After You're Better...

Inevitably, even those super-humans among us get sick. No problem. You'll take care of the cold in just a few days. No big deal.

I believe you, but what I don't know is how you plan on getting back. Or, what you did while you were sick and how long you were in denial about being sick, under-recovered, malnourished, or whatever other label we can place on the fact that you were not 100%, so neither was your performance.

It came up last week, as it will many times in the future, and has many times in the past: "what do I do on my first workout back after being sick?"

Great question. The default among endurance athletes seems to be this thing called the "easy run". You say to yourself, "ah, I'll just go out easy and see how it feels." I'm not telling you to avoid that, but I am telling you to listen to your bodies a bit more closely.

When you are sick, you are likely moving less. Especially if the illness is at all more than the common cold and involves any kind of fever. Thus, you want to make sure you are able to move is your first task coming back from being ill.

How do you do that? Well, move through your full range of motion. When you are better able to move, you are better able to recover. It's actually a matter of circulation. Feel free to jump ahead if you don't want to read some physiology, but I'll try to keep it brief.

First, you must understand what an increase in circulation actually means. In essence, using a basic formula called Poiseuille's law: Flow = (Pressure gradient * Vessel radius) / (Vessel length * Fluid viscosity). You see that several factors are important at even the basic level. What does this equation mean to you? Well, if you break it down, the only thing that really matters is the vessel radius because it is the only factor that your body can change quickly and "voluntarily". Thus, to increase bloodflow throughout your body, you need to figure out a way to open up your blood vessels.

Here is where movement comes in. We know that the best ways to stimulate vasodilation (vessel radius increase) are to warm up the body so that it attempts to cool itself down, and then also to utilize the mechanical action of muscle to compound the cardiovascular system's efforts to move blood through the body. If you move at low intensity, as though warming up, your physiological systems exist in this cool "bridge" between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems responses.

On the parasympathetic side, you have stimulated digestion and increased dilation of gut blood vessels. With moderate exercise, you get an accelerated heart beat and adrenal preparation for the release of important hormones that you will need if you start doing intense exercise. When doing moderate work (< 50% of VO2max), you have a slightly elevated heart rate without the sympathetic system being fully stimulated. Additionally, many of the capillaries that were dormant at rest will dilate allowing for, most importantly, increased ability for the exchange of nutrient and gases. which gives you a taste of both worlds. I think that's pretty neat, except for when it's used incorrectly.

When I say incorrectly using moderate-intensity exercise, I mean going for an easy run or bike ride under the assumption that you are increasing blood flow throughout the body. While you may be, that assumes perfect biomechanics (and incidentally, movement in your upper body, so cycling's out). My guess is, even without knowing you, but I think you might agree, your heart rate may not stay below that 50% VO2max number after being sick. What do I suggest? Well, what moves you through a full range of motion, slightly elevates your heart rate, tries its best to simulate parasympathetic nervous system response, and elevates some other great physiological responses by being in a community setting? Well, yoga.

There are obviously other ways of gaining the same responses, but yoga seems to fit all of those categories while forcing the majority of us (who no doubt spend too many hours sitting at desks) to work on our mechanics. You body was built to move. Let it.

What the Alexander Technique Tells Us About Athleticism

The Alexander Technique? What in the world is that? My brother introduced me to this concept developed by actor and orator F. Matthias Alexander from Australia early in the 20th century. Basically, he had discovered that his voice was getting tired prematurely and he would have to take extended breaks from his work to recover. He suffered from sore throats and fatigue that was uncharacteristic for him. A very observant man, he set up numerous mirrors so that he could observe himself while orating. He realized that his body was unnecessarily tense while he spoke. This wasn't out of nerves, but out of something more ingrained in him.

Mr. Alexander found that every time he spoke amongst other physiological "misuses", his head would tilt back, creating tension in his neck that caused his vocal cords to become tense and therefore fatigue. Every time he would think about correcting his head position, it would work for a few minutes, but within a short time, he would find that he was back in the tense position on his way to undue fatigue. With a little self-experimentation, he found that when he actually made himself find the optimal positioning of his head and neck reduced tension and allowed him to speak without tension for long periods.

What does this mean for athletes and specifically triathletes? Actually, the implications are substantial. First, F. M. Alexander's thoughts on head position are good for any person. Next time you are sitting at your desk or behind the wheel of your car, see what tucking your chin and extending your neck does for your breathing and overall tension. My estimation is that it would make a huge difference. By extension, I encourage you to watch some video of a track running race finish. Those who finish first are generally going to have their chins tucked and their heads in a natural, neutral position. Those who do not win are showing their fatigue by tightening up the musculature on the back of the neck, which is symptomatic of the tension in the rest of the body.

While running, swimming, cycling, strength training, sitting, walking, etc., make some observations about the tension in your body. Tension is taking energy away from necessary movements, which makes you less efficient and injury-prone during athletic activities. If you find that you have unnecessary tension during your activities, it's possible that you may need a bike fit or some help with your mechanics. However, you may find that you can correct it yourself just by allowing your body to relax.

Why Movement is Important - Part 1

Though it may seem like a statement that is obvious or that does not need be made: humans need to move. Allow me to qualify this slightly. Humans need to move throughout their entire range of motion as what is not used is lost.

To a strength and conditioning specialist, this means using the full range of motion for movements such as the squat. So often, we fall victim to the narrow views of studies or of specialists who work with a small fraction of the population when dealing with training and conditioning. It is important that coaches and athletes alike take into consideration the larger implications of exercise prescription when programming and training.

Because I referred to the squat earlier, let's take that movement as an example. (Notice that I used the word "movement" and not "exercise".) Many athletes who perform the squat only go through the motion such that the lowest point is when their femurs are parallel with the ground. This is good, but is not great and will not build a great athlete. These athletes will not make the gains made by those who squat completely such that their hips are very near their ankles.

This is for a number of reasons. The first is that the athlete has not gone through the entire range of motion. This means that if and when his or her joints do need to go through the entire range, they will be unaccustomed to doing so, especially because they have not been loaded throughout that entire range of motion. This has obvious implications for injury prevention as the athlete will be more likely to be injured if he or she has not performed the movement throughout the entire ROM. Additionally, moving through the entire ROM will induce the growth and solidification of connective tissue. For the squat, the connective tissue on the back side of the hips and lower back will be loaded optimally if the athlete moves through the entire ROM.

On top of the strength gains that will be made, the major antagonist musculature during the squat will be forced to increase in length at the bottom of the squat. This will serve to elicit gains in dynamic flexibility--essential for movement.

These are just a few of the reasons why a full squat is an important movement for all athletes, especially triathletes! In future blog posts, I will examine other movements that are important to the development of "triathletic athletes."

Shoulder Flexibility in Swimming

This past week, I was working with some of the athletes at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center when I was perplexed at what seems to be a common theme among some athletes who are learning to swim for the first time. In particular, two of these athletes were having a hard time with their shoulder movement. It seemed that something about their flexibility was preventing them from getting a full extension of the arm from the shoulder. Upon further inspection, neither athlete was able to lift his arms straight above his head into a standard streamline position.

I find that this is something rarely touched upon in triathlon swimming: streamline. Yes, it's true that athletes do no ever have to push off of a wall when swimming in open water. However, as I stress in my discussions with athletes and coaches alike, the making of an athlete comes before the making of a triathlete. This means that all of the aspects that are important to pool swimming are also important to triathletes learning to swim, included in which is streamline.

First, let me talk about what a good streamline is and then I will explain what this means for these aforementioned elite athletes. A good streamline puts the athlete's body in as narrow and straight of a line as possible. This will create the least drag in the water and thus allow the athlete to move more efficiently through it. This requires that the arms be straight overhead with one hand on top of the other; the head is held tightly and slightly in front of the biceps; the athlete's core is tight and there is no flexion or extension in the joints that would cause excess drag. When pushing off of the wall, this positioning should be obtained as soon as is possible. In fact, the upper body should be postured in streamline as the legs are in a squat, prepared for the explosion off of the wall into the swim.

Why does this matter to triathletes? Well, when an athlete gains a complete kinematic understanding of a streamline, he or she will hold the core rigidly such that the body is more hydrodynamic. The rigid core of the athlete actually should never be broken except during flip turns. Only the arms and legs should ever be outside of the same streamline. However, when the shoulders and back (particularly the latissimus dorsi) are inflexible, that musculature prevents the full extension of the arm from the shoulder. These athletes who were still relative novice swimmers (elite runners and cyclists, however) were finding other ways to compensate: the athlete's spine will curve to give the athlete the ability to reach further, but simultaneously forcing the core out of the streamline position.

To identify this problem, have someone watch you swim. Send your videos to me at karl@v-tri.com, if you prefer. Once you have determined that you or an athlete you coach is compensating in this way, release of the shoulder, pectorals, and latissimus is a good place to start. Then, a re-learning of proper positioning in the water will be necessary.

Strength Training: Let's Try and Simplify It a Bit

You as a coach may say "alright, so I know that my athletes should be doing strength work, I just don't know how to program it. Help!" Believe me: I was there. It is all too easy to get overwhelmed with the information out there while trying to fit it in to what is working for you.

To keep it short and simple, there are a few basic rules that coaches should use when implementing strength training. Oddly enough, they are remarkably similar to the rules we use when we build endurance training plans. Here, I will outline a few of the basics.

Start by building capacity

Just like when we build endurance in the base phase and work on biomechanics, we should do the same with strength training. What is our capacity for strength? Though some may argue (big surprise in the exercise science world!), our capacity for strength is determined at least partially by muscle cross-sectional area. This means hypertrophy. Now before all of the triathletes and distance runners stop reading because they "do not want to get bigger", let me remind you that it is not the objective to training for bodybuilding or strongman competitions. The purpose of the hypertrophy phase is also to work out any size imbalances in the body.

Lean out

Now this is another point where some exercise scientists differ: when to lean out. For me, there are at least two appropriate times in the training to work on this. First, after you have built capacity (hypertrophy). The reason I put it at this point in the plan is so that the lean muscle tissue you have built can now go to work for you by increasing your overall metabolism. Second, this is done by many elites and sub-elites just before a major race. Of course, always use caution with this sort of timing as these are the times you are wanting to tax your body the most. I usually recommend involving a nutritionist or dietitian in this part of the process. Leaning out is best done with high-intensity interval and strength training.

Build strength

Awesome. You now have capacity and are lean. You are feeling good, but you need to use that capacity to maximize your power-to-weight ratio. This is the time when you reduce the overall number of repetitions you are doing in the gym, but increase the weight you are lifting. This comes during the building phases of your annual training plan where you are doing similar strength-building in the pool and on the road.

Translate it

It's really wonderful that you can squat 500+ pounds. No, really, it is. But does it mean anything for swimming, cycling, or running? Who knows? Exercises in the weight room are built to be non-specific so that most people can take advantage of them. Remember, most people who go to the gym are not training for anything in particular (which is not necessarily a bad thing!), but you are! Therefore, make those movements functional and mimic what you do in the water and on the road. Turn lat pull-downs into bent-over cable pulls practicing a "perfect" catch. Do fun sets such as single-leg squats directly into sprints to get the most out of that 500+ pound squat!

Let your body take advantage

The final part of strength training planning is just before the race. Here is where that strength that you have turned into great movements need to become explosive. Plyometrics are the best way to do this. That single-leg squat can now become a single-leg squat into a bound from side to side or front to back. Believe me, this will matter when you want to make that final surge for the finish line!

If It’s Not Fun, Why Do IT?????

  This is on a Ben and Jerrys (I love that Ice Cream) bumper sticker that I stuck to the back of my bookshelf.  When I look at it I get reminded of why I coach and do Triathlon…. Because its fun!!!  I have been involved in this sport for over 21 years now and I’m still having fun.  Although the fun has evolved and there are different things I enjoy now, it is still a blast.
  Too many times I hear Age Groupers say “I Have to do this or that” or “I need to get in x or y”.  What I think should be said and what I say to myself everyday is—“I want to go run 10 miles” or “I can’t wait to do those bike intervals”.  As you can see there are distinct differences in these statements, this also goes into ones psychology of how someone approaches training and racing.  Very few people in the world are professional triathlete’s and actually “needs” to train to win, so they can put bread on the table.  While I realize that we all have goals, want to do our best, qualify for Kona or win our Age Group I think this gets lost and somewhere along the way it stops being FUN.
  With that in mind here are a few tips on how to make or keep triathlon fun.

SMILE---Wow!!! What a concept, it takes 22 muscles to smile, but to frown or not be friendly takes 37, so if you want to think of it from a physiological standpoint a lot less energy is used when you smile, why do you think Chrissie Wellington is so Fast. In all seriousness if you smile you will have happy thoughts and if you smile at your competition during a race they will not know what hit them, it will psychologically make them think, man they are fresh and I won’t be able to catch them or it may make them smile right back at you.

Take off your Watch, HR monitor or any technology strapped to your body---
When I was a kid I can remember being out on my BMX bike with my friends riding until sunset, then coming back and begging my mom to let me stay out just a little longer.  Even if she made me put up my bike, I would still be out running and playing, no concept of time just having fun enjoying the moment.  In our sport I truly believe that athletes rely too much on technology and don’t know there own bodies or trust in that “gut” feel.  Don’t get me wrong I whole-heartedly believe in using technological advancements as tools to make us faster and stronger.  But sometimes you just have to have fun and swim, bike or run with how you feel.  Not every training session is key, in fact rest (I will blog about that later) is just as important.  So a nice ride with the spouse or friend just talking about life may be just what the coach ordered.  In fact I went swimming in a spring fed lake just yesterday with no watch, didn’t know how far across the lake was or anything, I just went swimming and had a Blast, I stopped in the middle of the lake and just floated on my back and said to myself “I am in the best sport in the world”,  I even had a pretty good workout.  So just go out and enjoy what brought you to triathlon.

Volunteer at a race—I know this is said a lot, in different ways but I can unequivocally say that once you volunteer your love of the sport will sky rocket.  We always run or bike by the volunteers and say thank you, and sometimes take them for granted because we paid $600 for this race and may expect it.   These people are still volunteering there time to help you.  Until you have had the joy of motivating someone who is struggling or making sure people are getting their water, you can’t really appreciate our sport.  Believe me you will have so much fun cheering, dancing, throwing water on people, watching the kids hand people sponges.  Whatever jobs you get make it fun and SMILE at every competitor it is contagious.

There are many more ways I could talk about today, but I want you to keep coming back for more, so I am keeping it brief. The BOTTOM LINE is triathlon for 99.9% of the people in the world is about having fun, getting away from our job and having fun outdoors.  So Enjoy the Journey, never stop smiling and keep that childish inner spirit alive.

                            Anthony Lee
                            Senior Elite Coach
                            USAT Level 2
                            USAC Level 2

Learning to share!

One of the things that shocked me most when I first moved to the USA was the lack of willingness of US coaches to share information with each other because of some falsely held belief that by sharing information we would somehow lose our competitive advantage. For those of us who have been coaching for a long time you realize that this thought pattern is not only naïve but will limit a coach's ability to reach the highest level which should be a goal for all coaches.

Over the past 16 years of coaching I have done numerous coaching courses and at one stage was qualified as a coach in four different countries. However despite this wide background in coaching education at least 80% of the knowledge I have has come from other coaches who were kind enough to share the knowledge with me. 

Over the past four years that I've been in the United States I have tried to do the same, sharing knowledge where ever I could in an effort to help other coaches in the same way I was helped. Through this process I realized quite quickly that the sharing of knowledge does not detract from your competitive advantage but rather raises your knowledge and understanding of the sport to a higher level and in doing so make you a better coach.

It is this reason the Vanguard Triathlon and its subsidiaries Vanguard Running and Vanguard Cycling are open to the sharing of knowledge. The goal of this blog is to provide information to coaches and athletes that is both informative, applicable, usable and most of all correct. The end goal of this blog is to provide you with information that allows you to become a more complete and confident coach.

I hope as you read through this blog you will ask questions of our writers that both increases your knowledge as well as test theirs so that this forum will always provide you with a place to go in order to answer the tough questions.

Justin Trolle

Dir. Vanguard Triathlon

USA Triathlon Level 3 Coach