Sports and addiction

by Chrissie Wellington
Feb 8 2011
on espnW

I'm an addict, pure and simple. But my addiction has brought me five world championship crowns, a little bit of money, chaffing and huge oversized calves. The drug? Sports. And like any addict, when I don't get my fix, I become like Cruella De Vil (with a decidedly dodgy haircut). I get grumpy, I throw my toys out of the pram, I suffer cold turkey (nothing to do with Thanksgiving leftovers), and I chew on my nails -- basically metamorphosing from a relatively stable, sporty person to Godzilla.

I am sure many of you can relate. We all do sports for different reasons: to get fit, to tone up flabby parts, to wear skin-tight Lycra, to justify vacuum-cleaner-style eating habits or to pick up girls/boys. And, yes, for the undisputed "high" that it gives us, the satisfaction that comes from reaching that fine line between pleasure and pain, the masochistic seed that thrives on the endorphin rush that only a good hard training session or race can provide. I know I have always had an addictive personality, but this obsession with sports didn't develop overnight. I think I gradually morphed from a once-a-week kind of gal to a full-blown, "must-get-the-daily-fix" sport junkie.

Last year I read an article about two former drug addicts who used triathlon to rebuild their lives: the 20-year-long high they had gotten from heroin was replaced by the rush of sporting endorphins. The same was true of a guy, Matt, that I met at Ironman Australia in 2008. He had been a drug addict since his early teens and, having reached a heroin-fueled rock bottom, decided to change his life. I was fortunate enough to be there to watch him cross the finish line and realize his dream of becoming an Ironman. He was still an addict -- but he had just changed his drug of choice.

While the word "addiction" comes with negative connotations, it doesn't have to be detrimental. We can channel this craving and obsession into something positive, such as a sport. I think that the majority of triathletes would readily accept that they have a propensity for addictive behavior. But like any good thing -- chocolate, caffeine, shopping and exercise -- we can have too much of it. Sports can go from being a positive to a negative addition when fulfilling the craving overrides everything else. A day away from the pool or bike causes distress, relationships and work suffer, anxiety levels rise, and health levels decline as overtraining potentially leads to injury and illness. We have all been there. The obsession with filling that log book forces us out on a run when really our Achilles, calf, hip or back is saying no way. Then suddenly we end up nursing a painful Achilles, calf, hip, back for the next month. There is also the link to food control -- control over calories and control over exercise. They are emotions and actions cut from the same cloth.

Unlike glugging a bottle of whisky or eating 10 bars of chocolate a day, exercise addiction can be harder to acknowledge, given that exercise is generally seen as a splendid healthy activity to undertake. I am not saying we all push the limits and suffer the ill effects of our addiction. But for those who teeter on the brink, myself included, there are a few ways of preventing a sporting addiction from becoming a negative force.

I have to listen carefully and honestly to my body. I have learned to recognize when I can push it that little bit further, but also when to back off and take some rest. For example, last Friday I didn't train, and I didn't feel in the least bit guilty. I am slowly seeing recovery as part of training, not a forced add on. And I came back this weekend all the better for it. And you know what? There was no cold turkey -- except in my sandwiches. I also have to be prepared to change and adapt. For example, when I broke my arm last year, I couldn't train the way I wanted, and this disrupted my routine. But I had to focus on what I could do, rather than couldn't do. I had to channel my addiction into the cross trainer and swiss ball -- adapting and accepting the need for change, rather than becoming frustrated with my forced inability to follow my predetermined plan.
It is often so hard to be objective about our fitness, body weight, personality and attitude, and, hence, the importance of surrounding yourself with family, friends, coaches and others. We all need a second pair of eyes to spot potential warning signs of negative addiction. And, more importantly, to be prepared to listen and act on this advice.

For most of us, sports are ultimately a healthy addiction, we just need to be able to control those cravings. And sometimes, instead of succumbing to the sporting urges, let's break open a bar of chocolate, crack open a bottle of wine or have an industrial-sized cup of full-fat coffee instead. After all, everything in moderation, right?!

Ground Forces

To lessen your aches and pains, choose your running surface wisely.

By Jenny Everett
From the October 2009 issue of Runner's World

The impact of running has its benefits: It builds bone and muscle strength. But it also has drawbacks: Each footfall sends strong forces up the leg with the potential of aggravating trouble spots. Luckily, runners can sidestep injuries by changing up their workout surfaces, says exercise physiologist and marathoner Tom Holland of Darien, Connecticut. "In the same way that you vary your mileage and intensity—short one day, long the next; hard one day, easy the next—you should also vary the terrain that you run on to minimize risk of injury," he says. If you're prone to shinsplints, for example, pounding the asphalt six days a week could cause a flare up. Mix in a trail or treadmill run here and there, and you could avoid a setback. Follow this guide to running grounds to log your miles safely.


Asphalt Roads

RUN FREELY: If you're not particularly injury prone and not rehabbing an injury—although Achilles tendinitis becomes less aggravated on asphalt's stiff surface, which keeps the Achilles in a shorter, less-tensed position.
TREAD LIGHTLY: If you've recently had shin or knee pain, or a fracture, muscle pull, or iliotibial-band syndrome (ITBS). Asphalt can rattle bones, joints, muscles.


Dirt Trail

RUN FREELY: If you've struggled with runner's knee, ITBS, shinsplints, or any injury aggravated by impact. Just be wary of technical trails that cause your feet to land at an angle.
TREAD LIGHTLY: If you've had an ankle sprain. The ligaments of that joint never recover 100 percent. That increases your risk of a repeat sprain, which is more likely to occur on soft, uneven surfaces.


Sand

RUN FREELY: Rarely. Sand is unstable and puts a ton of torque on the knee, ankle, and hip. That said, this surface requires the strength of muscles that are often neglected so it can be beneficial for strength building. Just keep the runs short.
TREAD LIGHTLY: If you have a history of ankle sprains or Achilles tendinitis. A 2008 study found that running on sand increases the risk of Achilles pain tenfold.


Synthetic Track

RUN FREELY: If you're prone to ankle sprains or just recovered from a fracture. The surface is predictable with no roots or curbs to trip over. It's also more cushiony than asphalt, but not so soft as to cause instability.
TREAD LIGHTLY: If you've had ITBS or calf strains. Your outside calf is shortened as you circle your way around. Tight corners can also stress your inside leg's ITB.


Grass

RUN FREELY: If you have knee pain or are returning to running after a fracture. On grass, the bulk of the energy from your footfall goes into the ground instead of reverberating back up your leg.
TREAD LIGHTLY: If you're prone to plantar fasciitis. You're more likely to overpronate on this soft, uneven surface, which puts extra torque on the ligament that runs along the bottom of your foot.


Treadmill

RUN FREELY: If you're recovering from injury or are increasing mileage and want a break from asphalt. The belt's cushioned surface reduces stress to your back, hips, knees, and feet. And it's a clear path free of obstacles.
TREAD LIGHTLY: If you're training for a road race. Running exclusively on a treadmill won't prepare you to navigate uneven terrain or cope with the impact of asphalt, and that could lead to injury.

Athletes who do plyometric drills on sand improve their sprinting ability compared to those who train on grass.

Fat Burners and Sugar Burners

Interesting stuff in regards to long races. I'm intrigued by how drinking juice before a race instead of sports drink can help you.


by Joe Friel

Are you a fat burner or a sugar burner? Most athletes don’t know, yet this is valuable information, especially if you compete in four-plus-hour races. A limiting factor for such events is carbohydrate intake. If you don’t take in enough sugar during the race you are likely to run low which ultimately means your name in the results will be followed by the letters ”DNF” (did not finish). On the other hand, take in too much sugar and your gut can’t process it possibly resulting in bloating and nausea.

To further complicate the matter, there is a fair amount of individuality when it comes to using carbohydrate during such events. Some people’s bodies burn more carbohydrate as a percentage of total calories used. They are “sugar burners” and need to be very concerned with carbohydrate intake. The “fat burner” has a body that prefers to use fat for fuel and so spares sugar stored in the body. This person is metabolically designed for long endurance. That may be the result of fortunate genetics or effective training.

How do you know if you’re a sugar-burner or a fat-burner? And how do you determine if you are taking in the right amount of carbohydrate? Ultimately you need to experiment during your long workouts to find what works best for you. But you can narrow it down by discovering your “Respiratory Quotient” (RQ) which is sometimes also called the “Respiratory Equivalency Ratio” (RER). (They aren’t exactly measures of the same thing but close. You can read about RQ here and RER here.) Once you know your RQ rate you have a better idea of what your carb needs are during exercise. If you find you’re a sugar burner it may even be possible to change your body so that it relies more heavily on fat. More on this later.

RQ may be found by doing a metabolic assessment or VO₂max test. It used to be that you had to go to a medical clinic or university lab to have such a test done, but now there are boutique testing centers popping up around the country in health clubs, bike shops, and running and triathlon stores. You can probably find such a test facility somewhere near where you live. The test generally costs between $150 to $250. It can be done on your own bike using the test center’s indoor trainer (this is preferable to using a stationary bike) or on a treadmill for running. If you’re a triathlete and can afford only one test I’d suggest doing it on the bike as your nutrition here generally has a greater impact on your performance than when running due to the duration of the bike portion.

The typical test protocol starts you at a very easy effort and increases the intensity every few minutes until you fatigue and can no longer continue. In order to get good data you need to treat the test like a race by resting for a couple of days before. Doing this test tired will muddle the results and what you do with them.

There will be several pieces of information resulting from such a test. One is RQ. As the intensity of the test increases you will gradually burn more carbohydrate (glycogen) for fuel. The RQ closely estimates how much of the energy came from carbs and how much fat. The following table may be used to determine your percent of energy burned from these two nutrients throughout the test.

RQ	Carb %	Fat %
0.71	0.0	100.0
0.71	1.1	98.9
0.72	4.8	95.2
0.73	8.4	91.6
0.74	12.0	88.0
0.75	15.6	84.4
0.76	19.2	80.8
0.77	22.8	77.2
0.78	26.3	73.7
0.79	29.9	70.1
0.80	33.4	66.6
0.81	36.9	63.1
0.82	40.3	59.7
0.83	43.8	56.2
0.84	47.2	52.8
0.85	50.7	49.3
0.86	54.1	45.9
0.87	57.5	42.5
0.88	60.8	39.2
0.89	64.2	35.8
0.90	67.5	32.5
0.91	70.8	29.2
0.92	74.1	25.9
0.93	77.4	22.6
0.94	80.7	19.3
0.95	84.0	16.0
0.96	87.2	12.8
0.97	90.4	9.6
0.98	93.6	6.4
0.99	96.8	3.2
1.00	100.0	0.0

The fat-burner will start the test with an RQ of around 0.80 meaning that he or she is using about 33% carbohydrate and 67% fat for fuel. That’s good. I like to see that in those I coach. An otherwise similarly fit sugar-burner may start the test at the same low intensity but with an RQ of 0.90. At this RQ he or she is burning 67% carbs and 33% fat. That’s not so good. I see very few of these but they are out there. When both athletes reach their anaerobic or lactate thresholds they will be at about 1.00 RQ which means 100% carbohydrate and 0% fat. (Total fatigue will end the test at an RQ of about 1.1 to 1.2 for both.)

Notice that the sugar burner has a much narrower RQ range (0.90-1.00) than the fat-burner (0.80-1.00). So at moderate intensities, as are common in long-distance events, the sugar burner needs to be very aware of carbohydrate intake as he or she risks running low on this precious fuel. Some athletes are such gigantic sugar burners that they find it difficult to take in enough carbohydrate during the competition. They’re using sugar faster than their stomachs can process it from sports drinks. That often means a gut “shutdown.”

If you discover from a test that you are a sugar burner you may be able to modify this condition somewhat. I say “may” because there is some research indicating that there is an element of genetics involved [1]. This probably has to do at least in part with your muscle make up, especially your percentage of slow twitch or “endurance,” muscles [2].

Another chief determiner of RQ is your diet. Simply put, the more high glycemic load carbohydrate foods you eat (starches are the most prevalent in this category) the more your body will rely on sugar during exercise [2,3]. Conversely, the more fat and protein in your diet the lower your RQ will be. Eating starch or taking in glucose in a sports drink before the start of the test or the race may also shift your RQ to the sugar-burning side whereas fruit juice will not have this effect [4]. (Lesson: Best not to rely on sports drinks or starches before races.) The other known influencers of RQ are related to training. As you become more aerobically fit your RQ will drop [5], and related to that, research has shown that as your training volume increases RQ is also reduced [2].

It is even possible to determine how much carb you need to take in during a race from a test. All you need to do is find your goal race intensity—heart rate, power or pace—for your race in the test’s raw data results and determine, also from the results, how many calories you were burning at that point. Then check RQ at that same intensity to see what percentage of those calories came from sugar. You will need to replace most of this expended energy during long events (this is not a big deal for short races). The test technician can help you figure this out.

Knowing your RQ and, more importantly, keeping it on the low side through diet and training has the potential to improve your performance in long-distance endurance events.

References

1. Toubro et al. 1998. Twenty-four-hour respiratory quotient; the role of diet and familial resemblance. J Clinic Endocrin Metab 83(8):2758-2764.
2. Goedecke et al. 2000. Determinants of the variability in respiratory exchange ratio at rest and during exercise in training athletes. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 276(6):E1325-E1334.
3. Hughson and Kowalchuk. 1981. Influence of diet on CO2 production and ventilation in constant-load exercise. Respir Physiol 46(2):149-160.
4. Decombaz et al. 1985. Oxidation and metabolic effects of fructose and glucose ingested before exercise. Int J Sports Med 6(5):286-288.
5. Kiens et al. 1993. Skeletal muscle utilization during submaximal exercise in man: effect of endurance training. J Physiol 469:459-478.

Mars and Venus Go for a Run

And discover that a life partner isn't necessarily the best training partner.

Ha, ha, ha! My "life partner" and I used to train with each other when we were first dating. Now, after 10 years together, have discovered that it is not always the best thing for our relationship. :-)

By Jennifer Van Allen
From the October 2010 issue of Runner's World

"Mother nature," my husband said through a clenched jaw in a tone he'd never used with me before, "is fraught with conflict." When your spouse utters this kind of comment, you know it's best not to respond. It was 90 degrees. We had bugs stuck between our front teeth. We had been running for five hours, and I had just chirped for the millionth time that the woods were so beautiful and wasn't it nice to enjoy the summer like this?

We were on our first trail run together, a 50-K. Weeks earlier, Peter had run his first half-marathon, and he was game for any adventure that promised sweat, woods, and sunshine. That is, until we got to mile 20.

You see, Peter and I love each other a lot. We love running a lot. We have discovered in our six years of marriage that we don't love running together or doing many other sports together. A lot.

He loves to row. On my first lesson, shortly after Peter sculled by, yelling, "Hi, Honey!" so proud of his wife and future rowing partner, I slipped on duck poop, landed on the boat, and split my ear open. Too hysterical to interrupt his workout, I drove myself to the ER. When I passed him still on the river, I honked with the hand that wasn't holding my bloody ear. He waved and smiled. I burst into tears. I needed 22 stitches.

We were in Vermont celebrating our second anniversary when we tried cycling together. I trudged up and down the rolling country roads as he zoomed effortlessly into the distance. I couldn't understand how he could go so darn fast. He couldn't understand why I lumbered along so slowly. By the time I caught up with him, both of us were huffy, puffy, and completely out of patience. "What happened to you?" we both demanded.

As much as I like the idea of us running in lockstep, I know that this just isn't us. When his pace slips, I ask if he's okay, and he hates that. When I fall behind, I hate that he doesn't ask. We've learned that we function best as athlete and crew. He loves to watch the Boston Marathon, and be at mile 17 with water. I love to watch his regattas, and be at the end with a fleece.

Peter's races are mostly close to our home and over in a matter of minutes. He, on the other hand, got to spend our fifth anniversary watching me run around a one-kilometer loop at the 24-Hour World Championships in Italy. Beforehand, I was an irritating bundle of nerves. Afterward, I was a moaning pile of sore muscles he had to push in a wheelchair.

When we got home, I reviewed our wedding vows. We promised to love each other through every bounced check, dirty dish, and every body part that surrenders to gravity. Nothing in there about watching your wife run in circles for 24 hours and then celebrating your love over a family-sized tub of Tums. He cleaned the blisters on my shredded soles and even encouraged me to show them off to my friends. "That's pretty hard-core," some said. He replied, "That's my girl."

Who needs a training partner when you've got a love like that?

Does Your Period Affect Your Workout?

From fitbottomedgirls.com

Ladies, we all know that our periods affect our workouts. I, for one, am cramping like crazy—finding the motivation to work out right now is hard, no matter how much chocolate milk I’ve promised myself once I’m done. But it’s not just the cramps and cravings and bloating that has an effect on how we exercise, and, as it turns out, if you understand the relationship, you can get more out of your workouts. And frankly, I’m all about getting as much out of the work I’m doing as possible.

To learn more about the subject, I got in touch with Jade Teta, a holistic physician, personal trainer, and health and wellness consultant and founder of Metabolic Effect.

First things first—a quick tutorial on the different phases of the menstrual cycle (and no, it doesn’t just break down to being “on” or “off” your period).

There are two phases, follicular which begins on the first day of your period and lasts 10-14 days, and the luteal phase. The two phases are separated by ovulation, or the release of an egg from the ovaries, 14 days or so before your next period starts.

“The follicular phase is associated with higher estrogen levels compared to progesterone, while the luteal phase is the reverse,” Teta explains.

So how can we use our menstrual cycle to guide our workouts for maximum effect? Easy!

“Estrogen (higher during the follicular phase) increases the amount of fat burned during exercise, but makes sugar burning less efficient,” Teta says. “Progesterone (higher during the luteal phase) opposes the action of estrogen. Since lower intensity exercise burns more relative amounts of fat, and higher intensity is fueled more by sugar burning, women can cycle their training modalities to work with these fluctuations.”

So, for the first half of your cycle, go for slow and steady longer workouts (like walking, biking or jogging). For the second half, kick up the sprints and interval workouts (sprint and interval training, which can rev your metabolism for hours or even days after your workout).

And, if you’re a strength junkie, don’t worry. Weight training is beneficial across the board, Teta says, although you might want to focus on “traditional weight training during the follicular phase and more metabolic-conditioning weight exercise done in the luteal phase and during menses.”

And remember, diet is still a factor—no matter what phase of your cycle you’re in.

“Research shows that carbohydrate-loaded women—i.e. those eating high-carb diets—will likely wash out any beneficial impact of the menstrual cycle, so, all of the above is likely more beneficial for women dieting or eating [a] fairly low carb [diet].”

Fascinating stuff! Have you noticed a difference in your workouts throughout the month? Tell us about it in the comments! —Kristen

Fitness Fallacy

From Joanna Zieger's blog - Fast at Fourty (which is an awesome blog!)

This article was written with Dr. Phil Skiba, my coach and an extremely nice guy (http://www.physfarm.com/)

“I don’t want to lose my fitness” is perhaps the most commonly uttered statement by triathletes. I have no actual data to support this, but given the number of times I have heard it (and expressed it myself) I am reasonably confident that it must be true.

I think triathletes have a dreaded fear that between the time they close their eyes at night and awake in the morning they have lost inordinate amounts of fitness. A day off is a triathlete’s nightmare – we feel the fitness being sucked out of our bodies moment by moment.

The meaning of fitness varies from person to person. Are you fit because you can ride a century? Are you fit when you race to your potential? Are you fit because you can achieve most of your workouts?

No matter what your definition of fitness is, it does not disappear as quickly as the sunburn from your last race. Breaks in training occur for a number of reasons, whether it is from injury, work, travel or simply some needed time off. And, unless you have taken an excessive amount of time away from training, you are not going to come back as a deconditioned couch potato.

Here are the facts. Most people confuse the terms "fitness" and "performance status". In other words, when we perform well, we typically say we have a very high level of fitness. That is true, to a point. However, it is just a little bit more complicated than that.

When we train, our bodies become more fit, but we also get more tired. In the midst of a heavy training block, think about the yearning for that late afternoon nap or begging off dinner with friends because coming home at 10 pm is too late.

When we train or race a lot, our fitness becomes somewhat "masked" by how beat up we feel. The perfect example is the post Ironman fatigue and soreness syndrome. You couldn’t and shouldn’t train in the days following an Ironman. This time off doesn’t mean you are losing huge amounts of hard-earned fitness. it's just that your fitness is being hidden by tiredness, which would lead to a decrease in performance status if you tried to race again too soon. (It’s also being hidden by the not-insignificant damage Iron-distance racing does to the body. It would not be unreasonable to consider yourself “mildly injured” and in need of recovery immediately following a long-course race.)

To perform well, consistently, you need regular bouts of rest. If you are going out and killing bike ride after bike ride, and run after run, you don't really know how well you can perform, because you are constantly fatigued. This is why athletes sometimes have a great race after a layoff due to that minor injury, work craziness, or interference from other life factors. The layoff allowed the athlete to shed a great deal of fatigue. This is why tapering for a race works. You shed your fatigue, preserve most of your fitness, and are then able to smash a race.

Now, if you were to do some fancy math, you would find that you did lose a small amount of fitness during a training layoff. However, if you are training a lot, this loss is tiny in comparison to how much fatigue you lose. Depending on the sport, the average age group triathlete can shed two thirds of their fatigue in between 2 and 7 days. In comparison, it can take longer than 30 days to lose two thirds of their fitness. Get the idea? Your fitness hangs around a long time.

In my own training, I can attest to this very notion of fitness hanging around. I took a break after the Rev3 debacle for some quality healing time. I started a comprehensive therapy program in the gym and when I restarted training, it was maintenance and sanity training rather than specific race training. Lo and behold, over the weekend I PR’ed a tough run.

It's a different matter if you have suffered through some major illness, of course. 7 days of absolute bed rest with the flu or something is going to have a much more significant effect in terms of loss of fitness and performance status

The take home message is "don't sweat the small stuff". Those couple of days you need to take off when the in-laws arrive probably just serve to help you really crush your next workout!

Making up for lost time (Psst...You can't)

I thought this was a GREAT post from Joanna Zieger's blog, Fast at Fourty.....

It was pointed out by my father that many of my posts deal with injury and illness. I explained that the original intention of this blog was to chronicle my story of healing from the crash in November. My purpose was two-fold; writing about the aftermath of a serious incident would serve as an outlet for me as I convalesce and hopefully my ruminations would help others faced with difficulty.

Athletes are not patient people, and we are accustomed to things happening in a time-frame that we dictate. The body does not work in such a manner. Believe me, I have tried to force my body to heal on my timetable, but, alas, I have lost that battle. And, while I am no stranger to injury, each time one surfaces I have been forced to re-evaluate my coping mechanisms and how I handle my return to training.

Over the last few weeks, as I hurriedly prepare for races while still rehabbing my ribs, I realized that in training you cannot make up for lost time. Training is not akin to cramming for an exam. Post-injury training requires a special type of regimen.

Amnesia
Before you can restart your training program, you must acquire amnesia. Memories about what you did before the injury need to be erased, because when you get back out there, you will re-injure yourself trying to attain those standards. I know this from experience.

I, myself, have cursed many times on the bike in the months since the accident when my Power Tap blatantly lies to me about my power. Why is it so mean to me? Despite my many recalibrations, the numbers staring back are not what they were.

After many discussions with Coach Phil, we set new standards in training as I work my way back to health and fitness. While the big picture does loom, I have smaller goals, in the way of power and running pace, which let me know that I am progressing. And, when the time is right, my Power Tap will once again show me numbers that will make me smile.

Go it alone
I am lucky to have training partners that are supportive, funny and always go the extra mile (or 10) in training. Between my dizzy spells last year and my injuries this year, I am fortunate they are still willing to train with me.

However, some days, it is best to go out solo and not get caught up in the workouts of other people. Injuries often make workouts unpredictable – some days feel great while others leave you wondering who stole your legs.

Training by yourself during this time of flux allows for greater concentration on form and if a workout goes awry nobody has to know but you.

Be flexible
As I mentioned above, workouts tend to become erratic after an injury. A great day or two is often followed by a dreadful workout. Or maybe, after several pain free days, you wake up with the injured area feeling sore.

A plan is imperative during the recovery process to prevent re-injury, but sometimes a workout must be shuffled to another day or forgone altogether.

Just this weekend, I had to cut my long ride short on Saturday and compromise on Sunday by doing a shorter long ride in the morning and doing a shorter long run in the afternoon.

A final note
Coming back from an injury is never easy. Hopefully, these suggestions will make it easier. The bottom line: you cannot rush your body nor can you expect to start off where you left off.

Team LUNA Chix Training Videos

Check out the training videos on the Team LUNA Chix site! They are done by the pro's with good tips on training and nutrition. There are three:

Swim Tips
Sports Nutrition for Women
Bike Handeling Skills

Watch them all!

Learning to Breathe Bilaterally

Posted by triswimcoach on Friday, May 15, 2009

You may already have heard the most commonly asked question in the swimming world today. Which of the following techniques is superior: breathing to one side, or bilateral breathing?

Until just one year ago, I breathed to the right side every time I got in the pool. Why, do you ask? Simply because taking breaths on the opposite side didn’t feel right! Indeed, this is the primary reason that the majority of swimmers take breaths on just one side. About a year ago, however, I was getting a massage, and the therapist noticed that the muscles on the left side of my back were considerably more developed than those on the right. Thinking for a moment, I realized that thousands of laps of breathing only on the the right side had caused these muscles to balloon as I balanced on my left arm while sucking in air!

So, if you haven’t figured it out yet, the answer is bilateral breathing. The primary reason is that bilateral breathing will work to balance your stroke (not to mention leave your back looking normal!). If you continue to breath to one side, you risk having your stroke become lopsided. In just one hour in the pool, you’ll roll to your breathing side approximately one thousand times. A stroke that is lopsided can quickly become pernanent when you practice a lot!

There are other benefits to bilateral breathing, as well. Once you lose your “weak side”, you’ll no longer be blind in that direction. If you’re an open water swimmer, you’ll be able to avoid chop, check for landmarks, and keep pesky swimmers from splashing you in the face (or even punching you as they jockey for position!).

So how do you obtain these benefits? Simply by practicing bilateral breathing at every opportunity possible. In my evening session, I’ll have swimmers breathe each 3 or 5 strokes, as they warm up or down. Of course, in practice, this kind of drill shouldn’t be limited to workouts alone. To be sure, at first you will probably feel quite awkward. You’ll quickly find, however, that bilateral breathing becomes more natural as you practice. Before you know it, you’ll be breathing to both sides like a champ.

Here are some tips to get you breathing on both sides, while keeping your workouts interesting.

1. Breathe to alternate sides each length: once to the left, and once to the right. This way, you’ll get the oxygen you need, while developing the symmetrical stroke you’re after.

2. During warm-ups, warm-downs, and slow sets, breathe to your weaker side.

3. Experiment with different patterns such as three left, three right, or four left, four right, until you find what works for you.

Each week, keep your ultimate goal of bilateral breathing in mind. Perhaps most importantly, however, don’t get too hung up on getting the breaths exact. Have fun, and enjoy your swim, because breathing to both sides will eventually come naturally!

Jedi Mind Tricks

by Ben Greenfield on January 12, 2010 in Triathlon Training

Are you ready to learn ways to instantly motivate yourself when you're feeling too tired to workout, unsure about whether to sign-up for an event, or tempted to give up during a race? Consider these Top 5 Jedi Mind Tricks from the Rock Star Triathlete Academy at http://www.rockstartriathlete.com to be your ultimate secret weapon for motivation. Are you ready?

1) 2 Minute Rule. Don't get scared by the seven-syllable word in this tip...but physiologically, several changes take place in your body during the first 120 seconds of exercise. Namely, at about that 2 minute mark, your cells begin to more easily utilize oxygen as a fuel, muscle temperature begins to rise, and exercise suddenly becomes easier. So what is the take-away trick for using the 2 Minute Rule in triathlon motivation? If you just got home from work and you're "too tired" to train, or you're trying to tear yourself out of bed at 5am, just tell yourself: get through the first 2 minutes. You'll be consistently pleased with what happens after that point!

2) Use Irrational Psychology. This is a powerful trick for triathlon motivation, and involves affecting the appeal of one workout choice by comparing it to other choices. Here are some examples. Say it's time for a 90 minute hard cycling session, and you just don't have the triathlon motivation to get on your bike and head out. So give yourself three choices, and make two of those choices more unpleasant: Choice #1 - go on a 5 hour easy bike ride; Choice #2 - Do a 90 minute interval run on a treadmill instead; Choice #3 - do your 90 minute bike ride. The 90 minute bike ride suddenly seems relatively not all that bad. Or imagine the pool is "too cold" to go for a swim. So go in the locker room and take a cold shower. Suddenly the pool becomes relatively appealing. Or imagine you're running up a hill and you have an overwhelming urge to walk. Start sprinting on the hill much faster than you are running. Stop 5 seconds. Start running again at your normal pace. The hill running will instantly feel easier (yes, the brain is a strange thing).

3) Use Very Small Goals. In the middle of a race and feel like giving up? This trick works very well. Tell yourself that you're going to take just 200 more steps, or 100 more pedal strokes, or get to one more buoy. Promise yourself that at that point you can either A) stop or B) keep going. By giving your brain the reward of having completed a small, intermediate goal, there is a slight infusion of dopamine that occurs which drives you to keep going when you get to that point. Again, it is a strange phenomenon, but works very well for triathlon motivation, especially in a race.

4) Use Extrinsic Motivation. Humans have an innate desire to be accepted, and an innate detest for being rejected. We internally fear being judged by our failures, and crave to be accepted for delivering on our promises. Here's how to use this principle for triathlon motivation: the next time you're waffling on a workout, go to Facebook, go to Twitter, go to your blog, or call your best friend or spouse and tell them, "I'm just about to go to workout ______ (you fill in the blanks) Should be fun!". This tiny social expression will instantly give you a powerful urge to deliver on your promises. It also works well if you're on the fence about signing up for a race for which you're unsure you will have fitness. Tell the world you're going to sign-up, and the extrinsic motivation of not wanting to let the world down will make you far more likely to do it.

5) Re-Train Your Brain. There is a big difference between wanting something and being prepared to receive it. In other words, it's not enough to have triathlon motivation goals and want to achieve them. Instead, you must actually train your subconscious to realistically see yourself achieving your goals. Want to know exactly how to re-train your brain? Do 2 things: 1) Read Ben Greenfield's comprehensive article in the February 2010 issue of Triathlete magazine; 2) Visit the Rock Star Triathlete Academy at http://www.rockstartriathlete.com, where you will find an online triathlon school that features weekly handpicked articles on triathlon motivation and lifestyle.

Memorize these mind tricks and add them to your triathlon motivation arsenal, and you'll be the person everyone is talking about when they say, "They're like the Energizer bunny! They keep going, and going, and going...".

Ask the Experts: Long Runs After Long Rides, by Jeff Vicario

Interesting article from the Training Peaks Blog.


Question: I have a question related to scheduling my longest run. My legs often feel tired on my Sunday long runs following my Saturday long rides, I keep telling myself that my legs are going to be tired during my race so I should train them this way. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Answer: You are making a crucial mistake by running your longest of the week the day after your long ride. This (long run) should be done when your legs are at their freshest time in the week, not the day after a long bike ride. This will not prepare you for what you will experience in the race.

“Chronic fatigue,” the kind you have the day after a long ride, is not the same as “acute fatigue,” the kind you have immediately after a long ride. Running long with chronic fatigue is a good way to become injured. If the weekends are the only time to get that long ride and run in then make Saturday your long run and Sunday your long ride. Your fitness will progress faster and you’ll avoid common breakdowns.

Many qualified experts on training and nutrition use TrainingPeaks to help manage their business. Now, a select few are offering professional training and nutrition advice on our blog. The views expressed here are the opinions of the experts and as such do not represent the official position of TrainingPeaks.

About the author: Jeff Vicario, an Elite TrainingBible and USAT Coach, can be contacted for further information at jvicario@TrainingBible.com.

Brain Gain

Here's a blog post I wrote last month for the Corpore Sano Physical Therapy and Sports Performance website. Thought you all might get something out of it! - L

At the beginning of every season I look at what I can do in my training to get faster. Add different speedwork in my running, do more hill repeats on my bike, swim more often. And every year I do see minor improvements, but they could be bigger. What I always forget about training is my brain. It’s already hard enough to fit in everything – work, family, workouts. Taking time to just sit there and visualize? Forget it, I can’t even fit in the stretching I’m supposed to do! My form of visualization is when I’m lying in bed the night before a race, having trouble falling asleep because I’ve gone to bed so early, I start thinking about the race the next day. Unfortunately that just causes me a bunch of anxiety, making sleep impossible. So then I try not to think about the race.

This year I am working on my brain. I had read that professional athletes credit visualization as part of the reason for their success, but I was skeptical. How much of a difference could it really make? But at the Seattle Half Marathon last fall, I had an experience that made me realize it was worth looking into. Here’s the long version of the story. I started consistently running in 1999, and that fall I did the Seattle Half in 2:03. I didn’t do it again because of two knee surgeries over the next 5 years. Once those were healed, I started running consistently again in 2006. I did an half marathon in 2007 with a time of 2:25. I did the Seattle Half in 2008 with a time of 2:18. I was not really surprised my times were slower because I was running slow and working on building my running base. Plus I was almost 10 years older! In 2009 I worked with a coach who felt it was time to add speed work back into my running. That was tough! The plan was to do the Seattle Half again. I did some 5K’s and 10K’s leading up to the race, and saw a lot of time improvement in those races compared to the previous years. Knowing those times and what training I had been doing, my coach set my goal time for the half to be under 2 hours. Under two hours? I was incredulous. She has got to be kidding, I thought. No way can I do that – I’ve never run under two hours, and that would be a 15 minute improvement over last year! Impossible. Not only that, I was really tired, my back hurt, blah, blah, blah.

Now you see how I set myself up for failure! I ran the race exactly according to my race plan. Start out slow, build, don’t kill myself on the hills, go all out the last 3 miles. And you know what, I did it in 2:01. To my surprise I beat my 1999 time, a half marathon PR! And as excited as I was about that, I had the nagging thought that I actually could have ran it under 2 hours. Shame on me for not believing in myself. Shame on me for telling myself I could not do it. Allowing negative thoughts to influence me.

Now I am reading and learning about what I can mentally do to train myself. I’m setting time up every day to mentally train. I’m working on relaxing, visualizing, developing positive words and phrases to use when things get difficult in my workouts. And because I am working on this everyday, I’ll be prepared in the days leading up to a big race. I won’t get anxious, I’ll have gone over the course in my head, I’ll have felt the success of crossing the finish line with a great time. I’ll be totally prepared!

Build Your Base in 2 Weeks

By Scott Douglas
Runner's World

from active.com

Rob Wiley never worried much about how he began a new training cycle. He figured it was enough just to stay fit, running the same few miles just about every day at about the same easy pace. Then the 32-year-old project manager of Gurnee, Illinois, started working with a coach, Jenny Spangler. She had Wiley run hills and tempo runs in his base weeks, that six- to nine-week period of time before a formal training plan begins. "I thought, Why am I running hard stuff right out of the gate?" he says. The reason became apparent two months later, when he began stepping up his workouts. "I was strong," says Wiley—stronger than he had ever been entering a training season.

The experience was a revelation for Wiley. Proper base building isn't simply a matter of logging a decent number of miles, he realized. Instead, it serves as a bridge between the off-season's maintenance runs and a race-specific training program. "The purpose of base training is to prepare you for your next phase of harder, faster running," says Spangler, the 1996 U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials champion. If you transition too quickly into the rigors of a training program, your ability to perform and, therefore, benefit from the work decreases while your risk of injury increases.

Because base training comes before you actually begin a training plan, it's often overlooked, says Spangler. In fact, quality work during this early phase is no less important than during your peak weeks. Faster-paced miles and the inclusion of a weekly long run increase endurance and strengthen your muscles, bones, and connective tissues. The improved fitness not only readies your body for the more intense running to come, it also allows you to safely handle tougher workouts, which increases the overall effectiveness of your entire training cycle.

Start Off Strong (Enough)

The key to successful base training is adding enough intensity to boost your fitness, but not so much that you get burned out or feel like you're training at your maximum too early. "There's no need to ever go above 95 percent of your maximum heart rate in base training," says Gordon Bakoulis, coach of Moving Comfort New York and a former 2:33 marathoner. "Fast 400 meters have no place in the base weeks."

Doing one or two quality workouts a week, such as hills, tempo runs, or fartlek sessions, will rev the cardiovascular system and stimulate the fast-twitch muscle fibers. A slightly longer run—of 45 to 90 minutes, depending on your fitness and goals—is also key. (For a two-week base-training program, see the end of this article) Sometimes, Bakoulis's athletes replace a tempo run with a race, which they don't run all out because they're not yet in peak shape. "It helps you retain the mental aspects of racing," says Bakoulis.

During base training, Spangler and Bakoulis both recommend gauging intensity by feel rather than by pace, since the number on your watch may push you to go faster than you're ready for. Gauging your effort allows you to run at the level right for that day. Plus, since much of base training takes place in the dark and cold of winter or early spring, achieving a certain pace becomes all that more difficult.

After Wiley added a few hill charges and 30-minute tempo runs to his formerly "easy" period, he ended up trimming two minutes off his half-marathon personal record. He decided to add quality runs into all his base training, and he ultimately set PRs in every distance from the 5K to the marathon. A little faster in the beginning meant a lot faster in the end.

Laying the Groundwork

Use the base-training plan below to develop endurance and strength prior to starting your next race-specific program. Follow this two-week block with one week of moderate runs. Repeat the three-week sequence two or three times for a total of six to nine weeks of base training. On tempo, hills, or fartlek days, warm up and cool down with a 10-minute easy run.

Day 1
Long run 45 to 90 minutes at what coach Jenny Spangler calls "a slight level of discomfort," or a moderate effort

Day 2
Rest, cross-train, or do a short, easy run

Day 3
Run 20 to 60 minutes at a moderate effort

Day 4
Long fartlek 3 or 4 3-minute surges at a 10-K to 10-mile effort, with 3 minutes easy running between fast segments

Day 5
Rest, cross-train, or short, easy run

Day 6
Hills 45 to 60 seconds at a hard effort; start with 4 repeats, build to 8 to 10; walk or jog downhill between repeats

Day 7
Rest

Day 8
Long run 45 to 90 minutes at an easy, conversational pace

Day 9
Rest, cross-train, or do a short, easy run

Day 10
Run 20 to 60 minutes at a moderate effort

Day 11
Short fartlek 10 to 15 minutes of 30-second to 2-minute bursts at a hard effort; recovery is equal to the duration of each fast segment

Day 12
Rest

Day 13
Rest or Run 20 to 60 minutes at a moderate effort

Day 14
Long tempo (or race): 20 to 40 minutes at half-marathon to marathon effort; 5-K or 10-K at a brisk but controlled pace.

A Runner's Guide to Base Building

Coach Jenny Hadfield
For Active.com

It’s funny how training for an event like a half marathon mimics the cycle of life. It ebbs and flows through a variety of training workouts just like the weather through the four seasons. It’s no wonder elite athletes succeed in winning races and breaking world records using cyclic training. We live in cycles every day of every year. The cycle of life can be broken into ages (baby, child, teen, young adult, middle aged and senior), by years, and by day. Our genetic makeup demands that we sleep by night and live by day (or vice versa if you work the nightshift, but you get the point). It is just as natural for us to roll through these cycles in life as it is in our training.

Organized training in sport is also known as periodization, or the process of breaking training time into shorter, more specific phases to avoid over training, optimize performance and peak for a target event(s). As tricky as it sounds, it is really just a way to organize your training, just as you would with your lifestyle or work planner.

For an athlete, there are typically three core phases in a training cycle (season); base building, peak and recovery. Base building can easily be compared to building a house. It starts with constructing a solid foundation, which supports the house even through the harshest of weather conditions for years. The integrity of the home is determined by the strength of the foundation. When adequate time is not spent gradually building a solid foundation of training, your body is more likely break down as you transition into the longer, harder training workouts. The key to building a solid base is to start by identifying where you are in your running or walking career.

For the newbie (or those who’ve fallen off the running wagon), base building means starting from a lower base of infrequent mileage and progressing to more frequent runs including two to three shorter runs and one long run per week. Base building for the newbie is defined by building regularity in training at consistent, easy-to-moderate effort levels, while high intensity, speed work is left to future training cycles when experience and mileage are well established. In one sense, the first training season for a newbie is an extended version of the base building cycle from which they will progress to run another event and try to improve their performance. Mileage should increase by no more than 10 percent each week and intensity should be kept at an easy to moderate level.

It’s a little like focusing on building the basic skills to ski down the bunny hill successfully before you attempt the more advanced green, blue and black ski runs (by the way, I wish I had known this a few years ago). The more advanced the ski run, the more specific the skills, stamina and experience are needed.

Another important ingredient for newbie base building is cross-training as it serves as active rest for the running muscles. By alternating running days with cross-training days, the newbie body can train at a higher overall frequency (five to six times per week) without the high risk of injury from running on back-to-back days. Cycling, swimming, and classes at the gym are a few favorite cross-training activities for runners and should be done at an easy effort level if your primary goal is a running event. Total body strength training twice per week can also contribute to the success of your running career by building strong muscles, tendons and joints that withstand the impact forces from running as well as improve your running economy.

As you progress in your running career, the base building phase diversifies to include short and long easy runs, hills runs and short interval speed workouts. The speed workout in the initial stages (three to four weeks) of base building can focus on short, very hard intensity intervals of 30 to 75 seconds with longer active recoveries jogging easy for three to four minutes. From there it flows into longer three to five minute intervals at around 5K pace. As you progress closer to the race, training becomes more specific to the demands and effort levels on race day. By the time you’re into the peak phase, the long run mileage continues to progress while the speed effort level more closely simulates that of race pace or slightly faster for longer intervals.

The progression and workouts for each cycle of training will vary from one person to another. That is because everyone adapts to the demands of training at different rates. Fred, who is 22 years old and eats a nutrient rich diet, sleeps eight hours a night and runs with the form of a Cheetah, may recover more efficiently than Joe, who is 42, eats a fast-food diet, sleeps five hours a night and runs like an elephant. This is why it is vital to keep a log and track how your body responds to the various workouts, the cycles of training and your lifestyle. Doing so, will help you create your personal training recipe for success.

Happy Trails…

Coach Jenny Hadfield is the co-author of the best-selling Marathoning for Mortals, and the new Running for Mortals and Training for Mortals series. Coach Jenny has trained thousands of runners and walkers with her training plans. Improve your running performance or train for your first race with Coach Jenny’s Active Trainer Program.

4 Triathlon Training Tips to Avoid Plateauing

From TransWorldNews

Here are 4 tips that you can use in your triathlon training to avoid plateauing.

1. Racing Too Much

There are also those triathletes who drool over the race calendar and check off nearly every weekend with competition, from sprints to Olympics to 5K's to half-marathons. Not only does this subject your body to a volume of intensity that will probably cause it to break about halfway through the year, but it also decreases your chance of ever having a really "good" race, and instead just having a large handful of mediocre performance. And those of you with families are guaranteeing that your wife or children will regret the fact that every vacation has to be a "triathlon vacation". Choose and commit to a small number of good races, then focus on excelling at those events. You'll have more medals, less injuries, and higher quality triathlon training at the end of the season!

2. Not Practicing Transitions

If you glance over the race results for any triathlon, you'll notice some individuals with smoking fast swim, bike and run times who completely lost a podium spot or a personal best because they spent an extra few minutes in transition. Those minutes can really add up. An extra 60 seconds in transition at an Olympic distance race means you'll have to run almost 10 seconds per mile faster to catch the person who was able to shave a minute. Inserting just a few "transition"practice sessions at your local beach, park, golf course, backyard or driveway will pay off. Practice both swim-to-bike and bike-to-run changes during your triathlon training. This is one area of a triathlon where you can be just as good as the pros!

3. Winging It Nutritionally

You're asking for big trouble if you're going into a race or race day with absolutely no plan but to eat and drink when you're hungry or thirsty. Not only will you have no consistency with your nutrition, but you'll have no confidence about whether you're taking in too little or too much. Not only should you write down your pre-race meal and fueling plan, but you should also go over it again and again in your head while you're lying in bed the night before the race (not to mention including it in your weeks of triathlon training leading up to the race). This mental preparation will stick with you on race day when you're deciding on whether you need to eat that extra gel, or it's just going to give you a stomachache.

4. Nutritional Rigidity

At the same time, if you decide that you're going to stick to your nutrition plan no matter what, then you could also be asking for trouble. What if it's hotter than usual and you decided not to take any salt tablets out with you on the course, or an extra water bottle? What if the bike course is easier and faster than you planned, but you still decide to try to shove in six gels during the ride? What if you planned on getting a banana at the aid station turnaround, but there are no bananas? Be ready and flexible with your nutrition plan, and these type of situations won't do as much damage to your race. Practice with differing amounts of fuel and fuel types in your triathlon training, and you'll be ready for anything.

What do you think? Are you at fault of committing any of the top eleven triathlon training mistakes? Now, skim through that list again. What can you change? Now is the time to take action!

Triathlon Training

kerry@rockstartriathlete.com
www.rockstartriathlete.com

Temperature and Exercise

Published: January 4, 2010
from the NY Times

Q. Does a person tend to burn more fat exercising outdoors in colder weather or in hotter weather? I am leaning to the colder weather side, since the body has to work harder to keep the body temperature near normal.

Victoria Roberts

A. “Contrary to conventional wisdom, the combination of exercise and cold exposure does not act synergistically to enhance metabolism of fats,” according to a study published in 1991 in the journal Sports Medicine.

The study, done at the Hyperbaric Environmental Adaptation Program of the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Md., found that some of the bodily processes involved in fat metabolism were actually slowed down by the effects of relatively cold temperatures on human tissue.

The researchers suggested that the slowdown in metabolic processes might be linked to the constriction of blood vessels in the peripheral fatty tissues when exercise is done in the cold.

The study found that the volume of air inhaled and exhaled in one minute increases upon initial exposure to the cold but may return to rates comparable to those in warm-air exercise upon prolonged exertion.

The heart rate is often, but not always, lower during cold-weather exercise, the study found, while oxygen uptake may increase, something the researchers suggested could be at least in part the result of shivering. C. CLAIBORNE RAY

Readers are invited to submit questions to Question, Science Times,
The New York Times, 620 Eighth
Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018,
or to question@nytimes.com.

Compression Socks

Earlier this month my Seattle Triathlon LUNA Chix forum was talking about compression socks. I had posted that a cheaper way to get compression socks was through a medical supply store. I have bought mine through Discount Surgical Stockings. They're less expensive and really good quality. They are not as cool looking as the athletic brands, but the do the same thing and are way cheaper.

That led to the inevitable question as to what are the benefits of wearing them.

From what I've read, compression socks are supposed to help you recover faster because of increased circulation. That's the jist of my understanding. But there has been some controversy on whether it is true or not. For a more detailed explanation, here are two blog posts from my favorite triathlon guru, Joe Freil:

Can Your Socks Make You Faster?
http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/10/can-your-socks-make-you-faster.html

and later he followed up with a Compression Sock Update
http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/03/compression-socks-update.html

It's also interesting to read people's comments at the bottom of his posts.

MY personal experience-
after a hard run it feels really good to have a pair of tight tights on. your muscles are swollen and they kind of suck everything in. I'm not sure it helped recovery, but i like them. I've also worn the tights and socks to work out in when i'm dealing with an injury because i'm a little overtrained. For example if my quads are really sore i'll wear the tights. Or if a calf is feeling injured i'll run in the socks. It's kind of like putting an Ace bandage on; it helps the swelling with compression and holds things in place. Make sense?

I would be curious to read other's impressions.

Swim Training Outside the Pool

From Competitor

* December 27, 2009

With the winter and holidays comes pool closures. Professional triathlete Sara McLarty has some dry land swim workouts to try out when you can’t get in your local pool.

Written by: Sara McLarty

The National Training Center pool, in Clermont, Fla., was closed on Labor Day for both the holiday and for maintenance. The swimmers were unaware of the undertaking until we arrived for swim practice on Tuesday and peered down into a half-filled pool. This meant we had spent a total of three days out of the water since our last practice on Saturday morning. Getting a balanced number of practices is very important for multisport athletes, but I didn’t panic about this unplanned absence from the water. Instead, I used my knowledge and experience of swimming-specific strength training and got a great “swim practice” in the gym.

The following exercises are not just for days when you can’t swim in the pool. You will see improvement in the water just by including these strength-building and injury-prevention exercises into your regular gym session. It can be as easy as adding a swimming specific five to 10 minutes at the end of your regular strength routine. By staying ahead of the curve with overused joints and muscles, you can reduce the chance of being sidelined for a sore shoulder or another malady.

I perform all of these exercises during my gym sessions three times each week.

Shoulder strength is very important because I have dislocated my shoulders multiple times during my swimming career. Keeping all those little muscles strong is critical to preventing another trip to the emergency room. When I am traveling, I try to stay on top of the easier things, like core strength.

Abs

All of your power in the water comes from core strength. The kick starts at your hip flexors and gluteus while your arm stroke uses lats (latissimus dorsi), upper back and pectorals. Strong abdominal and oblique muscles are critical for good hip and body rotation through the water. There are some swimming-specific core exercises that can be mixed in with other crunches and sit-ups.

Supermans are performed by lying flat on your stomach with your arms stretched out over your head. Slowly lift your legs, head and arms. Pause about six inches off the ground (you should look like Superman in-flight) and then slowly lower everything. Pause again before repeating. Do two to three sets of 10 to 15 lifts. You should feel this in your lower back.

Side crunches are often overlooked. My favorite exercise is performed on a medicine ball by lying on my side and bracing my feet against the bottom of a wall. First, I lock my hands behind my head, face completely sideways, and crunch my top elbow toward the wall. After just 20 reps, I switch to the other side, sometimes pausing in the middle to perform a quick set of regular medicine ball crunches. Do two to three sets of 15 reps on each side.

Plank hold is a stability exercise for your whole core. The proper position looks a little like push-up-position by balancing on your toes with a strong, flat back. Keep both forearms on the ground; they should form a triangle under your face, with hands clasped under your forehead. Use a stopwatch or the second hand on a wall clock and try to hold yourself up for 30 to 45 seconds. As your core becomes stronger, try for 60 to 75 seconds. Do two plank holds each session.

Flutter kicks are great for strengthening your hip flexors. If you ever do a long or hard kicking set in the pool, you should feel these little guys screaming afterward! These are the same muscles used in the up-pedal stroke on your bike. Lie on your back, with your hands under your butt cheeks for support. Lift your head and shoulders off the ground, look down towards your feet. Lift your legs 5 to 7 inches off the ground, point your toes and flutter kick (just like freestyle kick in the pool). I like to time this exercise, between 30 and 60 seconds, two sets per gym session.

Shoulders

As previously mentioned, my shoulders are something I never forget about in the gym. After years and years of the repetitive motion of freestyle, my ligaments are very loose. I use the following exercises to keep the containment muscles strong and prevent future injuries.

Three way is basically three similar exercises combined into one session. Use small hand weights, between four and seven pounds. Start by holding the weights at your sides and perform all lifts with straight arms to shoulder height. First, lift your arms out to the sides (90 degrees), palms down. Lower slowly. Then, lift your arms in front of you, shoulder width apart (10 degrees), with palms facing each other. Lower slowly. Finally, lift your arms at 45 degrees, palms facing away from each other. Lower slowly. Do two sets of 12 to 15 lifts.

Overhead press: With slightly heaver weights, between 10 and 15 pounds, perform two sets of 10 to 12 reps of this exercise. Because the position of your arms is very important, I recommend standing in front of a mirror. Start with the weights next to your head, palms facing the mirror, shoulders and elbows at 90 degrees. Press the weights straight up with extended arms and lower them slowly to the start position. Next rotate your shoulders around in front of your face (keep elbows at 90-degree angles), turn your palms toward your face, and tap the ends of the weights together. Return to the start position and repeat.

Up-out-in-down is pretty self-explanatory. Use medium to light dumbbells for this exercise (5 to 10 pounds) and start with your arms at your sides, palms facing your hips. Lift the dumbbells straight up in front of your body to shoulder height. Spread your arms out to the side of your body (keep them at shoulder height), bring them back in together and then lower them back down to your sides. Repeat this motion 10 times, rest, then do a second set.

Rowing is a great strength exercise to prevent “swimmer’s slouch.” Multisport athletes tend to swim a lot of freestyle, resulting in overdevelopment of the chest muscles. You can counter this slouch by working the trapezius muscles with a rowing machine or just some dumbbells and a bench. I prefer to use the rowing machine so I can focus on using my shoulder blades to pull the weight slowly, and release the weight slowly. Think about pinching your shoulder blades together each time. Do two sets of 10 to 12 reps.

If you have access to a swimming machine like a Vasa, IsoCircuit or Halo swim bench, then a day or two out of the pool is not a concern. These tools so closely mirror the swim stroke that your body will hardly know the difference. The worst consequences of being out of the pool for a few unplanned days: Your skin will stop smelling like chlorine during other training sessions (have you ever caught a whiff of your sweat on a post-swim practice run?) and your goggle tan might fade a bit (raccoon, anyone?).

Quote for the Day

"There is a great advantage in training under unfavorable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race."
EMIL ZATOPEK

What should I eat to recover after exercise?

The Basics
from Beginner Triathlete

Q. What should I eat to recover after exercise?
A. After a moderate workout, you need not worry about rapidly refueling because your muscles are not depleted. But if you have done exhaustive exercise, you should plan to replace carbs, water and sodium as soon as tolerable—particularly if you will be exercising again within 6 hours. Adding a little protein to the recovery meal or snack helps repair damaged muscle, reduce soreness, and also enhance glycogen replacement in athletes who neglect to eat enough carbs:

• For a 150-pound athlete, the recommended carb dose for rapid recovery is ~300-calories every 2 hours for 4-6 hours.

• A wise protein target is about 15 to 30 grams protein for a 150-lb athlete, taken right after (and/or during) exercise.
  (More precisely: 0.5 g carb/lb and 0.1-0.2 g protein/lb)

Simple suggestions include 16-ounces of chocolate milk; a handful of pretzels and a yogurt; a meal such as cereal with milk, Carnation Instant Breakfast, or a shake made with milk, powdered milk and a big banana or other fruit.

Timing may be more important than the actual amount of food consumed. Your best bet is to time your meals to your training, so you eat a meal after a hard workout.

Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) counsels both casual and competitive athletes in her private practice at Healthworks, the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA (617-383-6100). Her Sports Nutrition Guidebook, and food guides for marathoners, new runners, and cyclists are available via www.nancyclarkrd.com. See also www.sportsnutritionworkshop.com.