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About Me
My name is Constance (Connie) Mier and I was born in Michigan. My education led me to other parts of the country; Tuscon,
Austin, and St. Louis. Eventually I made my way to Miami, Florida where I have lived for the past 12 years and which I consider to
be my permanent home.
Austin, and St. Louis. Eventually I made my way to Miami, Florida where I have lived for the past 12 years and which I consider to
be my permanent home.
As the Professional
I am a faculty member in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Barry University. My specialty is exercise physiology and I have been teaching and
conducting research from the Human Performance Laboratory for the past 12 years. My exercise physiology education began at the University of Arizona, where I
learned from some of the top scientists in the sub-field of body composition. I completed a thesis while there; studying dietary habits and body composition in
female athletes. In 1990 I moved on to The University of Texas at Austin where I eventually earned my Ph.D in 1995. My dissertation involved the study of
cardiovascular responses to endurance training in men and women, particularly blood volume and its effects on the heart. While in the lab, I did quite a bit of
research with other doctoral students on thermoregulation in the heat for a grant supported by the US Air Force. During my doctoral education, I learned from top
scientists in the sub-fields of thermoregulation, cycling performance, nutrition and performance, cardiovascular responses to exercise, and glucose & fat metabolism.
After earning my doctorate at UT, I moved to St. Louis, where I worked as a Research Fellow at the Washington University’s School of Medicine. Here, I studied
cardiovascular function in both young and elderly adults. After 3 years at St. Louis, I began my first faculty position at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. I
chose Barry University because it places its greatest emphasis on teaching, rather than research. I made the career changing decision to leave the research track
and take the challenge of running an exercise science undergraduate program, teaching courses I never taught before, running a human performance lab without
another exercise physiologist, and developing a master’s degree program. After a couple years, I did get another fulltime exercise science faculty and we grew from
19 undergraduate students to over 80 undergraduates and 15 graduate students. Our human performance laboratory has also grown, from about $50,000 to over
$300,000 worth of equipment.
I hope that my teaching skills will offer my readers something they can value. I want to provide you good information on training for endurance activities, sport
nutrition and exercise physiology in general. This is only one of hundreds of websites, not to mention all the books and videos that exist. So what do I have to offer
that the others do not? I don’t claim to know everything, but what I can offer is good advice and recommendations based on sound research. What you will find
are just the facts; no hype, no hyperbole, and no anecdotes (except for comic relief). Most important, I’ll provide you information that will help you decipher all the
other information out there, making you a more discerning consumer when it comes to exercise and nutrition. In a nutshell, I’m going to do the footwork for you; as
an experienced researcher I know where to look, I have the knowledge to critically analyze studies and information, and I can synthesize what I have found to
present it to you in a meaningful way.
Here is a list of undergraduate and graduate courses I have taught during my 10 year experience at Barry University:
Exercise Physiology & lab
Advanced Exercise Physiology & lab (graduate level)
Fitness Assessment & Exercise Prescription
Nutrition and Physical Performance
Cardiac Rehabilitation & lab
Exercise & Energy Metabolism
Applied Physiology of Resistance Training
Topics in Clinical Exercise Physiology
Topics in Sport Performance
I am a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (National Strength & Conditioning Association) since 1999 and a Health & Fitness Instructor (American College
of Sports Medicine) since 1998.
I am a faculty member in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Barry University. My specialty is exercise physiology and I have been teaching and
conducting research from the Human Performance Laboratory for the past 12 years. My exercise physiology education began at the University of Arizona, where I
learned from some of the top scientists in the sub-field of body composition. I completed a thesis while there; studying dietary habits and body composition in
female athletes. In 1990 I moved on to The University of Texas at Austin where I eventually earned my Ph.D in 1995. My dissertation involved the study of
cardiovascular responses to endurance training in men and women, particularly blood volume and its effects on the heart. While in the lab, I did quite a bit of
research with other doctoral students on thermoregulation in the heat for a grant supported by the US Air Force. During my doctoral education, I learned from top
scientists in the sub-fields of thermoregulation, cycling performance, nutrition and performance, cardiovascular responses to exercise, and glucose & fat metabolism.
After earning my doctorate at UT, I moved to St. Louis, where I worked as a Research Fellow at the Washington University’s School of Medicine. Here, I studied
cardiovascular function in both young and elderly adults. After 3 years at St. Louis, I began my first faculty position at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. I
chose Barry University because it places its greatest emphasis on teaching, rather than research. I made the career changing decision to leave the research track
and take the challenge of running an exercise science undergraduate program, teaching courses I never taught before, running a human performance lab without
another exercise physiologist, and developing a master’s degree program. After a couple years, I did get another fulltime exercise science faculty and we grew from
19 undergraduate students to over 80 undergraduates and 15 graduate students. Our human performance laboratory has also grown, from about $50,000 to over
$300,000 worth of equipment.
I hope that my teaching skills will offer my readers something they can value. I want to provide you good information on training for endurance activities, sport
nutrition and exercise physiology in general. This is only one of hundreds of websites, not to mention all the books and videos that exist. So what do I have to offer
that the others do not? I don’t claim to know everything, but what I can offer is good advice and recommendations based on sound research. What you will find
are just the facts; no hype, no hyperbole, and no anecdotes (except for comic relief). Most important, I’ll provide you information that will help you decipher all the
other information out there, making you a more discerning consumer when it comes to exercise and nutrition. In a nutshell, I’m going to do the footwork for you; as
an experienced researcher I know where to look, I have the knowledge to critically analyze studies and information, and I can synthesize what I have found to
present it to you in a meaningful way.
Here is a list of undergraduate and graduate courses I have taught during my 10 year experience at Barry University:
Exercise Physiology & lab
Advanced Exercise Physiology & lab (graduate level)
Fitness Assessment & Exercise Prescription
Nutrition and Physical Performance
Cardiac Rehabilitation & lab
Exercise & Energy Metabolism
Applied Physiology of Resistance Training
Topics in Clinical Exercise Physiology
Topics in Sport Performance
I am a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (National Strength & Conditioning Association) since 1999 and a Health & Fitness Instructor (American College
of Sports Medicine) since 1998.
My passion for the Everglades
As a nature enthusiast, I appreciate my location everyday because I can easily get out of the city and find myself in one of two
invaluable national parks within minutes, The Everglades or Biscayne Bay. And of course, there is the Big Cypress National Preserve
just a short drive north of here. In 1997 my career led me to Miami, where I immediately fell in love with the Everglades. Ironically, I
found it similar to the desert in many ways; a bit prickly, full of fierce looking animals, and wild landscapes with monotonous tones.
Above all, you either love the Everglades or you hate it, and most never get beyond the boardwalk or airboat ride to experience the
real Everglades. I have committed myself to exploring, caring for, and understanding the Everglades. It has become my home
away from home.
As a nature enthusiast, I appreciate my location everyday because I can easily get out of the city and find myself in one of two
invaluable national parks within minutes, The Everglades or Biscayne Bay. And of course, there is the Big Cypress National Preserve
just a short drive north of here. In 1997 my career led me to Miami, where I immediately fell in love with the Everglades. Ironically, I
found it similar to the desert in many ways; a bit prickly, full of fierce looking animals, and wild landscapes with monotonous tones.
Above all, you either love the Everglades or you hate it, and most never get beyond the boardwalk or airboat ride to experience the
real Everglades. I have committed myself to exploring, caring for, and understanding the Everglades. It has become my home
away from home.
As a kayaker and canoeist
I’ve been a recreationally competitive athlete as a runner and cyclist, but it has been over 18 years since my last competition. For about 5 years, I competed in
USCF cycle races, various running events and biathlons (now known as duathlons). I never ventured into triathlons for one simple reason, I am afraid of the water.
For the past 18 years, I’ve continued staying fit through running, cycling, and hiking. Because we are surrounded by water in Miami, I had to overcome my fear
and get in it. So, I faced those fears and jumped right into scuba diving. Later, I tried my hand at sailing and finally kayaking and canoeing. I’ll be honest with you;
I am an intermediate (at best) kayaker and even less so, canoeist. So by no means do I claim to be an expert in this regard. What I hope to share with you are my
adventures in the Everglades and hopefully offer some useful information for planning trips in the Everglades National Park. As an exercise physiologist, I hope to
provide fellow kayaker and canoeist (especially those of you who compete in long-distance events) some useful information concerning training and performance.
I’ve been a recreationally competitive athlete as a runner and cyclist, but it has been over 18 years since my last competition. For about 5 years, I competed in
USCF cycle races, various running events and biathlons (now known as duathlons). I never ventured into triathlons for one simple reason, I am afraid of the water.
For the past 18 years, I’ve continued staying fit through running, cycling, and hiking. Because we are surrounded by water in Miami, I had to overcome my fear
and get in it. So, I faced those fears and jumped right into scuba diving. Later, I tried my hand at sailing and finally kayaking and canoeing. I’ll be honest with you;
I am an intermediate (at best) kayaker and even less so, canoeist. So by no means do I claim to be an expert in this regard. What I hope to share with you are my
adventures in the Everglades and hopefully offer some useful information for planning trips in the Everglades National Park. As an exercise physiologist, I hope to
provide fellow kayaker and canoeist (especially those of you who compete in long-distance events) some useful information concerning training and performance.
As an amateur photographer
I’ve been photographing as a serious amateur for even fewer years than I’ve been
kayaking, about 5 years. It all began in the Everglades with the thought of
permanently capturing its essence from a kayak (and eventually from a canoe). For
the past few years, photography has become a passion and I've combined it with my
kayaking and canoeing in the Everglades and Biscayne Bay. If you are a novice
photographer, a photographer who wants to get off the boardwalk and get into the
deep Everglades, or someone who likes nature photos, I’ll have some things to share
with you. In the past 3 years, I've gone from a pocket-size waterproof digital camera
to thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment, including two SLR cameras that I
carry on the boat with me. Explore this hobby of wilderness photography from a
kayak or canoe as I share my learning experiences, mistakes, revelations, and photos.
I’ve been photographing as a serious amateur for even fewer years than I’ve been
kayaking, about 5 years. It all began in the Everglades with the thought of
permanently capturing its essence from a kayak (and eventually from a canoe). For
the past few years, photography has become a passion and I've combined it with my
kayaking and canoeing in the Everglades and Biscayne Bay. If you are a novice
photographer, a photographer who wants to get off the boardwalk and get into the
deep Everglades, or someone who likes nature photos, I’ll have some things to share
with you. In the past 3 years, I've gone from a pocket-size waterproof digital camera
to thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment, including two SLR cameras that I
carry on the boat with me. Explore this hobby of wilderness photography from a
kayak or canoe as I share my learning experiences, mistakes, revelations, and photos.
| All Rights Reserved. Copyright Constance Mier, 2007-2008 |
Constance Mier, 2006
