Have you decided to quit your day job and become a coach?
A what?
A burgeoning new advice industry has emerged. Former, or even current, athletes are now designers of athletic–and sometimes even life–programs for the over-acheiving mind-set. It is a good gig. You can sleep late, and save your legs by working primarily at a computer, or a coffee shop, perhaps. People will pay you for your expertise and advice–with their money, not their insurance company’s money. So there is no need for a coder, appeals coordinator or collection agency. Moreover, there is little danger of billing fraud.
But now you have competition. It seems Harvard Medical School has entered the foray.
Maybe this is because Harvard faculty have suffered from enhanced restrictions in their financial ties to industry. Or, maybe it is because they are really smart. They see that many will pay to hear the obvious.
Here are some of their advertised features:
Inside Exercise: A program you can live with you’ll find:
- What can exercise do for you?
- The fundamentals: What you need to know to get started
- Putting together a complete exercise program
- Illustrated strength training, balance, and stretching exercises
- Choosing exercise equipment wisely
- Special Bonus Section: Getting in gear: Tools to get your exercise program moving
A blog is supposed to help people, so I will answer these mysteries for free.
What can exercise do for you? Are they kidding. Exercise is one of the three components of health; along with proper nutrition and adequate sleep, exercise provides health. It is that simple. You would need a terabyte of disc space to list all the benefits of exercise.
What do you need to know to get started? Know that you should start now. You should start slow, have reachable goals and build gradually. You should watch “Biggest Loser” reruns and do the opposite. Meaning you should find something sustainable and enjoyable. Less than 0.001% of the population shouldn’t exercise, but if your health is in question, you should see your doctor for a check-up before embarking on a program.
Putting together an exercise program? Keep it simple. Make it fun; so that it can be a regular affair. A complete exercise program includes aerobic exercise, like walking or cycling, strength exercise, like weights or isometrics, and flexibility exercises, like touching your toes.
Illustrated examples? Try google.
Choosing exercise equipment? If you don’t exercise, you should start with sneakers and a jacket. If you do exercise, you likely don’t need Harvard PhDs to tell you which treadmill to buy.
And as a bonus, tools to get your exercise program moving should include anything that makes it sustainable and fun. For me that includes things like friends, family and the most beautiful machine: a carbon-fibre bicycle. Find what makes it fun for you. If your chosen exercise isn’t fun, find another one.
Need another reason to exercise? (Apologies to my Mediterranean diet advocates.)
Because if you ride here,
you can eat here.
No, I am not advocating exercise as an excuse for processed white flour and dairy fat, rather just common sense and balance.
Still don’t want to exercise? Ok, there are blood pressure medicines, and diabetes isn’t that bad. Heart attack? No worries, we have stents, and doctors that will come in the middle of the night to squish blockages–for now at least. Stroke? Be not afraid, we have clot busting drugs. Joint aches? Ah, nonsense, we have titanium joint replacements paid for by someone else. Ouch, I had better stop. We are keeping cynicism at bay on this blog.
As one can only stand in lead aprons navigating catheters for so many years, I am always in search of another potential career.
And coaching seems a lot like doctoring.
JMM
One reply on “Coaches, you have some new competition…”
Ahhhhhh, the painful elaboration of the painfully obvious. However, it's from Harvard, so it must be good.