About

What Online coaching services do Don and Mel offer?

Don and Mel offer two specific online coaching services:

Online Coaching (Email Only)
Online Coaching with Monthly Telephone Consultation
Online Coaching with Weekly Telephone Consultation

Online Coaching (Email Only)

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

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.

Online Coaching with One Phone Consultation per Week
This service provides all the features of our Online Coaching Service (above), plus one scheduled weekly athlete initiated phone consultation with Don or Melanie of up to 30 minutes. This service is best for the athlete who desires verbal consultation beyond E-mail.

What are the fees for Online Coaching (Email Only)?

Triathletes and Multi Sport Athletes: $165/month, plus $100 start-up fee (6-month minimum)
Runners and Single Sport Athletes: $105/month, plus $100 start-up fee (6-month minimum)

What are the fees for Online Coaching with monthly phone consultation?

Triathletes and Multi Sport Athletes: $225/month, plus $100 start-up fee (6-month minimum)
Runners and Single Sport Athletes: $165/month, plus $100 start-up fee (6-month minimum)<< Back to the Top

What are the fees for Online Coaching with weekly phone consultation?

Triathletes and Multi Sport Athletes: $395/month, plus $100 start-up fee (6-month minimum)
Runners and Single Sport Athletes: $335/month, plus $100 start-up fee (6-month minimum)<< Back to the Top

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.

Do 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.