Posts tagged ironman tips
Holiday Tips for Triathletes
May 19th
Most athletes hate Holidays because they worry about all that hard training will be lost while on holiday.
A break can revitalise you, avoid staleness and prevent injuries.
Think of the new surroundings to go and investigate and explore.
Remember we improve while we rest and recover, give yourself some thinking time evaluate what you have done and what you want to achieve, and then plan your next training for when you return home.
Take a book or our magazine and learn more about Triathlon Swimming Cycling and running, it will make the time pass by quicker at the airport & on the plane.
Now is the time to use that grey matter.
If you have a heart rate monitor or GPS take the instructions with you and learn how all the functions work?
Fear not as long as you plan your training before and after and more importantly avoid the Holiday mistakes all will not be lost.
Not taking your bike but can swim and run while away do more cycling emphasis before and after your holiday.
While on holiday have a swim run focus week.
If you put on a weight you may experience a detraining effect and lose some fitness, we sometimes need to lose a little fitness otherwise our performance plateaus.
Holiday Mistakes to avoid.
If you eat an extra 3,500 calories more than you burn up while away you will put on a 1lb in weight. (7,700 calories will put on a kilo)
An extra 500 calories a day will put on one pound (almost 0.5 kilo) in 7 days!
Not the end of the world but put on 2-3 or 4 lbs and it could take you a month to get back to pre holiday weight fitness.
Total inactivity and you will lose some fitness, a week away can take up to 10 days when you get back to return back to full fitness while 2 weeks on holiday with little activity and you can take 3-4 weeks to return back to normal.
To avoid a loss of fitness see below the pitfalls of a holiday.
Holiday hidden calories. Just one a day x 7 = Ouch!
50 g Croissant contains about 180 calories x 7 = 1,260 holiday calories
A traditional English breakfast – 1 fried egg, 2 slices Bacon, 2 sausages, I Tomato, 2 slices Black pudding, I mushroom, 2 slices of Toast and marmalade can be as much as 1,000 calories x 7 = 7,000 holiday calories.
A total of 100g of nuts during a week will contain 500-600 calories
Ice Cream 100 grams = 200 calories x 3 a week = 600
Dessert 400 calories x 7 = 2,800
50 g of Cheese 215 calories & 2 digestive biscuits 148 twice on holiday can contain 726 calories
180 calories in a packet of crisps x 7 = 1.260
Drinks
Can of 330 ml coke = 139 x 7 = 973 holiday calories
Alcohol has 7 calories per gram so it is easy to put on weight.
A 175ml glass of wine each night 119 x 7 = calories = 833
Drink
Did you know if you drank 32 glasses of wine during your holiday you would put on 0.5 kilo!
Champagne 133 calories per 175 ml glass x 3 glasses 399
Low cal Lager has around 57 calories while a normal one has 160+ x 2 a night x 7 = 2,240 calories
= 10,431 calories for 7 days extra
For moderately active people we need our weight in lbs x 14 and for active athletes we need our weight x 19 in calories per day.
For example an active person who weighs 140 x 19 needs about 2,660 calories a day
Drink natural mineral water with food for the healthiest drink possible if you must have lots of yummy things when you are away.
See how easy it is to put on 3lbs (1.36 kilos) in weight over 7 days!
Ironmate Holiday Tips
Holiday food is usually different, see if you notice if it gives you more or less energy? You may have been lacking something in your diet at home.
Avoid running injuries by not running on the sand for 3 consecutive days.
The soft sand puts a strain on the Achilles and the camber can at the very least cause sore calf muscles or long term injury.
Marbled pavements by the sea kill your calf muscles because they are so hard, much better to run on the side road pavements as they are more forgiving.
Spend more time on stretching after your body core has warmed up.
Complete core exercises often not done at home because you are too busy with life and training.
If you find your performance plateaus during the season a holiday break from routine and training will reward you with a higher level of fitness once you return to your training schedule, due to variety extra recovery and sleep.
Walk as much as possible rather than drive. Most of us sit at work, sit in front of the PC, sit in our cars and sit at home on the sofa, walking is under rated and is demanding.
A 180lb person will burn up about 100 calories for a mile.
The good news is you improve your fat burning ability while you walk on holiday. If you found it hard running below 65% of your maximum heart rate now is your chance to exercise at a low heart rate.
Use the lift rather the stairs.
Sometimes take 3 steps at a time for strength other times take one step at a time for endurance.
If you are not training complete stretching every day and see how much you improve a short tight muscle hinders performance so stretching can help you when you return back home.
Choose salads for starters rather than desserts & sweets.
Have plenty of local fresh fruit and have a fruit salad instead of a pudding which can be 400+ calories x 7 days = 2,800 calories
Run early in the morning, it is usually cooler, the air is cleaner and you can investigate places to go, you will be surprised how far and how much you can see when running.
Explore and check out restaurants and places of interest while you are training to visit later with the family.
Find out beforehand if there is a race going on and the route, many places have the kilometre signs painted on the roads use these for training pace or intervals.
Ask at the hotel do they have a jogging route you can follow?
Swimming and running kit does not take up a lot of room and weighs hardly anything something to consider when air lines have weight penalties if you are over.
Improve other swimming strokes, learn to breath on both sides practise tumble turns and being streamlined as this is what makes us go faster thru the water.
Improve open water skills in the sea including getting in and out using the waves.
Hire bikes or do something active, are there any sports classes? like spin classes or fun exercise classes that you may be able to join in?
Swim 2 or 3 times a day, swim around the pool rather than push off from the sides, practise treading water then starting.
Do swim drills that you ignore because you have not got the time to do them.
Remember it’s NOT training that causes a loss in fitness but the extra weight gained when on holiday.
Try some family swimming relays.
Hold an Aquathon swim & run with friends, let the younger ones do less laps swimming and running.
Holiday tip
Ultraviolet rays (UV) are invisible part of the energy from the sun
Positive effects is they help our bodies make vitamin D (bones & Teeth) and are helpful to prevent rickets and colon cancer
Negative affects of UV they can burn our eyes hair and skin if not protected.
UV can microwave the skin including our scalp, also chlorine and sea water can change hair colour
Holiday tip – Use products specially designed for the hair or skin or scalp to protect you.
Prevent cycling injuries
May 12th
PREVENT CYCLE INJURIES.
I have listed below the most common cycle injury problems that can be avoided
Correct bike position must include the following
Remember our bike does not change while stored away over the winter but we may change. We may not be as flexible in the spring as we were at the end of last season.
A tight back or hamstring can mean that the bike position when we get out our racing bike may wrong for early season cycling.
ASYMMETICAL cycling is vital for preventing cycling injuries. We are all different no problem make sure one half is a mirror image of the other side.
BIG RING -Always cycling in the big ring – What about the all important warm up warm down and spinning to improve blood flow without creating large amounts of lactate.
BIKE FIT -Caused by an ill fitting bike – Don’t assume you can use your existing measurements for a different bike that has different geometry.
Have a professional bike fit it could save you lots of money in Physio treatment.
BIKE SIZE – Most people have a bike too big for them or a handlebar stem that is the right size then they fit triathlon bars on and end up over reaching.
BODY POSITION – A relaxed body position is the safest way to prevent injuries, being aerodynamic helps you go faster but you often you will not be able to stay in the tucked position for long with aches and pains.
BODY SIZE – Bike type is vital for injury prevention so consider your size then look for a suitable bike rather than just a brand of bike. Handmade bikes are much better for small and tall people and far more comfortable
BOILS OR LUMPS – these are caused by chronic sweating or standing around in your shorts after cycling. No matter how often you wash bacteria can establish it.
CADENCE – always cycling at the same cadence then changing rather than learning to spin faster.
CHAFING – is caused by friction rubbing against the saddle when the legs and thigh move up and down. Use chamois cream that reduced friction and can also contain antiseptic. Baby oil or petroleum jelly has also helped me, rub it onto the skin before cycling… Don’t use it all the time otherwise you wont toughen yourself up either when you do a longer event or competition.
Tenderness or hot spots can be from poor bike position.
Triathletes tend to need it more possibly because of the time trial position most ride and that they don’t cycle as often as single sport cyclists.
CRANK LENGTH – arm length will determine the size of the pedal circle. Crank arm length can injure the hips knees if the wrong length for the rider.
Size of the crank length should be based on leg length.
Less than 5ft Tall cyclist should use a crank length of 165 mm
Under 5ft 5” Tall cyclist should use a crank length of 165 or 167.5mm depending on leg length in relation to body size. Females should opt for 167.5mm.
5’5” to 6’0 cyclist should use a 170mm crank length
6’0 -6’2” cyclist should use a 172.5mm crank length
6’2 -6’4 cyclist should use a 175mm crank length
6’4” plus should consider a made to measure bike with either 180mm or 185mm.
Long crank arms are good for pushing big gears and low cadence but can out a strain on the knees.
Short crank arms are good for easy gears and fast cadence.
Myth – crank length should not be based on height of rider.
CLEAT POSITION – Should be dictated by our individual antimony.
Injury prevention tip is use float cleats to take up any differences we may have rather than fixed cleats with very little movements.
Bow legged (varus alignments) cyclist should consider adding spacers between the pedals and the cranks
DISMANTLING AND RE-ASEMBLING Not taking accurate measurements prior to dismantling it and putting it into a bike case before your training camp or competition…
FEET SIZE – Cyclist with a shoe size smaller than 8.5 should consider moving the cleat (ball of the foot) slightly behind the axle. Cyclist with feet size 11 or more should consider moving the cleat slightly forward of the pedal axle to lengthen the lever arm of the axle from ankle to pedal.
FOOT POSITION – The widest part of the foot is called the metarsal and should be directly over the pedal axle.
If the ball of the foot is in front of the lever arm of the ankle is shortened while if the foot is behind the axle This will however cause less force to control the foot on the pedal and therefore put less strain on the Achilles tendon and calf muscle.
Consider this injury prevention tip if you have an Achilles tendon problem. Alter your position just 1 or 2 mm forward but then you must cycle alone slowly to first get use to the new position before cycling with others.
HANDLBAR WIDTH – too wide or too narrow will cause shoulder and neck ache.
Correct handlebar width should be the same as the width of your shoulders. Measure the distance across the front of your chest from acromion to the one the other side.
Myth – too narrow does not reduce oxygen intake
HARD TRAINING ONLY -Cycling hard or racing on a brand new bike without getting in some base miles for your muscles to learn to adapt
INCREASING volume intensity or both will speed up an injury occurring. Sudden increases can cause tight calf muscles which then cause Achilles problems.
KNEE PAIN – Orthotics can prevent knees from becoming sore due to supporting the foot arch when pressing downwards during the push down phase. Orthotics prevent supination and pronation not just in running but also cycling. –
LEG LENGTH – Leg length difference.
The difference can be either the femur or tibia.
The reason this is a problem on the bike is because we are in a fixed position. and the high number of movements we make per minute.
What to do.
Only make adjustments if the shorter leg is more than 4mm different the ankling when cycling.
You must fit the bike to your longer leg and then make alterations to the shorter leg by orthotics or plates in the shoe or pedal or a shim between the shoe and the cleat to make up for the shorter leg.
Final tweaking can also move the cleat form the shorter leg back on the pedal (1.0-1.5mm)
If your leg touches the top tube then add a spacer between on the pedal.
1mm spacer at the ankle can make up to 8mm difference at your thigh.
NEW BIKE a BIG MISTAKE is to pay and play. Buy the bike then hammer your first dozen sessions because you bought it to race didn’t you.
You need at least 12 sessions on a brand new bike before you even consider going hard or racing.
Don’t even consider going out with others. Listen to your body be safe and get use to how the bike brakes steers & corners.
Even a new frame same size and make may handle differently.
OVER STRETCHING – If your reach is too far from sitting on the saddle to reaching the handlebars expect sore neck and shoulders.
SADDLE HEIGHT – Raising your saddle just because it’s a racing bike, will cause problems with the knees and the Achilles.
SADDLE TILT – Your saddle should be level using a carpenter’s spirit level, placing it along the saddle from front to back.
Don’t forget the bike has to be on level ground when checking that the saddle is level.
Males may prefer a saddle where the tip is raised slightly but this can cause numbness and penis problems.
Females often prefer to have the saddle tilted slightly downwards (hardly noticeable).
Men prefer to sometimes have the saddle slightly upwards from the level neutral position.
My preference is to have a level position to avoid saddle soreness.
STEM LENGTH – when riding on the tops arms should be bent 65 to 70 degrees.
Stem height to saddle height should be 1-2 inches for a small cyclist and 4 inches
STRETCHING – the more you train the more stretching you should do.
TOO MUCH TOO SOON – Build up from your winters base to faster cycling under resistance otherwise you learn poor technique and end up not progressing throughout the season
TRAINING STRUCTURE– No training structure always training hard 11 months of the year.