I know this is always something that needs to be taken with a thought process that allows you a learning curve that is outside an obvious physical exertion but the relationship between the thought and the action is very conected
Biologist Busts his B##lls in the jungle
Once was not enough for Daryl Suen.
He had so much fun last year surviving the blade of grass to saw through a piece of raw meat.
All competitors are required to carry mandatory supplies: enough food to last seven days, hammocks with mosquito nets, 2.5 litres of water, insect repellent, a compass, safety pins, a knife, a medical kit (containing salt tablets, pain killers, disinfectant, bandages and tape), a flashlight with spare batteries, waterproof matches or lighter, and enough water purification tablets for at least 10 litres.
“Last year was tough, because I was burnt out before the race and I didn’t bring enough food, and I also had a tough time figuring out salt balance and hydration because of the humidity,” he said. “I thought I was eating close to 3,000 calories a day and I was eating more like 1,000 a day. I didn’t realize it until my body started metabolizing itself (on Day 2) and I was running a temperature. Everything was going wrong and I hit the wall. A lot of competitors were either in such rough shape they couldn’t stomach their food, or some people had too much food and were giving it away to reduce weight, and that got me through.”
The high humidity severely limits the body’s ability to cool by sweating and runners dehydrate and overheat quickly, leading to problems which led to his own kidney problems. He was thirsty, yet unable to urinate.
Suen felt terrible for the fourth stage, but it was on flat ground and only 18km long, designed to give runners a break before their 86km trek the following day. Suen walked the entire 18km and came in last with one other runner. The take-it-easy strategy paid off and by the end of the long fifth stage he’d worked his way back up to 12th place.
Runners have added incentive to finish the fifth stage before dark, because if they don’t reach the last checkpoint by a certain time, the trail is closed due to the threat of jaguar attacks. Runners who don’t make it though in time have to spend the night at the last checkpoint, then finish the course the following day, while the faster runners have a full day to rest before the sixth and final stage, a 24km beach trail run.
“The last stage is along the beach on one of the rivers and it was all sand again, and my feet were hurting, so that was a walking day for me,” Suen said. “I was limping around for a good five days afterward because my feet were in such rough shape, all around my toes and the balls of my feet.”
Suen placed 29th out of the 63 who finished the race. His Commonwealth team finished third in the team event. Teammate James Lowe of England won the men’s race in 38 hours 47 minutes four seconds, while Suen’s time was 61:21:16.
“I’m hoping to do really well this time,” Suen said. “It depends who shows up for the race, I guess. I’ll have a ton of food this year, and I have special hydration and carbohydrate drinks. I’d love to take home the trophy.”
It costs $3,600 to enter the Jungle Marathon, and that doesn’t include the flight to Brazil. Suen wasn’t planning on entering again this year, but when friend Elly Johnsen, Suen’s aunt in Hong Kong and the Investors Group in Prince George offered to fund the $8,000 trip, he couldn’t say no. The money came through with 10 weeks to go before the race.
Suen says he’s in better shape for a long run because he focused over the summer just on running, rather than the triathlon training he did last year leading up to the Subaru Ironman Canada race in Penticton. He discovered the Jungle Marathon in 2005 while searching the Internet for training tips to help him in the Kelowna Marathon.
Suen’s fisheries job the past few months has taken him in remote mountain camps around Kamloops, where he’s had plenty of opportunity for marathon-distance runs before work while carrying a heavy backpack through the desert. That means starting his days at 3 a.m. with runs over steep trail runs.
With all this self-induced pain and suffering, why on earth does Suen want to put his health at risk racing through the jungle again?
“It’s really fun if you can figure things out, it’s truly an adventure,” he said. “My ultimate goal is just to get through it healthy. If I can do that, I just want to see how well I can do with 10 weeks training. I think I’m in way better shape this year.”
Suen plans to keep up his running through the winter. From the steamy furnace of Brazil to the Canadian deep freeze, if he can get sponsorship, Suen is considering entering the 480-km Yukon Quest run in February. In that race, runners pull their supplies in sleds, covering the same course used for the annual sled-dog race.
Cyclist Anna Meares fractures neck in Velodrome race crash
I like to sit down in front of the idiot box to watch a bit of news and sport and I watched a nasty prang that Anna Meares had, I guess giving her a hard task to get to to the Olympics.
In an interview She said
“I realise that I’m pretty lucky with the injuries I’ve come away with,” admitted Anna “The C2 vertebra, so I’ve been told, is the one that controls your breathing and if that goes so too does your life.
…Wow….. she is a professional sport star, it is good to read that she understands that life is more important than results on a sporting arena.
Folks take a cue, engage in your sport for the right reasons. The tragic death of
Amy Gillett rocked the Australian cycling fraternity, hey shit like that happens. Life can be like that, you can not see what is coming around the corner.
If you survive, the lesson is in how you deal with it, if you don’t, the lesson is for those who are left behind.
The act of participating, is the reason to be at a place different from where you are, whereby gaining a foothold on a life that may have been,that would have never could be.
That’s why, by you stepping up to the start line, you engage with life, and dream to arrive at a place that you have elected to strive for.
In addition to the heavy skin grazing, torn tendons and muscle tissue. Anna dislocated the AC joint in her right shoulder and sustained the hairline fracture to her C2 vertebra.
The Los Angeles accident was the first serious crash Anna has been involved in since 1999, while her last track crash of any form was during her first year as a senior in 2002.
The accident in Los Angeles has a very real impact on her Beijing Olympic Games bid. she is currently ranked fourth in the qualification standings for August’s games, the four to six weeks she’s expected to spend off the bike will mean she will miss the final two qualification events – the Copenhagen Track World Cup round and the Manchester World Track Championships.
Anna Meares’ determination is to be ready for the Olympic challenge, from the day after the accident it was evident she has already began preparing for the road ahead.
When asked how the accident has affected her emotionally with regards to returning to the bike she responded with saying
“Right from when I was conscious after the accident I could feel both of my legs and I had no trouble with that,” she explained. “The time that I really started to worry was when the doctors came in and said there was a hairline fracture and that they needed to go back and look through the x-rays, I was pretty heavily sedated by that stage so it didn’t really sink in until a few days later. “I don’t really think at this stage I’m too scared of getting back on the bike, I’m quiet eager to get back on the bike. I guess the main thing there will be when I get back on the velodrome and see how that goes.”
GO girl go thank you for your courage, dare to to dream your own dreams folks step up to the start line
Triathlon Destroyed the Woman
Kerrin Lester always thought the only way to run or ride a bike was to have one foot follow the other.
But now she is portion of the woman she used to be, destroying the other 1/3 by training for triathlon
DAMN I love these stories
A story about a triathlon training group in Ashburton four months ago proved to be the start of an amazing journey for Miss Lester, who once weighed in at 97kg.
At age 21, Miss Lester said she was “horribly overweight” and she got sick. After being admitted to hospital and not being able to eat for two weeks, she lost 7kg. That was just the start.
That experience prompted her to change her whole lifestyle,
THis is where the change happens when the
PERSON ie. the internal you say’s Shit !!!!! I have to do something this is not who I want to be.
She started going to the gym and doing weights. Slowly but surely the weight started coming off.
She has gone from a size 20 to a size 10 and the 62kg teacher is preparing to take part in her first long course triathlon.
In 2005, a mother approached her about swimming in the Special K women’s triathlon in Christchurch.
Having been a keen swimmer from a young age, she decided to give it a go.
The feeling she experienced crossing the finish line was like no other, she said, and it motivated her to keep going.
This is a key to further motivation the Natural high from completion of a goal must always be backed up by further challanges
Although her first dip in the lake had been a shock to the system, swimming came naturally to her, her biking was getting better and her running still needed some work, she said.
First starting running 4km was a huge challenge, This is where I will always advocate a good chiro to check out the backbone make sure all is in line, I will also say don’t worry about long run get form and strength, even more controversial find a place to run barefoot.
She has now competed in the Four Lakes race at Tekapo and completed the 18.5km pyramid run.
Since she began training six days a week in June, Miss Lester had lost a further 10kg and is a happy and healthy 28-year-old. She sleeps a lot better now and wakes up with a new-found energy in the mornings. Many of the things she ate before now make her feel ill.
This where having a good diet come into play, I do not advocate any thing but a balanced diet and good water, you can pee out in great volume useless supplements.
I am a strong proponent of raw foods and non animal tucker but in saying that, it is a way of eating that is a lifestyle and needs to be understood for a great story about raw food and one persons success go here
Seeing the changes in his daughter also prompted Miss Lester’s father into action. The pair go on bike rides when she visits home and her mum even has a bike now too.
This is a great side effect that you will inspire other people to take stock of where they are when you step up to the start line
“I stopped buying clothes at size 20,” she said. “If I didn’t fit it, I didn’t get it.”
She was recently asked by someone who did not recognise her at first, where the rest of her was. She was able to reply, “oh, I left it at home”.
The Lake Hood triathlon will be Miss Lester’s first long-course triathlon and will see her tackle distances double what she has done before.
“But I don’t think I could be any more prepared than what I’ve been doing,” she said.
Such is her passion for what she is doing, she would love to get her students involved in the Weetbix Tryathlon next year.
Having something to aim for is vital, I hope that stories such as this get people inspired I wrote a post earlier that I got a bit of flack for, regarding unprepared, illtrained, overweight, competitors the intention was to encourage participation but have safe entry into the sport for all concerned
Train safely, enjoy the journey
Triathlon breast beating
Like training for a triathlon, beating breast cancer takes strategy.
And for the six breast cancer survivors on the Roaring Fork Women’s Triathlon Team, strategy involves passion and endurance, perseverance and camaraderie.
All parts of life are held together with the determination to be at a place that is comfortable and to a level that is dependant on the motivating drive behind the desired outcome
One of the reasons I do this is because I don’t want to have any regrets if it comes back,” triathlete Debi Wright said.
Wright, of Glenwood Springs, is a six-year survivor and two-year member of the team. she described being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing treatment as an out-of-body experience.
Triathlon training serves as a reality check.
“Just to know you can get your body back,” she said.
The six women share a passion for their sport, which helps them lead healthy lifestyles, even during the toughest of cancer treatments. Their determination to not let cancer win extends from the courses they run to the courses of their everyday lives.
“Fitness is absolutely non-negotiable in my world,” triathlete Jill Jarling said. “There is absolutely no doubt fitness helps fight reoccurrences.”
Jarling, of Glenwood Springs, is in her first year on the triathlon team. She celebrates four years of being cancer-free Saturday, and suggests exercise in any form to help cope with cancer.
On Aug. 19, Halladay marked two years being cancer-free. Triathlon training keeps her motivated to lead a healthy lifestyle, she said.”Having a goal … training for a triathlon, it gave me something to focus on,” said Halladay, a five-year triathlete. “And Tri for the Cure (Sprint Triathlon for breast cancer), it’s got a lot of meaning for me now.”
Nancy Reinisch, the team’s co-coach, said Halladay was an inspiration after her breast cancer diagnosis a year-and-a-half ago.
“To me, Heidi was my mentor,” Reinisch said. “I don’t want my life to be cancer. And athletics are a part of that, part of the power of knowing other breast cancer survivors. It’s important to have role models.”
Mary Jay was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago and became interested in triathlon training to support other women.
She finds participation empowering.
“I joined for the motivation and support, and the accountability to get up in the morning,” she said.
Anderson - a breast cancer survivor of one year - joined the team long before she knew how important the 50 triathletes would be in her life.
“Nancy (Reinisch) really inspired me. … She was just four months in front of me,” she said. “I also knew I had to get back in shape after.”
“What research is saying is that exercise actually blocks the hormone level for return of tumor growth,” she said. “It’s not just for our appearance - it’s life or death.”
Wright said exercise keeps her mind and body in check.
“It’s the mental aspect of it,” she said. “I don’t like to take drugs. I’d rather go out for a run.”
Or swim. And a bicycle ride.
Obese guy triathlon training
Vic Biberston knows what it’s like to be the fat guy, the last one chosen for sports teams. He knows what it’s like to ride the diet roller coaster of weight loss and gain.
As he says Let me be clear, I alone am responsible for my physical condition. My weight is the empirical evidence of simple nutritional mathematics, I have eaten more calories than I have burned. When calories in is greater than calories burned you gain weight. Do that year over year, and you end up shopping in the big and tall men’s store because the other stores simply don’t have your size.
Weight and the ability to control it has many causes but at the end of the day how you treat your body by what goes in and what measures you take to exercise will by the result you look at in the mirror.
One of his co-workers, a former triathlete, casually mentioned he’d like to get in shape to compete again.
For the past nine months, he has made it his goal to take part in a triathlon. He even created a Web site, www.obesetotriathlete.com, to share his experiences and track his progress.
I so encourage this sensible approach to using sport as motivational anchor to make positive changes to your life, when problems arise from weight challenges it is a tilt towards the real depression cycle that impacts a wider circle of people.
Any time you undertake a training program The list of general , specific training activities need to be organized.
With any program, skills must go from general to specific, basic to complex.
* Athletes must establish general conditioning , this is a most important factor I have seen so many athletes get hurt and disillusioned by not being prepared
before doing complex lactic acid workouts.
* You must develop the ability to accelerate before doing speed endurance. Again this could be a issue to be debated but I believe good form and the ability to
know how to run fast is the first and intrinsicely important element of training
* And beyond that these skills must be broken down further as well as addressing other biomotor abilities
Establish a clear, specific goal for the training plan.
Do you want to win a State Title ? beat joe bloggs on the bike who always trashed you last season, but you had him in the run.
You have to set your intention on a specific goal by focusing on the end result and then working backwards.
This is one of the most overlooked , difficult components of the training plan.
1. But if you don’t start with the end goal and end date and work backwards, you can’t get a true understanding of how to progress your training.
Don’t forget that competitions must be factored into the overall conditioning plan as well.
You can get going with out the surgery of gastric partitioning or gastric stapling that Joe went through.
I know diet is a four-letter word.But if you need something as a motivator and tie it inClick Here! with your training remember though… If you’re dieting, that’s a temporary state of being. At some point, the diet has to end.’’ look at eating as nutrition: ‘‘Let’s call it that. It’s a lifestyle.’’
Go Joe and everyone else out there that has the courage to step up to the start line
Fittness or sport specific
Saw this piece does a good job explaining the Aerobic vs Anaerobic. side of training
from the crossfit blog
YOU will always get the raging debate over training routines
Which of these energy pathways you should train is the source of much controversy… Thus the Aerobic vs Anaerobic dilemma.
I found this piece on high intensity training and really liked it. Chris Lomax found out on his own what CrossFit has been saying all along. If you want to get, and stay fit, you must train anaerobically. In addition you need to vary your exercise modalities.
There seems to be a great deal of debate as to which type of metabolic training is the best… Aerobic vs Anaerobic.
Ok, what is metabolic training?
What is all this aerobic vs anaerobic talk?
Metabolic training is conditioning exercises performed with the intention of increasing the capacity and efficiency of the energy pathways to store and deliver energy for activity.
Most people commonly refer to this as… cardio.
There are three energy pathways used to provide energy for activity… one aerobic and two anaerobic.
Aerobic Activity
Aerobic means in the presence of oxygen… and any activity that is performed at a low to moderate intensity for more than 90 seconds, allowing oxygen to release energy through metabolism, is usually called an aerobic activity.
The benefits of aerobic activity are…
Increased Cardiovascular Function Decrease in Body Fat
The negatives of aerobic activity are…
Decreased Muscle Mass
Decreased Strength
Decreased Power
Decreased Speed
Decreased Anaerobic Capacity
Most people in favor of aerobics in the Aerobic vs Anaerobic Controversy rely heavily on the ability of aerobic activity to reduce body fat… but fail to mention that you are also losing muscle, strength, power, speed and anaerobic capacity along with fat reduction.
And here is the really shocking news… Low Intensity Exercise = Greater Fat Loss is a myth!
OK… let me clarify.
Low Intensity Exercise burns about 50% fat for fuel while High Intensity Exercise burns about 40% fat for fuel… so you could say that Low Intensity Exercise burns more fat for fuel than High Intensity Exercise.
But, let’s say you burn 100 calories in 20 minutes of Low Intensity Exercise (50 fat calories), and you burn 160 calories in 10 minutes of High Intensity Exercise (64 fat calories)… you still burn more over-all fat with high intensity exercise than with low intensity exercise.
There is also another advantage of High Intensity Exercise… it increases your metabolism long after the exercise is completed.
More fat burned in less time and an increased metabolism for hours after the workout… sounds pretty good to me.
Anaerobic Activity
Anaerobic means in the absence of oxygen… and any activity that is performed at a medium to high intensity for less than 2 minutes, where energy is derived without oxygen, is usually called an anaerobic activity.
There are two anaerobic energy pathways…
The Anaerobic System (ATP-CP) is where energy is derived from the re-synthesis of Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP) from Creatine/Phosphate (CP) until the stores are depleted… about 5-7 seconds.
The Anaerobic Lactate System (Glycolytic) happens after the (CP) stores have been depleted where the body resorts to the breakdown of glucose for energy.
This results in the production of lactate and hydrogen ions… ultimately leading to fatigue.
The benefits of anaerobic activity are…
1.Increased Cardiovascular Function
Decrease in Body Fat
Increased Muscle Mass
Improved Strength
Improved Power
Improved Speed
Increased Aerobic Capacity
The negatives of anaerobic activity are…
Anaerobic activity requires an aerobic foundation
When I look at the differences between the benefits of Aerobic and Anaerobic metabolic training I often wonder why there is a Aerobic vs Anaerobic Controversy… the choice seems obvious.
What’s all the aerobic vs anaerobic controversy about?
I think the Aerobic vs Anaerobic Controversy comes about due to an improper understanding of fitness and the use of a bad fitness definition.
Physical fitness is a compromise of cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, accuracy and toughness .
To pursue fitness excellence you must physically train to “optimize” your performance in all of the physical abilities… and not “maximize” your performance in one ability at the expense of all others.
For people that do not understand that fitness is a compromise, the idea that more, longer aerobic training is indicative of a higher level of fitness is predominate.
However, what they fail to realize is that by focusing on extended aerobic training they are doing little or nothing to improve the other physical abilities needed for fitness excellence… and are actually decreasing their over-all fitness level.
And no, mixing extended aerobic training with body building “isolation” exercises is not the answer.
So what is the answer?
Simple… train ALL of the energy pathways by varying low intensity, long duration - medium intensity, medium duration and - high intensity, short duration metabolic training.
End the Aerobic vs Anaerobic Controversy by making a compromise between the two.
Let’s be honest… unless you are training to be an endurance athlete, there is no need to train like one. to add I believe even for endurance when you are combininng job, kid and life short sharp strength training will give you better benifit than pointless trash ks
The truth is, most activities encountered in sport, work and life are a combination of all the energy pathways seamlessly flowing from one to another.
Instead of aerobic vs anaerobic it should be aerobic and anaerobic!
To exclude the training of any one energy pathway will greatly diminish the performance improvements from your metabolic training.
My advice… Put an end to the Aerobic vs Anaerobic Controversy!
Add high intensity, short duration metabolic training to your fitness workout plan and vary the intensities by changing methods and modalities of your training.
Coach Lomax, founder and president of the Optimum Fitness Network LLC,
Triathlon Addiction
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It seems that it is not only the western countries that have participants involved in triathlon who are ill prepared or just not trained properly In the wake of the death of 17-year old national triathlete Thaddeus Cheong and 25-year-old Captain Ho Si Qiu after races this year, what do rookie and veteran sportsmen have to watch for while training and racing? |
| Figures from the Triathlon Association of Singapore (TAS)
showed its popularity has been increasing over the years. For instance, numbers for the OSIM Singapore Triathlon, organised by the association, swelled from a humble 500 participants in 2002 to 3,800 this year when it was held in July. And such events and its supporting biathlons and marathons - where athletes sometimes take part to train for triathlons - have also been filling up the sports calendar. Last year First Women Only Triathlon got its debut flag-off, only to be cancelled midway due to safety concerns following a thunderstorm. However, jumping into the deep end may not be advisable for newbies who do not have some help with training. Glad to read that there is a sensible voice out there in the sometime wilderness of good training advice The Head and Senior Consultant Sports Physician of Changi Sports Medicine Centre said being past your active years I am not sure what he means by that as long as you are kickin I would call that active It should not stop you from taking part in endurance races. He said: ‘There is no upper age limit for triathlons. There may be physical and medical limitations, but this is not the same as age limitation.’ However, he noted that as people age, the risk of certain diseases such as hypertension, coronary artery disease and diabetes increases. To counter this, he suggested precautions such as a pre-participation screening, training progressively, and ensuring proper hydration and nutrition during training and competition. In addition, he said older participants should monitor themselves for injuries and be aware of the symptoms of heart diseases. TRAINING: HOW INTENSE? A sports surgeon from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Some of the common injuries include stress fractures (on bones), pain over the shin bones, muscle and tendon tears. When this happens, try to ease off for a while. Dr Tan noted: ‘The tolerance level varies greatly from individual to individual. Some can tolerate high distances without injury while others get injured at one-tenth the volume.’ He recommended increasing distance covered by 10 per cent a week and keeping a training log to monitor training volume, intensity and how one feels. Any injury incurred should also be noted down. ‘For instance, if you developed a stress fracture when you raised your running distance to 40km, then you would want to hold your weekly distance at 35km for a longer period before stepping up to 40km.’ HOW MUCH TO DRINK? On race day itself, the beginning of the race can cause potential injuries due to competitors jostling for position. ‘Always maintain awareness of other competitors, surface conditions, and look out for potential hazards.’ for events over an hour, ’special attention’ needed to be placed on both fluid and sugar intake during the race. 500ml of fluid should be consumed two hours before the race, while during the race, athletes should have planned drinks of 125-250ml every 15 minutes. A heavy meal before race is a no-no. But athletes can take some energy gel or sports drinks to replace lost fluids. After a long race, don’t stay stationary immediately. Walk it off and do proper stretching to loosen taut muscles and minimise soreness. A massage the next day would help. ADDICTED TO RACING? A prominent sports psychologist in private practice, said addiction is a possibility for some enthusiasts. He said: ‘It would be considered an addiction when the sport literally controls a person’s life. ‘Their lives become structured in such a way that study, relationships and work take a back seat to their participation in the sport.’ Other warning signs: when a person becomes irritable, nervous, guilty and anxious if he or she is unable to exercise. Mr Tham said some ways of managing such an addiction is to have watchful coaches, social support from spouses or family, and adhering to a prescribed training programme. They should be referred to a sports medicine doctor or sports psychologists when necessary. A spokesman for TAS said: ‘It’s all about striking a balance between work, family and training. Managing your priorities in life is the key.’ |
Bike riding core muscle strength
Your bulging quads and razor-cut calves are the envy of your pack, and you start every ride strong. As the ride progresses, though, your hips seesaw in the saddle, your lower back aches, and you slow in corners. The problem? Your core cries uncle long before your legs wear out. Although a cyclist’s legs provide the most tangible source of power, the abs and lower back are the vital foundation from which all movement, including the pedal stroke, stems. “You can have all the leg strength in the world, but without a stable core you won’t be able to use it efficiently,” says Graeme Street, founder of Cyclo-CORE, a DVD-based training program, and a personal trainer in Essex, Connecticut. “It’s like having the body of a Ferrari with a Fiat chassis underneath.” What’s more, a solid core will help eliminate unnecessary upper-body movement, so that all the energy you produce is delivered into a smooth pedal stroke. Sadly, cycling’s tripod position, in which the saddle, pedals and handlebar support your weight, relies on core strength but doesn’t build it. To develop your high-performance chassis, try this intense routine, designed by Street. It takes only about 10 minutes to complete and focuses on the transverse abdominus, the innermost abdominal muscle, which acts as a stabilizing girdle around your torso, and also on your lower back, obliques, glutes, hamstrings and hip flexors, so your entire core–and then some–becomes strong and works as a unit. You’ll notice that it skips the rectus abdominus, or six-pack muscle, because, says Street, “it’s the least-functional muscle for cycling.” Do this intense routine, in this order, three times a week to create a core that lets you ride faster, longer, more powerfully–and finish stronger than ever.
CORE EXERCISES
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1. Boxer Ball Crunch
What It Works: Transverse abdominus, obliques, lower back
A. Lie with the middle of your back on a stability ball, your knees bent 90 degrees and your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your head, but don’t pull on your neck.
B. Squeezing your belly button toward your spine, lift your upper back off the ball. Keeping your shoulders off the ball, trace a clockwise oval with your torso. Apply pressure with your lower back to keep the ball still through the entire motion. After 15 clockwise ovals, trace 15 counterclockwise.
Why It Works: Despite the straightforward motion of the bike, your body moves in three directions: forward as you head down the road, vertically as your legs pedal up and down, and laterally as your hips and upper body rock side to side. “This fluid, circular exercise builds control,” says Street, and that helps you minimize lateral torsion and wasted motion.
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2. Power Bridge
What It Works: Hip flexors, glutes, lower back
A. Lying on your back, bend your knees and place your heels near your glutes. Arms are at your sides, palms down.
B. In one smooth motion, squeeze your glutes, raise your hips off the floor and push up from your heels to form a straight line from shoulders to knees; toes come off the floor slightly. Hold for two seconds. Keeping your toes raised, lower yourself three-quarters of the way to complete one rep. Do 20 repetitions.
Why It Works: In addition to stretching the hip flexors, often extremely stiff in cyclists, the bridge strengthens the link between your lower back and glutes.
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3. Hip Extension
What It Works: Lower back, hamstrings, glutes
A. Lying with your hips and stomach on the stability ball, put your hands on the floor directly under your shoulders, and extend your legs with toes resting on the floor.
B. With a straight spine and shoulder blades back, as if you’re trying to make them touch, lift both legs off the floor, keeping them straight. If possible, raise them slightly higher than parallel to the floor. Hold for two seconds and lower. Do 20 reps.
Why It Works: This movement builds backside strength, for added efficiency on the second half of the pedal stroke.
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What It Works: Transverse abdominus, upper and lower back
A. Lying on your stomach, place your elbows under your shoulders with forearms and hands on the floor.
B. Lift your hips off the floor, keeping your back straight and abs tight, and rest on your toes. Aim for 60 seconds.
Why It Works: The plank builds the strength and muscular endurance you need to ride powerfully in the drops or in an aero position long after others have surrendered to the top of the handlebar.
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5. Transverse Plank
What It Works: Transverse abdominus and obliques
A. Lie on your right side, with your right elbow under your shoulder, forearm in front for stability, and stack your left foot on your right. Raise your left arm over your head.
B. In one motion, lift your hips to create a straight line down your left side. Lower your hips a few inches off the floor; do 10 to 15 reps, then switch sides.
Why It Works: Strong obliques improve your stability in the saddle, letting you take on hairpin corners with more control and speed.
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6. Scissors Kick
What It Works: Transverse abdominus, hip flexors, inner and outer thighs
A. Lying on your back with legs straight, place both hands palms down under your lower back.
B. Pushing your elbows down into the floor and pulling your belly button toward your spine, raise your shoulders off the floor and look toward the ceiling. Raise your legs 4 inches off the ground and scissor them: left leg over right, then right over left. That’s one rep. Work up to 100.
Why It Works: A comprehensive movement that connects key cycling muscles, the kick also builds inner-thigh muscles, which help you achieve hip, knee and forefoot alignment for a proper and efficient pedal stroke.
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7. Catapult
What It Works: Entire core
A. Sitting with a slight bend in your knees, press your heels against the floor. Extend arms to the front at shoulder height, palms facing each other.
B. With a straight spine and upward gaze, inhale deeply, then exhale and slowly lower your torso to the floor over five counts as you inhale. Arms are overhead.
C. In one smooth movement, leading with the arms, exhale and explode back to the starting position. Do 20 reps.
Why It Works: Contrary to its name, the catapult encourages supreme body control.
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8. Boat Pose
What It Works: Transverse abdominus, lower back
A. Sit, resting both hands lightly behind you, and lean back until your torso is at a 45-degree angle.
B. Keeping your legs together, lift them off the floor as you extend arms forward at shoulder height. Abs are tight, as thighs and torso form a 90-degree angle. If your hamstrings are tight, you’ll need to bend your knees a little. Work up to holding for 60 seconds.
Why It Works: As with the plank, this pose builds the lower-back stability and core strength needed to remain bent over the handlebar for hours, or to blast up hills without compromising power or speed.
Burning Questions
Why does my back hurt?
Lower-back pain is related to core strength, or lack thereof. “In a leg press at the gym, you can press into the back pad to stabilize yourself,” says Andy Pruitt, Ed.D., director of Colorado’s Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, “but when you push on the pedal, there’s nothing to stabilize you except your core.” If it’s weak, your back fatigues quickly. The pain could also stem from other sources, Pruitt notes, from your cycling shoes to bike fit. A good rule of thumb: Your handlebar shouldn’t be more than one fist-width lower than your saddle, says Pruitt, who suggests a bike fitting for those with chronic back pain. “If a fitter can’t solve your problem in two tries, see a doctor or physical therapist,” he says.
Why do I STILL have a gut?
You log thousands of miles a year, but your jersey fits like a sausage casing. The problem isn’t a lack of fitness; it’s consuming too many calories. Slouching could be exacerbating it. Good posture builds a strong core, but these days we hunch over a steering wheel to get to work, where we hunch over a computer. For a break, we hunch over a handlebar. To shrink your gut, add interval training to your rides to boost calorie burn, lay off the Dunkin’ Donuts at rest stops and start training your core.
Can I strengthen my core while on the bike?
These geeky yet effective exercises by Marc Evans,in Menlo Park, California, work your core on the roll. The key is the Draw In position: Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Squeeze your belly button toward your spine; your pelvis should tilt slightly upward, causing your lower back to be flush with the floor. Try to replicate this on the bike. Evans recommends mastering these moves on a trainer first. For each, do three sets of three 15-second holds; rest 15 seconds between reps.
AERO POSITION: Rest on your aerobar, if you have one, or place your forearms on the top of the handlebar. As you draw in, your back flattens and your pelvis rotates.
SINGLE LEG: Seated with your hands on the hoods, unclip your left foot. As your right foot pedals, extend your left leg back and draw in. Continue to draw in as you clip back into the pedal. Repeat with right leg.
OVERHEAD: Raise your arms overhead and draw in; squeeze the top tube with your knees. (Don’t attempt on the road unless you have the handling skills of Tom Boonen.)
STANDING DRAW IN: With hands on the hoods, stand and bend at the hips. Draw in until your back is flat and pelvis tilts.
Triathlete beats depression,and booze with one leg
Tracey Moore, who became an amputee after a failed suicide attempt, competes to inspire others.
The human spirit is a magnificent thing. Like all life on this planet add the right amount of sunshine, correct watering and life flourishes. Again here I see sport taking a role in the wonderful story of Tracy taking control of her life.
Sport has the ability to be so much more than smelly shoes and expensive supplements.
Most of the details of that day are fuzzy, but there is one image Tracey Moore has permanently ingrained in her memory.
The date was Feb. 26, 2000. The emergency room physician at Long Beach Memorial Hospital dangled a leg by its big toe in front of her face.
It was her leg.
The muscles and tendons were severed, the bones crushed.
Hours earlier, Tracey, then 38, purposely stepped onto the train tracks at the Wardlow Station in Long Beach in an attempt to end her “pathetic” life, as she refers to it. It was a life ravaged by alcoholism and the human wreckage left in its wake.
Tracey’s right leg was amputated below the knee that day. She received a craniotomy the next day to mend a depressed section on the back of her skull. She has a steel plate in her head.
SELF DESTRUCTION
Tracey recalls dabbling with alcohol in junior high. The drinking increased in high school.
“It got to be more than the Friday night football games,” Tracey said.
Attractive and extraverted, Moore immersed herself in what she calls “the Hollywood thing.” In her late teens and 20’s, the party girl earned small parts in movies, did some modeling and was in a few beauty contests. Drinking went hand-in-hand with all of it.
From age 30 to 40, there were several futile attempts at sobriety.
“Life would get good and I would sabotage it, taking a drink and thinking I can,” said Tracey, who was downing about two quarts of vodka daily during the worst of her drinking. “At 6:15 in the morning when the liquor stores opened, I would be there.”
Even the failed suicide attempt wasn’t enough to rattle her into sobriety The day she had the staples removed from the top part of her leg and her head, Moore hobbled to the liquor store on crutches and was off on another binge.
In the fall of 2002, Tracey got booted out of a sober living home. She wound up in a trashy motel. One day she woke up beaten up and bruised. She had no recollection of what happened.
Finally, on Oct. 5, 2002, looking unkempt with dried vomit on her dress, Tracey checked herself into the rehabilitation program at the Salvation Army in Anaheim. She was done killing herself.
SELF REALIZATION
At about 90 days of sobriety, the man who designed Moore’s prosthetic leg (who she endearingly refers to as her “leg man”) encouraged his client to train for the 1 1/2 mile swimming segment of the San Diego Triathlon Challenge, an event which serves as a fundraiser for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF).
Moore, who had not been physically active since high school, took on the challenge, and trained for the event by swimming laps in the pool at the Salvation Army.
She also began jogging, sporting a prosthetic leg not intended for physical activity.
Tracey’s future husband, Robert Moore, who became acquainted with his future wife at 12-Step meetings, was driving past Tracey as she was jogging one day and was drawn to her doggedness.
“When I saw her running that day, there was no quit in her,” said Robert, a former power lifter and avid cyclist. “You don’t see that tenacity in people.”
The couple began dating and Robert offered to train Tracey for the swim. He also set a clear boundary between their personal relationship and their coach-athlete relationship.
“When we are at the gym, I am the coach,” he said. “You do what I say or we leave.”
Today, Tracey describes the coaching part of her husband with curse words.
“He is strict and forceful and he gets the job done,” Tracey said.
On Oct. 31, 2003, she completed the 1 1/2-mile swim.
“After I did it, I got the bug,” she said.
Tracey drew attention from the CAF, which gave her a $1,600 grant for a bicycle. She could now compete in all three segments of a triathlon-swimming, running and cycling.
The CAF also gave Tracey a $5,000 racing leg called a Cheetah (one of four legs Moore owns).
To date, Tracey has participated in 18 triathlons and is often the only amputee competing.
She says her greatest triumph was completing the 2006 Great Escape from Alcatraz, an adventure race starting with 1 1/2-mile swim in frigid water with a swift current, then a two-mile run followed by an 18-mile cycling segment and finally a 6 1/2 mile run over rugged terrain.
Tracey finished dead last, but received a medal for finishing first in the female physically challenged athlete division. She was told she was the only female amputee to have completed the 26-year history of the race.
“I cried,” said Moore, upon crossing the finish line with only Robert and her children waiting and cheering.
On Jan. 6, Moore completed the O.C. Half-marathon and is currently training for the Ironman in Hawaii, which takes place Oct. 11. She typically trains about two to three hours per day, four days per week. She swims about 150 laps in a pool and cycles about 45 miles at a clip. Those distances will be bumped up soon, says her husband, who still serves as Moore’s coach.
A LIFE WORTH LIVING
Tracey is now sober for five years, Robert for 10. They’ve been married since January, 2004.
Between them, the couple raises four teenage boys. They refer to their life as “Robert and Tracey’s excellent adventure.”
They attend 12-step meetings and run a ministry for recovering addicts and alcoholics on Friday evenings at a church in Anaheim.
Comparing her days as a “legless drunk” to her present life as a mother, wife, mentor and athlete, Moore is sometimes mystified. Her source of strength, however, is clear.
“Who would have thought I’d be thinking about doing the Ironman in Kona, Hawaii,” she said. For me, it was getting sober and getting God. After every race, I get to give the glory to God for letting me do it.
“I’ve heard of a lot of people who lose limbs who sit around feeling sorry for themselves,” Moore said. “I am doing more with one leg than I ever did with two.”
By LOU PONSI
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
http://www.ocregister.com/
Exercise and depression trial
Depression is the fourth most important cause of disability worldwide — and is expected to become the second most important by 2020.
Statistics suggest that as many as 1 in 3 of us might experience depressive symptoms during our lifetime and women are twice as likely to be affected as men. Depression is a major problem and treating depression a major drain on medical resources.
Now, new studies in the southwest of England are looking into different approaches to the treatment of depression — approaches that may have a significant impact on this debilitating illness.
Bringing together expertise in Psychiatry, Exercise Psychology, Health Economics and Primary Care, a collaboration of the University of Bristol, the University of Exeter and the Peninsula Medical School will conduct one of the largest studies in the world, into the use of exercise as a treatment for depression.
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