Online coaching & workouts have become more & more popular & accessible over the past 18 months thanks to the pandemic. All of us have seen online coaches or programmes like myself but maybe aren’t 100% sure what an online programme actually entails.
My online coaching, Event Rider Fitness, gives riders 121 coaching with myself directly but through a virtual medium. Exactly the same as if we were working together face to face in a PT session everything I do is tailored to give you exactly what you need, making sure your programme includes elements you enjoy & gets you to your goal, keeping your programme completely specific to YOU.
That is the key. Online coaching isn’t a one size fits all approach, it’s a bespoke service that gives you exactly what you need to allow you to achieve your goals but making sure what we do is sustainable in the long run & something that works to fit into your life.
When someone first approaches me about online coaching I’ll jump on a quick 10-minute video chat with them. This initial chat gives us the chance to both meet one another & see if I may be able to help you with the problems you’re facing. I like to do things via video call as it’s far more personable & it allows both of us to get a good idea if we’re going to work well together!
Following this call, I will then send you a consultation form where you can tell me more about your goals, obstacles that are currently holding you back & what you want to achieve in this coaching partnership. We’ll then jump on another call where we really delve deep.
This is a great chance for me to really understand your WHY & for us to really identify exactly what it is you’re struggling with. From this, I can then come up with a strategy to help you move forwards.
Following the call, if you decide that yes this is for you then we’ll get the ball rolling right away, no hanging around or start on Monday!
First things first I’ll ask you to do some of the basics like progress photos, adding weight & measurements etc. During your first few days, I’ll assign you some testing sessions to work through. Within this, I ask you to complete an aerobic run or walk to give me an idea of your level of current cardiovascular fitness, complete a bodyweight workout that gives me an idea of how effectively you're moving & where your strength is as well as a movement screen which allows me to identify any mobility limitations or movement weaknesses you may have that we need to work on through your programme.
From all of this, it gives me a great idea of where you’re currently at & then I can meet you where you’re at & we can build from here. This is really important when you first embark on a programme. I never want to overwhelm you as a coach so making sure I meet you where you’re at is crucial in my eyes as your coach so you have a successful start to your training.
Once I have all these elements I will go through all your & screens & assess them. This allows me to understand what you need to work on as well as what you want to work on & then I’ll build your 121 programme just as if I was if we were working together in person.
Depending on how many workouts you want to do within your week I will assign your training sessions. We’ll discuss this when you first start but it’s completely dynamic, we can change the number of sessions you do week to week or as you progress you might find you want to do more.
What’s important is that you’re realistic about what you can fit in to begin with around all your other commitmetns & that’s why I would always suggest aiming for 3-4 sessions a week. You want to set yourself up for wins not struggling to commit to your new routine at the start!
For most of my clients, this is usually a mix of 3-4 full-body resistance based sessions focusing on rider specific strength, mobility & conditioning & then if needed & you want adding in 1-2 cardio sessions a week again depending on goals. Sometimes it may be necessary to add in one more specific session such as a glutes & core day to hit specific goals or a 20-minute conditioning workout that can be fitted in during a busy day. Whatever works for you & you enjoy doing! There’s no best routine except for the one you enjoy & can stick to.
With your training sessions, your programme is sent to you virtually via the training app. You go away & do the session in your own time but I will send you a screen recording explaining the full training week to give you coaching tips & focuses for each workout. This gives you an understanding of why you're doing what you’re doing & also so you know what to focus on within the exercises & session.
You go away & do your session in your own time & then add in your results in terms of sets & reps & work done in the time. If we need to check form, say in a squat movement then I will ask you to add in a video directly to the app which uploads instantly for me to assess & I can then give you some feedback to move your form forwards. This is essential as I want you moving safely & effectively so you can get 1000% out of each movement.
As it’s an app it’s super interactive so I can see what you’re doing when you’re doing, if workouts are missed I’ll be able to keep an eye on that too to hold you accountable & make sure your routine is working for you.
Training wise, your programme will be progressed week to week as your strength & fitness progresses. We’ll focus on making sure we add progressive overload through repetitions done & weights used but that we also challenge you over time with increasing the complexity & demand of movements. Obviously, everything is adapted to you depending on whether you train in the gym or at home & what kit you have.
Even though much of the focus is often put on the training side of things for me this is actually a very small part of your programme. The second thing we’ll get focused on when you start is your nutrition. I don’t give out a structured meal plan for you as in the long run this teaches you nothing.
I do give 14-day example meal plan to give you some examples of meals & inspiration but I want to empower you with the knowledge to create your own meal plans.
The problem with giving you a meal plan or set menu & you going off & following it is that when you’ve done that for 14 days or 4 weeks you’ll just be like ok what’s next? What do I do now?
Which in the long run isn’t going to serve you very usefully! My goal as a coach is to arm you with all the knowledge you need so can be completely independent & in time have full confidence & authority with your choices.
Once you’ve updated your starting weight & metrics I will calculate your calories. I do this using a formula to give me your basal metabolic rate & then from here considering your activity level I further calculate to give you a calorie target. This is obviously different for everyone & depends on your goals whether that’s weight loss, fat gain or maintaining your weight. I’ll then run you through all the nutrition tools in the app such as the recipe guides, meal planners, restaurant survival guides, Event Rider Fitness nutrition guide to give you an understanding of how you can make use of these day to day to help you with your own goals. I’ll set you some focuses for your nutrition weekly so you know what you should be concentrating on.
I’ll ask for food diary photos at the start to give me a good idea & understanding of where your current diet composition & quality is at. This isn’t for me to judge you but for me to understand what a normal day of eating looks like for you. This is where honesty is absolutely necessary so that we can work on making some small changes to your current habits in order to build some slightly better, more sustainable habits that will serve you better in the long term.
What you’ll find is that through the course of say the initial 12-week programme your diet will change quite alot but week to week we’ll just focus on very small changes, such as adding in a protein source with each meal so it won’t feel like anything is really changing making it super easy to fit into your life & stick to in the long run!
My approach with nutrition is to give you full freedom in the long run & have the knowledge that you can make your own decisions, whilst having a balanced diet but still enjoying food & life.
Each week we’ll do a check-in together. Here I ask you how everything has been through the week from sleep, stress, workouts, riding, diet, family life & if there is anything else you need more help with. This enables you to keep yourself accountable but it also makes sure that I adapt your programme as needed to keep you moving towards that goal but also that you’ve got the support you need. Updating progress photos, measurements & weight are also part of the check-in so we can keep an eye on physique changes & again make sure you’re making the progress you want.
If you need extra help then we'll jump on a video call & discuss anything you're struggling with whether that’s maybe your weight not budging or your squat form. As I said before it’s not a one size fits all approach. It’s 121 bespoke coaching giving you everything you need to achieve your goals whilst making sure it works & fits with your lifestyle.
Online coaching is all about the holistic approach; no stone is left unturned from sleep to workouts & this is where online coaching really comes into its own & trumps face to face options.
It’s easy to underestimate how something you may think is insignificant such as your sleep can hugely impact or slow your progress along the journey. So we go into everything & make sure every piece of the puzzle is accounted for so, in the long run, you can sustain the results I help you get but also you have a full understanding of just how important every part of your health is from exercise to sleep to stress management.
Online coaching gives you the flexibility to train from anywhere & at any time in the world with full support from myself. If you’re just starting out on your fitness journey then I’m here to hold your hand & help you to take the first few steps to get you moving but equally, if you’re just looking for that accountability to move your fitness forward then I’m here for that too.
We'll also make sure you're taking rest days within the week as for us horsey girls it’s not like we ever actually get a proper rest day without riding, mucking out or running about so it’s really key we create a balanced programme. Sundays are normally rest days & I implement that within my week too so you have no coaching or feedback on a Sunday then we kick off the week strong on Monday morning!
Online coaching really is the full holistic approach & is the best option for us busy riders; we go away & work through our programme in our own time when suits our schedule but have the full support & accountability of a coach in your corner rooting for you & keeping you moving forwards week to week.
Katie