Kim Wood, owner of Speed Merchants cycling shop, was recently diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Our hearts are with him and his family during this incredibly tough time. Please join us in our support.

Speed Merchants supported Athletic Mentors when it first managed a start-up pro cycling team and has been there supporting every team we’ve managed since. They are dedicated to promoting active living in Michigan and have done an awesome job of taking care of our athletes and clients.

We are profoundly grateful to Kim and his team for his support. He has given so much to our community, and we’d like to return the favor.

Donate to Kim and his family at:
https://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser-1013849

Session 1:

Wednesday, March 7th – Monday,April 19th
There will be NO sessions during spring break week

Session 2:

Monday, April 23rd – Monday, June 4th

Cost:

$400.00 per session for GKSA Members
$445.00 per session for NON GKSA Members

If BOTH sessions are purchased before March 1st the cost is $750.00

Training Schedule

Carley Rice

Rice began training with AM in 2008 as an 8th grader. Her natural talent developed immensely, allowing her to play on the state soccer team as a sophomore and junior at Gull Lake and train with the Olympic Development Program. She was a four-year letter winner and two-year captain with one state championship under her belt, so she had substantial leadership experience entering the collegiate level at Detroit Mercy.

Training for NCAA Division 1 competition isn’t an imaginable feat until you’re placed in the position. Competition wasn’t solely for opponents now; Rice understood that in order to consistently make the starting squad, she had to go beyond.

Her hard work paid off rather quickly, as Rice saw time in all 20 matches her freshman year with eight starts. She entered her sophomore year with two assists, looking for further improvement. In 2014, she started 15 games and made her first collegiate goal in a victory against Bowling Green.

In addition to her climbing success as a collegiate athlete, Rice maintains a 4.0 GPA in pre-dental/pre-pharmacy.

The Detroit Mercy women’s soccer team finished second in the Horizon League conference this year, making their first appearance in the championship game since 2006. Watch Rice and the Titans next year as she enters her junior year strong.

Kendra Sosnoski

Sosnoski carries on the tradition of being a Michigan Tech Husky (her father played football), so she was aware of what it took to be a Division II athlete. She left high school as an all-conference, all-district and all-area player, a former MVP and senior co-captain of the same Gull Lake championship squad Harma and Rice were on.

Sosnoski plays on the Husky defense, and is majoring in biology. Their 2014 year finished well, with a confident winning record and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Look for her training through the rest of 2015 for her third year at Michigan Tech.

Right now most of us are bundling up, looking out our windows at snow covered streets, watching temperatures drop and wondering when the wind chill will cease. A lot of folks are so busy thinking about the weather right now, they’re not prepared for later. Tri-season will, in fact, be on us before we know it.

We all know there’s nothing better than hitting the bike, the road, or the first open water swim of the season and feeling the work we did all winter paid off. Hitting the tri-season prepared for races gives you the edge. A lot of athletes stick to the same training plan they always use, and each summer they hit the circuit with few gains. Certainly we’re not all equal out on the course, why should we believe that about the gym?

There’s no better way to train than to have a professional help build a personalized training plan designed to maintain and build on your strengths while addressing weak areas and promoting your growth.

Why not let Athletic Mentors, and their coaches, help you have the best tri-season of your life? With over 20 years experience, AM coaches will tailor a daily training plan to help you meet your goals. Not only will you receive the personalized daily training plan with online access and a consultation with a coach, but athletes who opt for the Coaching Subscription will also get baseline and progress testing, an in-pool training session, one-on-one coaching sessions, and nutrition planning!

For more information about the Custom Training plan with a discount for GR Tri participants, click here.

For more information about the Coaching Subscription, click here.

Let this be your best tri season yet. Treat yourself to workouts this winter for a summer of success!

For many, the idea of a triathlon is intriguing, but daunting. There seems to be so much to consider and even more to learn. Stop asking why and start asking when. No one ever got to the finish line without ever lining up at the start, right?

In conjunction with the Grand Rapids Triathlon, Athletic Mentors will present you with all the information you need to get you to the starting line of your first…or next…triathlon and see you all the way to the finish. You won’t want to miss any of these amazing (and FREE) opportunities!

Starting this Saturday, January 17th, you have the opportunity to get the inside scoop on training, nutrition, equipment, racing tips, transitions, and rules from athletes who have been there, and back again (9-10:30am). Following that session, athletes looking to improve their efficiency in the water can learn about swim techniques and training (10:30am-noon). It’s an amazing chance to get an inside look and idea of what you can expect as you begin to train.

Later, on February 28, the clinic returns to offer you the opportunity to really hone in on specific skills and strategies on both the bike and run portions (February 28, 9am-11am). Then, on May 30, just two weeks from the race, you can participate in a Race Day Clinic which will answer all the questions you have about actual race day, from wave information to parking and spectator access.

Finally, one week from race day, June 7, mentors and coaches will take you on a pre-race swim and ride to get you acclimated to the course. This is the perfect opportunity for athletes new to the tri to quell any last minute nerves and take advantage of one last training session and on-course tips from the pros!

These clinics offer an amazing opportunity for the new and returning tri-athlete to learn techniques from the pros. Clinic attendees also get special deals on Athletic Mentors Custom Training Plan and 20% off the video stroke analysis!

All clinics (except pre-race swim and ride) are held at the downtown Grand Rapids YMCA and are completely free! You must register to participate.

To get more details, check out the Grand Rapids Tri site here.

To register for the clinics, click here.

It’s that time of the year when most athletes will sit down to write goals for the next year. The first step in the process should be to take a look back at the season that just ended and analyze what worked and what didn’t work. You should have a good idea of what your strengths and weaknesses were. Most athletes mistakenly think that improving their biking ability, even if that is their strength, is the easiest way for them to improve their overall time. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case. Of course coaching can help prevent this situation because they will ensure you work to improve your weakest of the disciplines.

Goals should be process focused and not outcome focused. A good goal should not be impacted by external factors. No one has control over a goal that can be determined by weather or who is competing in the race. An example of a good race goal is patience. This could mean that you will focus on appropriately pacing yourself during the first half of an ironman bike, even when all your competitors are flying by.

After you create a list of possible races and have thought about some realistic but challenging goals then you can start putting together the specific steps you will take to achieve this. If your overall goal is to improve your half iron time by 15 minutes then you need to determine what you need to work on in the off season to accomplish this. This might mean early morning strength sessions, increasing your swim frequency in December and January, or training with a power meter to better realize gains on the bike.

Most importantly write the goals down! Writing goals down forces you to clearly define and clarify them. According to Dave Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, 80% of Americans don’t have goals, 16% do have goals, but don’t write them down and less than 1% actually review them on an ongoing basis. Actually putting the goals onto paper and reviewing them at least quarterly will help you accomplish new levels of success in the upcoming season.

Athletic Mentors offers VO2 and Metabolic testing for athletes looking to step up their game, or those looking for an extra edge in their weight loss program. We have specialized equipment on-site that will give you a detailed and personalized profile on your metabolic rate and maximum oxygen usage is. Athletes use the test results to avoid crashes, prevent injury, and to maximize the benefits of their training sessions.

Your metabolism is a series of chemical processes within your body that keeps your cells fueled with nutrients. Since no two metabolisms are exactly the same, understanding the rate at which your body converts and uses energy can be paramount in getting the best results from your workout. Understanding how your metabolism works and reacts to exercise can be instrumental in getting the most out of your fitness plan.

Another important piece of the puzzle is finding out how much oxygen you’re using. Your VO2 maximum is the measurement of how much oxygen you can use during exercise, expressed in a liters-per-minute rate based on your body weight. The test consists of running on a treadmill or on an exercise bike at incrementally increasing speeds and intensity. The machine measures your heart rate through a cuff, and a mask measures the amount of oxygen you intake and calculates a rate.

A VO2 maximum test is widely considered to be the most accurate way to measure an athlete’s aerobic and cardiovascular fitness, and can help trainers dial in their workouts for increased results and track their progress. This test also measures how many calories are burned at different intensities of activity, giving insight to athletes about adjusting their diets for optimal gains and increased endurance in the field.