The Real Art of Online Coaching: Lessons From 35 Years
Nov 26, 2025
The Real Art of Online Coaching: What 35 Years of Gymnastics Taught Me About Communication, Motivation, and the Future With AI
When I started coaching online, I thought the hardest part would be the technology.
Zoom, Telegram, Kajabi, videos, edits, microphones…
But very quickly I understood: the real challenge is communication.
Not communication like “hello, how are you?”
No.
Communication that actually transforms people.
Communication that helps a person thousands of kilometers away feel seen, supported, guided, understood.
Today I want to share the lessons I’ve learned — not from books, not from theory, but from 35 years inside gymnastics halls, backstage at Cirque du Soleil, and now from coaching thousands of people online.
This is my story, my belief system, and the philosophy behind the KONONOV brand.
One Thing 100 Times > 100 Things One Time
In online coaching, people are drowning in information.
YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, AI assistants, fitness apps — everything is screaming for attention.
So I learned this rule the hard way:
It’s better to repeat one important thing 100 times than to say 100 smart things once.
People don’t learn by listening. People learn by repeating.
My community knows this well. Every day I ask them the same question:
“Write 3 things you did well today.”
Sounds easy, right?
But this is the biggest challenge for 99% of people.
Most people immediately start listing:
– what is bad
– what they can’t do
– where they are weak
And every time, I bring them back to the same point:
Focus on what you do well.
This builds confidence.
Confidence builds consistency.
Consistency builds results.
You don’t need to compare yourself with others.
You only need to be better than you were yesterday.
The Competition Is Not Other Coaches — It’s Netflix
People think the hardest part of online coaching is exercises, videos, or programming.
No.
The biggest competition is:
Netflix
YouTube
TikTok
The real battle is not between coaches.
It’s between your program and billion-dollar entertainment platforms designed to keep people on the sofa.
I can create a thousand preparation exercises. I can design perfect progressions. But clients still need to do them.
And doing is the hardest part.
This is why I built my entire system around:
– community
– test exercises
– fast feedback
– measurable progress
People don’t stay only because of exercises.
They stay because they feel connected.
Can AI Replace Coaches? My Honest Answer
I work with AI every day.
I see what it can do.
And I’m not wearing rose-colored glasses.
AI can:
– give exercises
– check technique
– correct positions
– speak with clients
– answer questions
– learn 100 years of training materials in minutes
So yes — AI already takes a big part of the general fitness market.
But can AI replace human coaches?
Not fully. Not yet.
Here’s what AI can’t do:
1. Empathy
Technique is only 30% of coaching. The mental part — motivation, fear, confidence, trust — is the real work.
2. Connection
What keeps a client moving forward is the relationship with the coach and the community.
3. Live experience
A real training session, a live class, the emotional experience of being guided by a human — AI cannot replace this.
4. True practical expertise
AI can read every book about gymnastics.
But I’ve spent 35 years doing this with my body.
I know what an exercise feels like, not just what it looks like.
And I know how to solve problems not by talking, but by giving the right exercise — the one that creates the correct feeling inside the body.
AI cannot replicate that experience… yet.
So my conclusion is simple:
AI is powerful. But empathy, community, and real experience are still human advantages.
How I Coach Without Talking or Touching
In gymnastics, coaches use their hands constantly.
They guide your shoulders, hips, ribs, balance.
They physically show how a movement should feel.
Online coaching?
Impossible.
No hands.
No spotting.
No fixing posture with touch.
So I had to reinvent how I teach.
I built:
– hundreds of preparation exercises
– clear videos with starting → movement → final position
– test exercises clients film
– fast feedback system
– 21-day micro-learning challenges
– my Fitness Evaluation Tool
This allows me to coach a person safely, without ever being in the same room.
My rule now is simple:
If a person can’t do an exercise safely, I don’t talk — I give an easier exercise.
Exercises fix more problems than explanations.
This made my coaching safer, more effective, and surprisingly — more scalable.
Transformation Videos: Motivation or Pressure?
Everyone loves before/after transformations.
These videos explode on YouTube.
They get likes, comments, views.
But are they helpful?
For marketing — yes.
For motivation — sometimes.
For real progress — not always.
YouTube’s goal is:
entertainment
attention
screen time
Coaching’s goal is:
measurable progress
clarity
action
results
A transformation video doesn’t teach you how to do a handstand.
It doesn’t show the boring part — discipline, daily practice, test exercises, slow improvements, failures, fear, and mental battles.
So I teach my clients something different:
Your only real comparison is your own progress.
Measure → train → measure again.
If something doesn’t work, we change the plan.
That’s coaching.
The Future of KONONOV Coaching
Every week I record lessons, adjust my communication, improve clarity, upgrade exercises, and ask myself one question:
How can I help a person become better remotely, without overloading them with information?
The answer always returns to the same principles:
– simple communication
– repeat the important things
– strong community
– measurable progress
– empathy
– real experience
And one more thing:
I don’t want to build the biggest online coaching in the world.
I want to build the most helpful one.
A community where people actually practice, grow, and transform — physically and mentally.
This is why I love what I do.
This is why I keep learning.
And this is why KONONOV Club exists.
