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While we regularly promote the fact that the PC Coach Professional Coaching Plans can be customized for all levels of athletes – from beginners to competitive runners, triathletes and cyclists, the benefits to beginners can often be overlooked. The term ‘beginner’ could apply to someone who is just starting to run or cycle with the idea of entering a 5k or a local ride in the back of their mind or someone considering entering their first sprint distance triathlon, but it also applies to individuals whose main goal is to get fit and who have no intention of entering a race or organized event. The people who fall into this category might easily rule out PC Coach software because of the titles of the coaching plans.
However, each of our different coaching plans offers a specific category designed ideally for just such an individual. For instance, our PC Coach Cycling Plan offers a category “Cycle for fitness” that will help an individual know what heart rate they should target when they ride, and it will help them stay motivated and on track as they cycle towards their goal of getting and staying fit.
Our Coach Benson’s Heart Rate Running Plan has a category “Fitness Jogger” that can help someone get started regardless of how low their current level of fitness. If the goal is to improve appearance, lose weight or improve health, this category guides you to do just that with a target heart rate range and easy jogging and jog/walk workouts.
For a true beginner in the “I want to get fit” category, the best choice among all of our coaching plans could be Mike Pigg’s Triathlon plan. This may sound unrealistic, but consider that an exercise program comprised of cycling, swimming and running is the perfect mix of cross training that can help prevent a new fitness enthusiast from getting injured or overtraining in any one activity. Our triathlon program is ideal for a number of reasons. It allows a user to enter the number of hours they have available each week for exercise. The workouts scheduled on the calendar will provide a target heart rate range and duration for the activity. Different activities, such as an aerobics class, stair stepper, inline skating, etc., could easily be substituted for the prescribed swim/bike/run workouts. Although this coaching plan does not have a category for ‘train for fitness’, an individual can select ‘Sprint/Olympic distance triathlon’ and benefit from the structure of the coaching plan, without every entering an actual race.
A recent study that appeared in the journal Heart and was reviewed on the WebMD website found that, “Exercise – even if you don’t start until your 40s – can cut your risk of heart disease up to 90%”. The study, conducted by Dietrich Rothenbacher, MD, MPH, and others at the University of Heidelberg, concluded that, “Changing from a sedentary to an active physical activity pattern, even if initiated at older age, may result in a strong reduction of coronary heart disease risk.”
Once someone makes the decision to include exercise as part of their lifestyle, they often don’t know where to begin. With PC Coach and a coaching plug-in, along with an inexpensive heart rate monitor, they can be sure that they’re starting on the right track to fitness. Where that leads a person depends on the individual, but if it leads them to running in 10k’s or marathons, cycling in century rides, or participating in local triathlons, PC Coach will be there to help them along the way!