Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  As an athlete, you hear a lot about eating enough calories, staying well hydrated and fueling your workouts appropriately with proper sport nutrition. Although macronutrients are very important, let's not forget about the smaller nutrients - vitamins and minerals. Micronutrients play an important role in immune function, protection against oxidative damage, bone health and energy production. Exercise stresses many metabolic pathways and increases the turnover and loss of micronutrients. As a result, a deficient intake or absorption issue can negatively impact health, body composition and performance. Although many vitamins and minerals are of concern - like B vitamins, zinc, magnesium, calcium and some antioxidants - many athletes struggle with consuming adequate iron. Because iron is an essential mineral that assists in the transport of oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, we can't expect our muscles to execute the work we ask of them if iron stores are depleted. R...

Disclaimer: Neither Campy nor I encourage the consumption of alcohol during a training camp. Truth be told - I don't never drink alcohol.  Although your racing may be on hold, your training shouldn't stop. More so, you should still feel the need to fuel your inner athlete...which means incorporating big training days, personal challenges or a heavy training week into your training regime. Better fueling and hydration strategies before/during/after workouts give you better performances and improved health. It’s that simple. With races postponed, there's no better time than now to start (or to continue) designing and fine-tuning your personalized hydration and fueling plan. Event day is not the time to try the latest sport bar or to invent a new homemade sport drink. Instead, use your big training days and personal challenges (ex. virtual or mock races) to figure out the best sport nutrition strategy for your needs. While the nutrition you consume during workouts is...

After an EZ form focused run with a few "fast feet" intervals on the treadmill on Tues evening, I made a delicious dinner for me and Karel of couscous, spiced with turmeric and salt, tossed with sauteed veggies (celery, edamame, yellow peppers, onion). Cooked tempeh was my protein of choice. This dish didn't take too long to prepare as I was able to cook everything at once by using three of the burners on the stove. Karel was on the trainer, doing his bike workout as I was cooking, so by the time he was finished, it was time to enjoy this yummy creation, which left us with a happy tummy and well-fueled body. After a great night of sleep (oh sleep, how I love you!), I woke up excited to run outside on Wednesday as this was the first morning in several days that it wasn't raining. Plus, I had a very specific build-run workout on tap and with a building confidence in my run fitness lately, I was excited to see what my body had in store for the morning run. ...

It feels great to be back home in Greenville, SC. We are back to our routine of work and training and of course, back to the routine with this little golden nugget who enjoyed his "summer camp" with our dear friend Christi for almost 4 weeks..... As wonderful as it is to be back in our home environment, I have to be honest and say that adjusting to life, without all of our meals prepared and served to us, has been hard. We were heavily spoiled by Karel's mom, while we were in Znojmo, Czech Republic, with over 2.5 weeks of really good authentic Czech recipes, all home cooked and prepared with love. With Karel and I continuing to train for the races that we have planned for the rest of the season (next up in August, Lake Logan Half Ironman for me and Ironman Mont Tremblant for Karel), life certainly isn't slowing down for us, with little extra time to shop, prep and cook food. BUT, we have to make it a priority because our bodies require food ...

It takes a lot of food to fuel an endurance athlete. But not every food is well tolerated before and after a long workout. I'm constantly aware of the food that I eat around long workouts for two reasons. First off, food is my fuel. I do not use food as reward or to control emotions. Seeing that long distance training is very stressful on the human body, I do not want to self-sabotage myself by under on my longest workout days nor do I want to throw away a great workout by eating (or not eating) food that will not help me recover and refuel.  Secondly, I know what foods work and do not work for my body.  This has little to do with body image and a lot to do with performance. Ironically, my body stays in good health, despite not counting calories, eating carbohydrates at every meal, every day of the week, using sport nutrition during workouts, eating before all workouts and not having a "bad" food list. This isn't because I'm lucky, this is because I...

If you have been trying to train your way to great fitness with a dieting mentality,  you better believe that in your attempt to improve performance, you may actually be becoming less healthy. Don’t assume that just because you are an athlete, that health and fitness are interrelated because for many athletes, they are not. Just because you can run for 2 hours, swim 4000 yards or bike 100 miles, perhaps all in a weekend, this doesn’t mean that you are healthy, especially if you are not fueling and eating adequately and making smart lifestyle habits (like good sleep, good stress management, etc.).   I have witnessed many athletes who are extremely active, look fit or are dedicated to training, yet when it comes to making smart choices with their diet, they are either too extreme and restricted or too careless and negligent.      Have you or someone you know, experienced one or more of the following while training for an event?  ...

Most sport nutrition experts try to make nutrition and fueling a body in motion as simple as possible because aside from a few of us who love biochemistry, explaining metabolism in the picture above is likely not the most practical way to understand and apply information as it relates to turning food into energy (aka metabolism).  These days we often hear about ways to eat less. Over and over again, nutrition "experts" proclaim that to be healthier, stronger, leaner, fitter and sexier you need to fast, cleanse, detox or find a way to restrict food. And these suggestions are not just for the sedentary, clinical unhealthy or lightly active. They often trickle down to age group, elite and professional athletes too!  Athletes who restrict food, undereat, overeat, skip meals, underfuel around/during workouts (either intentionally or unintentionally), frequently diet or overtrain may find that the diet is negatively affecting physical and mental health just like overea...

Healthy Eating Without Following a Diet Plan (for the original source, visit  USA Triathlon multisport zone ) By Marni Sumbal, MS, RD All fitness enthusiasts and athletes must understand the importance of consuming a balanced, wholesome diet. And above all, this diet shouldn't leave you unsatisfied, without energy, feeling isolated, requiring an excessive amount of planning and prep or costing you a lot of money. It’s time to start thinking about food for fuel and health.  Here are six tips for eating a healthy diet without following a diet plan. 1. What's your motivation to change?   If you feel the need to eliminate or add certain foods to the diet, be sure to have a really good reason to do so. A good reason would be doctor's/dietitian's orders or lab work that reflects the need to place emphasis on certain areas of your diet. Weight loss is typically a top priority for most people wanting to change nutrition habits but a better focus would be on wha...

Thank you  Girls Gone Strong  for letting me share my thoughts on fueling the vegetarian endurance athlete.  As a 22-year vegetarian and 9x Ironman finisher, I had so much to say on this topic so we decided to make it a two part series and finish with a Q&A on the Girls Gone Strong Facebook page!                                                                              To read the articles:  Part 1  &  Part 2  Q&A Q: On Tuesday, in this article  you gave some guidelines   for protein, carb, and fat requirements for female endurance athletes. Do the numbers look different for women who mostly strength train, and whose goals are strength-based?    If so, how do they differ?   A: Thanks for asking ...