanding of my fitness levels and how to train smarter. I’m certainly reaping the rewards of trust and patience with significant gains in my performance.
Much more than a training plan… it’s fun too.’

To read the full Case Study, I’ve written about it here:

Case Study: When Coaching Really Counts

If you’d like to know what we can do for you email:

coach@summitcyclecoaching.co.uk