Maui, HI. December 27, 2011 : Your New Year Approach to Health & Fitness Choices for 2012 on Suzie Cooney’s Radio Health & Fitness Segment with the Maui Breakfast Club, every Tuesday on Maui’s KNUI 900AM @ 7:30am.

Make a “lifestyle” choice for life not  for one month. Reward yourself with a new surfboard, new running shoes, and make a plan and stick to it and see yourself in that lifestyle. Like what you see in the mirror, but love yourself on the inside first. Tweet

Most News Year’s resolutions fail because it is not motivating enough. Forget them, get real and get real simple. Reflect back and see forward. Trainers like myself can help you plan and chart realistic, simple changes that before  you know it, it’s March and you’re still on track.

CLICK HERE to listen to Suzie's Health Segment Now

Listen here to Suzie Cooney, owner of Suzie Trains Maui.

Feel free to share your comments and tell us your tips to help our audience can make long lasting, lifestyle choices. Let this be your year to set the pace for yourself, your friends and family. Live the life you always dreamed of now, make it healthy and simple.

Follow @SuzieTrainsMaui

Suzie Cooney of Suzie Trans Maui is a weekly guest on the Maui Breakfast Club with Tom Blackburn Rodriguez and Kellie Pali and shares every week, her healthy tip. From how to train for big surf, SUP stronger, train to be extra strong for windsurfing and kiting skills, or how to get off the roller coaster of yo-yo dieting and shed weight for good.  For over 12 years she has helped hundreds of people get in the shape of their lives and live the life Maui offers. People come from all over to train and learn from her.

Tune in every week, Tuesday on Maui’s KNUI 900AM at 7:30am or click here to catch the daily, live broadcast from anywhere in the world.

Happ New Year Everyone! See you on the water!  Check out my other website:  http://www.standuppaddlingfitness.com/  Here you can change your life and discover a new way to get healthy with the awesome sport of SUP or stand up paddling. This is YOUR year to try something new!

Suzie Cooney, CPT

 Suzie Cooney is available on the island of Maui for private, fitness training, stand up paddle ( SUP ) coaching, lifestyle coaching and for public speaking.

If you’d like to join my confidential mailing list and keep up to date with Suzie Trains Maui and other health related news, go here:

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Maui, HI. December 20, 2011 : Listen & Learn About Ten Survival Tips For Holiday Parties on Suzie Cooney’s Radio Health & Fitness Segment with the Maui Breakfast Club, every Tuesday on Maui’s KNUI 900AM @ 7:30am

On air Suzie Cooney shares her 10 Survival Tips for the Holidays!

 CLICK HERE and  listen and learn how to manage those fabulous holiday parties. Save your waistline and those extra calories that may sneak up on you at the buffet line, pastry cart or holiday dinner.

It’s not easy to pass up a delicious dessert, or that yummy, oh so fat filled glass of eggnog. Don’t fret, make a plan and practice talking more and scan the buffet table or bar and make a plan NOT to lose it, but enjoy in moderation without regret or extra time on the treadmill.

Today, on this special holiday show I’ve listed 10 helpful tips to keep you smiling and not sweating too much at the gym. Enjoy your holidays and friends and just learning a few of these tips will see you through to the next party without gaining an ounce, well maybe a few.

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My top suggestion is to eat something prior to the party that combines protein and fiber to fill you up before you charge to front of the buffet line. Drink lots of water and leave the elastic pants or skirt at home!

Suzie Cooney of Suzie Trans Maui is a weekly guest on the Maui Breakfast Club with Tom Blackburn Rodriguez and Kellie Pali and shares every week, her healthy tips from how to train for big surf, to how to avoid weight gain at big buffets. For over 12 years she has helped hundreds of people get in the shape of their lives and live the life Maui offers. People come from all over to train and learn from her.

Tune in every week, Tuesday on Maui’s KNUI 900AM  at 7:30am or click here to catch the daily, live broadcast from anywhere in the world.

Tom, Suzie and Kellie photo by Simone Reddingious

Feel free to share your comments and tell us your  tips to help our audience enjoy the holidays without sabotaging one’s hard work to get in and stay in shape.Follow @SuzieTrainsMaui

If you’d like to join my confidential mailing list and keep  up to date with Suzie Trains Maui and other health related news, go here:

Sign up for your FREE Suzie Trains Maui Email Newsletter

( Article written by Suzie Cooney, CPT for Naish International ) Direct link, click here.

Stand up paddling is no doubt taking the world by storm, and while you don’t need to be in the greatest shape to paddle, you’ll soon discover the benefits. As you begin to improve your technique, experiment with new gear and maybe decide to enter a race or wave competition, it’s a good idea to learn how to train in a balanced way to prevent injury so that you can enjoy paddling even more and stay on the water.

As the sport continues to evolve, and as a trainer who specializes in educating people how to paddle stronger and better improve their performance, I’d like to share with you first an overview of some of the known complaints and injuries that I’m seeing and helping people manage. I’ll also share with you many training strategies designed to help you better approach your SUP training in a balanced manor as a way to avoid injuries.

This article is part one of a two-part series that will illustrate a more in-depth review of the anatomy and how your muscles function while you paddle and how injuries might occur. Part two will be the actual exercises and training approach I recommend to help recover from some of these injuries and/or avoid them.

I’ve also gathered some helpful insight from one of our Naish Team Riders, Karen Wrenn, on how she trains to help her better perform. In addition, I’ll be highlighting another paddler, Kevin Vangritis from North Carolina and new racing competitor and long distance paddler, with his personal story and struggle with a unique injury and how he’s managed to come back on the water.

Common SUP Injuries

Overuse injuries and strains from SUP are common and include mostly the muscles of the shoulder and/or rotator cuff muscles, the knee joint, foot and ankle and low back. It’s good to have a knowledge base of the anatomy and function of each group so you can better adapt your SUP training to avoid these injuries. There may be more to mention, but in my practice and I too have experienced things such as a nagging bicep tendonitis issue in my right arm and on occasion after long distances over 20 miles, my traps (trapezius) have cramped a bit and my feet have fallen asleep.

photos by Simone Reddingius

Injuries that are more common where there are waves are fin lacerations to the extremities and face, paddle handles giving bloody noses (mine), and leash wrap-arounds I call them, that can cause sprains to fingers and other body parts from wrapping around you after a heavy wave wipe out. Also, as these boards are much heavier than surfboards for example, if you get hit in the head you could suffer a good blow or even a concussion. In addition, some super heavy hold downs at some of the bigger breaks can wreck havoc on your back and lower extremities.

Shoulder and Rotator Cuff Injuries:

Stand up paddling works a lot of muscles and is well known for being a great core workout. It also requires a lot of work from the stabilizers of the shoulder girdle. The paddle stroke is a combination of medial rotation and abduction (of the top hand). The deeper rotator cuff muscles included are the supraspinatus, subscapularis, infraspinatus and the teres minor. This requires the work of the subscapularis, latissimus dorsi, pec. minor, pec. major, and teres major along with deltoid and supraspinatus to lift the arm up. The bottom hand is mostly stabilizing to transfer the rotation of the trunk to the paddle the muscles used to stabilize are mainly latissimus dorsi rhomboids, triceps, and middle fibers of the traps.

One client complaint was that of a burning sensation radiating from his elbow up to his shoulder and down to his hand, and another, with numbness radiating down from his shoulder through his pinky finger. These can be common nerve entrapment injuries with chronic tension and overuse of certain muscle groups.

Rhomboid & Trapeziums Strains:

The rhomboid muscles interact with and help support the shoulder blade. Your trapezius (also referred to as your “traps”) are the connective muscles from the neck to the head of the humerus or top of the shoulder, and are responsible for stabilizing your neck and shoulder while you paddle. These muscles require a great deal of endurance. This is also where we tend to hold our stress and the area that can fatigue and cramp up on long distance races. I often hear of muscle fatigue and recently of a tear of the rhomboid as described by Kevin Vangritis. Read more of his experience and how he recovered:

Kevin Vangritis is a friend of mine from North Carolina and is just getting into SUP racing. Over the summer, Kevin was training for a big 50+mile-long distance SUP crossing in Chicago (with Windy City Waterman and Matt Lennert). Prior to the race, he was helping a friend with an exercise and felt a pop near his right scapulae or shoulder blade. At the time, he thought that to simply take an anti-inflammatory and ice should do the trick.

I should note that Kevin is in amazing shape and has a very consistent, well planned and executed training and paddling routine, so this was a bit of a surprise. Kevin is also well versed in the field of sports orthopedics as he assists surgeons and medical teams and knows the anatomy which is also helpful when recovering from an injury.

He writes, “Over the next couple of days, I began to develop a large knot in my trap as well as radicular pain down my right arm into my hand, which was my major concern. This is a classic sign of a herniated cervical disc. The knot began to limit mobility in my neck. Our endurance paddle of crossing Lake Michigan was fast approaching, and I had to come up with a plan to get better. I completely stopped training both on the water and in the gym and continued using anti-inflammatories as well as heat. I showed up for the crossing on August 21st. We had very unfavorable conditions that day for the 50 plus mile paddle with 8-12 foot chop and 30 mph plus winds on Lake Michigan. We decided to go for it anyway without the support of our chase boats and Coast Guard. For four hours straight, we paddled hard against the wind and waves. We decided to call it a day due to safety concerns and knowing that the conditions were just too dangerous to continue without our support team in place.

After the paddle, there were a few large knots on my back that now involved my rhomboid on the right side. Upon returning home, I consulted a physician who diagnosed me with a torn trapezious and rhomboid. Apparently, this is a fairly common injury in this sport. He felt my best course of action would be seeing a sports medicine physical therapist. I spent the next six weeks in PT, attending two sessions each week. Each session, my regimen included a deep tissue massage, electric stimulation, heat therapy as well as cervical traction. I was given simple upper body exercises and stretching to do at home that kept my injured muscles isolated. Each visit, we added a few new exercises to my routine.

I am 10 weeks out at this time and have just one small knot that still has not released itself and the radicular pain is 95% better. In the next week, I plan to try acupuncture therapy to try and release the one small knot. Since my injury, I paddled for the first time two weeks ago doing 2-3 mile paddles at a moderate pace. Although my weights are still a bit lighter than I normally use, I am slowly getting back to a more normal exercise routine. It is really important to listen to your body. I feel if I had not tried to push myself on Lake Michigan, my recovery would probably have been 3-6 weeks instead of the 10 plus weeks I have endured. Before the injury, I was enjoying a very successful year of racing and am now focused on and looking forward to being ready by spring to begin competing once again.”

Kevin will be on Maui this month and I’ll be checking him out in my training studio and on the water. We’ll be fine tuning him and making sure his training is in check and balanced. Thanks Kevin. Hang in there and keep up the good work!

Bicep Tendonitis:

Simply stated, this is where inflammation or tenderness occurs at the head or top of the bicep tendon due to weakness and overuse. I suffer from this sometimes after a downwind race or while I’m in intense training. This long, chord-like tendon connects the upper end of the biceps muscle to the bones in the shoulder. This muscle is responsible for extending your outward as you reach for the nose of your board with your paddle.

Since I’m right-handed, this is obviously my stronger paddling arm and tends to take most of the load. I often feel tingling, burning and soreness. Usually it is a result of weakness of the rotator cuff muscles. Icing helps me as well as good old rest.

I’ll discuss in more detail how to strengthen this area and the supportive muscles in the next article.

Knees:

The knees young and old can often take a beating, but SUP is probably quite mild on them compared to other high-impact sports like running, dirt biking or soccer. Sometimes old injuries from some of these pounding sports can show up when paddling. But for most, stand up paddling is incredibly gentle and great for the knees.

We all have our own unique paddling styles and types of conditions to manage that can also lead to imbalances of the joint and ligaments that stabilize the knee. For example, if faced with choppy, windy conditions where you are paddling long and hard from one side of your board, pressing down on the board rail in a funny angle can lend to knee irritation. This is especially taxing to the knee compartment if the tendons and supportive muscles and ligaments are weak and not trained properly.

The knee is the largest joint of the body and is compromised of many muscles, ligaments and tendons that help absorb twisting and shocks, and help brace the body for any abnormal consequences. Tears of the medial, lateral, anterior or posterior ligaments are common knee injuries. In wave paddling, I’ve seen a knee dislocate. This is rare, but happened when I saw a guy paddle into a big wave and all of a sudden his leg simply buckled. Later, I learned that his knee gave way completely due to an unstable knee cap (patella). It literally slid out of its natural groove.

Some folks have mentioned that the outer part of the knee, where the iliotibial band joins, can be sore and painful. Again we find that some of these larger muscles – that are used to taking a lot of the load as you unload the stroke and exit the blade at your feet – can be overstretched and are over active. This then can lead to extreme tightness and underactive inner thigh and adductor muscles.

Also, after multiple Maliko runs, I’ve discovered a twinge of inner knee discomfort on my back carving leg after being in a deep, surf stance position on big drops. Managing a 14ft board is very different, with a lot more property from the center of the board all the way back to the fin vs. a short board, requiring one to really utilize more force production on the knee of the carving leg.

Back:

The back is a really important component to stand up paddling for it also helps stabilize the core and is part of the core. It also helps release and control power and of course keeps you upright for all levels of paddling. Refer to my article: More on the Core for SUP here.

Here, we’ll talk about mainly the lower back since we’ve covered quite a bit on the upper part of the body. Having personally suffered extreme back injuries, SUP has actually really helped me!

The function of the lower back allows for flexibility forward and backward and doesn’t easily tolerate too much twisting.

Most people who paddle may experience low back discomfort usually caused by improper paddle length, poor paddling technique or from other muscle imbalances such as tight hamstrings and hip flexors and weak abdominal muscles, or a combination of all the above.

The spine itself or vertebral column contains the spinal cord and other nerves, along with sponge like discs that can be damaged or pinched in pretty severe wipeouts. Sometimes, no matter how well you train or how strong your core and low back are, things can just happen.

Now that you have a good understanding of the anatomy and how it functions while you paddle, you can learn to safely train to keep your body strong. Accidents, muscle strains, riderless boards torpedoing towards you in the lineup can certainly happen, therefore it’s important to know how to recognize something that may not be right or may even be really, really wrong.

Seeking qualified help is very important. I have an excellent medical team that I trust and go to when I myself or my clients or readers write in with questions. I also keep a well-stocked first aid kit in my truck at all times in case I need to wrap a strain or sprain, or at least help stabilize someone if needed.

Stand up paddling is easy and is typically easy on your body. Being very aware of your body, the muscles that you use when you paddle and being mindful of some possible injuries will simply make you a better paddler. Your body has a lot of moving parts, so in the next article I’m going to show all the cool exercises you can do for each muscle group I mentioned here, to help you potentially avoid injury, keep your body balanced and strong and keep all those part together and intact.

Also, don’t forget we’ll be posting Karen Wrenn’s training strategy too!

SUP wipe out photos by Simone Reddingius

Medical photos courtesy of webmd.com

Suzie Cooney, CPT Naish Team SUP Rider and Owner of Suzie Trains Maui

Follow Suzie on Facebook: SuzieTrainsMaui

Check out all of the new 2012 Naish SUP Boards! Suzie rides the Hokua, Mana, Nalu & Glide for Maliko Runs.

Disclaimer

All the information presented in the SUP Fitness section of naishsurfing.com is for educational and resource purposes only. It is there to help you make informed decisions about your fitness training. It is not a substitute for, or an addition to, any advice given to you by your physician. Suzie Cooney, CPT, and Naish International strongly recommend that you consult your doctor and get medical approval before beginning any fitness and/or exercise program. You are solely responsible for the way information in SUP Fitness is perceived and utilized and you do so at your own risk. In no way will Suzie Cooney, Naish International or anyone associated with Naish International be held responsible for any injuries or problems that may occur due to the use of this website or the advice contained within.

Our minds and bodies are connected and without a healthy mind we cannot have a healthy body. See my article and listen to my radio show on: Mental Wellness: Why We Need to Have Hope For Our Body’s Health and Our Mind’s Health.

Gretchen writes:

     Prescribing Exercise to Treat Depression: August 31, 2011
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Can a stroll help ease depression? That question preoccupied Dr. Madhukar H. Trivedi, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, after several of his patients, all suffering from serious depression, mentioned that they felt happier if they went for a walk. The patients in question were taking the widely prescribed antidepressants known as S.S.R.I.’s, for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, but not responding fully. They remained, by clinical standards, depressed. Dr. Trivedi and his colleagues began to wonder if adding a formal “dose” of exercise would increase their chances of getting better.

Certainly the possibility was worth investigating. Clinical depression, as anyone who has experienced or watched a loved one struggle with the condition knows, can be stubbornly intractable. Even if patients have been taking an antidepressant for months, recovery rates tend to hover below 50 percent.

In order to increase the odds of improvement, doctors frequently add a second treatment — often another drug, like lithium or an antipsychotic — to the S.S.R.I. regimen at some point, Dr. Trivedi said. Most patients ultimately require at least two concurrent treatments to achieve remission of their depression, he said. Studies have shown that these secondary drug treatments help an additional 20 to 30 percent of depressed patients to improve, but the medications can be expensive and have unpleasant side effects.

Which prompted Dr. Trivedi to look to exercise. His investigation joins a growing movement among some physiologists and doctors to consider and study exercise as a formal medicine, with patients given a prescription and their progress monitored, as it would be if they were prescribed a pill.

In this case, Dr. Trivedi and his collaborators, who included researchers at the Cooper Institute in Dallas, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana and other institutions, recruited 126 people with depression who had been using S.S.R.I.’s for a minimum of two months, without achieving remission. None of the patients exercised.

Dr. Trivedi and his colleagues divided these volunteers into two groups. One began a gentle aerobic exercise routine, under the tutelage of Cooper Institute researchers, which required them to burn a certain amount of calories per session, depending on their weight. How the subjects expended the energy was up to them. Some walked for about 10 minutes a day, on a treadmill or by strolling around the block, at a pace of three miles an hour. Others chose an equivalent easy cycling workout.

The second group was more energetic, walking briskly for about 30 minutes a day at a pace of four miles an hour, or the cycling equivalent, a regimen that meets the current exercise recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine.

Each volunteer exercised for four months, while continuing to take an antidepressant. At the end of that time, according to the study published recently in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 29.5 percent had achieved remission, “which is a very robust result,” Dr. Trivedi said, equal to or better than the remission rates achieved using drugs as a back-up treatment. “I think that our results indicate that exercise is a very valid treatment option” for people whose depression hasn’t yielded to S.S.R.I.’s, he said.

As with most scientific findings, though, there are caveats.

One is practical. More patients improved in the group that completed the longer, brisker workouts than in the group assigned the easier exercise, but more of them also dropped out of the study. “We need to find ways to support people’s efforts to exercise,” Dr. Trivedi said. “It’s not going to be enough to casually say, ‘Go for a walk.’” Exercise, if it’s to be medicinal in depression treatments, will have to be monitored, he said, so it can’t be shrugged off.

Even then, many people will not respond. Almost 70 percent of the volunteers in this study did not achieve full remission. Failure rates were particularly high for women with a family history of depression, perhaps as a result of some as yet unknown genetic quirk. And women in that group who did recover were more likely to succeed using the lighter exercise program than the more strenuous routine.

Then there is the issue of a control group, whose members would have continued with their S.S.R.I.’s but not exercised. This study did not have one, making interpreting the results tricky, said James A. Blumenthal, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University who was not involved with this study but who has written extensively about exercise and depression. Perhaps four additional months of S.S.R.I. treatment raised people’s moods, and the exercise was incidental. “Evidence is accumulating that exercise may be an effective treatment for depressed patients who are receptive to exercise as a possible treatment and who are able to safely engage in exercise,” he said. But the evidence is by no means definitive.

Still, Dr. Trivedi said, although additional studies certainly are needed, there’s no reason for people with unyielding depression not to talk now with their doctors about exercise as a treatment option. “Side effects are almost nonexistent,” he said, “while you get additional benefits, in terms of improvements in cardiovascular health and reductions in other disease risks,” things antidepressant drugs do not provide. “Plus,” he pointed out, “the cost profile is very favorable.” Exercise, as medicines go, is cheap.

To read the article from the New York Times, Click here

Thank you Gretchen for this fantastic insight to what many know and now it’s time the rest of the medical community put away their prescription pads, get the drug companies out of their pockets and teach their patients how to exercise for the mental health.

Suzie Cooney, CPT of Suzie Trains Maui

  @SuzieTrainsMaui

of Suzie Trains Maui

TweetAugust 23, 2011Taken from the Maui Breakfast Club: Suzie Cooney of Suzie Trains Maui, Health & Fitness Segment every Tuesday morning at 7:38 am on KNUI 900 AM.  LISTEN HERE

Just the word visceral sounds bad and that it is. It’s not pretty and it’s deadly.  Also referred to as abdominal obesity or the “middle-age spread”.  The definition of visceral fat is basically subcutaneous fat that settles deep within the cavity walls of the abdominal area and also covers the abdominal organs. This condition can lead to many health concerns such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol,  hormone imbalances and even cancer.

An excerpt taken from the Harvard Medical School states this:

“One reason excess visceral fat is so harmful could be its location near the portal vein, which carries blood from the intestinal area to the liver. Substances released by visceral fat, including free fatty acids, enter the portal vein and travel to the liver, where they can influence the production of blood lipids. Visceral fat is directly linked with higher total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower HDL (good) cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance means that your body’s muscle and liver cells don’t respond adequately to normal levels of insulin, the pancreatic hormone that carries glucose into the body’s cells. Glucose levels in the blood rise, heightening the risk for diabetes.”

How does your waist measure up? Typical guidelines for men’s waistline: if  over 40 inches in diameter and for women over 35 inches are indicators that you may be dealing with this condition. Pinching more than an inch can be a concern.

Besides the role of over eating and a poor diet and lack of exercise  that plays in the main contributing factor leading to the accumulation of visceral fat, there may also be hereditary factors that also play a hand. Knowing this may help.

The good news  is there’s so much you can do to help avoid this condition. Getting your weight under control will help. Portion control and a healthy diet is first. Avoid all sugars and alcohol. ( See my article: Suzie’s Foods to Avoid ) Strength training or resistance training will aid in the elimination of visceral fat but most of all it will take some high-intensity cardio to assist in the breakdown of the visceral fat.

Start out with 30 minutes at a moderate intensity than work your way up to a much higher intensity of exercise. ( Always check with your physician first before embarking on a heavier work out regimen.) Remember, spot reducing does not work, this is a total body approach.

I hope you enjoyed the radio segment. A special thanks to the Maui Breakfast Club and to you for spreading the word and being healthy.  It does a body good.Tweet

Aloha,

Suzie Cooney, CPT owner of Suzie Trains Maui and Mental Health Advocate

Previous Radio Show: August 16th: Mental Wellness: Why We Need to Have “Hope” for Our Body’s Health and Our Mind’s Health Radio Segment with Suzie Cooney

Follow Suzie on Face book for up to the minute updates: http://www.facebook.com/suzietrainsmaui

References:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Abdominal-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it.shtml

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/waist-size-linked-with-longevity/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/how-does-your-waist-measure-up/

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-visceral-fat.htm

TweetTaken from the Maui Breakfast Club August 9th, 2011: Suzie Cooney of Suzie Trains Maui, Health & Fitness Segment every Tuesday morning at 7:38 am on KNUI 900 AM. Listen here: Radio Segment

Throw away the diet books, thigh blaster or ab roller and if you live near any body of water, hop aboard and paddle to shed unwanted pounds now!

It sounds like an infomercial but I’m really serious. I’ve been helping people shed unwanted weight here on Maui and spreading the word for some time now, on how thousands of people are, as I wrote this article for ATHLETA; are literally “Sweeping Their Way to Health”. It’s really true. I’m hearing from so many people, besides seeing my clients and others around the world completely transform their bodies; paddling away the fat.

I wanted to share with you a couple nice entries of the many of received on how SUP has literally shaped their lives and bodies. It’s so inspiring and I hope they inspires you or someone you know who would like to enjoy losing unwanted weight. It is possible and it’s fun!

Here, my dear friend and avid paddler Lucija Kordic, from Alameda, California, braves the chilly waters of the Bay Area and shares, ” My pants fit much differently now and I fit into some of my set-aside size 6 pants. SUP and intervals on the treadmill both make a difference!” Lucija is now training with me with her new SUP Endurance Program designed to help her improve her paddling strength and endurance for long distance racing. Go Lucy go! See you on Maui soon!

If you live in the Bay Area and want to get to know some paddle buddies, Lucija organizes casual paddling groups and is the ultimate host. This I’ve experienced myself. You can hook up with her group at: http://Meet.Up.com/East-Bay-SUP

I’ve received so many emails on how stand up paddling, also known as “SUP” is changing people’s lives and it just so happens that one of the keen health benefits is amazing weight loss. I’m not just talking loss of pounds, but more like shedding their old ways.

I’ve always encouraged my clients and everyone to find a sport, especially SUP, to enhance their current training as a cross training tool. What happens more times than not, is it becomes an obsession! Wow. Besides having to throw away hard earned money on marriage counselors, maybe a new pair of $80 Spanx, the moderate investment of one or two boards, paddles, leashes and some sunscreen can also result in relationship bonding. SUP is so easy, couples are losing weight together AND getting quality time paddling off into the sunset.

I’ve always found that most of my clients and people who write me, have had the light turn on in their lives with SUP. They have found their calling and are so taken with the sport, it consumes every waking hour. Now they have racks on their cars, very cool, hang out at the local SUP shop and talk “board talk” or what event they may register in, or simply enjoy the “healthy” camaraderie that develops along with wonderful new friendships.

This sport is very contagious and what comes along with is the healthy lifestyle. What a great bonus. As one develops their love for SUP, unknowingly, because your total body is getting a continuous workout; one can easily start to notice remarkable changes in their body. What is commonly noticed first, is one’s core strength. I’ve written so many articles about the power of the core for SUP, and how to train your core to get stronger to paddle stronger, it’s truly the first thing that people always say, “Wow it really works my core.”

In Redding, way North of my hometown, Sacramento, California lives Matt Ivey, very new to SUP and boy does he have the stoke and has he

Matt Ivey Looking Great!

gotten in great shape! He says he was his wife’s ginny pig and suggested he do SUP with her while she was pregnant and suggested that he join her too. Read the rest to see how he lost 10 lbs and also learn how SUP helped him manage some pretty serious injuries he had. He’s got big plans to grow SUP in his life and business.

Matt writes:

Suzie,

I just got into SUP about a month ago and I am totally hooked. I have lost about 10 lbs and my core/lower back are feeling the increase in strength. I love is so much my wife and I are adding SUP rentals, ecotours, lessons, and fitness/yoga classes. My wife is 20 weeks pregnant and she is a manager of a gymnastics gym. She has been using the SUP to stay in shape while she is pregnant and has been working on a fitness program. So that means I have been her ginny pig when it comes to testing her exercises on someone. I also like my alone time so every other day I have been paddling upstream on a local river for a hour.

I come from a background of playing sports and lifting heavy weights. Over the past 6 years I have broken and dislocated my left ankle, separated my right shoulder, tore one of the heads of my left bicep, broke my right thumb, and sprained my right mcl. I also have several degenerative disks in my back so needless to say I can no longer play the sports I once loved.

But what that also meant is that I could no longer lift weights in the gym. This lead to me becoming frustrated and out of shape. After relocating to a new town and stumbling on SUP (we had seen it on Maui 3 years ago but were more concerned with surfing) I was instantly hooked.

In fact I even had my wife take a before photo so I have something I can compare it to after I feel like I have reached my goal. I have also been incorporating a slackline into my balance and core training. Between the SUP and Slackline I feel like I have found a great routine that works for me.

I could chat all day about SUP and what it has done for me mentally and physically. Both my wife and I have out degrees in Recreation Administration and Business so we are looking forward to putting our education and experience to use helping others share the passion we have for SUP. We have been following you and all that you have done for the SUP industry. Thanks for all of the inspiration and knowledge you share so well.

Matt Ivey
Adventure Recreation LLC
530-255-4505 Business
707-321-7224 Cell
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Thanks so much Lucija and Matt, and to the many others that wrote me and shared their SUP weight loss stories. As SUP grows so does the opportunity for more people to get fit and healthy. I really encourage those new to the sport to take the opportunity and feel and experience what all the buzz is about. As I always say, SUP will change your life.

To see all of my articles about how to get stronger for the sport of SUP, go to:

http://www.naishsurfing.com/sup-fitness/

If you’re on Maui in early November, stay tuned for more details on my SUP Cross Enduro Beach and Water Fun Fitness Challenge!

Paddle in good health friends,

Suzie Cooney, CPT owner of Suzie Trains Maui

See Naish SUP Team Profile here: http://www.naishsurfing.com/team/suzie-cooney/

I ride Naish boards. The line up for 2012 is unreal! We’ll have up to 31 boards like last year and the lines, designs and graphics are killer. I’m so stoked for the winter, monster swells and for some exciting Maliko runs. Check out the current line up here:

http://www.naishsurfing.com/boards/

Left to right: Gigante Disc, Suzie, smaller 12" disc, 6.5 in roller, 8.5 in roller, INDO Board Pro, Ying & Yang Rocker Board, Kicktail

Aloha! Everyone knows that trains with me or reads my blogs and articles that I ‘m a huge fan of the INDO Board. It has brought all my clients to new levels in fitness and is always exciting and fun; meanwhile allowing me to cater to each individual and their unique needs. I’ve been a team rider and contributor for INDO Board for some time, and their product development, trainer curriculum and application continues to blow me away. My surfers, stand up paddlers, kiters, windsurfers and those also coming off of injuries have enjoyed building their strength on the different INDO Boards and platforms. Even those reentering fitness again or for those who want to freshen up their routine, love the challenge and discover new things about their abilities which allows me at any level, help them reach their personal fitness goals.

Functional training is the key focus of my practice and it’s how I’m sure that when I’m training a surfer or a new mom, all of their kinetic checkpoints are tracking properly before we embark on any new fitness program. The INDO Board training equipment offers me the expansive opportunity to test, observe and ask folks to perform on different, unstable platforms and is part of every assessment for each individual. It allows me to really measure one’s core strength, balance and reaction ability while I’m developing their unique program in my mind, all the while watching them discover new abilities they thought they never had. As a trainer, this is my biggest reward!

Suzie Cooney on Gigante Disc photo by Darrell Wong 2011 All Rights Reserved

The Gigante Disc, which has been a dream come true not only for training my SUP clients on land before we train on the water, but I’ve discovered so many other modalities and exercises that I’ve never before knew one could do. I often make up a lot of this stuff as I go based on the individual’s ability. You will see this piece of gear as one of my favorites and now on Naish’s website with my fitness articles. My mind is always thinking in that direction as I develop more and more exercises and also combine other tools and weights in conjunction with. It’s literally exponential on what you can do for your own training.

My second favorite new deck is the simple INDO Board Kicktail and the INDO Board Ying & Yang Rocker Board, which is very loose and wide, offering my more advanced clients a lot more freestyle action on a larger surface, but I’ve already implemented other uses! For example, today, setting up my hard core windsurfer, Tim Ellison loves it when I place the INDO Board Kicktail board on top of a semi-inflated Gigante disc in the surfers stance. This is his way of practicing his foot work for wave sailing. Then I fire at him an 8lb medicine ball in all planes of motion. He loves it! The INDO Board Kicktail is narrow and challenging, while the Gigante forces him to keep his knees bent and manage the force production and movement caused by the weighted ball. He’s be happy and completey satisfied if we did this the entire session!

The photo above shows me on my Naish 9’0″ Hokua. This is quite a sassy quad fin and with the INDO Board Gigante disc inflated almost to the max, I’m able to push my body to the max. ( beginners, remove your fins and I may suggest you place two Gigantes with less air at first, one in front and one in the back of board ). Aquiring upper body endurance with a medicine ball or weighted bar, while at the same time challenging all the finite muscles from from my feet, ankles, knees, hips to the core. This will get your heart rate up and burn your legs! AWESOME!

If you want to see a few other INDO Board equipment exercises I’ve referenced, you can also check out my SUP Fitness Tips for Naish. Also, you can check out a recent article on advanced core training featuring my client Jules on the INDO Pro Board.She’s got a rock’n body and loves the

Advanced INDO Board Core Training. Not just for surfers or paddlers! Everyone can benefit!

core challenge.

SUP paddlers, you can take your paddling to the next level with just a few pieces of key INDO Board equipment. This kind of training REALLY transfers to many different types of water conditions. Flat water, to big waves, to Maliko down wind coast runs, require all muscles to fire and this type of training also known as “propreocetion” work is key. You want your body to respond quickly and naturally. That’s why this gear makes that difference. Be sure you take your time and train your brain with the new reaction benefits that will challenge you. Safety is paramount and as you progress in your leg, core and even upper body strength, go back to the basics and start from the top.

Progressions should be safe, managable and always proper form. Progressions are as simple as two legs to one, less air in disc(s) or more air. Tempo, speed shift, holding weights below your knees or resting on your shoulder as you might perform squats on top of the Gigante disc while standing on the Rocker Board.

Hunter Joslin, Chip and Georgette at INDO Board, thank you for all that you do to help us trainers help more of our clients and water sport enthusiasts, and putting smiles on thousands of hard training folks, and for providing a most excellent quiver of fun under the sun or studio lights!

Mahalo and in good health,

Suzie Cooney, CPT of Suzie Trains Maui

While visiting Maui, Suzie is available for professional private training sessions. These may include on and off water sessions should you like. She will take you through all the progressions based on your current level of fitness and assist you safely to success. Call at 808-283-2121 or go to: http://www.suzietrainsmaui.com/suzie-cooney-certified-personal-trainer/

For more information on the cool folks and gear at INDO Board products:

This paddle was our second practice paddle since our first April 2nd, 2011 was such a huge success. Click here to see the video. We wanted to share again and encourage families, new paddlers and those who’ve never done a down winder, to come and build their confidence.

Peter Swanzy and Julianna Prater from Paia Youth and Cultural Center had five youth from 13 to 14 years old join in the practice paddle. The youth have been training with Pete and Julianna over the last month and their training paid off as this was the first time that these youth had paddled this 3 mile distance. A huge sense of accomplishment and pride way to go! We also had paddlers from Sweden, Nevada and England participate.

For some, this was the first or second time ever experiencing a coast run. After everyone signed in, had a little morning coffee and juice, we all gathered as Matthew Murasko, OluKai Hawaii Ambassador,  announced our 3 mile course.

Then the ice chest was turned over to me, and I stood up and asked everyone to join me in some warm up exercises and jumping jacks to shake off any pre-paddle  jitters or butterflies!

The conditions were perfect and inviting. The trades were light at about 10 knots that provided for some fun glides.

The first group of paddlers arrived to Kanaha in 30 minutes and the last group arrived in 60 minutes. Upon completion paddlers were treated to water, juice, granola bars and Whoopie Pies, a chocolate cake-vanilla ice cream confection handmade by my boyfriend Tommy Callan.

Mahalo to the Maui lifeguards ( Tony Colletta ) from Baldwin Tower and Kanaha Tower for PWC saftey…and special mahalo also to Milton Martinson of Haiku for PWC water safety as well as SUP water safety guards, Chris Pagdilao, John Smalley, Joshua Kjorven, Randy Royse. Also lending a hand and expertise, Deb Driscoll and Blair Thorndike.

We’d also like to thank the crews at the Naish Maui Pro Center and Second Wind for providing a few extra boards for the kids from the youth center.

I know this paddle provided many an amazing, life-changing ocean experience. I was touched to see everyone supporting one another out there and on the beach. For others it was a chance to encourage their loved ones and friends to go to the next level. Well done.[[Show as slideshow]]

Keep up that that training!  The real OluKai Ohana Fun Paddle is May 14 at 9am, same place, same course. Arrive by 8am and Register at OluKai.com. Entry Fee for the 3 mile OluKai Ohana Fun Paddle is $20 and includes one luau dinner wristband.

Aloha and thanks for supporting in community.

Suzie Cooney, CPT  Suzie Trains Maui SUP Clinic/Director/ Instructor   SUP Team Rider for Naish

http://www.suzietrainsmaui.com        http://www.standupaddlingfitness.com

      LISTEN HERE  to Suzie’s Radio Segment

by Suzie Cooney, CPT
Suzie Trains Maui

TweetSee the finish line, the crowd cheering you on the last buoy turn, the last surf heat before the horn, the last lap of your mountain bike or dirt bike race and see your personal victory! Okay, now adjust the speed and tempo, add a little more weight to the bar, do a few more balance tricks and turn up the music.

Visualizing your win, your finish or any goal you set out for your racing or training I guarantee will get you that trophy or medal or simply help you get to the next phase of your training and sport. We watch the networks play over and over in slow motion, two competitors going handle bar to handle bar on the dirt track, paddlers digging as deep and fast as they dig deep into last turn back to the beach, or the Olympic speed skaters pushing off those last few powerful meters.

You can do the same during your training. If you’re a surfer and while you’re performing a weighted squat on your INDO Board, you see the green room and the spray of huge dragons breath; popping you out of that tube standing tall touching the back of that blue wall. For example, when I’m on my spin bike, I close my eyes as the music carries me across the ocean on my Naish Glide at warp speed, catching every bump and trough possible, or better, turning on the face of a big wave.

Whatever your sport, your mental game and how you see yourself as an athlete makes a critical difference in how you perform. Do you see yourself as an athlete? Are you looking to build your game and confidence? I’m not a scientist, but what I do know is that the subconscious captures images of our desire outcomes and holds them and when an opportunity mimics the situation, it retrieves that image and allows our minds and body to shape and make that true.

I have the pleasure to introduce to you my training client, Stephen. Here is his awesome story on how his visualization training became an exciting reality, to a successful 27 mile stand up paddle race finish. The race was Saturday April 23^rd, 2011. It started from Honolua Bay, Maui across the open ocean channel to the island of Molokai. Sport, stand up paddle, partner Mike Owens.  ( photos by Joshua Kjorven)

“ I would like to help contribute, it was one of those crazy ideas one gets while I was watching Connor and Dave battle it out in the Pailolo Channel on last year’s race. It was in November when I first watched the video of the battle where Connor ultimately won. Watching him paddle, getting that imprint of his paddle stroke, and ability to read the swell was captivating. I thought with a little practice “I could do that” and why not, what could possibly go wrong? I never think about the details (they usually become a barrier),I just stay focused on the goal, and the details usually work themselves out in the end.

[[Show as slideshow]]

I set up our indoor pool to train and get in shape during the winter months, and then arrived in Maui to start training with you and Jeremy. Jeremy corrected my paddle stroke, and taught me to catch bumps on the four Maliko runs we did, plus several days in the harbor. Suzie helped me focus on my balance and strengthened the areas that I needed to improve upon, and it really helped. In reality was I ready for such a crossing and be a contender? No but my goal was to do it, learn it, and experience the rush, get the confidence, and then do it again next year, hopefully solo.

What I suggest is that you get real clear on what you want to see. Get real specific with how you want to perform. Do you want to go faster, carve bigger turns, or catch bigger glides or simply finish? Focus that imagery on just that. See in your mind over and over again that perfect picture of the outcome. Some people also explore hypnosis.

When you look in the mirror at the gym, get hyper focused and don’t be embarrassed of how strong you think you look. Right on! That’s what I want. Growl, sing see the confetti! If one of my clients is training for a big event and we’re squeaking out one more set or rep, I just love to whisper in their ear, “this is when you win.” I’ll also say, “Are you not the fierce competitor I know? Then do it.”

Now I’m not the mean trainer you see on TV, but I do give my clients the tools to help them get real with themselves and give them lots of positive images while we are training. I am the one that will keep you very positive and erase any negative and mental obstacles. If you don’t have a trainer, I suggest you try and do the same.

Develop a mantra that you say to yourself as you have your image. This is also a very powerful tool I suggest to my clients that get’s them very fired up and focused. I don’t care if it sounds totally silly, or if it’s a string of unusual sounds, it’s what resonates with them, If it makes sense to them and get’s them to that place they must go, then say it. I know people hear me when I’m surfing, SUP surfing or training down Maliko. I talk to myself all the time out loud.

What I strongly suggest when testing out your mantra with your visual, please don’t say negative things, like “you dummy, just one more stroke” or “I’m an idiot… “. You get my drift. Positive words, positive images equal a positive outcome.

Takeaway: Say to yourself  “I am an athlete, a fierce competitor and I am strong”. See yourself getting tubed, finishing your first 5 or 10k, rounding that last buoy, or hitting it full throttle across the line.

I’d love to read about what you see when you train and what the outcomes are? Are you faster, stronger? How did it change the way you train? We welcome your comments!

Aloha, Suzie Cooney, CPT

Should you like to learn more about Suzie and train with her on Maui for your next successful experience, go to her website at http://www.suzietrainsmaui.com

Also follow her on Face Book at: http://www.facebook.com/suzietransmaui

Suzie is alsoTeam Rider for Naish International. Check out the latest in her SUP specific training tips.

Transform your performance! Train like Suzie’s clients with the INDO Board

It was a great day, emotional and draining but I will do it again next year for sure.” Stephen

Getting ready for the big Maui to Molokai Challenge!

My partner was Mike Owens, we did a great job, for first timers, and we had fun. And we will do it again next year. I started visualizing this goal in November, and kept at it since then, but on the beach that morning I was just grateful to have the opportunity to do such a thing, everyone was giving us course instructions, Jeremy was saying this will be an experience of a lifetime and to enjoy it, but once we put the paddle to the water… That visualization, the memory of Jeremy’s instructions and Connors video all came in to focus and that made the difference.