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
Triathlon warnings
With more and more people taking up the endurance sport. The world wide participation of Triathlon has been increasing over the years,
This is excelent for the sport as a whole but does it serve the the greater community when particapants are Ill trained, jumping into the deep end may not be advisable for newbies who do not have some help with training.
In the wake of the death of 17-year old national triathlete Thaddeus Cheong and 25-year-old Captain Ho Si Qiu after races, what do rookie and veteran sportsmen have to watch for while training and racing?
TRAINING: HOW INTENSE?
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, noted that as people age, the risk of certain diseases such as hypertension, coronary artery disease and diabetes increases.
To counter this, precautions such as a pre-participation screening, training progressively, and ensuring proper hydration and nutrition during training and competition.
In addition, participants should monitor themselves for injuries and be aware of the symptoms of heart diseases. The issue with heart problems are not only restricted to an older particapant.
A sports surgeons suggest that by conducting proper warm-up and making sure training distances are not increased too suddenly, should help to prevent injuries.
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.
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.’ This is a very important point you can not blindly follow a training schedule that does not suit who you are.
It is recommended to increase 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?
For events over an hour, ’special attention’ needed to be placed on both fluid and sugar intake during the race.
As a rule of thumb 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.
Again different people have different needs I run with people who seem to be camels and I am trying to suck as much water down as I can get my hands on.
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 minimize soreness.
There is the school of thought that you have a window of optimum recovery time after an event so you aim to fuel back up within an hour or so with appropriate foods and liquids
A massage the next day would help.
ADDICTED TO RACING?
Addiction is a possibility for some enthusiasts.It would be considered an addiction when the sport literally controls a person’s life.
When your life 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.
some ways of managing such an addiction is to have watchful coaches, social support from spouses or family, and adhering to a prescribed training program.
They should be referred to a sports medicine doctor or sports psychologists when necessary.
As always ’It’s all about striking a balance between work, family and training.
Managing your priorities in life is the key.’
Unicycle Crazies
Absolutely nothing to do with Triathlon but, as always I take my hat off to those who get out and
live life by grabing hold of the moment and taking a challenge.
This would be hard enough to do on two wheels let alone one.
For me I found in the clip the delight of watching somebody who has a passion and desire to challenge the parameters of the conventional, not that I advocate stunts like riding the hand rail of the bridge but ask yourself today what is the thing, that makes your heart sing and be greatfull for whatever ability you have to go there. Do not assume life will be always available to you in the manner you take for granted step up to the start line.
Off Road Triathlon
I thought I would repost a cut down version of a video I posted last year as I was wondering what is the thoughts out there on the way Triathlon is going.
I know for myself I have seen entry costs rise, crowded race courses, and getting nothing back. As a participant I am not so concerned about silver ware as It is not the driving motivation for me, but I do wonder am I getting value for my money ?
Bloger in training
I do not know what I have done to this home page but somehow I have lost the navigation sidebar but if you scroll down to the bottom you will find it, or click the post category and all the nav bar appears, working on it to get it right 
Triathlon Weight Training
Back to basics
As regular readers will know, This is not a how to fine-tune your performance type of blog.
A theme I do comment on however, is about improving performance by going back to some training and nutrition basics and examining the validity of accepted and blindly followed training methods .
You have to question the popular approach to triathlon, of simply piling on the distance and that triathletes have much to gain and virtually nothing to lose by incorporating some specific strength training into their programmes, and
volume of training and time spent training for the actual event itself.
I see quite regularly that it’s all about wearing a badge of honour for the number of hours spent running, cycling or swimming.
This is a pretty flawed approach,with the mass of research showing that volume of training is one of the main culprits of overtraining and injury incidence.
Amongst the triathlon community there has been overemphasised the benefits of endurance-based training and underestimated the benefits of strength training.
Triathletes will spend hours completing endurance sessions in the hope that they can squeeze a little bit of extra performance from their cardiovascular system, but are reluctant to spend just a couple of hours a week in the gym.
By forgeting the huge potential that the musculoskeletal system has to offer to performance, many triathletes have forgotten about and pay scant regard to its training benefits.
When the musculoskeletal system cannot handle the stress of thousands of repetitions (which is what happens when you are training for a triathlon) then you need to condition the musculoskeletal system first.
You should program your body based on the movements it’s going to perform - not based on the cardiovascular system, an upside down method of programming!
Strength training in the gym can make a real performance difference Typically triathletes have had so little structural integrity , a resistance training programme to work on muscular weaknesses and imbalances should be the first approach.
I will continue with some more on the the subject later
The fact is that for many triathletes, moving the body is the biggest problem - not their ability to transport oxygen!
For years Triathletes have been focusing purely on improving their cardiovascular system but more often than not, they’ve broken down at some point during their season through illness or injury. I know this to be so very true it is always a conversation piece about what injury are you working through.
A better approach is to set to work improving the chassis and bodywork first and tune the engine later.
Shifting the mindset
Typically three main areas of concern are voiced when considering a strength programme:
1. Increased mass - fear of weight gain and subsequent drop in performance done correctly a balanced training programme will develop relative strength and power (ie improved power and strength to weight ratio) without significant increases in weight;
2. Lack of time - This is flawed thinking! Many triathletes have lots of time to swim, cycle and run but won’t consider adding just a small proportion of strength training into their training schedule. Just make sure that your programme is time efficient - 30-45 minutes duration (maximum):
I personaly find 40 minutes is good and with home based body weight training you save time and money by not having to travel to the training site.
3. Increased risk of overtraining - triathletes are often (rightly) concerned about overtraining, so there is a very real concern that extra strength work may tip them over the edge. The key is to ensure that the strength training sessions are quality focused and don’t have too much volume in them. The greater risk of overtraining is much more likely to arise from hours and hours in the pool or on the road than a couple of 40-minute gymworkouts!
The key is to develop a program that will have a positive impact on performance.
Flexibility Flexibility Flexibility
No that is not a typo corrective stretching and dynamic movement preparation should play a major role in every triathlete’s programme.
You do not need to adopt a ’stretch everything’ mentality but you do need to recognise that the nature of the sport means you undoubtedly have to address some flexibility issues before you even think about working on developing strength.
I truly believe prioritize the development of flexibility before moving on to strength.
Cancer drives Man to Triathlon
Sister’s memory drives triathlete
Southlake man raises funds to fight cancer through Ironman races
Jonathan Walkup credits his sister with providing the inspiration he needed to qualify for Saturday’s World Championship 70.3 Ironman in Clearwater, Fla.
Julia Walkup Middleton lost her seven-year battle with cancer on Sept. 1.
“Julia will not be far from my mind,” Walkup, 46, said.
Walkup, a Southlake resident, began triathlon training in January 2006 to improve his health. He placed in his age group in his first sprint triathlon races, which fostered a desire to continue training.
He then decided to raise money to help fight thymoma cancer, the type his sister had. Through research, he learned that the Janus Charity Challenge donated proceeds to the charity of one’s choice. The only catch: Janus’ fundraising program was tied to Ironman events.
“Julia was in her sixth year of this battle,” he said. “She should have only survived two. In the back of my mind, I knew I was running out of time.”
With five months to train, Walkup entered Ironman Arizona last April. He raised more than $14,000 and finished. He narrowly missed a spot in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
Walkup then entered the Buffalo Springs Half Ironman last summer. Again, he missed earning a Kona spot, but he did qualify for Clearwater. He said the event will be a family celebration of Julia’s life. Even his dad, Bob Walkup, who was just re-elected to serve his third term as the mayor of Tucson, Ariz., plans to be on hand.
Jonathan Walkup is among 18 area triathletes who qualified for the Clearwater race.
Another, Jack Weiss, has recovered from a September bike wreck and multiple surgeries that followed. Weiss also qualified for the Duathlon World Long Course Championships in September, but he wasn’t physically able to participate.
“I’m in Florida,” Weiss said. “I can’t say how well I will do, but I am here.”
I hope I do get the message across with some of these stories that life is all about taking a stance and stepping up to the start line, life can throw you so many curve balls ( to use another sporting saying) that you can be bruised and battered but it is always the measure of the desire to be a participant that get you to the end of the race
Body weight training
I know this is not triathlon oriented but you can apply the princaples to any sport or fitness routine
Tiger Woods is off to an incredible start in 2008, winning 3 tournaments in
3 starts. He did it again this weekend, winning another tournament, but its
no surprise based on his physical strength and mobility.
Tiger looks like he gained even more muscle in the off-season,
Tiger is doing this all without steroids.
Tiger is physically dominating the sport. Heck, he’s even driven Phil
Mickelson to start exercising and to lose weight. Phil looks so much better
now that he has lost 20 pounds.
I’d be very interested to see Tiger’s workout program. Is there anything
fancy in it? Or is it just the basics? How does he gain strength without
sacrificing mobility? That is one of the biggest mistakes
most “bodybuilding” type routines make…if a golfer/ triathlete did bodybuilding type
training, it would most likely ruin his game just as easily as getting fat
and out of shape. 
Does Tiger use a lot of bodyweight exercises? Does he do cardio or interval
training? If anyone has the inside scoop on that training program, let me
know.
Now you certainly don’t need to be a powerlifter, bodybuilder, or gymnast to
be a good Triathlete… but as you can see by the physiques on many other men and
women competitors you do have to be lean and fit , you can’t let your strength or mobility be the limiting factor .
So you need to train…
…..3…….. Great things things to do that break up trash Ks’ and endless laps are…
1) Use a variety of bodyweight exercises to work on your strength and
mobility. This can be part of your warmup or can compose your entire
workout. Like I said, you don’t need to be a powerlifter to be a golfer or triathlete
First, start with the basics like pushups, bodyweight squats, inverted
bodyweight rows, stick-ups, lunges, and the plank and side plank for your
abs.
Then once you’ve mastered those, move on to spiderman pushups, spiderman
climbs, mountain climbers, one-leg romanian deadlifts, stability ball leg
curls, hanging leg raises, pullups, chinups, and decline pushups.
There are dozens, if not hundreds of bodyweight exercises you can do to burn
fat, get stronger, and improve your mobility. This will help you stay longer
and stay efficient on the race course.
Plus, it will increase your stamina and focus late in the game - combined
with good nutrition of course.
2) Work with a good swim coach to identify your weaknesses. Is your lack of
hip mobility messing up your stroke. Is your work posture ruining your
running mobility? Etc.
3) Eat right for fat loss and mental energy. You won’t get tired on the
course. I believe this is one of the most under-rated aspects of sport performance,
and I do not just mean supplement scoffing at my running club there are at least 7 vegetarians, not eating junk, Plus, good nutrition allows you to recover, and have higher endurance.
I am tending more and more to a majority of RAW food selection.
If you follow these three steps, you’ll have a better body, you’ll burn fat,
and you’ll be a champ. Use your bodyweight, not machines, to become
fit like a performance machine
Triathlon injury wreaks havoc
In all my years of I have spent training, I can sum up injuries/athletes in one sentence; those who have been, and those who will be, injured.
Athletes become injured for any number of reasons during training or racing — improper intensity/endurance effort increases, insufficient rest, failing to listen to warning signals from your body, a lapse in concentration by a training partner. The list is endless.
However, I don’t propose to teach you how to avoid injuries today. Rather, get to realized a basic pattern among athletes that may help you cope with and overcome an injury while on the healing path.
The first stage of healing is denial. Many athletes are pros at this, ignoring the pain in hopes that it will go away. You do this initially with an injury to buffer the negative consequences until you can figure out how to deal with it.
Many athletes believe they are tough enough to train/race through the pain. Keep in mind though, pain is your body’s warning sign of injury/inflammation and no matter how tough you are, you can’t beat biology.
Next, reality sets in and you become angry, immediately rationalizing away responsibility for what’s happened. You blame someone or something else — your coach, the steepness of the hill, your saddle height, anything to displace the blame from yourself.
Then you start bargaining. When anger doesn’t relieve the pain or make the swelling go down, you bargain and agree to make a pact with anyone who will help you face the denial and get through the anger. You’ll try to cut the best deal with what you feel are the best odds of minimal rehab, all possible shortcuts, and minimal time with an elevated appendage.
But when you don’t get to do it your way, the next stage is inevitable — depression.
This is when the confusion, self-doubt and fear set in. You feel vulnerable and out of control, be it money for race registration or travel, loss of connection with your contemporaries, or whatever.
You lose some of that mental sharpness and enthusiasm that previously sustained you. But somewhere in all this, things get clearer and injury rehab gets on track.
Finally you get to acceptance — time to deal with the injury and get on with it. Learn to make the best of the scenario and be positive, in plan and attitude.
Similar to a training plan, your recovery must be systematic, realistic and flexible for adjustment. Recognize and get yourself through the various mental stages of injury recovery and you can better help a friend when they go through the same process. You’ll be a stronger, smarter and a better person and athlete in both cases.
— Angie Ferguson is an exercise physiologist from Fort Myers. She is also a USA Cycling and USA Triathlon coach. She can be reached at www.gearedup.biz.
Triathlon Training In Iraq
Talk about dedication
January 10, 2008 — Army physician Aaron Dewees simply wanted to train for an Ironman triathlon while deployed in the Middle East. But there was just one tiny glitch: The lack of a decent pool to swim in. After all, the pool on Camp Tiji, an Army base just outside of Iraq, left little to be desired - the water averaged a steamy 95 degrees, for starters, and closed up for most of the year.
That’s when Endless Pools, Inc., the leader in counter-current swimming machines, stepped in. Upon receiving a written request from Dewees, company president and founder James Murdock offered to donate his most versatile product, the Fastlane Pool system, to Dewee’s 1st Brigade Combat Team. A pool arrived on base in late September, 2007, and now, Dewees and 3,600 of his fellow troops can swim - and rehabilitate - year round in the 8 by 15 feet self-contained swimming treadmill.
“I never really thought my request would be granted, mostly because the shipping costs alone would be outrageous. However, within weeks, a pool arrived at Camp Taji,” says Dewees. “And even after we realized we needed different pumps, the folks at Endless Pools once again showcased their generosity by sending new equipment free of charge.”
Follows Mark Langan, marketing director for Endless Pools, “We were blown away by Aaron’s ambition and dedication to triathlon, and we couldn’t think of a better way to support his goals than to provide him with an essential training tool, while also offering injured soldiers a valuable rehabilitation option.”
While the pool’s primary purpose is for aquatic therapy for any injured soldiers stationed at the base, Dewees trains in the temperature-controlled Fastlane three times a week as he prepares for Ironman Arizona on April 13, 2008. But the 30-year-old father of three isn’t just shooting to complete the race; he’s also on a mission to raise $50,000 for the Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund (www.cfsrf.org), an organization very near to his heart–and his career.
“As an Army physician in Iraq, it is my duty to care for the health and well-being of our soldiers, and as an American, it’s my duty to honor the service and sacrifice our fallen heroes and their families. I’m dedicating my race to them,” says Dewees.
To support Dewee’s fundraising efforts, visit http://www.kinterainc.com/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=232397&supid=196671437
Damn thats got to hurt
I keep a squidoo lens
http://www.squidoo.com/triathlonsport
that I Use to talk on different aspects of sport and I saw this Prang every bikers nightmare
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Sometimes when you really do want to get started
BUT
the Motivation is not there try the power of positive therapy to change the way you think CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE
see where it takes you
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