This month I had the opportunity to attend The Inaugural USA Triathlon Art and Science Seminar. This conference was a collection of some of the brightest sports science minds in the world. Here is a small bit of what I learned:
Istvan Balyi - His recommendation was to do speed training year round. This lines up well with what I suggest for my athletes; I typically have my athletes run 30 seconds pick ups once per week and also we add In some form of high RPM Spinning once per week as well.
Monique Ryan - The key to recovery is to replenish muscle and liver glycogen. General guidelines are a threshold of 1.5g/kg at 2 hour intervals within 30-60' post exercise and again in 2 hours and then again in 2 more hours.
Dr. Jack Daniels – there are different types of athletes:
• Great Ability + High Motivation = Champion
• Great Ability + Low Motivation = Coach Frustrator
Randy Wilber - altitude training – at altitude there is a partial drop in pressure of O2 – the air is less saturated then @sea level - sea level has a 98% saturation rate and at altitude there is 94% saturation rate (like in Denver). At altitude there is less bicarbonate which means hydrogen ions stay in the blood and force you to slow down - bicarbonate is the buffer – a loss of ferriten at 8200 ft after 4 weeks – make sure you come to Altitude with good iron stores which helps RBC (red blood cells) when you come back down.
Dan Empfield – Dan talked about cadence and angles - running off the bike at a steeper angle does show faster run times in numerous studies.
Mark Allen - Ironman Coaching/Making IM a normal day/What makes a great IM? Aerobic capacity is the Biggest factor in determining final race result. Building the aerobic engine requires patience that most athletes do NOT have. Mark would walk up hills to keep his HR down - wants to keep his body in fat burning zone Mindset during the IM? No perfect race but you can race perfectly! The rest of my notes can be found here.
Nutrition and Recovery
by Coach Mike Ricci, USAT Level II Coach
As I read the training logs of my athletes on
Monday mornings – I commonly see quotes
such as “Not enough fuel yesterday, so today my
workout sucked” – Or “my 2nd workout was terrible, all
I ate were 43 cheddar gold fish after my morning run”. As
a coach I need to lead by example and explain what and
why you should be eating following a workout. You
recovery starts as soon as you start your workout in my
opinion. 3 mornings a week I swim. I get up, eat a
banana and head to the pool. When I get home I
eat more fruit, cottage cheese and 2-3 boiled
eggs. If I am running later that morning I will
have whole grain toast and some all natural peanut butter. If a run
is not scheduled I may eat more fruit and some almonds around
mid-morning. For longer aerobic workouts my first rule of thumb is
that I take only water and an emergency flask of hammergel on
anything less then 2 hours. On rides I try to stay away from the gel
but on a long run I usually eat most of the hammergel. I don’t feel
that I need an energy drink on such a short workout if I got into
the workout properly fueled. When I finish a long run, I usually
have a banana waiting for me. When I get home I eat a good
balance of protein and carbohydrates. My post run meal
is 3 eggs, vegetables, whole grain toast and all
natural peanut butter. When I finish a ride I usually
have some fruit, water, and maybe 2 boiled eggs.
Proper nutrition after a workout is critical to
recovery and how your next workout will go. The
quicker you can get some real food into your system
after a workout the quicker you recover and your
next workout will go that much better. Some athletes
ask me about smoothie’s and honestly I don’t make
them too often. If I do it will consist of Sustained
Energy, Pro Soy, soy milk and hammergel. This works
well for me right after a weight session. If you have
specific questions on recovery email me directly at
mike@d3multisport.com.
The Suggested Stretch: Lowback Rotation
Many movement patterns in triathlon are Sagital plane motions. In
other words, movements happen directly in front
and behind the body. Imagine a pane of glass that
extends through the middle of your body, bisecting
your body into two halves between your eyes.
Movement in this plane is as if your arms and legs
and trunk are moving directly on the surface of the
glass. Many imbalances that happen in triathletes,
runners and cyclists are because they do not
crosstrain or stretch in horizontal plane movement
patterns. The stretch below is for the lower back
and paraspinal muscle group. This torsional
movement is good for building flexibility in the
horizonatal plane of movement. Stretches like this
are good insurance policies against unexpected strains and sprains
from “moving the wrong way”
1. Starting seated, bend one leg
and cross it over the other
knee, resting your foot on the
floor.
2. Twist your torso in the
opposite direction as shown
below.
3. Use the arm closest to your
knee to increase your leverage.
4. Exhale as you stretch and
hold for 30 seconds.
5. Reverse positions and repeat
on the opposite side.