Having a Coaching App Isn't the Same as Having a Coach
Technology has changed the way we train.
These days, you can open an app and have a training programme delivered straight to your phone. You can track your lifts, monitor your progress, analyse your training data and, increasingly, use AI to make recommendations about what you should do next.
For athletes, that can be incredibly useful.
But there is an important distinction that I think gets overlooked:
Having a coaching app is not the same as having a coach.
A programme is a tool.
Coaching is the process of understanding the person using that tool.
And those are two very different things.
What Can a Coaching App Do?
Modern coaching apps can do a lot.
They can deliver your programme, demonstrate exercises, record your weights and reps, monitor your training history and provide feedback based on the information you enter.
Some can even use AI to analyse data and make adjustments to your training.
That’s impressive technology, and I’m certainly not against it.
In fact, I use technology myself as part of my coaching.
It can make communication easier, keep training organised and give both the athlete and coach useful information.
The problem isn’t the technology.
The problem is assuming that delivering a programme is the same thing as coaching someone.
It isn’t.
A Programme Doesn’t Know You
Imagine your log press suddenly drops by 10kg.
An app sees the number.
It knows what you lifted last week and what you have programmed this week.
It might even be able to identify that your performance has declined and suggest reducing the load.
But that’s only part of the picture.
Why did your performance drop?
Were you poorly recovered?
Have you had several bad nights of sleep?
Have you been under more stress than usual?
Is your technique changing?
Are you struggling with your rack position?
Is something hurting?
Have you been eating enough?
Are you simply having a bad day?
Or perhaps you’ve had a difficult week outside the gym and your head isn’t in the right place.
The correct coaching decision might be to change the programme.
But it might not.
Sometimes the right answer is to push through.
Sometimes it’s to back off.
Sometimes it’s to change the exercise.
Sometimes it’s to address something completely different.
The number doesn’t tell you the whole story.
That’s where coaching comes in.
Coaching Is About Context
One of the biggest differences between following a programme and being coached is context.
Your training doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
You’re not just a collection of lifts, sets, reps and percentages.
You’re a person.
Your training is influenced by your sleep, recovery, nutrition, stress, work, family, confidence, motivation, injuries, competition schedule and everything else happening around you.
Good coaching takes those things into consideration.
That doesn’t mean changing your programme every time something isn’t perfect.
Quite often, good coaching means recognising that nothing needs to change.
The athlete might simply need reassurance.
They might need to understand that a difficult session doesn’t mean the programme isn’t working.
They might need to be pushed when they’re capable of doing more.
Or they might need someone to tell them that today isn’t the day to force it.
That judgement comes from experience and from actually knowing the athlete.
AI Can Be Useful. It Just Isn’t the Whole Coach.
There’s a lot of discussion around AI in fitness and strength training at the moment.
And I think it’s important to be realistic about it.
AI is becoming increasingly capable.
It can process huge amounts of information, identify patterns and help automate certain decisions.
That makes it a useful tool.
But coaching isn’t simply an information-processing exercise.
The quality of a coaching decision depends on the quality of the information available.
And sometimes the most important information isn’t sitting inside the app.
It’s the conversation you have with the athlete.
It’s noticing that they don’t sound themselves.
It’s understanding their personality.
It’s knowing how they respond to pressure.
It’s knowing when they need challenging and when they need reassurance.
It’s understanding their history.
It’s knowing what they’ve tried before.
It’s knowing what works for them.
Technology can support that process.
It doesn’t automatically replace it.
The Difference Between a Programme and Coaching
A programme answers:
“What should I do today?”
Coaching asks:
“What does this athlete need today?”
Those aren’t always the same question.
A programme might tell you to complete five sets of five.
A coach might look at how you’re moving, how you’re feeling and what has happened over the previous week and decide that five sets of five is exactly what you need.
Or they might decide that today isn’t the day for it.
A programme gives you instructions.
A coach provides context, accountability, feedback and adaptation.
That’s particularly important in strength sports such as Strongman, where training can be complex and performance isn’t always predictable.
You Don’t Need to Choose Between Technology and Coaching
This isn’t an argument for throwing your training app away.
Far from it.
Technology can make coaching better.
I can use an app to deliver programmes, review training, communicate with athletes and keep everything organised.
The technology makes the process more efficient.
But the technology is there to support the coaching relationship, not replace it.
That’s an important distinction.
The app is the delivery system.
The programme is the plan.
The coaching is everything that happens around those things.
What Should You Look for in an Online Strength Coach?
If you’re considering online coaching, don’t just ask what app they use.
Ask what the coaching actually looks like.
Will your programme be adjusted when necessary?
Can you speak to your coach?
Will they review your technique?
Do they understand your goals?
Do they take your recovery and lifestyle into consideration?
Will they challenge you when you’re capable of more?
Will they recognise when you need to back off?
Most importantly:
Will they actually get to know you?
Because that’s what you’re paying for when you hire a coach.
You’re not simply paying for access to a programme.
You’re paying for someone’s experience, judgement, feedback, accountability and ability to help you navigate the process.
Technology Is a Tool. Coaching Is the Relationship.
I’m a big believer in using technology where it makes coaching better.
There’s no reason we shouldn’t use the tools available to us.
But we shouldn’t confuse the tool with the coach.
A clever app can give you a programme.
AI can analyse your data.
Technology can track your progress.
But effective coaching is about understanding the person behind the numbers and making better decisions because you understand the bigger picture.
A programme tells you what to do.
A coach helps you understand what you need.
And there is a big difference between having a programme…