I Just got back from aquathlon worlds in Monterrey Mexico. I had a great time and was pretty happy with my results.
I raced as age grouper and took 7th over all 2nd in age group.
I am happy with that as the past year I have gone through quite a bit of adversity. From July to December last year I was unable to run due to a lower abdominal injury. Then in March I got cut off the road by a car and broke my collar bone and separated my shoulder. At one point it looked like I was going to need surgery but.... I gathered a bunch of information and decided to skip it.
I learned I heal really quick and after 4 weeks I was fully healed. Did my own physical therapy on it and I am happy to say I have had no adverse effects what so ever. My range of motion is still the same and the whole area is just as strong and handling 25 to 30K a week of swimming just grand. SWEEEEEEET!
Things I learned from the whole experience.
1) The race was hot it was fore casted to be about 107 not sure what the temperature was on the day but it was hot enough to make many blow up. I live in Florida and believe training in the heat helped for sure.
2) When injured stay moving as mush as possible. That is what i did. It helps in keeping your fitness as mush as possible and keeps you from getting all stiff. After breaking my collar bone I started riding 2 days latter on my trainer for 2 hours a day. With the Dr's permission I was running in 2 weeks. I also ate tons of fruit and veggies. Your body heals way better when it is a balanced PH state. Fruits and vegetables help with this in a big way.
3) Mentally I also did allot. I always had belief every thing would be OK and I would be at aquathlon worlds. I also visualized my body healing my collar bone. It seemed to work as 4 weeks is fast. Most people will take 6-8 weeks.
For those of you into Olympic and sprint tris I highly suggest that you do aquathlons. Shorter distance triathlons are strongly built upon a strong run and swim. It helped me get faster overall for sure.
OK I got to go for a ride ; )
Much Peace & Love to you all.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Aquathlon worlds
Won't be writing for a bit as I will be traveling to compete at aquathlon worlds (run, swim,run).
I am looking forward to it. The race is in Monterey Mexico. Never been so I am excited to see a new place.
Aquathlons are great races especially for those who do sprint and Olympic distance triathlons as you need to be speedy in the swim and run in those distances. People who such as Tim Don, Matt Reed and Shane Reed have all been aquathlon world champions. All three of these guys will be at the Olympics this summer.
Much Peace & Love to you all
I am looking forward to it. The race is in Monterey Mexico. Never been so I am excited to see a new place.
Aquathlons are great races especially for those who do sprint and Olympic distance triathlons as you need to be speedy in the swim and run in those distances. People who such as Tim Don, Matt Reed and Shane Reed have all been aquathlon world champions. All three of these guys will be at the Olympics this summer.
Much Peace & Love to you all
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Training partners for triathlon
Hello!
Training partners......... and triathletes. It is often a interesting situation to observe. Often many athletes turn it into a social gathering and are talking the whole time, not always the best if you want a solid work out. many times I have seen people doing "speed work outs" at the track and talking the whole time while running. That sure as hell is not a speed work out. Talking should be quite difficult if not impossible during one of those work outs.
If you want to talk and work out do it during a recovery ride or run.
If you want to gain in performance and have some training partners then don't train with other triathletes. Yes, I said it and yes, I mean it. To be good in all three sports train with triathlete.
But who wants to be just good? Be great. To be great you must train like a swimmer, cycle like a cyclist and run like a runner. Thus run with pure runners, swim with pure swimmers and cycle with pure cyclists. Is that profound or what!
Triathletes often pick up allot of bad habits and are pretty average in all three sports in general. Training with better people who focus on one sport will often push you harder and help you hone in technique and tactics.
advice when training with all these groups,
1) Don't show up to a group ride on your tri bike or with tri bars. It is disrespectful and dangerous. Every one in the group ride will hate you too. This I know as I ride for a road cycling team you should here the smack talking going down when a triathlete shows up on tri bike/bars.
Tri bikes and bars make you less stable and it is harder for you to react to situations while in the drops. In group riding you have to react fast and be able to handle a bike well to avoid any potential bad situations. If you happen to crash tri bars also act like bull horns causing carnage all over the lot too.
2) Hold your line while riding. Allot of the time inexperienced riders wave all over the road like one of Hellen Keller's students. Stay calm, concentrate on smooth pedal strokes.
3) Swim with normal goggles. This will save every one form laughing at you ; ) Allot of triathletes are big fans of diver mask type set up. They are unnecessary. If you look at the top ocean swimmers in the world none of them rock those goggles.
4) Swim with a master group and swim often. Swimming is so much technique and feel, thus frequency becomes important if you desire to get faster. Ask a fast swimmer how often they swim and you will find a high frequency.
Swimming is often the weakest part for most. When people ask me for advice, I ask how many days a week do you swim and they reply 1 or 2 days a week, my reply is always, "How is that working for you?" Basically get in the pool and get in the pool with swimmers as much as you can.
5) Run with runners. Disconnect form all the gadgets too. I-pod, fuel belts, hats, sunglasses, GPS, fanny packs, cell phone.........DUDE Keep it simple. When is the last time you saw a Kenyan run with all that. NEVER. Case in point run like a runner. Less is more.
6) Fast athletes in any one of the 3 sports will train with higher frequency than a triathlete. Focusing one one area via high frequency also usually means high volume and is a good way to improve. Doing so in all three can be tricky and is why a good coach comes in handy
Hanging around all pure one disciplined athletes will help you get better. There technique rubs off on you and there mind set. Rather than thinking you are a triathlete when racing you will start to think of your self as a swimmer, cyclist and runner. When this happens you get faster. NICE!
Ok that is all I got for now. Much peace & love to you all
Training partners......... and triathletes. It is often a interesting situation to observe. Often many athletes turn it into a social gathering and are talking the whole time, not always the best if you want a solid work out. many times I have seen people doing "speed work outs" at the track and talking the whole time while running. That sure as hell is not a speed work out. Talking should be quite difficult if not impossible during one of those work outs.
If you want to talk and work out do it during a recovery ride or run.
If you want to gain in performance and have some training partners then don't train with other triathletes. Yes, I said it and yes, I mean it. To be good in all three sports train with triathlete.
But who wants to be just good? Be great. To be great you must train like a swimmer, cycle like a cyclist and run like a runner. Thus run with pure runners, swim with pure swimmers and cycle with pure cyclists. Is that profound or what!
Triathletes often pick up allot of bad habits and are pretty average in all three sports in general. Training with better people who focus on one sport will often push you harder and help you hone in technique and tactics.
advice when training with all these groups,
1) Don't show up to a group ride on your tri bike or with tri bars. It is disrespectful and dangerous. Every one in the group ride will hate you too. This I know as I ride for a road cycling team you should here the smack talking going down when a triathlete shows up on tri bike/bars.
Tri bikes and bars make you less stable and it is harder for you to react to situations while in the drops. In group riding you have to react fast and be able to handle a bike well to avoid any potential bad situations. If you happen to crash tri bars also act like bull horns causing carnage all over the lot too.
2) Hold your line while riding. Allot of the time inexperienced riders wave all over the road like one of Hellen Keller's students. Stay calm, concentrate on smooth pedal strokes.
3) Swim with normal goggles. This will save every one form laughing at you ; ) Allot of triathletes are big fans of diver mask type set up. They are unnecessary. If you look at the top ocean swimmers in the world none of them rock those goggles.
4) Swim with a master group and swim often. Swimming is so much technique and feel, thus frequency becomes important if you desire to get faster. Ask a fast swimmer how often they swim and you will find a high frequency.
Swimming is often the weakest part for most. When people ask me for advice, I ask how many days a week do you swim and they reply 1 or 2 days a week, my reply is always, "How is that working for you?" Basically get in the pool and get in the pool with swimmers as much as you can.
5) Run with runners. Disconnect form all the gadgets too. I-pod, fuel belts, hats, sunglasses, GPS, fanny packs, cell phone.........DUDE Keep it simple. When is the last time you saw a Kenyan run with all that. NEVER. Case in point run like a runner. Less is more.
6) Fast athletes in any one of the 3 sports will train with higher frequency than a triathlete. Focusing one one area via high frequency also usually means high volume and is a good way to improve. Doing so in all three can be tricky and is why a good coach comes in handy
Hanging around all pure one disciplined athletes will help you get better. There technique rubs off on you and there mind set. Rather than thinking you are a triathlete when racing you will start to think of your self as a swimmer, cyclist and runner. When this happens you get faster. NICE!
Ok that is all I got for now. Much peace & love to you all
Monday, June 23, 2008
Warm up for triahtlon
SUP!
One thing that is key to having a good race, especially in shorter distances, is a good warm up routine. I put more stress on shorter distance as the pace is usually more intense from the get go. That doesn't get you Ironman out there off the hook though ; )
One the biggest mistakes that people make in warming up is doing static stretching ware you hold a stretch for a bit to loosen up. Static stretching before athletics is what many of us have been ingrained to do. That premise is out dated and will cause one to be injured and impair ones strength if done prior to a race.
What is one to do then? The answer is dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching is when one lightly increases the range of motion in a given joint and or joints through movement rather than staying in one place and holding the stretch.
When you engage in a static stretch you activate certain neuro receptors in the muscles that actually relax the muscle and cause it to lengthen, neither of which are beneficial to one who is about to go perform in an athletic setting. A relaxed lengthened muscle will not be able exude the same amount of power and strength as a muscle that has been properly warmed up.
Why is this? Think of your muscle as a rope tied to an object which in your body would be a bone. If the rope (your muscle) is long and there is some slack in it when you go to pull the rope (bone) there is going to be some delay in the response of pulling that object to you. Conversely if the rope is tight there will be more of a immediate reaction in the object coming towards you.
A article in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research by Avery D. Faigenbaum1, 4, Mario Bellucci2, Angelo Bernieri3, Bart Bakker3, and Karlyn Hoorens highlights this. The studies results displayed that athletes who partook in a fairly intense routine of dynamic stretching exercises had better performance in a shuttle run test and in vertical jumping. Those who warmed up using a static stretching actually had a decline in there performance.
A static stretch can be useful at times such as in a cool down routine. It is also important to note that static stretching has only been found to increase flexibility in the given range of motion that the stretch is done in. This is not entirely beatifically in building triathlon specific flexibility as we need a full range of motion in many of our joints
I have found dynamic stretching to be very useful in my warm up routine in preparing my muscles and in building sports specific flexibility. Research out there all so supports this theme. A recent article I read from USA tennis highlighted then benefits of an effective dynamic warm up
1. Increases body temperature allowing muscles to work more efficiently.
2. Gets the heart and lungs ready for vigorous activity.
3. Stretches muscles actively, preparing them for the forces experiences during competition.
4. Engrains proper movement patterns and the coordination needed in competition.
5. Wakes up the nervous system and gets the brain talking with the muscles.
Here are some examples that of what I do for a warm up and also have my athletes that I coach do: High Knees, Kereokie, High heels, Forward lunges, side walking lunge, arm circles, box step ups and skipping to name a few.
It is important to note that when you warm up with these don't go full throttle right away..... as you arm warming up. Gradually build the range of motion in the given dynamic movement you are doing. Ideally you want to do a light jog or bike to get all the systems in your body flowing before doing a dynamic warm up but if you can't just go nice and easy to begin with.
If racing I highly suggests after the dynamic warm up breaking a good sweat by cycling, running and or swimming. If you look at the guys in the UCI cycling pros they all often do a pretty intense warm up before doing efforts such as a time trial on there turbo trainers. A time trial is more or less what we triathletes do as often there is very little in the way of team tactics.
A good swim work out is essential. At the age group worlds 2 years ago in Switzerland I was unable to do a swim work out and then had to sit in the ass cold water for 10 minutes. Needless to say my swim time was not what it should of been and I didn't feel good until the half way point in the swim. The top swimmers I know are world class and often spend 1500-2000 meters warming up before a work out or race. They all often utilize dynamic stretching as well.
A poor warm can cost you a race or at least leave you with a bit to make up. In addition a good warm can help on develop functional flexibility and help ingrain proper muscle patterns into your neuro system to name just a few. Until next time happy training and racing.
One thing that is key to having a good race, especially in shorter distances, is a good warm up routine. I put more stress on shorter distance as the pace is usually more intense from the get go. That doesn't get you Ironman out there off the hook though ; )
One the biggest mistakes that people make in warming up is doing static stretching ware you hold a stretch for a bit to loosen up. Static stretching before athletics is what many of us have been ingrained to do. That premise is out dated and will cause one to be injured and impair ones strength if done prior to a race.
What is one to do then? The answer is dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching is when one lightly increases the range of motion in a given joint and or joints through movement rather than staying in one place and holding the stretch.
When you engage in a static stretch you activate certain neuro receptors in the muscles that actually relax the muscle and cause it to lengthen, neither of which are beneficial to one who is about to go perform in an athletic setting. A relaxed lengthened muscle will not be able exude the same amount of power and strength as a muscle that has been properly warmed up.
Why is this? Think of your muscle as a rope tied to an object which in your body would be a bone. If the rope (your muscle) is long and there is some slack in it when you go to pull the rope (bone) there is going to be some delay in the response of pulling that object to you. Conversely if the rope is tight there will be more of a immediate reaction in the object coming towards you.
A article in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research by Avery D. Faigenbaum1, 4, Mario Bellucci2, Angelo Bernieri3, Bart Bakker3, and Karlyn Hoorens highlights this. The studies results displayed that athletes who partook in a fairly intense routine of dynamic stretching exercises had better performance in a shuttle run test and in vertical jumping. Those who warmed up using a static stretching actually had a decline in there performance.
A static stretch can be useful at times such as in a cool down routine. It is also important to note that static stretching has only been found to increase flexibility in the given range of motion that the stretch is done in. This is not entirely beatifically in building triathlon specific flexibility as we need a full range of motion in many of our joints
I have found dynamic stretching to be very useful in my warm up routine in preparing my muscles and in building sports specific flexibility. Research out there all so supports this theme. A recent article I read from USA tennis highlighted then benefits of an effective dynamic warm up
1. Increases body temperature allowing muscles to work more efficiently.
2. Gets the heart and lungs ready for vigorous activity.
3. Stretches muscles actively, preparing them for the forces experiences during competition.
4. Engrains proper movement patterns and the coordination needed in competition.
5. Wakes up the nervous system and gets the brain talking with the muscles.
Here are some examples that of what I do for a warm up and also have my athletes that I coach do: High Knees, Kereokie, High heels, Forward lunges, side walking lunge, arm circles, box step ups and skipping to name a few.
It is important to note that when you warm up with these don't go full throttle right away..... as you arm warming up. Gradually build the range of motion in the given dynamic movement you are doing. Ideally you want to do a light jog or bike to get all the systems in your body flowing before doing a dynamic warm up but if you can't just go nice and easy to begin with.
If racing I highly suggests after the dynamic warm up breaking a good sweat by cycling, running and or swimming. If you look at the guys in the UCI cycling pros they all often do a pretty intense warm up before doing efforts such as a time trial on there turbo trainers. A time trial is more or less what we triathletes do as often there is very little in the way of team tactics.
A good swim work out is essential. At the age group worlds 2 years ago in Switzerland I was unable to do a swim work out and then had to sit in the ass cold water for 10 minutes. Needless to say my swim time was not what it should of been and I didn't feel good until the half way point in the swim. The top swimmers I know are world class and often spend 1500-2000 meters warming up before a work out or race. They all often utilize dynamic stretching as well.
A poor warm can cost you a race or at least leave you with a bit to make up. In addition a good warm can help on develop functional flexibility and help ingrain proper muscle patterns into your neuro system to name just a few. Until next time happy training and racing.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Every triathlete needs LSD
Yes you need LSD (long slow distance) training. If you were thinking of the drug get your head out of the gutter ; )
Long slow distance training is one of keys to becoming stronger and faster and the world of endurance sports. The swims, rides or runs are all what build a solid base of endurance. The main training adaption that occur in the body are
1) Increase in capillary density in the muscles. Capillaries are small areas ware the exchange of oxygen rich blood and oxygen depleted blood takes place. When you develop more of these you become more efficient in getting muscles fuel and shuttling out the waste. That basically means you get faster and more endurance.
2) Increased mitochondria density in your cells. Mitochondria are with in your cells and are responsible for the break down of sugars which intern gives you energy to do a given exercise. More of these again helps you go faster and have more endurance.
3) Gain efficiency in burning fat. Often in doing these long rides, runs and swims you are in a aerobic state which means you primarily are burning fat for energy. Over time doing these work outs one get more efficient at the aerobic energy break down process.
Long slow distance training is one of keys to becoming stronger and faster and the world of endurance sports. The swims, rides or runs are all what build a solid base of endurance. The main training adaption that occur in the body are
1) Increase in capillary density in the muscles. Capillaries are small areas ware the exchange of oxygen rich blood and oxygen depleted blood takes place. When you develop more of these you become more efficient in getting muscles fuel and shuttling out the waste. That basically means you get faster and more endurance.
2) Increased mitochondria density in your cells. Mitochondria are with in your cells and are responsible for the break down of sugars which intern gives you energy to do a given exercise. More of these again helps you go faster and have more endurance.
3) Gain efficiency in burning fat. Often in doing these long rides, runs and swims you are in a aerobic state which means you primarily are burning fat for energy. Over time doing these work outs one get more efficient at the aerobic energy break down process.
Fat burning has been an area of confusion for many as they think what I have just said means they will burn the fat from there belly or other fat laden areas. However, the fat you are burning for the most part will be form what you have ingested. To burn actual body fat you need to create a caloric deficit in the body meaning that you have to burn more calories than you have taken in. Then you can start to burn body fat.
4) Increased artery and vein diameter. Yes arteries and veins can increase in diameter through exercise. This allows one to pump more blood to and from the muscles faster thus muscles get more energy and are able to dump out byproducts faster, leading you to be faster or a least be more efficient.
It is important to note these are what are know as chronic adaptions meaning that you have to be consistent in your training. It is also important to note that in doing LSD training one must do it in the correct heart rate zones, pacing and or if on the bike power zones. Often these LSD sessions are done in lower intensities but for longer times. LSD training has been shown to be beneficial in many studies in all the areas as discussed.
OK folks it been real but I got to bounce. Much Peace & Love
4) Increased artery and vein diameter. Yes arteries and veins can increase in diameter through exercise. This allows one to pump more blood to and from the muscles faster thus muscles get more energy and are able to dump out byproducts faster, leading you to be faster or a least be more efficient.
It is important to note these are what are know as chronic adaptions meaning that you have to be consistent in your training. It is also important to note that in doing LSD training one must do it in the correct heart rate zones, pacing and or if on the bike power zones. Often these LSD sessions are done in lower intensities but for longer times. LSD training has been shown to be beneficial in many studies in all the areas as discussed.
OK folks it been real but I got to bounce. Much Peace & Love
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Constancy in training is every thing.
It is said that are habits create who we are. I can't stress enough the power of being consistent. Half ass training = half ass results.
If you want to be faster constancy is every thing skipping 1 or 2 works a month might not make a huge difference but 1 or 2 a week will.
Not pushing all the way through work outs ads up too. Lets say you cut all your work outs in one week by 5 minutes and you have 10 total work outs during the week that is 50 minutes. Over a month that is 200 minutes. 5 minutes here in there can add up to a whole other work out real fast. Every thing counts no matter how small you may think it is.
I can tell you that the top reason I have seen people improve the most is due to being constant and getting workouts done no matter what.
One thing I see often is athletes saying, "I'm in my off season" and then do nothing at all for 2 or 3 months. In my opinion this is not a good call. No doubt an "off season" is important but I think many miss interpret what this truly means. I was talking to one of the guys I swim with at master swimming who has been to the Olympics, world championships and has been inducted into the world swimming hall of fame. He told me he can't remember the last time he took off more than 3 days in the past 15 years.
Still do activity in the "off season" . You can do other types of cardio such as roller blading or hiking. Ideally I still have my athletes do at least one swim, bike and run keeping it light and short in order to keep the feel. I find this to especially true for swimming as loosing the feel for the water happens fast and sucks to get back.
Off season is a great time to work technique in all three sports and thus gain some great benefit down the road. Technique work outs don't have to be intense or hours long either.
Taking months at a time totally off is a big hole to dig out of. The best athletes I know are consistent year round. Do you think Tiger Woods takes 2 or 3 months off?
Are habits create who we are. Constant action in line with are goals thus get us closer to what we desire. That all I got for today. Happy training, Much Peace & Love
If you want to be faster constancy is every thing skipping 1 or 2 works a month might not make a huge difference but 1 or 2 a week will.
Not pushing all the way through work outs ads up too. Lets say you cut all your work outs in one week by 5 minutes and you have 10 total work outs during the week that is 50 minutes. Over a month that is 200 minutes. 5 minutes here in there can add up to a whole other work out real fast. Every thing counts no matter how small you may think it is.
I can tell you that the top reason I have seen people improve the most is due to being constant and getting workouts done no matter what.
One thing I see often is athletes saying, "I'm in my off season" and then do nothing at all for 2 or 3 months. In my opinion this is not a good call. No doubt an "off season" is important but I think many miss interpret what this truly means. I was talking to one of the guys I swim with at master swimming who has been to the Olympics, world championships and has been inducted into the world swimming hall of fame. He told me he can't remember the last time he took off more than 3 days in the past 15 years.
Still do activity in the "off season" . You can do other types of cardio such as roller blading or hiking. Ideally I still have my athletes do at least one swim, bike and run keeping it light and short in order to keep the feel. I find this to especially true for swimming as loosing the feel for the water happens fast and sucks to get back.
Off season is a great time to work technique in all three sports and thus gain some great benefit down the road. Technique work outs don't have to be intense or hours long either.
Taking months at a time totally off is a big hole to dig out of. The best athletes I know are consistent year round. Do you think Tiger Woods takes 2 or 3 months off?
Are habits create who we are. Constant action in line with are goals thus get us closer to what we desire. That all I got for today. Happy training, Much Peace & Love
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
RECOVERY! Its what makes all the differance : )
BIG WORD UP!!!!!!!!! to all my endurance athlete folks ; )
Today I will chat a bout recovery and just some general actions that tend to help people. In addition these are all things that I have found useful employing in my own training.
Recovery is quite important as we spend most of they day doing other activities other than training.
1) Static stretching.
What is static stretching? This is when one holds a stretch for a few seconds. Ideally you want to hold it for 20 seconds to a minute at a time. It is important to do this at the end of a work out to maintain flexibility as often muscles tend to tighten up after workouts. Keeping flexible may help you go faster in the long run as you are able to have more range of motion. Stretching may even prevent some soreness.
It is also important to note that static stretching should be done at the end and not the beginning of a workout as it relaxes the muscle and lengthens it to the point ware doing exercise on it may create an injury. (I will talk more about this tomorrow when I chat about warming up)
2) Message.
Oh yes they feel good and help to keep your muscles to be nice and relaxed. They are a great way to keep the blood flow going in your legs which will in turn may help you recover quicker. Top professional athletes in many types of sports get messages daily. To quote Napoleon Dynamite "LUCKY!"
3) Recovery rides and or swims.
recovery rides and swims are a great way to aid recovery. In order to keep joints flexible we must move. Why is this? Are joints are not lubricated via the blood stream rather they are lubricated through are lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is not pumped through are body by the heart but by human inertia or movement. This now why more and more Dr.s are telling people to move as mush as possible when then have a sore back or other areas of pain.
Recovery rides and swims also raise your heart rate. (It is important to keep you heart rate way down in these work outs. Zone 1 is what you want.) This slight elevation in heart rate will help get a little more blood in out of your muscles thus the theory is you speed recovery. I have found this seems to be true for me. A least I feel better on next normal work out VS sitting on my dumper and doing nothing.
4) Sleep.
Sleep rocks. It is when you mind and body have time to rest and recover, probably the most. This is also when your body releases quite allot of human growth hormone. In order to maximize this stay away from eating carbohydrates 2 hour before sleep as this will inhibit the body from releasing human growth hormone. Human Growth hormone has been indicated in many studies to play a large role in helping one recover and build muscle.
How many hours of sleep you need varies from person to person. Michale Jordan all through his playing days only slept for 3 hours a night. Most people need 7-9. I believe that consistency is key in sleeping too. Going to bed and getting up at the same time I find to be useful in feeling the most energy when arising.
4) Meditation.
YEAH BABY! I Love meditating. I do this almost every day. After doing one of these sessions I feel fresh alert and ready to go. It teaches you to let go and relax your mind. I find it to better than a nap as I feel sharper.
5) elevate your legs.
I read from one of Joe Friel's books that elevating ones legs after a work can help too. I have employed this tactic and find it works for me. The idea is to drain your legs. For every hour I train I keep them elevated for 5 minutes. Thus 3 hours= 15 minutes of elevation.
I lie flat on my back and keep them up above the rest of my body usually propped on a wall or stability ball.
6) Compression socks.
This is a new one but I believe it has some merit. Often after a hard day of training I find that my ankles and lower shin can look swollen and feel stiffer. Compression socks have helped with this for me. I ware them after I train.
I'm also going to employ the socks while traveling as I notice this big time after flying. I Know some pros are doing this and I'm sure some of you triathletes out there have seen some people out there sporting these knee high socks in races. I have yet to break them out for that as I believe it will take me to long to put them on in transition and I want my legs to breath.
That's all folks, Much peace & love to you all
Today I will chat a bout recovery and just some general actions that tend to help people. In addition these are all things that I have found useful employing in my own training.
Recovery is quite important as we spend most of they day doing other activities other than training.
1) Static stretching.
What is static stretching? This is when one holds a stretch for a few seconds. Ideally you want to hold it for 20 seconds to a minute at a time. It is important to do this at the end of a work out to maintain flexibility as often muscles tend to tighten up after workouts. Keeping flexible may help you go faster in the long run as you are able to have more range of motion. Stretching may even prevent some soreness.
It is also important to note that static stretching should be done at the end and not the beginning of a workout as it relaxes the muscle and lengthens it to the point ware doing exercise on it may create an injury. (I will talk more about this tomorrow when I chat about warming up)
2) Message.
Oh yes they feel good and help to keep your muscles to be nice and relaxed. They are a great way to keep the blood flow going in your legs which will in turn may help you recover quicker. Top professional athletes in many types of sports get messages daily. To quote Napoleon Dynamite "LUCKY!"
3) Recovery rides and or swims.
recovery rides and swims are a great way to aid recovery. In order to keep joints flexible we must move. Why is this? Are joints are not lubricated via the blood stream rather they are lubricated through are lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is not pumped through are body by the heart but by human inertia or movement. This now why more and more Dr.s are telling people to move as mush as possible when then have a sore back or other areas of pain.
Recovery rides and swims also raise your heart rate. (It is important to keep you heart rate way down in these work outs. Zone 1 is what you want.) This slight elevation in heart rate will help get a little more blood in out of your muscles thus the theory is you speed recovery. I have found this seems to be true for me. A least I feel better on next normal work out VS sitting on my dumper and doing nothing.
4) Sleep.
Sleep rocks. It is when you mind and body have time to rest and recover, probably the most. This is also when your body releases quite allot of human growth hormone. In order to maximize this stay away from eating carbohydrates 2 hour before sleep as this will inhibit the body from releasing human growth hormone. Human Growth hormone has been indicated in many studies to play a large role in helping one recover and build muscle.
How many hours of sleep you need varies from person to person. Michale Jordan all through his playing days only slept for 3 hours a night. Most people need 7-9. I believe that consistency is key in sleeping too. Going to bed and getting up at the same time I find to be useful in feeling the most energy when arising.
4) Meditation.
YEAH BABY! I Love meditating. I do this almost every day. After doing one of these sessions I feel fresh alert and ready to go. It teaches you to let go and relax your mind. I find it to better than a nap as I feel sharper.
5) elevate your legs.
I read from one of Joe Friel's books that elevating ones legs after a work can help too. I have employed this tactic and find it works for me. The idea is to drain your legs. For every hour I train I keep them elevated for 5 minutes. Thus 3 hours= 15 minutes of elevation.
I lie flat on my back and keep them up above the rest of my body usually propped on a wall or stability ball.
6) Compression socks.
This is a new one but I believe it has some merit. Often after a hard day of training I find that my ankles and lower shin can look swollen and feel stiffer. Compression socks have helped with this for me. I ware them after I train.
I'm also going to employ the socks while traveling as I notice this big time after flying. I Know some pros are doing this and I'm sure some of you triathletes out there have seen some people out there sporting these knee high socks in races. I have yet to break them out for that as I believe it will take me to long to put them on in transition and I want my legs to breath.
That's all folks, Much peace & love to you all
Monday, June 16, 2008
Traithletes, you need to train with a heart rate monitor
WHATS UP! I am now going to be writing on here a few times a week. Stay tuned for sure. Today I'm writing about heart rate monitors : )
Often I run in to triathletes or other endurance athletes seeking my guidance. One of the first questions I ask is, "are you training with a heart rate monitor?" 95% of the time the response is no.
Why do you want to train with a heart rate meter as a triathlete or endurance athlete?
1) First it can tell you how hard you are working. Why is this important? Often I hear people going off perceived exertion levels which are useful no doubt. However you need to train your self to know what you perceived exertion levels truly are and feel like.
Here is a little background info on heart rate training. I use a 7 zone heart rate system in monitoring my self and athletes. 1 being to easiest 7 being the hardest (I didn't invent the 7 heart rate zone system its been around). These zones are calculated based ones % of lactate threshold. Often I find when I begin to train an athlete with a heart rate monitor they don't realize how hard they are truly pushing it.
A zone 2 and 3 heart might feel similar in terms of exertion but on a biological level there is a difference to the extent of how much of a given energy system you are using. Each energy system in the body needs to be trained in a specific way so endurance athletes can get maximum benefit in the given phase they are training in order to peak there performance for a given time or event.
2) With a heart rate monitor you can tell when you are over trained or when to take time off. Often your hear rate will respond in ways which are out of the ordinary when over trained or may be coming down with a cold or various other diseases such as Ebola (JOKE).
All joking aside you can often discover when you need a rest. As over training is just as harmful as under training.
3) Avoid the dreaded plateau.
Often I run into athletes who have not seen any speed gains or even got slower over time. Most of the time this is due to doing the same type of training and intensity over and over again. This often causes a plateau or over training. Variation is key and at different times through out the year one needs to initiate different types of training and intensity. The heart rate monitor will enable one to do this.
I'm not saying that a heart rate monitor is the end all be all as it has some down sides as it can vary due to other factors such as sleep, heat, cold and what you ate to name a few. In all it is a solid training tool that has assisted my self and the athletes I train in getting faster.
Thats all I got for now. Happy training and Racing
Much Peace & Love
Kerry
Often I run in to triathletes or other endurance athletes seeking my guidance. One of the first questions I ask is, "are you training with a heart rate monitor?" 95% of the time the response is no.
Why do you want to train with a heart rate meter as a triathlete or endurance athlete?
1) First it can tell you how hard you are working. Why is this important? Often I hear people going off perceived exertion levels which are useful no doubt. However you need to train your self to know what you perceived exertion levels truly are and feel like.
Here is a little background info on heart rate training. I use a 7 zone heart rate system in monitoring my self and athletes. 1 being to easiest 7 being the hardest (I didn't invent the 7 heart rate zone system its been around). These zones are calculated based ones % of lactate threshold. Often I find when I begin to train an athlete with a heart rate monitor they don't realize how hard they are truly pushing it.
A zone 2 and 3 heart might feel similar in terms of exertion but on a biological level there is a difference to the extent of how much of a given energy system you are using. Each energy system in the body needs to be trained in a specific way so endurance athletes can get maximum benefit in the given phase they are training in order to peak there performance for a given time or event.
2) With a heart rate monitor you can tell when you are over trained or when to take time off. Often your hear rate will respond in ways which are out of the ordinary when over trained or may be coming down with a cold or various other diseases such as Ebola (JOKE).
All joking aside you can often discover when you need a rest. As over training is just as harmful as under training.
3) Avoid the dreaded plateau.
Often I run into athletes who have not seen any speed gains or even got slower over time. Most of the time this is due to doing the same type of training and intensity over and over again. This often causes a plateau or over training. Variation is key and at different times through out the year one needs to initiate different types of training and intensity. The heart rate monitor will enable one to do this.
I'm not saying that a heart rate monitor is the end all be all as it has some down sides as it can vary due to other factors such as sleep, heat, cold and what you ate to name a few. In all it is a solid training tool that has assisted my self and the athletes I train in getting faster.
Thats all I got for now. Happy training and Racing
Much Peace & Love
Kerry
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