COACH CYNDEE

 It's that time of year when people are very busy with work, family, shopping, entertaining, attending parties and probably getting less sleep.  It's also that time of year when people get sick more frequently because it's cold outside and people are indoors more this time of year.  Here are some things you can do to stay healthy during the holiday season.   Eat healthy foods that are high in antioxidants like fruits and vegetables.  Use these foods to get much needed antioxidants to boost your immune system.   Limit your intake of alcoholic beverages.  Drinking alcoholic beverages can decrease your immune system and make you more susceptible to getting sick.  If you do have a few drinks it might be a good idea to take an extra b-complex vitamin and drink a little more water than you normally would. You could also try a product called Emergen-C that contains minerals and vitamin C.  Take immune boosting supplements.  I like to ...

If you have wanted to improve your health but have been struggling where to begin then you should read this!  You don't have to start by making huge changes that will be hard to adjust to. You can start simple and gradually increase each new habit overtime.  Here are some easy things you can start doing to improve your health. Move More This doesn't mean you have to do an hour of vigorous exercise each day.  If you currently are not doing anything then simply add a 10 minutes of movement into your daily routine.  You can start with a 10 minute walk, 10 minutes of resistance training, 10 minutes of elliptical even 10 minutes of dancing. Some other things you can do to move more is to park further away when you go to stores or use stairs if your appointment is only a few floors up.   Drink More Water So many people don't drink enough water.  If you fall into this category then make a conscious effort to drink more water.  If you are drinking soda tr...

Do you think you're eating healthy and wondering why you can't lose any weight?  When I talk to people about their diet they always say things like I eat really healthy.  Then I question them a little more and the things holding them back from their weight loss goals become clear.  It is important when you start making changes to your diet you make small changes.  It is much easier to make and stick with small changes.  Making drastic changes can make you feel like you are depriving yourself of things which can lead to binge eating.  Tracking your food is a great way to get a good idea of exactly how you are doing.  I am not saying you have to track your food forever but doing it for a few weeks will open your eyes to things like overall calories, sugar, fiber, and carb, protein and fat ratios.  Once you have an idea of how much you are eating you can make adjustments to make sure everything is more balanced.  While eating small meals through...

This was very my very slow longest run a month after getting sick It's been about 6 weeks since I did Ironman Des Moines and it's been really tough getting back to training.  I had a rough race and didn't plan to rush back into training because I didn't have anything scheduled after this race.  If you read my last blog post about my race recap then you know I got a little sick a few weeks before the race.  It wasn't COVID just a mild cold and I felt like I recovered pretty good.  I hadn't been sick for many years leading up to this cold and I never even got COVID!  Coming back from the race my boyfriend went to Peru the day after we got back.  He was only gone a few days but apparently he had COVID.  I had a very brief interaction with him for only a few seconds and apparently that was enough to give me COVID.  He was only sick a few days with COVID but I was in bed for about 5 days and felt terrible.  I didn't have much of a cough but boy th...

I can't believe I have done 14 Ironman races!!!  I have said many times this will be my last one but this time I am sure it will be my last.  I did not have enough time to train like I needed to train for this race.  I also had few medical procedures close to the race that kept me out of the pool for a few weeks close to the race.  For the first time I went into an Ironman race under prepared and boy did I feel it.  As a coach and competitive athlete I take training for these races very seriously and rarely miss a planned workout.  I know the importance of being properly prepared for this magnitude of a race.  I did get some long rides and runs in and had some long training days but I did miss a few long rides, a few long runs, and was out of the pool for almost 6 weeks leading up to the race.  I also got sick two weeks before the race. It had been nearly 3 years (before COVID) since I had been sick.  I never got COVID and luckily I didn't ha...

Cupping  dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cultures. One of the oldest medical textbooks in the world  describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1,550 B.C.   Cupping therapy supporters believe that cupping removes harmful substances and toxins from the body to promote healing. But that’s not proven . The many people, specifically athletes who do choose to undergo cupping therapy will often do so before participating in their sport, as well as after. Most have a goal of addressing specific aches and pains within their body, as they want to heal these areas as much as they possibly can before participating in their chosen sport. For athletes who have been diagnosed with a specific injury or have had to undergo a surgical process, cupping therapy can be used to help their body heal faster. Cupping can even be used to help decrease an athlete’s recovery time after they have undergone strenuous training.  Athletes can expec...

In the past I have chose not to do Ironman Oceanside 70.3 because of the cold weather (usually) and cold water (always). After a bad experience at Ironman Utah many years ago I am especially sensitive to cold conditions and I try to avoid those races.  This year Oceanside was the perfect time to get in a half before I do Ironman Des Moines in June.  Against my better judgement I signed up and decided to do it.  Leading up to the race I was busier than ever at work so my training was not exceptional.  I've had some issues with swimmers elbow so I have not been swimming a lot and when I do swim it is easy.  Swimming hard  seems to aggravate it more.  I knew my performance was not going to be great and I just wanted to get to the finish feeling good.   The dogs came with us for the trip and boy did they enjoy all the great smells that the ocean had to offer!  We arrived on Thursday and the race was on Saturday.   Friday we rode ou...

People who know me as Coach Cyndee do not realize before my coaching years I worked almost 20 years in the supplement industry.  I have several supplements I take regularly and some I add in when I'm training more.  Since I am mostly Vegan I look for supplements that are vegan and thankfully it's become much easier to find them! I take a general multiple vitamin  called Vegan Vitality.  You can purchase it on Amazon  Vegan Vitality There are many multiple vitamins you can choose from.  I chose this one because I didn't want to have to take a lot of pills and I wanted a simple vitamin that covered all the basis without adding stuff I really didn't need.  This one was also Vegan and that is what I was looking for. I take NOW brand of PQQ Energy formula. This product provides PQQ,  Acetyl L-Carnatine, B-12, and CoQ10,  This product is good for energy and provides antioxidant benefits.   PQQ Energy Phosphatidyl Serine is another supplem...