Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Your body is going to perform differently when it's 60 degrees outside than when it is 90 degrees. Although exercising in hot weather requires extra planning and caution to avoid health risks, it is possible to improve performance, enjoy your training sessions and not feel completely drained when training in the heat. There's a good chance that you are not making good decisions when training in the heat and as a result, your performance and health is being compromised. Running without a hydration belt, not planning stops accordingly on the bike, showing up to workouts dehydrated, not fueling properly (or eating enough) and not rehydrating properly after workouts will negatively impact your body's thermoregulatory process. The human body is remarkable when it comes to exericising heat, so long as you take the necessary steps to acclimate gradually, pace yourself and look for opportunities to minimize dehydration and cool the skin.

Remember when you were complaining about the cold weather? Hello summer heat! The body has many mechanisms to help adapt to a range of environmental conditions. Heat acclimatization plays a major role in the body’s physical responses and overall ability to perform the heat. What is heat acclimatization?  Heat acclimatization (or acclimation) involves biological adaptations that reduce physiological strain (ex. heart rate and body temperature), improve comfort, improve exercise capacity and reduce the risks of serious heat illness during exposure to heat stress. Heat acclimatization can occur in a hot and dry environment as well as a hot and humid environment. Acclimatization varies person to person and also depends on the volume of exercise, the intensity of exercise, hydration status and fitness level. Trained athletes and those with less body surface area will generally (but not always) have more physical advantages to tolerating the heat compared to the untrained or t...

Acclimatization Complete heat acclimatization requires up to 14 days but the systems of the body adapt at varying rates. Be mindful that every time you train in the heat, you gain more tolerance to the heat. In other words, you do not need to make an effort to train in the hottest time of the day acclimate to the heat. Continue to build fitness in a temperature controlled environment, alongside training in the heat (you don't need to be outside in the heat for every workout). There's no point suffering in the heat if you are unable to complete a workout and stay consistent with your training. Sometimes you just need to stay indoors. Change in physiology It is very important to lower the intensity during the first 1-2 weeks of training in the heat (ex. early summer) as your body is trying to improve control of cardio functioning. Be mindful that acclimatization will require you to reduce your effort/intensity so be OK with seeing slower paces/watts in the first few ...

Triathletes and endurance athletes are very susceptible to dehydration and even more so, a heat-related injury at this time of the year. Whereas in the cold/cooler months of the year, athletes can get away with haphazard fueling and hydration strategies and poor pacing, now is the time in the year when a poorly planned fueling/hydration regime and pushing too-hard or too-far will negatively affect workouts, adaptations and health. Let it be known that training in the heat is incredibly stressful for the body. Seeing that training (in any environment) already creates difficulty for the body to adequately digest and absorb nutrients and fluids, you can imagine why so many athletes experience harmful health issues, GI struggles, extreme fatigue, heat stress, dehydration and so many more issues during the summer months when training for an event. As an example, exercise increases body temperature. The harder and longer you train, the higher your resting temperature. Your body comp...

Pear-berry oatmeal 1/2 cup oats (dry) 1/2 small pear (chopped) 1/2 cup blueberries 1 tbsp ground flax or chia seeds 1 tbsp sunflower seeds 1 tbsp (about) red currants (or raisins) ~10g protein powder (optional: whey, vegan, soy -to help slow down digestion and to promote satisfaction for a few hours) Water or milk to meet consistency needs 1. Mix ingredients together in large tall bowl (Recommend a tall bowl as oppose to a wide bowl which will help prevent spilling over, although watch for rising oatmeal). 2. Add water/milk (liquid) to almost cover the dry ingredients (leave about an inch or so not covered. if not using protein powder, cover 3/4ths dry ingredients) 3.Stir well with a spoon (especially if adding protein powder) 4. Microwave (uncovered) for 1 minute, then stir. 5. Continue to microwave in 45 second intervals until oatmeal meets your consistency needs (it may get more thick the longer you microwave. I like my creamy so I typically microwave around 2:15).  ...