COACH CYNDEE

Today was the Las Vegas Triathlon. There were several athletes that I coach that did great! I don't have the final numbers in but I want to congratulate Earl and Tracey for both completing their first triathlon. Denny, Adan and Toshie also finished the race and looked great at the end. Once again good job to everyone. It was a lot of fun being a spectator and cheering everyone on. While watching everyone I noticed a lot of things that you should NOT do in a triathlon. Some of these were done by my clients and some were random people I don't know. Getting to the race on time, leaving yourself plenty of time to get settled BUT not getting there too early. Some of you know Denny (he is a Real Results Trainer). He is also a really great triathlete. I think he was like 6 or 7 th overall today. He had to be the first person setting up in transition this morning. He must have gotten there like at 5am (too early). Earl on the other hand, the client I mentioned that finished his fi...

I have mentioned before, that I do personal training and triathlon coaching. It is so much fun to see someone complete their first Triathlon, Ironman , or Marathon. All of these are huge accomplishments . The average person couldn't even think about running 26.2 miles or better yet, running that far after a 112 mile bike ride AND 2.4 mile swim. As amazing as that may seem, I see even more amazing things everyday when I train people in the gym. Let me expand on this statement. Last week I had three pretty amazing things that I witnessed at the gym. The first was when a client came in and said she was below 150lbs for the first time in a very long time. This was a big deal for her and I was extremely happy for her. She feels and looks amazing. The second great thing that happened last week, happened to a client of mine named Andrea. She has lost a considerable amount of weight (before I started training her so I can't take credit for that). She was overweight most of ...

I just wanted to take a quick moment to wish everyone luck this weekend at the Mountain Man Event at Lake Mead! I swam with Earl and Tracey today and they felt like Michael Phelps in their wetsuit! This week is Interbike in Las Vegas so I am lucky to be able to go look at all the new stuff! There is a cyclocross event at Dessert Breeze Park Wednesday night so we will not have a scheduled track workout. If you are free I would encourage you to come to the cyclocross event. I heard last year it was pretty cool to watch . I will post a track workout here and if anyone wants to complete it on their own they can. We will do the hill repeat workout next Wednesday! We will still do the mini triathlon in the gym on Thursday night. It was a lot of fun last weekend so I encourage everyone who works out at LVAC Rainbow to come (well not everyone because that would be too many, but you know what I mean). If you are doing the race this weekend we will have a short version and you can us...

I want to talk about a few things that really bug me! I guess you could call it gym etiquette. I am a trainer at LVAC ( Las Vegas Athletic Club) as well as a triathlon coach. It amazes me every day how rude, inconsiderate and just plain stupid people are in the gym. I am going to list some things that you should NOT do at the gym. These are basic things that I would think most people know, but let me tell you everyday, I see idiots doing these things. Lift weights right in front of the dumbbell rack. People do this all the time. Then, when I need to get a dumbbell they look at me like I am bothering them. STEP BACK ABOUT 6 STEPS! Remove your weight from machines after using them. I am amazed that some guys put 100's of pounds on leg press and other machines and then walk away from the machine without taking the weight off. If you put 10 lb's or 500 lb's on a machine, take it off when your done! Carry a towel and wipe off your sweat from machines. Come on, this is real...

Today was a tough workout. I did a 50 mile ride that included the Red Rock loop (which is pretty hilly) and then had to teach spin class. I took way too much time off the bike this last year and I am trying hard to get my endurance back. The bike is my strength of the three events in the triathlon and I am usually strong on hills. A good bike fit is so important. I really need to go and get fit on both my bikes again. I have sent several of my clients to the Bicycle Ranch in Scottsdale AZ. They are the BEST when it comes to getting a good fit. They will give you good recommendations for the right type of bike for your body. There website is http://www.bicycleranch.com/ . I had a client that purchased a Cervelo P2 and went to the Bicycle Ranch to get fit. This client is very tall and his bike was a 61 (I think). When he got there the guy working named Chris, told him he had the wrong bike for him to properly fit. In fact it was impossible to fit him right on this bike. He could do a ...

Here in Las Vegas we are getting close to several local triathlons. This weekend is the Amica Triathlon at Lake Las Vegas. Anyone who is planning on doing the triathlon at the end of the month or Pumpkinman in October as their first triathlon, should go and observe this weekends race. The race is the 12 th at Lake Las Vegas. For more information go to http://www.sunsetracing.com/events/lake-las-vegas-tri . Recently I have been meeting a few people at the LVAC on Rainbow for track practice. We have been doing it Wednesday nights at 6pm. I want to continue to do a weekly run workout on Wednesday nights. I will be alternating track workouts with hill repeats. If you are interested we will be meeting the following dates and places: 9/16/09 - Running Hill Repeats - Meet off of Far Hills and 215. If driving on 215 on Far Hills exit go west and take the first left and park in the park near the round about. We will meet at 6:15pm. 9/23/09 - Track workout at LVAC on Rainbow at...

It is so common to see overweight people who cycle, run, or swim on a regular basis. These people workout hard by swimming competitively , ride centuries, or run marathons. I cant tell you how many overweight people run marathons on a regular basis. So what are they doing wrong? There could be several things that they need to change. I remember years ago when I lived in Hawaii. I decided to train for my first marathon . This was before I had a lot of knowledge on endurance training. I did weight training and cardio on a regular basis at the gym and that was all. When I started training (blindly) for my first marathon I quickly decided to eliminate all strength training. This was my first mistake. The second mistake was eating whatever I wanted. I was more hungry because, I was training more. I really did not pay attention to my diet. I just ate when I was hungry. The good news is I did OK in the marathon completing it is 3:59. The bad news was my body fat was probably the highest ...

Most people who do Ironman triathlons think at some point how great it would be to do Hawaii. Not everyone can do Hawaii, because you have to qualify at one of the many Ironman events around the world. This year I have two good friends that are going to Hawaii and both qualified this year at events in the US. The reason I wanted to write about them is because both of these guys are 56 years old. They both could beat guys half their age and do beat guys half their age in triathlon events. My friend Bill has gone to Hawaii several times. He qualified this year at Eagleman Half Ironman . He did something like a 4:45! Scott my other friend just recently qualified for Kona for the first time at IM Louisville. Congratulations to them both! I have been thinking about the fact that they are both so fit at their age. Then I started thinking about myself. I feel more fit than I ever felt 20 years ago. I know that as a sport triathletes tend to get into the sport later in life. So I can und...