Structure against free text.
Most of the difference between coaching tools comes down to one choice: is the session stored as a paragraph, or as data? Here is what follows from each, set against the documents-and-chat setup many coaches start with.
The session
- Loadout
- Typed the way you write it, stored as structured sets, reps, load, pace, distance and rest. Your words kept beside the structure.
- A text-based coaching app
- Typed as text, delivered as text. Some apps add fields for sets and reps that you fill in by hand.
- Spreadsheets, PDFs and a messaging app
- Whatever layout you built. Every athlete's copy drifts.
Logging
- Loadout
- One tap per set done as prescribed; edit weight, reps and RPE for the ones that were not.
- A text-based coaching app
- Often a text box per exercise or per session. The result is a sentence.
- Spreadsheets, PDFs and a messaging app
- A reply in a chat or a cell the athlete may or may not fill in.
Cardio and the watch
- Loadout
- Pushed to Garmin and intervals.icu as structured workouts; the activity completes the session.
- A text-based coaching app
- Varies. Many rely on the athlete copying the workout into their watch and logging the result again.
- Spreadsheets, PDFs and a messaging app
- Manual both ways.
Progress over weeks
- Loadout
- Trend per exercise, records, volume by muscle and compliance, computed from the structure.
- A text-based coaching app
- Readable if someone reads every log.
- Spreadsheets, PDFs and a messaging app
- Readable if you build the formulas.
AI
- Loadout
- Drafts blocks from a brief, proposes progressions and writes a morning briefing. Never applies or sends anything without you.
- A text-based coaching app
- Varies by product. Check what it can read: AI working from free text can only guess at the numbers.
- Spreadsheets, PDFs and a messaging app
- Whatever you paste into a chat assistant, by hand.
Who needs you
- Loadout
- Roster flags for athletes going quiet or slipping, and a briefing with a draft message each.
- A text-based coaching app
- Varies. Often a feed of recent activity, newest first.
- Spreadsheets, PDFs and a messaging app
- Your memory.
Cost
- Loadout
- Free for 2 active clients; 49 USD a month including 5, then 5 USD per extra active client.
- A text-based coaching app
- Typically a monthly fee by client count. Check the vendor's current prices.
- Spreadsheets, PDFs and a messaging app
- Free or close to it, paid for in your time.
| Loadout | A text-based coaching app | Spreadsheets, PDFs and a messaging app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The session | Typed the way you write it, stored as structured sets, reps, load, pace, distance and rest. Your words kept beside the structure. | Typed as text, delivered as text. Some apps add fields for sets and reps that you fill in by hand. | Whatever layout you built. Every athlete's copy drifts. |
| Logging | One tap per set done as prescribed; edit weight, reps and RPE for the ones that were not. | Often a text box per exercise or per session. The result is a sentence. | A reply in a chat or a cell the athlete may or may not fill in. |
| Cardio and the watch | Pushed to Garmin and intervals.icu as structured workouts; the activity completes the session. | Varies. Many rely on the athlete copying the workout into their watch and logging the result again. | Manual both ways. |
| Progress over weeks | Trend per exercise, records, volume by muscle and compliance, computed from the structure. | Readable if someone reads every log. | Readable if you build the formulas. |
| AI | Drafts blocks from a brief, proposes progressions and writes a morning briefing. Never applies or sends anything without you. | Varies by product. Check what it can read: AI working from free text can only guess at the numbers. | Whatever you paste into a chat assistant, by hand. |
| Who needs you | Roster flags for athletes going quiet or slipping, and a briefing with a draft message each. | Varies. Often a feed of recent activity, newest first. | Your memory. |
| Cost | Free for 2 active clients; 49 USD a month including 5, then 5 USD per extra active client. | Typically a monthly fee by client count. Check the vendor's current prices. | Free or close to it, paid for in your time. |
When a text-based app is enough
If your programming is mostly coaching notes, your athletes do not train with watches, and you read every log yourself anyway, free text costs you little. Structure pays off when you coach enough athletes that reading every log stops being possible, or when the session needs to run on a watch.
Comparing a specific app
We use TrueCoach as the reference for a text-based coaching app because one of us trained on it as a coached athlete. Loadout and TrueCoach, side by side. For the reasoning behind structure, read why free-text programming fails coaches and athletes.