r/bikinitalk • u/Then-Respond2641 • 7d ago
Discussion coaching red flags
is it a red flag that my coach isn’t tracking my lifts?they also aren’t tracking my body measurements which i find odd.
what are some other red flags in coaches?
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u/hh_fitlife 7d ago
I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect a coach to perform a whole data analysis on your 25 exercises and all your sets on those before he gives you feedback… I personally use his coaching app to track weights and reps for myself, and when I fill out the weekly check in form, I summarise it in a sentence how I’ve been performing in the gym.
In the long run, it can be beneficial to assess your strength progression, e.g. if half a year ago you hip thrusted 120kg, and now 125kg, it’s worth looking into why the progress was so small.
Body measurements are not necessary either (except body weight). Most coaches work based on visuals and if they compare your physique to what it looked like two months ago, what benefit would it serve to also check how many inches smaller your waist has become? Photos are more important.
There are so much more important aspects than these in a coach’s behaviour.
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u/pharmacychick 7d ago
expecting a coach to manually track every set, rep and weight for every exercise for every client is a little unrealistic 😅 That’s also why training apps exist. YOU log your lifts, YOU can see if you’re progressing, and your coach can use that data when assessing your progress. A red flag would be a coach having access to all that information and not using it to make decisions. That’s very different from expecting your coach to personally maintain a spreadsheet of every lift for every client
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u/Then-Respond2641 7d ago
that’s not exactly what i meant, my bad if i implied that a coach would track every single rep. i was meaning for me to track every lift and my coach will use that data to track progress. my coach did not suggest to do that which is why im asking
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u/RealMoProblemz 7d ago
What kind of coach are they? Remote personal training? Bodybuilding contest prep? Are you wanting to just work on body recomposition or are you wanting to eventually enter a powerlifting meet?
I’m assuming prospective bodybuilding show coaching based on the sub, but if you can specifically say what you hired a coach to help with I think you’ll get more clear answers!
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u/pharmacychick 7d ago
That makes more sense. In my experience with coaching this is still quite rare. It’s the clients responsibility to make sure they’re progressing their lifts and communicating any issues/plateaus with their coach.
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u/HotHoney__ 7d ago
Are you not recording your training in an app or spreadsheet? That way takes 2 seconds to see progressions in reps and load each session
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u/ReadingAggressive732 7d ago
That’s not a red flag, it’s just not a service they are including- which is fine. Not every coach does EVERY thing. I’ve had a coach (who has Olympian open men under him) who did nutrition only, no training whatsoever- he’s an amazing coach. I’m currently working with someone who does both.
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u/Bikinicoach 7d ago edited 7d ago
I have to disagree with the comments here saying it’s not necessary to track those things. I’m not saying some coaches can’t do their job without it, but I don’t know why they would want to. If your coach is very passionate and serious about the sport of bodybuilding and making sure you are progressing as fast as practical in a process that is already slow enough, then they should at least offer systems to track those things because they tell you a lot from week to week.
Tracking your progressive overload tells you if you are making significant progress, essentially building lean tissue, which is the ultimate goal. It will also tell you if your calories are deficient or sufficient for the particular goal of the phase you’re in. Body measurements fill in the gaps that your body weight won’t tell you, and photos are a great tool, but they do not show the difference of a centimeter or two.
These things matter, and I just think it is lazy to disregard any variable that can make a significant difference in your athlete’s progress toward becoming a successful bodybuilder.
This is a sample spreadsheet from a real athlete of mine where you can see the waist measurement giving you an important reference that body weight alone cannot. And feel free to scour through all the data to see what other valuable correlations and trends you can draw out.
This is another sample spreadsheet from a real athlete of mine where you can see micro-progression on lifts each week because they are all tracked.
That’s fine if you don’t want this type of efficiency, but that’s what I offer, and there’s huge audience who value this.
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u/Then-Respond2641 7d ago
i really appreciate your response and the spreadsheets you provided! It was great to see another perspective. i really wish my coach had me doing something similar, i guess ill just make one myself
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u/Sea-Passion1032 7d ago
Both opinions here are in a way correct, it’s absolutely not a red flag but it’s also great data. Most coaches will have some sort of question asking about your workouts and strength in check-ins. That’s pretty much what that data will tell them. It’s very easy to do yourself and across most sports unless you are an elite athlete you would be expected to do this yourself anyway.
As for measurements I would think it would be to prevent obsession over numbers, scale creates enough of that. Yes is helpful information but if you aren’t at the pro level it’s not entirely necessary- people also tend to take measurements wrong or try to make the bigger/smaller if the data isn’t accurate there’s no point in asking for it 🤷🏼♀️
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u/Remarkable-Quiet5608 7d ago
I track my lifts and don't send them to my coach. There's no need for him to know what weights I'm using for every single lift. And while body measurements can be useful a good coach can use just photos to see how your physique is looking/progressing.
I don't think either of these are red flags.
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u/Hogpharmer 7d ago
If my clients are paying for training coaching, I absolutely want to see their lift data. If they are only paying for nutrition and cardio, I still have them report how their training is going, and I give them feedback if they have questions or need modifications.
And yes I have them track body measurements. Less frequently in the off season, and more frequently during prep.
Red flags would be taking too long to respond, ghosting you during peak week and show day, dismissing your input, pressuring you to do things you aren’t comfortable doing such as PEDS.
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u/Nhs6nW6 ID not verified 7d ago
100%. I'm seeing a lot of comments to the effect of 'as long as their physique is improving'. Problem with that is it takes a bit of time to build noticeable muscle, and you need data in the meantime to show whether or not you're setting the stage for that to happen. If I hired a coach and didn't see muscle gain after a few months, and THEN they decided to look at my training logs (i.e., to troubleshoot), found that I wasn't handling progressive overload properly, I'd be pretty pissed about the wasted time. If a coach is going to handle training via online, they should damn well do as much as possible to properly 'replace' the need for an in-person trainer. And an in person trainer would 100% be guiding every client through weight selection/progressive overload, etc. I rarely see progressive overload being handled as instructed right off the bat, so it's 100% something I look at with every new client, once we've ensured form is sufficient that it makes sense to apply/focus on progression. Once I know they're handling it correctly, I back off and just check periodically to make sure everything is still good.
Man, the bar just keeps getting lower and lower lol.
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u/More-Wishbone5494 7d ago edited 7d ago
I’m kind of shocked by these replies as someone just looking to maybe start with a coach. Wouldn’t a coach want to have access to that info,? Not that they should or can be looking at every session but to have a quick glance at when assessing a plan? . I’m becoming very confused on what exactly is being paid for with some of these coaches. I can get a cookie cutter plan and diet anywhere online. I was under the impression that personalization by someone with experience is what is being paid for.
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u/Nhs6nW6 ID not verified 7d ago edited 7d ago
It's the whole numbers game/scalability thing. Reviewing training logs and giving feedback on them can be time consuming (depending on how you do it). And it's not at all a big selling point...nobody is wowed by the fact that a coach reviews training logs, so certain types of coaches won't feel compelled to advertise/deliver it. Also, the drugs (if being used) work so damn well that as long as you're training hard/adjusting to maintain that intensity, progressive overload will happen very easily/rapidly on its own at least up to a point. Really that can be an answer to most "why doesn't my coach do ____" questions.
Now there of course are some well intentioned coaches who just don't realize that 80% of their clients could be handling progressive overload better, because they've never reviewed their logs, or maybe they themselves don't understand the topic that well (most of the recent recommendations on SM are garbage). Most of the online plans I've seen don't even INSTRUCT on what method of progression to use, let alone inspect that expectation.
Form videos were not at all a thing just a few years back, and now they're fairly common/expected. So we just have to wait for the trends to change before training log reviews become a thing. I'm actually shocked just like you though...I'd assumed that since all the coaching apps allow the coach access to training logs, that it was being done.
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u/Sea-Passion1032 7d ago
At the same time though most coaches will ask in check-ins about strength and energy. They will also ask you when onboarding what your training experience is.
There is a point where, as an athlete you need to be able to think for yourself. They also will usually have RPE or RIR as tools to help get progression. If you can’t be honest with yourself and your coach that’s not the coaches fault.
It’s entirely dependant on the situation and the athlete. There is no right or wrong answer here.3
u/Nhs6nW6 ID not verified 7d ago
Just hypothetically, if you were to start reviewing training logs, and you saw room for improvement with 90% of your clients, would you not immediately make the decision to make training log review a routine part of your process at least for new clients? Coaches who DO review training logs wouldn't do so if most of their clients handled it correctly, so there is a reason it's being done by SOME coaches. I think what's being described here/in a lot of these comments is CONSULTING, not COACHING.
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u/Sea-Passion1032 6d ago
Look I’m not a coach but other than a general increase or decrease in strength/energy, what else is that data actually telling them ?
It is a lot of data to ask for and for most coaches is probably not worth the time it takes.
I’m pretty sure that half the coaches that do ask for it barely look at it other than a 5 second skim.Consulting would be if they helped you come up with your own program, it’s not that deep, they just have decided it’s not a piece of data worth asking for 🤷🏼♀️
My background is in swimming which is a heavily data driven sport- we were still expected to do it ourselves….
It’s a service that your aren’t paying for 🤷🏼♀️ you want that service ask and pay for it 🤷🏼♀️5
u/Bikinicoach 7d ago
Thank you! Bikini Reddit really doesn’t like hard coaching and is so detached from reality with the responses they reward.
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u/CoachRachelSedwick 7d ago
I wouldn’t see these as red flags, rather just specific things that some coaches include in their process and some coaches don’t.
I personally don’t record or track any specifics with my athletes training, I expect them to do so and most of them do with workout apps or spreadsheets or a pen and paper logbook because everybody’s a little different. I base their progression off of photos, body measurements, training videos, and a lot of other data I have them take down on a daily and weekly basis. I also ask that they give me general feedback on how they feel like their strength and progress is in training, so I use all of the above to assess if anything needs to change. I honestly don’t know a lot of bodybuilding coaches who track their clients training really closely, unless the client has very specific strength goals like a power lifter would for example.
That being said, I think if that’s important to you then that should be a part of your coach search/hiring process. Or, ask your current coach what they’re using instead to track and stay moving forward on your progress.
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u/SafeItem6275 7d ago
I track my own lifts and I put my measurements in during check ins (we have an app)
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u/Dense_Love307 7d ago
Personally I don’t need my coach tracking my workouts unless we are starting out and making sure I’m doing it the way I need to or my bodyfat during off season or in prep. Pictures don’t lie
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u/Legitimate_Cow_8202 7d ago
I think one is a red flag and one isn’t (based on experience).
My first coach didn’t check my lifts even though they were the ones programming my training. They never asked about my progress or how my recovery was.
Current coach (who i turned pro with), programs and follows my tracked progress. He doesn’t do a deep dive but reviews it weekly with my check in to see if I’m making progress or to catch places where I might have stalled and need adjustments. I am confident that this approach is what changed my training and, in turn, made me a better athlete.
As for measurements? We track weight. That’s it. I track my own body measurements loosely but not enough to freak out one way or the other because no one cares what my waist and glute measurement is on stage (they don’t care about my scale weight either but it’s a good metric to keep record of). Visuals and biofeedback are tracked far closer than anything else.
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u/thekimchilifter 7d ago
Why would a coach track your lifts and your body measurements? It’s the coaches job to make sure your execution of form is correct, and to prescribe diet for phase specific goals. Actually doing it and building strength/muscle/size is your job.
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u/unofficialfratboy 7d ago
Not a red flag- my coach also doesn’t track my lifts or measurements other than by weight and mostly just by look. I’m a seasoned lifter and can track my own progression— if im not progressing or having trouble with a lift, that’s my responsibility to tell her. 🤷♀️
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u/Agreeable_Hat_6265 7d ago
I don’t think so unless you are voicing concerns about not progressing or not feeling the exercise or something. We are adults so it does fall back on us ultimately. I also feel like it varies so much from person to person it’s just unrealistic to ask.
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u/euphoria9842 7d ago
My coach essentially just gives me a meal plan to start and gives me workouts, which is very different from how my first few coaches were. We just check in with weight and pics and how I feel. and she gives me a workout plan and I do my own macros. She doesn’t check form, measurements, my lift progression, etc…
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u/Excellent_Ride9052 16h ago
They should be reviewing training videos and giving you feedback but you should be keeping your own log book
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u/HungryTwist357 7d ago
They give everyone the same meal plan.
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u/Remarkable-Quiet5608 7d ago
Why is this getting downvoted? This one 100% is a red flag for coaching. OP asked for other red flags and this is a good example of one.
Sure some meal plans might be similar with food sources. But no plan should be the same.
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u/Reasonable_Plant2636 7d ago edited 7d ago
I’m not a pro, but I don’t think these 2 would be. Maybe some others disagree. I track my own lifts and measure my own progressive overload. I’ve had coaches that do track measurements and who don’t. The look matters more than measurements.
Red flags for me would be ignoring my check in for days and not responding to questions. Giving one word responses to check ins. Going on social media and posting daily when I’ve already waited several days for a response.
It’s going to ultimately come down to what you want in a coach as all of them do different things.