Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Same person. Same day. A body in motion.  Your weight and appearance do not define you. How you look is not the most interesting thing about you.  For almost all athletes, at some point in the athletic career, body image is a struggle. When it comes to appearance-related content on social media, this constant comparison to unrealistic images of people presenting the best version of themselves can negatively impact your relationship with your body. Unrealistic expectations of how your body should look may turn into unhealthy eating and exercise behaviors and disordered eating. Although athletes have the same risk factors for body image issues as non-athletes, athletes are constantly conflicted with two body images - one in sport and one outside of sport. The body that is fit for performance may not meet society's "thin" ideal.  For athletes, there are two wardrobes. Clothes that are designed for functionality and performanace and clothes for outside of sport - work, leisur...

 The winter can be a challenging time when it's cold and dreary but getting outside to exercise is an immediate mood booster. And as the saying goes, there's no bad weather, only bad clothing. On Saturday morning, Karel went gravel biking with our friend Alvi and I joined the GVL WBL  group ride. I've participated in this winter bike league for the past few years and it has significantly helped my mental health in the winter. Being inside or alone with my own thoughts is challenging for me and I find that I am the happiest when I am with people. I feel incredibly lucky that I have several swim partners and bike partners to help get me out the door when the weather is less than ideal.    I returned home from my ride shortly before Karel and for the next 20 minutes, I couldn't stop talking about the ride. I told him about the 60+ people that showed up, the horses that ran alongside us in a farm, the guy who didn't have the best bike handling skills and was making me ...

I have spent much of my career focusing on the many ways to help athletes optimize physical health. But it wasn't until my life was turned upside down by the passing of my dad to cancer in May of 2014, followed shortly by a diagnosis of PMDD , that my mental health became just as important as my physical health.  Mental illnesses often come with the stigmatized belief that those who struggle with depression or anxiety are weak and fragile. Many people hide mental health struggles due to shame. To improve quality of life, it's important to work through any barriers that are preventing you from addressing your mental health in a positive and productive way.  Anxiety and depression are interesting. It's wild how certain words, pictures, videos, people or noises can be very triggering some days and I can be immune to the same things on another day. Over the years (with the help of medication ) I've learned valuable coping skills for working through the emotions, thoughts an...

  Over the past few weeks I've been progressing gradually with my run fitness. I'm not training with a specific race day pace goal in mind but instead, I'm training to become a stronger runner. A lot of variables contribute to running well off the bike and frankily, it really comes down to not getting injured. Running is corrosive and it brings a great risk for injury. I've been thankful that my body has not had a setback since August 2019 and for me - someone who has had a rocky relationship with running - that is a big deal. When I eased back into running after my short off-season break, I focused primarily on easy running with good form. I incorporated a lot of walk breaks in my runs to help reset form and neuromuscular firing (communication with the brain and muscles) and finished some of my runs with hill strides (10-15 seconds uphill w/ walk down) to activate the posterior chain and for leg turnover. After a few weeks of frequent running, I continued with easy run...

  Proponents of training in a fasted (or carbohydrate-depleted state) claim that exercising when your body's glycogen stores are low (or depleted), will improve fat metabolism.  Teaching the body to rely on the massive energy supply that fat provides as a fuel source is often referred to as "metablic efficiency" or "fat adapted." These sexy terms are frequently used among endurance athletes and can be intriguing when associated with phrases like; Burn more fat.  Minimize the risk of bonking. Reduced relience on sport nutrition (ex. exogenous fuel sources) during training.  Minimize the incidence of GI issues.  Body composition changes.  Steady energy.  Sparing glycogen. It's understandable how the above claims of fasted training can be appealing to endurance athletes. But with much of the available literature studying the effects of fasted workouts and carbohydrate-restricted diets concluding that there is no correlation with enhanced performances in e...

                           Few people know this but shortly after I completed graduate school and received a Master of Science degree in exercise physiology from FAU (in Davie, Florida), I accepted a 6-month internship with Ironman from January until June 2006 in Tarpon Springs, FL. Instead of utilizing the two new initials behind my name, I was 23 years old, broke, living with my parents in New Port Richey, FL and obsessed with triathlon - I was registered for my first half ironman distance at Disney in Orlando, Florida (May) and my first Ironman in Panama City Beach, Florida. I received a very small amount of money each week to perform various tasks at the World Triathlon Corporation (located in Tarpon Springs, Fl). At that time, Dr. Gills - a world-renowned ocular surgeon and Ironman athlete - owned the Ironman brand.  Much of my interning was learning about the behind-the-scenes of this event organization. Ba...

The holiday season is a time of socializing, celebration and reunions. Now is the time when families, coworkers and friends gather together around food. For those struggling with an unhealthy relationship with food and the body, the holiday season may not be so bright and merry. If you experience great emotional stress around the holiday season, you are not alone. Here are some reasons why the holidays can be so stressful when it come to food:  Fear of weight gain. Too many food items available. Guilt around indulging. Feeling weak or out of control. Stress and anxiety. Uncomfortable being seen eating food. Pressure or comments when eating. Worry of offending others. Struggling with "normal" food portions. Remarks about body weight/size. Inability to recognize fullness. Eating on another person's schedule.  Having the right tools to manage triggers and unhealthy thoughts can help you maintain a healthy relationship with food (and your body) so you can fully enjoy the hol...