Dear Diary…..

Feedback, it comes in many different forms.

We can get it from ourselves, how things feel, how we are the next day.

We can get it from our opposition if they identify a gap in our technique.

We can get it from coaches, friends and spectators as they observe our performance.

Whichever way you look at it, we are constantly receiving feedback in many different forms. Some feedback we may like other forms we could happily do without.

When working with clients, it is easy to start to think that our entire job is putting together programmes for people and taking them through their exercise plan. Just as we expect our clients to plan out their time in order to attend their exercise sessions, we need to plan out our time so that we are allowing enough space to gather feedback on how the plan is going.

By keeping up with our clients and inspecting what we are expecting of them in terms of completing their exercise sessions, we are able to ensure that they have the best chance of achieving their results.

At present, I am training without a coach. This means that I am lacking the extra input from another set of eyes. What this means for me is that I really need to make sure that I am listening to my body and recording as much information as I can.

I have found that when I am not getting any feedback, I tend to keep going with the same routine. When I keep going with the same routine, I tend to find I don’t adapt or change very much. It’s like that old adage, “do what you have always and done and you will get what you have always got”. Given that my goal is to get faster, that kind of approach isn’t very helpful.

Just as goal setting is a crucial step in putting a plan together, so is putting aside the time for feedback. Without feedback, we have no way of knowing how we are progressing towards our goal.

 Recently I have started using a training diary; I have found this to be really beneficial as a means of honesty checking. Within the diary I record all of my exercise sessions, the duration, intensity and how they felt. I also record how many hours sleep I have had and what I have eaten for the day. Without this diary, I would have no means of comparing progress or troubleshooting any problems that I may encounter in terms of results or training.

I am in the first week of using my feedback diary and will keep you updated with how I am finding it and whether or not it ends up being tucked away in a draw somewhere for years to come.

Whatever I end up doing with my diary, I will always recognize the importance of feedback and will actively seek it as much as I can.

What experiences have you had with feedback?

What kind of feedback do you respond to and where do you get it from?