 Hey guys, welcome to another video and another installment of my video series becoming a running coach. So if you're a aspiring running coach out there and you want some tips, this video is for you, but if you're just an athlete and you're interested in maybe getting a coach this still might be interesting to you because you'll be able to see how I work as a coach online and maybe that will appeal to you. So you know you might think that online coaching is just a matter of giving the client a plan and then sending a few messages now and then or a few emails. I find that that's not how it works. There's a lot of keeping track. You've got to write down everything. Basically in this video what I'm gonna go through is how I coach online, okay? The different platforms that I use, the different systems that I use in order to keep track of what I'm doing and what the athletes are doing as well as obviously planning their training, mapping out their season and of course communicating with them. So I have a system in place and that's what I want to share with you today. Alright, so the first thing that we do when a new client is starting up is what I call the starter pack. Okay, so that just consists of the initial consultation, building the actual initial plan or the framework for the plan and the second consultation. The initial consultation is obviously very important. That's where you first communicate with the athlete face-to-face. That's where you break the ice and that's where I like to get to know the client and I typically go through a questionnaire where I will ask them a bunch of questions about their training history, their goals, you know their schedule, when can they train, when can't they train, what days of the week, how much they want to train, how many days they want per week, etc. Previous injuries, all kinds of questions that I can probably go into in another video but just getting to know them and wrapping my head around how I'm gonna build the plan for this particular person. Then the initial consultation finishes and I work on building their plan. So I build the framework for their plan maybe for a few months and I try and sort of find a rhythm that I think can work for that for that client. Then when I've done that we do the second consultation where I go through the plan and explain all the concepts and how it works and how the training works and etc. Give them the plan and then they're off. Now the plan has started and they are now enrolled, you could say, in my coaching subscription. So I offer different subscriptions. I'm not gonna get into that now but for example a monthly subscription means you are getting a new plan every month or an update to your plan, custom and you're also getting a consultation half an hour where we discussed the previous month of training and the upcoming month. So that's the starter pack. So when I build their plan I do it actually in two different places. The first thing I do is to make what I call a cycle plan or a periodization plan if you will. So that's something I do in Excel on my own computer. I build the framework for the coming months even possibly the whole year. So here you can actually see the cycle plan. So it's basically just the months going down on the left there and then this is the previous months and then here's what we're working on at the moment. The macro cycle that we're in now, the race buildup. So a little bit of information there and then even the rest of the year is filled in there with a potential like we could do this, maybe we could do that. During this phase we might do that, just a general outline. But most of the information you can also see the past few months and this is where we're at now and that's just general overview type of information like kilometers per week, frequency of runs per week, the distance of the long run and then it's also like a little bit of information about the main focus that mesocycle and key workouts during that mesocycle and race, time trials, comments, etc. So overview, periodization plan just to have a framework in place before I go to my other plan, which is the actual calendar that the athlete sees online where they're getting their details, their workout details and their day to day training. And for that I use a platform called VDOTO2. So VDOTO2, the number dot com, VDOTO2 dot com. There's a link in the description and full disclosure I am affiliated as an ambassador, if you will, of VDOTO2. So this video is technically sponsored. But I contacted them about that because I was already using the platform and I really like it and I'm just a huge fan of this whole Jack Daniel system. If you've read the Daniels running formula, the best running book ever in my opinion, you know what I'm talking about and the VDOTO2 platform is just optimized for running training the way I see it anyway. So that's what I use. It's a great system. You can sign up there as an athlete for free or if you're a coach you pay a monthly price for using their platform and it's just a really good way to monitor your athletes, keep track of what they're doing, communicate with them and obviously plan their training. So let's take a look at inside the calendar there. So here's the calendar in VDOTO2 and I've gotten permission from my client to show you this. So this is just obvious, you know, showing you the the weeks with the total weekly volume and the different workouts and these workouts can be dragged and dropped around, right? I can move them around. It's easy to program workouts. So inside of each workout you have the details. If they're already done it like here you can see the details, the graphs, the paces that they did, etc. You can comment back and forth there with the client. I can add workout notes inside the workout. So I might program a quality session like four times a mile at threshold for example and then add a little note that says, hey make sure to run a controlled steady effort. Don't run too fast on the first rep or something like that. I could add that in there as well as adding in the warm-up and then cool down, etc. And then the athletes can comment on it before or after they've done the session so we can sort of keep the communication relating to the actual workouts themselves. So this is where the athlete will get their training and this is where I will program their week-to-week training. So if they're on a monthly plan that means once a month after a consultation I'm taking a look at our cycle plan and then by using that as well as what I currently know the athlete is like where they're at I will plan there the next month of training on V.02 in the calendar and then on any given day the athlete or me as their coach in communication with the athlete we might move sessions around a little bit depending on whether that's necessary or not. So it's constantly updated and constantly dynamic and that's really important you don't want to be stuck with a training plan that you can't change that's not good because the body responds differently from day to day and from person to person you've got to be flexible with your plan. So I find that those two plans there with the cycle plan in excel as an overview of framework together with the V.02 calendar that works well if I only had one of the two like if only I had the cycle plan I wouldn't have the details and the flexibility day to day of the plan but if I only had the V.02 plan and it would be difficult to know what to do next like planning their next week if there's no overarching framework to the whole thing you know this is called paradiseation where you focus on different elements of fitness and you progressively build towards a particular goal. So I find that those two ways of doing it really complement each other so the athletes will get their cycle plan after I've built it during the starting pack and and and they're also getting of course a filled out V.02 calendar as well as an information sheet I like to send them an information sheet where I've just written a little bit about how it works how the V.02 system works what the different paces are like general best practices tips and tricks on how to be a good runner and how to train well recovery practices just just a very short information sheet that I like to give the athlete as well when we're signing up so that's the starter pack and the actual training calendar planning tools that I use now in terms of communication which is really key if you didn't catch the first episode of this series just check out this video where I talk about communication how important that is as a coach but in terms of how I communicate with the athletes I have two two ways of doing that one of them is actually the comments obviously in the V.02 platform right I showed you how they can comment on their runs they can also add an athlete note on any given day I can add a coach note so we can sort of have a little back and forth stuff going on there and the other way I communicate is through WhatsApp you know the app on the phone WhatsApp messaging app you can use any messaging app even email but I find WhatsApp to be the best for my purposes and in terms of what type of communication goes where sometimes it overlaps a little bit of course but I try to keep it like comments in the calendar relates to particular runs like hey this felt good today or or I had a little issue on the third rep that's why the pace got so slow or whatever something that's relevant to the run that I'm looking at or something that's relevant to the calendar for example like I need a day off here you know the athlete might put in a an athlete note saying I need a day off here because I'm traveling somewhere and so when I'm planning their training I can see their note there and I'll be like okay cool that that relates to that particular day so anything that relates to the calendar as such is in the calendar but when it comes to questions general questions or general comments or maybe they want to discuss something with me or have me explain something a little bit more detailed as well as obviously setting up consultations and logistics like that that's where I use WhatsApp right it's just easier to message back and forth a little bit there so so I have those two ways of communicating with my athletes as well as obviously the consultations right I have consultations once a month with the monthly people and once every two weeks with the bi-weekly and once a week with the weekly ones some also don't have consultations I do offer a questionnaire based program which is where you just fill out a questionnaire and send it in once a month that's also a way to communicate but I definitely think consultations is the way to go if you want an optimized plan for you but a lot of communication can be done just through messaging and just through the V.02 platform actually now the last element here is what I like to call client management okay so suppose you have a consultation with a client right what do you do after that are you just going to continue with the next consultation with the next client or just going to move on to do something else maybe that would be a bad idea right because there's a lot of details coming through from the client that you might forget so certainly taking notes I like to take notes right before the session so right before a client consultation I'll look through their training a little bit more in depth I'll take you know get an overview I'll look in the cycle plan again I'll sort of get an idea of where they're at and what are we going to talk about and where we're heading and etc and then I'll make some notes about that then we'll have the consultation where I'll look at my notes and I'll take new notes based on what they're saying and then afterwards when we're done with the half hour that's when I actually sit down and make a lot more notes to get down all the details from the client so a coaching log is really key everything that goes on with that client needs to go into the log right so I put down all the details from the consultation and that's what I use when I'm then a few days later usually updating their plan I'll go through my notes and I'll be like oh yeah that's that's right they told me the mileage was feeling a little too much so maybe I'll reduce it a little bit in the cycle plan and update the cycle plan as well as the calendar or maybe they're telling me the opposite maybe just like hey this is just not I can do a lot more mileage let's let's take it up a notch right so I'll go into the cycle plan and I'll update that so that's based on what I see in the notes in the coaching log based on what they're saying the coaching log also includes updates that might come through whatsapp or the calendar as a comment throughout the training phases as well so even just randomly if the if the client suddenly tells me something that's important to to keep track of or to make a note of I'll immediately just maybe I'll answer their comment in the in the calendar and I'll go to their log and I'll add a little note for that date hey you know this date 21st of January 2022 client had some ankle pain on their run keep an eye on it right so maybe we'll adjust the training a little bit for a few days and I'll keep that event logged in their log in addition to that I have and by the way also in the log I also have all kinds of information about the athlete from the initial questionnaire and from the initial consultation as well as an ongoing update of what days they're like they like to train how are they doing with strength training what what kind of shoes do they have do they have a heart rate monitor do they have a running watch what kind of workouts do they like what kind of workouts don't they like all that sort of key information about that athlete I have in the log essentially like client file where I where I keep track of everything about that client so that I don't forget and so that I can use that when I'm planning their training because when I go from one client to the next and I'm going to build a plan for someone it's difficult to just like oh well of course I get to know their client like my clients and I remember most of where they're at and where they're going etc but all the little details right like this client just hates training on Thursdays or that's just a too busy day for them that sort of thing can be difficult to remember from client-to-client so it's good to have that in the log and just be like ah yeah of course that's this is the rhythm for that client this is the type of training we do with that client so in addition to that log I have all the information and I also have three other logs and one of them is what I call a consultation calendar where essentially I just keep track of when the next consultation is due for that client and then I have a have a I don't know have a word for it but like a plan calendar or is essentially a timeline calendar that shows how far their current training calendar in v.02 goes so for example let's say I've filled out four weeks of training for a client then I'll pull that bar until the date that it ends right so that I know when I'm looking at that timeline I know that oh next Monday next week they don't have a plan in their calendar anymore right I need to update their plan before that so that I can so that they always at all times have their training plan and so as soon as I do that I can pull the timeline until the next time I need to update their plan so I can at a glance anytime just look at all my clients and I can see this client their plan expires or whatever they need an update within the next two days for example and then the last thing is just a client status log where I have all my clients like if there's a message from a client or something that needs to be done tomorrow regarding this client I'll just put it in there very like simple it's just one line like just what's going on with this client right now right so if the client if the next step for this client is to book their next consultation I need to book their consultation for next Saturday it will say that like next step book their consultation for next Saturday as soon as I do that again I can re-wipe that and and and then we'll have the consultation and the next step might be build their plan on Monday for example so I'm keeping a track of what's going on with every client in a nutshell just in in one sentence in that overview so that's a lot I know summing up very briefly I have a starter pack where we do an initial consultation and a second consultation I build the plan based on the questionnaire and the interview and then I explain the plan to them they get their calendar in V.02 they get the cycle plan in Excel which shows the overview of the training and they get an info sheet with just some general information in the training calendar they can move drag and drop they can comment back and forth the details of the training is there and then we can communicate through those comments as well as through what's app as well as the consultations at regular intervals and lastly but not leastly you can't say that I think is client management right keeping track of every little thing every event that happens every time there's a message with some relevant information every time there's a something and certainly after consultations it needs to go into a log and you need to keep track of all the little details with every client otherwise it'll be a mess and you won't really be able to provide that client with valuable customized training so that's how I work as an online coach if you watched this far you're either interested perhaps in getting a coach me perhaps even if so check out my link in the description where I offer coaching or you are a coach yourself or an inspiring one and you have picked up some hopefully good tips in this video let me know in the comments though what you think did you pick up some good tips and are you a coach please let me know and if you have any questions of course you can post them in the comment as well or contact me through the website so I would even offer coaching coaching as I like to call it if you're interested if you're a coach and you would like a coaching session with me discussing particularly how to build your own coaching business or how to do it I would be happy to help you out too so just send me a message and we'll set that up you can check out v.o2 by clicking the link that I've put in the description to learn more about what they offer so that's it thanks for watching please subscribe have an awesome day happy coaching happy running happy training see you in the next video bye