24/02/2026
The "Doorman fallacy" is the error of reducing a human role to its most simple, obvious task and thinking that by replicating this task you are replicating the entire role. e.g. replacing a doorman with an automatic door then losing all the real but "intagible" value that comes with having a human do the job.
I see a similar error all the time when people mistake a training program for coaching.
The obvious task of a coach is to write the plan; sets, reps, exercises, progressions etc. Easy to copy, generate or download for free.
The real job is everything that sits around the obvious bit:
⚾️ Noticing and ASKING how you are that day; energy, stress, pain, confidence, mood etc and adjusting accordingly.
🏀Picking the right dose: push hard, stick to the plan, or back off.
🏐Spotting the rep that looks fine today but will bite you in 6 weeks when a bad habit has become your technique.
🏈Making small technical changes that turn a movement from an exercise into focused practice and real training.
🏉Adjusting cueing strategies and even inventing new, personal ones for when you're not understanding something.
⚽️Choosing what matters right now instead of what the plan says.
🥎Providing accountability so you'll show up and build consistency.
🎾Believing in you when your self-belief waivers, building confidence.
So yes, I can give you a program, you can get one for free on Google or AI and you can find any exercise on Youtube.
But none of that is coaching. Coaching is a relationship.
It’s the feedback, accountability, and the human "intangibles" that come with another person in the room. A person who has the empathy to put you at the centre of the training and the skills to help you forge your own, unique path towards the goals that matter to you.
A program is a map. Coaching is an experienced guide, walking the path with you and teaching you how to navigate in the real world, through bad weather, impassible routes, detours, bad decisions, and unexpected events.
It's an arm around your shoulder and a voice saying "c'mon I'll show you".
📷