Should You Be Doing an Individual Programme?

If you’ve been training for a while, you might start wondering whether you should keep doing classes or switch to an individual programme with a coach who guides you through a full season.

Here’s the truth: for most people, even those doing the occasional national comp or yearly gym throwdown, classes are still the best environment to progress.
And that often surprises athletes.

Class training has a long list of hidden (and not-so-hidden) benefits that people often overlook. Here are a few:

• On-the-spot coaching: immediate feedback and technical corrections you can apply right away.

• Community: you grow, learn, struggle, and celebrate wins alongside others pursuing the same goals.

• Smart scaling: a coach adjusts the workout to your level so you get the right stimulus instead of guessing.

• Faster learning: if you’re still in the skill-acquisition phase, classes often accelerate progress far more than training alone.

• It’s genuinely more fun: and fun keeps you consistent, the real driver of long-term improvement.
  Many athletes (and even box owners) fall into the trap of thinking the program must be magical or groundbreaking.

• But the real magic is in coaching. A great coach can take a simple programme and make it effective for individuals with very different abilities. Coaching cues, corrections, and pacing guidance are what create progress, not fancy spreadsheets.

So, who should consider individual programming?
Individual programming becomes valuable when your training revolves around a competitive calendar, when competing is no longer “for fun,” but something you actively want to be better at.

If that’s you, then you likely need a coach to:

• Look at your year as a whole.

• Identify which competitions actually matter.

• Build a clear season plan.

• Help you peak at the right time.
  

  At this stage, you’re probably already comfortable with the sport’s skills, can tolerate a bit more training volume, and understand that progress isn’t always “fun.” A big part of high-level development is repeating fundamentals, drilling techniques, and doing the unglamorous work that builds durable, long-term capacity. And yes, some days, you’ll train alone. That’s part of the deal.
  

  But you get plenty in return:

• A coach working with you toward your goals.

• A program built specifically for your capacity, needs, and ambitions.

• Guidance through every phase of your season, when to push, when to pull back.

• Technical refinement that takes you from good to great, because details matter at higher levels
  And if everything aligns… a few medals along the way.

Whatever path you choose,  classes or individual programming, the goal is the same: consistent, sustainable progress. Most athletes thrive in a coached class environment far longer than they expect, and for many, that’s exactly where they should be. But if your goals evolve, your commitment deepens, and competing becomes more than a hobby, then having a coach build a season around you can become a powerful advantage.

The key is knowing where you are in your journey and choosing the option that keeps you improving, learning, and enjoying the process.

Let’s chat about your training programme.

Eddie,