FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(FAQs)
1) What Online coaching services do Don and Mel offer?
Don and Mel offer two specific online coaching services:
1) Online Coaching and 2) Online Coaching with Telephone
Consultation:
A) Online Coaching
Don and Mel provide each athlete
with a detailed training schedule tailored to the individual's
specific goals, time constraints, experience level,
and life style. Each athlete's plan includes their specific
daily workouts, plus recommendations on strength training
and all related aspects of a complete training program.
Frequent athlete/coach communication is encouraged through
email, so training and racing results can continually
be fine tuned...maximizing the athlete's training benefit
and success. Online coaching includes:
- Detailed
4-week training schedules
- 20
minute Initial Phone Consultation
- Ongoing
email communication
- Schedule
adjustments
- Benchmark
Testing
- Strength
Training Program
B) Online
Coaching with One Phone Consultation per Month
This service provides all the features of our Online
Coaching Service (above), plus one scheduled monthly
athlete initiated phone consultation with Don and Mel
of up to 30 minutes. This service is best for the athlete
who desires verbal consultation beyond email.
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2) What are the fees for Online Coaching?
- Triathletes and Multi Sport Athletes: $165/month, plus
$100 start-up fee
(9-month minimum)
- Runners and Single Sport Athletes: $105/month, plus $100
start-up fee
(9-month minimum).
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3) What are the fees for Online Coaching
with monthly phone consultation?
- Triathletes and Multi Sport Athletes: $225/month, plus
$100 start-up fee
(9-month minimum)
- Runners and Single Sport Athletes: $165/month, plus
$100 start-up fee
(9-month minimum).
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4) What is Don and Mel's coaching
Philosophy?
Don and Mel's coaching philosophy is all about efficient
training and a balanced lifestyle. You want to be a
successful athlete, but not at the expense of your successful
career and rewarding family life. The key to achieving
this important balance is a time efficient/results oriented
approach to training. Each athlete has a limited number
of training hours per week. The trick is to train in
a way that the athlete derives maximum benefit from
these limited hours. Don and Mel Fink believe in eliminating
all "junk miles." They consider each athlete's
personal goals, athletic experience, and strengths & weaknesses, to design a program that maximizes the athlete's
training time. They utilize their effective heart rate
training methods, approach to training cycles, and many
other proven training principles, to keep their athletes
continually raising their fitness level, building their
skills, and improving their racing performances.
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5) Does
Don and Mel Fink personally design each athletes training
plan and personally answer each athlete's questions?
Don and Mel personally design each and every athlete's
training schedule. These schedules are not based on
some computer model or presented in some complicated
equation form, which the athlete has to figure out for
him or herself. Don and Mel personally consider the
specific needs of each athlete and take pride in tailoring
a program based on their proven training philosophies.
One size does not fit all...the optimal training structure
differs greatly based on the unique situation of each
athlete.
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6) How many athletes do Don and Mel
Fink coach?
Don and Mel, who coach online full time, limit the number
of athletes they coach to 50 and 25, respectively.
Don and Mel do not accept athletes beyond this stated
limit, so that they can assure their ability to maintain
frequent contact with their athletes, know and understand
their goals and needs, and respond quickly to questions.
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7) How long does it take for Don and
Mel Fink to respond to email questions?
Don and Mel pride themselves on responding to virtually
all email questions from coached athletes within 24
hours during week days.
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8) How frequently do Online athletes receive training
schedules?
Each athlete receives a personal detailed training schedule
describing their exact daily training session(s) every
four weeks. Training schedules are revised as needed
within the four week period of the current schedule.
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9) What level of athletes do Don and Mel Fink coach?
Don and Mel have been successful coaching athletes at
all levels. From the beginner training for their very
first sprint triathlon, to the elite age grouper looking
to win their age group at the Hawaii Ironman, to Spencer
Smith, one of the top pros and 3 times world champion.
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10) What are the advantages of online
coaching with Don and Mel Fink versus following a training
plan in a book?
Don and Mel completely tailor each athlete's program
to their unique goals, the races they want to do, their
athletic strengths and weaknesses, and their available
time and lifestyle balance needs. Of course, Don and
Mel's athletes benefit from their tremendous training
and racing knowledge, built from their experience coaching
hundreds of athletes over many years and also from their
experiences as successful endurance athletes themselves. [ Back to top ]
11) What type of athlete makes the best candidate for
online coaching?
Athletes who have limited time and want the most time-effective
training possible. Athletes who don't want to waste
their valuable time on "junk miles." They
want to maximize the training benefit of their training
time. It also helps for online coached athletes to be
good written communicators.
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12) What is Don and Mel’s “Coached Athletes’ Bill of Rights”?
-
Don and Mel will strive to…and encourage all of their coached athletes to strive to…build relationships that are positive, honest, professional, efficient, and mutually respectful.
- Don and Mel will always email athlete training schedules at least two days prior to the day on which they begin.
- Don and Mel will always respond to coached athlete email questions within 24 hours during week days and by Monday morning at the latest for questions received over the weekend.
- In loyalty to their coached athletes, Don and Mel will exclusively answer questions and provide guidance to the athletes they coach; and will not answer questions and/or provide guidance to any other athletes for any reason.
Where appropriate, all trademarks and copyrighted materials remain property of their respective owners.
All photographs remain copyright of the original photographers; used with permission.
Site design and other content copyright 2011 by DonFink.com.
IronFit is a registered trademark of Don Fink
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