When amateur triathletes, runners, cyclists, duathletes, and swimrunners are considering taking on a new race challenge, something almost everyone needs is a good training plan. For years, 1-on-1 personalized coaching was seen as the gold standard; people believed that if you wanted to perform well in your event you had to have a 1-on-1 coach.
Fortunately this isn't the case anymore. Technology has allowed athletes to save money and get excellent training to reach their goals with tools like the MOTTIV training app.
Both personalized training and app-based training can get you to your race goals, but each option has its pros and cons that will determine which one is right for you.
Summary:
- If you're looking for a single person to talk you through the training process and you aren't concerned about cost, then a 1:1 coach is for you.
- If you want excellent training that's a fraction the cost of personalized coaching and actually more all encompassing than a 1:1 coach, and you don't feel you need a single person to guide you in your preparation, then MOTTIV is for you.
MOTTIV Training App Summary
The MOTTIV training app works on your smartphone or desktop, and generates a personalized training plan that is designed for you based on your abilities, your goals, your time availability, your schedule limitations, and your personal performances in training.
The app provides training plans for running races, triathlons, duathlons, cycling events, and swimruns. The training plans are all encompassing and include all your endurance training, in addition to strength training, mobility workouts, and nutrition guidance for each workout.
The MOTTIV app uses information that you provide to create a personalized training plan that is just for you. No two training plans are alike. All you have to do is enter your information and be ready to show up willing to work, and follow the plan each day.
If you're the kind of person that does all their banking online and self-directs your finances, then the MOTTIV app is for you.
MOTTIV Benefits
Because training on the MOTTIV app is so well-designed and personalized, most athletes who use MOTTIV find that after they've left personalized coaching, they've seen their performances instantly improve.
The main benefits our athletes say MOTTIV has over one-on-one coaching are:
- Cost is lower
- Training is designed specifically for real people with busy lives
- Guided strength workouts matched to perfectly complement endurance training
- Guided mobility workouts matched to perfectly complement endurance training
- Each workout has personalized nutrition guidance
- Expert training for all race disciplines
The main drawback that athletes expect to experience with MOTTIV vs. a one-on-one coach is the lack of personalized training. But, if you try the app, you'll see that MOTTIV personalizes and adjusts training so well that this isn't the case at all.
Athletes also believe that a one-on-one coach is the way to reach peak performance, butjust read our customer reviews on our homepage and you'll see that this isn't the case. Many of our athletes have used both MOTTIV and a one-on-one coach, and they actually achieve far better performances with our app than they ever did with a coach.
MOTTIV Drawbacks
While we think that MOTTIV is the best option out there, we have to be honest and share the things we admit we are not better than a 1-1 coach for:
- Lack of personal interaction
- App based training doesn't feel right for some people
- Training plans can't deal with massive shifts in training abilities (like during major injuries or illness)
For many people, having a sole individual who is in charge of your overall training and being a sounding board to all your training issues is important. If this is critically important to you, and you can afford the added cost each month, then you should certainly try a 1-1 coach.
We believe that instead of 1-1 interaction, many athletes find better motivation from group interaction. So instead of getting guidance from a solo coach, our app provides a social media component where you can get guidance from the thousands of other athletes who are also using the app.
1-1 Coaching Summary
Personalized coaching provides a very engaging experience for athletes. Workouts tend to be updated every 1-4 weeks and athletes have the ability to speak to their coach about issues or concerns that come up.
Coaches are an excellent guide for people who need someone to lean on frequently, and while an app can create an excellent plan and personalized workouts, it's very hard to replace the personal connection that happens between an athlete and a coach.
If you're the type of person that likes to go into a bank branch and deal with an account rep for all your services, then 1-1 coaching is for you.
1-1 Coaching Benefits
1-1 Coaching has many benefits, in this section we'll only discuss the clear advantages 1-1 coaches have over the MOTTIV app:
- Coaches act as a guide and mentor to athletes
- Coaches can deal with massive shifts in training like during a major injury
- Coaching is perceived as higher value, athletes get more "bragging rights" about having one
1-1 Coaching Drawbacks
Before we started the MOTTIV app, we contemplated starting a 1-1 coaching business. We eventually decided that the model of 1-1 coaching was so difficult to do in a way that was positive for athletes, that instead we would start an app that fixed many of the problems inherent with 1-1 coaching.
- Cost ranges from $150-1,500 per month
- Coaches tend to be single-sport specialists (ie. run coaches don't know how to create triathlon plans and vice versa)
- Coaches tend to simply prescribe their methods and plans to athletes instead of the athletes getting a training plan that works for them
- Coaches tend not to include strength training in their plans; at most, they'll schedule strength workouts but they won't provide strength training that coordinates with the plan
- Coaches very rarely include any mobility training in plans so athletes develop imbalances and injuries
- Very few coaches provide workout-by-workout nutrition guidance that enhances the effectiveness of every single workout
- Coaches may not use software that lets you know if you're progressing in your training, if they do, it may be at an additional cost to the athlete
- Coaches tend to push athletes very hard and only back off once burnout or injury occurs
- Many coaches aren't actually available for frequent feedback, athletes often express frustration over not having as much interaction as they'd like (if there's any at all)
MOTTIV vs 1-1 Coach Comparison
MOTTIV vs 1-1 Coach Summary
While we feel (and hear from our athletes) that our all-encompassing training methods have the advantage over one-on-one coaching, the quality of training plans, workouts, and level of performance you can achieve can be the same between MOTTIV and one-on-one coaching, depending on the coach.
If you have the funds that allow you to afford a 1-1 coach and you want the guidance of a single person to help you in your training, then a personal coach may be the service for you.
If you want excellent training at an affordable price, you want to dabble between races of all types and distances, and want a single service that provides all your endurance, strength, mobility, and nutrition guidance, but you don't feel the need to have a personal guide then MOTTIV is the right choice for you.
