ScapSports

Waiting to Inhale

2011-09-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, September 12, 2011]

(Revised from a 1996 article published in Swim Magazine)
by Coach Emmett Hines

Let’s face it, the human body wasn’t designed for swimming. The Good Lord did not intend Man to leap headlong into a river and chase after his dinner. He gave the greatest of the apes the power of reason and the fly rod came to be. If Man should fall into that river, the instinct to lift his head toward the heavens, thrash about wildly and scramble his hairy carcass back onto the shore would serve immediate survival needs well enough. (Dear Reader: If you have a political correctness hang-up please feel free to replace the preceding references to “Man” and “his” with “Woman” and “her” — but the “hairy carcass” thing stays put.)

The advance of civilization has allowed those of us at the top of the food chain to spend some idle time toying with nature. As such, we have made some modest progress in the area of aquatic ambulation. Yet the instinctive need to lift the head skyward has not been overcome completely in the freestyle stroke — even in many elite level swimmers.

Problem: We all know, or should know, that lifting the head to breathe is incorrect. Yet, if you watch a pool full of swimmers and pay close attention (perhaps even using slow motion video) to the head motions of each you will find that perhaps 95 percent or more of them are still lifting their heads to some extent to breathe. Most people don’t even recognize it as a problem, much less an easily solvable one.

A swimmer moving in a longitudinally balanced position — head, shoulders, hips and legs all in a straight line parallel to the surface (see "Of Air and Gravity" by this author) — has the minimum form drag possible. Now he raises his head a bit. What happens? The hips and legs sink a bit. In fact, a 2-inch vertical lift of the head can cause a four to six inch drop of the hips, which shows up as an eight to 12 inch drop of the feet. This is enough to nearly double the total frontal surface area and thus nearly double form drag. You know this instinctively — you’d much rather kick with your kickboard sliding edgewise through the water than hold it upright like a tombstone, pushing it broadside-first through an entire kick set (this is assuming you are one of those people who still uses a kickboard at all).

If you study swimmers who are lifting their heads a bit when they breathe you won’t always notice lots of hip and leg drop. Why? Many people use their kick to boost their hips and legs to the surface. All of the extra kicking needed to keep the legs up at the surface when the head is lifted is wasting energy — a lot of energy.

Solution: You’ve no doubt been reading and following the advances in the swimming technology as espoused by such forward thinkers as Bill Boomer and Terry Laughlin (a.k.a. Total Immersion) and have a grasp of the concept of body alignment and balance.

Assume now that you are swimming along, your head is “attached” with your crown in line with your spine and you have finely tuned your “buoy” pressure to maintain dynamic body balance as your body rolls from side to side (like I said before, see Of "Air and Gravity"). Let’s say you’ve just taken a stroke with your left arm and are ready to take a breath on your next stroke. Follow the details:

1. You are gliding along on your right side (belly button facing the left wall), your right arm is extended toward the far end of the pool, your left elbow is high in the air above your shoulders moving forward with the hand and forearm dangling toward the water and your nose is pointed at the bottom of the pool. Secret: At this instant, imagine a light thread connecting the tip of your chin to your collarbone.

2. As your left hand/forearm moves forward and just passes your head, begin to roll your body and stroke with the right arm. Allow the head to “hitch a ride” with the rotating torso so that you do not break or stretch the secret chin-collarbone thread. In other words, the head and body should rotate as a single unit as you take a stroke with your right arm and extend your left arm. During this roll it’s easy to allow instinct to take over in one or both of the following ways:

Lifting the head slightly. To counteract this tendency you could press the side/back of the head slightly toward the bottom of the pool so that it is in contact (or nearly in contact) with the extended left arm. The idea is that you don’t want the gap between the side/back of your head and your extended arm to widen as you rotate to breathe – if anything, you should be trying to close that gap a bit while rolling to breathe.

Pressing down with the extended arm. As you complete your roll and as you breathe, it is important that your left arm remains fully extended toward the end wall of the pool. A common mistake is to put downward pressure on the extended arm or to "lean" on it. This raises the head and shoulders a bit, thus putting lots of downward pressure on the hips. Instead, think of keeping the extended arm “weightless” in front of you while you “lean” on your armpit instead. Sometimes it is even helpful to think in terms of lifting the extended arm slightly as you go for a breath.

3. As body roll reaches its farthest point onto your left side (belly button now facing the right wall) your blowhole will gain full access to life-giving oxygen. If you’ve really kept your head “stationary” with respect to your torso (haven’t stretched or broken your imaginary chin-collarbone thread) your nose will be pointed straight up (or nearly so). If you’ve successfully avoided pressing down on the water with your extended left arm, kept consistent pressure on your buoy and resisted the temptation to lift your head, you’ll still be completely balanced longitudinally and both your ears will be under water.

4. While you grab a lung (or two, if you must) full of air and while you are still gliding along fully on your left side with your nose pointed up, recover your right arm by picking the right elbow up and moving it forward. During the recovery, allow your forearm and hand to dangle from your elbow like dead meat. Your chin-collarbone thread should still be intact.

5. As your high-right-elbow-with-dangling-forearm/hand moves forward and just passes your head, begin to rotate your body and head as a single unit back in the opposite direction from the previous roll – toward the lying-on-your-right-side position you had in step #1. As you begin this roll, start taking the next stroke with the until-now-fully-extended left arm and extend your right arm fully toward the end wall – think of using this roll to “trade hands” out front of your head (see Swimming in Circles by this author). If, by the end of this roll, you have still avoided stretching or breaking the chin-collarbone thread you’ll be back fully on your right side with your nose pointed straight toward the bottom of the pool.

There you have it. Following the above will allow you to overcome the instinctive tendency to lift your head and in so doing, decrease the amount of energy you waste either with extra kicking to keep your hips and legs near the surface or with extra stroking effort to overcome unnecessary added form drag.

5 Ways to End Muscle Cramps

2011-08-24T04:18:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter in Tri-Rudy newsletter, August 24, 2011]

By Hana A. Feeney, MS, RD, CSSD

“About a quarter-mile from the finish, I started to sprint. I could feel muscle twitches in my quads, and my quads were burning. I had to slow down as I felt the cramp coming on. Then wham! Like a sledgehammer to my leg, the cramp hit and I had to stop and rub it out. What could I have done to prevent that muscle cramp?”

This is a common question among athletes. Muscle cramps are involuntary, intensely painful muscle contractions that nearly every athlete has experienced at some point. Some people experience them often and simply seem to be prone to muscle cramps.

What Can You Do?
Cramps usually hit at the end of intense workouts or during endurance events because fatigued muscles are more likely to cramp. Novice athletes are more likely to have cramps as they fatigue more quickly than seasoned exercisers. If you carefully progress your workouts, you will avoid unnecessary cramps. Heat, and not being used to the heat, increases the frequency of cramps. When the season changes and summer arrives, ease into workouts in the heat.

Additionally, carefully plan your fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrate intake to help avoid or delay muscle cramps.

Are You Drinking Enough?
Studies on fluids and cramps have produced mixed results. Some studies find no associations, while other show that consuming fluids and electrolytes to avoid dehydration will prevent, or at least delay, muscle cramps. The benefits of avoiding dehydration are widespread, so even if it’s not 100 percent guaranteed that you won’t cramp, consuming adequate fluids during exercise will still improve performance.

How would dehydration cause muscle cramps? Fluids in the body are either inside the cell or outside of the cell. When we become dehydrated, the fluid outside of the cells decreases. Reductions in fluids cause nerve endings to be squished together, overexcited, and spontaneously discharge. That spontaneous discharge is a muscle twitch, which can lead to a muscle cramp. By maintaining proper hydration, you can prevent dramatic shifts in fluids that contribute to abnormal muscle contractions.

To prevent dehydration, start by drinking fluids according to your thirst. Weigh yourself before and immediately after exercise, preferably au natural. Any change in your weight is a change in fluid balance. Weight loss greater than 2 to 3 percent of your body weight increases your risk for muscle cramps. If drinking based on thirst prevents fluctuations in your weight during exercise, then you can rely on thirst to be your hydration guide. Otherwise, you need a hydration schedule to meet your fluid needs.

The Need for Salt
Fluids aren’t alone in the task of maintaining your body’s fluid balance. Electrolytes control the shift of fluids in and out of cells. The electrolyte of most concern during exercise is sodium. Found as sodium chloride in table salt. We lose more sodium in sweat than the other electrolytes. Both water and sodium are lost in sweat. Replacement of water without sodium can lead to dangerously low blood sodium levels, called hyponatremia. Hyponatremia will also occur if you are sweating a lot and simply losing a lot of sodium in sweat. This is most likely to occur during endurance exercise or with repeated sweating throughout the day. Muscle cramps may occur when the concentration of sodium in the blood decreases; cramps can progress to a serious medical emergency when hyponatremia is not treated.

To prevent hyponatremia and the muscle cramps it may cause, sodium should be consumed with fluids. This is particularly useful for cramp-prone individuals. High sodium sports drinks can delay muscle cramps in those who cramp often. Sodium may be consumed from salty foods (such as pretzels) or through sports products.

Don't Be Afraid of Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate depletion will also lead to muscle cramps. Carbohydrates are the primary fuel used during exercise. There is a finite amount of carbohydrate stored as glycogen in our muscles to provide the energy to exercise. Once that store of glycogen has been exhausted, we are at high risk for muscle cramps. The muscle requires carbohydrate (or energy) to contract; it also needs energy to relax. When there isn’t adequate fuel circulating yet we continue to exercise and contract our muscles, muscle relaxation is impaired, and the cramp occurs.

It takes about 60 to 90 minutes of exercise to deplete glycogen stores. Therefore, it is appropriate to consume carbohydrate during any activity that will last longer than 60 to 90 minutes. Even very intense exercise lasting only 45 minutes may deplete glycogen stores. Be sure to eat a carbohydrate-rich meal or snack prior to endurance or intense exercise. Plus, you will need to consume carbohydrates through food or sports products during longer duration exercise. Consuming carbohydrates appropriately is well-worth it to prevent a muscle cramp.

Follow these five steps to prevent muscle cramps:

Train appropriately.
Acclimate yourself to the environment.
Consume the right amount of fluids for your body to prevent dehydration.
Choose salty foods or sodium rich sports products before, during and after exercise.
Prevent carbohydrate depletion by consuming carbohydrates before your workout and during your workout if it is longer than 60-90 minutes.

More Efficient Speed

2011-07-25T05:43:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, July 25, 2011]

by Coach Emmett Hines

You are used to doing heart rate sets where you check your heart rate every so often and maintain some minimum or maximum heart rate or stay within a specific range. Typically this is done in an effort to make sure you are working at the intensity required to effect a specific training adaptation.

You are also used to doing stroke count sets where you swim distances using specific stroke counts. Usually this means that some or all of the distance is to be done at something less than your normal number of strokes per length. This is done to help you focus on making your stroke more efficient so you can go further with each stroke and encounter less resistance.

And you are (or should be) very used to paying attention to your pace per 100 (or 200 or 50 or whatever) while swimming a long set.

But rarely do you put all three of these together in one set.

Recently we have been doing some long, moderate intensity sets where we ask you to maintain a HR in the 130 - 140 area. From an energy system training standpoint this type of set improves your body's ability to produce energy for work through lipid metabolism - burning fat. The more energy you are capable of producing by burning fat (which cannot produce lactic acid) the longer you can delay fatigue that results from lactic acid accumulation (produced by burning carbohydrates).

This moderate intensity stuff is low stress work that you can carry on for extended periods of time. And, truth be known, this can get boring if you let it. But it is necessary work so let's explore a way to make it more challenging.

As you know, speed is not always directly related to effort. (If this comes as a surprise think of one of those recreational swimmers you see from time to time that dive into the pool, and begin thrashing about, tossing water in every direction, looking more like a big splash moving slowly down the pool than a swimmer. This guy has a 200+ HR by the end of 25 yds and is probably done with his workout. Lots of effort, not much speed.) Speed is more directly related to efficiency than energy expenditure. At any given physical effort level if we improve efficiency (as measured by strokes per length or SPL) we increase speed.

This gives us a natural, and very challenging, focal point for moderate intensity sets. Let's say the set is 10x200 holding a 130-140 HR. The idea would be to see how fast you could swim each repeat while staying in the HR range prescribed. Not working harder, just swimming faster. The key here is to improve the efficiency of the swim. Decrease your SPL by increasing distance per stroke, improving your streamline position, longer glides off each wall, being aware of and avoiding unnecessary resistance etc.

And keep track of your times for each repeat. This is very important because improving efficiency can be deceiving. If you are one of the majority of swimmers that consciously or unconsciously equates effort with speed then, when you swim more efficiently, your internal speedometer may erroneously tell your brain you have slowed down. Use the clock for speed feedback and learn to trust it.

This efficiency=speed concept takes some getting used to. Applying it in workouts takes mental activity and involves lots of trial and error. Once you get good at this at moderate intensities you can apply the concept at higher intensities.

Do you have Runner’s Kick?

2011-07-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, July 25, 2011]

By Kevin Koskella

www.triswimcoach.com

Can you point your toes and straighten out your feet? When you kick on your back, do you tend to go very slow, stay in one place, or even go backwards? Do you have a tough time with swimming drills because your kick is not propelling you forward fast enough? Do you wear fins in workouts just to "keep up"? Did you start out as a runner and pick up swimming later to become a Triathlete?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above, you may have Runner's Kick! Have no fear, there are things you can do. Even the worst of kickers can develop an adequate kick for freestyle, which is all you need for a triathlon swim.

Here are some remedies:

Vertical Kicking. This drill has been around for a long time. Find water that is deep enough for you to kick in place. Let go of the wall, cross your arms, and kick in place in a vertical position (keep in a straight line), pointing your toes and keeping your chin above the surface of the water. Get your power from your quads and hips on this drill. Try 20 seconds at a time.
Use fins. Yes! I am a coach telling you to use fins. But not to "keep up" in workouts. IF you have ankle flexibility issues (Runner's Kick), use fins for a few weeks, but wean off them as you get closer to your event. The shorter kind are best. I prefer Hydrofinz (see below) but other brands may work okay as well. Fins can increase your ankle flexibility, allow you to do swimming drills with ease, and strengthen the right leg muscles you need to kick.
Sit on your feet. For more severe cases of Runner's Kick, sitting on your feet can greatly improve your ankle flexibility. In Yoga, just stay in "Child's Pose" a little longer and gain this extra benefit.
Just stretch. In a seated position, take one leg and bring it out in front of you. Extend your feet and push your toes toward the ground. Hold for about 15-20 seconds, repeat with other foot. You can do this several times a day.

Whatever you do, don't be tempted to use a kick board to improve your kick. For distance swimming and triathlons, you are wasting your time with the floatation devices!

Remember: You don't need a super kick to have a great race in a triathlon. Your kick is mainly for stability and body rotation. Have patience, stick with these drills, and you will lose your Runners' Kick before you know it!

Swimming with fist gloves

2011-06-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

Source: Revised from an article that first appeared in Schwimmvergnügen in 1999, in East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, June 15, 2011]

Early in your swimming career Mother Nature played a cruel trick on you. She imbued you with the false notion that your hands are the things that you “grip” the water with and thus propel yourself with. You have labored through most of your aquatic mileage under this heavy yoke. You have built most of your technique and training around pulling harder and faster with those puny little hands.

Now, Coach plays his own trick. He tosses a pair of what appear to be rubber mittens down by your lane and says “Put ’em on, shut up and swim.” You obediently jam your hands into them only to find that you have to make a fist to get them all the way on. Is that a smirk on Coach’s face? As you drop down to push off from the wall you’re sure you hear Coach starting to laugh. Your once-streamlined glide feels very “blunt.” You take your first few strokes but, whoa, what’s this? No traction! You seem to go nowhere! You’re sure that Coach is, by now, rolling around on the deck laughing at your pathetic efforts to go somewhere!

Refusing to satisfy his sadistic appetites you push on. Quickly, you figure out that doing more of that which comes naturally – pulling harder and faster – just flat doesn’t do any good with fist gloves. You must think “outside the box” of your current technique, exploring other options and possibilities - ones that Mother Nature would prefer to keep secret.

Fist gloves, as it turns out, entice you to seek an arm position where the forearm, rather than your hand, becomes the “paddle” that holds the water. You find that getting your forearm more vertical to the pool bottom, further out in front of the body just seems more “right.” You find that the longer you keep the forearm vertical the more propulsive your stroke is.

A treacherous mistress, “Mom” Nature also gave your hands bazillions of nerve endings so you’d focus on them constantly while swimming. But, just like their cousin, the condom, fist gloves dramatically and frustratingly decrease the sensory impulses the wearer’s brain receives from the “protected” appendage. At first, this sensory deprivation seems a depressing occurrence. But as you use the fist gloves more you become much more aware of what your forearm is experiencing in terms of pressure and flow. As your forearm sensitivity increases you can better position it and more accurately move it to where it is most effective in holding onto the water.

Fist gloves often show swimmers that they were relying on their hands for more than just pulling. Again we see “Ma” at work. Instinct tells you that when your face is in the water you must push down on the water with your hands and lift your head. You do this without thinking and are likely unaware of it (or at least the extent of it). If you habitually press down on the water in front to lift your head, the fist gloves render this motion wholly ineffective, forcing you to find another way. If you can resist the impulse to just press down harder the only remaining option is to not lift the head.

Of course, the goal of wearing any piece of equipment in training is, ostensibly, to swim better when nekked. So, what really matters is what happens once confining latex is peeled unceremoniously from flesh and cast aside. Almost universally, swimmers report the first few nekked lengths they swim after wearing fist gloves are at significantly lower stroke counts than normal. They also seem to get their lowest swim golf scores. The longer and more often the fist gloves are worn, the longer this hyper-efficiency period seems to last. The awareness, sensitivity and technique that fist gloves foster linger as unfettered hands act as an extension of the newly discovered and sensitized forearms. In short, you swim farther with every stroke, which, of course, is the primary ingredient of faster swimming (not to mention of simply looking more like an accomplished swimmer).

But soon Mother Nature says Habit must prevail and it seems you are doomed to slowly revert to the old motions that are habitual for you. “But wait,” you say with a trick of your own in mind, “what if I put those things on again and wear them long enough for the new technique to become my habit?” (It’s to think about.)

Yoga and swimming

2011-06-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, June 15, 2011]

If you have ever watched a good swimmer, one of the first things you might notice is their ease and grace. Their movements are smooth, balanced, and fluid; it looks as if they are exerting very little effort, while those around them struggle to keep pace.

The reason for this is not that they are naturally gifted and do not have to try; they are working as hard or harder than everyone else in the race is. The reason their swimming appears to be so easy stems from coordination of muscle, breathing, and body, letting them focus their energy in the right places instead of expending it unnecessarily. Yoga can help you learn to develop this coordination, too!

My experiences with Yoga

My first experience with Yoga was during my junior year of high school. My coach and I decided to eliminate morning practices and insert yoga in their place. We thought it would be an extension of stretching, a big help towards increasing my swimming efficiency (it was also very funny to watch my coach lose his balance and pitch over onto the floor).

Both of us really enjoyed the experience, but ultimately decided that we were moving on to try other things. I think this decision had to do with the instructor and the class atmosphere. The class was designed for an older crowd who wanted a good stretch to start their day. While I also wanted that stretch, I decided it was something I could do on my own, at home.

My next experience with Yoga occurred while I in college at CAL. Part of our swim team’s cross-training included Yoga. This time, my instructor, Devon, did not teach only yoga; he knew about spinning dance, weightlifting, and just about every other fitness activity known to man. In addition, he knew what we wanted in a Yoga class. He explained the poses, coached us through them, and helped us apply what we were doing to our activities in the pool.

What I have learned from Yoga

Yoga can be hard - but it also can be relaxing - It does not have to be all stretching and meditation, which many people think of when they hear the word Yoga. I have found that means that muscles all over your body are straining to hold the various positions. However, it does not have to be quite as hard as it seems. Yoga teaches you to relax all of the muscles that are not specifically needed to hold the pose. This helps you to conserve energy by not using all of those unnecessary muscles and put it towards the muscles that need it.

Breathing is an important part of Yoga - and swimming - Everyone knows that breathing is important. Without it we would die! Devon taught us to breathe using the lower part of our lungs, especially when we are holding a difficult pose. Focusing on breathing gave me something to think about other than the pain that I might be experiencing. It also helps me get more oxygen, which in turn helps my struggling muscles. The same thing happens in the water. By picking a breathing pattern, and sticking with it, I can use all of my lungs, and focus on something other than the strain of the race or practice. I have found that with this comes a calmness that helps hold my stroke together longer - and results in improved times.

Arms can be strong - but your belly is stronger - Maintaining tension through the core muscles of your body can help take some of the stress off the little muscles that you are using. The same applies to swimming. One of the reasons that some people get more distance for every stroke is because they are not using just their biceps, triceps, and hands to move themselves through the water. They have connected the various muscles in their arms to their core body muscles and are using these much stronger muscles to do a lot of the work. Lat and oblique muscles are bigger and stronger than deltoids, biceps, and triceps - and can maintain your pace during a race for a lot longer than arms alone.

Yoga develops your sense of balance - both on land and in water - Balance can help you get through just about anything. In Yoga, balance is important for holding various positions. Similarly, your balance in the water can help you be more streamlined. By pushing your chest (or your back for backstroke) down, you can get your hips to ride much higher in the water. This reduces how much of your body is dragging through the water. You can pull with less effort to go the same speed. However, you have to hold your core muscles tight, otherwise you are just burying your head, causing more drag.

Flexibility is good for swimming - and Yoga makes it better - Finally, yoga helps with flexibility. Yoga involves a lot of stretching. The extra flexibility developed through practicing yoga applies directly to swimming. The more flexible your shoulders, arms, legs, hips, and feet are, the easier you will be able to kick, recover your arms, and execute a proper hand entry. Your body parts will move more smoothly and require less effort in the process.

I believe Yoga has made me a much better swimmer. I hope you can add it to your workout regimen and develop a smooth, effortless stroke, too. At least it will look effortless to those that do not know the secrets of Yoga!

Should you warm up?

2011-06-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

[Source: Rick Hellard, Tri-Rudy newsletter, June 8, 2011]

Have you ever wondered why people warm-up before a race? Why waste the energy? Why not save it for the race?

Quite simply, the warm-up gets the body ready for the hard work ahead of it. Most bodies need to be gently coaxed out of their protective shell in order to push hard—blood flow to the various muscles needs to be increased so the muscle warms up and becomes a bit more flexible, which allows for easier movement and reduced chance of injury.

I’ve been running for a loonngg time, and morning runs are my favourite, but also my nemesis—without 20-30min of walking around and a cup of coffee, I start my runs like a 70 year old who’s never run before, and I am now 45, so that’s not right. When I start my morning runs, I’m stiff and sore and slow for 20min and then, gradually, the blood starts to get through to deeper and deeper muscle tissue, and I loosen up. And speed up.

One of those muscles is, of course, the heart. Have you ever noticed you breath really heavily at the start of your run and after a little while, things settle down? You’ve just warmed up.

I suggest every run you do start off at a gentle pace, then builds to the pace you want to maintain. Using your breathing as a guide works very well for this. If you are breathing hard early on in your run, you started too hard. Later in the run, it’s a different story. I’m talking about the first 10-15min.

The importance of a warm-up when racing has never been scientifically proven to be beneficial, but the mountain of anecdotal evidence is rather impressive, so I believe in it a great deal. Further, I’ve always believed that to be good at whatever it is you want to be good at, you do what the other people who are good at it do, and when it comes to warming up, all the fast kids do them, therefore, so do I.

Again, the idea of the warm-up is to get your body ready for a hard or race effort. Ideally, you want to get your body ready so it’s good to go on the start line, not a kilometer or two after the gun goes off.

With that in mind, I suggest the following as a good routine to follow for a 5 or 10k race. It should take 30min or so.

Run for 10-15min building your intensity from ultra easy to just under threshold (race pace) for the final 2 minutes or so.
Stretch/hydrate a bit more
Washroom
Change clothes into your racing attire
Move out to the start line and, finally,
Do 4-5 easy accelerations of between 80-100m. Start by running easily and gently get yourself up to race pace within the acceleration, hold for 5-10 sec. Run easily back to where you started from and repeat 4-5 times. These are not designed to get you tired, so take more rest if necessary, but be sure to keep moving.
You should be ready to go.

At the beginning of this article, I asked two questions: Why waste the energy? Why not save it for the race?

Well, if you actually want to race the event, your energy supply to cover the distance should be the least of your worries. If it is, you have not trained enough and will be surviving the event, not racing it.

One final note is that the importance of a warm-up is directly proportional to a few things:

How hard you intend to push yourself—if you’re out for a social run with an entry fee, it’s not that important. If you’re out for a fast time, it is very important to be ready to go when the gun goes off.
How long the race is—the longer the race, the shorter the warm-up. Because the intensity of the effort is not as high, you can build into it in the early stages of the race. In a short race, you don’t have time to find your rhythm. You gotta have it from the start.
The weather—considering the above, if it’s really hot, a warm-up is less necessary (but still necessary). If it’s really cold, it’s very necessary.

Running Off The Bike

2011-05-19T11:39:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 19, 2011]

A common complaint I hear goes something along the lines of “I can run 38 minutes in a 10km road race, but in a triathlon I have an incredibly hard time breaking 45 minutes for the run.” Running fast off the bike is one of the seemingly great enigmas in triathlon.

The ability to run quickly off the bike, ironically, begins on the bike. Given two equal runners, the person who is more efficient on the bike will run faster every time. There have been many incredibly talented roadrunners who thought they could conquer the triathlon world only to find they are unable to replicate their fantastic runs during a triathlon. More often than not, the limiting factor for them or anyone struggling to run off the bike is the amount of energy spent on the bike. Runners who do not have a background in riding are inefficient on the bike, consuming valuable energy that could be otherwise used on the run.

This also helps to explain the emergence of crossover athletes like Steve Larsen. Larsen is extremely efficient on the bike and as a result, he has more energy left for the run portion of the race. His lack of experience in running is more than compensated for because he is able to ride quickly and, more importantly in triathlon, efficiently. So, if you are looking to improve your run, then don’t solely focus on running farther or faster, but also look at your riding efficiency. Improving your efficiency on the bike will allow you the opportunity to lay it all out on the run, rather than struggling to survive.

What follows are some thoughts on pedalling efficiency that you can use to help increase your ability to run fast off the bike. Using these techniques will also help you ride faster – a great win-win situation!

Pedalling Technique and Efficiency

Using a power meter we can determine the wattage a cyclist produces over any portion of a race or training ride. What is more interesting to see is how his/her power delivery fluctuates. Some would say 500 watts is 500 watts, no matter how you get it, but I think there's an important element they are not considering.

If you take a look at graphs of power delivery through a pedal stroke, you see that the vast majority of a cyclist's power is produced in the down stroke portion of a pedal stroke. Power production falls drastically as the pedals approach and pass through the top and bottom of the stroke. The power of the down stroke is so great that it negates the opposite leg's capacity to produce any power during the upstroke. The best a cyclist can do is to unweight the upstroke leg, or try to get it out of the way of the pedal coming up at it. In some senses, the upstroke leg can be seen as working against the rider. A portion of the force being applied in the down stroke is going to lift the opposing leg instead of propelling the bicycle forward.

Biomechanical efficiency is the element people miss when they say a watt is a watt, no matter how it is produced. For example, an inefficient cyclist needs to produce 350 watts to stay with the leading cyclists in a race, who are efficiently producing 300 watts. The inefficient rider is fighting his own forward progress from within his pedal stroke. In the final 10km run, he/she did not have the energy to stay with the leaders, whose superior efficiency allowed them to go the same speed with a lower sustained power output, thus saving their legs for the run. Through training, the inefficient cyclist’s mechanical efficiency can improve to the point where he/she can afford the energy cost of matching the race leaders pace, and have enough left to attack during the run.

The way to improve mechanical efficiency is to learn to apply force through as much of the pedal stroke as possible, especially through the top and bottom. Over geared, high-power, low-cadence workouts are essential. Climbing hills, seated, in a big gear forces a cyclist to keep force flowing to the pedals over the top and through the bottom of the stroke. It is the only way he/she can maintain enough momentum to keep the bike moving forward. Later on we add sprints up steep hills, again in a big gear and with slow, rolling starts.

During these workouts, the cyclist has to accelerate through increasing resistance. In races like the Ironman Canada, with unpredictable weather and many steep climbs, poor pedaling economy results in a spinning rear wheel, followed immediately by a dismount and a run in equally slippery cycling shoes. To avoid this scenario you need to learn to pedal efficiently. One way to do this is through getting out on your mountain bike occasionally.

Mountain bike racers were the most biomechanically efficient pedalers in recent tests done at the US Olympic Training Center. Their efficiency comes from having to apply high force in a 360-degree manner so the rear wheel won't break loose in steep, loose terrain. Doing one of your rides every couple of weeks on the trails instead of the road will help you master this technique. This in turn will aid your cycle efficiency in triathlons, which will leave you feeling fresher and ready for the run. So remember, the key to fast running in triathlon doesn’t always lie in doing more miles or more intervals; sometimes it comes down to the bike.

Running slows the aging clock, Stanford researchers find

2011-05-10T05:07:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 10, 2011]

STANFORD, Calif. — Regular running slows the effects of aging, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine that has tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years. Elderly runners have fewer disabilities, a longer span of active life and are half as likely as aging non runners to die early deaths, the research found.

“The study has a very pro-exercise message,” said James Fries, MD, an emeritus professor of medicine at the medical school and the study’s senior author. “If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise.” The new findings appear in the Aug. 11 issue of theArchives of Internal Medicine.

When Fries and his team began this research in 1984, many scientists thought vigorous exercise would do older folks more harm than good. Some feared the long-term effect of the then-new jogging craze would be floods of orthopedic injuries, with older runners permanently hobbled by their exercise habit. Fries had a different hypothesis: he thought regular exercise would extend high-quality, disability-free life. Keeping the body moving, he speculated, wouldn’t necessarily extend longevity, but it would compress the period at the end of life when people couldn’t carry out daily tasks on their own. That idea came to be known as “the compression of morbidity theory.”

Fries’ team began tracking 538 runners over age 50, comparing them to a similar group of nonrunners. The subjects, now in their 70s and 80s, have answered yearly questionnaires about their ability to perform everyday activities such as walking, dressing and grooming, getting out of a chair and gripping objects. The researchers have used national death records to learn which participants died, and why. Nineteen years into the study, 34 percent of the nonrunners had died, compared to only 15 percent of the runners.

At the beginning of the study, the runners ran an average of about four hours a week. After 21 years, their running time declined to an average of 76 minutes per week, but they were still seeing health benefits from running.

On average both groups in the study became more disabled after 21 years of aging, but for runners the onset of disability started later.

“Runners’ initial disability was 16 years later than nonrunners,’” Fries said. “By and large, the runners have stayed healthy.”

Not only did running delay disability, but the gap between runners’ and nonrunners’ abilities got bigger with time.

“We did not expect this,” Fries said, noting that the increasing gap between the groups has been apparent for several years now. “The health benefits of exercise are greater than we thought.”

Fries was surprised the gap between runners and non runners continues to widen even as his subjects entered their ninth decade of life. The effect was probably due to runners’ greater lean body mass and healthier habits in general, he said. “We don’t think this effect can go on forever,” Fries added. “We know that deaths come one to a customer. Eventually we will have a 100 percent mortality rate in both groups.”

But so far, the effect of running on delaying death has also been more dramatic than the scientists expected. Not surprisingly, running has slowed cardiovascular deaths. However, it has also been associated with fewer early deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes.

And the dire injury predictions other scientists made for runners have fallen completely flat. Fries and his colleagues published a companion paper in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showing running was not associated with greater rates of osteoarthritis in their elderly runners. Runners also do not require more total knee replacements than non runners, Fries said.

“Running straight ahead without pain is not harmful,” he said, adding that running seems safer for the joints than high-impact sports such as football, or unnatural motions like standing en pointe in ballet.

“When we first began, there was skepticism about our ideas,” Fries said. “Now, many other findings go in the same direction.”

Fries, 69, takes his own advice on aging: he’s an accomplished runner, mountaineer and outdoor adventurer.

Hanging on his office wall is a photo he jokingly describes as “me, running around the world in two minutes.” In the dazzling image of blue sky and white ice, Fries makes a tiny lap around the North Pole.

Fries collaborated with Stanford colleagues Eliza Chakravarty, MD, MS, an assistant professor of medicine; Helen Hubert, PhD, a researcher now retired from Stanford, and Vijaya Lingala, PhD, a research software developer.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and by the National Institute on Aging.

Swimming Better To Do List - 10 Better Swimming Tips for Swimmers

2011-05-10T05:03:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 10, 2011]

By Mat Luebbers,

There are many things that swimmers can do to swim better. This to do list of 10 ways to better swimming could help any swimmer improve their swimming. Get this to do list done and swim on!

Do swim frequently

If you don't average about three swims a week you will lose your feel for the water and your technique will begin to deteriorate. No feel, no technique, no speed. If the option is between one or two long workouts or three or four shorter workouts, swimmers seem to do better when they swim more frequently as opposed to only doing a few longer workouts each week.

Do swim with good technique

Maintain the best possible technique at all speeds during a workout. If you try to go fast with bad technique, you are wasting energy. If you can teach yourself to go fast while using good technique, you will make bigger gains.

Do drills as part of every swimming workout

Early in your workout, in the middle of your workout, or at the end of your workout (or any combination of the three!) do some specific technique work to reinforce good swimming skills. There are many drills you can do to stay tuned up, or to help you develop better technique.

Do challenging workouts

One or two times a week (depending upon how frequently you swim) do part of your workout with oomph - push the effort, go hard, whatever you want to call it. If all of your workouts are focused on technique, your technique will improve. But what will happen when you try to go faster? You will get tired, your technique will deteriorate, and you might as well call it a day. If you are doing some hard or challenging workouts - mixed in with technique work - as different workouts or as part of the same workout - you will learn how to hold good technique while going faster.

Do easy workouts

Depending upon your swimming goals, there may be no reason to do more than one or two tough workout sets a week, as long as you do one or two easier workouts, too. Work hard on the hard things, and easy on the easy things, and each kind of work will give better results.

Do streamlines

It might be a start, a push-off, or a turn, but you should always do things the same way - streamline, then into the transition between the streamline and swimming. But first, always a streamline.

Do leave the wall the same way every time

Always push off the walls the way you would if you were coming out of a turn. When you starting a set, you should push off the wall exactly the same way that you would be pushing off the wall if you were coming out of a turn. Most races have more turns than starts, and getting some extra practice with any part of a turn is a bonus.

Do wear a swimsuit made for competitive swimming

This doesn't mean spend $300 on the latest and greatest high-tech slicker than skin piece of swim wear. It means don't wear baggy beach shorts if you are trying to improve your technique or go learn how to hold technique when going faster. There are times to wear a swimsuit that gives you some extra drag, but not before you have mastered good technique.

Do ask someone to watch you swim

Better yet, get someone to video you. Getting some eyes to watch what you do (or using your own via a video review) while you are moving through the pool can yield some great feedback on your swimming technique that you may have not realized.

Do use flippers occasionally

Among other benefits, swim fins or flippers can help you achieve (artificially) a better body position and you will learn what that position feels like while moving. Then, when the flippers are off, you can try to recreate that position by feel, since you will already have a better idea what it will feel like when you get there.

The 15 foods runners need every week for good health and top performance

2011-04-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, April 29, 2011]

By Liz Applegate Ph.D.

Most supermarkets stock more than 30,000 items, yet every time we race up and down the aisles of the grocery store, we toss into our carts the same 10 to 15 foods. Which isn't such a bad thing, as long as you're taking home the right foods--ones that will keep you healthy, fuel peak performance, and easily cook up into lots of delicious meals. So before your next trip to the grocery store, add the following 15 foods to your must-buy list. Then, when you get home, use our tips and recipes to easily get them into your diet and onto your menu.

Add to your cart: Almonds

Runners should eat a small handful of almonds at least three to five times per week. Nuts, especially almonds, are an excellent source of vitamin E, an antioxidant that many runners fall short on because there are so few good food sources of it. Studies have shown that eating nuts several times per week lowers circulating cholesterol levels, particularly the artery-clogging LDL type, decreasing your risk for heart disease. And the form of vitamin E found in nuts, called gamma-tocopherol (a form not typically found in supplements), may also help protect against cancer.

Add to your diet: Add almonds and other nuts to salads or pasta dishes, use as a topping for casseroles, or throw them into your bowl of hot cereal for extra crunch. Combine with chopped dried fruit, soy nuts, and chocolate bits for a healthy and tasty trail mix. Almond butter is perfect spread over whole-grain toast or on a whole-wheat tortilla, topped with raisins, and rolled up. Store all nuts in jars or zipper bags in a cool dry place away from sunlight and they'll keep for about two to four months. Storing them in the freezer will allow them to keep an extra month or two.

Add to your cart: Eggs

One egg fulfills about 10 percent of your daily protein needs. Egg protein is the most complete food protein short of human breast milk, which means the protein in eggs contains all the crucial amino acids your hard-working muscles need to promote recovery. Eat just one of these nutritional powerhouses and you'll also get about 30 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin K, which is vital for healthy bones. And eggs contain choline, a brain nutrient that aids memory, and leutin, a pigment needed for healthy eyes. Choose omega-3 enhanced eggs and you can also increase your intake of healthy fats. Don't worry too much about the cholesterol: Studies have shown that egg eaters have a lower risk for heart disease than those who avoid eggs.

Add to your diet: Whether boiled, scrambled, poached, or fried (in a nonstick skillet to cut down on the need for additional fats), eggs are great anytime. Use them as the base for skillet meals such as frittatas. Or include them in sandwiches, burritos, or wraps as you would meat fillers. You can also add them to casseroles and soups by cracking one or two in during the last minute of cooking.

Add to your cart: Sweet potatoes

This Thanksgiving Day standard should be on the plates of runners year-round. Just a single 100-calorie sweet potato supplies over 250 percent of the DV for vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene, the powerful antioxidant. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of vitamin C, potassium, iron, and the two trace minerals manganese and copper. Many runners fail to meet their manganese and copper needs, which can have an impact on performance since these minerals are crucial for healthy muscle function. There are even new sweet-potato varieties that have purple skin and flesh and contain anthocyanidins, the same potent antioxidant found in berries.

Add to your diet: Sweet potatoes can be baked, boiled, or microwaved. You can fill them with bean chili, low-fat cheese, and your favorite toppings, or you can incorporate them into stews and soups. Baked as wedges or disks, sweet potatoes make delicious oven fries. Don't store sweet potatoes in the fridge because they will lose their flavor. Instead, stash them in a cool, dark place, and they should keep for about two weeks.

Add to your cart: Whole-Grain Cereal with Protein

Look for whole-grain cereals that offer at least five grams of fiber and at least eight grams of protein. For example, one cup of Kashi GoLean cereal, which is made from seven different whole grains, including triticale, rye, and buckwheat, fills you up with a hefty 10 grams of fiber (that's 40 percent of the DV) and is loaded with heart-healthy phytonutrients. It also contains soy grits, supplying 13 grams of protein per serving. If you pour on a cup of milk or soymilk, you'll get 30 to 40 percent of your protein needs as a runner in one bowl. Other high-protein/high-fiber cereals include Nature's Path Optimum Rebound and Back to Nature Flax & Fiber Crunch.

Add to your diet: Of course whole-grain cereal is excellent for breakfast--a meal you don't want to skip since research indicates that those who eat breakfast are healthier, trimmer, and can manage their weight better than nonbreakfast eaters. Cereal also makes a great postrun recovery meal with its mix of carbohydrates and protein. Or you can sprinkle whole-grain cereal on top of your yogurt, use it to add crunch to casseroles, or tote it along in a zip bag.

Add to your cart: Oranges

Eat enough oranges and you may experience less muscle soreness after hard workouts such as downhill running. Why? Oranges supply over 100 percent of the DV for the antioxidant vitamin C, and a recent study from the University of North Carolina Greensboro showed that taking vitamin C supplements for two weeks prior to challenging arm exercises helped alleviate muscle soreness. This fruit's antioxidant powers also come from the compound herperidin found in the thin orange-colored layer of the fruit's skin (the zest). Herperidin has been shown to help lower cholesterol levels and high blood pressure as well.

Add to your diet: Add orange sections to fruit and green salads, or use the orange juice and pulp for sauces to top chicken, pork, or fish. And to benefit from the antioxidant herperidin, use the orange zest in baking and cooking, as with my Grilled Herbed Salmon recipe (above). Select firm, heavy oranges, and store them in the fridge for up to three weeks. Orange zest can be stored dried in a glass jar for about a week if kept in a cool place.

Add to your cart: Canned Black Beans

One cup of these beauties provides 30 percent of the DV for protein, almost 60 percent of the DV for fiber (much of it as the cholesterol-lowering soluble type), and 60 percent of the DV for folate, a B vitamin that plays a key role in heart health and circulation. Black beans also contain antioxidants, and researchers theorize that this fiber-folate-antioxidant trio is why a daily serving of beans appears to lower cholesterol levels and heart-disease risk. In addition, black beans and other legumes are low glycemic index (GI) foods, meaning the carbohydrate in them is released slowly into the body. Low GI foods can help control blood sugar levels and may enhance performance because of their steady release of energy.

Add to your diet: For a quick, hearty soup, open a can of black beans and pour into chicken or vegetable stock along with frozen mixed veggies and your favorite seasonings. Mash beans with salsa for an instant dip for cut veggies, or spread onto a whole-wheat tortilla for a great recovery meal. Add beans to cooked pasta or rice for extra fiber and protein.

Add to your cart: Mixed Salad Greens

Rather than selecting one type of lettuce for your salad, choose mixed greens, which typically offer five or more colorful delicate greens such as radicchio, butter leaf, curly endive, and mache. Each variety offers a unique blend of phytonutrients that research suggests may fend off age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. These phytonutrients also act as antioxidants, warding off muscle damage brought on by tough workouts. You can usually buy mixed greens in bulk or prewashed in bags.

Add to your diet: Toss a mixed greens salad with tomato, cucumber, scallions, and an olive oil-based dressing (the fat from the oil helps your body absorb the phytonutrients). You can also stuff mixed greens in your sandwiches, wraps, and tacos. Or place them in a heated skillet, toss lightly until wilted, and use as a bed for grilled salmon, chicken, or lean meat. Greens store best in a salad spinner or the crisper drawer in your fridge for up to six days. Just don't drench them in water or they won't keep as long.

Add to your cart: Salmon

Nutrition-wise, salmon is the king of fish. Besides being an excellent source of high-quality protein (you get about 30 grams in a four-ounce serving), salmon is one of the best food sources of omega-3 fats. These essential fats help balance the body's inflammation response, a bodily function that when disturbed appears to be linked to many diseases including asthma. A recent study showed that people with exercise-induced asthma saw an improvement in symptoms after three weeks of eating more fish oil. If you've been limiting seafood due to possible mercury or PCB contamination, simply aim for a variety of farm-raised and wild salmon for maximum health benefits.

Add to your diet: Bake, grill, or poach salmon with fresh herbs and citrus zest. Gauge cooking time by allotting 10 minutes for every inch of fish (steaks or fillets). Salmon should flake when done. Precooked (leftover) or canned salmon is great in salads, tossed into pasta, stirred into soups, or on top of pizza. Fresh fish keeps one to two days in the fridge, or you can freeze it in a tightly sealed container for about four to five months.

Add to your cart: Whole-Grain Bread

Runners need at least three to six one-ounce servings of whole grains per day, and eating 100 percent whole-grain bread (as opposed to just whole-grain bread, which may contain some refined grains and flours) is an easy way to meet this requirement since one slice equals one serving. Whole-grain bread may also help weight-conscious runners. One study showed that women who eat whole-grain bread weigh less than those who eat refined white bread and other grains. Whole-grain eaters also have a 38 percent lower risk of suffering from metabolic syndrome, which is characterized by belly fat, low levels of the good cholesterol, and high blood sugar levels. All this raises the risk for heart disease and cancer.

Add to your diet: Bread is versatile, portable, and ready to eat right out of the wrapper. Spread with peanut butter or stuff with your favorite sandwich fillings and plenty of sliced veggies for a one-handed recovery meal. Coat with a beaten egg for French toast, or use as layers or crumbled in a casserole. Just be sure the label says 100 percent whole grain (all the grains and flours included in the ingredients should be listed as whole, not milled or refined). And don't just stick with the popular 100 percent whole-wheat breads. Try different varieties of whole grains such as barley, buckwheat, bulgur, rye, or oat.

Add to your cart: Frozen Stir-fry Vegetables

Research shows that eating a combination of antioxidants, such as beta-carotene and vitamin C, may lessen muscle soreness after hard interval workouts by reducing the inflammation caused by free-radical damage (for more on this, see "Should You Be Afraid of Free Radicals," page 61). Most ready-to-use stir-fry veggie combos offer a potent mix of antioxidants by including red and yellow peppers, onions, bok choy, and soy beans. And frozen vegetable mixes save lots of prepping time but still provide the same nutrition as their fresh counterparts.

Add to your diet: Dump the frozen vegetables right into a hot wok or skillet, add tofu, seafood, or meat, your favorite stir-fry sauce, and serve over brown rice. Or throw them into pasta water during the last few minutes of cooking, drain, and toss with a touch of olive oil. You can also mix the frozen veggies right into soups or stews at the end of cooking, or thaw them and add to casseroles. Vegetables store well in the freezer for about four months, so make sure to date your bags.

Add to your cart: Whole-grain Pasta

Pasta has long been a runner's best friend because it contains easily digestible carbs that help you restock spent glycogen (energy) stores. Whole-grain versions are a must over refined pastas because they contain more fiber to fill you up, additional B vitamins that are crucial to energy metabolism, and disease-fighting compounds such as lignans. And even better, pastas such as Barilla Plus offer whole-grain goodness along with heart-healthy omega-3 fats from ground flaxseed and added protein from a special formula of ground lentils, multigrains, and egg whites to help with muscle repair and recovery.

Add to your diet: Pasta makes a complete one-pot meal--perfect for busy runners--when tossed with veggies, lean meat, seafood, or tofu. Or combine pasta with a light sauce, a bit of your favorite cheese, and turn it into a satisfying casserole.

Add to your cart: Chicken

Runners need about 50 to 75 percent more protein than nonrunners to help rebuild muscles and promote recovery after tough workouts. And just one four-ounce serving of chicken can supply about half a runner's daily protein needs. Along with protein, chicken contains selenium, a trace element that helps protect muscles from the free-radical damage that can occur during exercise, and niacin, a B vitamin that helps regulate fat burning during a run. New studies also suggest that people who get ample niacin in their diet have a 70 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Add to your diet: Chicken's versatility makes it perfect for runners with little time to cook. You can bake, broil, grill, or poach chicken in broth. Leftover chicken works well on top of salads, mixed into pasta, or stuffed into sandwiches and burritos. Fresh chicken stores safely for two days in the fridge, but can be frozen for six months or more.

Add to your cart: Frozen Mixed Berries

The colorful compounds that make blueberries blue, blackberries deep purple, and raspberries a rich shade of red are called anthocyanins--a powerful group of antioxidants that may help stave off Alzheimer's disease and some cancers. Anthocyanins may also assist with postrun recovery and muscle repair. Not bad for a fruit group that contains a mere 60 calories or so per cup. And remember: Frozen berries are just as nutritious as fresh ones, but they keep far longer (up to nine months in the freezer), making it easier to always have them ready to eat.

Add to your diet: Frozen berries make a great base for a smoothie and there's no need to thaw them. Once thawed, eat them straight up or add to some vanilla yogurt with chopped nuts. Or liven up your hot or cold cereal with a big handful. You can also bake berries with a nutty topping of oatmeal, honey, and chopped almonds for a sweet treat after a long weekend run.

Add to your cart: Dark Chocolate

As a runner you deserve at least one indulgence--especially one you can feel so good about. Chocolate contains potent antioxidants called flavonols that can boost heart health. In one study, a group of soccer players had lower blood pressure and total cholesterol levels, and less artery-clogging LDL cholesterol after just two weeks of eating chocolate daily. Other research suggests that the chocolate flavonols ease inflammation and help prevent blood substances from becoming sticky, which lowers the risk of potential blood clots. But not just any chocolate will do. First off, dark chocolate (the darker the better) generally contains more flavonols than milk chocolate. Also, the way the cocoa beans are processed can influence the potency of the flavonols. Chocolate manufacturer Mars has developed a procedure that apparently retains much of the antioxidant powers of the flavonols, and their research shows just a little over an ounce (200 calories worth) of Dove dark chocolate per day has heart-healthy benefits.

Add to your diet: Besides the obvious (just eat it!), you can add dark chocolate to trail mix, dip it in peanut butter (my favorite), or combine it with fruit for an even greater antioxidant punch. Just keep track of the calories. Buy chocolate wrapped in small pieces to help with portion control.

Add to your cart: Low-fat Yogurt

Besides being a good source of protein and calcium (one cup provides 13 grams of protein and 40 percent of the DV for calcium), low-fat yogurt with live cultures provides the healthy bacteria your digestive tract needs to function optimally. This good bacteria may also have anti-inflammatory powers that can offer some relief to arthritis suffers. Just look for the live-culture symbol on the yogurt carton.

Add to your diet: Low-fat yogurt is great topped with fruit, granola, or nuts, or used as a base for smoothies. Plain yogurt can be mixed with diced cucumber and herbs like dill and spread over grilled tofu, chicken, fish, and other meats. Yogurt can also double as a salad dressing with vinegar and herbs. Or mix it with fresh salsa to stand in as a dip for veggies and baked chips.

Foods that Boost Energy

2011-04-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, April 14, 2011]

Whether you're injured or just tired, these foods will help you bounce back fast

By Kelly Bastone

Runners would no sooner skip prerun carbs than dash out the door bare-foot. But when the miles are done, those same athletes might not think much at all about what they eat, as long as they get something. Injured runners logging time on the bike might even skip a meal altogether, in fear of gaining weight. Big mistake. Whether you're recovering from a tough tempo run or tendinitis, food delivers the nutrients your body needs to repair itself, making smart eating crucial to a strong body and a speedy recovery. "Recovery is just like fixing a house," says Cynthia Sass, R.D., a sports dietetics specialist in Tampa, Florida. "A crack in the foundation requires raw materials to patch things back together. In the body, those raw materials come from what we eat."

A combination of proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals helps your body heal microtears from exercise and overused tendons and sprained ligaments. "Every part of the body is dependent on food for repair," says David Grotto, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. On a cellular level, those repairs are constant, sidelining injury or not. Over time, if cells don't get the nutrients they need, muscles and connective tissues can weaken, leaving them more susceptible to injury. "The decisions we make with our fork can set up roadblocks against future injuries," Grotto says. So along with stretching, and icing if you need it, these healing foods will help you get back on the road as quickly as possible.

Red Bell Pepper
Just one red bell pepper provides 380 percent of the recommended Daily Value of vitamin C, a nutrient crucial for repairing connective tissues and cartilage. By contributing to the formation of collagen, an important protein used to build scar tissue, blood vessels, and even new bone cells, vitamin C facilitates the healing process. "Work in vitamin C throughout the day, every two or three hours or so," says Sass, for five daily servings. Runners-up: papaya, cantaloupe, oranges

Salmon
Salmon's nutritional benefits have been much touted for good reason. Fresh or canned, salmon delivers two powerful healing nutrients: protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Protein does more than rebuild muscle after a grueling run; it also repairs bones, ligaments, and tendons. "We tend to forget that healing really means building new cells," says Sass. "And your body needs protein to make those new cells." She recommends all runners eat protein at every meal; injured runners should aim for four to five servings a day, from low-fat sources like egg whites and lean turkey. Salmon, with two grams of essential fatty acids per four-ounce serving, is doubly valuable. "Omega-3s are significant anti-inflammatories," says Grotto. "Eating fish high in omega-3s or taking supplements [see 'Pills to Pop?' below] is like throwing a big bucket of ice water on inflammation." Inflammation occurs when waste matter generated by the body's repair efforts builds up around the injury, inhibiting healing. Omega-3s help disperse that buildup, making them useful in addressing everything from sore muscles to stress fractures. Runners-up: mackerel, flaxseeds, walnuts

Carrots
Eat carrots for a potent dose of vitamin A: a half-cup serving provides 340 percent of your Daily Value. This nutrient helps make white blood cells for fighting infection, "which is always a risk with injury," says Sass. You might not think infection is likely with tendinitis, but your body takes no chances and activates the immune system, which ups vitamin A demand. Vitamin A also helps repair post workout micro tears, so it's a valuable ally every day. Runners-up: sweet potatoes, dried apricots, spinach

Fortified Cereals
Zinc is an important healing agent, but foods highest in zinc, like red meats, often contain saturated fat, which aggravates inflammation. So when the body is taxed--from exertion or injury--runners should reach for fortified whole-grain breakfast cereals, which can deliver as much as 100 percent of the Daily Value for zinc. By itself, zinc doesn't repair damaged tissue, but it assists the proteins and fats that do. "Just don't overdo it," cautions Sass. Too much of this potent mineral lowers HDL cholesterol (the good kind) and actually suppresses your immune system. Runners-up: shellfish, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds

Almonds
Just one ounce of almonds (roughly 20) contains more than 40 percent of your Daily Value of vitamin E, an antioxidant that supports the immune system by neutralizing free radicals. Almonds, like hazelnuts and sunflower seeds, also supply beneficial mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which are key building blocks for healthy cells. "Fat is a structural part of your body, so don't skimp on it, just eat the right kind," says Sass. "Almonds supply heart-healthy fats that promote healing without clogging arteries." Runners-up: nut butters, avocados, vegetable oils

Top 10 Energy Foods: Carbs Athletes Should Love

2011-04-14T05:39:00.000-07:00

[Source: Active.com]

Not since the public outcry against fat has there been such uproar about popular nutrition--the message in the mainstream media seems clear: It's protein you want not carbs! With all the hype, no wonder so many of us are second-guessing our eating habits. In truth, the message about carbohydrates has been so over-simplified that many people are skimping on the most critical energy source the body has.

Restricting carbohydrates can zap energy levels, compromising the quality of workouts and negating the benefits of a fitness program.

Here's the simple truth: There are many high-carbohydrate foods beneficial to both your health and athletic performance. The key is choosing the right carbs.

http://www.active.com/women/Articles/Top_10_energy_foods__Carbs_athletes_should_love.htm?cmp=17-2-471

Benefits of Carbohydrate During Exercise: A Closer Look at Energy Gels

2011-03-25T05:29:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, March 24, 2011]

Written by Holly Ortlund, M.S., Director of R&D, Carb-BOOM, Inc.

With so many different sport nutrition products on the market today it's difficult to sift through all the various claims and descriptions to find an energy product that best fits you and your active lifestyle. Protein bars, caffeine drinks, bee pollen…..the list goes on and on. Apart from the advantages these products promise, only one supplement, carbohydrate, has earned global acceptance and a wealth of respect for its benefit to the athlete. Researchers in the field of sports nutrition have long identified carbohydrates as the key nutrient for improving endurance performance during exercise.

Fat is the largest source of fuel in the body. An average-sized 150 lb person with 15% body fat has a significant amount of energy stored as fat. If a person of this size did not ingest any food during exercise and if fat were the only fuel used during exercise, stored fat alone could support physical activity for almost 7 days! However, due to the slowness of fat mobilization and other limiting factors, fat as a fuel is not able to support exercise above a very moderate level (>60% VO2max). Most athletes, both recreational and professional, train at intensities higher than this, therefore a supply of fuel other than fat must be available to the body. This preferred energy source is carbohydrate.

Carbohydrate is found in the body in 2 main forms, glycogen and glucose. Glycogen is a highly branched molecule made up of multiple glucose units and is stored in muscle and liver cells. Glucose, the body's preferred energy source, is found in the blood. If we take the same average-sized person mentioned above, and if carbohydrate were the only fuel used during moderate exercise, carbohydrate stores would only support physical activity for about 2 hours! Because we have such limited stores in the body and carbohydrate is the best energy source during moderate to heavy exercise, it is imperative that carbohydrate be ingested before, during, and after exercise in order to perform at the highest levels possible.

For the past two decades, scientific research has continuously demonstrated that carbohydrate ingested during exercise can improve endurance performance. How does it work? During activity lasting longer than 60 minutes glycogen levels begin to diminish and there is a progressive shift from muscle glycogen over to blood glucose as the body's primary fuel source. When muscle glycogen levels are low the consumption of carbohydrate serves to maintain proper levels of blood glucose and delay the onset of fatigue. In addition to this mechanism, carbohydrate ingestion also exerts its benefits at higher intensities of exercise by delaying and/or preventing muscle glycogen depletion (otherwise known as glycogen sparing). So how much carbohydrate is appropriate in order to gain this advantage? It's recommended that 30-60 grams be consumed per hour during intense physical activity.

Now that you know a little more about the role of carbohydrate in exercise, how do you decide which product to use? There are 3 main categories of carbohydrate energy foods-- drinks, bars, and gels-- all of which are currently available to the consumer. First introduced in 1967, sports drinks were the first commercially obtainable source of carbohydrates marketed as 'energy' products. These were followed almost twenty years later in 1986 by the introduction of energy bars. It took nearly a decade longer (mid 90's) for the first energy gel to emerge.

A common question often posed concerning carbohydrate supplements is the effectiveness of energy gels versus sports drinks versus energy bars in relation to endurance performance. What works best? Like all foods, it usually ends up coming down to personal opinions and experience. Any form of carbohydrate if taken in the appropriate amount will help delay fatigue during prolonged exercise. It's important that you find out which type of carbohydrate works best with your body. Sport drinks, with their high simple sugar content, have been known to cause stomach problems in some people, yet are easily digested by others. A number of athletes choose energy bars as their carbohydrate source, while many others cite the difficulty in getting them down and the burdened requirement that lots of water needs be taken along with them. Because of these issues, scores of athletes are now turning to the cutting-edge nutrition of carbohydrate gels as their main energy source during training a! nd competition.

Carbohydrate gels initially gained their popularity in the sports world with marathon runners and tri-athletes, but are now the desired fuel in numerous other sports as well. Nowadays, gels are often seen strapped to bikes, shorts, and ski bibs, ready to be ripped off and sucked down when needed.

Weighing between 1-2 ounces, energy gels are commonly available in 'easy-tear' foil packets. Depending on the brand, they provide 100 - 110 calories per serving and between 24 - 28 grams of carbohydrate. Possessing a smooth consistency and a high percentage of complex carbohydrates, gels are popular among many sports enthusiasts due to their convenience and instant surge of energy.

Many athletes prefer gels over sports drinks and energy bars because gels provide a super concentrated dose of carbohydrate that is absorbed very easily into the bloodstream. They provide a steady and continuous delivery of energy during periods of peak performance. Additionally, gels are attractive because they are not "heavy on the stomach" and are unlikely to cause gastrointestinal distress. Each gel pack provides enough carbohydrate to supply about 30 minutes of energy during physical activity. They offer the athlete a palatable, super fast, and easily digested fuel supply.

As with any supplement taken during exercise, it's very important to stay properly hydrated. Water helps to replenish fluids lost from sweating and provides optimal absorption for the carbohydrates. Most companies recommend that roughly 8-10 ounces of water be consumed along with each gel packet.

In summary, carbohydrates provide the best and most readily-available source of energy for your body during intense training or competition and are vital for keeping your muscles and mind operating at peak performance. Whether you prefer carbohydrate gels, bars or drinks, all are widely available to the consumer and offer a ration of energy to help improve endurance performance during exercise. So the next time you're out pushing yourself to the next level don't forget to take along a stash of this essential nutrient-you'll be very glad you did.

Mental Skills- A Winners Mentality

2011-03-25T05:22:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, March 24, 2011]

By Matt Russ

To win at any sport takes a combination of natural ability and mental skills. Both of these attributes must be developed and honed. You may or may not be capable of winning at your sport; few people are, but you can learn from those that do win. There are key psychological characteristics a winning athlete must possess. These are just as important as natural ability and can be identified and worked on just as you would a physical limiter.

Grace under Pressure

The ability to focus under pressure is a key characteristic of a winner. A winning athlete will not get pulled off their game despite outside pressure or stimulus. They remain calm, cool, and collected. In endurance sports a winner has to objectively strategize in a race without getting emotional. This means knowing when to attack and when to hold back. Races are fluid situations and strategy must be as well. Crashes, flats, or inclement weather can be a part of any race but a winner will overcome these and continue racing to their best ability. Never quit a race even if it is not going the way you planned. This is a bad habit to get into. Most athletes tend to over pace and burn out, attempting to race beyond their ability. Have a deliberate strategy planned out. Know your pacing parameters, threshold, and ability, and race accordingly. Race your own race and do not get pulled off your game for any reason. Focus on the process of racing and what is going on in you and aroun! d you, not the outcome.

Learn From Mistakes

A bad race is only bad if you do not learn from it. Race data is some of the most relevant information you can gather: this is why it is important to never quit a race. A winner examines race data carefully and adapts and modifies their training to rectify their weaknesses. They do not get discouraged but seek the right questions and answers. They do not make excuses. Was your performance due to bad pacing lack of proper hydration or fueling? Or was it right on target? You should record your splits, speed, heart rate data, and if possible power and pacing data. Sometimes your racing can be right on but your opponent is simply better than you. If that is the case all you can do is train harder and smarter for your next events.

Precision

Winners demand precision. This includes precise training, the best equipment, proper rest and recovery, and a nutrition plan to meet their specific demands. The more guess work you take out of these variables, the more performance you will gain. Use every angle to get yourself faster. The right pre-race meal, a new wheel set, a better timed recovery drink, a properly fitted bike, or the right amount of sleep will all help your performance improve. Do not leave anything to chance.

No Visions of Grandeur

I always ask potential athletes what they want to gain from their training. I once had a cyclist answer "to win." On one level this is an admirable aspiration but very few athletes can actually achieve this goal. His experience was minimal and testing indicated he was genetically average, not gifted. He was so discouraged he gave his sport up. It is important to set reasonable and attainable goals. The best are performance-based (I want to increase my next 5k pace by 5 seconds per mile); versus outcome-based (I want to win such and such race). Remember that your training dictates your racing and do not expect a huge improvement in performance beyond your known abilities on race day. A winner knows his or her capabilities and seeks to develop them to their maximum potential. He or she does not have expectations beyond what is learned and earned.

Eat Pain

Pain threshold is individualized. Some people are able to sustain a high level of pain for long periods of time. Others do not have this ability. This is not a character flaw. Hospitals now test patients for individual pain threshold and modify medications accordingly. What hurts for some will be discomfort for others. That being said, in order to be a successful athlete you have to develop a tolerance for discomfort and pain. A developed sprint athlete will spend their entire race at, above, and slightly below their lactate threshold. This type of tolerance for pain takes a lot of focus and mental fortitude, not just in races but in training as well. A winner has the ability to consume this pain and persevere.

Get Technical

Random training produces random results whereas specific training produces specific results. Do not expect to be faster by simply putting the time in. Winners train with purpose and specificity. They seek outside assistance and employ the latest methodologies. They use the best training technology; heart rate monitors, diet software, power meters, pace meters, and cycling computers. If you really want to get fast you need to define your limiters and come up with a corresponding training plan. Use performance tests to regularly assess training progress. Record and track all your work out data. Get a good coach to put this all together for you.

To me a winner is anyone who accepts the challenge of developing to their own true potential. This may mean a podium finish, an age group finish, or a new PR. A winners' mentality does not just end with racing but extends to many areas of life. It is pride and confidence in utilizing your ability.

Matt Russ has coached and trained athletes around the country and internationally for over 10 years. He currently holds licenses by USAT, USATF, and is an Expert level USAC coach. Matt has coached athletes for CTS (Carmichael Training Systems), is an Ultrafit Associate.

The Five Most Common Stroke Flaws – And A Drill To Help Fix Each

2011-03-19T07:07:00.001-07:00

A Swim Coaching Article By Swim Smooth
reprinted with permission

As you might already know, swimming is a sport limited by stroke technique not strength or brute force. Great swimmers have fantastic stroke technique which minimises their drag and maximises their propulsion, moving them quickly and efficiently through the water.

If you are a beginner or intermediate level freestyle swimmer you will have some flaws in your stroke technique that are holding you back, making you slower and less efficient than you could be. At Swim Smooth we have individually coached thousands of swimmers and in this time we see five stroke problems come up time and time again, at least one is in place in nearly every swimmer.

We're going to take a look at each of these "Five Most Common Flaws" in turn and dip into Swim Smooth's methodology to give you a drill or visualisation to help improve each. You might already have a good idea which of these problems exists in your stroke but if not then ask a friend, coach or lifeguard to watch you swim and feed back to you.

Classic Flaw 1: Holding Your Breath Underwater

If you stood at the side of your pool and watched everyone swim, breath holding is probably the most common flaw you will see. Holding onto your breath underwater increases the buoyancy in your chest and acts to sink your legs. If you suffer from sinky legs in the water then this is the first thing to get right in your stroke to improve your body position. Holding your breath also makes things feel much more tense as the CO2 builds up in your system.

How to fix it: During freestyle you should be exhaling whenever your face is in the water. At first it can feel very unnatural to do this and it can take some getting used to. Go to the deep end of your pool and tread water, take a breath in and then exhale which allows you to sink underwater. If you have trouble sinking, this is a sign you're used to holding onto your breath! Keep practising exhaling more smoothly until you are able to sink down to the bottom. It can be surprising how much air is in there and how you might have only been breathing with the top of your lungs before:

When you start to swim again afterwards, focus on exhaling smoothly into the water between breaths. You should feel more relaxed straight away and also feel it helps keep your legs higher in the water.

Classic Flaw 2: Crossing Over In Front Of The Head

When you swim freestyle, your hands should never cross the centre line. Crossing over like this might happen only on one side or only when you go to breathe. A crossover causes you to snake down the pool adding drag and it harms your catch on the water, reducing your propulsion:

How to fix it: The temptation here is to simply think about going wider with your arm stroke, the problem with this approach is that you end up being very flat in the water with little body rotation. Instead of taking your arm wider, think about drawing your shoulder blades together and back – this will straighten out your arm stroke. The perfect way to practise this is kicking on the side with some fins (flippers) on:

As you do this be aware of the position of your lead hand, you will probably find it wants to cross over in this position too! To straighten it, draw your shoulder blades together and back "shoulders back chest forwards". You'll become aware that it's a slumping of the shoulders forward that is causing the crossover and the fix is to draw your shoulders back as you swim.

As you start swimming the full stroke again simply think about the middle finger on each hand and pointing that gun-barrel straight down the pool as you swim. This is a very simple visualisation which helps transfer better alignment into your full stroke.

Classic Flaw 3: Scissor Kick

A scissor kick is a horizontal parting of the legs in the water which causes a large amount of drag. This normally happens during or immediately after breathing and can be very quick – watch carefully or you might miss it:

In nearly all cases, the cause of a scissor kick relates to a crossover in the stroke (see flaw 2). The cross-over causes a loss of balance which results in a scissor kick shortly after to stabilise yourself. It's normally an unconscious reaction – you probably don't even know you're doing it!

How to fix it: The first thing to do is remove the crossover (see flaw 2), very often this is enough to remove the scissor all by itself. To help re-enforce a better kicking action, as you swim gently brush your big toes together as they pass: tap tap tap. When you go to breathe, instead of thinking about the breath keep your attention on your toes and keeping the tapping constant – a big gap between taps is probably a big parting of the legs!

Classic Flaw 4: Kicking From The Knee

If you have a running or cycling background you're at high risk from this one! A good freestyle leg kick is performed with a nearly straight leg, with only a slight relaxed flex at the knee in time with the kick. The kicking action should predominantly be from the hip not the knee:

As soon as you bend your knee you present your thigh as a blunt object to the water and you push against the flow creating huge amounts of drag.

How to fix it: To reprogram your leg kick, practise some torpedo push-offs from the wall with a very strong kick. Do this for about 10-15 meters using a strong kick and then swim easy pace to the end of the pool, lightly tapping your toes as mentioned in flaw 3. Do several of these in succession:

- First time focusing simply on keeping your legs straight and kicking form the hip.

- Second time imagine you have a coin between your butt cheeks and you've got to keep it there as you kick by lightly clenching your glutes.

- Third time stretch through your core as tall and straight as you can in the water.

Kicking hard like this with good technique helps your nervous system learn a better kicking action.

Classic Flaw 5: Over-reaching and putting on the brakes

If you have been working on your stroke length, trying to make you stroke more efficient you might have fallen foul of this. Many swimmers trying to lengthen out as much as possible end up dropping their wrists and showing the palm of their hand forwards. This just applies the brakes to your stroke:

How to fix it: Practice kicking on the side with fins again and become aware of the position of your lead hand. Is the wrist dropped and pointing forwards? Work on correcting this, actually tipping your wrist slightly the other way so your fingers are angled a few degrees downwards. This slight tipping of the wrist immediately sets you up for a much better catch and pull through.

As you introduce this change into your full stroke you may find your stroke rate (cadence) lifts slightly, that's a good thing, it shows you're not artificially slowing your stroke!

improve your swimming with Swim Smooth!

Swim Smooth is an innovate swimming coaching company famed for its straightforward approach to stroke correction. Visit our website for plenty more fascinating articles to improve your swimming. Don't miss our amazing new DVD Catch Masterclass featuring incredible underwater video of champion swimmers in action. Also see our other swimming DVDs, training plans and training tools. Last but not least don't miss our animated swimmer "Mr Smooth" showing you a great freestyle stroke in super-high detail:

Swim Smooth!

Article © Swim Smooth 2011

Swimming the Straight and Narrow

2011-03-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter in Tri-Rudy newsletter, March 15, 2011]

by Coach Emmett Hines

Stroke … stroke … stroke … stroke … lift head … there’s the buoy … stroke … stroke … stroke … stroke … lift head … where’s the buoy? … stroke … stroke … lift head higher … look all around … where’s that *%^&$#@ing buoy!? … stroke … stroke …

You’ve been there, done that, still have a half-eaten Powerbar near the bottom of your equipment bag to prove it. And you are not alone. A moment of observation at any open water swim reveals that many swimmers spend a lot of time and effort “navigating.”

Navigating is the polite term for the rather awkward ploy of raising one’s head in mid-swim, finding a buoy, seeing how far off course one is, making a correction, putting one’s face back in the water, continuing on for a few strokes and then repeating the whole affair, apparently ad infinitum.

And you know, or should know, that every time you raise your head you instantly lose longitudinal balance (i.e. your hips and legs head for the bottom) thus dramatically increasing drag. And once down there, it likely takes a couple stroke cycles for them to come back up…and then its nearly time to look for the stupid buoy again.

An admittedly unscientific poll of our clients in my most recent few Total Immersion workshops leads me to believe a surprising percentage of swimmers play the buoy search game every 6 to 10 strokes of an open water swim. This means spending a majority of their swimming time very unbalanced. And numerous course corrections mean swimming farther than the entry form says. These swimmers are spending a lot of unnecessary energy on the swim.

There is a better way.

Pay attention a while longer and I’ll lay out a simple strategy that will allow you to confidently swim, perhaps, 10 times as many strokes between buoy searches as you do now. But bear with me a moment as I digress…

Take your average Joe out of the pool and put him, blindfolded, in the middle of the desert and instruct him to walk in a straight line. Given no navigational information, Joe will walk in roughly a 10 mile circle. Why? Strides he takes with his right leg are just a tad shorter or longer than strides he takes with his left leg – perhaps because one leg is slightly longer than the other, perhaps different muscle strength or joint range of motion etc.

Now put Joe in open water (still blindfolded) and tell him to swim in a straight line. Guess what? He’ll swim in a circle – a much smaller circle than he walks in. Like with walking in a circle, this is due to differences on the two stroking sides.

Some swimmers swim in a 1-mile circle, some in a 500-yard circle, some in a 100-yard circle. Some could swim circles inside a Hyundai. The bigger the circle a swimmer naturally swims in, the less navigating he must do. If he swims in a perfectly straight line he would, theoretically, not need to navigate at all were it not for wind, currents, chop, other swimmers etc. Small-circle swimmers need to navigate a lot, regardless of conditions.

Or do they?

Joe, like every swimmer, travels a bit further, or straighter (or both) with one armstroke than with the other. Maybe he has a bit of the dreaded dropped elbow on one side and not on the other. Maybe he reaches a bit further forward on one side than on the other. Maybe he has better body roll on one side than the other. Hey, there are at least 150 things that could make the difference. But the place where the two sides seem to reach maximum divergence is when Joe breathes.

For most people, breathing is where they do something radically different than on the other strokes. Typically they lift their head to some degree. And they use the arm that should be extended weightlessly out front to, instead, push down on the water to help support the lifted head. This makes the stroke on that side much less propulsive. Swimmers often curve their back in craning the neck to breathe. Perhaps they roll more on the breathing side than on the non-breathing side. There’s a long list — I won’t bore you with all of it. For the average swimmer, breathing is where the biggest stroke differences are and hence where the biggest course errors are made.

Since most people breathe on just one side (every other stroke) they keep making course errors in the same direction. This makes the swimming circle small and the navigational problem big. One possible strategy would be to just alternate breathe (every third stroke) instead of one-side breathing (you can alternate breathe, can’t you?). This could go a long way to correcting the problem. Of course this only deals with the breathing related stroke differences and wholly ignores the other stroke differences. And, alternate breathing gives you less oxygen, artificially forcing you to do the entire swim at a higher CO2 concentration (and higher heart rate) than is necessary. You need to breathe more often than every third stroke. While alternate breathing would be a step in the right direction it still has its problems. Let’s refine the strategy a bit.

Try the following in your favorite open water hole. Choose a distant object to sight on. Then close your eyes and swim 50 strokes, breathing every other stroke, then stop. See how far off course you are. Repeat several times. You should be off course by roughly the same amount each time.

Now do the same thing, breathing on your other side. You will likely be off course in the opposite direction (if not, my strategy won’t work for you and you can go home) but not necessarily to the same extent. Repeat several times to see the pattern.

Then try it breathing every third stroke. After 50 strokes you’ll be somewhere between the two extremes – but probably not in a straight line. Repeat several times.

Now try it again, breathing with a pattern of twice on the right side and once on the left, or vice versa (we’ll call this modified alternate breathing). Then try breathing patterns of 3-and-1 or 3-and-2 or 4-and-5 etc., checking after each 50 strokes to see how far that particular breathing pattern takes you away from the straight and narrow. The idea is to gradually home in on a pattern which allows you to go 50 strokes and end up right on line. Once you’ve established this pattern, try going 100 strokes with the same pattern.

You now have a strategy that will allow you to forego most of the navigational interruptions to fluid swimming. Realize that the conditions in any given competition may dictate a slightly different breathing pattern than you established in the quiet solitude of your test site. However, having strategy in mind, you’ll quickly be able to find a pattern that matches the prevailing conditions and thereby outsmart your competition.

Ideally, somewhere down the road you’ll learn more efficient swimming skills that make both sides very equal and eliminate all breathing related stroke differences — this, of course is the smartest route – but until then, you have a simple strategy for swimming straighter without looking for the stupid buoys so often (and that’s smart too).

Tips for Faster Triathlon Transitions

2011-03-10T05:47:00.000-08:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, March 10, 2011]

Newbie triathletes generally regard the transition area as a place to rest and regroup, a place to celebrate the completion of one leg of the race and prepare for the next. Sometimes, it feels like the gravity in transition areas is ten times normal with food, drink, sunscreen and friendly volunteers happy to chat. Out on the race course everybody is pushing forward in the same direction but in the transition area, athletes are milling around in all directions and the sense of racing can disappear.

How many hours of swim practice would it take to lop two minutes off your swim time? Probably hundreds, maybe even thousands. How many hours of transition practice would it take to lop two minutes off your transition time? Maybe only one! Many triathletes are so focused on swim, bike and run splits they forget the clock is still running in the transition area. Every second counts. Transition practice isn't as fun as running but it is a good investment of your training time. Triathletes looking to win need to shift their entire mental focus and integrate the transition seamlessly into their race. The transition is not a rest area but a place to speed in and out of, in the fastest time, with the least energy.

Here are the top ten tips for a fast transition:

Practice your plan - Have a plan of exactly what you are going to do and practice it over and over again until you are fast with no mistakes. Practice it physically several times over in training and then rehearse it mentally several times on race morning. By the time you are in transition in during race you should be moving on autopilot. Never try something new on race day.

Be a minimalist - The fewer tasks you have to do in the transition area, the faster you will go. Skip the socks and get rid of anything you don't absolutely need. Clutter will slow you down.

Bike shoes in the pedals - Coasting down the course at 15 miles per hour while you put your feet in your shoes will move you far ahead of your buddy sitting on his butt in T1 doing the same task. Set your bike up in the transition area with your shoes attached to the pedals and rubber bands looped between the heels and frame holding them horizontal. On leaving T1, pedal with your feet on top of your shoes. Once you are cruising at speed, coast and slip your feet into your shoes. Keep your eyes ahead on the road, not down on your feet. On the return, slip your feet out of your shoes before you reach T2. Learn this skill first on an indoor trainer before taking it out on the open road.

Run with your bike - The distance from rack to mount line can be considerable at large triathlons. By running safely and quickly with your bike, it is easy to fly over this distance. Run upright with good form on the left side of your bike holding your seat with your right hand. Left arm swings by your side. Hold the bike upright to go straight and lean it to the side to turn. Practice in an empty parking lot.

Speed over the mount / dismount line - Learn a cyclocross mount / dismount to cruise over this line without losing any momentum. In the race you will be doing this in bare feet but initially learn and practice this skill wearing running shoes.

Attach your stuff to your bike - Handling small items sucks up time. Everything you need on the bike course should be attached to your bike. Tape gels to the frame, water bottles should already be on board, sunglasses looped to a cable, spare tube in a seat pack and CO2 cartridge taped to the seat post.

One outfit for all occasions - Start the swim with your full bike/run outfit under your wetsuit. A one piece tri-suit is ideal. Any clothing changes will add lots of time.

Navigation - Have you ever come out of a different mall door at Christmas time and had trouble finding your car? You can have a similar experience in a large transition area. Note where your rack spot is and how to find in from the swim exit and bike entrance. From your rack, know where the bike and run exits are and the quickest route to them.

Speed laces and baby powder - Tying your running shoe laces in a bow takes time. Eliminate this step using lace locks or speed laces. To help your feet slide smoothly into your running shoes, prime them with a sprinkling of baby powder.

Grab and go - In T2, grab what you need and go. Put on your hat and fuel belt while you are running. It is always faster to complete your tasks moving down the course rather than standing in front of your rack.

Triathlon Turn Buoys

2011-03-01T05:16:00.001-08:00

by Duane Dobko
[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, March 1, 2011]

Why are turn buoys so important in open water triathlon swimming? After all, they are few and far between (there are usually only 2 turns in an entire race). The logic would suggest that they are inconsequential, which couldn't be further from the truth. It is not the time to go around a turn buoy that makes them so important. Instead, they are critical because they create an "accordion effect" which can split a whole race apart and separate the winners from the contenders.

A turn buoy in a triathlon swim is analogous to a construction zone on a highway. It is pure gridlock upstream as the number of lanes and speed limits are reduced. At the construction site itself the cars move in slow, uniform procession. Once through, all of the sudden there is a huge path of open road in front. All those cars that were bumper to bumper ahead are now on the horizon. This model happens in identical fashion in a triathlon race at every turn buoy. The only difference is that when you are swimming, you cannot see around you enough for it to be obvious.

As you are turning around the buoy, you must reduce your speed to zero. This is because you are turning, and no longer trying to move forward. This creates problems for the swimmer immediately behind you. That person wants to keep swimming forward, but cannot because you are in their way and traveling at zero speed. This forces them to slow down, which forces the person behind them to slow down, and so on. When you complete the turn and start moving forward again, the person immediately behind you is in the process of turning and traveling at zero speed. Thus, when they complete the turn there is a gap equal to the distance you swam while they were turning. The next person in line also has the same gap, and so on.

So, why does this matter? After all, the gap between you and your competitor behind you after a turn is not much. The distance is usually 5 feet. But 5 feet is enough to fall out of a draft zone in the water. This means that the person behind you, who was once able to keep up to you with little effort, now has to work much harder to maintain the same speed. This is what makes turn buoys so important. The person behind you has two bad choices. One, they can sprint as fast as they can to catch up to you and draft again, which risks cramping and fatigue. Or two, they are forced to swim without your draft, which causes them work much harder and slower and get tired more quickly.

Thus, the importance of the turn buoy is not the raw time to turn. Instead, turns affect the entire dynamic of the race and determine who wins and who gets left behind. If you know how to turn well and know what to expect, you can make significant improvements in your race times without any improvement to your swimming ability. The pros are aware of this importance. I encourage any triathlete who gets to watch a pro race observe them closely swimming around turns.

Here is what the professional triathlete is doing while leading the swim. They take the last 100 yards or so into a turn slowly. This forces everyone behind to bunch together. Thus, when they get to the turn and reduce their speed to zero, the slowing effect for everyone else is greater. It also allows them to rest and prepare for the turn itself. They get around the turn as fast as possible and then just hammer with everything they have after the turn and for the next 10-20 yards. We are talking a flat out 110% effort with the pull and kick. This maximizes the gap and forces the other competitors to sprint that much harder and longer to catch up. If the leader can sprint well, they can leave the field in the dust, even if their competitors are better distance swimmers.

Here is what happens next. Almost every time the last couple of swimmers in the pack get dropped. They are forced to slow down way too long and lose too much ground to catch up again. As a result, they are stuck breaking their own water for the rest of the race. The swimmers in the middle of the pack form their own smaller group, and a few leaders emerge at the front; sometimes swimming alone, other times drafting in a line. This dynamic is usually most significant at the first turn as the field is closer together at this point. However, I have observed races where the leader intentionally keeps the field together on the first turn, only to blow them all away on the final turn knowing that the fatigue is greater which improves their chance to break away.

The dynamics of turn buoys are important to more than the pros. For the weekend warriors, the last 25 yards into a turn buoy can be a jumbled mess of people with arms and legs flying around all over the place and going nowhere. It is often as violent before a turn buoy as it is just after the start of the whole race. It is important to pick the right strategy. Swim into the crowd at this point and you will get stuck for certain.

Swim to the inside of the buoy and you have a high risk of getting stuck, but with potential to gain on the entire field if you don't get stuck. Swim to the outside of the field and you go around the turn much slower, but have very little risk of getting caught in the pack. "Inside" means that you are hugging the buoy as close as possible during the turn. "Outside" means that you are swimming the long way around all of the other swimmers bunched around the buoy. There is no right answer as every situation is different. However, you must be aware of the process in order to make the right choices consistently.

For most people (weekend warriors and pros alike), I recommend to take a crowded first turn buoy to the outside of the field, even though it is longer distance. The reason is that it carries the least risk. If there isn't a large crowd, by all means take the inside and get around it as fast as possible. The worst thing that can happen early on in a triathlon swim is inhaling water or taking a black eye. Swallow some water right away means you have over half of the race left to go and have lost your concentration. It is not a good time to take chances. A better option for taking the inside is the last buoy. At this point, the field is spaced further apart and so there are less flying arms and legs to hit you. Also, if the worst does happen, you don't have so much of the race left to swim and don't lose as much time or concentration.

Turn buoys make open-water swimming unique from pool swimming. Pool swimmers race at a relatively uniform speed and effort. In a triathlon swim, you need to swim at your best-mile pace for most of the time, but also need to be able to sprint at your best-50 on demand. It is the athlete with the best combination of sprint and endurance swimming abilities that usually prevails in a triathlon swim. If it were not for the turns, sprinting ability would matter much less.

The best way to prepare for turns in triathlon swimming is to work on sprinting in practice. You can gain the same amount of race time working on your sprint ability as you can by working on your endurance. If you haven't worked on sprinting in the past but have worked a lot on endurance, you stand to gain a significant amount of time by learning how to sprint.

In summary, this article has covered why turn buoys are important in an open water triathlon swim. The change of direction in a turn creates an accordion effect which forces you and your competitors to speed up and slow down in the water. If you understand this effect and have trained properly, you can make big improvements in your overall race times.

Proper Running Form

2010-11-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

by Rick Hellard, Zone 3 Sports, posted on Tri-Rudy, November 1, 2010

Proper Running Form

According to me and almost everything I've read, when it comes to running form, the things you want to think about and focus on are:

1. Posture

a. head

b. shoulders

c. Torso

d. hips

2. Footstrike

a. position

b. cadence

3. Knee lift/kick bac

4. Arm swing

5. Hand position

The good thing about this is that it is highly likely that if you fix one part, it will positively affect the others. Given the choice, I suggest posture as your main thing to work on.

Running, like walking, is a series of falls where you catch yourself with the next step. In order to continually fall forward, you have to continually lean forward, thereby using the pull of gravity to encourage that forward motion. If you stand up too straight, you do not encourage that forward motion.

With that in mind, here is what I want you to focus on, in order of priority.

Posture

Head position

look where you are going

keep your chin up so your airway is open. If you look at your feet, or down at the ground, your airway is a bit more closed than it needs to be and impedes breathing

if you do this, your posture will naturally improve

Shoulders

should be back with chest out a bit.. This will put your centre of gravity in a position that is slightly ahead of your body, creating the forward fall as gravity pulls it downward

This also opens up the lungs and makes it easier to breath deeply.

If your head is up and you are looking where you are going, this is much easier.

Torso

Needs to be reasonably taut and strong as it support the forward lean and keeps things in line between hips and shoulders, As we fatique, we tend to slouch. A strong torso easily resists the fatigue.

If your head is up and your chest is out, you cannot slouch.

Hips

Should be slightly forward, adding a bit more to the forward lean.

To a point, the faster you run, the more you lean.

Foot Strike

Position

Ideally, you should try to use a mid-foot strike where the foot lands slightly behind the ball of the foot and under your hips, not in front of them. If you do one, the other will happen almost automatically. It is important to remember your feet and legs are only propelling you forward if they are, however slightly, behind you. If you touch down in front of your hips (aka overstriding) three things happen:

you are actually slowing yourself down by hitting heel first,
you are increasing the level of impact with every foot strike; and,
you are delaying the next push off the length of time it takes for your body to get in front of the contact point so you can actually push off.

If you get the forward lean right and the feet under the hips right, you will naturally land mid-foot.

Cadence or stride rate

The ideal cadence for running is between 88 and 92 footstrikes per foot per minute. This goes for almost every size and speed of person, as well as race distance.

Simply count foot strikes for 30 seconds and multiply by 2. if you get 90, you're golden. If not but you are close, that's fine. if you are much higher or lower, you should adjust accordingly.

One of the things gently touched on above is overstriding and it's effect on impact-it increases it. Keeping your cadence around 90 will result in a softer foot strike because the body weight is supported more often, therefore distributed between more footstrikes for shorter periods of time. This will very likely reduce impact injures.

Hopefully, it is obvious there is a most efficient stride rate and taking more steps is not necessarily better. More than 90 foot strikes per minute gets to be too many and is not as efficient.

A good stride race will also limit upward motion, reducing time in the air, again, reducing impact.

Knee lift/kick back

It was proven long, long ago that with the appropriate length lever, you can move almost anything.

It is worth noting that the longer the lever, the greater the distance one end needs to travel in order to move whatever is at the other end. The further the travel, the longer it takes.. Conversely, the shorter the distance the end has to travel, the quicker it can move.

So, it stands to reason that by raising your foot and bending your knee and thereby shortening your leg (lever) on the kickback, the easier and quicker you can get your knee forward and back into position to get your foot back on the ground so it can propel you forward.

This action takes a little more effort on the part of the hip flexors, hamstrings and calves, but in terms of efficiency, is very worthwhile working on.

The faster you go, the more benficial it is to do this, but it helps at all speeds.

Also, the faster you go, the more pronounced it is.

Arm Swing

Simply put, everyone is different when it comes to arm swing, but the general rules are:

Do not cross over the center line

Use a relaxed and natural swing

Elbow should be bent to 80 degrees when the hand is in front of the body, and should snap open to 90-100 degrees , initiating the downswing and behind the hips.

Hand travel should be from around sternum height to 10cm behind the hips.

If your hands go higher than the sternum, there tends to be a bit more upward motion to the body instead of forward motion.

Hand Position

Your shoulders, arms and hands should be relaxed, but not floppy

It may help to visualize yourself carrying a pen in each hand with the your thumb and first knuckle of your index finger gently pinching the end of the pen

You also want to make sure you don't poke yourself with the other end of the pen, so it should point slightly outward.

Ideally, you should be thinking about this all the time, especially when you get tired or are going easy, which are both times when we get lazy. When you are rested or running quick, a lot of this comes naturally.

Your Triathlon Training Guide on Top of a Mountain

2010-06-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter in Tri-Rudy newsletter, June 23, 2010]

By Ben Greenfield

Imagine a triathlon like the journey to the top of a tall mountain. There are six competitors in this journey, and at the top of that mountain is a triathlon training guide - a seasoned endurance athlete with the ability to address all the issues that the competitors had getting to the top of the mountain.

Every triathlete struggles with different obstacles in their journey up the mountain, and the triathlon training guide emerges from his cave at the top of the mountain, ready to answer their questions.

The first competitor slowly approaches, gasping for breath, and says, "I was fast for awhile, but I got slower and slower towards the top of the mountain."

The triathlon training guide rubs his chin, "It sounds to me like you have subpar muscular endurance. Rather than focusing your efforts on purely slow aerobic training, or doing very short intervals, make sure that you include some long tempo efforts and long intervals in your training. These should last 5-10 minutes for running, and 10-20 minutes for cycling, and be performed at about 75-85% intensity".

The second competitor shakes his head with frustration. "I just couldn't beat my competition in that final 200 meter sprint to the top of the mountain."

With an understanding nod, the triathlon training guide responds, "You need some fast finish key workouts, young competitor. Try to include a final fast effort at the end of a weekly swim, bike or run that becomes progressively faster as the workout lasts, then finishes with a maximum pace fast effort, such as a 1/2 mile hard run, a 5K hard bike, or a 200 meter hard swim."

The third competitor grimaces from soreness, "My legs got very tired every time the mountain got steep."

"Your legs are weak," rumbled the triathlon training guide, "Do steep hill repeats that are short in time and low in cadence, and include squats and lunges in your gym program, rather than just spending all your time in yoga class."

The fourth competitor wavers with weakness, "I was grumpy, depressed and lightheaded most of the time I was racing."

The triathlon training guide holds out a gel, "Moodiness is a sign of low blood sugar - you should only feel like that during a targeted fat burning session, not during a race."

The fifth competitor stumbles forward, with sticky, sugary fingers, "My energy was fine, but I got nauseous with a grumbly stomach, so can I have a gel too?"

"Not a chance, kid," the triathlon training guide continues, "This usually means you ate too much, and had too much blood going to your gut. Next time, remind yourself that this sport isn't a buffet line."

The sixth and final competitor shrugs, "This sport hurts. I twisted an ankle, all my joints hurt and the front of my shoulder is killing me."

The triathlon training guide narrowed his eyes, "You are weak and imbalanced. Do more single leg drills, more rotator cuff and core strengthening, more flexibility work, and be sure you're using proper gear and are fitted to it correctly. This sport shouldn't hurt like that."

And with that, the six competitors turned around for the easy descent down the mountain, eager to try the climb again with their newfound knowledge. The triathlon training guide smiled with satisfaction and disappeared into his cave.

EAT LIKE A CHAMPION

2010-06-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, June 15, 2010]

To run your best, you need to eat differently than the rest of the population. Elite coach Chris Carmichael explains what should be on your plate.

By Kristen Wolfe Bieler

In the months leading up to the Tour de France, every aspect of Lance Armstrong's training regimen has a purpose. And that includes eating. He ups his caloric intake from 3,000 to 6,000 calories per day. The percentage of carbohydrates in his diet also increases (from 60 to 70 percent of his calories), while he slightly decreases his protein and fat intake. This finely tuned nutritional balancing act, which has helped Armstrong win five consecutive Tours, was designed by Chris Carmichael, Armstrong's long-time coach, nutritionist, and friend.

As an Olympic trainer and a former competitive cyclist, Carmichael, the founder of Carmichael Training Systems, has learned that athletes need to match their nutritional intake to the demands of their training in order to achieve peak performance. In his new book, Food for Fitness: Eat Right to Train Right, due out this month, Carmichael applies his nutritional principles to all types of athletes, particularly runners.

According to Carmichael, runners need to take a holistic approach to eating and training. "Diet and training are so closely intertwined, they can't be separated," he says. Runners' diets, therefore, need to evolve throughout the year to correspond with particular workouts. Essentially, Carmichael takes the training technique known as periodization (you break your training year into "periods" with different goals, then concentrate on specific training) and extends it to the training table.

The concept of periodization naturally translates to nutrition, because the amount of energy you burn changes as you go through weeks, months, and a full year of training. If you're eating the same number of calories all year, there is most likely a portion of the year when you're eating more food than you need. Likewise, there will be times when your training burns more calories and demands more nutrients than you are consuming. So just as your training focuses on different goals in different months of the year, you need to make sure you're eating enough food--and the right kinds of foods--to support your workouts.

But it isn't as simple as just eating an extra granola bar or two when you're running longer or harder. "Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are tied together and linked to how you perform," says Carmichael. So on top of eating more calories as your training intensifies, the ratio of carbohydrates to fats to proteins in your diet needs to change as well. "If you are training for a half-marathon, for example, you need a greater percentage of carbohydrates in your diet than if you're just running for fitness," he explains. Like Lance Armstrong, when you're at the peak of your training, it's important to increase the percentage of carbs in your diet from about 60 to 70 percent to ensure you're giving your body enough fuel to enhance your workouts.

Not surprisingly, Carmichael cautions runners about popular low-carb diets. Slashing carbs can negatively affect a runner's health and performance. This is because carbohydrates are the body's high-octane fuel--the fuel it relies on for speed and power. Cutting carbs from your diet leads to depleted stores of glycogen (the form carbs take when stored in the body). Training in a glycogen-depleted state causes the body to struggle to maintain even low-intensity exercise, making it difficult to improve fitness.

Still, with all due respect to carbohydrates, Carmichael notes that protein is more important than once thought for distance runners because of the role it plays in helping to transport carbohydrates throughout your system. Protein is particularly crucial during your postworkout meal. "Recent evidence shows that adding protein to your high-carbohydrate postworkout meal enables the carbs to move more quickly into the muscles for faster refueling," he says. Carmichael advises a ratio of about 1 part protein to 7 parts carbohydrate, although it's more important simply to strive for a protein-carbohydrate combination than it is to achieve that specific ratio. A postrun meal of rice and chicken (heavier on the rice than the chicken) will get you what you need for a speedy recovery.

But good nutrition isn't about eliminating one type of food or nutrient in exchange for another. All foods have a place on Carmichael's table. It's just a matter of choosing the right foods, in the right proportions, at the right times, to yield the energy you need to run and live at an optimal level. His nutritional strategy even leaves room for indulgences, in moderation. Carmichael himself admits to bimonthly Ben & Jerry's binges. And Armstrong? It's said he goes for apple fritters whenever he can get his hands on them. Good luck finding those in France.

Periodization For Idiots

How do you apply the principles of periodization to your diet without complex nutrient calculations? Remember that the concept of eating more carbs during your heaviest training is more important than trying to adhere to specific numbers.

But when you're upping the miles, adding just one of these mini meals per day gives you the extra carbs you need to keep running strong.

1 cup vanilla yogurt + 1 cup fresh fruit (60 grams carbs)
Bonus Benefit: provides over 40 percent of your daily calcium needs

1 cup orange juice + 1 banana (52 grams carbs)
Bonus Benefit: packs almost 200 percent of the Daily Value for vitamin C

1 slice banana nut bread + 1 cup skim milk (about 45 grams carbs)
Bonus Benefit: gives you 25 percent of the Daily Value for calcium

1 PowerBar energy bar + 8 oz PowerBar Endurance sports drink (62 grams carbs)
Bonus Benefit: provides plenty of sodium and potassium to keep you well hydrated

Smoothie of 2 cups skim or soy milk + 1 1/2 cups strawberries + 2 Tbsp soy
protein (about 50 grams carbs)
Bonus Benefit: contributes about 5 grams of fiber

1 1/2 cups multigrain cereal + 1 1/2 cups skim milk (54 grams carbs)
Bonus Benefit: contains over 100 percent of the Daily Value for iron

1 bagel + 1 banana + 1 Tbsp nut butter (about 75 grams carbs)
Bonus Benefit: provides 12 grams of protein

Get Your Fluids

2010-05-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 26, 2010]

by Terry Laughlin

Think the pool is one place you can skip hydration? Think again!

Water, water everywhere, but are you drinking enough? When I look around at the pool, I think not. It's easy to assume that because you don't see sweat when you're swimming, you're not losing water. Not so. You not only sweat, but also sweat copiously, because your body generates lots of internal friction heat from the contractions of all those swimming muscle fibers. In fact, a majority of the calories you burn in the pool are body heat.

Prove it by weighing yourself before and after workout, whatever weight you’ve lost is all water. Sweat losses of as little as 2 percent of body weight, (or 3 pounds for a 150-pound swimmer) can dramatically hurt your practice performance. In fact, dehydration is far more likely to slow you down than energy loss, making water-loading far more important than carbo-loading, not to mention being easier. Yet, when swimming my daily TI practice (with a jumbo 32-oz. bottle of filtered water within each reach), I seldom see anyone in adjacent lanes quaffing rejuvenating water.

A study by Dr. Jack Wilmore, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas, concluded that for workouts of less than an hour, nothing beats water. But if you're swimming for more than an hour, fluid replacement drinks with electrolytes (i.e. Gatorade or Powerade) are absorbed into the bloodstream more quickly than water, thus hastening recovery.

Sports drinks are easy enough to find, having made their way from health-food and sporting-goods stores to the corner grocery. I settled on Gatorade, watered down to about half strength. I like the taste, which prompts me to drink more; I've had no digestive problems, and I've noticed a marked improvement during the latter half of a typical 75-to90-minute workout. And as I increase my swim time in preparation for the Manhattan Island Swim, I’ll probably put Endurox in my bottle for sessions lasting 2 to 3 hours to keep my muscles from getting glycogen-depleted.

Dehydration: Did you know that?

75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated – mainly because your body is low on water long before your thirst response alerts you.
In half of the chronically dehydrated, the thirst mechanism is often mistaken for hunger.
MILD dehydration will slow down your metabolism by as much as 3 percent -- that’s right you’ll burn calories and fat 3 percent more slowly if you don’t drink enough water.
One glass of water satisfied late night hunger pangs for almost 100 percent of dieters in a Univ. of Washington study.
Research suggests that drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day could significantly relieve back and joint pain for up to 80 percent of sufferers.
A mere 2 percent drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or printed page.
Drinking five glasses of water daily decreases colon cancer risk by 45 percent, breast cancer risk by 79 percent and bladder cancer risk by 50 percent.

Down a quart? Here are five ways to make sure you’re getting enough:

You can sweat off 6 to 8 ounces of fluid every 15 minutes. At minimum you should take a healthy swig from your water bottle every quarter hour.
Want to be more precise? Weigh yourself before and after a workout. Each pound lost is a pint (16 oz.) of water loss. Next time, bring that much in your water bottle.
Pre-hydrate. Drink a liter or more of water during the two hours before swimming and 16 oz. immediately before.
Drink before you're thirsty. The thirst response comes only after your body already needs water. (Older swimmers note: Past middle age, we get "less thirsty." Exercise that drives a younger person to drink probably doesn't send thirst signals to an older person; so your risk of dehydration is greater.)
Energy-replacement (carbo-loaded) drinks during workout? Not necessary for a 2-hour or less workout. But if, say, you're getting on your bike afterward, use them to tank up.

What's The Easiest Way To Take Ten Minutes Out Of Your Swim Split?

2010-05-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

Here's some fascinating GPS data from one of our Perth squad members, Daniel Tarborsky. Dan raced with his Garmin GPS under his swim cap for three of his major races this season just gone, recording the exact path he took. Click here for more information.

Pressing the buoy and not the T

2010-05-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 12, 2010]
by Terry Laughlin

There have been a number of threads in the last few months, debating some of the points in articles I've posted. One topic which seems to have drawn more comment than most is the idea of swimming easier and faster by "Pressing the T"

The idea is that the most common and frustrating swimming handicap is the dragging butt and legs. I suggested that it could easily be cured by leaning into the water on the chest, an action I referred to as "Pressing the T."

But that term seems to have struck many people as a bit obtuse, so I've decided to change the terminology to "Pressing Your Buoy." Here's what I mean by this and here's why it works:

Think of a water polo ball or something similarly buoyant. If you push it into the water, what happens? Right! the water pushes it back out.

We have only one place on our body that's similarly buoyant--the space between our armpits and behind the breastbone; it floats mainly because it has volume (Empty Space!) not mass. Most everything else on the body (except for body fat wherever we may have it) tends to sink. So let's call it our Buoy and it will prove far more valuable to us than the buoy we stick between our legs to keep them afloat.

If we Press Our Buoy into the water, the water will respond by pushing it back out. But we make the strategic CHOICE of what we're going to let the water push out. In this case, we choose to release the HIPS to the surface. It's that simple and costs us far less energy than trying to keep the hips and legs up by kicking.

Finally you add some counterweight to the sinking tendency of the hips and legs, by using the head. Your body in water is really a teeter-totter with it's fulcrum somewhere between your waist and your sternum. The longer heavier end naturally wants to sink. Your head, if kept connected via the head-spine line to the hips will act as an effective counterweight. In order to use it this way you have to avoid lifting your head to breathe.

Hopefully from now on when people refer on-line and elsewhere to this as "Pressing Your Buoy" there will be a higher level of common understanding.

A second issue in this discussion has been a certain degree of resistance among some of the more experienced and competent swimmers to the idea that balance is a big concern and that you need to take special measures to improve it. It's important to understand that most good swimmers, unlike the 90%+ of typical triathletes who didn't swim as kids, don't have radical balance problems to overcome and have over the years evolved intuitive ways of dealing with balance in the water. It's just not something they have to THINK about while swimming, anymore than they need to think about breathing. They just do it. So to suggest to them that they think about just gives them a headache. Besides which, experienced and accomplished swimmers are often reluctant to change tried and true ways of doing things. But. Matt Biondi, after he had already set multiple world records and won multiple Olympic medals, said that he felt he had learned only 10% of all there was to know about swimming we! ll. I've been swimming for 30 years myself, have finished 2nd at US Masters Nationals and am still learning more effective ways of interacting with the water, simply by being open to that possibility If I ever feel that I know it all about swimming, look for me to take up golf because swimming will at that point cease to be interesting to me.

Happy laps.

Swimming Posture

2010-04-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, April 14, 2010]

By Michael Collins

I am constantly looking for new ways to teach swimming. I attend coaches clinics and swim camps whenever possible to keep updated and inspired to teach swimming better. For the last year or so I have been putting a lot more emphasis on body position than on the pulling and kicking motions based on information learned from top level coaches like Terry Laughlin, Emmett Hines, Bill Boomer, & Tom Avischious. But change is a long slow process. I hope I can help you understand some of these concepts better in this article.

Do you remember in grade school the teacher or your parents telling you to improve your posture. "Sit up STRAIGHT, young man! Stop SLOUCHING in your seat! I remember that distinctly from both parents and teachers (Maybe if I had listened, I wouldn't have had back surgery at age 30). To grow up with all our body parts working properly it was necessary to treat our body well by maintaining proper posture and body strength.

Well guess what, posture in the water is just as critical to swimming well. Most swimmers have some GLARING posture defects which cause them to either swim MUCH slower than they are capable or work MUCH harder to swim at the same speed. The main two goals in swimming faster are to minimize or reduce drag and to maximize propulsion. Instead we are using most of our energy overcoming poor posture in the water and we are not achieving either!

Through Snooper video taping over the last few months, I have found most swimmers drastically out of alignment throughout much of their stroke. To swim faster, we must stop spending so much time trying to work harder, and find ways to swim the same speed with LESS effort (lower heart rate). Keeping your heart rate lower will allow you to maintain better body position and speed for a longer period of time. Improving your body position (posture) in the water is the quickest way to do this.

Learn to feel weightless in the water by balancing your body in the water. This is difficult to do since the center of your body mass is about 6 inches above your navel, but your center of buoyancy is between your armpits. By pressing the head and chest into the water with the right pressure your buoy will float perfectly horizontal at the surface. VERY few swimmers do this well. Usually, the head position is far higher than the hips which forces the legs to work harder and the arms to press down to support the head instead of reaching out in front for more distance. This increases the heart rate because the legs are working harder and more arm strokes are required to cover each length.

Collins' Rules To Long Axis Rotational Strokes (Free & Back)

Rule #1
Maintain head to hip horizontal alignment by keeping pressure on the buoy. Lifting your head higher than your hips at ANY time during the stroke, especially during breathing is a big NO-NO. Check yourself by imagining a skewer shoved through your skull and down your spine keeping you perfectly aligned, only allowing you to rotate the head to breathe and not lift it. The skewer tip should always be pointed at the pool wall you are swimming toward.

Rule #2
Maintain a long "boat" position by keeping a "weightless" arm in front for three-quarters of the stroke pattern. This is also known as Front Quadrant Freestyle. Stretching the arm out front allows the hips to continue to rotate on the side as the recovery arm passes your ear.

Rule #3
Swim on your SIDE not on your STOMACH. Skate down the pool sliding from one hip to the other. Use hip rotation to power your arms through the water. Anchor the hand out front, and then pull it back by rotation of the hips. Increase speed by increasing hip rotation, not arm turnover.

Rule #4
"Stealth Kick" steady and narrow just below the surface. Don't break out of the turbulent cylinder created by the body. Legs should not fall significantly lower that the hips, excessively break the surface, or scissor wider that the width of your shoulders.

Rule #5
Develop a "vertical forearm pull" to increase propulsion. I believe keeping the elbows near the surface at the catch and the finger tips pointed toward the bottom is FAR more important than an "S" shaped pull pattern. Remember though, this is the LAST step and should only be emphasized AFTER the 1st 4 rules have been thoroughly ingrained in your muscle memory.

Swim Training for Triathletes

2010-02-25T04:55:00.000-08:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, Feb. 25/10]

"Real" swimmers as I sometimes call them, are different from the rest of us. It's more than just being fast in the water, they swim different than us, they have a "feel" for the water that we don't have. They swim all strokes (correctly). They're able to swim endlessly breathing every 5th, 7th, 9th stroke. They can push off the wall and stay underwater for a really long time and don't even take a breathe on their first stroke (how do they do that?) And of course, they do all that stuff while swimming fast.

These are the swimmers that started swimming at a very young age under the watchful eye of a coach who constantly made corrections to their stroke. So by the time they start maturing their strokes are solid and they've probably logged more yards than most of us will in our entire life.

Those of us that started swimming later in life (read: non-swimmers) don't have the same foundation to build upon, so we've got a lot of catching up to do. And it might be best if we don't try and do all the things that swimmers do.

I've been fortunate enough to make some significant improvements in my swimming over the last several years. My first year (99) in Kona (Ironman Hawaii) I swam a blistering 1:04. Last year I hit the ramp in 55:50 (my official time was 56:20 and I'm still trying to figure out where those 30 seconds went). I benefited greatly from swimming with masters and learning some of the Total Immersion drills. The intent of this article however is to discuss the five reasons why I think I'm a better (and faster) swimmer than I was 5 years ago.

Warning: Real swimmers may not agree with everything that I'm about to say, but remember, we're different and we look at swimming differently. Here's what has helped me:

Stop relying on the pull buoy to get you through the main set

The pull buoy is a great tool if used correctly. Unfortunately, most non-swimmers use it as a swimming aide when they get tired or they interval gets too fast. Do you swim faster with a pull buoy than without one? It might be time to leave the pull buoy in your swim bag for a few weeks. I used to always reach for the pull buoy when the main set got hard. When I finally made the commitment to swim without it, I struggled, but eventually I got comfortable swimming without it and it's made a huge improvement in my swimming. The pull buoy can be a great tool if you use it correctly. Specific pull sets or recovery sets are fine. I also use a band around my ankles whenever I use a pull buoy. It keeps you from kicking, and reinforces proper body position.

Improve your Kick

Real swimmers might tell you that kicking isn't really that important. That's because they've been swimming for so long that their position is so good that they don't need to improve their kick, and they don't understand that us non-swimmers don't have the ability to hold good body position without a strong kick (it's a conundrum). Until last year, I could not kick 50m unless I was wearing fins. Why? because I always wore fins while kicking. I'm not sure why, but about two years ago I decided that I was going to learn to kick without fins, and I'm glad I did. It took a while, and I went 25m at a time really slow for a long time, but eventually I went 50 and then 100...and then I started getting faster at kicking. And then, I noticed while I was swimming I could use my kick that I recently developed to adjust my position or get a little propulsion. And then...no and then, just stop kicking with fins, you won't regret it.

Pull Wide

Real swimming use a lot of technical swimming talk like "keep the elbow high" I still don't know what most of means (Ok, I know what that means, but for a long time I didn't, and I don't think it's easy for a non-swimmer to understand). What I've found as I work with non-swimmers is that keeping the elbow high and not over or under bending the elbow is not as much of a problem as pulling too close to the torso. Pulling wide is really easy to explain: when you take a stroke, keep your hand farther away from your body than your used to. If you exaggerate it, your probably close to where it should be. Keeping your thumb along side of you hand and keeping your fingers together will help you feel the increased resistance of the water. Pulling wide makes it easy to avoid crossing over (when your hand enters the water). Reach wide and pull wide.

Lead

Ok, you probably can't lead, but don't follow so close. So many non-swimmers focus on going fast and making hard intervals that they leave 2 seconds behind the guy in front of them just so they can keep up. If that's you, stop it. You'll get much stronger if you break your own water. When I swam in masters I always wanted to try and swim in a faster lane, so I had to draft behind the guys in front of me, but I knew I could never make those intervals alone. Since I don't have a local masters program, I have to swim my own workouts and I usually lead. And it's a lot harder. And it makes you a stronger swimmer. If you have to follow, give em 10 or 15 seconds.

Slow Down

Swimming easy isn't so easy. But it allows you to concentrate on your form, your pull, and your kick. If you're swimming to keep up with the guy in front of you, your focus is on the wrong person. Just like running, you need to develop the ability to swim at a sustainable effort and for most of us, it means slowing down. Once you find that sustainable effort, stay there. do your intervals there. You'll gain efficiency and soon you'll be going faster at that same effort.

Your Core And Posture In Swimming

2010-01-27T06:43:00.000-08:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, January 27, 2010]

"Core Stability": The buzz-phrase of the 00's

The buzz-phrase in the fitness world for the last decade has been Core Stability. Most of us realise that core stability is important for our swimming but are unsure how to tune into it and how to improve it. In this article we're going to take a deeper look at how to do just that.

We're going to use three simple exercises to help:

Stretching Through Your Core
Squeezing Your Butt
Swimming Proud

A Strong Core

We know that a good swim stroke is fluid and relaxed right? Well, that's only partially true. Your arm action and your kick action should be nice and relaxed yes. But your core should be strong and engaged when you swim. This is a bit of a paradox about swimming - all the time you're trying to be relaxed and fluid with your stroke you need to be strong through your core - all the way from your glutes to your upper spine.

Having a strong stable core makes you more torpedo-like so you spear through the water in a straight line. It also helps connect your arm strokes to your core, allowing you to use your whole body to drive your arm propulsion, not just your small shoulder muscles.

Visualise some licorice stretched between your pelvis and rib cage.

Exercise 1. Stretching Through Your Core

To engage your lower core try this visualisation the next time you swim.

Think about your pelvis and your rib cage. Imagine you have a piece of floppy elastic or licorice attached at one end to your pelvis and the other to your rib cage. If you stretch tall through your core, bringing your rib cage away from your pelvis, you can make the elastic stretch and be tight.

As you swim, stretch tall through your core and keep that imaginary elastic tight. This will engage your lower core muscles and strengthen your torso.

Exercise 2. Squeezing Your Butt Muscles

Our second exercise is another visualisation. This time we're focused on the lower-rear core muscles, the glutes (your bum/butt). As you swim, imagine you have a large coin between your butt cheeks and you've got to keep it there! To do that you've got to lightly squeeze your butt cheeks together - a crude thought but very effective none the less!

Don't over do it, a very light clench is enough to engage your glutes, straighten your lower body and connect your legs better to your torso. This exercise also helps you develop better kicking technique.

Think about this regularly when you swim and you will gradually develop neural pathways to your glute muscles, recruiting them for permanent use.

Posture

Computer work is very bad for your posture and that can impact on your swimming.

Many of us have office jobs and spend our days itching to break free from the PC and head out the door to train. But it gets worse. The posture that you adopt in an office job in front of the computer can really hurt your swimming. Unless you are very careful, computer work and other desk jobs cause you to develop a slouched posture with hunched forward shoulders and a bent forwards spine and neck.

You probably remember growing up and your parents or teachers telling you "...don't slouch - shoulders back and chest forward". This is actually excellent advice for your swimming too.

We are taught to think of core stability as being purely about the area around your abdominal and lower back, whereas in fact core stability concerns a much larger area. Your whole core comprises your abdominals, lower back, glutes (i.e. your bum / butt) and your upper back / shoulder region.

As a swimmer, you should be concerned about your level of core stability, especially when it comes to the upper back and shoulder region. Having hunched or rounded shoulders from the way you sit at the office leads to a swinging arm recovery, coming wide around the side rather than over the top of the body. A wide arm recovery causes cross overs, ruins the catch and is one of the leading causes of shoulder injury.

Poor posture leads to poor body roll which causes cross-overs. =(

By sitting slouched at your desk, you are inadvertently shortening the muscles at the front of the shoulder and chest (the pectorals or 'pecs') and elongating those at the back (mid and lower trapezius muscles or 'traps' and the rhomboids). Over a prolonged period of time, this posture becomes ingrained.

So sit-up! Shoulders back and chest forward! Let’s remedy this whilst you read.

Working to strengthen the muscles at the back of the shoulder and stretch those at the front will pay real dividends for your swimming. It will help develop a range of motion around the shoulder joint and through the upper back, and in doing so help prevent cross-overs.

Exercise 3. The YTWL and Swimming Proud!

Swim Smooth employ a simple exercise that is used by many physiotherapists to help tune into this upper-core stability. Perform the "Y-T-W-L" at the pool, in the gym or at home to gradually tune into your upper posture and something called Scapula Retraction.

The YTWL is a basic scapula retraction exercise that can work wonders - even if you feel like a bit of an idiot whilst doing it (!). Do you remember The YMCA? Well, the YTWL is similar! :

What is Scapula Retraction?

Your Scapula are your shoulder blades. The shoulder blades connect your humerus (upper most arm bone) to your collar bone.

Scapula retraction is the action of pulling your shoulder blades together, bringing them towards your spine. This is important in swimming because it stabilises your arm attachment to the body and strengthens your upper core.

When you stand up tall and proud, your scapula retracts to pull your shoulders back. Engage these muscles when you swim and you will develop more power from your stroke.

Run through each of the Y-T-W-L positions shown in the picture in turn, hold each position for about 10 seconds. Stand up tall as you do it but keep your back straight - don't arch it. Hold your stomach in, your shoulders back and chest proudly forwards. We suggest you repeat the YTWL through about 5 times each time.

By doing this exercise before you swim and even before you go to bed at night, you’ll help rectify the bad posture which you may have adopted at work. Over time this will get better and better and may even help to cure common ailments such as a tight neck, shoulder and back muscles.

Why Is Your Posture Important?

Three major reasons:

Having better posture keeps you straighter in the water, particularly your arm extension forwards. This means you'll expend less energy travelling down the pool. Being straighter will also avoid cross-overs, which ruin your catch and lead to shoulder injury.
Better posture helps develop good body roll. Good body roll gives you a longer more powerful stroke.
Having a strong upper core helps attach your arm stroke to your body. This means you start to use the whole of your body and your body roll to drive the stroke rather than just your shoulder muscles. This is a much more powerful way of swimming.

Good posture is one of the keys to Swimming Smooth. Start thinking about yours today.

Should I be Doing Core Work In the Gym?

If you can get to the gym regularly, then yes. Seek some advice from the personal trainers and get them to build and demonstrate a short session tailored to your needs. Mention to them you are interested in improving your upper body posture in particular.

You don't need to do huge amounts of core work to make a big improvement. A structured routine performed little and often can make all the difference to your swimming.

Race Day Fluid and Carbs: More or Less?

2010-01-14T05:05:00.001-08:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, January 13/10)

Race Day Summary

by Mitch Anderson

It’s really hard to get it right. It’s really hard to give people direct advice to get it right. But if you can just understand how the system works, you’ll be a lot closer to almost getting it right. If you could jump on the scales at the end of each hour, the job would be so much easier. So how much fluid with how much carbohydrate and electrolyte? I’m going to try and make this clear in physiological terms and practical terms.

What type of fuel to put in?

Imagine you gut is a filter. It is essentially a water filter, then secondarily an electrolyte and glucose filter. Then, and only then is it a fat and protein filter. The latter items require the most time and remain the most complex items to filter. Indeed they are not required on race day, because you don’t burn much protein (it is not a significant contributor to metabolic requirements) and you have more stored fat than you can use in a day (try a week!). Fat and protein clog the filter, do not use them on race day (unless you’re racing for fun, not performance).

Water never truly clogs the filter. You can drink water almost as much as you like. It even helps when the filter is blocked, by flushing carb and electrolyte through the system. It helps because it dilutes the contents of you gut. The advice on your gel packet reads: “take with water” for this very reason. Water in excess can be a problem with causing bloating the gut, or the other extreme water intoxication (which makes you wee and bleeds sodium from your body). But on the whole, water is helpful.

Carbohydrate and electrolyte do clog the filter, but not as much as fat and protein. There are specific transporters for these substances in your gut membrane. In fact, there are co-transporters which take all three (water, sodium and glucose) in one hit. This is another reason why water should be added to your gut contents when you take a gel. In addition, glucose and electrolyte are vital to maintaining the metabolic output of your muscles. Neither are stored in huge amounts in you body, like fats. This discrete supply means you should focus on their replacement (with water) on race day.

How much fuel to put in?

Everyone has heard the old chestnut about ingesting 1g CHO per kilo of body weight per hour. This is an excellent guide to quantity, but does not take into account the entire story. Other things to note are: electrolyte quantity; mode of ingestion of carb.; exercise intensity; mode of exercise (bike or run); training state; clothing; timing of the race; early/late in the race; length of the event; heat; wind; and topography of the course. There are bound to be a few I’ve forgotten, but these are the main variables.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH! How do you get it right? Firstly, remember how the filter works. Don’t clog it with protein or fat. I make a concerted effort to load my system with some sodium prior to races (esp. long hot races), so that I don’t have to load my gut with extra salt tablets on race day. Don’t be fooled by these tiny tablets, they can make a big difference to the efficiency of your gut. There remains some controversy about whether or not the gut works better on bolus (large volumes to stretch and activate the membrane) amounts or steady drinking. I tend to use the former, because I have a hardy gut and means I can concentrate on the work at hand. Also, I like to think of my gut as a reservoir, that I can constantly top-up with water or concentrate, rather than let it empty at any stage. Taking gels triggers my mind to take water, because it’s a big load for your gut to handle when you’re at race intensity. The higher your intensity, the more you should be wary about loading carb and electrolyte into your gut. Think about the filter getting finer (therefore more likely to clog) as any of the following variables alter: exercise intensity rises; it gets hotter; topography becomes hillier; it gets windier; it gets later in the race; or it’s a really long race. Essentially all these elements compromise the amount of blood you can send to your gut thereby slowing the rate at which it can absorb fluid.

I guess think, think and think some more about what you are doing with your nutrition. Don’t just shovel it in to a schedule of 75g per hour, then get disappointed when your tummy ends up bloated. It’s a complex organ, which interacts with many elements of your race. So treat it with respect, by thinking about your fluid as you put it in. You should always be questioning yourself about the timing and relating it back to how your body is feeling, not behaving like a robot.

What are the over fill danger signs?

If you’ve never pushed your gut or your body to it’s limit, then this won’t have happened to you during exercise. But everyone has had gastro in their lives! Remember what your stomach feels like when you try to drink that first cup of fluid? That’s your warning sign during exercise, that your gut is not emptying. The sooner you can diagnose yourself as having a gut which is delayed, the sooner you can put into play the elements to unblock the filter. If you spot it early, STOP the carbs and electrolyte, and add a bolus water. You’ll feel the plug pull out and your gut starting to empty again. Slowing down will also allow more blood to be sent to your gut, and aid emptying. The slowing need only be transient (~5-10min), which is a hell of a lot faster than walking on the course at the end of a race. If you don’t feel your gut until it’s quite bloated then slow down, stop drinking and wait. If you feel alright after ten minutes, then start to add water in small amounts. Keep the brakes on your pace until your gut is tolerating fair doses of water.

In summary, it’s not a simple case of following a recipe. Your stomach works in mysterious ways, and has good days and bad. But getting in touch with the ways it works in you is crucial to racing well. I can highly recommend race simulations during training where you trial strategies of fluid and gels. Steer clear of the fats and protein, and you should be able to get close to getting it right!

Gut Threshold Nutrition Principles

2010-01-13T11:59:00.001-08:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, January 13, 2010]

By Mitchell Anderson

My favourite ad on television has just started being re-run after at least 12 long months in absentia! It’s the HBA advert, where a small boy talks about a nasty experience with a crocodile. In a twisted little voice he says: “Crocodile came along. Bit me into parts. I mean pieces. Bit my guts out. Then my head went one way, my legs went the other way!” Minus the crocodile, kinda sounds like doing a triathlon. Your gut is twisted every which way whilst you’re exercising. This article will explain why!

So really, I want to talk about the concept of ‘gut threshold.’ I’m certainly not going to claim this description as my own…but I haven’t heard anyone else talk about it in this manner!! The term ‘gut’ globally describes your stomach and intestine. To start, the key is the word threshold. In VERY simplified terms, the way your gut works is almost digital. It’s either emptying, or it’s not. You either feel distended, or you don’t. It reaches a point (or threshold) and then shuts down. The very worst thing that can happen during an endurance event is for your gut to shut down. No gut equals no nutrition. Absorption of gut contents is affected by three main factors: thermoregulation (relying on heavily on environmental temp.), exercise intensity (relying on your aggro) and concentration of gut contents (relying on what you’re eating/drinking). Largely, it’s good to try and keep the first and last in check, so you can maintain exercise intensity…therby maximising performance.So ! if you can think of gut threshold in a way similar to lactate threshold- you reach a point of deflection on a graph where your lactate begins to rapidly accumulate in the blood. This means you have to slow down. Similarly, if you push your gut over threshold, if exercise continues…you’ll have to slow down. If you get too dehydrated or take in concentrated solutions, then intensity will suffer due to gut shut-down. Blood that was being sent to your gut is being diverted to muscle (for exercise) and skin (for thermoregulation).

So let’s think more about factors effecting gut emptying and why it’s important.It’s really not that difficult to understand why gut threshold is important. The three contributing energy systems during exercise are: fat, protein and sugar. Protein is not a vital piece of the exercising pie, but the others are. Fat is stored in limitless supply, some more limitless than others (!), but you have a finite level of access. Furthermore, it is a difficult substance to absorb across your gut membrane, as it requires processing prior to absorption. In addition, this absorption happens in the intestine, not the stomach. Carbohydrate, on the other hand, is readily absorbed across the stomach membrane utilising swanky co-transporters. These suck up carbohydrate and electrolyte and water, dumping these vital components straight into the blood stream for use. Your brain and exercising muscle demand glucose in mass quantities.

Quite differently from fat, carb’s are in limited supply in the human body (stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle), so any additions are greatly beneficial. If you run out, then you’ll hit the wall.The stomach is the first port of call for anything you pop into your mouth. Food and fluid shoots down your oesophagus and is processed by the stomach first. It mixes and mashes and adds acids to break the food into small parts. I mean pieces. So when you are racing, anything you pop into your mouth that isn’t glucose (or fluid and electrolytes), I think of as a distractor. Essentially I mean protein, fats and fibre, none of which are absorbed across the stomach membrane. There are a few reasons why they’ll behave as distractors. They’ll block the efficient absorption of the essentials, by not being absorbed until the intestine. They act to increase the concentration of the solution inside the gut, thereby dragging fluid from the blood to assist in equalising the concentratio! n. Furthermore, they aren’t needed by the body to perform exercise (there’s plenty of fats running around already, you don’t use much protein, and you sure as heck aren’t worried about your bowel health with the fibre )…so why eat them?The fact remains that palitibility is the main stimulus for eating and drinking during exercise. So whether or not you like the taste of something.

The real trainability of the mind lies in ensuring you stay positive and receptive to carb/electrolyte/fluid, rather than allowing your mind to force you into eating sub-optimal food and drink like bars or other solids. I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat what you like during training (especially on the bike), the intensity during training is much lower and shouldn’t be pushing your gut to the limit. I’m talking about racing and utlising largely liquids, allowing you to load your stomach optimally, rather than adding fibre. Furthermore, using sports drink in the correct concentration (6-8%), and gels (plus or minus salt tablets) will provide you with every nutrient you need in a race spanning 1h to 15h. They will also assist in adding nutrients in the correct concentrations.

So try and push your gut to it’s limit in the same way you push your muscle to it’s limit. Manage it at gut threshold, so you’re always pouring in as much water/carb/electrolyte as your membrane can absorb. Minimise the number of distractors. Maximise your performance. Race well. Stay away from crocodiles

Front Crawl Top Swim Tips

2009-12-21T06:06:00.000-08:00

[Source: Tri-Rudy newsletter]

by Tom Anzai
www.swimottawa.com

"Top 5 Swim Stroke Mistakes...And How To Avoid Them“

After forty years of competitions both as a swimmer and a coach, I've seen just about every stroke possible as have my fellow colleagues who have been around the sport for several decades. I'm still amazed to see an unique swim technique I haven't seen before, however, I'm pretty sure the participant couldn't care less and is happy as a lark to be able to move in the water. To be honest, I'm still learning and trying out technique drills myself that seemed void in my youth (I don't think I was a good listener back then perhaps :-). Anyway, here's my top 5 front crawl swim strokes that I continually see and what you can do to fix them:

1. Excessive head lift when breathing. Lifting your head causes your lower body to sink and results in more turbulence. Do key rotation drills to make sure you look at the landscape sideways. Try it the next time you're at the pool by turning your head directly sideways. Does the landscape perspective seem odd? Chances are you are lifting your head to see more upright.

2. Forced breathing. If you get out of breath and you're in reasonable shape, then inefficient breathing is the culprit. You have to learn to slowly exhale air completely out of your lungs before you draw new air in on the breathing cycle. If you don't, you'll be attempting to both exhale and inhale when you breath causing laboured inefficiencies. To some progressive breathing drills while stationary and move to kicking with a board with your face in the water, then to experimenting with exhalation techniques to determine which is best for you.

3. Swinging arm recovery. Your arm is a pretty heavy limb. Imagine its dead weight as it swings wildly while recovering over the water. The only forces that can stop the swinging motion are two-fold: first, is your muscles to redirect your arms path, and second, is the force of the water as you counter correct it. Your muscles require energy as water is 800% denser than air. The two together will cause you to slow down over time. Use drills to relax the forearm and hand and minimize the path from the exit point (your hips) to the entry point (before you rotate to reach forward).

4. Cross-over underwater catch. The swinging arm recovery above often leads your arm passing your body's centerline as it strokes underwater. A no-no in swimming as that will result in lateral movement. We need to pull water directly behind us in order to continually move forward in a streamline fashion. Use drills to learn how to lock 'n load your hand entry by efficiently catching the water through the power phase through to the finish phase.

5. Inconsistent to no kick. Let's face it. Wet suits make you buoyant so you don't have to kick as much. But, let's be clear. You still have to kick to help drive your hips to initiate the pull. And, don't leave your feet to drag behind you like a pair of dumb bells. Use wall, vertical, dry land, and kick drills (with and without a board) to learn how to boil the water. Watch the next triathlon or open water swim. Are the leaders kicking? Absolutely.

6. OK, I snuck in a #6. Avoidance of other swim strokes. I sometimes hear triathletes stating that they only want to practice front crawl as that's what they only do in a race. One of the stronger recommendations I have is to become a real swimmer by learning the other strokes and treat it as excellent cross-training, particularly backstroke as it a long-axis cousin to the front crawl. It also uses muscles that are specific to the stroke that you cannot develop in any other way. By doing other strokes, it also prevents repetitive stress injuries and opens up a whole new awareness of feel for the water. Do progressive drills if you can't do the whole stroke. Work with the kick first and gradually incorporate the arms. You don't have to be proficient in those strokes...but if you do manage to do a resemblance of the butterfly than you can consider yourself a real swimmer :)

Freestyle Breathing

2009-12-16T07:12:00.000-08:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, December 16/09]

Developing a good breathing technique is perhaps the biggest challenge for beginner and intermediate swimmers. Problems with breathing can easily knock on into other parts of the stroke. For instance, breathing can cause scissor kicks, poor body position, cross-overs and lop sided strokes.

Many swimmers have a problem with their stroke that is related to their breathing without realising that their breathing is the cause of the problem.

Below we're going to take a quick look at good breathing technique and common problems. We'll also give you 7 tips to improve your breathing, try them even if you don't think you have a breathing problem - you may be surprised!

Exhale strongly into the water between breaths.

Tip 1. Focus on Your Exhalation Not Your Inhalation

The most common problem swimmers have with their breathing is not exhaling under the water. If you exhale under the water between breaths you only have to inhale when you go to breathe. This makes things much easier. It also relaxes you and helps greatly with bilateral breathing.

This is so important and can make a massive difference to your swimming.

We're hot on this - check out our key article on exhalation: You Know Your Problem, You Keep It All In!

Tip 2. When you're not breathing, keep your head still

In between breaths, hold your head still in one position. Don't roll it around as your body rotates - this will make you dizzy and will really hurt your co-ordination!

If you've think you roll your head, concentrate on looking at one point on the bottom of the pool. Only turn your head to breathe. This will feel a little strange at first but should quickly start to feel much nicer. You'll find you feel much more coordinated with the rest of your stroke too.

If you're struggling to co-ordinate holding your head still - try this visualisation. Imagine a half-full glass of champagne is sitting on the top of your head and you've got to keep it very still or it'll spill! Sometimes thinking of it like that can do the trick.

You can practise at the shallow end or on dry land by bending forwards at the waist and performing pretend strokes while holding your head still.

Tip 3. Breathe Into The pocket - Your Bow Wave Is Your friend

When you move through water you create a 'bow wave' with your head and body, just like a boat does. The shape of the bow wave means the water level drops along the side of the swimmer's face.

Breathe into the trough or 'pocket'.

This creates a trough either side of your head and body that is beneath the surface level of the pool - so there's air lower than you might expect there to be.

Breathe into this trough and you don't have to lift your head to inhale.

Sometimes swimmers call this 'breathing into the pocket' as it feels like there's a pocket of air there by your head.

You don't have to swim fast to create a bow wave, even swimming slowly creates a decent pocket for you to breathe into.

Many swimmers don't realise the bow wave is there and try and lift or over-rotate their head to take a breath. That's a big mistake, as we'll explain in tip 4.

Tip 4. don't lift Your head

Don't lift your head when you breathe!

The problem with lifting your head to breathe is that your body acts like a see-saw and your legs sink. This adds lots of extra drag.

With the trough or pocket of air by your head you don't have to lift your head up to breathe. To breathe into the trough you just have to rotate your head a little without lifting it. If you try and lift your head you disturb the bow wave, reducing the trough. Also, when lifting your head you tend to breathe too far forwards - and try and breathing over the high front of the bow wave.

So, lifting your head disturbs the bow wave - it's a vicious circle. Instead of doing this, trust the pocket to be there and keep your head low.

Look at the shape of the bow wave. Don't lift your head and try and breathe on the peak of it.
Instead, breathe into this pocket.

If you are struggling to find the pocket, a good drill to practise is to swim with fins (flippers) in a superman position - one arm out in front of you and the other resting by your hip. Kick gently on the side of your lead arm and look down at the bottom of the pool. When you are ready to breathe, simply rotate your head slightly to find the pocket and breathe. Don't hurry this, kicking with the fins will keep your moving forward so you can feel the pocket with your mouth.

Tip 5. Don't Over Rotate Your Head

A similar problem to lifting your head is rotating it too far - so you are looking upwards instead of to the side when you breathe.

Over-rotating your head and breathing to the sky effects you balance and often causes scissor kicks.

This is bad technique because it causes your body to over-rotate onto your side and cause a loss of balance. To support yourself you tend to cross-over with your lead hand creating a banana shape with your body. This causes you to snake down the pool from one side to the other. A scissor kick is also very likely.

To correct this, you need to get used to breathing into the trough. Use the kick on the side drill we suggested in tip 4 and when you breathe try and keep your lower goggle in the water so you have one eye below the water and one above.

If you are struggling to do this, swim in one of the side lanes of the pool and have someone walk on the edge of the pool beside you and ask them to keep their feet about level with your shoulders. As you swim and turn to breathe, look at their feet square on.

If you develop a stiff neck whilst swimming, it's very likely you are either lifting or over-rotating your head to breathe. This puts great strain on your neck muscles. Improve your breathing technique and the stiffness should quickly go away.

Tip 6. A lack of Body Rotation Could be hurting your breathing

Good body rotation is a massive help to your breathing. That's because once you have rotated you don't have to turn your head much further to breathe. If you are struggling to breathe, perhaps to one side, poor body rotation could be your problem.

Tip 7. Learn to Breathe Bilaterally

Here at Swim Smooth we believe that learning to breathe bilaterally is an investment that will pay you back every swim for the rest of your life. That's because it helps develop a symmetrical stroke which will make you cut straighter through the water.

If you only breathe to one side it's very likely your rotation will be poor to your non-breathing side and you won't swim in a straight line. We've seen these problem time and time again with swimmers who only breathe to one side.

Catch and pull

2009-12-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter in Tri-Rudy newsletter, December 10/09]

How to go about (and how not to go about) improving your feel for the water - a much misunderstood subject.

Does your stroke need more oomph? Do you lack propulsion? Long to get a better hold and feel for the water?

Everyone would love a better catch and pull. Not only will it make you faster, it will also make you more efficient. This is because a poor catch and pull wastes a lot of energy - get it right and you will swim at the same speed much more easily.

The single biggest difference between a normal swimmer and an elite swimmer is a vastly superior catch and pull. So why isn't everyone working on this secret of the freestyle stroke? Perhaps because it is the most misunderstood thing in swimming.

Many swimmers ignore their catch either unaware of how important it is or unsure of how to improve it. Others are going about trying to improve it the wrong way.

So what does that elusive great catch look like? More importantly, what does it feel like? In the article below we're going find out, starting out with some common misconceptions about the catch.

Misconceptions

Let's dispel some common misconceptions about the catch you might have heard:

"When you get it right, you feel like you've got a massive grasp on the water, feeling a huge amount of resistance with each pull."

A good catch and pull drives you forward with less effort, not more.

INCORRECT. A good catch will have you caressing the water, locking on and pressing the water back behind you. Contrast this to what most swimmers do - pressing the water down at the front of the stroke rather than back. Pressing water down creates a lot of pressure on the palm because you are changing the direction of the water flow (from towards you to downwards). When you start to pull the water back behind you - helping it on its way - you could well feel less pressure on the palm.

"You need to make your stroke as long as physically possible for your catch to be efficient."

INCORRECT. In fact the opposite is true. In our experience when swimmers try and make their stroke as long as possible they normally over-reach at the front of their stroke. This is very hard to do without dropping the wrist and elbow. Dropping the wrist shows the palm of the hand forwards - into the water flow towards you. When you do this you feel pressure on the palm from the flow and most swimmers mistake this for a good catch. Ironically, dropping the wrist and elbow is one of the worst things you can do for your catch. We'll explain more below.

When you're swimming, don't try and over-reach at the front of the stroke. It's better to have slightly less reach and a vastly better catch. It'll make things more efficient and more rhythmic too.

You should pull through like you're describing an ‘S-Pull shape' under the body.

There are few things worse for your shoulders than thumb first hand entry.

INCORRECT. In centuries past, swimmers were taught to enter into the water thumb-first, then press out, sweep back in, and then finally back out as their hands swept past their thighs. This would make an S-shape. It was believed that doing this would increase the length of your stroke as you were moving your hand on a longer pull-pathway under the body than if you pulled straight through. However, the benefits of doing this have since been disproved - it does not offer any advantage in propulsion versus a straight pull (see below), in fact it is slower.

Perhaps the greatest danger of an S shaped pull is that entering thumb-first is one of the leading causes of shoulder injury and pain. We suggest you avoid thumb-first entry like the plague.

OK, that was Swim Smooth's guide on how NOT to catch and pull, so how should I be doing it instead?

The Correct Catch And Pull

1. ENTRY

As your hand enters into the water, take care to make sure it does so finger-tips first, lengthening forward in front of the same shoulder with the middle finger pointing the way to the far end of the pool.

Avoid crossing over the centre line, this is critical to keeping a high elbow catch and pull through later on.

2. EXTENSION

As you reach forward with good body roll (roll being essential here), make sure you do so with the palm of the hand looking at the bottom of the pool, but with the finger tips angled slightly down.

This should be flexed from the wrist (not from the knuckles) we need to keep you palm flat and open, fingers closed loosely together.

Avoid "putting the brakes on" by dropping the wrist and pushing forward (you'd be surprised how many swimmers do this!)

3. INITIAL CATCH

At full reach and without dropping your elbow, feel like you are tipping your finger-tips over the front of a barrel (again flexing at the wrist), which will start the catch.

At the same time start bending the elbow and pressing back on the water with the forearm in a near-vertical position.

This is what keeping your elbows high on the catch is all about.

A memorable way to think about this action whilst you are swimming is to visualise a smiley face drawn on the palm of your hand. As you start the catch, tip your finger tips down and show that smiley face on your palm to the wall you just left. This is like locking your hand in place, effectively feeling-the-water.

You will now be pressing the water back behind you rather than pushing it down.

4. PULL THROUGH

Concentrate your efforts on simply pressing water back behind you with the palm of your hand still looking back behind you.

Combined with good rotation, this pull through will lead to an efficient long stroke, but one that is not overly long.

Good job!

Summary

When you get the catch and pull through right it feels like a smooth flowing action, it feels easy but still gives you lots of propulsion. You will have an awareness that you are using your larger pectoral and latissmus dorsi muscles (pecs and lats) to drive and time the movement.

Work on improving your catch and pull through by avoiding the pitfalls and using the tips we described above.

One reason the catch and pull is tricky to get right is that it's a chain of events. If one of the early movements is wrong (e.g. dropping the elbow and/or wrist) this then disrupts the water flow and knocks on into the other movements - disrupting the catch. Further to that, it's not easy to see what you are doing as you catch and pull as the actions are normally out of your line of sight.

A Useful Tool To Develop Your Catch

PT Paddles are a great tool to help you develop your catch. Unlike a normal paddle, they are designed to remove the grip and propulsion from your hand as you use them.

This allows you to focus on that bent elbow catch and pull to develop propulsion from the forearm. When you remove them and add your hands back in, your catch and pull will have developed more propulsion. Sweet.

PT Paddles - a very different sort of paddle. Great for your catch.

How to burn fat better

2009-11-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, November 25, 2009]

(Original: April 1, 2009 )

Professional riders have finely tuned fat-burning engines, and as Joe Beer illustrates, there are several simple steps to follow that can boost your own capacity to burn fat. They focus on what you eat before and after training, according to the intensity of the ride.

For fitness riders, the question "Why would I want to be able to burn fat?" begs the obvious answer - to get in better shape and look it. But for fit athletes who already have a well-worked lipolysis system, the answer might not be so obvious.

But tapping the body's fat in training increases endurance, reduces the likelihood of 'bonking' and increases fitness. So how exactly do you improve it?

Fat burning tips

Keep the ride intensity under 80 percent of your maximum heart rate (HRmax) and ride for long periods.
Training regularly, even turbo training sessions, helps use fat as fuel more than any special food, supplement or psychological trick and during a two-hour endurance ride does not save glycogen but it does significantly decrease the use of fats stored within the muscle fibres.

Dual fuels
Starting with the basics, you have two choices of fuel: carbohydrate and fat. Carbohydrates provide around 1,500 to 2,000 calories when muscles are fully 'carbo loaded'. This 'higher-octane' fuel can help you 'go long' by combining with fat use, or it can fuel quick efforts or sustained high-intensity riding on its own.

The fat stored under your skin and within muscles themselves is a very high calorie fuel depot. Even lean riders have over 30,000 calories stored as fat, and there are quite a few fit riders carrying well over 100,000. This is clearly a significantly larger potential fuel source than carbohydrates.

Fat use generally increases steadily as a ride draws out, starting with the use of fat droplets stored in the muscle and then gradually using fat circulating in the blood stream that is coming off the 'chub' stores spread around the body.

Tapping the generous body fat stores saves limited glycogen, but remember even at steady riding levels you will still use carbohydrates.

Build the engine
Training is crucial for optimising your dual fuel-burning engine. If you can increase your oxygen carrying capacity and the architecture of fat use by riding regularly, you will be many times more efficient than the irregular rider.

Studies show that one effect of training regularly is that less lactate is produced at a given level of effort. For example, unfit people (those whose ability to take up oxygen, expressed as VO2max, is about 25-35ml/kg/min) may have a significant increase in lactate (LT or Lactate Threshold) at 50 percent of their VO2max.

Trained athletes (with a VO2max of 60-70ml/kg/min) are likely to have this same lactate increase at around 70 to 80 percent of VO2max.

More importantly, data suggests that fat usage may be 80 percent higher in athletes compared to obese individuals.

Data from well-trained riders in the study (VO2max of 64ml/kg/min) suggests that fat use stops above 87 percent of VO2max, and the peak area is around 45 to 65 percent VO2max. This equates to around 70 to 85 percent of maximum heart rate.

Type One 'endurance' muscle fibres were found to be the main area of fatty droplet use.

Interestingly, glycogen storage after fasted sessions, on water alone, was much greater than the feeding during the ride. This suggests these fasted water-only rides up to two hours could be used to boost peak levels of fat use by 50 percent and post-exercise muscle glycogen storage by 200 percent.

However, for all those pulled in by 'fat burning' spinning sessions, aerobics classes and 'step', be sure you are number savvy. Fat use probably only provides 0.5g to 1g per minute.

This will be greater during later stages of training sessions and in very fit riders (maybe 600 to 800 calories per hour). But a carbohydrate meal 30 to 90 minutes before your ride will greatly turn down your fat burning engine, switching you to burn more carbohydrates.

Have breakfast after the ride then, and if you're going for over two hours eat breakfast on the bike in the form of regular carbohydrate foods - about 40 to 60g per hour.

Take a rider with bad meal timing; lack of consistent riding, who's training too hard and fat use will be very poor. However, if you leave two hours between eating and riding, train fasted up to two hours once a week, keep in your steady riding zone (60 to 80 percent of maximum heart rate) most of the time and stay consistent, then you will be a good fat burner.

10 Steps for Swimmers to Improve Their Triathlon Swim

2009-11-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, November 11/09)

As technical as the sport of swimming can be, it is tough to narrow down the answer to the often-asked question, what should I concentrate on? So, I came up with a top ten list of steps to improving your swim for a triathlon. These aren't necessarily in any order, but should go a long way in helping you achieve your goals, whether you are a beginner or trying to go pro.

1. Hand Entry Slice your hand into the water right about at your goggle line, and drive it forward. Many swimmers attempt to get as much "air time" as possible by reaching the hand out before entering into the water, but it is actually more efficient to go through the water with your hand as you rotate from one side to the other.

2. Head Position Keep looking straight down when swimming freestyle. It's important to keep your head down with only a small part of the back of your head out of the water. Also, as you rotate through the water, try not to move your head with the rest of your body rotation.

3. Pull In freestyle, your hands should pull all the way back past your hips. The last part of the stroke before recovery (arms coming out of the water) should be an acceleration behind you, and not up out of the water.

4. Kick Try minimizing your kick as you train for swimming. Most people will kick extra hard to make up for lack of balance in the water. Minimizing your kick will allow you to improve your balance, as well as conserve energy.

5. Training Intensity The best way to measure your training intensity is to count your heart rate immediately after each swim. You can estimate your heart rate by counting your pulse rate for six seconds immediately after each swim. Add a zero to this count, and you will have your approximate exercise heart rate per minute.

6. Master's Swimming Move to a slower lane to work on stroke improvement. If you belong to a masters team, don't feel that you always need to keep up with your lanemates at every workout. Masters teams typically have many people with many different swimming goals. It's important to do your own thing! Remember that technique comes before all else and if this means swallowing a little pride to make improvements, just think of how much faster you will be for this in the long run.

7. Habit: Keep your arm from crossing over One of the most common bad habits I see in swimmers is the arm crossing over to the opposite side on the pull. Breathing on your left side results in your right arm crossing over, breathing on your left side results in your right arm crossing. Often times this happens when one goes to breath, but sometimes it's caused just from over-rotating. To avoid this, make sure your head isn't moving with the rest of your body, and try to pull more in a straight line (still bending the elbow) and ending the pull on the same side you started (i.e. right hand slices into the water, pulls back and hand ends up near right hip).

8. Keep the Feel If swimming is your toughest sport, it is important to "keep the feel" for the water, and get in the water at least every other day (no, showers and baths don't count!) This way, your body maintains its kinesthetic awareness of being balanced in water.

9. Work Those Lungs Mix in some hypoxic training sets into your workouts. For example, do a set of 4x100's breathing every 3-5-7-9 strokes by 25, with 15 seconds rest in between each 100. Your lungs will thank you for it towards the end of the swim part of your race!

10. Work Your Weakness In the sport of triathlon, most coaches agree that you should spend the most time working on your weakest of the three sports. For many of you this will be swimming! Within swimming, the same concept applies. Spend the most time working on the weakest part of your stroke. If balancing on your side is an issue, do some kicking drills on your side. If moving your head is a problem, focus on head position most of the time.

Whatever it is, you will gain the most by spending your pool time improving on that weakness.

Acute Injury: Heat or Ice?

2009-10-09T05:46:00.003-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter in Tri-Rudy newsletter, October 9, 2009]

Dr. Lewis G. Maharam is the world’s premier running physician. He is medical director of Competitor Group’s Musical Marathons and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program, and serves as Chairman of the Board of Governors, International Marathon Medical Directors Association. He is former medical director of the New York Road Runners and ING New York City Marathon.

Although there appears to be a controversy about heat vs. ice, there really isn't. Most who treat athletes on a regular basis agree that from the first day through the first 24 hours, ice is the treatment of choice. Heat tends to further injure friable blood vessel walls thereby promoting leaking of fluid and increasing swelling. Ice, on the other hand, also vasodilates and does not injure the vessel wall, and, in fact, helps its integrity. Ice is truly a great vasodilator. Although initially vasoconstricting in the first few minutes, it then promotes vasodilation, as evidenced by the red area on the skin after icing.

After 24 hours we want to continue vasodilation to bring in blood flow with nutrients and cells to promote healing. The vessel wall has regained its integrity and both ice and heat work: after a 20 minute treatment, both result in an area that looks red due to increased blood flow. Which should you use then? I prefer ice because it temporarily deactivates receptors in the vessel walls, thereby keeping the vessels open for an additional 45 minutes following a twenty minute treatment. When heat is applied, as soon as the heat comes off, the vessel area begins to cool the receptors and the vessel walls are reactivated to normal blood flow. Therefore, ice gives you a longer treatment for a 20 minute application. Contrary to grandma's old advise of doing contrast ice then heat, etc., ice works better, 3 times a day for 30 minutes. The contrast baths only had you doing more treatment. And more treatment is always good to a point. You can ice up to six 20 minute treatments a day fo! r the most effect.

Be careful of burning the skin with either treatment. My favorite way to ice is with a zip lock bag filled with ice and water. The water raises the temperature to 32 degrees so no need for a cloth between the ice and the skin and no freezer burn to the skin. I have also found using a bag of frozen peas useful but just as those frozen chemical packs, they can get too cold so be careful about having a cloth between your skin and the pack.

Faster Triathlon Transition Times

2009-10-09T05:45:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter in Tri-Rudy newsletter, October 9, 2009)
by Craig McGray

Many times, athletes wait until the week before the race to practice triathlon transitions, if at all. You need to practice now in order to have the fastest triathlon transitions possible.

One way to practice is to include transitions in your brick workouts. Set aside some practice time to work exclusively on faster transitions. This can be scheduled on an off or light recovery day. This works well because you don't worry about an aerobic workout that day and you still have trained some..

You can leave your shoes in the pedals and use rubber bands

Pro and Elite athletes leave their shoes in the pedals for the first transition (T1). After they exit the swim, they only have to put on their helmets, grab the bike and run out of the transition area.

They attach one end of a rubber band around the shoe or through the heel loop of the shoe, and the other end to a rear stay on the side of the bike. This is done in order to keep the crank arms and shoes from rotating and jamming into the ground. You will have to experiment to see which locations are best for your rubber bands depending on your shoe size and frame size.

The rubber bands will easily break away when you mount the bike and begin pedaling. At this point, your feet will be on top of the pedals. Slide your feet in your shoes once you are rolling at a good pace. Do not try to do this unless you are up to a good speed as you will wobble if you are going too slow and that is dangerous to both you and others.

Put your sunglasses on while pedaling
Instead of putting your sunglasses on in the transition area, put them on once you are rolling on the bike. If your helmet has front air vents, see if you can secure the sunglasses there. If your sunglasses will not stay secured on your helmet, fasten them to the top of your frame with a small piece of tape.

Use elastic laces and no socks
There are elastic laces available at most stores that stock triathlon supplies. Elastic laces allow you to easily slip your feet into your shoes, wasting no time to secure Velcro or old-style lace locks on regular laces.

Before you decide to race with no socks, do a few practice runs at home. Some athletes can run with no socks and not have a single blister. Other athletes will develop hot spots on their feet that eventually bloom into blisters.

On your test run, carry a lubricant such as Body Glide. When you feel a hot spot beginning to develop, stop and apply the lubricant to the shoe surface causing the hot spot. This is the same location you will apply the lubricant on race morning when you set up your transition area.

Use a flying mount and dismount
The elite racers are going as fast as possible at every moment during a race. They mount their moving bicycle with a flying mount, which looks something like a cowboy jumping onto a moving horse.

Before they approach the dismount line at T2, they remove both feet from their shoes and continue pedaling in a manner similar to when they began the bike leg. Near the dismount line, they swing one leg back and over the bicycle so it's behind the other leg on one side of the bicycle. At the dismount line they are off the bike and running to the transition area. This particular move is advanced and takes plenty of practice.

Use a movie camera
Have someone record your T1 and T2 in a practice session or during a race. Use a watch and time both transitions. After reviewing for ways to improve, do the transitions repeatedly until you think you have the fastest transition time possible.

Another way to improve transition times is to tape some of the top age-group and elite racers to see how they're doing transitions. You may pick up some additional tips that you can use to better your times.

If you're looking to get the edge on your competition without additional training, take a look at your transitions. Thinking about where you can save time during transitions is a fun addition to your training and it may even put you on the podium.

Mind and Matter - There's More to Recovery Than Nutrition

2009-09-22T09:00:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, September 22/09)

by Kevin Purcell UltraFit.com

I spend a good deal of time speaking with athletes on a daily basis who are interested in learning to become more competitive competitive with themselves and/or competitive with other age groupers, elites or professionals.

Becoming a faster athlete occurs in two ways:

Training
Recovery from training

Both are as necessary as the other. This article deals with recovery from training.

Workouts are only as powerful as our body’s ability to absorb and recover from them. A great session is wasted if we cannot recover properly before the next training stimulus.

For this reason we should be interested in utilizing all of our available resources that enable recovery. Most of us know that these resources include pre-existing fitness, sleep, limiting stress, total rest, active recovery workouts and scheduling nuances.

I have found two more areas that often are underdeveloped when it comes to recovery. They are nutrition and mental attitude. Perhaps the underdevelopment is because at first glance nutrition and mental attitude can appear so challenging. In reality, the majority of us can simply choose to improve both, with great success.

Nutrition is a topic that can be controversial. It is a personal issue. As such, the topic can polarize a room.

I am not going to go into the science of nutrition or the specifics of fueling for racing. It has been done very well in previous columns. You can read more by Dr Cordain (http://www.thepaleodiet.com/), Joe Friel (Triathlete's Training Bible and www.ultrafit.com), and Gordo Byrn (www.coachgordo.com). They have shared studies as well as personal experiences that can improve an athletes performance.

Large amounts of evidence have been presented to support the correlation between proper nutrition, fueling and race performance. Still, I know athletes who do not use nutrition as a means to improve body composition and speed recovery.

I believe that excellent nutrition translates to increased speed. A good performance while practicing poor nutrition tells me that an athlete may have not yet reached his or her potential.

As an athlete I follow a Paleo plan that employs veggies, fruits and lean protein at every meal and uses higher glycemic foods to aid recovery following long sessions. I have largely eliminated processed foods.

As a coach, I recommend my athletes eat to ensure good training sessions, correct body composition and proper recovery. You can learn more about the Paleo diet modified for endurance athletes by clicking here

I became more serious about my nutrition when I began working one-on-one with Gordo Byrn. Adding more fuel to my quest for knowledge was when my older daughter became ill in January. I began studying nutritional ways to treat her problems stemming from cancer.

I wanted to use nutrition as an adjunct to chemotherapy and radiation and to speed recovery. I bought books and I studied.

Funny thing, all the anti-cancer diets are essentially Paleo. I had already been eating the way much of the literature was suggesting that my daughter should eat, to maximize her return to health.

So here was my 116-pound, 14-year-old girl beginning chemo and getting hit hard. We altered her diet to have her eat in a Paleo manner and increase her protein intake. She began working this program like her life depended on it, because it did.

We discussed the importance of her attitude and that it was essential that she remain positive. We worked with her mental strength and she brought her mind and a positive attitude into the fight. It was all about her recovering as best and as quickly as possible.

Initially, I was worried that she might lose weight with this nutritional strategy, but she has gained lean body mass over the last 11 months. I bring this up for a good reason: not just to tout Paleo, but to support lifestyle changes that develop overall health and a lack of disease (dis-ease) in both mind and body.

My daughter now eats as well as I do. In addition, she has gained lean body mass while I am losing weight. This is important to note because if we eat well — we don't "diet." Our bodies naturally find the correct weight for us as individuals. That may be a slight body type. It may be a larger more solid one. But it is the correct weight for you.

As endurance athletes, we compromise our skills if we place specific weight and caloric intake above common sense and recovery. The body must be fueled before, during and after training or we may be wasting some benefits, while risking injury and sickness.

What did I mean when I said my daughter brought her mind and a positive attitude along for the ride? Recovery is healing. The mind is responsible for a great part of our recovery. Plato was quoted 2,300 years ago as saying, "Mental fitness and physical fitness go hand in hand."

It does not matter whether we are recovering from sessions on a bike or run, or sessions in chemotherapy — we need all of our resources to be our best. This includes a positive attitude and mental strength.

I deal with people interested in bettering their fitness as a coach and as a chiropractor. Some folks rarely, if ever, get sick. These people are invariably happy, positive people. There is a healing force in the body that is enhanced by positive attitudes.

This healing force is something no one can dispute, no one can say is philosophical rhetoric.

When you boil recovery down to a healing art and science it becomes easily clear to see how powerful our choices are.

Kevin Purcell, D.C., is a USAT Level 1 certified coach for elite and age-group triathletes who compete at both Ironman and short-course distances. "KP" has completed 7 IM's and qualified for the 2003 IM Hawaii. Dr. Purcell practices chiropractic with an emphasis on sports medicine in San Diego, Calif., and can be reached at kevprcll@aol.com.

Carbs, Carbs, Carbs

2009-09-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, September 21/09]

BY KATHLEEN WOOLF, PhD, RD

Swimmers, like most athletes, use carbohydrates as fuel during exercise. Unfortunately, the body only stores a limited amount of carbohydrate, and it can easily be depleted after a vigorous workout. To maximize your body’s carbohydrate stores, consume carbs before, during and after exercise.

Carbs Before Exercise
Before every practice or competition, include carbs as part of a pre-event meal to “top off” your muscle stores. Select foods that can be quickly digested and absorbed. Depending on the time of your pre-event meal, vary your meal patterns. When a pre-event meal occurs 4 hours before your event, consume foods such as a turkey sandwich, apple, oatmeal cookie and low-fat milk. If your pre-event meal occurs less than one hour before an event, limit your intake to a small amount of juice or fruit or a sports beverage. Research consistently supports that eating a pre-event meal improves performance. However, a single pre-event meal will not compensate for an overall poor training diet.

Carbs During Exercise
When exercise lasts more than an hour, carbs are recommended during exercise to provide additional fuel for your body. Carbohydrate intake during exercise allows athletes to exercise longer and harder. Consume 30 to 60 grams of carbs per hour during long duration exercise. To provide your body with 30 grams of carbs, choose 2 cups of a sports beverage or 1 medium banana or 3 large graham crackers.

Carbs After Exercise
Immediately after every practice or competition, consume carbohydrate-rich foods and beverages as part of your recovery. Choose fruit, 100% fruit juices, low-fat milk, cereal, sports beverages and bagels to replenish your carbohydrate stores so that you are ready for your next event. What you eat after a hard practice affects your ability to perform during your next workout.

Carbs Always
Because carbohydrates are the predominant fuel for most events, swimmers need to focus on a carbohydrate-rich diet. For optimal performance, make it a habit to consume high-carbohydrate meals and snacks, before, during and after exercise.

Kathleen Woolf, PhD, RD is a registered dietitian and a member of the American Dietetic Association, the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionist Dietetic Practice Group, and the American College of Sports Medicine. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Arizona State University.

5 Fat-Fighting Foods to Add to Your Diet

From Team Beachbody - Join Today and Workout to Win!

Here's a twist on dieting you might like: instead of pointing out all the forbidden chocolates and other sweets and treats you can't have, let's talk about what you can have! Of course, just adding these "fat-fighting" foods to a poor diet of pizza and potato chips won't give you a figure like Anna Kournikova. But if you replace some of the bad calories you're currently consuming with calories from these foods, you might just be nicely surprised next time you step on the scale.

1. Apples. The skin of apples contains pectin, an insoluble fiber that serves as nature's own appetite suppressant. It's also believed that the scent of green apples is an effective stress reducer so keep a few out on your kitchen counter or at your desk.

2. Beans. High-fiber beans such as chickpeas, lima beans, and kidney beans make you feel fuller longer so you eat less and temper those unnatural cravings.

3. Dairy. Eating 3 to 4 daily servings of dairy, such as low- or nonfat milk, cheese, and yogurt may help burn more fat by shifting energy stored in fat cells to working muscles, according to a recent study. Not only will it help get rid of old fat cells, but it'll make it easier to keep the weight off for good!

4. Oatmeal. Try starting your day with a bowl of oatmeal instead of a Krispy Kreme. The regular, slow-cooking kind is much better for you than the sweetened, over-processed "instant" type. Oatmeal is a great source of the essential fatty acid GLA, and it contains a cholesterol-fighting combination of fiber, protein, and complex carbohydrates.

5. Nuts and seeds. These contain a lot of fat-fighting protein and fiber that will help you lean downas long as you don't overdo it as they're also high in calories and fat. Filling an empty Altoids container with raw almonds or walnuts will help with portion control and give you a healthy and filling snack when you're on the go.

Creed for the Ancient Marathoner

2009-09-12T07:10:00.001-07:00

by Dr. Walter Bortz

1. Honour the run. Train enough, but not too much. Don’t rely on yesterday’s experience for today’s challenge. Be true to the task. Know that you are the torchbearer for those younger. You show them not just what you can do but what they will be able to do. You show them their future.

2. Don’t be surprised. Train in the heat and in the cold. Know how to drink and eat. Know where each step is taking you.

3. Don’t take any extra weight along with you; be spare.

4. Be rested, be fresh, and arrive at the start ready for a full go. Know that each part of you is ready to go the full course.

5. Age is not an excuse. It is an advantage. Each of us has been up our personal hill more often than the younger runners. We are older, we have experienced more, we have more to give—and we understand more.

6. Don’t make excuses. Don’t rely on someone else. You are in charge. You alone can crest the rise, fight the fatigue, master the moment.

7. Although you are in charge of yourself, you are not alone. Your number increases. You run in the footsteps you have made—but also in the paths of Emil, Frank, Johnny, Grete, Clarence, George, and others. You tie your shoes with their laces. You are one with the heroes and heroines.

8. Don’t compete with your yesterday. No one can defeat you. Be the best that you can be this day. Be being your best today, you will prepare for being your best tomorrow.

9. Listen to the wisdom of your body. It is older. It has been tested. It knows how. Pay respect and learn from its teachings.

10. Have fun, don’t take the run too seriously, be confident.

Train Like Lance Armstrong

2009-09-10T05:35:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, September 10, 2009]

From Team Beachbody

Lance Armstrong became the best Tour de France rider in history by revolutionizing the way cyclists train. But instead of following the time-honored principles of training longer and harder with Rockyesque fervor, he and his coach, Chris Carmichael, decided to train more efficiently. It's no longer enough, or even a good idea, to try to simply outwork your opponents. Instead, the most efficient way to win the Tour is to outsmart them.

Here are five ways Carmichael and Armstrong outsmarted their opponents to win six straight Tours. These principles can help you achieve your own goals.

1. Motivation. Not one aspect of your training is as important as motivation. In fact, nothing else is even close. With enough motivation, you will succeed at some level. It's the one ingredient that assures success and, when lacking, will lead to failure. Here is what Carmichael has to say about Lance and motivation:

"Lance Armstrong can be beaten at the Tour de France, but only by an athlete who is better prepared than he is. To accomplish that, an athlete would have to be more motivated than Armstrong, and I believe the depth and intensity of Lance's motivation comes from a place very few people can understand, let alone match. He's the hardest working man in the peloton, perhaps in the world of sport, and his commitment to excellence in training, nutrition, equipment, and team selection have elevated him above everyone else." [1]

Also, being motivated yourself makes motivating others a natural extension. A few years ago, Armstrong recruited a young rider for the Postal team, Floyd Landis, who was talented but unfocused. Taking him under his wing, he taught Landis the importance of treating his training and racing as a job. As a result, Landis has turned into a major force in the pro peloton. This year, he's won a handful of races, and he's led Armstrong through the mountains in the Tour, finishing fourth in the final time trial.

Champion rock climber Wolfgang Gullich once said, "The hardest part about training is making the decision to start training at all," meaning that once your mind is focused, every subsequent step is easier.

2. Singularity of Focus. Again, breaking with tradition, Carmichael and Armstrong work toward one goal, winning the Tour de France. This was instigated by Johan Brunyeel, the director of Lance's U.S. Postal Service team. There are many races in cycling, but the Tour is the biggest, by far. Winning the Tour is more important than winning every other race of the season. With this in mind, Armstrong trains with one objective, while most of his rivals still look toward winning numerous races. This single-minded focus is a huge advantage.

Armstrong's Postal squad is built entirely around helping Lance win the Tour. Most other teams are not structured this way. In fact, the team of his main rival, Jan Ullrich, attempted the dual task of helping him win the Tour and helping sprinter Eric Zabel win the sprint stages. They paid for this lack of focus on both ends—Ullrich fell to fourth place in the general classification and Zabel failed to win a single stage.

The lesson is that those with a singular goal will always have an advantage.

3. Efficiency. Motivation alone is enough to give you results, but if you have an efficient plan, those results are likely to happen much quicker. The entire Beachbody concept is based on efficiency. Most of us don't have hours a day to spend exercising. But Armstrong makes his living by winning one bike race, so it makes sense that he should spend all day long training, right?

Wrong. Traditionally, cyclists have done this, even going so far as setting early-season mileage goals that aim to "get a lot of miles in the legs." Many still train this way. But Carmichael strayed from this old-school attitude, instead trying to cut down on time spent on the bike:

"Lance doesn't waste time on his bike. He knows the goals of the day's workout before he leaves the house, and once his power meter tells him he has ridden long enough to accomplish those goals, he goes home. Extra time on the bike isn't necessary and just leads to more fatigue and longer recovery periods." [2]

Carmichael thinks that efficient training leads to not only more time away from training, but also a more relaxed attitude. With the belief that's he's been as efficient as possible, Armstrong can more freely go about his daily tasks of being a father, businessman, philanthropist, and rock star accoutrement.

4. Periodizational Training. Armstrong trains in blocks, starting in the off-season, leading toward a peak during the race in July. His blocks have different goals than most of yours, but the principles are the same. You should not train your body the same way all year long. Instead, focus on different energy systems.

In Armstrong's case, weaknesses, or places where radical change may be needed, are focused on in the off-season. Then he'll work on more and more subtle items as he gets closer to his goal period. You can't peak all year long, so it's better not to always try to be in your best condition. Sometimes, we let ego get in the way of the goal. We only focus on our strengths or do what we're good at. But that is not the best way to reach a goal, because if you train your hardest you will have good days and bad, even good periods and bad. Each time you switch your training you go through an adaptive period where your performance suffers, but this will make you fitter in the end.

A case in point: Armstrong got creamed by two of his primary rivals in a time trial just over a month before the start of the Tour. There was panic in the press, but for Carmichael and Armstrong, it was business as usual. Those other guys had peaked too early, whereas Lance was still coming into form. During the first mountain stage in France, he gained massive time on both of them.

5. Nutritional Periodization. Again, a revolutionary concept. Actually, it's only revolutionary in that it was planned periodization. Traditionally, cyclists would gain weight in the off-season and then try to burn it off at the beginning of the race year, which is a type of random periodizational training that isn't too effective. But Carmichael figured that if Lance didn't gain so much weight, he could instead focus on getting his body to use fuel more efficiently. Therefore, he cycles his eating throughout the year.

In the winter, he eats far fewer carbs because he isn't burning so many calories. Because high performance isn't necessary (i.e., no races), he will train his body to more efficiently burn fat for energy but will restrict his carbohydrate intake. This comes in handy during the race season, when he needs to hold onto glycogen stores as long as possible. So by withholding some carbs (he still eats some and never approaches anything resembling an Atkins approach), Lance trains his system to be more efficient.

During the season this will change, and he'll add more and more carbs as the races get more intense. Your body will not function at its highest level without carbs (which you know if you've read almost anything I've written). So as Lance starts to race, his diet becomes more carb-oriented. During the Tour, Armstrong may consume up to 1000 grams (4,000 calories) in carbohydrates alone. Carmichael says, "If Lance tried to race on a low-carb diet, he'd die."

If this strategy sounds familiar, it's because we're always prescribing similar eating styles at Beachbody, especially for P90X®. Some form of periodizational nutrition works for almost every individual, because it's very rare that we do the same thing, in the same way, throughout the year. In a very basic sense, proteins make muscle, fats make the body function properly, and carbs give it energy for both athletics and brain function. So the more sedentary you are, the fewer carbs you need, but as your activity level changes, your carb level must change too if you want to perform your best.

Climbing Out Of Your Comfort Zone

2009-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, September 2, 2009]

The Ultimate Secret to Lasting Change and High Achievement
By Tom Venuto - author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle

Take a moment and think about the sum total of everything you’re currently doing to improve your health, fitness, physique and athletic performance. Think of every detail you can - the workouts, the dieting, the level of effort, the sweat, the time - everything.

Now grab a pen or pencil and draw a small circle - about the size of a golf ball - in the center of a sheet of paper. Imagine that all the work you’re doing is contained in that small circle. Inside your circle, write the words, “Where I am now: My comfort zone.”

Next, take your pen and draw another circle outside the first one so you have two concentric circles. (If you didn’t draw the first one yet, go ahead and do it now so you have a visual).

The larger circle represents personal growth, increased performance and positive change. In the fitness arena, that might mean better health, higher levels of cardiovascular fitness, increased strength, larger muscles or decreased body fat. In sports it might mean performing a skill or event at a higher level of competency.

If you’re not seeing the changes you want – a frustration so many people are experiencing today - it means you’re staying completely inside that circle of comfort most of the time. In order to make a positive change in your life, you have to expand your boundaries by climbing outside your comfort zone.

If that’s all there is to it – if a little step outside your comfort zone is all it takes to grow and improve, then why don’t more people do it? What makes that little step so difficult?

The answer is simple: In the space between your two circles, write the word, "pain" a few times, all the way around the circumference.

You see, the second you leave your comfort zone, you experience pain, DIS-comfort and awkwardness. Since all positive changes take place outside the comfort zone, change is painful. The very instant most people feel the pain, they pull back inside the comfort zone. This is the reason why most people fail to improve themselves or create lasting changes in their lives: They are unwilling to put up with the pain of change.

The pain we’re talking about may be: (1) the physical pain of muscles aching and lungs burning, (2) it may be the emotional "pain" of feeling awkward and clumsy at doing something new (such as a complicated exercise or athletic maneuver), or (3) it may be the “pain” of discipline and sacrifice. (For example, saying no to dessert, getting up at 5:30 a.m. for cardio, or passing up on a night out at the bars with your friends). Most likely, it’s all three types of pain.

The statement “no pain, no gain,” has been misinterpreted, criticized and labeled a fallacy by many. However, the people doing the criticizing are almost always “comfort zoners” who haven’t achieved much with their lives. Don’t listen to them. Never follow the herd (unless you want to step in a lot of manure). Instead, follow the small percentage of people who step out and achieve great things.

Achievement expert Brian Tracy says, "90% to 95% of people will withdraw to the comfort zone when what they try doesn't work. Only that small percentage, 5 or 10 percent, will continually raise the bar on themselves; they will continually push themselves out into the zone of discomfort, and these are always the highest performers in every field."

Studies at the University of Chicago by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, concluded that the highest achievers are those who consistently push themselves out of their comfort zones. Instead of withdrawing to their comfort zones when they don't get immediate positive results, they force themselves to stay at this awkward, uncomfortable and painful (but higher and better) level of performance until the pain finally subsides and they become comfortable at the new higher level.

Here’s something important you need to know about pain: Tom Hopkins, a sales trainer and one of the world’s top motivational speakers, taught me this lesson many years ago and It's been burned into my brain ever since. He said, “The pain of every change is forgotten when the benefits of that change are realized.”

If you ask a champion in any field of endeavor, you will find that rather than avoid pain, they embrace it and accept it as part of the game they must play to win. Champions realize that pain equals growth and the benefits far outweigh the discomfort.

Seven-Time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenneger said, "I realized that pain could become pleasure. We were benefiting from pain. We were breaking through the pain barrier and shocking the muscles. I looked at this pain as a positive thing, because I grew."

Cyclist Lance Armstrong put it this way: "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit however, it lasts forever."

Muhammad Ali said it like this: "I hated every minute of the training. But I said to myself, bear the pain now and live the rest of your life as a champion."

Go back and look at your circles again. Do you realize that it may be entirely possible to continue expanding your circles to infinity? Draw a third one. And a fourth. Imagine yourself climbing up out of your comfort zone to these higher levels and look back at how small the space is that you used to occupy. You have far greater potential than you’ve ever imagined.

In William James’ essay, On Vital Reserves: Energies of Men, he wrote, "Compared to what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are dampened, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources. The human individual thus lives usually far within his limits; he possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use. He energizes below his maximum, and he behaves below his optimum."

It’s a widely accepted fact that we only use a tiny fraction of our physical potential and even less of our minds. However, no true expert in human potential today would ever dare set a definite limit on what we are ultimately capable of achieving because for all practical purposes, our potential is literally infinite.

Have we seen any slowdown in athletic, intellectual, spiritual and scientific advancement during our lifetimes? Quite the opposite; the curve of progress is accelerating thanks to the brave souls who had the courage to step out their comfort zones. Meanwhile, the mediocre masses are left further and further behind because they would rather pull back into the apparent comfort and stability of their small “circles” rather than step forward through pain and into growth.

Ironically, when someone says, “I’m happy just staying right where I am,” he or she is demonstrating their ignorance of a basic law of nature. It’s the natural law that all things in the universe are either growing or decaying. There is no standing still. “Comfortably maintaining” is an illusion. Truth is, you must grow. You must push yourself beyond what you’ve done in the past if you want to avoid falling behind.

You don’t necessarily have to aspire to become Mr. Olympia, Tour De France winner, or heavyweight champion of the world, but you must continue to grow, whatever that means to you. All you have to do is step outside your comfort zone and endure the “pain” of effort, discipline, sacrifice, frustration and hard work, and your reward of growth is as certain as the sun rising in the East tomorrow.

Soon the pain subsides, you enjoy the benefits of the change, and the pain is forgotten. You’ve reached a new, and higher plateau of achievement. Be on guard, though, for it’s not long before that higher level becomes your new comfort zone, and then it’s time to press on again.

Ultimately, you can’t avoid experiencing pain of one kind or another. Project yourself into the future for a moment; see yourself in your final days, reflecting on what you’ve achieved in your lifetime…and reflecting on what you wanted to achieve, but never attempted. As you visualize this scene, remember the words of Jim Rohn: "We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons."

Five Classic Misconceptions About Freestyle Swimming

2009-08-27T05:29:00.001-07:00

[Source: Swim Smooth, August 27/09]

Here are five commonly held misconceptions about the freestyle stroke. Don’t fall foul of these or you’ll seriously hold back your swimming:

• Misconception 1: "The freestyle stroke needs to be as long as possible – longer is always more efficient."
A long stroke is a good thing up to a point, but an *overly* long stroke leads to dead spots and pauses that ruin your rhythm and timing. This normally happens with swimmers who have done technique work focusing on gliding. These dead spots cause you to decelerate between strokes, which makes you less efficient because you need to accelerate your whole body again on the next stroke.
Our advice: To make yourself as efficient as possible you need to find the right stroke length and stroke rate (strokes per minute) for you as an individual. Find out more: www.swimsmooth.com/strokerate

• Misconception 2: "As a triathlete I don’t have to work on my kick."
As a triathlete you’re not looking for propulsion from your kick but you still need to work on it. This is because poor kicking technique causes lots of drag. Also, for advanced swimmers, the timing of your kick assists your arm stroke propulsive power.
Our advice: If you want to swim faster don’t neglect your kick, keep some structured kick technique work in your sessions. Find out more: www.swimsmooth.com/kick

• Misconception 3: "I can’t breathe bilaterally – it’s too long between strokes."
Swim Smooth believe anyone can breathe bilaterally. If you can’t there are three possibilities of what’s preventing you from doing so:
a) If you’re a novice swimmer, your stroke rate could be so slow it really is too long between breaths. To fix this, work on increasing your stroke rate a touch.
b) It could be that you’re not exhaling effectively into the water. This is critical because breathing out late builds up CO2 in your lungs and makes things feel very anaerobic (like a sprint activity).
c) If you struggle to breathe to one particular side it could be because you don't rotate well enough to that side.
For our advice on fixing these issues see: www.swimsmooth.com/bilateral

• Misconception 4: "My head position should be low, looking straight down at the bottom of the pool."
For some swimmers -- yes. For many swimmers -- no. Head position is a very individual thing and you can use it as a tuning knob to help your swimming. If you are very lean and have sinky legs then a lower head position will suit you. If you have an effective kick and excellent body position then a higher head position might suit you better – otherwise when swimming in a wetsuit you may feel so buoyant that you’re kicking air! A higher head position is always better in open water for sighting and viewing under the water – if you have the body position to cope with it.
Our advice: Experiment with different head positions and see what works best for you, you may be surprised!

• Misconception 5: "I don’t need to do fitness training for swimming – I’ll get it from bike and run training."
Unfortunately fitness doesn’t work like that. Much of our aerobic system lies in the specific muscles we are using and it needs training in those muscles. Neglect your fitness work and you’ll never get close to your swimming potential.

Our advice: When training for swimming you should think of it like bike or run training, you need long steady swims and mid-length harder swims. Vary this mix through the year and introduce harder race-pace swimming as the season approaches. That’s the Swim Smooth recipe for swimming fitness!

Simple Form Drills For Runners Can Clean up Your Running Form and Efficiency

2009-08-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, August 20/09]

By Jeff Horowitz, Metro Sports Washington D.C.

I have always thought that running must be one of the easiest things in the world. After all, weve been doing it since we were 3 or 4 years old, so by now we should be pretty good at it, right?

After more than a decade of marathon racing, I had come to consider myself a pretty good runner. Then a respected track coach took a good look at my running form, and he told me about all of the things I was doing wrong.

Apparently my foot strike was off, I had too much lateral movement, and my arm swing was incorrect. By the time he was through with me, I began to think it was a miracle that I could even walk.

But there was hope for me yet. By breaking down the running motion into distinct movements, and practicing drills to improve those movements, my form and my speed — improved. You too can achieve the same results.

Here are five drills that will improve anyone’s form. Each of them strengthens a particular muscle group and improves the movement of the body through the running motion.

Before you start your next training run, pick a straight stretch of road about 50 meters long, or better still, go to a local track and do these after you’ve had a complete warm-up and stretch.

Plan to do each of these drills two to four times, taking only a short rest of 30 seconds between repeats of each drill.

1. Butt kicks
Just as the name implies, this drill involves trying to kick your own butt with each step. Taking short steps, kick your heel back and up as high as you can. This drill improves heel recovery, which is the part of the running motion where your leg rises up and coils for the next forward stride. This drill also strengthens the hamstrings, a primary muscle group used in running.

2. High steps
This drill involves taking short steps and picking your knees up as high as they can go. Think of the way those Clydesdale horses on the old Budweiser commercials used to prance. This drill strengthens the calves and hip flexors, and emphasizes proper running posture and the lift-off phase of running.

3. High skips
Everyone feels silly doing this at first, but believe me, it works. Swing your arms strongly and skip as high as you can. This drill helps build explosive power in your running stride, and it will help you climb hills and finish strong in your next race.

4. Stiff-legged running
Run keeping your knees as straight as possible. It helps to imagine that youre a Russian folk dancer. This drill will strengthen the hip flexors, which is the area where the bottom of your abdomen meets your leg a muscle group thats crucial to the running motion.

5. Strides
Think of these as slow-motion sprints. Dont run all-out; just run easily, but with the form you would use in sprinting. This drill gives you an opportunity to see how your body is moving during hard running, and gives you a chance to correct any problem areas you might have in your form. It also prepares you body for the next phase of your workout your actual distance run by lengthening the stride.

Do all of these drills at least once a week. They’ll only take a few minutes, but they work for elite runners, and they’ll work for you.

Abdominal workout for swimmers

2009-08-11T05:02:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, August 11/09]

Approx. 20 minutes
200 sit-ups
60 push-ups

Warm-up
Warm up with some light stretching, preferably on a cushioned yoga mat (common ones found in gyms are about an inch thick and made of styrofoam). To stretch out your stomach muscles, lie face down on the mat and prepare to do a push-up with your hands placed as close to your armpits as possible. Push your upper body up off the ground, leaving your hips and legs flat on the ground. This is known as a "seal press." Feel the stretch in your stomach, slowly tilting your head back towards the sky for added abdominal elongation.

50 'regular' sit-ups
Lying on your back, raise your knees off the ground about 12 inches so that the small of your back is flush with the ground and place your hands behind your head. Slowly raise your head toward your knees, making sure not to pull your head up with your hands (your hands and arms are there to add weight to the upper half of your body so that your abs have more mass to lift. They are not there for support). When you curl upward as far as you can go, ease back down to a resting position.

Take care not to relax your stomach on the down-side of the sit-up too quickly — the most effective part of the sit-up is actually this down-side, not the up-curl.

15 push-ups
After the first set of sit-ups, flip over on your stomach, execute a brief seal press to stretch out your abs, and go right into 15 push-ups, slowly and methodically. Picture your body as a rigid plank, making sure not to bounce your head or only "push up" the top half of your body rather, raise your entire body from toes to head. Keep your abs tight and controlled as you execute the push-ups they should burn even though this set serves as a break between sit-ups. Finish with another brief seal press.

50 'left/right sit-ups
These are just like "regular" sit-ups, only instead of bringing your head straight up with each repetition, you are alternating bringing your right elbow towards your left knee, and your left elbow towards your right knee.

15 push-ups

50 'chair-lift' sit-ups
These are great sit-ups for developing the oft-neglected upper abs. Most sit-ups tighten the lower four-pack of muscles, while this type of exercise places more emphasis on the upper four muscles in the abdominal region.

Lying on your back, lift your legs off the ground in a 90-degree angle as if you are sitting in a chair (only the chair is flat on its back). Again, placing your hands behind your head, slowly raise your head straight up toward the ceiling (unlike the previous sets, do not curl your head toward your knees, but rather reach your head up toward the sky, directly above you). If you do this correctly, it will feel different than the previous sit-ups, because you are working a different set of abdominal muscles.

15 push-ups

50 'bicycle' sit-ups
"Bicycles" are not exactly sit-ups, but they work the abdominals just as well, if not better, than traditional stomach curls. It is important to do these correctly, in a slow and controlled repetitive motion, to get the most out of the exercise.

Lying on your back, bring your feet up off the ground as if you are beginning a set of chair-lifts. With your hands behind your head, bring your left elbow toward your right knee and then your right elbow towards your left knee, while constantly moving your legs in a "cycling" motion.

Rather than a series of repetitive motions like the previous sets of sit-ups, "bicycles" are a smooth, continuous motion as you "cycle" your legs while twisting your spine left-to-right, alternating elbows-to-knees. Count 50 controlled rotations, then relax. Or you can time yourself for a minute, executing the motion slowly and methodically. This is the hardest abdominal drill, which is why it is last in the workout.

End with:

15 push-ups

Upon completion of this dry-land set, your stomach muscles should be burning and an overall tightness in your abdominals will be apparent. With the holidays looming and workout time scarce, this simple set of drills can be done anywhere, anytime. On a hotel room floor in the morning before your shower, or prior to a scheduled workout, for example.

It only takes 20 minutes, but consistently doing this short workout every other day is a great way to strengthen these oft-neglected stomach muscles.

The result will be better form in the pool and a leaner post-holiday waistline. Who wouldn't want that?

Swimming with Fins - How Swim Fins Help Your Swimming

2009-07-30T05:10:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, July 30/09]

Do You Call Them Fins Or Flippers?
By Mat Luebbers, About.com

Swimming with fins is a way for swimmers to improve kick strength, ankle flexibility, body position, and go faster during a swim practice. Fins or flippers come in hundreds of shapes, colors, fastenings, and sizes; different fins will do different things for (and to) you - but don't come down with CFD (Chronic Fins Dependency).

Short or small bladed fins, such as Zoomers, allow you to maintain a foot speed closer to your regular kicking speed with no fins. They also add just enough extra surface area to give you more power from the kick. Zoomer-type fins come in two colors, blue and red. The blue fins are made of a softer material for folks new to short fin kicking or those that have a less efficient kick. They are less stressful on the ankle due to a more flexible fin blade, much more comfortable when starting out. The red are stiffer fins, resulting in more force per kick, but that also results in more stress on your joints and muscles.

You can make your own short blade fins by cutting off all but two or three inches of the fin's blade. The home-made variety are usually soft, somewhat comparable to the blue Zoomers-type fins. The advantage of Zoomers is their finished edges and consistent quality. Other short blade fin designs comes from a variety of sources.

Medium bladed fins offer more power form each kick, but potentially at the expense of foot speed. They are great for working on dolphin kick and butterfly. You can feel your body and leg movements as you swim - bigger fins add emphasis, amplifying each kick. One good brand of medium bladed fins is the Churchill, featuring a blade that is not too long for competitive swimming.

Avoid long bladed or vented scuba style fins. While excellent for scuba uses, they are not the best choice for a swimming workout with fins. The fin's length and design result in very slow movements, too slow to give you as much specific benefit as short fins. The long fins still offers some benefits, for flexibility, increased workout load, and speed, but not as many as the shorter or medium bladed fins.

Among the things that you can gain by using fins is improved ankle flexibility from the extra force the fins place on your ankle as you kick. Increased ankle flexibility will result in a more efficient flutter kick through better angles of attack on the water.

One of the greatest benefits of using fins is the ease of holding a better body position. This allows you to focus on other parts of your technique, such as body roll or timing. You should add fins to your workout kit, along with the rest of your swimming toys and tools. They have a lot to offer to make you a faster swimmer! Let me know if you give them a try.

Comfort for the Long Haul

2009-07-30T05:09:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, July 30/09]

Being comfortable on your bike can make or break your enjoyment and performance. Many cyclists have experienced the pitfalls of a poor set up in various forms: poor cycling times in a race; difficultly running off the bike or feeling very fatigued; injuries to feet, knees, hips or back. Many don't even know they can ride faster, more efficiently and--imagine this--more comfortably. Cycling is not synonymous with discomfort; however, many ride day in and day out in uncomfortable positions. In addition, many cyclists are not maximizing their potential on the bike in spite of the fact that they feel "fine" and have no specific injuries.

Many people spend a lot of money on their bikes, components and various other accessories and still neglect their position on the bike, ignoring the motor that runs the machine. It is important to have good equipment that is light and aerodynamic, however if it doesn't allow the you, the motor, to get into a position that provides the best power output with the least effort then the equipment you're using becomes as much a liability as a benefit.

Are you getting the most out of your position?

Here's a bit of background: Bike fit and positioning are two related but different topics. They have a big impact on many aspects of your cycling: comfort, power output, aerodynamics, and muscle recruitment. The focus over the past few years has been on bike fit; however fit is just the first half of the puzzle. Let's look at the difference between fit and positioning and what you can do to improve your position.

Step One: Fit. Many triathletes are riding bikes that don't fit them. Bike fit is determined primarily by two measurements, the seat tube measurement of your frame (frame size) and the top tube length of your frame. Most people consider only the seat tube length ("I ride a 56cm frame") without considering the fact that 56cm frames from different companies may fit differently due to differing top tube lengths. Based on torso and arm measurements in addition to inseam, we can determine your "ideal" top tube and seat tube lengths. With this information you can find a bike that fits you. This is where positioning comes into the picture. A bike that fits simply means that you have to potential to achieve a comfortable and efficient position on it.

Step Two: Positioning. Positioning is more complicated due to the number of inter-related factors. In a sense it is like a puzzle whose pieces include: saddle height, saddle fore-aft, overall extension, arm rest drop, arm rest width, and aerobar angle. The adjustment of these factors is governed by their effect on the angles at your knee, hip, shoulder and elbow. We look for a particular range at each of these angles. One of the biggest issues for triathletes is being too stretched out when using the aerobars. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to fit not much more than a fist between your knee and your elbow when they are at their closest point in your pedal stroke. If you are too stretched out you can correct this in several ways: 1) Shorten your stem length (also effects weight distribution) 2) Shorten your aerobar extension (also effects comfort of your arm rest position) 3) Move your saddle forwards (also effects your hip angle). If you are riding a road bi! ke, moving your saddle forwards or using a forward seatpost may be your best option as it will also open up your hip angle, however you need to be careful not to upset the handling of your bike.

Call, or visit out website for more information.

Fiona Gray and Dan Rishworth are bike fit specialists at Enduro Sport/Athletes First and are certified by the two major fitting schools in North America. In addition, they have conducted their own research into rider positioning over the past ten years. You can contact them at 416-449-0432 or at Enduro Sport or Athletes First

Swimming at the Center of the Universe

2009-07-23T03:58:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter in Tri-Rudy newsletter, July 23/09]

by Coach Emmet Hines
Sometimes the basic assumptions you employ in pursuit of a goal get in the way of success.

Take astronomers. In not too ancient history an astronomer was a person that studied the way the planets revolved around the earth in an attempt to perfect the calendar so that it would be accurate year after year - up till then it had been slightly off - every 100 years or so it would snow in July and the Pope would say "Crank the calendar back six months." July became January and the calendar would be right again. But, this put a real crimp in people's vacation schedules so a better way had to be found. Hence, astronomers enjoyed gainful employment.

The problem was that astronomers were laboring under a false model. The very definition of what it was to be an astronomer, studying the way the planets revolved around the earth to find the perfect calendar, precluded them from finding the right answer. At the time, it did seem logical to assume that all heavenly bodies revolved around the earth - the telescope hadn't been invented and everyone could clearly see for themselves that everything revolved around the earth - there was no basis for any other kind of assumption. Then, a very inquisitive fellow named Copernicus challenged the whole notion of Earth being at the center of the Universe. Using nothing but math he theorized that the earth and planets all revovled around the sun. It took 100 years, another guy named Galileo and the invention of the telescope to get the concept out in the open. Even then, the Pope wanted to burn Galileo at the stake for daring to imply that the earth was not the focal point of all Creatio! n (some people get very fidgety when you challenge their basic assumptions about their world).

Are you laboring under a false model in your swimming? Does your definition of swimming go something like this - "Pull with the arms, kick with the legs, do it faster and I'll go faster?" If so, you need to take a step back and ask some questions. So often, I hear swimmers talking about swimming with their arms and legs. When they decide to go into the weight room they think in terms of strengthening their arms and legs. When they want to swim faster they think and talk about moving their arms faster and kicking harder.

To the untrained eye it seems reasonable and logical to look at a swimmer and say "See those arms moving water, see those legs churning away like a motorboat - that's what makes the swimmer go." I mean, if the arms don't move and neither do the legs then the swimmer becomes a floater, right?

But think for a moment about other powerful moves you see in sports - a pitcher throwing a baseball, a batter hitting that ball, a golfer hitting a drive, a tennis player hitting a backhand, a discus thrower, etc. All these activities, and in fact, nearly all one arm power moves, are based on the same principle - they use the arms to deliver huge forces that have been developed by rotation of the body trunk.

In swimming freestyle and backstroke we are really doing the same thing. The arms are used as a delivery mechanism for power that has been developed by rapidly rolling the body from side to side. We use sculling motions produced by the small muscles in the arms and around the shoulders to help us hold onto the water but it's the large muscles of the torso that provide the bulk of the propulsive power.

Breaststroke and butterfly cannot be excused from this examination either. In these strokes the large propulsive forces are created by bending and unbending in the torso - these forces are then delivered to the water with the arms and legs.

Imagine how ridiculous a swimmer would look if he held his torso absolutely flat and just moved his arms and legs (he'd probably take about 88 strokes per length). Think of a baseball pitcher standing absolutely still, facing home plate and throwing the ball using just his arm? Or an "arm-only" discus thrower?

Your thinking in swimming should be on how to develop power in the torso and deliver it to the water with your arms. This may prompt questions. It may even make you fidgety. But, suffice it to say, if your focus is still on swimming faster by just moving your arms and legs faster and harder, then the earth is still at the center of your universe.

To stay healthy and run strong, you need to make the right food choices. We show you how.

2009-07-23T03:51:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, July 23/09]

By Liz Applegate Ph.D.

You make choices every day--cash or charge, coffee or tea, Leno or Letterman. And most of these choices are easy. That is, you know what's best for you. (Letterman, definitely Letterman.) But take a stroll down any aisle in the grocery store, and suddenly simple choices disappear. Is a reduced-fat food truly a better option than its full-fat counterpart? Are vegetarian products more healthful than non-vegetarian versions? Having so many seemingly healthy choices makes it difficult to know for sure which foods are best for you and your running.

Since I can't join you when you cruise the grocery store, I've done the next best thing: I've come up with a list of my picks for eight of the most puzzling food choices out there. Just remember that even when you've filled your cart with the best choices possible, you'll still be faced with one final question: Paper or plastic?

Regular Peanut Butter vs. Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter

Liz's pick: regular peanut butter. Check the label, and you'll find that both versions pack about 190 calories per 2-tablespoon serving. But, while the reduced-fat variety has less fat (12 grams versus 16 grams in regular), it has considerably more sugar.

Even if you're looking to slash the fat in your diet for better heart health, you'll still want to stay away from the reduced-fat varieties. Why? Reduced-fat peanut butters contain hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is a primary source of artery-clogging trans fats. In comparison, regular peanut butter is a natural source of cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fats. So when you opt for a reduced-fat peanut butter, you actually end up eating more unhealthy fats.
And thanks to the healthy fats and the disease-fighting phytochemicals in regular peanut butter, it should be a part of every runner's diet. Bonus: The fat in peanut butter helps you feel full, making a PB and apple snack a great way to stave off late-afternoon hunger.

Multi-Grain Bread vs. 100-Percent Whole-Wheat Bread

Liz's pick: 100-percent whole-wheat bread. Sure, multi-grain breads such as 12-grain or 15-grain sound nutritionally impressive, but here's where label reading is a must. Bread labeled "100-percent whole-grain" is made with flour from the entire grain kernel, whether it be wheat, oat, or barley. But most multi-grain breads contain enriched-wheat flour along with other grain flours. This means most multi-grain breads typically offer less fiber and lower amounts of other key nutrients, such as zinc and vitamin E.

Eating whole-grain bread makes great sense for runners because it packs a hefty dose of rejuvenating carbohydrates--about 40 grams in two slices. Aim for at least that many carbs soon after a tough run to restock glycogen stores. And on a daily basis, runners logging 20 to 40 miles per week should eat eight to 12 servings of grains, with one slice of whole-grain bread or a half-cup of whole-grain pasta counting as one serving.

Reduced-Fat Potato Chips vs. Baked Potato Chips

Liz's pick: baked potato chips. Nutritionist or not, I love crunchy chips as much as the next person, especially when they're loaded up with fiery salsa. By going "baked," you can get the great crunch of a potato chip without all the fat. A 1-ounce serving of baked chips (about 11 chips) has 130 calories, only 1.5 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber, while a reduced-fat version packs 140 calories, 7 grams of fat (1 gram of it saturated), and half the fiber.

Baked chips fit easily into a performance-oriented diet. Eat them with nutrient-rich salsas or yogurt dips (try a dip with clams for added protein and zinc). But always keep an eye on the portion size (remember, 11 chips is about a 1-ounce serving). If you open a bag and munch mindlessly, you'll eat way more than a serving or two in no time.

Turkey Franks vs. Beef Franks

Liz's pick: neither. You'd assume the safe money would be on the turkey franks. But while most turkey franks have slightly less fat than beef hot dogs, they're both still loaded with fat. A traditional beef frank has about 16 grams of fat and 180 calories, compared with a regular turkey frank that weighs in with about 13 grams of fat and 150 calories. And since much of the fat in either frank is saturated, these dogs are best kept off your plate.

If you like hot dogs, opt for a soy brand or a reduced-fat version, such as Healthy Choice franks. Soy dogs taste great (don't knock 'em until you've tried 'em) and come packed with extra nutrients you won't find in traditional dogs, such as 20 percent of the Daily Value for iron and 15 percent of the Daily Value for zinc. Soy dogs also supply about twice the protein of traditional dogs. As for reduced-fat franks, most come with just a few grams of fat and less than half the calories of regular franks (brands vary so check the Nutrition Facts food label).

Frozen Yogurt vs. Light Ice Cream

Liz's pick: light ice cream. Sure, yogurt sounds healthy--and, for the most part, it is. But in frozen form, yogurt can pack more sugar and calories than you expect. A half-cup serving of regular frozen yogurt contains 200 calories, about 5 grams of fat, and more than 4 teaspoons of sugar, while light ice cream comes with only 120 calories, less than 3 teaspoons of sugar, and the same amount of fat, with slightly less saturated fat.

Sweet treats are a must for runners (there, you have it in writing). Since your running burns calories, fun foods like ice cream can easily fit into your healthy diet. During the summer months, top off a bowl of it with seasonal fresh berries and chocolate syrup. Or toss a scoop of light ice cream into the blender along with two types of fruit and a splash of fruit juice for a great recovery shake after your workout.

Frozen Meat Lasagna vs. Frozen Vegetarian Lasagna

Liz's pick: meat lasagna. Surprised? I was. Frozen lasagna is a favorite at our house, and often there's a battle over meat versus vegetarian. After I scrutinized the labels, the meat version came out on top with less fat, more protein, and the same amount of fiber as the vegetarian lasagna, which was loaded with fatty cheeses. Of course, brands vary, so read labels carefully to determine your best choice.

Frozen entrées such as lasagna make great meals for runners. I often pop a large lasagna in the oven for a Monday night dinner, and serve it with a large mixed-greens salad and steamed vegetables. The leftovers make an easy take-along-to-work lunch or a postworkout meal with some whole-grain bread.

Light Soft Margarine vs. Yogurt-Based Spread

Liz's pick: too close to call. In this instance, go with your taste preference. Both of these options save on fat and saturated fat compared with regular margarine and butter. A tablespoon serving of light margarine or yogurt-based spread supplies about 50 calories and five grams of fat (with one gram saturated). That's a 60-percent fat savings compared with the full-fat versions. But both spreads contain hydrogenated vegetable oil, so you do get a tad of trans fats with them.

Soymilk vs. Low-Fat Milk

Liz's pick: low-fat milk. Thanks to its high-protein and low-fat content, low-fat milk (1-percent fat) is the winner here. An 8-ounce serving comes with 130 calories, just over 2 grams of fat, and 11 grams of protein (about 20 percent of the Daily Value), while soymilk provides the same number of calories, 4 grams of fat, and 7 grams of protein. But both are calcium rich, containing 30 percent of the calcium Daily Value. Yes, soymilk comes with health-boosting isoflavones that may stave off heart disease and cancer. But according to new research, milk drinkers have a reduced risk of developing insulin resistance syndrome, which typically leads to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

That said, runners shouldn't bypass soy. Soymilk remains a wonderful soy option along with soy burgers, tofu, and a host of other soy products including tasty soy "sausages." Runners need more protein than sedentary folk (about 70 to 100 grams daily), and both low- and nonfat dairy, along with soy, are excellent protein sources.

Foods that boost energy

2009-07-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, July 8/09]

Whether you're injured or just tired, these foods will help you bounce back fast
By Kelly Bastone

Runners would no sooner skip prerun carbs than dash out the door bare-foot. But when the miles are done, those same athletes might not think much at all about what they eat, as long as they get something. Injured runners logging time on the bike might even skip a meal altogether, in fear of gaining weight. Big mistake. Whether you're recovering from a tough tempo run or tendinitis, food delivers the nutrients your body needs to repair itself, making smart eating crucial to a strong body and a speedy recovery. "Recovery is just like fixing a house," says Cynthia Sass, R.D., a sports dietetics specialist in Tampa, Florida. "A crack in the foundation requires raw materials to patch things back together. In the body, those raw materials come from what we eat."

A combination of proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals helps your body heal microtears from exercise and overused tendons and sprained ligaments. "Every part of the body is dependent on food for repair," says David Grotto, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. On a cellular level, those repairs are constant, sidelining injury or not. Over time, if cells don't get the nutrients they need, muscles and connective tissues can weaken, leaving them more susceptible to injury. "The decisions we make with our fork can set up roadblocks against future injuries," Grotto says. So along with stretching, and icing if you need it, these healing foods will help you get back on the road as quickly as possible.

Red Bell Pepper
Just one red bell pepper provides 380 percent of the recommended Daily Value of vitamin C, a nutrient crucial for repairing connective tissues and cartilage. By contributing to the formation of collagen, an important protein used to build scar tissue, blood vessels, and even new bone cells, vitamin C facilitates the healing process. "Work in vitamin C throughout the day, every two or three hours or so," says Sass, for five daily servings. Runners-up: papaya, cantaloupe, oranges

Salmon
Salmon's nutritional benefits have been much touted for good reason. Fresh or canned, salmon delivers two powerful healing nutrients: protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Protein does more than rebuild muscle after a grueling run; it also repairs bones, ligaments, and tendons. "We tend to forget that healing really means building new cells," says Sass. "And your body needs protein to make those new cells." She recommends all runners eat protein at every meal; injured runners should aim for four to five servings a day, from low-fat sources like egg whites and lean turkey. Salmon, with two grams of essential fatty acids per four-ounce serving, is doubly valuable. "Omega-3s are significant anti-inflammatories," says Grotto. "Eating fish high in omega-3s or taking supplements is like throwing a big bucket of ice water on inflammation." Inflammation occurs when waste matter generated by the body's repair efforts builds up around the injury, inhibiting healing. Omega-3s help disperse ! that buildup, making them useful in addressing everything from sore muscles to stress fractures. Runners-up: mackerel, flaxseeds, walnuts

Carrots
Eat carrots for a potent dose of vitamin A: a half-cup serving provides 340 percent of your Daily Value. This nutrient helps make white blood cells for fighting infection, "which is always a risk with injury," says Sass. You might not think infection is likely with tendinitis, but your body takes no chances and activates the immune system, which ups vitamin A demand. Vitamin A also helps repair postworkout microtears, so it's a valuable ally every day. Runners-up: sweet potatoes, dried apricots, spinach

Fortified Cereals
Zinc is an important healing agent, but foods highest in zinc, like red meats, often contain saturated fat, which aggravates inflammation. So when the body is taxed--from exertion or injury--runners should reach for fortified whole-grain breakfast cereals, which can deliver as much as 100 percent of the Daily Value for zinc. By itself, zinc doesn't repair damaged tissue, but it assists the proteins and fats that do. "Just don't overdo it," cautions Sass. Too much of this potent mineral lowers HDL cholesterol (the good kind) and actually suppresses your immune system. Runners-up: shellfish, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds

Almonds
Just one ounce of almonds (roughly 20) contains more than 40 percent of your Daily Value of vitamin E, an antioxidant that supports the immune system by neutralizing free radicals. Almonds, like hazelnuts and sunflower seeds, also supply beneficial mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which are key building blocks for healthy cells. "Fat is a structural part of your body, so don't skimp on it, just eat the right kind," says Sass. "Almonds supply heart-healthy fats that promote healing without clogging arteries." Runners-up: nut butters, avocados, vegetable oils

Open water swimming

2009-07-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, July 2, 2009]

Most Important: The most important issue of open water swimming is to swim the shortest possible route. (This does not mean that you can cheat!!!). Extra distance means extra time and requires more energy. Here are a few points to help you plan your swim route efficiently:

What colour and shape are the buoys, how many and where are they? What shape is the course and which way do you go? Which way is the tide flowing or where are the rips etc? Where do you stand on the beach or waters edge, where do you stand in the pack? Is the start a deep-water start or shore start? Which side of the buoys do you swim around? Where is the swim finish / relative to the transition area? What land markers are available for you to use to navigate your swim? It is advisable to swim part of the course, as markers will appear very different looking from water level. This can act as part of your swim warm up as well. If the swim is a shore start swim; how far should you run before you dolphin dive? Is there a sudden drop? Is there a steep or gradual drop etc? It is advisable to practice the start before you race. How many people are in your age group?

Navigation
When swimming in an open water situation, it is very difficult to navigate your point of direction. The water may often be murky or in the case of the ocean, there is the surf and waves to contend with. The swim start is one big washing machine, with many people fighting, kicking and making quite a splash. Often there is little out there to help you to navigate your way, this is where the swim buoys come in handy. It is important to know where the buoys are, how many there are and which way to go around them.

For the majority of swims, there are land markers that can help you to navigate. It is important to familiarize yourself with landmarks, buoys and the course before you start the swim. Don’t ever follow the swimmer in front of you and think they know where they are going; very often they will take you on a circular trip of the swim course. Following on the feet of someone in front of you can save energy as you follow in their slip steam, but make sure they are going the right way.

How do we look for the swim buoys, land markers and the direction of our swim?
By lifting your head up out the water and swimming a few strokes with your head up.
Lifting your head in the water can be very tiring and demands a lot of energy. This should be practiced in the pool as well as in open water situations. When lifting your head, you should kick your legs faster than usual to prevent your legs from sinking. Don’t stop swimming when lifting your head; water polo swim tactic comes in handy here. Keep your chin close to the water level, but open your mouth to get some O2, keep your eyes looking in the direction of travel. Do not lift your head and chest right out of the water; this will waste a lot of energy. Lift your head as few times as possible, this will help to conserve energy and help you to settle down into a comfortable swim.

Open Water Technique

Mass Start – There may be as few as 30 people and as many as 100 people in your swim start. Imagine swimming in your washing machine on spin cycle??? (Please do not practice this at home). It is important to plan where you stand in the pack in relation to your swimming ability and the swim course direction. It is always better to stand on the side furthest from the buoy turnaround.

If you are not a very good swimmer, you are better off starting at the back of the pack, so as to avoid the “lawn mower” effect from happening. If you are a strong swimmer, stand at the front and “go for it”. It wastes a lot of energy trying to weave your way around swimmers.
Type of start – Deep-water start: Floating on your stomach, sculling your hands and floating your legs behind you. As the siren goes, put your head down, arms out in front and kick your legs like crazy. Start to swim with your arms once you have got up some speed.

Land Start: Make sure that you have familiarized yourself with the terrain and bank structure. It may be a long, gradual decline, in which case you will have to run through the water before you dolphin head first into the water. It may be a sudden drop, in which case you will dolphin dive straight in. No face plants into the mud please!!

The Start – Once the starting siren has gone, there is a mad frenzy of legs, arms and some fairly ferocious ladies. Be prepared for a fast start and get away from the mad pack as soon as possible. The aim is to get into a free space and a comfortable rhythm as quickly as possible. The first few hundred metres should be swum fairly quickly and will demand a lot of energy; some people may panic or suffer an anxiety attack. Make sure you are well warmed up and ready to go.

Bilateral Breathing and Efficiency

Learning to breathe on both sides is very difficult and can be very demanding of both energy and co-ordination. This should be practiced in the pool. You will need to be able to breathe on both sides for a few reasons: To see your opponents on both sides, to navigate and depending on which way you swim, you will need to be able to see the waves coming.

An efficient and economical stroke practiced in the pool will save you time and energy. Remember that you still have to cycle and run after this ordeal.

Bashed, Bruised**^^% and Abused!!!Avoid stopping at all costs. If you are bashed in the head and kicked in the guts, you may swallow water or lose your goggles. Try not to panic and keep your arms turning over even if you have to lift your head out of the water.

You may swim any stroke that you like, so if you have to catch your breath or swear at someone, swim breastroke or roll over onto your back and float.

The swim finish – Yeehaa!!!Make sure that you know where the swim finish is and what type of exit it is. What is the gradient and structure of the embankment? Should you try to swim most of the way, or will it be better to dolphin and run in. There is no need to sprint to the finish, as you are about to hop on a bike. Think about your next move to the transition area, and plan your next stage of the race.

Swim to the finish for as long as possible and then dolphin out of the water until you can stand up and run. Lift your feet up high and out to the sides to straddle the water. Run towards the transition area taking off your goggles and cap. If you are wearing a wet suit, take your wetsuit down to your hips and then remove your cap and goggles whilst running.

Learn the Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique to Swim Better

2009-06-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, June 18/09]

What does good breathing technique do for a swimmer?

From Coach Shev Gul, for About.com

Mar 12 2009

What is the most effective breathing technique in sport? Why do some members of the coaching and the medical community take breathing for granted? Coach Shev Gul reviews the differences between ineffective, shallow chest breathing and natural, diaphragmatic breathing, and how we have lost this nature-given breathing ability. To achieve it, we must work on re-learning and re-educating ourselves, our coaches, and our athletes on how to breathe properly, correctly, and more efficiently. This can be accomplished through a natural diaphragmatic breathing or deep breathing technique which enables athletes to perform better training, have better races, and helps improve recovery during training and races.

Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique - DBT

In sport performance, there is a strong link between the following four areas of human mind-body system:

· Effective Breathing-Technique

· Physiology

· Internal State

· High Performance

Proper or correct breathing technique is central to the ancient practices of Yoga, QiGong, Ayurveda and other meditation disciplines. Diaphragmatic deep breathing awareness and practice is an important part of training for martial artists, musicians, vocalists, public speakers, dancers, and athletes!

All our bodily actions - talking, singing, playing wind instruments - and the outward application of force or power with our arms or legs, like hitting, kicking, pulling, stretching, pushing, lifting, and throwing should be done during the exhalation phase of our breathing process (a martial arts fundamental for maximum work-power creation and application).

In swimming, no matter what stroke, the main work phase should be done during the exhalation phase of our breathing process. This must be executed properly, correctly, and fully during each stroke cycle to maximize the the effectiveness of that stroke cycle. Breathing (both exhaling and inhaling) correctly is critical in maintaining the appropriate level of oxygen for energy, keeping the correct pH levels in our body, and maintaining the correct carbon dioxide level for bodily functions.

Why Coaches Continue to Take Breathing for Granted

Because we take breathing for granted, the information on the benefits of a diaphragmatic breathing technique (DBT) are not widespread in today`s medical community. Illness and pathology, not wellness (better mind-body performance of an individual or a sport person) are not the priority of many health-care practitioners. In addition, things that are free (like breathing) can`t be patented, so they do not attract funding for research, so little information on these subjects finds its way into popular medical and sport science research journals. That`s why it has escaped the sport research scientific community`s close attention. Many coaches pay little or no attention to this free bodily function-subject too, as I have personally discovered during my consultations with numerous top Olympic coaches at various sport conventions.

Shallow Chest Breathing

Unfortunately, we continue living our lives and raising our athletes on a poor diet of shallow chest breathing habits. The good news is that the poor and ineffective breathing habits can be reversed.

Among infants, correct breathing comes naturally. Observe a baby as it breathes to see its belly rise and fall with each breath. As we grow older we are taught to suck in that gut and puff out that chest as we try to look slimmer! Such resistance to the natural breathing posture restricts oxygen intake, which can lead to numerous physical as well as emotional problems.

Shallow chest breathing invites problems by delivering less air per breath into the lungs. Less air per breath leads to higher number of breaths, putting in motion a series of physiological changes that constrict blood vessels. An imbalance between the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the lungs delivers less oxygen to the brain, the heart and the rest of the body.

Shallow chest breathing promotes early fatigue in athletes, effects their rhythm and their timing, and as their stroke technique falls apart, inevitably their speed. Learning the natural Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique is the answer.

Coach Shev Gul takes a look at diaphragmatic breathing for swimmers and how to achieve it while swimming. Using this breathing method in swim practice could help a swimmer perform better in training and racing and help improve recovery from training and swim meet competitions.

An effective breathing technique has a dramatic effect on an athlete's physiology, his/her internal state (relaxation) and ultimately on his/her performance. By using the Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique, an athlete learns how to control the inhalation and the exhalation process of the breathing action. Correct breathing leads to:

· more energy for the body

· more energy for the working muscles

· better metabolic action at the cellular level

By using the Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique, our brain (the human body`s biggest oxygen guzzler), is supplied and nourished with oxygen. A brain with plenty of oxygen can operate and control the physiological functions of the body more efficiently. This can result in the formation of a positive internal state, a relaxed state which, in turn, can enable a superior performance to be achieved.

Progressive Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique Practises - Dry Land

With the help of a trained breathing coach, one has to re-learn again how to use and control the diaphragm movement correctly. The key to a DB technique is:

On Inhalation: Quick and large volume of the air be taken in. The amount of air being inhaled is always a function of the amount of the air being exhaled.
On Exhalation: A prolonged and evenly discharge of the air is maintained throughout the cycle of the motion being executed. A puffing action at the end of the exhalation phase will enable the athlete to completely empty his/her air tank (the lungs).

The DB technique must be learned and developed on land first, while the breathing process is a naturally occurring, automatic, and a reflex action. Note that during exercise and sport performance, one does not and should not ever think about their breathing action or that performance might be compromised. Let's look at some DBT practice ideas.

Using this breathing method in swim practice could help a swimmer perform better in training and racing and help improve recovery from training and swim meet competitions. Here are some progressive land DBT development practice ideas:

Walking Practises - Learning the DB technique first through walking action is the best way to familiarise the mind and body system with the timing and the rhythm aspect of the Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique-process.
Unilateral practices - Breathing in on every second step-stride. Left Hand Side (LHS) and Right Hand Side (RHS) practises. Just before the back foot is about to be lifted off the ground, a quick and large amount of air is taken in via mouth. As the same foot moves forward and is about to touch the ground, A long, continuous and even exhalation action via mouth, with a puff at the end, is executed. Repeat 10 x 6 step-stride cycle.
Breathing in on every fourth step-stride. LHS and RHS practise - Bilateral practises. As above, but breathing in on every 3rd, and 5th step-stride.
Treadmill - Gym Practises - The next phase of progressive dry land practices can be effectively achieved on a treadmill in the gym. Starting on 3-4 km/hr treadmill speed, and then progressing on to 5, 6, 7 and up to 8 km/hr speeds, the DB technique is practised and consolidated further.
Using Arms (for swimming) - Dry Land Practises - Now, we are moving the practices to the arms (swimming specific). Simulating or choreographing arm action corresponding to all four strokes used in swimming, one can further consolidate the learning of Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique.

These progressive pool practice steps can be used by coaches to teach DBT to swimmers:

Holding on the rail - one arm - The swimmer`s body on it`s side, extended arm/hand on the rail, face down, the upper arm resting on top hip, legs kicking to maintain floatation. Swimmer performs DB technique sequence as taught by the coach, trained in the correct breathing method (DBT). Repeat: 6 times on LHS and RHS each.
Push and Glide - Swimmer pushes and glides from the wall, in Body Long Vessel (BLV) position. DB control action is practised with one arm action, over a distance of 10 yards. Repeat: 6 times practising on RHS and LHS each.
Super Slow Swimming - The next phase of DBT drills are performed while swimming in super slow mode (SSS) until swimmer becomes fully competent with the technique.
Normal and High Pace Swimming - Finally, the swimmer starts incorporating his newly learned DB technique skills in fast swimming modes, until it becomes a reflex action.

What Are The Priorities For Recovery Nutrition?

2009-06-11T06:35:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, June 11/09]

Written by Louise Burke and the Department of Sports Nutrition, AIS © Australian Sports Commission

Recovery is a challenge for athletes who are undertaking two or more sessions each day, training for prolonged periods, or competing in a program that involves multiple events. Between each work-out, the body needs to adapt to the physiological stress. In the training situation, with correct planning of the workload and the recovery time, adaptation allows the body to become fitter, stronger and faster. In the competition scenario, however, there may be less control over the work-to-recovery ration. A simpler but more realistic goal may be to start all events in the best shape possible. Recovery encompasses a complex range of process that include:

restoring the muscles and liver with expended fuel
replacing the fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat
allowing the immune system to handle the damage and challenges causes by the exercise bout
manufacturing new muscle protein, red blood cells and other cellular components as part of the repair and adaptation process

The importance of each of these goals varies according to the workout - for example, how much fuel was utilised? Was muscle damage caused? Did the athlete lose much sweat? Was a stimulus presented to increase muscle protein? A proactive recovery means providing the body with all the nutrients it needs, in a speedy and practical manner, to optimise the desired processes following each session. State-of-the-art guidelines for each of the following issues are presented below:

Refueling
The muscle can restore its fuel (glycogen) levels by about 5 per cent per hour, provided that enough carbohydrate is eaten. Depending on the fuel cost of the training schedule and the need to fuel up to race, a serious athlete may need to consume 6-10 g of carbohydrate per kg body weight each day (300-700 g per day). If the time between prolonged training sessions is less than 8 hrs, it makes sense to use all of this period for effective refueling. To kick-start this process an intake of at least 1 g/kg of carbohydrate - 50-100g for most athletes - is needed. This has lead to the advice that athletes should consume carbohydrate - either their next meal, or at least a snack - as soon as possible after an exhausting workout, to prepare for the next.

Rehydration
Most athletes finish training or competition sessions with some level of fluid deficit. In hot conditions or after strenuous sessions, fluid losses are usually large and require a focused effort to rehydrate after the workout. In this case, comparing pre- and post-session measurements of body weight can provide an approximation of the overall fluid deficit. Athletes may need to replace 150 per cent of the fluid deficit to get back to baseline - for example, if you are 2 kg lighter (2 litres lighter) at the end of the session, you will need to drink 3 litres of fluid over the next hours to fully replace the existing and ongoing fluid losses.

Immune System
In general, the immune system is suppressed by intensive training, with many parameters being reduced or disturbed during the hours following a work-out. This may place athletes at risk of succumbing to an infectious illness during this time. Many nutrients or dietary factors have been proposed as an aid to the immune system - for example, vitamins C and E, glutamine, zinc and echinacea - but none of these have proved to provide universal protection. The most recent evidence points to carbohydrate as one of the most promising nutritional immune protectors. Consuming carbohydrate during and/or after a prolonged or high-intensity work-out has been shown to reduce the disturbance to immune system markers. Carbohydrate intake may be beneficial for a number of reasons. For example, it reduces the stress hormone response to exercise thus minimising its effect on the immune system. It also supplies glucose to fuel the activity of many of the immune system white cells.

Muscle Repair and Building
Prolonged and high-intensity exercise causes a substantial breakdown of muscle protein. During the recovery phase there is a reduction in catabolic (breakdown) processes and a gradual increase in anabolic (building) processes. Recent research has shown that early intake of essential amino acids from good quality protein foods helps to promote the increase in protein rebuilding. In fact, protein consumed immediately after, or in the case of resistance training work-outs, immediately before the session, is taken up more effectively by the muscle into rebuilding processes, than protein consumed in the hours afterwards. However, the protein needs to be consumed with carbohydrate foods to maximise this effect. Carbohydrate intake stimulates an insulin response, which potentiates the increase in protein uptake and rebuilding.

How does recovery eating fit into the big picture of nutrition goals?
For the athlete who is undertaking two or more training sessions each day, eating for recovery plays a substantial role in the daily food schedule and in total nutrient uptake. Either meals (which generally supply all the nutrients needed for recovery) must be timetabled so that they can be eaten straight after the work-out, or special recovery snacks must be slotted in to cover nutrient needs until the next meal can be eaten. These recovery snacks then need to be counted towards total daily intake.

For athletes who have high-energy needs, these snacks add a useful contribution towards the total day's kilojoule needs. When there is a large kilojoule budget to play with, it may not matter too much if the snacks only look after the key recovery nutrients - for example carbohydrate - or contain extra kilojoules from fat. On the other hand, for the athlete whose skinfold goals require a careful attitude to kilojoule intake, recovery snacks may need to be low in fat, and count towards meeting daily needs for vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Snacks that can supply special needs for calcium, iron or other nutrients may double up as recovery snacks and good overall choices.

What are the practical considerations for recovery eating?
Some athletes finish sessions with a good appetite, so most foods are appealing to eat. On the other hand, a fatigued athlete may only feel like eating something that is compact and easy to chew. When snacks need to be kept or eaten at the training venue itself, foods and drinks that require minimal storage and preparation are useful. At other times, valuable features of recovery foods include being portable and able to travel interstate or overseas without penalties from customs officials, being individually packaged and sealed for the benefit of lengthy nights of drug testing, or being labelled with nutritional information so that the athlete can check how much they need to consume to meet their recovery goals. Situations and challenges in sport change from day to day, and between athletes - so recovery snacks need to be carefully chosen to meet these needs.

What is the bottom line for lollies?
For occasions or individual athletes, who want an easily consumed source of simple carbohydrates, lollies are a suitable choice. Like many other carbohydrate foods, lollies will help in meeting refueling goals. However, lollies do not provide protein, fluid or other nutrients that could be important in other recovery processes. Therefore, other recovery snacks should be eaten in addition to, or instead of, lollies to fulfill the complete recovery picture. Many coaches complain that athletes don't stop at the 60 g of lollies that might be needed to kick-start glycogen synthesis after a work-out or event - in fact, lollies often come in jumbo family size packs of 500 g or more, and are likely to be consumed in excess. The bottom line is that each athlete needs to judge their recovery needs and plan an eating pattern that fits their total package. The following table provides ideas for snacks providing carbohydrate, as well as carbohydrate-protein combinations.

Carbohydrate-rich recovery snacks (50g CHO portions)

· 700-800ml sports drink

· 2 sports gels

· 500ml fruit juice or soft drink

· 300ml carbohydrate loader drink

· 60-70g packet jelly beans or jubes

· 2 slices toast/bread with jam or honey or banana topping

· 1 large chocolate bar (80g)

· 2 cereal bars

· 1 cup thick vegetable soup + large bread roll

· 115g (1 large or 2 small) American muffins, fruit buns or scones

· 300g creamed rice

· 300g (large) baked potato with salsa filling

· 100g pancakes (2 stack) + 30g syrup

Nutritious carbohydrate-protein recovery snacks (contain 50g CHO + valuable source of protein and micronutrients)

· 250-300ml liquid meal supplement

· 250-300ml milk shake or fruit smoothie

· 1-2 sports bars (check labels for carbohydrate and protein content)

· 1 large bowl (2 cups) breakfast cereal with milk

· 1 large or 2 small cereal bars + 200g carton fruit-flavoured yoghurt

· 220g baked beans on 2 slices of toast

· 1 bread roll with cheese/meat filling + large banana

· 300g (bowl) fruit salad with 200g fruit-flavoured yoghurt

· 2 crumpets with thick spread peanut butter + 200ml flavoured milk

· 300g (large) baked potato + cottage cheese filling + glass of milk

· 200g (1/3-1/4 pizza) with chicken/meat and vegetables

Faster swimming: It's all in your head...position

2009-06-11T06:34:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, June 11/09]

By Mat Luebbers

Swimmers, the way you position your head while you swim can have a huge effect on technique and how fast you swim. Head position can make your swimming technique fast or it can make your swimming slow. Swimming with your head up or down - which is fast, and why? Or are both good, but in different situations? Head position, body position, and balance are all related to fast swimming.

I like to look at head position in terms of where you are looking in comparison to your spinal column.

· Freestyle, Breaststroke, and Butterfly

· If you are looking forward while you swim, then you are in a more head-up position

· This tends to push your hips down towards the bottom of the pool

· If you are looking at the bottom of the pool directly below you, then you are in a head-down position

· If you are in a head down position and your head and spine are in a direct line, then you are also in a neutral position

· This will tend to keep your hips neutral, too.

· Backstroke

· Since you are upside-down when doing backstroke, the idea of head position while swimming is a little different, so you may have to do some translating

· Looking straight up at the sky or ceiling with your head lined up with your body?

· Then your head is neutral or back (just like the freestyle, backstroke, or breaststroke head-down position)

· If you are looking back towards your toes, I'd say you are looking up - you are in a head-up position

· And if you are somehow looking where you are going - that's not good!

When is a head up, eyes looking forward position (or backwards in backstroke) beneficial?
If you are swimming freestyle or backstroke for a very short distance (50 meters, for example) and you have a very strong kick, you might get a bit faster by raising your head slightly. This will tend to lower your hips and legs and you might be able to get more propulsion from your kick action under water. This might make you faster. It could also make you slower if the increased kick opportunity is not enough to overcome increased drag. It can also make it more difficult to rotate your body from side to side. You will still be able to rotate your shoulders, but your hips will tend to bog down or stick in a flat position. Is this faster for you? You have to check this out in practice.

Remember, when swimming long-axis strokes (freestyle and backstroke), keep some portion of your head above the water level - don't let water go over the top of your head. Your head should not submerge; if it does go under you create a lot of excess drag. The short-axis strokes (butterfly and breaststroke) work the opposite way - you create less overall drag when you allow your head to submerge, creating a longer, smoother streamline shape, head to toe, every stroke cycle.

Eating advice for everyday people

2009-05-27T08:57:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 27, 2009]

Bella pasta, the cyclist's best friend...

The large variety of diet options purported by so-called 'gurus' may become overwhelming for someone looking to shed a few pounds. Cycling Plus' Christine Bailey takes you through some simple steps to 'sharpen your edges' whilst keeping your nutrition needs smoothed.

No matter what kind of rider you are, it's all too easy to suffer from an expanding midsection. Not only can this hamper your performance, it can also affect your overall health.

The key to long-term weight loss is not merely counting calories or carbs, but instead following a programme designed to reshape your body, improving its composition and maintaining power.

Fundamental to this is balancing blood sugar levels, which is critical for losing fat, promoting muscle mass and hence boosting energy and performance. Adopting the following principles and eating plan will not only produce results fast, but it will also improve your performance and overall health.

Eat little and often
It's essential for cyclists to keep the body fuelled frequently with the right foods, which ensures a steady supply of glucose entering the bloodstream to be converted into energy. This reduces the insulin response as well, enabling the body to burn fat rather than store it, which means effective, healthy weight loss paired with constant energy levels.

Two to three hours after eating, your blood glucose levels drop, so you should aim to eat around every three hours even if you're not training. In practical terms, this means eating breakfast, a healthy mid-morning snack, lunch, another healthy snack in the afternoon and an evening meal.

During training sessions, or all-day rides, you may want to add an additional snack or two. Choose these with care - treat them like mini-meals and make them count nutritionally. You can pick various foods to suit different times, such as when you need to hydrate, aid recovery or provide your body with additional nutrients. Here are some examples:

Pots of natural low-fat yoghurt, cottage cheese or fromage frais and fruit
Pots of hummus, guacamole or fish pate with a handful of carrot, pepper, cucumber and celery sticks
Nut and seed bars (no added sugar)
Piece of fruit with 30g of hard cheese
Plain popcorn, crackers or pretzels - combine with some protein
Oat cakes or pumpernickel bread
Hard-boiled egg and vegetable sticks
Flavoured low-fat milkshakes
Miso soup and lean ham/chicken
Homemade trail mix - combine a variety of nuts, dried fruit and mini plain shredded wheat to snack on

Typical menu

Breakfast: Protein boosting porridge made with porridge oats, milk or water and a half scoop of protein powder or ground seeds. Top with yoghurt and half a cup of berries or fruit.
Mid-morning snack: One bit of fruit plus some nuts and seeds.
Lunch: Mixed bean or chicken salad using half a can of mixed beans and at least five different vegetables, sprouted seeds and dressed using an omega-blend oil. One slice of rye or pumpernickel bread spread with pumpkin seed butter or tahini.
Mid-afternoon snack: One protein shake
Dinner: Seared salmon with steamed vegetables and half a cup of cooked buckwheat noodles. Use a palm-sized piece of fish and wide selection of vegetables.

Include protein
Many weight loss diets fail to work and also result in a loss of muscle mass, leading to a slower metabolism, less fat loss and even weight gain. This is where including sufficient protein in your diet can help. After all, your muscles are mostly made up of protein.

Including protein has other important benefits, too - it slows down the rate of digestion and the speed at which sugars are released into the bloodstream, helping you to feel fuller for longer and thus reducing appetite. Because your blood sugar doesn't vary so dramatically, you're also less likely to suffer from cravings and, as a result, overeating.

Not all proteins are as beneficial for your health as others, though: red meat and dairy foods contain a high proportion of saturated fats. While it's fine to have the odd steak, try to include more lean poultry, eggs, vegetarian protein foods and fish (particularly oily fish: a good source of anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats).

Quick tip: A portion is roughly 75g to 100g in weight, which is about the size of the palm of your hand. This is equal to two eggs or three egg whites plus an egg yolk. For beans and pulses, it's 125g/half a cup (cooked).

Fill just over a third of your plate (30 to 40 per cent) with protein and combine this with a range of colourful veggies, which contain vitamins, minerals and fibre that help counter the acidity of protein-based foods.

Cut out the junk
Sugar comes in many disguises, whether it's sucrose, glucose, sorbitol, corn sugar, malt, molasses, golden, rice or maple syrup. All of these can contribute to unstable sugar levels, insulin resistance and weight gain.

Focus more on wholegrains (oats, barley, quinoa, rye) - the fibre helps to control cravings and maintain even energy levels when on your bike. Fast sugar-releasing fruits and juice are fine pre, post and during rides, but eat or drink them too often and it can send your sugar levels soaring. Mix them with slower releasing, antioxidant-rich berries, citrus fruits, apples and pears.

Eat essential fats: Get some fish in your diet

Forget low-fat, calorie-counting diets; eating the right type of fat is crucial for losing weight. The essential fats are those the body cannot make itself and so must be obtained from food.

Known as omega 3, 6 and essential fatty acids, they help your body to make hormone-like substances (called prostaglandins) that control your metabolism and reduce inflammation. This means that such fats are used by your body to help you burn off excess fat and improve the levels of both cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood.

The omega 3 fats found in oily fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines and herring, and some nuts and seeds, including flaxseed, hemp and walnuts, are typically lacking in the diet. Aim to eat oily fish at least twice a week and try to include a range of nuts, seeds and omega oils in your diet daily. Monounsaturated fat is also beneficial, so you can snack on avocados drizzled with olive oil.

Get supplementary help
To keep your blood sugar levels stable, it may be useful to supplement your diet. Start with a high strength multivitamin and mineral formula containing between 20 to 50mg of each of the key B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6) needed for energy production, at least 1g of vitamin C and an essential omega supplement.

You may wish to add other nutrients known to help stabilise blood sugar and burn fat - top choices for this include chromium, magnesium, alpha lipoic acid, conjugated linolenic acid (CLA) and protein supplements or powders. Getting the quantities right can be difficult, so it's worth seeking support from a nutritionist in order to tailor a program to suit your needs.

The perfect form

2009-05-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 27, 2009]

Running better, from head to toe.
By Jane Unger Hahn

Head Tilt
How you hold your head is key to overall posture, which determines how efficiently you run. Let your gaze guide you. Look ahead naturally, not down at your feet, and scan the horizon. This will straighten your neck and back, and bring them into alignment. Don't allow your chin to jut out.

Shoulders
Shoulders play an important role in keeping your upper body relaxed while you run, which is critical to maintaining efficient running posture. For optimum performance, your shoulders should be low and loose, not high and tight. As you tire on a run, don't let them creep up toward your ears. If they do, shake them out to release the tension. Your shoulders also need to remain level and shouldn't dip from side to side with each stride.

Arms
Even though running is primarily a lower-body activity, your arms aren't just along for the ride. Your hands control the tension in your upper body, while your arm swing works in conjunction with your leg stride to drive you forward. Keep your hands in an unclenched fist, with your fingers lightly touching your palms. Imagine yourself trying to carry a potato chip in each hand without crushing it. Your arms should swing mostly forward and back, not across your body,between waist and lower-chest level. Your elbows should be bent at about a 90-degree angle. When you feel your fists clenching or your forearms tensing, drop your arms to your sides and shake them out for a few seconds to release the tension.

Torso
The position of your torso while running is affected by the position of your head and shoulders. With your head up and looking ahead and your shoulders low and loose, your torso and back naturally straighten to allow you to run in an efficient, upright position that promotes optimal lung capacity and stride length. Many track coaches describe this ideal torso position as "running tall" and it means you need to stretch yourself up to your full height with your back comfortably straight. If you start to slouch during a run take a deep breath and feel yourself naturally straighten. As you exhale simply maintain that upright position.

Hips
Your hips are your center of gravity, so they're key to good running posture. The proper position of your torso while running helps to ensure your hips will also be in the ideal position. With your torso and back comfortably upright and straight, your hips naturally fall into proper alignment--pointing you straight ahead. If you allow your torso to hunch over or lean too far forward during a run, your pelvis will tilt forward as well, which can put pressure on your lower back and throw the rest of your lower body out of alignment. When trying to gauge the position of your hips, think of your pelvis as a bowl filled with marbles, then try not to spill the marbles by tilting the bowl.

Legs/Stride
While sprinters need to lift their knees high to achieve maximum leg power, distance runners don't need such an exaggerated knee lift--it's simply too hard to sustain for any length of time. Instead, efficient endurance running requires just a slight knee lift, a quick leg turnover, and a short stride. Together, these will facilitate fluid forward movement instead of diverting (and wasting) energy. When running with the proper stride length, your feet should land directly underneath your body. As your foot strikes the ground, your knee should be slightly flexed so that it can bend naturally on impact. If your lower leg (below the knee) extends out in front of your body, your stride is too long.

Ankles/Feet
To run well, you need to push off the ground with maximum force. With each step, your foot should hit the ground lightly--landing between your heel and midfoot--then quickly roll forward. Keep your ankle flexed as your foot rolls forward to create more force for push-off. As you roll onto your toes, try to spring off the ground. You should feel your calf muscles propelling you forward on each step. Your feet should not slap loudly as they hit the ground. Good running is springy and quiet.

What you need to know about knees

2009-05-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 20/09]

Cyclists have their fair share of knee complaints

Cycling is often touted as a recreation where participants can avoid the injuries common in other sports, such as knee pain. For some riders this isn't the case however, and ailments to the knees occur due to a combination of factors. Dr Giles P Croft explains how to recognise these factors and what you can do about them.

Professional riders such as Rabobank's Robert Gesink can experience knee ailments; the Dutchman finished third in last Sunday's Amstel Gold Race but had to miss the mid-week Classic Flèche Wallonne due to a knee complaint. But what causes these problems?

Knee conditions can be generally divided into three broad categories: cycling-specific, bike-specific and cyclist-specific. Specific overuse injuries usually arise from a combination of factors across all these three domains - the secret is to identify which is contributing the greatest offence and make a focused change for the better.

Cycling-specific
Unfortunately, our cycling enthusiasm is to blame for one of the most common causes of knee pain. You know the story - new season, new goals, a change in the weather or maybe a new bike. With renewed vigour we resolve to cast off the winter's sloth and get down to some serious riding - with scant regard for how our knees might bear up to the onslaught.

'No pain, no gain' only holds true within certain limits. It's no surprise that new studies cite lack of pre-ride conditioning as a risk factor for injury. Drastically increasing anything to do with our riding habits - distance, speed, intensity, tough terrain or tough gears - without gradual acclimatisation is just asking for trouble. That envelope of function is exceeded, and damage accumulates until the forces through the knee joint are reduced.

Even changing from long, steady winter base training to shorter, sharper rides in the early season can precipitate problems; if the body's not used to a specific type of training, it's interpreted as a drastic change.

Cycling-Specific Causes: Changes in training that exceed the body's capacity for normal function and repair

Greatly increasing distance and duration of rides
Sudden increase in training intensity
Riding more hills than usual
Using high gears and low cadence

Bike-specific
The same basic principle applies here; if radical changes are made to equipment and position, problems will very likely arise.

The key measurements affecting the knee are saddle height and setback, with crank length affecting not only the absolute saddle-to-pedal distance, but also the force required to generate one full pedal revolution. Longer cranks (essentially the equivalent to using stiffer gears) increase the forces transmitted across the patellofemoral joint (explained below) thus amplifying the likelihood of cumulative damage.

The patellofemoral joint - or 'PFJ' - comprises:

Femur - the thigh bone, the biggest bone in the body, with the hip joint at one end and the knee at the other
Patella - the kneecap, a 'floating' bone which sits in the tendon coming from the quadriceps
Tibia - the shin bone, where the muscles of the thigh attach in order to lever the knee joint

If you're new to cycling, or to a particular bike, a lack of frame of reference can mean it's sometimes difficult to establish exactly where the problem might lie. There's no universally agreed correct way to set your bike up, but most reputable bike shops will provide advice, with some offering an adjustable bike-fit jig and several decades of experience.

Bike-Specific Causes: Changes in equipment or a position on the bike that the body's not used to

Saddle height and saddle setback
Length of cranks
Cleat position or excessive wear

Cyclist-specific
This refers to our own individual biomechanics and make-up - they are intrinsic causes, rather than extrinsic. As such they often manifest quite stealthily, contributing to the two categories above, such that our training load reaches a particular threshold, at which point we are suddenly troubled with knee pain.

The knee joint

Anatomical differences, such as leg length discrepancies, may contribute to problems in one particular leg, but in reality we all favour one leg over the other (it's the one with the thigh closest to the seat post when pedaling), in part explaining why knee pain seldom affects both legs equally.

Each individual's body has also had to respond to a lifetime's knocks, scrapes and more serious injuries, which it does by moving in subtly different ways, initially to protect the injury, and then, once healed, because it's got used to these new movements as being normal.

Damage to your knee could be caused by you, your bike or the way you cycle: damage to your knee could be caused by you, your bike or the way you cycle

But the cumulative effect of all of these can upset the fine balance of forces the knee has to deal with. This dissipation or 'coping' with energy transmitted through the joint is done largely by the muscles and their tendons, so it stands to reason that tight, inelastic muscles can indirectly contribute to increased forces through the PFJ.
Summary of causes of knee overuse injury.

Cyclist-Specific Causes: Biomechanical (intrinsic) abnormalities that compound cycling- and bike-specific causes

Anatomical discrepancies (e.g. leg length)
Legacy of old injuries
Inflexibility & muscle tightness
Muscle weakness (including core muscles)

Cycling-specific solutions

These involve unloading the problem area, most often the PFJ. This means easing back on your training until you've redressed the balance. Carrying on blithely, hoping it will go away is only likely to set you up for longer term problems.

This isn't to say you have to stop riding entirely. Only you can know what you're capable of, but a rule of thumb is to exercise painlessly as much as possible. Lower distances, fewer hills and lower gears can all help you maintain fitness without destroying your knees, while you make concurrent changes across the other two domains.

Of course, prevention is far better than cure, so make only gradual increases to your training (no more than 10-15 percent more each week) and watch out for the transition between low and high intensity where hours may remain static (or even decrease), masking a sudden change to training. Keeping a diary of your rides is essential to get to the bottom of this type of problem.

Bike-specific solutions
Again these revolve around making small changes when they are required in order to prevent problems from occurring in the first place.

Always note down the measurement of anything before changing a component: saddle height, setback and cleat position (the easiest way is to draw round the old ones with a felt tip pen before removing them).

Cleats with 'float' (small amounts of rotation when engaged) are a good idea, and consider swapping those super-long cranks for a pair of 170mm ones.

Cyclist-specific solutions
These are possibly the trickiest to tackle. Having said this, general measures such as hot baths to loosen tight muscles, followed by regular stretching of large muscle groups (quads, hamstrings, adductors and gluteal muscles) can increase flexibility to cope better with pressures across the PFJ.

Specific stretches for specific problems will be tackled next time, but the practice of pre-ride stretching has not been shown to reduce the likelihood of picking up an overuse injury. This further reinforces the message that vigorous stretching of cold muscles is at best ineffectual and at worst potentially damaging.

The role of core muscles should also not be overlooked – the abdominal, back and especially pelvic muscles all contribute to taking the strain off the major leg muscles.
How do knee problems occur?

This requires a basic explanation of the anatomy and biomechanics of the knee. In simple terms the knee is a hinge joint between the femur (thigh bone) and the tibia (shin bone), acted upon by the large muscles of the thigh.

At the back, the hamstrings flex the knee, as well as helping the gluteal muscles to extend the hip joint. At the front, the quadriceps extend or straighten the knee by attaching to the tibia via your patella (the kneecap). This has its own articulation with the thigh bone - the patellofemoral joint, or 'PFJ' - which often plays a lead role where knee pain is concerned, since bending the knee compresses the joint.

Looking at knee pain structurally

Those 'large muscles of the thigh' can get very large with regular two-wheeled activity, and this is where problems start.

The normal movements of the knee are finely balanced, and with different muscle groups pulling at the patella from slightly different angles, it doesn't take much to upset things. Add to this tight muscles restricting normal motion, varying saddle heights and feet firmly planted in angled cleats, and it's amazing we don't all cycle with fixed grimaces.

Every pedal stroke flexes and extends the knee joint, yet never fully extends it. The powerful push (extending) phase starts with the knee flexed to around 110 degrees, reaching about 35 degrees before flexing back through the pull phase. It can all add up to years of relative imbalance between those powerful muscle groups and unnatural forces about the knee.

Who suffers from overuse knee pain?
Overuse injuries arise from repetition. The accumulation of excessive loads over time exceed the body's ability to dissipate energy, leading to damage on a microscopic level which, if not given chance to recover, sets up a chronic cycle of improperly healed inflammation and tissue degeneration, experienced as pain, weakness and stiffness.

What else can be done about knee pain?
It sounds awful, but the good news is the vast majority of these injuries improve with simple non-operative interventions, the key being to rehabilitate within the boundaries of the body's natural capacity for repair, or what's been termed the 'envelope of function' in the Sports Medicine & Arthroscopy Review.

Whatever the nature of your knee pain, it's crucial to listen to your body and react accordingly. Occasional pain while on the bike means you're just outside the limits of your body's capacity for repair. Consequently, any adjustments needed are likely to be minimal, with little upset to your training. On the other hand, pain that's present every time you cycle and persists when you're off the bike implies your body's crying out for respite.

You may wish to enlist the help of a physiotherapist - those within the specialties of sports and manipulative physiotherapy - and it's worth remembering that family doctors are generalists but many have a specialist interest. Ask at your local practice whether one of the GPs has an interest in musculo-skeletal and/or sports medicine - they may even run a specialist clinic at your practice.

Eat the right fats

2009-05-20T05:25:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 20/09; from the April 2009 issue of Runner's World]

A 2007 study found that a diet rich in monounsaturated fats can help prevent weight gain.
By Leslie Goldman

Dieter's Strategy: Eat low-fat foods.

Runner's Strategy: Eat the right fats.

Though the fat-free craze peaked in the '90s, many dieters still avoid oils, butter, nuts, and other fatty foods. Their logic: If you don't want your body to store fat, then don't eat fat. Many dieters also know that one gram of fat packs nine calories, while protein and carbohydrate both contain just four calories per gram. Dieters can stretch the same number of calories a lot farther if they eat mostly carbs and protein in place of fat.

But the notion that having fat in your diet isn't a bad thing is catching on again. "I think it's a pretty antiquated thought now that we need to eliminate fat to lose weight," says Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., author of The 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Energy Naturally. In fact, studies have shown that eating moderate amounts of fat can actually help you lose weight. The key is to make sure you're eating the right kinds. Saturated and trans fats are unhealthy because they raise your levels of LDL (so-called "bad cholesterol"). Trans fats may also lower your HDL (or "good cholesterol") levels and increase your risk for heart disease—not to mention weight gain. But unsaturated fats (which include mono- and polyunsaturated) have important benefits. Here's why runners should include these fats in their diet.

Keep You Satisfied: Unsaturated fats promote satiety, reduce hunger, and minimally impact blood sugar. That's important because if your blood sugar dips too low, you may experience cravings, brain fog, overeating, and low energy, making it "fiendishly difficult to lose weight," says Bowden.
Protect Heart Health: Unlike trans-fats, monounsaturated fats found in vegetable oils (such as olive and canola) and avocados have the added power to help lower LDL and reduce your risk of heart disease.
Reduce Injury: Unsaturated fats can help stave off injuries, such as stress fractures. A 2008 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that female runners on low-fat diets are at increased risk of injury—and a sidelined runner can't burn as many calories.
Decrease Joint Pain: Bowden adds that omega-3 fatty acids—which are a type of polyunsaturated fat found in fish (particularly in salmon), walnuts, and ground flaxseed—possess anti-inflammatory properties that can help soothe knee, back, and joint aches and pains that plague many runners. Translation: You'll hurt less and run more.

Real Runner: Abi Meadows 37, San Antonio

"As an ultramarathoner, I run high mileage and for years had no problem keeping weight off. But after five kids and a hysterectomy, I put on 20 pounds that wouldn't budge. Cutting calories didn't work—I was trying to train for 100-milers on a measly 2,000 calories a day. A nutritionist suggested I up my fats. Although hesitant (I ate low-fat cheese and fat-free dressing), I added salmon, avocados, walnuts, and flax to my diet. The results were unreal: Over the next six months, the weight came off, and I noticed a huge jump in energy. My cravings for ice cream and fries dropped—and I'll never eat a rice cake again."

Breaking down the Ottawa Marathon

2009-05-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

[Source: Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 19, 2009]

by Frank Guay

I recently wrote this article on how to run the Ottawa Marathon course. Having raced the marathon course and trained on it hundreds of times I hope that some of my insights might help some of you get ready for the challenge this coming Sunday. See you Sunday.

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On Sunday May 24th, over 4500 runners will challenge themselves by running the Ottawa Marathon. There is no doubt that the best way to face any marathon is to be prepared by having put in the hard miles and to come in to the race healthy and with a goal marathon pace firmly established. But racing any marathon also involves knowing the course, its hidden secrets and how you can apply your strengths during the race. So let’s take a closer look at the Ottawa course.

The Start (kilometers 1 to 2)

The Ottawa marathon starts right downtown. As you look up from the start line, you can see the majestic War Memorial and the Parliament buildings. Surrounding you, the trees and plants are in full bloom, exploding with color and smell. Make sure you arrive early and settle in to the appropriate corral and try to find the pace bunny so that you can settle into your pace more easily. The race bunnies are also quite knowledgeable about the course and are eager to share their knowledge with you. As you glance up from the start line, note that the start is uphill, nothing severe but still uphill. Limit your enthusiasm early and keep your body from going into lactic acid shock too early by running well within your means here. You have lots of time to test your limits later on the course. Once the gun goes off many runners with their adrenaline in overdrive will start much too quickly and pay a very high price indeed during the later stages of the race.
Tip: Start slower than your established marathon pace.

Mini Coaster (kilometers 3 to 9)

Two years ago a longer Hull loop was added to the marathon course and some of my training partners have affectionately given it the mini coaster moniker. Most people think the Ottawa course is flat and yes overall it is but the Hull portion is dotted with many uphill’s and downhill’s and reminds many of a small child’s roller coaster. So as you cross the Eddy Bridge and take in the old industrial walls of the mill, prepare yourself to stick to a conservative pace. Beware the marathoner who decides to go out too fast on this portion of the course as by 30K they will have learnt a valuable lesson not to underestimate the smallish hills in Hull. The crowds are small but very enthusiastic along this stretch and the hills if approached strategically will be a welcome change from the later monotonous flats.

Tip: Run at or near your established marathon pace. Start getting into a groove. For some reason this portion of the course can be a bit windy, so if the wind is evident, try to latch on to a pack of runners that are running your pace.

In the Money (kilometers 10 to 21)

As you leave la belle province behind and cross into Ottawa via the Interprovincial Bridge, the crowds are thick, especially at the 10K timing mat located near the National Gallery. You can glimpse Louise Bourgeois’s large spider statue effectively known as Maman as you trot on by. Hopefully she will provide you with good fortune and strength as you amble pass. The course is fairly stunning along this stretch as you run parallel to the Ottawa River, pass the prime minister’s residence and head into Rockliffe Park. The mansions are beautiful as are the tall majestic trees that border the marathon course. Other than the climb up Princess Drive most of this stretch is very flat. This stage is perfect for picking up the pace slightly, making up those few seconds per kilometer you may have given up on the earlier more difficult stretches of the course. But careful now, don’t let it slip away as you head into Edinburgh where there are many long seemingly endless stretches where th! e wind sometimes seems to mysteriously appear. Hold yourself back as you hit Sussex once again and spot the half way marker up on the hill near the old Ottawa City Hall building. Soon you will be in the Byward Market with its teaming populace and quaint stores.

Tip: Focus on maintaining your pace or slightly faster and staying alert during the longer stretches.

The Lonely Stretch (kilometers 22 to 30)

Even though the early stages of this section of the course along the Rideau Canal are packed tight with spectators, this is where most marathoners will start to stray into their own little world. Your body is getting tired, you still have half the distance to cover and now pain and tightness is starting to seep into your calves, quads and buttocks making you reconsider why you wanted to run a marathon in the first place. It’s definitely at this stage of the marathon when you get a feeling of what kind of day you’re going to have. This is the location on the race course where you need to hold your pace or to pick it up slightly if you’re feeling good. Note I said to pick it up slightly, as everyone knows the marathon does not start until about the 30K distance and on the Ottawa course, let’s say it’s more around 33K (more about this later). It’s easy to fall off pace near Carleton University where there are very few fans and the course is ever so slightly uphill. This is wher! e your doubting demons will try to pull you onto the dark side, that of slowing down. Pay no heed to those rambling voice and cross the 30K marker with resolve as you turn left onto Hog’s Back and make your way to Riverside Road.

Tip: Maintain your pace or pick it up slightly.

The Heron Hump (kilometers 31 to 32)

Those who have run the course will tell you that in practice the Heron hill is nothing more than a smallish hump but after 32K and the depressing little loop near Vincent Massey Park, it looms as large as any Heartbreak Hill in Boston. It seems to be there to try and shatter your willpower, embarrass your tired muscles and shred all the remaining confidence you may have left. Stay strong as this test will soon be behind you.

Tip: Remember your training, be alert and do not give in.

The Farm (kilometers 33 to 35)

After the hump, the Experimental farm operated by the National Capital Commission comes in to view and if a marathon runner is to buy the farm anywhere on this course, this is where it will happen. This is where the Ottawa marathon truly starts, you have conquered the early stages, you have braved the longish stretch of the canal, did the redundant little loop and surmounted the Hump but what do you have left the demons ask. Did you really train well enough to carry thru? Do you have enough to push beyond the Farm? On the positive side if you reigned in the horses during the early stretches, this is where the PR possibilities come in to play. It’s a lonely stretch of road that meanders left and right and slightly up and then down. Fan support is near non-existent and if the running demons have not cornered and quartered you by now, you can run the race of your life. Try to hook on with someone going at your pace or faster. So stay focused, on pace or faster if you have it i! n you as the dividends will be well appreciated as you near the finish line. Attack the tight turns of the little loop at the Arboretum with gusto and ignore the complaints from your aching legs as you get squirted back out at the traffic circle. From here it’s downhill to Dow’s Lake and the last part of your marathon journey awaits.

Tip: If feeling okay attack the course for a new PR or re-evaluate to other goals.

Dow’s Lake to Pretoria (36 to 41K)

You’re on the home stretch but before you can start celebrating, remember you still have over 6 kilometers to go. Even though this stage of the course is flat and fan support is excellent, it will be a tough grind as your mind tries to overcome what your body is trying to tell you. It’s very easy to fall off pace here so keep reminding yourself of all your hard work in practice and suck in all the goodwill along the way. As you go under the Bronson underpass, admire the stately embassies, go under Bank Street and stay focused on your end goal and stick to the pace. As you near Pretoria bridge you will pass the Canal Ritz where early risers will be enjoying brunch and or breakfast. The smells may make your stomach woozy or make you wonder why you’re not on the verandah enjoying bacon and eggs. Soon you will see stately Pretoria Bridge and you will know your journey is almost at its end. The pain may begin to be overwhelming at this stage but try to remain calm and loose and t! hink about your friends and family that are waiting for you at the finish line.

Tip: Ignore the pain and think of the applause as you near the finish line.

The Finish (the last 1.2k)

As you leave Pretoria Bridge behind you, you know you have accomplished your goal. You might be in severe pain, cramping up or having other runners pass you as get near this end point but try to stay with it. Will yourself along, street post to street post, runner to runner, your goal is in sight as the Chateau Laurier’s peaks can be seen in the distance ahead. The crowds are incredible here so try to enjoy them as you deserve their applause. Soon you will see what looks like a finish line but don’t be fooled and sprint to it or pull up to soon, it’s not the real finish which is a few hundred meters further along. Speed up if you can but don’t try sprinting all out or you might just fall down with a severe hamstring or quad pull here. Enjoy the last 100 meters or so, wave to the crowd, and don’t’ forget to smile for the camera’s.

Tip: Pat yourself on the shoulder, hydrate and reward yourself with a cold beer or two and some pizza.

Drink This

2009-05-15T04:46:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 15/09)

The eight rules of fluid replacement, and how they'll energize your running.
By John Brant

Picture a blazing 90ºF Sunday in July. Your basic instinct tells you to lie panting in the breezeway with the dog, or poolside with a cold drink. But your so-called "higher reasoning" tells you that your success in October's marathon hinges on whether you complete today's long run. What's it going to be?

Never mind, you're a runner, so we know how you're going to answer that. Which means you need to know this: Drinking an adequate amount of fluids is the single most important thing you can do before, during, and after a run. Especially a long run on a hot day.

So grab a cool drink, find a comfortable place to sit, and listen up.

Drink early and often--every day. With dehydration, a drop of prevention is worth an ocean of cure. Drink water or other low-calorie fluids in small, steady quantities throughout each day, to the point when your urine flows clear. Bring a water bottle with you wherever you go, or take a drink every time you pass a water fountain at work or school. Staying well-hydrated throughout the day benefits you in ways beyond your running. It helps keep you alert and will prevent that dull, headachy feeling that slows you down in the middle of the day.
Fortify yourself with fluids before you run, and aggressively consume fluids during your run. An hour or two before your run or race (depending on your tolerance), top off your fluid tank by guzzling 16 ounces of water or sports drink. Then take in between 5 and 12 ounces of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes during the run. If you're running for less than an hour, you'll be fine drinking just water. Your body's stores of carbohydrates and electrolytes are sufficient to carry you for at least that long.
When you run long, use a sports drink. Study after study shows that for exercise lasting more than an hour, runners perform significantly better when drinking a sports drink than when drinking plain water. Sports drinks contain carbohydrates at a concentration of about 7 percent, which, by the way, is significantly lower than that in your average soft drink. This is good, because the lower concentration enables you to absorb the fluid more quickly. Its carbs provide fuel, while its electrolytes--sodium and potassium--stave off cramps, nausea, and hyponatremia (a dangerous condition caused by drinking too much water). Go with a flavor you like as this will encourage you to drink more.
Don't wait until you're thirsty to start drinking. By then, it could be too late. In other words, the old tenet of "listening to your body" doesn't work when it comes to fluid replacement. We often don't feel thirsty before or in the early stages of a long run, but that's exactly when we need to start drinking. Otherwise, dehydration can set off a chain of negative reactions. Since sweat is made from fluid in your blood, your blood becomes thicker as you sweat and your heart has to work harder to pump. Your body temperature rises, which creates the need for more water. Meanwhile, dehydration compromises your body's ability to absorb carbohydrates and electrolytes from your digestive tract. And so on.
But don't drink too much. If you feel or hear sloshing in your stomach, its telling you it's full, and you don't need to drink for a while. You might have to monitor this carefully, though, because we all have varying rates at which fluids leave our stomachs and enter the rest of our systems. Variations in size, gender, age, and metabolism come into play. You might not slosh; you might cramp or feel nauseated instead. Whatever signal you receive, stop drinking for at least 15 minutes.
After your run, drink between 16 and 24 ounces of sports drink for every pound of body weight you lost during exercise. This means you'll take in more than you lost, but that's okay because you'll urinate some of it away. Again, make sure you consume sports drinks or other fluids that contain sodium, which will help you retain the fluid you drink.
Beware of hyponatremia, a potentially fatal condition caused by taking in too much water and too little salt. Hyponatremia, or "water intoxication," usually happens only during long, hot runs, when a runner loses a lot of sodium through sweat and consumes a great deal of plain water. This combination may unwittingly dilute sodium levels in your blood, which sets off an electrolyte imbalance. Hyponatremia can trigger seizures, coma, and even death. Initial warning signs mimic those of dehydration, including confusion, disorientation, muscle weakness, and vomiting. Women and slower, beginner endurance runners are at most risk of this condition. Still, the likelihood of developing hyponatremia remains small. Banish hyponatremia from your worry list by 1) including salt in your normal diet (particularly a few days before a long event), and 2) drinking sports drinks, rather than plain water, on runs over an hour.
Be careful out there. The better your overall condition, the better you'll be able to cope with low or moderate degrees of dehydration. (Case in point: In the 1984 Olympic Marathon, Alberto Salazar lost 8.1 percent of his body weight in sweat, and still ran a 2:14.) But if you feel yourself slipping into fluid debt-symptoms include chills, dizziness, disorientation, and cessation of sweating-don't panic. Stop running, find shade or an air-conditioned building, and start drinking as soon as possible. If you don't quickly improve, ask for help or call 911. If you do start to feel better, resist running and walk or ask for a ride home. Then vow to never let yourself become dehydrated again.

Don't Let This Happen to You

Performance starts to decline when you lose 3 percent of your body weight in sweat. For a 150-pound person, thats 4.5 pounds. Beyond 3 percent, performance falls off even more sharply. Dehydration becomes a life-threatening condition when it reaches 15 to 20 percent of body weight, usually through illness.

Right This Weigh

Try this method for measuring how much water you should drink during and after your runs:

Immediately before and after several upcoming runs (especially those in hot weather), weigh yourself without any clothes on. If you lose 1 pound, this means you sweated approximately 16 ounces of fluid. Two pounds means you sweated 32 ounces, and so on. If you lose a pound consistently during your 30-minute runs, you need to replenish your fluids at a rate of 16 ounces per 30 minutes of running.

If you find you can't drink enough to offset your sweat loss no matter how hard you try, don't worry. Just make sure to "overdrink" once you finish your run. That is, if you lose a pound, you should drink one-and-a-half times your normal replenishment amount, or 24 ounces. This beverage should contain sodium, which will help you retain the fluid better.

Be in the Minority

Dehydrated athletes fatigue significantly faster than those who stay hydrated, yet the typical runner replaces less than 50 percent of his or her sweat during exercise.

According to Scale

Officials at the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run in California actually lug bathroom scales into the Sierra Nevada mountains, and place them at the aid stations. Why? So runners can weigh themselves during their trek, enabling them to balance their fluid intake with their fluid loss. This low-tech method remains the best way to figure out how much you need to drink while running.

Fuelling by numbers

2009-05-15T04:42:00.000-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 15/09]

When you get your big ride fuelling wrong, you experience a hunger flat, big time, and enter a whole world of heavy-legged, pit-in-the-stomach riding. We all know that carb loading and fluid replacement are critical, so Neil Pedoe explains exactly how much and when.

Even the best can get a hunger flat. Alberto Contador did at Paris-Nice.

Once you reach the point of a hunger flat - commonly referred to as a 'bonk' - your stores of glycogen in the muscles themselves have run out and your body is switching to try and burn much less easily accessible fuel stored around the body.

It's a little bit like taking the AC adaptor out of a laptop and letting it run on battery power; there's only a certain period this can continue. Even the newest batteries - or the best trained atheletes - can maintain powering their body from this source.

But it doesn’t need to be that way: putting enough gas in the tank in the first place - and stopping it running out - is all about eating the right amounts of carbohydrate, at the right time, to keep your muscles fully stocked with glycogen... keeping the AC adaptor plugged in.

This fuelling process should start a few days before you plan to go on your big ride, continue right through the jaunt itself, and include an energy restocking and muscle tissue-repairing post-ride recovery.

Three days before the big ride

Reduce your intake of fats - no fried food, chips or burgers. Instead concentrate on pasta, rice, cereals, bread, noodles or potatoes
For breakfast: Think cereals and fruit
For both lunch and dinner: Try and stick to starchy foods with vegetables

* It probably sounds rather filling, but at least 70 per cent of your calorie intake in the days immediately before a big event should be made up of energy-boosting carbohydrates.

Day before the big ride
Rather than gorging all day, think more about replacing junk or fatty foods with whole foods, and putting the emphasis on carbohydrate-rich fuel.

Eat as much as you have been over the past few days
Sip on an energy drink in between meals; it's a good way of adding extra carbs and will also help with your pre-race hydration

* Recommended carb intake (grams): Your weight (kg) x 8

Food ('normal' serving) Carbohydrate value
Bowl of wheat cereal
31g

Raisins
21g

Banana
27g

Milk
12g

Muesli bar
20g

60mL energy gel
22g

500mL energy drink
47g

Pasta
60g

Couscous
75g

Mashed potatoes
30g

Boiled carrots
17g

Carbo cake
96g

Race day - pre-ride meal
The overall aim is to arrive on the start line with an empty stomach, but with all your glycogen stores at capacity, and fully hydrated. So make sure you:

Leave three to four hours between your breakfast and the start to avoid upsetting your stomach.
Don't rely on hotel breakfasts. Eating three hours before a 100-mile day means an early start, and most hotels or B&Bs will palm you off with a 'continental' of coffee and buttered croissant with jam this early.
Pack some in-the-saddle snacks. On its own, this paltry amount of base energy will see you 'bonking' by lunchtime. The solution is to pack your own - both muesli and porridge oats with mixed dried fruit are good, as they can be soaked in your hotel room overnight, and reheated with water from the hotel room kettle in the small hours. Being self-sufficient will cut out potential panics or worries.
One for the road: You can top up your glycogen stores with an energy bar or gel as you ride to the starting pen, which will compensate for those first few excited miles when everyone, including you, sets off a bit too quickly...

* Recommended carb intake (grams): Your weight (kg) x 3

During the ride
* Hourly carb consumption (in grams) is your weight (kg) x 0.7 to 1.25 (depending on ride difficulty and conditions)

Post-ride recovery feed (within 15 minutes of event)
* Recommended carb consumption (grams): Your weight (kg) x 1.5

Add to this a measure (in grams) of protein equivalent to your weight (kgs) x 0.4. This post-ride snack takes the best advantage of the optimal window for muscle glycogen resynthesis, which should mean you don’t feel so sore after your big day spent in the saddle!

Pedal slow to ride fast

2009-05-13T05:39:00.000-07:00

[Source: Posted by George Tolkachev on Tri-Rudy, May 13/09]

Related link

Lifesport coach Lance Watson provides new thoughts on how to increase strength and power output on the bike.

Many novice cyclists ride at a low cadence. Over the past two decades, the mantra of most respected cycling coaches has been to "spin, spin, spin" in order to increase efficiency and speed. By this they mean that instead of turning the pedals at 70 revolutions per minute, athletes should try to move their legs a little more quickly. This is good advice. Spinning with a smooth average cadence of 85 to 95 rpm on race day is an effective way to maintain a consistent heart rate and conserve glycogen (easily accessible, limited-supply muscle energy) while minimizing lactate accumulation.

I have taught many age-group athletes who have spent years riding at 70-80 rpm to spin at a higher cadence. Once the athlete makes the suggested change and becomes comfortable at the higher cadence, he or she becomes a faster and more efficient rider. The athlete is thus able to perform at higher sustained wattage for longer periods of time.

However, training athletes over multiple seasons at higher cadences resulted in a phenomenon I didn't expect: In some cases, performance started to taper off, and power output dropped. To solve this problem, I returned the athletes to regular, sustained, lower-cadence riding sessions to increase strength. This training was interspersed with training at and above optimal race cadence. As the season progressed, the athletes were able to ride at 90 rpm on the same gear that they previously were riding 70 rpm on earlier in the season. They increased their wattage output significantly in the lower cadence range first and then in the higher cadence range. Lower-cadence riding builds strength by using more muscle fibers for every pedal stroke, while the higher-cadence practice lets the athlete translate that strength into sustained endurance performance.

Any cycling coach will tell you that workouts on hills make you stronger. Fighting gravity, riders will climb for prolonged periods of time at a lower cadence, feeling increased resistance on the pedals. An efficient climber who rides at 90 to 95 rpm on a flat course may climb at 65 to 80 rpm depending on the grade of the hill. While this strength training is essential, there are several challenges in building a cycling program around hill climbing. First, it is difficult to find a steady, even-grade hill. Second, if you find a steady grade, it is unlikely that the climb will last for more than a few minutes, let alone 20 to 45 minutes. Third, once you've completed a hill interval climb, you have to get back down before starting the next climb. Therefore, it is difficult to limit recovery periods for multiple intervals. For instance, a 20-minute climb would likely be followed by 10 to 15 minutes of descending, which may be too much rest time. It is for these three reasons th! at early-season cycling programs focusing on building strength benefit greatly from the use of a stationary trainer.

To increase your strength and power output on the bike, get yourself a high-quality stationary trainer that will give you enough resistance to put maximum force into the pedals at a low cadence on a very hard gear.

In this series, I will present three bike trainer progressions in the spring to ensure that you are climbing and time trialing faster than ever this summer:

Standing Climbing

Have you ever stood on the pedals, climbing a hill for 20 minutes straight without sitting? Most of you probably have not. Standing while climbing isolates the quadriceps much more than seated climbing, which you can practice best on a trainer.

Standing on the stationary bike forces you to drive the pedals straight down, as the bike is held upright in place. Start with Level 1 and repeat the exercises in each level for two to three workouts before progressing to the next level. With all the workouts, make sure you do a very good warm-up and cool-down of 15 to 30 minutes.

Level 1:
Holding a cadence of 60 to 65 rpm, stand for five to eight repeats of three to five minutes, for a total of 15 to 30 minutes of interval time. Recover between intervals for one to two minutes at 90 rpm. Your heart rate (HR) for the intervals should be 10 to 15 beats per minute below your 25-mile bike time trial heart rate, or lactate threshold (LT).

Level 2:
Stand for repeats of two to three sets of 10 to 15 minutes each for a total of 20 to 45 minutes of interval time. Staying on the same gear (i.e. 53 x 14 or 53 x 16), ride the first third of the interval at 55 to 60 rpm with your heart rate at 10 to 15 beats below LT, the middle third at 60 to 65 rpm with HR at eight to 12 beats below LT, and the last third at 65 to 70rpm with HR at six to 10 beats below LT. Recover between intervals for five minutes at 90 rpm.

Level 3:
At level 3 you are ready for sustained standing and pedaling. Consider doing 2 x 20-minute climbs, or even a 30- to 45–minute, non-stop standing climb. Ride the first two thirds at a cadence of 60 to 65 rpm and then accelerate to 70 to 75 rpm while standing for the final third. HR can build to eight to 12 beats below LT. Recover between intervals for five minutes at 90 rpm.

The Mixer: Standing, Sitting and Race Cadence

After you have mastered seated and standing resistance riding, it is time to put it all together. The most important thing is to create a meaningful progression of strength-oriented resistance riding with gradually escalating heart rates as you get closer to race season. If you find riding either seated or standing harder, then emphasize your weakness.

Here are four great mixers:

1) Two to three sets of: three minutes seated at 60 rpm, three minutes standing at 60 rpm, two minutes seated at 50 rpm, two minutes standing at 70 rpm, one minute seated at 40 rpm and one minute standing at 80 rpm. Shift gears up and down to adjust cadence to maintain a relatively static heart rate of eight to 12 beats below LT. Take three minutes recovery at 90 rpm between sets.

2) Two to three sets of: 10 minutes seated at 55 rpm and five minutes standing at 70 rpm. Stay on the same gear and let the HR increase for the standing portion to six to 10 beats below LT. Take three minutes of recovery at 90 rpm between sets.

3) Mixing standing resistance and race cadence: 10 to 15 minutes with one minute standing at 70 rpm and one minute seated at 90 rpm. This continuous set can be intense, and you can let HR climb all the way up to LT.

4) Mixing seated resistance and race cadence: two to three sets of five minutes seated at 60 rpm, five minutes seated at 70 rpm and five minutes seated at 90 rpm. Let HR build through the set from six to 10 beats below LT all the way up to LT.

Spending many hours at specific race cadence and race heart rates in training is critical for racing success. Just as important is building some early-season strength to put some power into the pedals. So spend some time pedaling slower this spring to ride faster this summer!

Protein in sports drinks: Good, bad or indifferent?

2009-05-08T05:46:00.000-07:00

[Source: Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 8/09]

By Dr. Stephen Cheung, Ph.D.

Back in the good old days of sports drink design, life was relatively simple and the main things to manipulate were carbohydrates and electrolytes. In recent years, a new kid on the sports drink block arrived in the form of proteins. We look at two new studies that re-examine the use of proteins in sport drinks.

The Gatorade days

Life was simple in the old days for pro cyclists. Most riders simply had water in their bottles and maybe some de-fizzed Coke near the end of races. Of course, the stars would supplement such simple fare by getting their domestiques to raid local taverns for vino every so often.

Everything changed, of course, with the introduction of Gatorade in the 70's, the first sports drink specifically designed for athletic competition and featuring a mix of carbohydrates and electrolytes (i.e., salts). Basically, the theory went that you're losing a lot of salt in sweat and burning up carbohydrates as a major and finite fuel source, so those were the important things to replace in a sports drink.

Since that time, scientific studies have helped to develop an overall consensus of six to eight percent carbohydrate being the optimal concentration, along with a moderate amount of electrolytes, mainly sodium.

The case for protein

Within the last five years or so, however, the established formula for the majority of sports drinks changed, with some research advancing the benefits of adding protein into sports drinks. The study that made the really big splash was one by Saunders et al. (2), which compared a commercially available carbohydrate-protein sports drink (reading between the lines, it was Accelerade) with the same carbohydrate content worth of Gatorade (such that the Accelerade had greater total calories).

Having two drinks with different total calories may seem like a weakness in the design, as it might be advantageous simply to have more calories regardless of source. However, as mentioned above, scientific consensus suggest that the ceiling for carbohydrate absorption is already reached at the six to eight percent concentration, so simply adding more carbohydrates is not going to get more into your system and may even slow things down in the digestive tract. In contrast, think of protein as a back-door way to cram more calories into your system.

With a 75 percent and 85 percent VO2max ride to exhaustion protocol (where subjects are asked to ride at a set workload for as long as possible), Saunders et al. (2) found huge increases in exercise time (29 percent and 45 percent increases at 75 and 85 percent VO2max, respectively).

This, to put it bluntly, is huge in a field where 10 percent improvement is considered astronomical. However, the study was not able to ascertain exactly whether this huge benefit came about due to the extra calories or to something specific to the addition of proteins. Regardless, it certainly had many companies jumping on the bandwagon of adding and touting proteins in their sports drinks.

Re-testing protein

The scientific process works nicely in continually testing and re-testing theories, no matter how well-established. In the August 2006 issue of the same Med Sci Sports Exerc journal, van Essen and Gibala (3) tested a similar two types of drinks (six percent carbohydrates and six percent carbohydrates + two percent whey protein) and also a placebo.

One nice touch was that the drink powder was all produced by the same source to be as identical in aesthetics (taste, colour, etc.) as possible, rather than two different commercial sports drinks. Subjects were also required to drink at a much higher and realistic rate (250 mL every 15 min, near the maximal absorption rate for fluid by the digestive tract) than in the Saunders et al. study (~125 mL every 15 min for a 70 kg rider).

A further modification to the study design by van Essen and Gibala was the use of an 80 km "time trial" protocol (where subjects are asked to complete the ride as fast as possible with no pacing/timing cues) rather than the "ride to exhaustion" protocol of Saunders et al. (2).

This was done on the grounds that a time trial is much more applied and realistic, and I certainly concur. Indeed, there has been a general trend towards moving away from the "ride to exhaustion" style of testing, due to its high variability from motivational factors and also simply across people. Indeed, one of my own very first published papers back in 1995 (kinda sad to say, but also one of my most famous even to this day!) detailed exactly this huge variability (1) and concluded that it was largely useless if it was the only parameter determining "success".

Other notes on the protocol:

Subjects were trained but not super-elite cyclists, 24 yr. old on average with a VO2max of 63 mL/kg/min.

Test of 80 km was chosen to be long enough that glycogen stores would be significantly depleted and the ingested calories would really come into play.

Basic facts

So with these modifications, what did van Essen and Gibala find? Both carbohydrates (135 min +/- 9 min) and carbohydrates + protein (135 min +/- 9 min) had faster completion times than placebo (144 min +/- 10 min), but there were no differences between the two carbohydrate drinks.

Comparison shopping

So two studies using pretty similar composition carbohydrate and carbohydrate-protein drinks have come up with dramatically different findings. How to pick and choose between them? Here are some of my thoughts:

Overall, I have to give the nod to the van Essen and Gibala study for being more well-controlled and realistic.

The rate of fluid ingestion may be one of the major reasons for the difference between the two studies. Remember that the Saunders et al. study had a relatively low (500 mL/h) drinking rate for a 70 kg individual, resulting in about 37 g/h of carbohydrate replacement. This is much lower than the 60 g/h recommended to maximize carbohydrate replacement in the body. Therefore, it may be the case that the extra protein only plays an important role when there's less-than-optimal carbohydrate replacement.

So what does this mean for you and me? The best sports drink is the one that you'll drink the most of! Experiment with different sports drinks and see what tastes bests and sits best in your stomach, and then use it!

One final note

The final interesting observation from the van Essen and Gibala study? The 80 km was done as 4x20 km laps on a stationary trainer. In both the carbohydrate and carbohydrate + protein conditions, the first 20 km was done at a faster average pace than the placebo, even though glycogen stores wouldn't have really become depleted yet. This phenomenon of early benefit from carbohydrate ingestion supports similar incidental findings in other studies.

One proposal is that pacing is done by a "smart sensor" in the brain somewhere that integrates input from throughout the body, and that the presence of carbohydrates triggers sensors in the mouth, relaying "positive" information to the brain and enabling it to select a higher pace. So sports drinks can be useful even in short and hard interval rides rather than only for long rides!

References

McLellan TM, Cheung SS, and Jacobs I. Variability of time to exhaustion during submaximal exercise. Can J Appl Physiol 20: 39-51, 1995.
Saunders MJ, Kane MD, and Todd MK. Effects of a carbohydrate-protein beverage on cycling endurance and muscle damage. Med Sci Sports Exerc 36: 1233-1238, 2004.
van Essen M and Gibala MJ. Failure of protein to improve time trial performance when added to a sports drink. Med Sci Sports Exerc 38: 1476-1483, 2006.

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Stephen Cheung is an associate professor of Kinesiology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and his athletic ability is beyond assistance from any ergogenic aid known to humans! Stephen's company, Podium Performance, also provides elite sport science and training support to provincial and national-level athletes in a number of sports. He can be reached for comments or coaching inquiries at stephen@pezcyclingnews.com.

PezCycling News: We tap into what's cool in elite level pro cycling and make the news fun again -- every day. Check out our off-beat rider interviews, top level tech reviews, weekly training & fitness articles, cool stories on top rides, race news and reports the way we like 'em, the lovely Daily Distractions and cool stories you can't find anywhere else. Get Pez'd Today!

Cadence and Triathlon Performance

2009-05-06T05:44:00.001-07:00

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 6, 2009]

By Kerry Sullivan

Kerry is a triathlon coach. He is certified as a USAT, USCA II, CSCS and is a NLP Practitioner. He is passionate about human performance

Cadence is how many revolutions per minute you complete in cycling or running. There are allot of different theories out there on what is the optimal cadence. Many believe that it is 90 or higher for both running and cycling. As triathletes cadence is a bit of a multidimensional issue since one has to run off the bike.

One theories is that, cadence on the bike, should be high to match ones cadence on the run making running off the bike easier. A study done on this topic looked at runner doing a 20 minute time trail on the bike and then going straight into a 3 K run much like in a triathlon. There were various cadences used ranging from on the slower side (around 70) to over 100. The results showed that run times were not so much effected but cadence in the first 300 meters was. Participants who had a slow cadence on the bike had a slow cadence in the run during the first 300 meters and visa versa.

This could potentially make a difference if one is in a sprint or Olympic distance and is racing at a high level as running cadence is very important.

Why is running cadence so important? Your muscles are designed in a way to absorb forces such as gravity and then transfer this energy into movement such as running. This theory is known as the stretch shortening cycle. Essentially your muscles work as elastic shortening and lengthening to create movement. This process is most efficient at higher cadence speeds when running. At lower cadence speeds, the stored energy in the muscles is not used as effectively.

Here is an example you can try. Seriously, get stand up and try this......... NOW. Jump up and down rapidly, in place, on two feet landing, on the front of your foot.

When you are doing this your using the stretch shortening cycle in your muscles to make this movement highly efficient.

Now stand up again and jump one time every 10 seconds at the same height as before.

It was harder wasn't it.

This is because you are not taking advantage of gravity and the stretch shortening cycle to the same degree. To jump that same height you are most likely bending your hip, knee and ankle joints more than before to create more of a spring force in your muscles to complete the same action.

What does this have to do with running cadence?

The slower your running cadence the more energy you lose to propel yourself forward. The faster your turn over the more you use the spring like qualities of your muscles to move forward. Just like in the jumping you just did, it was easier to jump rapidly vs once every 10 seconds.

To take advantage of this your cadence should be 90 or higher when running.

What is ideal for cycling?

Cycling seems to be more individual all though most top cyclist fall some ware between 80 and 100. One example of different types of cycling styles is Lance Armstrong versus Jan Ulrich. Lance has a very high turnover while Jan has (or had) a slower turn over and grinds away. You can make the argument that Lances style wins because he won more Tour De France races. Irregardless they are 2 world class cyclist with 2 very different styles yet both are world class fast.

In my opinion cycling cadence is more individual and one needs to experiment with what they are best with on the bike. Some will say that if your cadence on the bike is not 90 or higher it will be harder to run as it doesn't match an efficient running cadence. As shown before, from the study, this may be true at first while running but then one can get the cadence to pick up.

Higher cadence right away on the run may be more important for top racers in shorter distance triathlons as often the pace is full throttle right off the bike. Thus higher cycling cadence may be more important.

In longer distances this may be less of an issue as Chrissie Wellington (2 time Ironman Hawaii champion) is displaying as she has a cycling cadence in the 70's but still fly's on the run.

My suggestion on all this is keep running cadence at 90 or higher and experiment with you cycling cadence to see what works best for you. You may find it way too hard to run off the bike with a slower cycling cadence. Most likely your cycling cadence will fall between 80 and 100.

Enough will all the jargon, it is you time to go and do it!

Kerry Sullivan is a certified USAT, USACII, CSCS, NLP Practitioner

Filtering the news about coffee

2009-05-04T05:51:00.001-07:00

[Source: Active.com]

Before any multi-sport event, you will likely see hundreds of your competitors sipping on their coffee. For many people, this is a morning ritual completed every morning as they rise out of bed. For others, this is a great way to get some caffeine, a stimulant, in them before the start of the race.

For years, there has been debates and debates over the pros and cons of drinking coffee. Although drinking coffee does provide a stimulant response from the coffee, there have also been studies to show the risks and dangers associated with drinking coffee.

As with most anything, drinking coffee before a race or a workout becomes very personal. What works well for you may not work at all for your training partner. Check out this article that details the benefits and dangers of drinking coffee before races or workouts.

University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter

Tea is the most popular beverage worldwide (after water), but coffee is close behind it in industrialized countries. While caffeine is a natural component of both tea and coffee, coffee contains more of it: anywhere from 60 to 120 milligrams in six ounces, depending on brewing methods and other factors.

Caffeine is a mild psychoactive substance -- it stimulates the central nervous system and improves alertness. It also boosts the analgesic effect of aspirin and other pain relievers, which is why it's added to some of these drugs. In large enough amounts, it can cause heart palpitations, stomach upset and insomnia.

Coffee, derived from a bean, contains many other phyto-chemicals besides caffeine, and some of them may have beneficial effects in the body, as do those in tea, though this aspect of coffee is only beginning to be studied. Coffee itself has been extensively studied for years, generally to see if it causes disease. While many people believe decaf is more healthful than regular, there's no proof that it is.

Coffee has been blamed for causing many ailments, but in nearly every instance, it has been declared not guilty.

It was linked to heart disease, as well as pancreatic cancer -- but then exonerated. Research suggesting such links hasn't been supported by subsequent studies. Some researchers still worry that coffee drinking may promote hypertension -- but many studies have failed to show that it does. When risk factors like cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol consumption are taken into account, any apparent link between coffee and heart attacks disappears

Coffee was blamed for fibrocystic breast disease (lumpy, painful breasts), but there proved to be no connection.
Coffee was a suspected risk factor for osteoporosis, but it does not appear to increase the risk, even in heavy coffee drinkers -- though there is still some controversy about this. (It's true that heavy coffee consumers are more likely to eat poorly and smoke, which boosts the risk of osteoporosis.)
Coffee was suspected of raising the risk of miscarriage and birth defects, but -- again -- studies haven't supported this, except perhaps for high intakes. Some researchers are still not willing to let coffee off the hook. Pregnant women should probably drink no more than a cup or two a day.
Research on coffee continues. Here are the latest news tidbits:

According to one well-designed study in Honolulu, coffee may reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease. Men who drank no coffee were two to three times more likely to develop the disease than those who drank one to four cups a day, and five times more likely than those who drank more than four cups a day. The caffeine was identified as the protective substance. No one can adequately explain this, and it's only a single study, with many limitations. But it's worth investigating further.

In another study, those who drank two or three cups of coffee daily cut their risk of gallstones by 40 percent. Again, there's no explanation for this -- and it's only one study. It's far too early to recommend coffee for this purpose.

The studies continue, occasionally raising a few worries. As we've reported, studies have shown that drinking five to eight cups a day of unfiltered coffee -- European-style coffee, made in a French press (a pot with a plunger) -- raises blood cholesterol. The great majority of coffee consumed in the U.S. and Canada is filtered. And anyway, that's a lot of coffee.

Another study found that drinking lots of coffee may increase the risk of urinary incontinence. The solution: cut down.

The bottom line is still this: If you're healthy, it's fine to drink coffee in moderation (no more than three or four cups a day). If you like the lift it gives, and the sociability it affords, there's no health reason to deprive yourself of coffee. If you overindulge and get coffee nerves, the remedy is simple -- cut back. If it keeps you awake, stick to decaf in the evening.