I have spent most of my life around coaches. From the time I was a kid playing soccer to my current training for HYROX, coaches have played an important role in helping me become a better athlete. I have learned that even when I have the knowledge, experience, and motivation to train on my own, there is still tremendous value in having someone else guide me. In fact, some of my biggest athletic breakthroughs have happened when I stopped trying to figure everything out myself and trusted a coach. That is why I always work with a fitness coach when I have a meaningful goal that I want to achieve. A great coach does more than tell you what workout to do. They help you understand your potential, challenge your assumptions, keep you accountable, and show you how to train more effectively. 

In this post (and the YouTube video linked here and the podcast episode linked here), I’m sharing why I always work with a fitness coach to reach my goals.

Coaches have been part of my athletic journey since childhood

My experience with coaching started when I was very young. I began playing soccer casually when I was around four years old, and at the same time I was newly diagnosed with asthma. I had soccer coaches teaching me how to play, but I also had my parents, doctors, and other healthcare professionals helping me understand how to navigate sports while managing my limitations. As I became more serious about soccer, I spent more time working with coaches through different seasons and soccer camps. Their guidance helped me develop skills that I would not have developed simply by playing more games.

When I went to college, I stopped playing soccer competitively and got involved with ultimate Frisbee. I already had good throwing skills because my dad and I had been throwing Frisbees together for years, and soccer had given me a strong endurance base. However, the upperclassmen who coached us helped me bring those abilities together and become a much better player. That experience reinforced something I have seen repeatedly throughout my life: you can have individual skills, but the right coach can help you combine them into something much more effective.

Knowledge does not replace coaching

After college, I went through a period where I did not have a one-on-one fitness coach. I became deeply involved in yoga and eventually completed Yoga Sculpt teacher training. Later, I earned my HIIT certification after becoming more involved with Endorphin. These experiences gave me a much deeper understanding of exercise and training, and they also gave me the ability to teach other people.

That knowledge was valuable, but it also created a trap for me. I started to think that because I knew so much about fitness, I did not necessarily need a coach. I could research training methods, build workouts, track my progress, and make adjustments myself. I had the resources and experience to train independently. The problem was that knowing how to train and knowing how to get the absolute most out of yourself are not always the same thing.

My ego sometimes tells me I can do it alone

One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that your ego does not always look like thinking you are better than everyone else. Sometimes your ego simply tells you that you do not need help. That has definitely happened to me.

I experienced this with long-distance cycling and climbing 14ers. I could train with friends, put in the miles, and figure things out along the way. I was able to finish 100-mile bike races, but I was not necessarily getting better at them. I was completing the races rather than maximizing my performance. Looking back, I can see that I had reached a point where additional effort alone was not enough. I needed someone with the experience to look at what I was doing objectively and tell me what needed to change.

That realization has changed the way I approach my goals. When I have a goal that really matters to me, I am willing to invest in a coach because I know that another person's perspective can help me go further than I could on my own.

A great coach should push you harder than you push yourself

The first reason I work with a fitness coach is simple: a great coach should push you beyond what you would normally do on your own.

When you train by yourself, it is incredibly easy to stop when something becomes uncomfortable. Sometimes that is exactly the right decision, especially when something feels unsafe or abnormal. But there are also times when you are capable of doing more and your brain is simply telling you that you have reached your limit.

A good coach learns the difference. They understand when to challenge you and when to pull you back. They can help you discover that your perceived limit is sometimes different from your actual capacity. That does not mean blindly pushing through pain. It means having someone experienced enough to help you determine when you can safely ask more from yourself.

The right coach needs to understand your limitations

Pushing harder only works when it is done intelligently. This is particularly important for me because I am an athlete with asthma and have other health considerations that affect how I train.

My coach needs to understand who I am, where I am starting from, and what limitations I need to account for. That does not mean my coach needs to be my best friend. It means they need enough information about me to make responsible decisions about my training.

I also believe it is important to recognize the limits of fitness coaching. A fitness coach is not automatically a healthcare professional, and coaching does not eliminate risk. I make sure the people I work with understand my situation, and I encourage anyone with a health condition or other limitation to communicate openly with their appropriate healthcare professionals and coach. The goal should always be to challenge yourself while doing so responsibly.

My 100K ultramarathon showed me the power of the right coach

I saw the impact of great coaching most clearly when I hired Caitlin to coach me for my 100K ultramarathon in 2024. At the time, I had a lot of uncertainty surrounding my health, and she knew about it. More importantly, she cared about keeping me safe while still finding ways to get the most out of my abilities.

She understood that I wanted to compete seriously, so she did not simply tell me to take it easy. Instead, she helped me train in a way that accounted for what I was dealing with. During the race itself, she also had strategies that I would never have thought of on my own, including using ice to keep my body temperature under control and using pickle juice as part of my race strategy.

Those details mattered. Ultimately, I won that 100K ultramarathon, and the experience reinforced my belief that the right coach can take what is already inside you and multiply it.

Why I hired a HYROX coach for my next big goal

After taking some time away from serious racing, I found myself with another goal. In 2026, I decided I wanted to pursue a podium at HYROX Denver.

I knew I could train by myself, but I also knew that doing so would not necessarily give me the best chance of achieving that goal. That is why I started working with Scott at Endorphin South Broadway in Denver. Scott and Gina have extensive HYROX experience, including competing in singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and relay events. They also run HYROX focused classes and understand the demands of the sport from personal experience.

What attracted me to Scott was not simply his experience. It was his objectivity. I knew he would tell me the truth, even when the truth was not necessarily what I wanted to hear.

Sometimes the most valuable thing a coach can give you is honesty

After my second HYROX simulation, I finished in 69 minutes. I was happy with the result because it gave me a baseline and left me time to improve before my first HYROX event.

I asked Scott what he thought my chances were of making the podium at HYROX Denver. His answer was honest. He told me I had a lot of work to do, especially because my age group is competitive, but he also believed that if I took HYROX seriously, I could potentially cut four or five minutes from my time and become competitive.

That was exactly what I needed to hear.

Sometimes I can get caught up in what I have already accomplished. Winning a 100K ultramarathon in difficult conditions can make you feel like you are capable of anything. But that confidence can also become a blind spot. A coach who can objectively assess where you are today, rather than simply celebrating what you have done in the past, can help you move forward.

A great coach can reveal opportunities you never saw

One of the biggest benefits of coaching is that you do not know what you do not know.

Scott has helped me look at HYROX differently. Instead of simply telling me to run harder, he has shown me ways to conserve energy and move more efficiently. He has coached me on how to approach burpees, how to transition between stations, and why continuing to move efficiently can make a significant difference in my overall time.

This is the same type of coaching I experienced during my 100K. Caitlin knew strategies that I would never have considered on my own. That is one of the biggest reasons I believe investing in a coach can be so valuable. You are not simply paying someone to make you work harder. You are gaining access to experience that can help you work smarter.

My 3:54 kilometer was a reminder of what coaching can unlock

One of my favorite recent examples happened during a HYROX training session. I had already been working hard for more than an hour, and my legs were exhausted. Scott had me complete 50 meters of lunges with an 85-pound sandbag before asking me to run a kilometer in under 4:10.

I had no idea whether I could do it.

My legs were already tired, but I trusted the process. Halfway through, Scott told me I was on pace. The entire group started rooting for me because he had made it clear that if I finished under 4:10, the training session was over.

I finished in 3:54.

I had no idea I was running that fast. That moment was a perfect example of why I work with a coach. I needed someone outside of my own head to set the standard, hold me accountable, and help me discover what I could do when I was already fatigued.

A great coach should encourage and empower you

Coaching is not only about criticism, intensity, or pushing your limits. A great coach should also encourage and empower you.

Scott was objective with me, but he also believed in me. That combination matters. If a coach only tells you what you are doing wrong, training can quickly become discouraging. But when someone can honestly tell you where you need to improve while also making you believe that improvement is possible, that creates a powerful environment for growth.

The same principle applies outside of athletics. Whether your goal is to run your first 5K, lose weight, build strength, complete a HYROX, or simply become more consistent with exercise, you need support that helps you believe in your ability to improve.

The right coach can take the stress out of training

Another major benefit of working with a coach is reducing the amount of mental energy you have to spend figuring out what to do.

Training is already demanding. You have to show up, put in the work, recover, and stay consistent. The last thing you need is to constantly wonder whether you are following the right program or wasting your time.

A good coach can give you direction. You still have to do the work, but you no longer have to carry all of the responsibility for designing the path yourself. That can make training feel more focused and purposeful.

For me, this is especially valuable when I have a major goal. I want to spend my energy executing the plan rather than constantly second-guessing whether I created the right plan in the first place.

You do not need to wait until you are an elite athlete

You might be reading this and thinking that coaching is only for serious athletes. I do not believe that.

You do not need to be training for a 100K ultramarathon or trying to podium at HYROX to benefit from a coach. In fact, coaching can be incredibly valuable when you are just starting out because it can help you establish good habits and avoid common mistakes.

The key is finding the right coach for your goal. Look for someone who listens to you, understands your starting point, respects your limitations, challenges you appropriately, provides useful feedback, and makes you believe you can improve. The best coach is not necessarily the person with the most impressive credentials. It is the person who can help you become the best version of yourself.

Accountability can change everything

One of the three pillars in my Healthy Living Guide is accountability, and I believe it is one of the most underrated parts of living a healthier life.

You can have the perfect workout plan and know exactly what foods you should be eating, but knowledge does not automatically create action. Accountability helps turn intention into consistency.

That is another reason coaching has been so important throughout my life. When someone else knows what I am working toward, checks in on my progress, and expects me to follow through, it becomes much harder to make excuses. More importantly, it becomes easier to keep moving forward when motivation inevitably fluctuates.

You can unlock more of your potential with the right support

I have learned throughout my athletic journey that I do not need to prove that I can do everything alone. There is strength in asking for help, and there is tremendous value in surrounding yourself with people who can help you see what you cannot always see for yourself.

That is why I always work with a fitness coach when I have an important goal. I want someone who will push me, understand me, challenge my ego, give me strategies I would not discover on my own, hold me accountable, and encourage me when things get difficult.

You do not need to become a completely different person to reach your goals. You may simply need the right person beside you to help bring out more of what is already there.

If you want to start building a healthier and happier life, I also created my free Healthy Living Guide, based on my own journey of losing 40 pounds in three months and working toward becoming an elite athlete. The guide focuses on three pillars: movement, tracking, and accountability.

DISCLAIMER: THIS INFORMATION IS MY OPINION AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER. PLEASE CONSULT A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER FOR GUIDANCE SPECIFIC TO YOUR CASE.