Rebound Coaching

What is Rebound Coaching?

To Rebound: to overcome, to boomerang, to spring back, to return, to get better, to rejuvenate, to mend, to start anew.

Are you an athlete who has found yourself out of action due to injury or illness and you’re struggling with the fallout from this? In fact surprisingly so in seemingly unrelated aspects of your life.

This is where Coaching is so powerful.

Managing the disappointment, the lack of direction, identifying your resources to manage the situation, finding an alternative focus, communicating your needs, diverting your energy, establishing new exciting goals and learning how to use that amazing resource and resilience you have from being an athlete to Rebound from your injury/condition, rise and thrive.

Professional athletes have their coaches and trainers to support and guide them through these feelings and to thrash out a plan. If you’re a recreational athlete you can feel lost and directionless lacking any support or understanding for how you’re’re feeling especially amongst family and friends. The disappointment, sadness and impact on your life can feel self-indulgent and confusing leading to guilt.

Before we go further I can hear some of you have reservations..

“I’m gutted to be injured but I’m not an athlete, I’m just a casual, recreational runner, cyclist, triathlete”

If you’re reading this it’s pretty safe to say you’re an athlete, the passion and motivation is there, the love of our sport.

Like many ‘hobby’ runners I’ve always felt hesitant calling myself a runner thinking the label is reserved for those speedy types winning races and smashing PBs.

Despite having run all my adult life, completed races, team events, marathons, ultra runs and triathlons and bounced back from running injuries I still saw the word runner as having connotations of the perfect athlete.

As a Personal Trainer coaching runners I finally feel I can call myself a runner as it’s part of my profession. However this isn’t the case for the most people and my experience as a PT and coach has provided huge insight into the importance of recognising ourselves as athletes and valuing the significant role this plays in our lives. This is imperative when we’re sidelined through injury and find ourselves floundering as our identity and purpose is questioned.

If you’ve been training for a race, event, marathon, triathlon etc. these feelings are real, legitimate and should be acknowledged and dealt with. To you this event was was your Olympics, championship etc.

I’ve fought back to fitness a number of times so I absolutely know how this feels from personal experience.  I’ve trained my absolute socks off to find myself on crutches 6 weeks before the London marathon and on another occasion been told it’s unikely I will run in the future.

I felt bereft, directionless, no goal, no structure to my days, the hours of training stopped. The feelings felt irrational.

Our sportsa and activities are so much more than physical fitness, it’s mental health, ability to cope with life, resilience, eating habits, mood, immunity to illness plus our social life, our outlet for stress even our  conversation!

This is why I believe recreational athletes (yes we ARE runners triathletes, cyclists, swimmers) need support, compassion, an open forum to discuss a plan to get through the injury or illness and recovery process to survive the change and thrive going forward with direction,  maintaining identity and purpose. This is where coaching comes in to work with you and support you.

I’ve trained many women to leave the couch and their fears behind and find the confidence to achieve a 5K, a 10K and way beyond. I’ve seen the joy at getting that first medal, crossing the finish line, enjoying the pride of family and friends.

I’ve experienced clients be recognised by husbands and kids as someone other than mum or partner as they achieve something for themselves, something that gives identity, purpose and focus. I’ve seen all these women be ‘athletes’!

I’ve shared with clients the disappointment and despair of injury. Regardless of your pace, your fitness level, your motivation or your achievements; the experience of working so hard at a goal, gearing your spare time, energies, finances and passion into this sometimes for long term to then have it snatched away over a torn ligament, twisted ankle, swollen knee… is gutting.

I’ve touched on the impact injuries have had on my fitness history and if we have a conversation I can assure you you’ll have a coach with empathy for what you’re experiencing, who can relate to how you’re being affected and a cheerleader by your side as you move forwards with strategies to cope, tactics to manage your situation, self-belief, confidence and purpose and a masterplan to come out of the other side.