COACH CYNDEE

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas Day! I am in Montana enjoying some time with my family. The weather is cold, foggy, and snowy but that did not stop me today going for a run. Yesterday I ran in the local gym on the treadmill and thanks to my iPod I made it through 10 miles on the treadmill. I hate running on the treadmill and I really don’t like the cold. Today it is about 20 degrees in Montana. I really didn’t have an option today except to run outside. Hesitantly, I begin the preparation process for the cold run that I plan on embarking on. My dad, mom, and sister all watch me put layers of clothes on. I have three shirts, a jacket, gloves, headband over ears, and full face hat (that I mostly use for riding but came in handy today). My dad comments that I have to go through a lot of work just to get ready to run. I wasn’t sure how long I was going to last in the cold but was hoping to go 6 miles. I was reluctant to step outside but forced myself out the door. As I began my

Rockin Runners Henderson Group These are some emails I received from some of our Rockin Runners after they ran the marathon. If you ever considered running with a group The Rockin Runners Henderson group is the one you should run with! We have a great group of people and two great coaches! We start running together again in January so come run with us! From Margaret: My Dearest Torturer! I say that lovingly you know Words alone cannot express the feeling of accomplishment I felt when I crossed that finish line, I wanted to cry but held back. Six months ago I decided to try to run the marathon and in doing so I knew that I needed expert training to help me accomplish this huge goal, so I told my husband that I was going to join a training group to help me get through it. At first I sort of balked at the price, but the the price that I paid is nothing compared to the invaluable coaching I received from you and Cyndee. I know for a fact that if it weren't for all the time you two put

Three and a half years ago, I went through something traumatic…I became a statistic. After 10 years of marriage, I found myself divorced. I read somewhere that when you are at your lowest point, you discover what you are made of…this holds true for me. Exercise and endurance sports was not only an instrumental part of my emotional recovery and healing, but it brought back energy and fitness I had not seen in years. Exercising is now a part of my life and I love it. Last year, I made the decision to move to Las Vegas to get a new start on life and be closer to family. It was here that I was blessed to meet my trainer and coach, Cyndee Platko. Working out with her has definitely brought out the best in me. What attracted me to choosing her as my trainer was her love for endurance sports…something that I now have a deep interest in continuing to do. Her experience as an incredible triathlete was another big reason for wan

I have coached Nancy Dickenson for almost 2 years now. She is an amazing athlete. It has been great to coach an athlete as talented as her. This year she had a great year qualifying for and competing in The National Long Course Triathlon in October. At nationals she qualified for Worlds Long Course which will be held here in Vegas in 2011. Nancy happens to be a great personal trainer at LVAC Central location. About 6 months ago I asked her to help me coach a running group in Henderson called The Rockin Runners. Here is her perspective on the group, which is the best running group around............... Last Summer I received a serious distress text message from my Coach/respected Colleague, Cyndee Platko ..."I need your help." Anything for you! I of course replied. Little did I know that my attempt to GIVE Cyndee help turned out to be one of the best coaching experiences I've ever RECEIVED. Cyndee asked me to co-coach the Henderson location Rockin Runners

About year ago Dr. Satterlee at BioMechanics of Las Vegas asked me if I wanted to coach a running group called the Rockin Runners in Henderson. I kept saying, "I really don't have time." He kept asking, and reluctantly I said yes. Today I am very grateful I did say yes. It is a great feeling to see the people from the group finish their first half and full marathon. In June we started training for the Las Vegas Marathon. I asked one of my elite athletes that I coach and a personal trainer, Nancy to help me coach the group. She has proven to be an asset to the group. Together we have coached the group to run the Rock and Roll Marathon that took place today. Nancy ran the half race today and was the first one from our group to finish. She finished in an unofficial time of 1:34. She did outstanding and now is training for the Rock and Roll Arizona full marathon in January. I live about 3 miles from the race so I dropped a few people off in the morning and parked my car at t

I decided for the month of November I would take it easy when it comes to training. I plan to start training for my races in 2011 at the beginning of December. I am doing the Half Ironman REV 3 in Costa Rica in February and then the Full Ironman in Texas in May. With 2 big races early in the year I wanted November to chill.......but how does a type A triathlete chill? Well I don't think I really do in comparison to most people. My way to take it easy is not having a plan for a month. I just do what workouts I feel like doing. I actually had a great workout Wednesday! What was the workout you ask? Well lets see it started like this: 7:30 - Client canceled so I have some time well maybe I will do some shoulders or something. Start on the bosu ball flat side up and do 15 squats, bicep curl and shoulder press, then 20 quick hammer curls Side plank rotation go from regular plank to side plank alternate sides 10x each side Steps ups - stepping to side working more glutes tricep extens

I recently heard that people that have pets tend to live longer than people who don't. I also read a study that said children who grow up with pets are more intelligent. I read another study claiming that petting a dog or cat releases good endorphins in humans. I am not sure how accurate these studies were but I do believe them. I have three dogs and let me tell you the laughs they bring me are endless. I know laughing is good for you. I live alone and am not dating anyone so most people would think I was lonely and in need of company. Far from it! I have more company that most people on Earth. Here is just a few examples: I never eat alone. I always have 3 pairs of eyes glued to every morsel I put in my mouth. They are so attentive when I eat it amazes me. They watch the food as it goes from my plate to my mouth over and over again. I never sleep alone. Yes you got it all three of them sleep with me. Some say that is gross but I find it comfortable at times. Last nig

I am so excited for all the athletes that are participating in the Silverman Triathlon tomorrow in Henderson. It is a half and full distance triathlon. So many people have worked so hard leading up to this big day. A totally different type of athlete and just as inspiring are all the people competing today at the Las Vegas Classic. Several trainers from LVAC are competing in Fitness and Figure and they have clients doing it also. I am sure everyone had a great day and I can't wait to hear about it! As a triathlete people always tell me they are impressed with what I do. I am here to tell you I am so impressed with what the competitors at the Las Vegas Classic can do! I could ride 100's of miles but I could not do what they do. To get up in front of all those people takes guts. Dieting for weeks and weeks takes willpower. Working out so hard daily takes discipline. I give everyone credit for challenging themselves. Several are doing their first show. It is amazing to get out of

I love when people ask me what I do for a living. I tell them I am a personal trainer and coach. Some of them reply "oh that's all you do?" Then they must realize the look of annoyance on my face and they say, "I mean you do that full-time? You don't have another job?" I bring this up because in the past week it has happened several times. In both recent cases it was a guy trying to pick me up and clearly it didn't work. When it first happened I found myself trying to explain to people that I used to work as a district manager and I choose to leave that job for personal training. It was almost like I was trying to tell people that I could have a really important job if I wanted. Then I realized what I was doing and now I tell people I am a personal trainer and triathlon coach full time and yes I do make pretty good money and its a great job. I don't need another job to pay my bills. I understand some people do personal training in addition to working

Last weekend was a unique challenge for me. I wanted to take on a new challenge and swim an 8K which is 4.97 miles. If you don't swim, you may not know but that is REALLY far to swim. The longest I have swam in a race is during the Ironman distance and that swim is 2.4 miles. To complete an 8K swim such as this one, you need your own kayak support. The swim that I chose was the inaugural Slam The Dam in Las Vegas. One of my clients had a friend that did kayak support for me. Desi was my kayak support and he was amazing. He kept me going and on track to the finish line. Without him I would not have been able to complete this. I felt great and really strong through mile 3. Then my body was telling me it was time to get out. I knew I had to keep going and was determined. My calves were cramping every so often. My shoulders were on fire but I still had two miles to go. I finished and it felt great. Here is a picture of me at the 2 hour point. The race took me just under 3 hours. Taki

GET FIT WITH FIDO Have you and your dog become too friendly with the couch? Do you both need to get moving and drop a few pounds? GET FIT WITH FIDO is the program for you! Join Certified Personal Trainer, Coach Cyndee, for a workout for you and your dog. The program is for all levels of people and dogs! There will be workouts designed for the beginners and workouts for the advanced person and dog! I will provide you with the safest, healthiest, and best workout for you and your dog! I have been involved in health and fitness for over 20 years. I am currently a personal trainer and dog lover. I wanted to combine two of my passions and help people and dogs become fit and healthy! You and your dog will be on track to improving your health with ME! Obesity in the US population is at an all time high, obesity in pets is on the rise and becoming a serious problem. Don’t be part of the horrifying statistic and do something about you and your dog’s health. The worko

I have ran with a lot of different people throughout the years. Don't get me wrong I love running with other people but my best running partner is not human. I actually have two dogs that are great runners. Below is a picture of me with the best running dog you will find. Daisy will run forever, never complain, never talk, protect me at any cost, and absolutely loves it! She is the happiest dog when she is running and very tired when she is finished. Tigger my other dog will run and is a good running partner but he always has to poop and gets tired after 3 miles. That being said he is my second favorite running partner. Some days it is a challenge to fit in time to walk or run my dogs. I have to be at work at 5am most days. In Las Vegas morning or late night are the ONLY times you can take out your pets because of the heat. I usually get up at 3am so I can take them walking or running for 30 minutes before I leave. That sounds

In the past few years I have taken on new challenges in my life. I have done endurance or ultra running and recently endurance or ultra swimming. They have required my body to adapt to a different type of training than I was accustomed to. When training for a triathlon (which I have done for almost 10 years) the schedule typically rotates between the three disciplines. That is the great thing about triathlon training. Rotating the disciplines gives your body a chance to somewhat recover from each training day. If you have a long run one day it is not too difficult to do a long swim the next day. My body became very comfortable with training for triathlons throughout the years. Last year and this year I decided to take on a few new challenges. I completed a 50 mile run last August. It required me to focus on running only for several months. I progressed my training and maxed it out with several weeks of 60 miles of running per week. This was a lot for me being a triathlete.

I have always been a person who sets goals and works hard to achieve them. I think most people should live life like this but unfortunately they don't. I think because they don't really know how to set goals. People can get caught up in the day to day activities in life and plug along. By setting goals people can continue to improve their life and feel better about themselves. In my job it is essential that my clients have goals to achieve. I train people that want to live healthier lives and improve their health and fitness. The best way to do this is through long term and short term goals. It is essential that your goals are something that you can achieve. It would not make sense for me to be out of shape and overweight and say, "My goal is to do a 50 mile run in 6 months." A better approach would be to give a 6 month goal to running a 10K or half marathon and progress my goal from that point. Sometimes it might seem like you can achieve a goal and then somethin

You would think being a spin instructor I would tell everyone to take spin classes. Well the triathlon coach side of me will tell you something different. Spin classes are great for some people but not triathletes. There are many different reasons why triathletes should not take spin classes to improve their bike endurance. Some important reasons are listed below: Most spin instructors NEVER ride outside and would not know how to design a workout specifically for a triathlete. Even if they did most people would find it really boring. Spin classes are typically fast, high intensity, high aerobic effort. When you are just beginning to build your endurance on the bike you should do some training at a lower intensity. People flock to spin classes because they love the fast pace, group environment, specific music each instructor chooses, and they love to sweat. You will get ZERO bike handling skills. How will you learn to maneuver your bike if you are never outside on it? You need to get th

I am always amazed when I talk to potentially new clients that are training for triathlons or marathons and they tell me they have never done strength training. It is never too late to start strength training. If you currently don't lift weights, then it is not too late to start now! It has been a part of my training for at least 25 years! I have never thought about not doing it except once when I started training for my first marathon. If you have read past blog posts you can read how big of a mistake that was. I will always lift weights until I die or cant physically do it anymore. I am here to tell you I do it and NO it is not my favorite thing to do. I would much rather be running! I know the importance of it so I make time for it. Endurance athletes think that all they have to do is swim, bike and run. I am here to tell you strength and flexibility will help you in all areas of your training. If you want to get faster on the run and you do speed work and don't d

The supplement world can be so confusing. Let me make it simple and easy for you. I worked in the supplement industry for almost 20 years. There are a few really important supplements you will want to take. There are hundreds of supplements that are worthless and a waste of money. Fall is coming and a lot of you are in the peak of your race season. The last thing you want is to be sidelined by a cold or flu. The following supplements are a MUST all year around to keep you healthy and feeling good: A good multiple vitamin. Not one that you can get at Costco, Wal -Mart or your local grocery store. I personally like the Alive by Natures Way. Another great one is Life Extensions Mix. The problem with Life Extension is that you have to take 9 pills a day. Most people will not do this. That is why Alive is the best choice for the average person. Men should buy the no-iron formula because they usually don't need additional iron. Too much iron in men can actually be harmful.

Triathlon Coaching - The Complete Package What does it involve? The monthly training will consist of: 1. Strength training in the gym for one hour each week. The most neglected part of most endurance athletes program, is strength training. Coach Cyndee specialized in strength workouts specific for endurance athletes. Most endurance athletes don't know what to do in the gym and will do traditional workouts that are not helping them in their endurance training and actually may be hurting them and their performance. 2. Swim with Coach Cyndee once a week. You will meet with Coach Cyndee in the pool for one session each week. Each session will be one hour. I will work with you on technique and teach you how to become a better swimmer or learn to swim. 3. Triathlon Coaching will consist of daily emailed workouts. Each workout is detailed and specifically designed for you to get ready for your upcoming event. You will not have to think about anything in your training program because Coach

As a trainer it is hard to find out what motivates others. I know what motivates me and keeps me going but trying to find out what motivates my clients is very challenging at times. Tough love may motivate one person but may send another away never to workout again. I think it is important for everyone to have a goal and reason to workout OTHER than weight loss. Most people who come to me want to lose weight. As I train them I talk about entering 5K's, 10K's, half or full marathons and triathlons. Those are not for everyone but do get some people going. I have a client named Anne pictured below with Pam. Last year Anne ran several half marathons and was on a roll. She was so motivated and excited about running. Then that died off and she continued to workout but lost some of the excitement. Anne struggles with a few pounds and I am sure everyone wishes they only had a few to lose. Pam pictured with her also has a few to lose. Anne started talking about losing these

In a few posts back I talked about missing a workout. I got quite a bit of slack from some of my clients after that blog post. Last week I went to the dermatologist and consequently couldn't swim for a few days. I had to cancel a swim that I usually do with Michael. We swim together periodically and I couldn't make it two times in a row. He says to me, "what about your blog about not missing workouts?" Well I don't want to get some crazy infection so I am not swimming, I DID however run that day. In my professional opinion I had a valid excuse! Another client Mark that I run and ride with sometimes called me out on this too. He said what about that time you canceled our run? He did not think my excuse was valid that time either. I will say that I did run later in the day and my excuse in my opinion WAS valid. What was my excuse you may ask? Well I can't mention what it was here but just take my word for it that it was valid! So when I do miss a workout, it doe

Sign Up For Personal Training from Coach Cyndee and receive FREE Triathlon or Marathon Coaching What does it involve? Train with Cyndee each week for up to 3 one hour sessions of personal training. You will receive FREE Coaching to prepare you for your upcoming event. This is a $100 value and you will get it for FREE! Training sessions in the gym are group training with 2-4 other clients. You will also get a free Coach Cyndee T-shirt and visor! Who can join? I coach anyone who wants to train for any endurance event. It does not matter if you are a beginner or advanced. It does not matter if you want to lose weight or have a specific goal you want to achieve by completing the event. YOU still need to do strength training and now you have found someone who can help you with it all for a great value! Train with Cyndee in the gym and you will also receive daily emails detailing your other workouts to get ready for your race. There will be nothing for you to think about in your training rou

IMPROVE YOUR SWIM WITH COACH CYNDEE’S SWIM CLINICS What does it involve? One month of intense swim training. Learning technique and building endurance and learning to become a better swimmer. If you just want to learn to swim for fitness or want to complete your first triathlon I can help you! You will meet with Coach Cyndee for one hour two times a week. You will be provided 3-4 swim workouts to complete on days you do not meet with Coach Cyndee. If you follow the outlined program you are guaranteed to become a better swimmer in one month. You will also get a free Coach Cyndee t-shirt and visor! Who can join? I coach anyone who wants to be a better swimmer or learn to swim. If you want to improve your technique or learn technique I can help. I can also help if you don’t know how to swim at all. You don’t need any experience. Each session is limited to 4 people so you will get individualized attention. How much does it cost? The one month program will consist of 8-one hour sessions, an

As a trainer I have heard every excuse not to workout. Some may be valid excuses but in my book most are not. I recently have given this some thought and I felt the need to write about it. I rarely miss workouts but then again I am not NORMAL as my clients tell me on a regular basis. I have trained through migraine headaches, colds, blisters, a broken arm, extreme fatigue, mono (which I didn't know I had in college) and many more things. I know at times I should not have been working out but I am one extreme. Some of my clients are another end of the spectrum. They seem to be able to come up with any reason not to work out. Now I must say I love them all but I need to say the excuses need to go! In the last few months I have heard the following excuses (everyone will remain nameless:) I forgot my sports bra and socks I forgot my shoes My toenails hurt (you runners know when your toenails get bruised at times) I have a hair appointment I had too much sex so I can't do l

The last blog post I talked about some basic aspects to fueling during training and racing for just about any race. In this post I will discuss more specific aspects of training for longer distance events. The carbohydrate is your body’s most efficient fuel source. It plays a role in both low and high intensity endurance activities. A 150-pound triathlete can store approximately 1800 calories of glycogen as carbohydrate. This can help you through about two hours of high intensity training or four hours of moderate-intensity training. Our body can also utilize fat and protein as fuel (in very small amounts) to support the moderate-intensity workouts, but our stores of this are not nearly enough to support the energy of 4+ hour training days you need carbohydrates. Consuming carbohydrates during training longer than one hour can help performance by maintaining adequate blood sugar levels. Blood glucose is the main fuel source for your brain, and a well-nourished brain may improve your tr