Testimonials
What a few people who Chris has been privileged to work with are saying:
Coach Chris continually pushes me out of my comfort zone- extending my abilities. Chris helped me transform from a triathlete into a professional mountain biker; altering my physiology almost as easily as he seems to read my mind. Time and time again he has proven to me that I’m far more capable than I could have imagined. I am beyond grateful that Chris is in my corner. He has been and continues to be a pivotal aspect of my career.
I began working with Chris Mileski about two and a half years ago. Before I initially started Chris’s training program, I was training by heart rate. Training with heart rate led me to only finish mid-pack in road races and criteriums, but I wanted more. After meeting with Chris and explaining the plateau I had reached in training, he suggested that I get a power meter to help get a better understanding of how to train smarter. Once I finally obtained a power meter, Chris started customizing workouts that were tailored for me to help me achieve my goals on the bike. Within 3 weeks of working with Chris, I noticed a difference in how I felt on the bike and was already seeing positive gains. Within a year of working with him, I moved up from a category 3 to category 1 on the road. That might not sound like a big deal, but it was to me.
Like most people pursuing cycling, they usually work in some sort of profession or are attending school, like I was. There were days I couldn’t train due to school/work, but Chris knew how to work around this and would provide me with quality workouts. My junior to senior year of college was tough – that’s when I decided to major in Chemistry. However, I still wanted to continue racing my bike professionally while pursuing this degree. Even with some missed days on the bike due to school, I was able to bring home my first Pro Road Tour win at Gateway Cup with Chris’ help and guidance. I honestly don’t think I could have done it without him because he took the time to analyze my workouts and construct key training blocks that ultimately led to my successes.
I’ve been coached by Chris since 2006. It’s been a great experience working with him, both challenging and fun. He gets me do to things I probably wouldn’t try on my own and then achieve results that would also not be possible by myself. I’m very happy with my level of fitness, my overall health, and my ability to compete with riders who sometimes are half my age. Over the years we’ve become good friends and he has learned my idiosyncrasies, good and bad and used them to design the best workout programs for me. I’m very happy and proud to tell others that Chris is my coach!
Chris has been my coach and more importantly my mentor for the last 5 years. During that time my cycling goals and personal life have shifted focus dramatically as I transitioned from focusing on road racing with Lindenwood University during my master’s degree program to working full time and primarily racing mountain bikes. Throughout all of this Chris has kept me focused on maximizing my training in ways that allow me to balance everything in my busy schedule while still achieving my cycling goals. Chris’ strength in his coaching is his ability to anticipate the needs of his athletes. He always knows when I need a break or when it’s ok to push me harder and most importantly he knows when I just need him to tell me to stop whining and do my work out! I trust that with Chris’ coaching assistance I can reach any cycling goal I set for myself!
Thanks to Chris’ coaching, in 3 short months, I crushed my 1/2 marathon PR from 1:50 (a seemingly unbreakable barrier) down to 1:36, and began winning age-category prizes in 5-10K races. Within 6 months, Chris’ regimen decreased my body fat down to 12%, and completed my first Ironman with a strong and healthy finish! I have a family of 4 young daughters, who have fully loaded schedules – Chris allows me to train efficiently and most effectively, to prepare for that next Ironman, while also still having time with my family and work life. I never thought it would be possible to have my cake and eat it, too, while still looking tri-cut! Best coach ever!
I’ve been coaching with Chris Mileski on and off for about 8 years. As my interests have cycled over the years I have trained with him for everything from road races and crits to cyclocross, mountain bike races, and lately longer gravel events on a tandem bicycle. He has also helped me come back from more than one injury. Even when I’m not training for a particular event I enjoy just using my bicycle to maintain life fitness and his training structure helps me with that. Chris is always up on the latest knowledge in the fitness field, always motivating and encouraging. As long as I know what I want and am able to convey it to him and actually do the work, he helps me effectively train for it and be prepared as well as can be.
Chris brings together many different resources. With his cycling background, coaching experience, and facilities, he customizes training specific to individual needs. The program at Off the Front is tailored to meet individual ability, fitness level, goals, age and equipment. Chris is easy to relate to and takes the time for all his athletes, from the professionals down to the weekend warriors. He is genuinely interested in our success.
Chris is a dedicated, skilled, and passionate coach. He impressed me with his first-hand knowledge of training for and competing in different cycling events, his efficient organizational skills and his personal skills and empathy. I worked with Chris for two and half years, while I was a college athlete at Lindenwood University. Every day he would come prepared with a new and exciting work out, that always pushed me. After competitions, Chris would help me analyze my technique and we would go over ways I could improve myself before the next one. I appreciate all your support, the phone calls, and everything you’ve done… without what you have taught me, there is absolutely no question that I would of succeeded in being a college athlete. Chris was with me every step of the way during my college career. And thanks to him I was able to have a successful college career. Thank you for your excellent training instruction Chris, I couldn’t have done it without you!!
Prior to meeting Chris, I had heard great things in the cycling community about his coaching style, as well as the results of his athletes. Working with him has definitely surpassed my already-high expectations. He does so much more than simply plugging workouts into Training Peaks. Chris takes the time to get to know and understand his athletes’ goals, motivations, strengths, and growth areas, both physical and mental. He takes into account his athletes’ day-to-day lives (jobs, families, and even my pup that needs exercise) and encourages a healthy life-bike balance. I am constantly impressed with the amount of thought and personalization he puts into my workouts and the athlete-coach relationship is truly a collaborative one with Chris. Thanks to his planning and knowledge, I’ve come into every race this season confident and prepared and have seen incredible improvements in all areas of my cycling, from power and skills to the mental aspect of endurance mountain bike racing.
Starting out as a recreational cyclist with a large goal to race professionally, Coach Chris has been there from the beginning. I had the drive, dedication, and work ethic, but I needed a direction and a plan. Chris believed in me and orchestrated the program to get me where I am today. Now as a professional mountain biker, my goals continue to grow and Coach keeps pushing me. Together – we have been able to accomplish more than I ever imagined.
Chris trained me from an aspiring (rookie) tri-athlete to completing 8 half ironman (70.3) distance tri-athalons and 2 full ironmans over the course of 5 years. My times, performance, strength and confidence improved every race. He is a methodical, hands-on, caring and flexible coach that truly understands his athletes and their life events. He modifies training to fit their schedules while managing expectations. He can be as technical or as simple as you want, but always pushes to bring out the best you can be. He is an awesome triathlon coach – truly the BEST! No other coach for me!
I contacted Chris after a few years of riding road and mountain bikes. I used to be a triathlete and previously used a training program through the web. I decided that I wanted to get stronger at mountain biking by training smarter and not just by riding hours and hours without a goal and getting burned out. After meeting Chris, he put a plan together by understanding my goals. I needed to train smarter and he has done a phenomenal job at it even with my crazy work schedule. He’s always available to talk about the week’s plan and to make changes to the workouts when needed. He has been present at my races and he always contacts me before my races to cheer me up and to provide me a plan when needed. With Chris’ guidance, I have learned to work the right amount and to rest at the right time. I have progressed from an average mountain bike rider to a Cat 1. With his help I have won most of the Cat 1 local races and BT Epic in 2016. I love working with him and I would recommend Chris’ coaching for anyone wanting to train smarter and become a better cyclist.
