Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  We moved to Greenville, SC from Jacksonville, FL in May 2014. A few months later, we experienced our first "real" winter in ten years. I quickly realized that I do not like running or biking outside when it's cold and I needed to invest in a more seasonable wardrobe by purchasing winter workout gear. By no means is our winter weather extreme, but it's always a bit of a struggle to go from my favorite season (summer = hot and humid) to colder temperatures. For many years, I tolerated the winter by training indoors. I've put in a lot of treadmill and treadmill miles from December until March. However, year after year, I realized how much the winter weather was affecting my mental health. But I recognized that it wasn't just the cold weather that was giving me the blues but it was the lack of being outside.  Over the past few years, I've made a conscious effort to run and bike outside throughout the winter. I have an ever-growing wardrobe of winter work...

A lot has been studied on the topic of weather and productivity. Interestingly, the results vary. But this shouldn't come as a surprise since human beings are different and react to various conditions differently. For example, I find myself much more productive when the weather is rainy. When the weather is nice, all I want to do is play outside. If you are the same, a primary reason for the bad weather-productive connection is that you are less distracted, more focused and work more efficiently when the weather is bad. The idea of being outdoors is not very attractive so you may as well get stuff done inside.  However, for some people, a gloomy day can lead to a dreary mind. It's hard to get stuff done when you are feeling down. Although most people would agree that weather that looks and feels good puts you into a good mood, and you are more likely to be productive when you are feeling good, you can't get much done in life if you plan your productivity around the weathe...

Although it's normal to experience motivational highs and lows throughout the year, the risk for burnout is always a concern. Typically, the symptoms occur gradually.... you can't seem to find the motivation to exercise, you've hit a fitness plateau and/or you notice a loss of enjoyment for the activities that were once enjoyable for you. You may also find that you are struggling with an injury, health issue or mental health change. Burnout is not always predictable but life, work, an injury, health issue or a family stress can certainly increase the risk. If you are struggling with motivation or struggling to find your "why", it's time to change your relationship with your training/exercise regime. Here are a few tips to help you return to a place of joy and excitement for exercising: Avoid just checking off your workouts and simply going through the motions. If you feel obligated to show up to a workout, but gain little enjoyment or satisfaction from the pro...

In a divisive world, people are very passionate in their beliefs and opinions. This is only heightened on social media where anyone can express opinions without censorship, restraint or legal penalty. When a topic is polarized by different views, thoughts or opinions, you may find yourself in one of two situations - you either full heartedly agree or disagree. While it may be hard to accept that a friend or family member has a different opinion to you, the ability to understand and to be understood in a world of conflicts is extremely important. Every person in this world has a unique context which helps inform and shape the way he/she sees the world and behaves in it. As much as you want people to understand where you are coming from (and your point of view), you must be willing to do the same for others. To enter a space of conflict or lack of understanding, here are a few tips: Accept differences. People come from different backgrounds and are brought up and taught to believe in di...

I've had a busy last two weeks but it has been all so rewarding. With a trip to Charlotte, NC and then Roanoke Virginia, followed by a trip to Lexington, KY the following week, I've had the opportunity to speak to a wide range of individuals about nutrition, education and sport - newbie triathletes, fitness enthusiasts, collegiate athletes, coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, exercise science students and so much more. It's truly been a dream come true to be able to give back to others. With so many people wanting to improve health, change body composition or improve performanc (and in honor of my new book  Athlete to Triathlete ), I’d like to give you a few tips on how you can get the most out of your exercise or training journey without being all or nothing. -------------------------------- The sport of running, swimming, biking or triathlon isn’t reserved only for the elite or as a means to an end to lose weight. It’s much more than clocking the miles...

I have had the most wonderful time over the past two days, visiting my alma mater - Transylvania University in Lexington, KY. This is my first real visit to Lexington/Transy since I graduated college in 2004. Wow - 16 years have passed by and so much has changed! Both in my life and in Lexington. After spending the first 22 years of my life growing up in Lexington, I have so many amazing memories here. Why am I here? I was invited to Transy to speak to the senior exercise science students, the triathlon team and the swim team, as well as to some of the sport/exercise staff/faculty. I arrived on Sunday afternoon and I will be leaving Wednesday morning. It's a quick 5 hour drive. I have been sharing my journey of how I got to where I am today and I owe so much of it to my amazing liberal arts education at Transy. Funny story - my high school swim coach is now the head coach at Transy. And the triathlon coach is married to one of my friends from my high school swim team. What a s...

Have you ever said to yourself "I know what I should be doing but I can't seem to do it!" Life is busy, stressful and exhausting so it's no surprise that excuses and barriers keep you from doing what you know you should be doing. But what if your life didn't have to be this way? If you are tired of getting into your own way, here are my tips to lift yourself up, gain control over your mind, work through fears and doubts, break down barriers and move closer to your goals.   Celebrate small accomplishments.  Don't aim for perfectionism. Silence the negative self-talk.  Stop procrastinating. Look for patterns when you push aside what is uncomfortable or difficult to accomplish.  Address self-sabotaging, habitual behavior.  Avoid over-committing yourself.  Learn to say no.  You are not your thoughts.  Focus on the present moment.  Push aside thoughts that are non-productive or make you feel bad.  Call out your self-...

Motivation is the most significant predictor of success. But as you, motivation is sometimes hard to find and very hard to keep. While it's well known that motivation requires breaking habits and behavior patterns, motivation can also come from something deep inside - an internal drive that fosters action.  Whereas sometimes we feel that "pressure" inside to train, eat better or make a lifestyle change, it's important that you are able to stay motivated in the face of obstacles, fatigue, boredom, stress, distractions and oh yes, the holiday season that seems to be oh-so-busy!   Motivation is different for everyone. Explore your unique motivation that drives you to work toward your goals. Instead of feeling pressure to do something, feel inspired to do something.  Instead of lowering your goals to match your struggling motivation, boost your effort to reach your goals. I know this is a very busy time of the year but I'd like to share a persona...

We have all heard that motivation is the most significant predictor of success. High motivation brings preparation which brings results.  For many athletes, motivation is hard to find and hard to keep. While it's well known that motivation maintenance requires breaking habits and behavior patterns, motivation can also be an internal drive that promotes action.  Perhaps you have felt this drive a few months out from your key race when you suddenly feel the pressure to get more serious with your training and/or eating habits. Although it is great to feel this pressure to perform, it's important that you are able to put in the work, in the face of obstacles, fatigue, boredom, stress and distractions to do other things, all the time. In other words, your motivation to train in January, February and March should be just as strong as your motivation to train in May, June and July. If you have found yourself saying that you are motivated to train to reach performan...

picture  source I don't believe that life is perfect and that you always need to be happy to live a good life. But I've always considered myself a positive person, trying to see the bright side in every situation. My dad was always happy - he never seemed to have a bad day. Nothing ever bothered him. It was truly remarkable how he lived his life, which was sadly cut short due to cancer at the young age of 67.  Now more than ever, I try to live with a mindset similar to my dad's, where I always try to wake-up excited for another day of life and look to experiences, nature, travel and other people for inspiration. As you know, I am extremely passionate about sports, specifically swimming, cycling, running and triathlon.  I just love watching the human body in action. picture source I'm not sure if you are following the paralympics, as there is little TV coverage in the US (aside from NBC sports) but I strongly encourage you to watch and follow these i...

Performing at your best requires an effort that goes beyond your old limits. This new limit (or unexplored territory) means that you will ask your body and mind to do something unfamiliar on race day. If you are racing this weekend, you are capable of achieving something incredible on race day.  However, first you need to get past all the self-doubts, fears, insecurities, pressures, anxieties and nerves that are possibly holding you back from achieving greatness on race day.  While there is nothing wrong with pre-race nerves, it is important that you believe in your fitness and your ability to overcome anything that comes your way on race day. Trust that you have done the work that you needed to do and be confident in your abilities.  Do not take your race day for granted, especially if you are not sick or injured.  Don’t live your life waiting for a better time to do something or assuming you will have another opportunity.   Racing is h...

As I was swimming the other day, I started to think about the many, many years that I have changed out of warm clothes and into a swimsuit, cap and goggles, only to jump into a cold pool, to swim back and forth for thousands of yards at a time. Even after starting competitive swimming at the age of 10, I feel so lucky that I still love to swim. However, I can't say that over the past 23 years, it has always been easy to drive myself to a pool, get excited to go from perfectly dry to soaking wet and stay committed to a swim workout. Of course, when there is a coach on deck and your teammates are working hard, you don't make excuses, you just do the work.  But the pool is still my happy place. I love the way my body feels when it is non-weight bearing and the fact that I can get a great cardio and muscular workout in the water.   Now that I am in my 10th year of endurance training and racing (and 23rd/24th year of being a competitive athlete - wow, that is a LONG t...

It’s normal to experience waves of high and low motivation throughout the year and the early months of training (in the cold, dark winter months) can often be a rough time for many athletes to stay focused with training and to remain present for workouts.  Although there is no need to be hard-core with your training right now, it is extremely important that you do the work when it needs to get done because in a few months, you can't go back in time. You don't want to look back, wishing that you would have built a better base/foundation, wishing you got yourself stronger so you could adapt better to more intense training or wishing you would have taken the time to focus on weaknesses like skills, form, diet and/or sleep/stress management so you could stay as balanced as possible with training.  We all know that being a triathlete (especially long distance) really doesn't allow for 100% balance in life as some sacrifices have to be made in order to properly mentally, phy...

( Source) I love the first few months of working out as it relates to my periodiz ed training plan. The intensity is fairy low which makes it easy to function well in life, socialize and partake in other non-sport activities, no workout seems to short or long, frequency training provides many opportunity to work on skills without sacrificing poor form and there is a heavy emphasis on strength.  As I tell our athletes over and over, when a new season starts after the off-season, it's time to start building your foundation. And it turns out that the analogy "training is like building a house" could not be more true for athletes who seek consistency, great health and great performances within a season.  If you were to start construction on a house, what would be the first thing that you would do?  Would you hire an interior decorator to help you pick out window treatments and wall paint? Even if designing the interior of a house is fun, if you spend most of yo...