The One Thing You're Actually Hiring a Coach For

This episode of Chasing Excellence tackles a powerful question from Chase Club member Christina: whether she should follow her coach's advice to take six days off from intense training and stick to walking, swimming, and yoga. Hosts Patrick and Ben challenge the assumption that constant training is necessary for progress, reframing the coach-client relationship around trust, experimentation, and perspective. They argue that the real reason people hire coaches isn’t to confirm what they already believe, but to gain a fresh, outside viewpoint that can reveal blind spots—whether physiological, psychological, or identity-based. Drawing on personal stories, research (including Jack Daniels’ VDOT work), and the concept of supercompensation, they explain that short-term deloading rarely harms performance and often enhances it. The episode emphasizes curiosity over judgment, urging listeners to treat coaching advice as a low-risk experiment. Ultimately, the takeaway is that true growth comes not from relentless effort, but from stepping back to see the bigger picture.