COACH CYNDEE

I get asked about various things for weight loss such as diets, pills and potions all the time.  I have worked in the health, fitness, and supplement industry for over 20 years.  I am here to tell you there is no magic pill, potion, or fad diet that will get you skinny.  A few years back the HGH diet became popular.  People continued to ask me about it and I gave my opinion.  I don’t think any diet that limits you to 600 calories and no exercise is good. I don’t care what you are taking if you have to limit your food that much and not exercise its NOT good.  Sure enough EVERY single person I know that tried it lost weight and regained their weight and then some.  I was working in the supplement industry when the Atkins diet became popular.  It was a crazy phenomenon.  People were obsessed.  I knew it was a fad and gave people my person opinion on the diet.  Carbohydrates are good for you!  Yes in moder...

I wanted to quit many times during Ironman St. George. It was a true test of my limits.  This was the next day and I was glad I didn't! Today I ran 7 miles, Sunday I ran 8 miles.  Sunday I felt amazing like I could run fast and after 8 miles I still felt fresh.  Today I ran 7 miles and felt like I was running through honey.  Why can you feel so good one day and so bad a few days later?  It happens all the time running, biking and swimming.  It also happens to everyone.  I know exactly why I felt like I did today and I knew it was important to push through it......so I did even if it was painfully slow and hard to do.  There are a few reasons why my run was so bad today.  The past week I have had slight symptoms of getting sick.  A little runny nose, ears feel plugged, throat is a little scratchy.  The problem is I have felt pretty good for the most part. I don't really feel sick but I don't feel 100%.  Today it seems worse...

Even though I cramped in this race I finished! Many days my clients inspire me to write an article on various topics.  Today in the pool I had three clients that developed cramps in the pool and I was inspired to talk about muscle cramping.  In reviewing some information about endurance training and muscle cramping there are so many suggestions as to the cause.  There is not much proof of what causes it or what may help.  There are also many recommendations out there and I have my own suggestions as well.  I read that 30-59% of athletes suffer from muscle cramps.  One study said 59% and another said 30%.  Whichever is true I can tell you I am quite sure it is pretty high.  As a coach I see it daily. I think almost everyone has had it happen at least once during training.  Unfortunately many people suffer from this as an ongoing problem.  It can bring your training day or race to a halt if they are bad enough. The...

We all face similar challenges in our training.  When training for triathlons one challenge is how to fit it all in.  If you are pretty good at all three disciplines then you are one of the lucky ones.  Most people have one area they are really strong at such as the bike and one area they are really weak like the run and then they may be OK at swimming.  Some people find swimming is their challenge and running is their strength when the bike is pretty good.  I always tell my clients if they have to miss a workout don't miss one of your weakest areas!  This is tough for clients because they typically want to do what they are strong at.  So if a client loves to run and is strong at running it is pretty unlikely they will EVER miss a run.  If they hate swimming it is VERY likely they will miss a swim here and there for various reasons.  Does this sound familiar?  If you want to improve your weakness and you fall into this scenario then you...

I have suffered with an annoying pain in my hip that has been managed for years with Active Release Therapy, Graston and Stretching.  I always figured it was from running. Lets face it many common injuries are from running but if your a runner you keep running and find ways to manage things.  I know my running form isn't perfect and I have always tried to work on some of my imperfections.  Recently I was forced to take time off from swimming.  I was out of the pool for 2.5 months.  I have not done that since I started triathlons over 10 years ago.  I was able to run and bike so I did that a lot.  I even got up to running 35-40 miles a week.  I love to run so I took full advantage of my time out of the pool.  I didn't realize for the entire time I was out of the pool my hip didn't hurt at all.  In fact it only occurred to me that it wasn't hurting when I recently got back in the pool.  The first few days back in the pool it was an e...

It is very hard to stay motivated to eat healthy and workout during the holiday season.  Don't be like the majority of people and gain 10lbs during the holiday season.   Being inactive, drinking and eating more than usual, you can easily be a part of this grim statistic.  Last week I had a healthy holiday party. I had some healthy versions for some of your typically high calorie and high fat foods.  Her are a few of the recipes. Stuffing Makes: 6 Serving size: 1/2 cup Prep 10 mins Cook 45 mins Ingredients •    1/4 cup wild rice •    1 3/4 cups water •    1/4 cup regular brown rice •    1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules •    1/8 - 14 teaspoons ground sage or nutmeg •    2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms •    1/2 cup sliced celery •    3 green onions, sliced •    1/4 cup sliced almonds or pine nuts, toasted (opti...