Coach Steve Trew gives advice on beginners training tips for triathlon. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Talk to people. Have a beer!? Just a few of the tips he talks about.
Duration : 0:1:38
Posted on July 6th 2010 in Beginner Triathlete
Most triathletes use a high-carb low-fat approach with a heavy emphasis on complex carbohydrates. This is because glycogen is the best energy source for long-duration swimming, biking, and running. You need to load your muscles with as much glycogen as possible to prevent or delay glycogen depletion, also known as "bonking" or "hitting the wall". Most triathletes use a diet that is about 60% carbs, 25% protein, 15% fat. This is very close to a vegetarian diet. Even non-vegetarian triathletes like myself tend to consume very small amounts of meat and dairy. I eat less than 4 oz per day, mainly chicken breast and salmon. Most of my intake is whole grain cereals and breads, rice, pasta, beans, nuts, soy, vegetables, and fruits. I could very easily convert to vegetarian by switching from chicken/fish to Boca burgers, Monrning Star, etc. In fact, that is exactly what I do for a few days a week. I just don’t see the need to completely give up meat. But that’s just me.
Don’t listen when people tell you a vegetarian diet lacks sufficient protein. Just make sure you eat a good variety of whole grains, legumes, nuts, and soy, and you can rest assured that you are meeting your protein requirements. The American Dietetic Association and the Mayo Clinic have great websites on planning vegetarian diets. The USDA has a vegetarian food pyramid.
There are some triathletes who favor the high-protein low-carb approach, and from what I have seen and read it can be successful. In this case you would probably want to consume a lot of soy and whey products, and probably lots of legumes and nuts. You would restrict your carbohydrate consumption as much as possible. Personally I don’t think this diet would work for me, but it obviously works for some people. Only you know what is best for you. Experiment with different approaches and go with what works for you!
Posted on July 5th 2010 in Beginner Triathlete Training
http://www.rockstartriathlete.com Rock Star Triathlete Academy Coach Kerry Sullivan gives Triathlon training advice on how to avoid the common mistakes that result in plateauing
Common mistakes=
1) Never Throwing Curveballs.
This error is committed by the triathletes who get into a “comfort rut” – simply mindlessly performing the exercises and workouts that allow them to mount a bike, strap on the running shoes, pull on the swimsuit or head to the gym and just cruise with no focus. They never throw a triathlon training curveball at their body, so their body eventually becomes incredibly efficient at these same ol’ workouts. Sure, you should occasionally perform tried and true workouts that allow you to create a benchmark to identify progress in your training, but you don’t want to do those workouts *all the time*. Here’s a simple fix: this week, pick one training session for each skill (swim/bike/run/resistance training) and throw a complete triathlon training curveball at your body by randomly choosing a workout out of a magazine, article, or website. Do it, and see how your body responds. Nine times out of ten, a random workout that keeps your body guessing will make you leaner, stronger and faster.
2. Exercising to Eat
If the goal of your triathlon training is simply to burn calories, so that you can get to your next meal or snack – then boy, are you in trouble! What happens is that this mentality creates a weekly slog of performing workouts that focus not on performance, but rather on “beating up your body”. The result is injury, overtraining, mental fatigue, and boredom, along with a continuous vicious cycle of eating too much, then over-exercising to fix your errors. Try this: eat a healthy diet, stop when you are 80% full, and then completely forget about burning calories during your workout. Instead, focus on a specific performance goal for that triathlon training session, whether it be overspeed, muscular endurance, power, or strength. Your triathlon training will instantly become more meaningful and rewarding.
3. High Carb Diet from the 80’s
Are you still eating bagels with jam for breakfast, shoveling pasta down on a Friday night to get ready for your weekend long triathlon training, or eating big bowls of cereal for breakfast? This type of high carb fueling has been heavily associated with increasing your chronic disease risk factors, causing inflammation, GI distress and poor performance. Good fats and lean proteins will serve you much better. Next time you’re at a coffeeshop, grab a bag of almonds and a cup of green tea, rather than a coffee and biscotti. You’ll feel much better, and your energy and performance levels will soar.
Duration : 0:3:12
Posted on July 3rd 2010 in Beginner Triathlete Training
Carnival in Lucerne, a week long event to chase off the winter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucerne Lots of local bands and costumes. Basically a time when the Swiss can loosen up and party. Come for the music and drinking, it’s pretty crazy.
Duration : 0:4:12
Posted on July 3rd 2010 in Beginner Triathlete
I’m almost 18 and I’m going to do a sprint triathlon june 20th. its a 600 yard swim, a 15 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run. so far the running and the biking is not too difficult and I feel confident that I will be able to do them. but right now swimming is very difficult. I have no prior swimming history and have no idea about technique. I have a program in place and I’m learning how to swim pretty much. right now I can only swim like 50 yards or so without stopping. my question is do you think I can improve enough to make the 600 yards by june?
It is definitely possible for you to improve your swimming by June. Try to spend at least three days a week training on your swimming. Concentrate on improving your form, technique, rythm, and endurance. You should increase your nonstop distance in each training session. Try to get to 600 yards non-stop by May. Then you should do combined workouts in which you do at least two and preferably all three events consecutively. Try not to wait until race day to combine them all for the first time. Just because you can swim 600 yards on Monday, bike 15 miles on Tueday, and run 3.1 miles on Wednesday does not necessarily mean you can do all three in a row on Saturday.
Posted on July 1st 2010 in Beginner Triathlete Techniques
Entering my first Triathlon, can someone give me advice on proper training and equipment?
4 Comments »I’m going to enter in my first Triathlon in about 4 months and I was searching for some advice. I have no idea what I’m in store for so I was hoping that someone can give me some tips on training, equipment, etc. or any other sort of advice. Also, I have no idea what kind of bike to get. I don’t want to spend too much though
It’s a .75k swim, 20k bike, and 5k run
Not sure what distance you’re doing, or what you’re looking to spend on a bike. There are tri specific bikes, but I’d avoid them if you haven’t been riding a lot in the past. They are harder to handle, but will be more aerodynamic. I’d get a decent road bike that fits, and a set of aero bars if you want to ride more flat. This will give you about a 1 mph speed boost at the same effort (that’s what I’ve always heard, and feel like it’s accurate)
As for training, one of the best things I’ve found is to practice a "brick". Especially the bike/run segment. What this means is one day you go for a hard 10 mile ride and then get home, jump off the bike, put on your shoes and go for a 2 mile run. That’s what I try to do if I’m training for a sprint tri where the distances are around 800m/22km/5km.
For swimming, if you can get into an open water to swim, that’s probably best. If not, I try to be able to swim at least 1.5 the distance the event will be in the pool. On race day, stay to the outside, unless you’re a great swimmer b/c it will be a bit chaotic at the start. My first tri I had my goggles knocked off and then I was dunked and I tried to fix them, so it was a good initiation.
Just have fun and try to stay relaxed!
Posted on July 1st 2010 in Beginner Triathlete Training
