Interview with Coach Kelly Wissolik

July 15, 2008 | in Fitness | 0 Comments

Coach Kelly Wissolik is a 5'1" firecracker, preparing endurance sports athletes for triathlon, duathlon, marathon, cycling and swimming events. We got a chance to talk with Kelly about her background, approach, her Triathilates™ videos and what drives her as a trainer and athlete.

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A long list of credentials and impressive racing record make up Coach Kelly Wissolik's resume. She knows what it takes to excel in endurance sports, and uses her knowledge and experience to take her clients to the next level.

Interview

Hella Sound: How long have you been a trainer?
Kelly Wissolik: Hello John, Thanks for having me today! As for how long I’ve been a trainer, well, I started personal training when I was 18, and after moving to Chicago at the age of 21, I began focusing on running and triathlon coaching, Today, I focus on endurance athletes, including runners, marathoners, triathletes, swimmers, and cyclist. I have been personal training, teaching group exercise classes and coaching for over 12 years now.

HS: How is triathlon and athletic training different from personal training?
KW: Well, both personal training and endurance sports coaching are really rewarding, however, personally it’s really neat to work with athletes because I am an athlete myself. Since I’m in the “trenches” right there with them training and racing, I feel I can truly know what they are going through and offer real insight on how to adjust, adapt and improve. I go through some of the same hiccups, complications and victories as my athletes. It's very gratifying to be able to help them fit endurance sports into a very busy life: family, kids, work, travel and everything else they have going on. For personal training clients, they are wonderful to work with as well but often the focus is not a race or a season. Personal training clients tend to be more focused on general weight loss or fitness improvements.

When working with the athletes we coach, we have specific goals and races we train them for. We use Periodization Training to progress them efficiently throughout a season and enable them to peak for Priority Races. Many of our athletes are looking for a long term plan and our goals are to develop a long term Macro Cycle that will allow them to achieve success each season and improve over several years of training.

HS: Are your athletes generally working towards one specific event?
KW: We have categories of races—A priority, B priority and C priority. Most athletes have one A priority race a year, with a couple Bs and Cs along the way.

Going for a run can usually be done anywhere. Sometimes they'll take spin classes at a health club or use the bike at the hotel. And most of them locate pools where they're going. Athletic-Minded Traveler has a lot of information for athletes that travel a lot.

HS: Do triathletes generally come to you very strong in one area and weaker in others? Or are they by-and-large well-rounded by the time you work with them?
KW: Our athletes are all very different. Most do come to us with some strengths and limiters. Often they have a background in running or they enjoy cycling and therefore the may be stronger runners or cyclists.

HS: What area are people generally strongest at when they come to you?
KW: I would say most come in with a running background and more than half are new to swimming.

HS: Have you always been an athlete?
KW: Yes, I was pretty much a tomboy growing up, hanging out with all of my brother's friends and playing sports.

HS: What sports did you play?
KW: Volleyball, basketball and softball.

HS: How would you describe your approach?
KW: My coaching approach and approach to life really is motivating, energetic, positive, encouraging and organized. I really try to get to know my athletes on a personal level and develop a program that fits their lives.

HS: Who inspires you?
KW: A lot of people inspire me. My husband first-off. He has been a successful athlete—in his college days he was a competitive runner. He's very disciplined and driven along with amazing compassion and integrity. My favorite athlete growing up was Michael Jordan; his dedication, determination and hard work are just ultimate, and I believe he proves you can really do anything that you put your mind to.

HS: I forget which game it was... It was during the playoffs, or maybe even the finals, and Michael Jordan was sick as a dog. He had a horrible flu...
KW: Yes I sure remember that—I think it was playoffs against the Cavs—he came out and scored like 69 points or something like that...

HS: Yeah, he came out like a complete monster. That was awesome.
Is there a favorite exercise you like to do, or you like to have your clients do?
KW: I have a diverse clientele pursuing various things, but I always include core strength training and total body lengthening in everyone’s program. I believe most people develop muscular imbalances, therefore if we can help them by enhancing strength, flexibility and improving muscular imbalances, great things will come! Pilates is very good for that. I have two fitness DVDs called Triathilates™, which is pilates for triathletes and endurance athletes. Triathilates™ focuses on core conditioning, strengthening, lengthening, and addresses the muscular imbalances endurance athletes are susceptible to.

HS: Is core conditioning something that you focus on for everybody?
KW: Everybody should do core exercises—for posture, health, over-all benefits. It's in everybody's plan, and since people have time limitations for their strength training, we made the Triathilates™ videos 25 minutes long so you can pop it into your DVD player or download it to your iPod and get an efficient and effective training session anywhere!

HS: What do you recommend for clients that are stuck traveling?
KW: We work all that out beforehand so they have a plan for when they travel. We map out what they'll do based on where they'll be and what they have access to while traveling.

HS: Are you pretty reliant on hotel fitness facilities?
KW: Most of my athletes take resistance bands with them and the Triathilates™ DVDs. Going for a run can usually be done anywhere. Sometimes they'll take spin classes at a health club or use the bike at the hotel. And most of them locate pools where they're going. Athletic-Minded Traveler has a lot of information for athletes that travel a lot.

HS: Do you get a lot of first-time triathletes?
A: All the time.

HS: What's the best piece of advice you can give them?
KW: Get a coach (laughs). It can be overwhelming, so it's really helpful to have someone that can guide them on what bike to purchase, what shoes to get and what wetsuit to buy. Along with tips and advice, we help them train efficiently and prepare them for their first season. Invest in some coaching, and get as much information as you can. There's a ton of websites and books out there; get as knowledgeable as you can so you can get out there and have fun with it and not get injured.

HS: What else do you have going on?
KW: Well, at EFC we are always working on new and exciting things. Currently we're working on developing some youth coaching programs—ages 7 to 18. We are focusing on younger athletes with the hope of imprinting a healthy lifestyle for them and their families. We're also working on an interactive Coaching and Athlete Blog and podcasts. We have several coaches who will be joining EFC over the next couple of months. Presently I’m training for Ironman Hawaii this October and plan to have one more Ironman Season before Rob and I start a family

Credentials

Founder, Triathlon Coach Energy Fitness Coaching, LLC
Creator of Triathilates™ — Pilates for Triathletes
Level 1 Triathlon Coaching (USAT)
Group Exercise Certification 1996 (AFAA)
Mad Dogg Spinning Certification 1998
WAKAI Aerobic Kickboxing Level One
Mat Pilates Certification 2003 (AAAI and ISMA)
Spencer Pilates and Sport Yoga Certified 2007
Healthy Mom's Perinatal Certification—Pre and Post Natal Classes 2005
Personal Training 2005 (NASM)
Exercise Safety Association Personal Trainer Certification and Yoga Fit Leader 2000

Races

2005 Ralph's Ironman California
2005 Ironman Arizona placed 15th in age group
2005 Disney 1/2 Ironman time of 5:36; top 15 in age group
2005 Buffalo Springs 1/2 Ironman time of 5:48; top 12 in age group
2005 Ironman Canada Qualification for The World Championships
2005 Ironman Hawaii time of 12:15
2005 Randy's 10 mile Run placed 1st in Age group; 2nd Female overall
2006 Churchill's 1/2 Marathon time of 1:35; second in age group
2006 Glass City Marathon time of 3:20; 2nd female overall
2006 Racing for Recovery Sylvania 1/2 Ironman Duathlon Overall Winner
2006 Chicago Accenture Triathlon
2007 Buffalo Springs 70.3 9th in age group
2007 Ironman USA Lake Placid time of 11:29; 9th in age group
2007 Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 time of 5:14; Qualification for 70.3 World Championships
2007 Ironman Wisconsin tie of 11:01; 3rd in age group; 3rd female age group on the bike; Qualification for World Championships
2007 Clearwater 70.3
Upcoming: Ironman Hawaii 2008 World Championships

Contact Information

If you are interested in contacting Paul for training you may contact him via the following:

URL: www.energyfitnesscoaching.com
Email:

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