D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Using a Foam Roller and Massage for Recovery’ from Coach Jim.

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Rotate your Running Shoes’ from Coach Mike Ricci. 

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Calf Cramps while Swimming’ from Coach Dave.

D3 Mulitsport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute” Please check out our 1 minute videos each Friday – give us feedback and let us know what type if information you are interested in learning about. Invest 1 minute each Friday and you’ll be glad you did. Follow us on twitter: d3_multisport  and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Using a Heart Rate Monitor’ from Coach Mike.

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Racing with a Power Meter’ from Coach Mike.

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Using a Power Meter’ from Coach Dave Sheanin. 

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute topic is ‘Factoring Rest into your Routine’ from Coach Jim Hallberg. 

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute is ‘Using Swim Paddles’

There are many forms of carbohydrate including liquids, semi-solids, and solids that offer some performance benefit in triathletes, and some forms are more appropriate to certain types of training sessions and race distances than others. For any racing distance, sports drinks are going to benefit a triathlete the most because not only do they empty from your stomach the quickest, but they also provide all the essentials for improved performance including carbohydrate, electrolytes, and fluids.Consuming carbohydrate during training or competition is what most athletes do to help fuel their performance, but not everyone is the same and may choose a different energy source. Almost all endurance athletes will utilize sports drinks, but there are many options now available allowing for consumption of something different. Energy gels have become very popular in endurance sports. Gels are highly concentrated doses of carbohydrates made into a gelatinous type of consistency. Many triathletes utilize gels because they typically do not have a “heavy” or “gut rot” type of feeling. They are a change in texture and flavor for the athlete who is burnt out on sports drinks and craving something different. Another reason is because gel sources are reasonably painless to take with you since most gels will conveniently fit into shorts or jersey pockets.Since energy gels are essentially concentrated carbohydrates, they provide no fluid by themselves. This is important to know because without fluid the gel will break down extremely slow and not allow you to absorb its contents fully. Therefore, roughly every 1.2 – 1.4 oz of gel, an athlete should follow gel consumption with 10 fl.oz. (295ml) to 16.9 fl.oz. (500ml) water (typical bottled water size). The amount of water you consume with the gel will determine on how fast it will be broken down in the stomach and absorbed in the small intestine. If you consume the full 500ml, the gel will digest similar to a sports drink. The less water you take in the slower your absorption becomes. Basically this means if the rate of fluid and carbohydrate exceeds the absorption capacity of the intestine good chance you will develop diarrhea. If you are not utilizing the gel as a fuel source properly you may end up with a tale of nutritional disaster that includes cramps, gastrointestinal (GI) tract issues, along with a decline in your performance.

The role and understanding of the GI tract is vital to a triathlete in regards to proper nutrition and regulating the absorption of a drink or gel with fluid to allow optimal delivery of the nutrients into circulation of the body. Before the human body can actually utilize the contents of the energy gel consumed it first must be emptied from the stomach and absorbed by the small intestine so the carbohydrates can be transported to the appropriate areas in the body.

So let’s break this down from the beginning of consumption and go step by step. After consuming your favorite energy gel it will travel through the esophagus and enter the stomach, which functions as a reservoir that regulates the rate at which the ingested gel will enter the small intestine. Almost entirely all water and nutrients are absorbed in your small intestine. Knowing this, the rate of absorption is effected by how fast the contents of the gel and fluid are emptied from your stomach. Basically, any delay to the gastric emptying rate will have a negative effect when your body is in high demand for energy. This is why consuming fluids with your gel is essential. Another reason why is the volume of any liquids, gels, and solids along with what they are made of are important factors in choosing your nutrition plan in hopes to allow for regulating your gastric emptying rate. Carbohydrate has been shown to increase fluid uptake in the small intestine. What this tells us is that the components of the gel and water are strongly associated and equally important when it comes to absorption of each other.

Following ingestion of a single gel with fluid or sports drink, there is an initial fast phase of gastric emptying when the volume in the stomach (gastric) is at its maximum and as that volume decreases so does the emptying rate. But the rate of emptying in the stomach can be maintained or optimized. By refilling the stomach with sports drink or gels and fluid at timed intervals (i.e. every 20-30 minutes), the volume in the stomach can be kept high and the emptying rate can be maintained. Practice your limits with caution, if you overfill the stomach you cause yourself a great deal of GI distress while slowing your gastric emptying rate.

How is your absorption affected at high intensity exercise? Research has shown at high levels of intensity, roughly at 75% of your maximum effort, is where you will begin to see a decrease in gastric emptying. Your emptying rate will greatly decrease as intensity increases. In order to know how exercise will effect your gastric emptying it matters how long you exercise for, and at what intensity you are performing at. Usually at such high intensities known to inhibit gastric emptying, the duration of those exercises will be too short for fluid and energy to be providing much benefit in performance aid.

To simplify this, the greater your gastric emptying rate, the higher your absorption rate will be in the small intestine. The presence of carbohydrate with fluid will promote water absorption in addition to supplying an energy source to the working muscles. Be careful, by increasing the carbohydrate contents in your stomach too much will slow gastric emptying and remember that the emptying rate of liquids are faster than that of solids. Regularly ingest carbohydrate on timed intervals throughout exercise lasting more than an hour. The quickest humans can utilize that carbohydrate is approximately 0.8-1.0 gram per hour (approximately 1 gram carbohydrate for every minute of exercise ~60g per hour) no matter how much carbohydrate you take in. Research has shown us if you take in at least .7 grams carbohydrate per kilogram body weight every hour of exercise you will be able to sustain your exercise. There are some athletes that cannot utilize carbohydrates as fast as others and then some are able to significantly take on greater amounts as been reported as high as 1.7g/min. Also, research has shown us that a 6% carbohydrate solution or less is absorbed the fastest as opposed to a solution greater in carbohydrates, something you should know when picking out what to ingest for your workouts and races.

Keep in mind that every athlete is different. You will need to experiment with your choice of gel to find your body’s optimal regimen for carbohydrate intake. Pack gels with you on several training sessions and try taking them at different time intervals with liquid to determine what system works best for you. Remember taking in too much carbohydrate can actually hinder your performance, be sure to find the correct balance that helps you, use the guidelines as a baseline to follow and tweak as needed.
Helpful guidelines and tips• When exercise is less than 45 min: no carbs are typically needed but be sure to maintain your hydration and to fuel yourself with some carbohydrates post-exercise.

• 1-2 hours: up to 30-60g/hr, of carbohydrates (~240 calories). If you are fueling with gels or solids be sure to follow consumption with appropriate amount of water.
• 2 or more hours: up to 60-90g/hr, carbohydrates (~330-360 calories). Maintaining proper nutritional balance is vital when exercising at this duration. Knowing not to overfill your stomach to find that right balance will really help you improve your performance not only in training but in races as well.

Nick Suffredin previously was a Scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute where he worked on testing elite professional athletes to enhance their hydration practices and nutrition intake to improve their performance. He has been part of human performance advisory boards as well as currently provides endurance and nutrition coaching. For coaching and nutrition inquiries Nick can be contacted at: TriSuff1@gmail.com
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D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and/or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute is ‘Using Proper Hand Entry for Strong and Healthy Shoulders'

Off-season training is over and your first race of the season is coming up. How are you going to get ready? If you are like most of the country, you live in an area that doesn’t provide open water swim opportunities until the summer months.

In order to prepare, you’ll need to create an environment that’s similar to race day and gather a group of your training buddies. You’ll need a fairly good-sized group. Twenty or more athletes would be great, but you can accomplish quite a lot with a group of even 10. Have everyone bring wetsuits, thermal caps and whatever else they would wear on race day. The more you prepare like it’s race day the better you will do on race day!
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The next thing you’ll need is a pool and you should pull several of the lane lines out. Have everyone get in their normal ‘lanes’ and swim a solid warm up of about 500 yards. Then have your group swim 10 x 50 yard repeats with short rest. Swimming in the pool without lane lines should cause some rougher than normal water and your athletes will get familiar with what race day condition will be like. If you have a small group move everyone into one side of the pool to create a rougher swim.

Next, you should secure a race buoy or kids bouncy ball (www.jumpingballs.com) and tie it off to a rope and secure it to a diving brick. If you reach out to a local race director he might be willing to loan you a swim buoy for a few hours. Anchor the buoy or ball somewhere at the far end of the pool. I like to anchor the ball toward the left corner of the pool and have the group start from the right hand corner of the group. I usually anchor the buoy with a diving brick and some rope.

Next, arrange your group in one area of the pool with the faster swimmers in the back and the medium paced swimmers toward the front. On the whistle have everyone swim to the buoy, turn around the buoy and return. Once everyone gets back to the start point, ask them how they felt getting swum over, punched kicked and knocked around. Most will tell you they didn’t like it. The reason for doing this drill is so that they understand what they are up against on race day. Next up, pair swimmers of similar ability and have them swim one behind the other, with the purpose of getting them to learn to draft. After that drill, have the same pairs swim, but this time let the lead swimmer be the drafter and vice versa. One more key drill I like to use is to have the swimmers pair up and have the drafting swimmer, close their eyes and only feel for the water – no sighting whatsoever. Once again, have the swimmers trade places so that each gets to be the drafter.

Lastly, I would put everyone in close quarters again and have them practice a few starts around the buoy and back. Take as much time as you can to allow for practicing starting positions, ‘get out speed’, and turns around the buoy. Many new swimmers will want to go wide around the buoy, while faster swimmers will hit the turn fast. Have people think about what’s important to their race success; whether it be swimming wide around the buoy or tight with a sharp turn. As we all know swimming an extra 100 yards in an ironman race, in order to avoid the melee around the turn buoys will not affect the outcome of a twelve to seventeen hour race.
A quick recap of the article:
1. Arrange a group of swimmers with all their race day swim gear: wetsuits, caps, goggles, booties, etc.
2. Use a pool that you can pull the lanes out of.
3. Use a good warm up that will make the water a bit rough, giving swimmers some idea of what open water swimming is like.
4. Set up a buoy or some type of flotation device in the far end of the pool that should be used like a turn buoy.
5. Let your swimmers practice mass starts.
6. Have your swimmers practice drafting; one time with eyes open and another time with their eyes closed in order to get a feel for the person in front of them.
7. Practice swim exits and use a handicap ramp if possible and work on removing the wetsuit with timely fashion.
8. Don’t be afraid to try these same drills in the open water once a venue is available for you.

D3 Multisport is proud to release the video series, “The Triathlon Minute”. Invest 1 minute each Friday and I promise you’ll learn something you didn’t know. Please follow us on twitter: D3_Multisport and / or facebook.com/d3multisport. If you like our videos please share them with your family and friends. This week’s Triathlon Minute is ‘Determining Lactate Threshold’

Now that the big day has arrived, you’ll want to pretty much stick to EXACTLY what you have been doing in training. That means not exceeding predetermined limits on the hills and keeping your watts within a certain range. Along with keeping the watts in a certain range, this means pedaling when you need to, and not pedaling when you need to. Yes, you read that correctly. Sometimes you don’t need to pedal. If the IMWI course is 112 miles long with a lot of hills – too many to count when I was there – then there must be a lot of downhills as well. What goes up must come down. So, unless you are going to really gain some speed to get up the next hill, you are probably better off coasting. Why? If two guys of equal run ability get off the bike at the same time, and one has biked 112 miles, and the other has biked, let’s say 100 miles, who do you think has the fresher legs to run a marathon? My money is on the guy who pedaled less. You can see this in the Tour all the time – guys sitting in the pack soft-pedaling at 70-100 watts – those guys have fresh legs for the final sprint. They have a HUGE advantage over the guys who are working hard at the front to keep the pace line moving.

So? Unless you are not gaining any tactical advantage, there is no need to pedal on the downhills. If you are riding in the 6:00 range or faster, this means if you are going about 30-31 mph on some of the downhills, then you can stop pedaling. The amount of energy (watts) that it takes you to get over that 31 mph is enormous and certainly not worth it. So, if you see your mph display poking over 30 mph, you can most likely coast. Also, if you see the mph display NOT moving while you are pedaling, then you are probably wasting energy. So, just chill and enjoy the coasting.

**Questions: What wattage do I ride at?**

Great question! My answer, of course, is: what wattage have you been riding at in training that gives you an IF of .65-.72? I know, I am not supposed to answer a question with a question, but in reality, that’s the answer. You want to shoot for a range of watts within that .65-.72 IF – so a conservative ride would be 65%, and an aggressive ride would be more towards 72%. If you want to blow up on the run, then go ahead and ride at 75-80%. Be my guest.

If you lose power on your power meter, remember you still have your HRM so you should know about what effort that .65-.72 puts you in – right about 20 beats below your threshold, so make sure HR, power, and cadence are lined up. If you feel as though you are working hard aerobically to push a certain wattage, then back off. If you feel as though it’s easy to push a certain wattage and you can go harder, DO NOT. Just stick the cap on the watts of .72. Your run legs will thank you.

An example: an unfit guy named Mike raced IM USA in 2005 & his run fitness was good, biking not so much - low mojo after IMNZ left him off the bike for a long time. So, he had a plan to swim conservatively, ride exceptionally conservative, and run as well as he could for the course (1500 feet of elevation gain). Had he tried to ride to a time, like say 5:45 instead of chilling at 180 watts (70% IF), his run would have been in the ‘toilet’, and at all costs, we want to avoid the ‘toilet’.  He actually ran a decent marathon on a tough course.

**Lesson of the story is ride to watts, not a time!**

If it’s a 25mph headwind or pouring rain, your mph will be different than what you are hoping for. But your wattage is your wattage and that won’t change no matter what the conditions. Racing for 10-17 hours is a long time, so it's important to be conservative. Get your calories down, stick to your watts, keep your cadence up and laugh at the people trying to crush the uphills. IF, in fact, you bike too slowly; which I highly doubt you will; you have 26 miles to make up for it. Seriously! I have seen people hammering away for an extra 5 minutes on a 112-mile bike course only to blow up on the run because they pushed the bike too hard. A five-minute gain on the bike could mean losing hours on the run. But backing off and losing five minutes on the bike could mean GAINING 30 minutes on the run. Something to think about folks: Ride smart; run strong.

Most importantly, get to mile 18 feeling good. Here is where you’ll pass all the people who went too fast. It's easy to swim strong, bike hard for 112 miles, and run solid for 2+ hours, but it's when the race gets into the 8, 9, 10-hour mark that it gets hard for most people. At MILE 18 is when the race begins. IF you can get to MILE 18 feeling good, that’s when you pass a LOT of people and really have a great race. The ENTIRE race is about getting to mile 18 feeling great. You have a 4k swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, followed by an 18-mile run – all WARM UP for the 8-mile race you want to RUN at the end of the race. That’s the focus on race day.

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If you’ve done an Xterra, you understand as well as all of us that there is just something different about how much the bike portion takes out of you. (If you haven’t done an Xterra, sign up for one. I promise you’ll love it.) Running off the bike is hard enough in any case, but running off the mountain bike in an Xterra is another monster altogether. Throw in the fact that you are running on dirt and usually uphill right off the bat (seriously, race directors, why is the first mile ALWAYS uphill?), and there you have the formula for one of those painful experiences that you can’t wait to do again.

So how does one prepare? The key is in the differences between road biking and mountain biking. On the road, you can head out of town, pick a pace (or a wattage, or a heart rate), and go until it’s time to stop. But on the trail, the terrain determines the difficulty of each moment. It’s much more challenging to maintain a constant heart rate on a mountain bike, because from minute to minute you are slamming the brakes, accelerating back up to speed, climbing a hill, and then hanging on for a descent. It’s all about bursts of energy spaced out between miniature recoveries. Technical sections of trail, where your skill level is the limiting factor, like an extremely narrow trail with uneven rocks or roots and lots of sharp turns, are actually physiologically easy, from a certain point of view. Your output is lower, your muscles are working less, and if you weren’t nervous about falling, your heart rate would be lower too, because you just can’t go any faster without risking bodily harm. Mountain biking is intervals. And training for Xterra is best done with intervals too. Here are 3 great workouts in 3 completely different settings that you can try to prepare for Xterra:

1) Technical Hill Repeats: Seek out a mountain bike trail with a technical climb that is at least 5 minutes long. (if the biggest hill in your area is less than this, shorten the interval and increase the reps) Get in a nice warmup of at least 10 minutes. Set your stopwatch to count down from 5 minutes, and do 4×5 minutes (you can build up to 6×5 minutes) up the hill, coasting back down. At the 5 minute mark, put a rock or a branch at the exact point to which you made it. If you beat that point on the next repeat, move it up. If you don’t make it to that point, leave it there and try for it again the next time. Note how much more difficulty you have with navigating the technical sections as you get tired – this workout will help with that too, including the descent!
2) Group Road Ride, Reverse Paceline: If you find yourself on a group road ride (with at least 4 riders total), but you have an Xterra on your schedule, talk your friends into joining you for this fantastic workout. After a nice 15 minute warmup, pick a long stretch of road with a solid 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted riding. If it can be a false flat or slightly uphill, or even steeply uphill, even better. Form a single file paceline, and then take turns sprinting from the back of the paceline up to the front. Depending on your group size, you can pick any length to continue this – keep in mind it is harder with fewer people. With 5 or fewer people, do 2 sets of 10 minutes with a break between. More than 5 people, go for 20 minutes straight.
3) Xterra Spin Bike Workout at the Gym: If you are in a class, you can suggest this set to the instructor – I am sure he/she will love it. If you are on your own, incorporate this into your 40-60 minute session. Get a solid 10 minute warmup, then at least 10 more minutes of switching between sitting and standing at low resistance. Then crank it up – at least an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 for resistance. Stay seated. Then every 45 seconds, do a “surge”. A “surge” is when you stand up, accelerate to a sprint for 5 counts, hold it for 5 counts, then sit back down and hold that cadence for 5 counts, then relax back to a slow controlled cadence. It’s 15 seconds hard, 30 seconds recovery. Do 2 to 3 sets of 5 of these, with 60 seconds recovery with no resistance between. For a fun twist, have the class go one at a time, and as soon as the person to your left has reached their first 5 count, you go!

The basic goal is to develop your anaerobic system while doing an overall aerobic workout. Road bikers and triathletes can afford to be fully aerobic, but Xterra athletes do not have that luxury. At Xterra you will go anaerobic at times. But you will get to recover (eventually) when the trail changes directions. These workouts are just some examples of how you can train your body to push the limits for a short period of time, but also to recover quickly so that you are ready for the next tough spot. The faster your heart rate drops back down below Anaerobic Threshold, the faster your bike split will be in the results of your Xterra. And the quicker you can push through that first mile-long climb of the run while you are wishing that you would get struck by lightning to save you from the pain in your legs and gut. (First timers, don’t worry! For some odd reason, we all have forgotten about this pain by the time we are signing up for our next Xterra. It’s like magic!)

Time for your Spring Bike Tune-Up! But What does your Bike really need?

Daylight savings just flipped to “exercising-after-work-mode”, and spring is right around the corner. Depending upon where you live, you may be looking forward to regular outdoor bicycle rides again for the first time in a while. But before you buckle up that helmet, now is the time of year to ask yourself a question: what has your bike been doing all winter?

With a few exceptions, the answer is usually one of three things, or a combination:
1) Hibernating
2) Being ridden like normal
3) Sitting on a trainer

And each has it’s own unique set of springtime steps to take in order to keep your trusty steed running like new.

Every bicycle needs routine maintenance. A spring tune-up is never a bad idea. But your bike’s specific needs are determined by the answer to the above question. How has winter been treating you? Here are some great tips for each scenario – they may not cover everything, but generally speaking, they’ll get you back on the road (or trail) in good shape.

Scenario 1: Hibernating
Maybe you’re not a “die-hard”. Maybe the weather around you just plain stinks in the wintertime. Whatever the reason, your saddle hasn’t seen a butt in a few months. Contrary to many cyclists’ intuition, this is actually the least troubling scenario. Off the bat, your bike will need 3 main things:
1) A cleaning (or dusting) especially of any “soft” parts like saddles, cable housing, and anything else plastic or rubber. These tend to dry out, and a protective product like “Armor-All” is a good trade secret.
2) You will need to clean and lube your chain. Apply a healthier than typical amount of a lubricant appropriate to your climate and riding type. The trade secret here: pretend that was a HUGE mistake. Do everything you can to wipe it all off. The rag you use should be filthy. Then, repeat the process.
3) Air up your tires. This seems like a silly recommendation. Most of us do this weekly. But as a mechanic, I can’t tell you how many cyclists have come to me for their Spring Tune-ups having already bought new tubes to fix their “flats”. Tubes lose air over time, but there is nothing wrong with them. Just air them back up.

Scenario 2:
Being ridden like normalLucky you. Or possibly “Persistent you.” Either way, if your bicycle doesn’t take the winter off, then everything about its maintenance is routine. However, the conditions in which you have been riding may have been less than ideal. If you live in Hawaii, get a spring tune-up and enjoy some P.O.G. juice. If you live anywhere else and were still riding all winter, your bike has had to withstand some slightly tougher conditions. Here are some tips:
1) In addition to your standard tune-up, you will want to pay some special attention to the lower parts of your bike. Hubs, bottom brackets, and derailleurs are much more prone to getting splashed and covered in winter road grime during the colder months.
2) If you live somewhere that uses chemicals or gravel on the roads to melt snow, you or your mechanic should take a very close look at your tires. Inspect them for cuts or gashes in the tread. Also look for sidewalls that may appear dry or cracked. It might be time for new tires, or you might be able to rotate the front and the back to maximize their life.
3) Cables and housing deserve a spotlight here – make sure your shifting is still smooth and that your brakes (especially the rear brake) retract quickly and smoothly when you release the lever. If the small piece of housing curling down into your rear derailleur has had magnesium chloride splashed on it for 3 months, you can count on much better shifting after replacing it.

Scenario 3: Sitting on a trainer
It can be painful to admit it, but this is the most common answer to the question, and it is also the worst for your bicycle. When you approach your mechanic this spring, you may want to use the word “overhaul” in place of “tune-up.” Human sweat is more corrosive than any of us would like to know. It’s worth the effort to open up, clean, and re-grease everything. Here are some tips:
1) Your headset is the primary target for sweat. It makes sense – it’s been right below your nose all winter long. It will need some new grease.
2) Your bottom bracket is the next to take a hit – the reasons are a little gross. Sweat runs down your seatpost – literally right through the “perineum relief cutout” that you may have in your saddle, and it pools at your bottom bracket. It will need to be removed and re-greased.
3) It is a good idea to remove many of the bolts on your bike and lube the threads. This is extra important for your stem bolts (again, always getting sweaty), your seatpost clamp bolt, and the bolts holding your water bottle cages. Have you ever removed a bolt to have it squeak when you turn it, and then find a white powder coating the bolt? That’s sweat corrosion. Trade secret: do not smell the bolt. It won’t be pleasant.
4) Take a VERY close look at your rear tire. An unfortunate reality is that trainers and rollers are horrible for your rear tire. There are tires specifically made for trainers, and if you have one, you’ll want to put your normal tire back on. If you don’t, it’s highly likely that your rear tire lived 8 of its 9 lives over the winter. Don’t subject yourself to the rash of flats to come – get a new tire if your bike has been on the trainer.

Regardless of what your bike has been doing this winter, it’s worth it to give it a little T.L.C. this spring so that you can get the most out of training now that better weather is upon us. Talk it over with your mechanic – it won’t cost you any extra to say, “Would you mind lubing the threads on my stem and seatpost clamp bolts? My bike’s been on the trainer all winter.”
Now is the time when we get our money’s worth out of our bicycles, so enjoy a well-tuned bike, and enjoy the better weather! Happy training.

Supplements and Endurance SportsThis is the start of a series of articles to cover the ever evolving world of supplements in endurance sports. There are so many supplements in the marketplace each claiming to provide a benefit. I hope I can provide some insight on different supplements and how they may work for you. With some of the claims, you never know if you are truly getting a benefit from what you are currently taking or if you could just be getting taken for a ride by false claims and marketing.

BCAA
Supplementation of the three Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) during exercise has been evaluated as a means to counter peripheral fatigue or central fatigue that impairs physical performance. The possible mechanism is that when consuming BCAA it will reduce the uptake of the amino acid tryptophan from the blood into the brain, which is where the tryptophan is converted to serotonin.

So by lowering the level of serotonin in the blood there helping aid in a reduction in central fatigue. But results showing a performance benefit have been in studies that were flawed either for methodology or not good control. More recently there has been studies that are very well controlled have not shown an exercise performance benefit in humans with BCAA supplementation. For the most part, the jury is really still out on BCAA performance benefits, but there has been some evidence that in conditions such as high altitude they may work.

IronIf you have a shortage of iron in your diet and are an endurance athlete you can be impairing your performance. Iron is an important element in transporting oxygen in the blood and muscles. Having an iron deficiency such as anemia, or a low amount in your diet can weaken your aerobic metabolism by diminishing the amount of oxygen that gets transported to your muscles as well as reducing the capacity at which the muscles can use oxygen for production of energy. It also contributes to you maintaining a healthy immune system, and is required to produce red blood cells.

Endurance athletes have shown they usually have a high loss of iron and will typically have high requirements. Some studies have shown that a male endurance runner may need ~17mg per day and a female ~23mg per day. Females are also at risk to low iron levels due to their menstrual blood loss. Vegetarians could be at risk as well. Consuming Vitamin C rich foods such as fruits or fruit juice will help aid in absorption of iron. Tea and coffee can inhibit absorption of iron. Typically athletes will see an anemic state when they begin training due to the increase of plasma volume in the blood, thus diluting the hemoglobin levels. But this should not affect performance as the body adjusts. If you do not get enough iron in your diet, you may need to take supplementation. Iron supplementation should be taken under medical direction from your physician or a registered dietician.

Whey Protein Protein is definitely an essential nutrient in your diet, especially for an endurance athlete. Protein is needed to help build tissue, cells, and structural proteins in your body. Various sequences of amino acids make up proteins, and some amino acids are used as energy during physical activity. Whey Protein is a by-product of cheese, and is abundant of BCAA. Typically, you will consume enough protein in a proper diet.

However endurance athletes typically have a higher need due to energy loss and recovery. This extra amount will also assist in repair of your muscles and stimulate protein synthesis after exercise. Recovery after each workout or race includes refueling, replenishing, and rehydrating. During exercise you will have protein breakdown, but during recovery it is the opposite, it is protein building (protein synthesis). If you consume protein immediately after exercise you increase your uptake and will help keep you in a positive protein balance. This window of opportunity is usually open for 24 hours post-exercise. Research has shown us that if you consume protein such as whey, combined with carbohydrate it will stimulate more protein uptake and absorption of amino acids. This will help muscle repaid and aid in replenishing your muscle glycogen stores (carbohydrate).

References:1. Biolo, G., S. P. Maggi, B. D. Williams, K. D. Tipton, and R. R. Wolfe (1995). Increased rates of muscle protein turnover and amino acid transport after resistance exercise in humans. Am. J. Physiol. 268: E514-E520.2. Biolo, G., K. D. Tipton, S. Klein, and R. R. Wolfe (1997). An abundant supply of amino acids enhances the metabolic effect of exercise on muscle protein. Am. J. Physiol. 273: E122-E129.3. Davis, J.M., and S.P. Bailey (1997). Possible mechanisms of central nervous system fatigue during exercise. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 29: 45-57.4. Gibala, M.J. (2000). Nutritional supplementation and resistance exercise: What is the evidence for enhanced skeletal muscle hypertrophy? Can. J. Appl. Physiol. 25: 524-536.Gibala, M.J., D.A. MacLean, T.E. Graham, and B. Saltin (1998). Tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediate pool size and estimated cycle flux in human muscle during exercise. Am. J. Physiol. 275: E235-E242. 1998.5. Hargreaves, M. (1997). Interactions between muscle glycogen and blood glucose during exercise. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. 25: 21-39.Hargreaves, M. (2000). Skeletal muscle metabolism during exercise in humans. Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol. 27: 225-228.6. Hargreaves, M., M.J. McKenna, D.G. Jenkins, S.A. Warmington, J.L. Li, R.J. Snow, and M.A. Febbraio (1998). Muscle metabolites and performance during high-intensity, intermittent exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 84: 1687-1691.7. MacLean, D.A., T.E. Graham, and B. Saltin (1996). Stimulation of muscle ammonia production during exercise following branched-chain amino acid supplementation in humans. J. Physiol. 493: 909-922.8. Meredith, C.N., M.J. Zackin, W.J. Frontera, and W.J. Evans (1989). Dietary protein requirements and body protein metabolism in endurance-trained men. J. Appl. Physiol. 66: 2850-2856.9. Rasmussen, B.B., K.D. Tipton, S.L. Miller, S.E. Wolf, and R.R. Wolfe (2000). An oral essential amino acid-carbohydrate supplement enhances muscle protein anabolism after resistance exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 88: 386-392.10. Rennie, M.J., and K.D. Tipton (2000). Protein and amino acid metabolism during and after resistance exercise and the effects of nutrition. Ann. Rev. Nutr. 20: 457-483.11. Tarnopolsky, M.A. (1999). Protein metabolism in strength and endurance activities. In: D.R. Lamb and R. Murray (eds). Perspectives in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Vol. 12, The Metabolic Basis of Performance in Exercise and Sport. Carmel, IN: Cooper Publishing Group, pp. 125-157.12. Tarnopolsky, M.A., J.D. MacDougall, and S.A. Atkinson (1988). Influence of protein intake and training status on nitrogen balance and lean body mass. J. Appl. Physiol. 64: 187-193.13. Tipton, K. D., A. A. Ferrando, S. M. Phillips, D. Doyle, Jr., and R. R. Wolfe (1999). Postexercise net protein synthesis in human muscle from orally administered amino acids. Am. J. Physiol. 276: E628-E634.14. Tipton, K. D., A. A. Ferrando, B. D. Williams, and R. R. Wolfe (1996). Muscle protein metabolism in female swimmers after a combination of resistance and endurance exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 81: 2034-2038.15. Tipton, K. D., B. E. Gurkin, S. Matin, and R. R. Wolfe (1999). Nonessential amino acids are not necessary to stimulate net muscle protein synthesis in healthy volunteers. J. Nutr. Biochem. 10: 89-95.16. Van Hall, G., J.S.H. Raaymakers, W.H.M. Saris, and A.J.M. Wagenmakers (1995). Ingestion of branched-chain amino acids and tryptophan during sustained exercise in man: failure to affect performance. J. Physiol. 486: 789-794, 1995.17. Wagenmakers, A.J.M. (1999). Nutritional supplements: Effects on exercise performance and metabolism. In: D. R. Lamb and R. Murray (eds.) Perspectives in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Vol. 12, The Metabolic Basis of Performance in Exercise and Sport. Carmel, IN: Cooper Publishing Group, pp. 207-260.
About Nick Suffredin:Professional:Previously I was an Associate Scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI).

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My primary responsibility was to support the GSSI physiology research program. I assisted with laboratory-based research projects focused on product efficacy and innovation to stay up to date on the emerging science in sports nutrition as it relates to physiological and performance responses. I primarily worked in the Human Performance Laboratory incorporating components such as sports nutrition, sport psychology, exercise physiology, motor behavior, biomechanics, and strength and conditioning. I also worked on testing elite professional athletes to enhance their hydration practices and nutrition intake to improve their performance. I was involved with research where I helped lead and design projects involving exercise/muscle recovery, exercise/athletic performance, carbohydrate metabolism, rehydration and dehydration, stress testing, body composition, gastric emptying, sensory perception, along with aerobic and anaerobic performance testing. I have been on human performance advisory boards to ensure and improve quality exercise programs and nutritional assessments with clear communication involving proper training and education.
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Education:Originally I am from the suburbs of Chicago. I received his undergraduate degree in Movement Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago. After graduation I began an internship at GSSI where he helped assess the physiological and metabolic responses to fluid and nutrient intake before, during, and after exercise. I am currently working to earn my M.S. in human nutrition and food science with concentrations in sports nutrition and metabolism and then an M.S. in Applied Exercise Physiology with a concentration in thermoregulation.

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Personal:I am married to my beautiful wife Melanie who also shares my passion with endurance sports and coaching. I was a collegiate athlete playing men’s varsity soccer. In my leisure time I am a competitive runner while also enjoying weightlifting, and playing soccer. I have coached elite endurance athletes along with providing them nutrition guidelines to follow.

Flat tires happen and sooner or later, you'll get one. Here are a few easy tips to get your tire changed and get you back on the road.

1. Get off the road, or off the trail, out of traffic. Find a safe place.
2. Release the brake.
3. If it is rear wheel, shift to smallest cog on back. (Makes it easier to put wheel back on.)
4. Remove the wheel from the bike.
5. Check tire for obvious foreign articles, nails, tacks, thorns, etc. Remove as necessary.
6. Remove tire from rim. Can use tire levers to remove ½ of tire, or remove entire tire.
7. Remove tube from tire.
8. Carefully run fingers around inside of tire to find foreign objects. Remove any that are found.
9. If hole in tire is larger than about 1mm, place a glue-less patch over the hole on the inside of the tire to help seal the hole. This will prevent the new tube from pushing through the small hole when the tire is inflated to high pressure. (Probably should replace the tire when you get home.)
10. Put a little air in the new tube. Just enough so it will hold its shape.
11. Put the new tube in the tire (or in the ½ of the tire still on the rim).
12. Carefully put the tire back on the rim, being ESPECIALLY CAREFUL NOT TO PINCH the new tube between the rim and the side of the tire.
13. Once the tire is on, push the valve stem into the tire, make sure the tire is seated on the rim at this spot, and then pull the valve stem back out.
14. Inspect both sides of the tire and make sure it is seated fully into the rim all the way around.
15. Inflate the tire a little. Make sure the tire looks seated all the way around on both sides, then fully inflate the tire.
16. Put the wheel back on the bike. Make sure it is centered and straight with the frame of the bike
17. Close the brake or re-attach as needed.
18. Pick up old tube, any tools, trash, etc and securely stow them.

Enjoy the rest of your ride and when you get home look at your tire to see if it needs to be replaced. Be safe out there!    

A good transition can be defined many ways by many people, so before you decide what a good transition is, consider what your goals for transition are. My goal is for it to be EASY. Of course I want it to be fast, but first and foremost, transition is a time for you to let yourself recover, if only just for a few seconds, to let your heart rate come down and to change your mindset for a new sport segment. For a transition to be easy, it should be well planned ahead of time, perhaps even practiced physically and mentally. Everything needs to be in place so when you get there, you don’t have to think – you just DO. So this means that your transition area needs to be set up and well thought out.

For this article, I’m going to stick to traditional triathlon transitions, but I think most of the concepts will apply to other sports as well. So, when you come out of the water, what will you need for your bike ride?? This leads me to the two most frequent questions that I hear from triathletes – “What do you wear??” And “What do you eat?” These two questions need to be answered weeks before your event. I won’t get into all of the specifics what to eat and what to wear here, but you should certainly put some time into this.

OK, so now you’ve decided what you need for your ride: your bike, your cycling shoes, a helmet, sunglasses, water bottles, some food, materials for a mechanical problem, your camera… OK, this seems complicated… So let’s make it easy!! All of this STUFF should be attached to one of 2 things – YOU or YOUR BIKE! Your shoes and helmet will be attached to you. Your water bottles should be attached to your bike. And your food and riding flat kit can be in a saddle bag, bento box or something else, preferably attached to the bike. Other items, like your sunglasses should be IN your helmet or your shoes so you don’t have to think to remember them – they are right there. Your helmet should be on your handlebars or on top of your shoes so again – no thinking, just doing.

SO, now you’ve got your set up, here’s how it goes – you exit the water, remove your wetsuit (while running or after you get to your bike). Once you get to your spot, you put on your helmet and BUCKLE IT, put on sunglasses and maybe your shoes, and you go. It should be THAT simple. OK, so removing your wetsuit sometimes is difficult and takes a while – PRACTICE that AT HOME in your bathroom. I know it’s even worse to put it on when it’s wet, but PRACTICE taking it off as many times as you can. By now, you should be able to close your eyes and visualize yourself coming out of the water and going through an easy transition.

Here are a few additional hints for T1: When you exit the water, try putting your goggles up on your head instead of removing them completely – they are easy to drop. Sometimes the run is long and if you get hot, or if your suit gets too dry, it will be more difficult to get off, so you might try getting it at least partially off while running. If it is a large transition area, you might want to have your spot marked with some chalk, a bright towel on the ground, or something else to help catch your eye. Another important point is to make sure that your bike is in an appropriate gear. You don’t want to start an uphill course on your hardest gear. So you’re off and BIKING!
Now you want to be prepared for T2. So go through what you will need for the RUN. Shoes, socks, hat, number belt water bottle, or fuel belt, gel… again, this seems to be getting too complicated! One thing to remember is really to only bring what you need. This means that if there are water stations on the run at every mile, you don’t need to bring your own water. On the other hand, if they will ONLY have water and you feel you’ll need an electrolyte drink, you might want to bring that along with you! So don’t forget to check what will be available on the course.One strategy is to lay everything you’ll need on TOP of, or IN your running shoes so you CAN’T forget it. So T2 should go like this – Dismount your bike, rack your bike, remove your helmet, change your shoes and begin running while putting your hat on and your number around your waist. Again, KEEP IT SIMPLE. T2 is usually much easier than T1. This is probably because you’re not dealing with wet clothing and complicated equipment.

So how else can we make these transitions faster and easier? Keep your transition area simple – put your bag and other stuff back in your car. You don’t need to have extra stuff to trip over or complicate things. My last suggestion is to do a walk through on race morning. Once everything is set up, your bike is racked, your transition is READY to GO, head to the area where the swim exit is. Walk through where you’ll exit the water, where you’ll enter transition, go to your spot – is there more than one route to get there? Find your bike, put on your helmet, pretend to put on shoes and grab your bike. Head to the bike exit – which is the EASIEST path to get there? Come back to the bike IN area and find the easiest way to your rack.

Pretend to rack your bike, remove your helmet. Put on everything you need for the run. Then put everything BACK exactly as you had it ☺. You might be able to check this all out the day before the race, but if not, race morning is fine. You might also think – this walk through is only for people who want to be really fast, but the truth is that it will really help you to be less nervous when it’s your turn to actually do it.

So what is a Good Transition? An easy, simple one! A transition that runs seamlessly and without frustration or nerves, and one that allows you to relax while doing it. This means it has to be almost second nature. The good thing is that you can prepare every day! You can practice physically a few times, then you can go over everything MENTALLY every day if you want. I tend to “practice” a few times a day for several days before a race. Practice, and ENJOY!!!

Coach Julia’s Transitions Checklist
• Tires Full
• Bike Mechanical Check on site
• Computer mounted and reset
• Fuel on bike
• Water bottles full and on bike
• Chamois cream and sunscreen on me
• Glasses in helmet
• Shoes on or near bike

T2 Checklist
• Racing flats ready – powder and body glide
• Visor or hat
• Race # belt
• Gel/ fuel in shoes

Race Ready
• Remove EVERYTHING ELSE from TRANSITION
• Wetsuit, Body Glide, Sunscreen, Cap and Goggles with you
• Shoes in transition
• Check TA, Swim In, Bike Out, Bike In, Run Out.
• Double check start time
• RELAX!!

We’ve all caught word of the gluten-free craze. First the Atkins’ diet, and now this, right? Not so fast! Eating a gluten-free diet might be news to us, but gluten-free foods have been eaten the world over for centuries and they fill much larger nutritional shoes than many of their gluten-rich, carbohydrate dense counterparts. Not to mention, they can be a delicious way to mix up your training fuel sources, and take your weeknight meals from same-old to super.

We athletes know our carbs, and the un-prepared, un-recovered, bonked out pile of mess that we become without them. Most often, this means eating some form of wheat – wheat flour, wheat bran, and rye, all prevalent in our favorite breads, and farina, bulgur, couscous, semolina and durum found in pastas and quick processed meals. All of these contain gluten, the protein-packed portion of grain that give bread its elasticity. Gluten pops up in processed foods as well as a “thickener,” “filler,” and “hydrolyzed vegetable protein.” Read your labels and you’ll find that gluten appears all over an athlete’s training diet. What ever happened to too much of a good thing?

While research has yet to confirm that there are dietary detriments, or a direct link to gluten-intolerance, everyone agrees that variety is the spice of life, and nothing could be more boring than the same old strands of wheat pasta, whole-grain wheat breads, and bowls of oatmeal. Enter gluten-free grains, so much more than their pretty faces, interesting international histories, and exotic names would suggest. Quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, teff, millet, sorghum, and rice – all nutritional powerhouses that are excellent sources of carbohydrates and protein, as well as vital trace minerals making them perfect staples in the diet of endurance athletes, and all without the aid of gluten.

Quinoa, dubbed the “mother grain” for its nearly perfectly complete nutritional profile, is one of the only plant foods that is a complete protein, containing all of the amino acids in a healthy balance. It has a higher ratio of protein to carbohydrates, is high in potassium, and comes in over 120 varieties, each with its own distinct flavor profile. Millet is a staple grain used in India and China, contains high amounts of fiber, protein and mineral value, specifically iron and magnesium. Its also an alkaline food, making it easy to digest and optimal fuel for athletes and others. Teff, a type of millet grown most frequently in Africa, has over twice the iron of other grains and three times the calcium.

The best way to reap the benefits of these super-foods is to cook and bake from scratch – but this doesn’t mean taking hours to prepare a meal or to bake a pan of after-ride brownies. Your local grocers’ bulk section is a great place to start, one ingredient at a time. Most of gluten-free grains take only minutes to cook in boiling water – quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat are great tossed into salads, or mixed with veggies and beans for fast and portable lunch. Gluten-free flours made of teff and buckwheat, and grains such as millet can be added to baked goods without any preparation, filling in for traditional flour with taste, texture, and making that pan of brownies guilt-free (and even a better choice than your favorite nutrition bar!)
Below are a few recipes to dip your toes into the world of gluten-free grains. Fuel up and ride on!

For more information about gluten-free grains, their nutritional value, and recipes to incorporate them seamlessly into your repertoire visit:https://www.wholegrainscouncil.org

Gluten-Free Mighty Granola
This vegan recipe has replaced my old favorite that was laden with oats, sugar and oil. The protein, power, and lack of sweetner in this recipe make it uber-versatile; I like to enjoy it as a hearty breakfast with yogurt or soy milk and fruit, or as a snack in mid-day.
(adapted from “Elana’s Pantry” recipe for Gluten Free Granola)
2 c almonds1 c millet
1 c pumpkin seeds
1 c raisins
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 c goji berries (or your other favorite dried fruit)
1 c shredded coconut

1. Place the almonds, millet, and pumpkin seeds in an appropriate bowl and just cover with water. Soak overnight
2. Place the raisins in water (about 1 cup) and soak overnight.
3. Once the raisins are hydrated, place them and their water in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until pureed.
4. .In a fine mesh sieve, or strainer, drain the millet mixture of its water. Add to the raisin puree in the food processor and pulse till the texture of granola. Mix in the coconut and goji berries.
5. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and transfer the mixture to the sheets. You want to be sure that the granola is not in a pile or else it will not dehydrate properly. Try to place the cereal in a single layer that can be stirred easily. Otherwise, bake in batches.
6. BAKE:
For “live” granola, bake the granola overnight in the oven until dehydrated. For baked granola, dehydrate for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The granola is done when it is slightly crisp, but not burned. Depending on your oven, this might mean an hour etc. If this is the case, its ok to bump up the temperature a bit, just don’t burn!
7. ENJOY!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe is a special favorite – hiding fruit puree, coconut oil (known for its aid in digestion, antibacterial and anti-inflamatory properties) and packing the punch of Omega-3 fatty acids from flax, and zero refined sugars and the protein of garbanzo, fava, and sorghum the flour mixture in a convenient chocolate studded snack. These occasionally come along as a mid-ride treat.
1 cup coconut oil, in solid state
6 tbsp ripe banana
1 1/4 Tbsp soy, rice, or almond milk
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vanilla extract
11/4 cups evaporated cane juice
2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Mix
1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup vegan white chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 325F degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of an stand mixer, or in a bowl large enough to accommodate an electric hand mixer, combine the oil, banana milk, salt and evaporated cane juice and mix until as smooth as possible. (Small lumps are ok, but pretend you are creaming the oil with the sugar…you want homogenous!)
3. In another medium sized bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, flax, baking soda and xanthan gum.
4. Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until a grainy dough is formed. Then, mix in the white chocolate chips.
5. With a melon baller, or ice cream scoop, portion out the cookie dough onto the prepared pans, about 1 inch apart. Press the cookies lightly with your palm to help them spread.
6. Bake the cookies on the center rack of the oven for 15 minutes, rotating the pan after 7 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the edges brown nicely. Let the cookies stand on the sheets for 10 minutes before using a spatula to remove them. Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to three days!

He was doing his best to keep from breaking down, but the tears filled his eyes, the emotions were raw and he was lost. “Whatever I do it’s never good enough”… was what he uttered, but the pain in his body was palpable. His name was Kyle – Wolfie to his teammates. He just turned 12. He was a gifted goalie – rated number one in the state, and he was playing competitive hockey for a AAA team engaged in a travel schedule as busy as the local Division I team. For him, the pressure was over-the-top. Not just because the competition was intense, which it was, but he was afraid to let his hero down.In tonight’s game, he’d let in a good goal on a 2-on-1 breakaway when the save rebounded in the wrong direction. His team won, and they celebrated, but he’d lost the shut-out and he was sure to hear about it. The pressure to please his father had even hurt his game because he found himself losing focus on the ice by glancing in his dad’s direction…hoping for a smile or a “thumbs up”…or anything other than the frown he saw much of the time. But then, the glare was nothing compared to getting reamed. One time he almost threw up when his dad had screamed in his face like a drill sergeant he’d seen in the movies. Boy! He hated that.

Hockey is as intense a game as there is. Hockey ‘moms’ and ‘dads’ are known to be passionate. But this behavior is so over-the-top, it’s also risky.

Putting Things in Perspective
Kyle was referred to me by his goalie coach. He had witnessed some of his dad’s critical behavior, and, he had noticed that Kyle was losing some of his snap… seemed distracted and wasn’t playing up to his potential.

As it turns out, Kyle’s Dad came from a family where much of the pressure to perform rested on his shoulders. He played linebacker on his Varsity Football team and readily confessed to me an experience that gave me hope for this father-son duo. The story goes like this:
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In an important game he’d played against a league rival, he had registered 13 unassisted tackles, 2 more assists, defended a pass in coverage, knocked down a pass on a blitz, caused an opponent to fumble and generally wreaked havoc on the opposing team’s offense. At the end of the game he remembered his dad fixating on one play….one where he had taken the fake on a reverse play and lost contain. It resulted in an 8 yard gain for their rivals. Geez, a game like that and the only thing his dad could talk about after the game was him blowing that play.
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Parental behavior like this is emotionally abusive and it easily runs from generation to generation. Too many parents from the mold of this scenario consider me one of those ‘touchy feely’ types. They fail to recognize the impact of their behavior on their children – and – they tend to discount feedback from “others” who might weigh-in on “their” situation. That often includes coaches, teachers, other parents who witness the abuse….worse still….even when that other person is their spouse. Parents like this listen to no one, and as such, they often undermine their athletes’ coaches.

Priority One: Becoming Aware – Recognizing Where Passion Stops and Abuse Begins
Truth be told, this kind of situation exists more often than any of us would like to admit. And those passionate about their sport have not only seen it, but likely been a guilty party themselves once or twice. The gut check required to get this pattern under control is not for sissies. And that’s why so many continue to perpetuate the tribulations of abuse.

People who have difficulty with boundaries are at greatest risk. It’s probably been a factor elsewhere in their life, but when it involves a child learning, and growing and becoming – there is more at risk. Rather than helping the child athlete discover for themselves what coaches are trained to teach them, these parents tend to take over. They might not even communicate their thoughts with the coach – but they don’t hesitate to put forward their opinions at home. What’s worse is that parents like this often don’t have enough insight to recognize their own limitations. In extreme cases, they treat their child athlete like a possession where they alone control their child’s experiences.

If I were to tell parents like this their kids will likely drop out of sport in rebellion, or find really dysfunctional ways to get by – they’d deny it. But the fact is: When the fear of reprisal, discouragement and disappointment expressed by one or both parents – outweigh the joy of ‘team’ cohesion, sense of accomplishment and personal pride in seeing your game improve – the formula gets so far out of balance that there isn’t enough to play for. By the time an athlete stops having fun and starts to think that what they do “is never good enough” – they’re in trouble. It is incumbent on every coach, trainer, manager, league administrator and parent to be attuned to situations like this and do their best to prevent it. Why? Because they can…and…if they don’t try – they become part of the problem.

The Styles of Parenting Continuum
Imagine six parents, each with a different parenting style, sitting in the dentist’s waiting room with their six children. The kids are running wild, acting out, and getting into trouble. Here’s what the parents might say and do:
• The abusive parent says, “Get your ugly butt over here you stupid little creep!” (smacks, screams, tears).
• The conditional parent says, “I can’t believe you would behave like this, you’re embarrassing me, we’re leaving. I told you we were going to go get ice cream later but I changed my mind. You won’t be having ice cream for three weeks!”
• The assertive parent says, “Sarah, this behavior is out of line. Sit down right next to me. Now please. And now might be a good time to start that homework you brought.”
• The supportive parent says, “Tommy, what’s up? You can’t behave like that, honey. Please sit down now. Are you bored? I brought your book and some stuff to play with.”
• The indulgent parent says, “Ah, let them run, they’re just kids having a good time.”
• The neglectful parent says, well, nothing. The neglectful parent doesn’t notice his kid; he’s too busy reading People Magazine.Child Development – How Point-of-View and Experience Contribute

The Emerging Adult – “Learning the Best Practices in Life”3) Kids Learn through Experimentation:During the adolescent years, each child’s brain experiences a surge in development. The powers of logic, understanding, recognition of exceptions to the rule, subtleties that can determine the fine line between success and failure – are all established. The process of integration makes big strides in the teen years.

This process of maturation affects every part of the person physically, emotionally, socially and morally. The adult part of the personality is the one we hope every child develops through maturity, with the positive experiences and knowledgeable tutelage of great parents, coaches, teachers, team captains and leaders of all kinds. Ultimately, one can learn to mitigate all manner of experiences in life – and balance the influences from our parents (good or bad) as well as the lessons experienced through interacting with the universe in a positive way – or not.

If the adult part of our personality develops properly our children will grow to be both capable and lovable – competent people, great partners & teammates and good citizens. If it doesn’t…our children may mature with an unbalanced personality. Perhaps the dysfunctional side of the critical parent will manifest – driven by anger and unrealistic expectations for what a 12 year old should be able to do. Hence, we meet Kyle’s dad.

Helicopter moms, doormat personalities, good time Charlie’s and all manner of dysfunctional people become that way for myriad of influences both genetic and experiential. Hence, learning becomes paramount and as the gatekeepers to our children’s early life experiences – parents set the bar.
Skill building is huge and specific training regimens are key to facilitating success. During these early adolescent years athletes learn to train. They learn the benefit of hard work and they begin to experiment with every aspect of their work ethic. Some will go all-out-all-of-the-time. Some will “fake it” because it looks alright on the outside, but on the inside they feel like they are getting away with being lazy.

It is the internal recognition of effort and execution that registers the true value of training – whether in academics or learning a slap shot. Malcolm Gladwell illustrates in hundreds of ways how those who succeed and master an endeavor will train upwards of 10,000 hours to achieve that success. Young adolescents are at the stage where they are learning to train – older adolescents are learning to win.

As parents, coaches and mentors of athletes at every age – how we approach our athletes makes a big difference. For when we act “in the best interests” of our athletes – we will do the right thing more often than not. Below are some guidelines designed to help parents do a better job…giving their child athletes a better opportunity for success at every level.
Top 10 List of Things Parents Can Do to Raise a Healthy Happy Athlete
1.) FIRST & FOREMOST – DO NO HARM! It can be a pretty helpless feeling when you are watching your kid in the trenches, especially if you’ve got a lot of playing experience yourself. However, criticism – expressions of anger – negativity – including unsolicited coaching tips are likely to be counterproductive – and can undermine your athletes’ coach. Yelling, taunting, and intimidation of any kind is expressly discouraged. Parents who do so are being abusive and engaging in behavior likely to be harmful to their child athlete.
2.) DISCHARGE YOUR EMOTIONS IN A POSITIVE WAY. No one expects you to observe without being fully engaged…but what you do with those emotions is important and requires care. Just as your child athlete has assignments and a defined role on the field they are expected to practice – you have an assignment and defined role as a spectator, and as supportive parent. PRACTICE BEING A SUPPORTIVE SPECTATOR. I’m a proponent of engaged parents getting in involved productively – keep notes of key events in the game, find an official way to help…keep stats for the team, etc. If you’ve got something productive to do during a contest – your thinking will be channeled in a positive direction.
3.) WRITE A GAME SUMMARY after the contest. Keep it positive. Remember, these athletes are developing skills at EVERY level. Key events, clock usage, reviews of stats, productive assessment of the competition, productive assessment of your team’s strengths and weaknesses can help. These are to be provided to the COACH. Remember to make them as objective as possible. These are observations of what happened. (If you make an interpretation – put the notes in parentheses and label them as your personal point of view.) You can show this to the coach and ask them if this type of summary is helpful. If it is, you now have a job supportive to the coach AND the team. If your son or daughter wants to see the summary – it should be neutral enough for every player on the team to benefit from. If your child WANTS you to write a summary of THEIR play – ASK them what they would want you to include in it. Then it will truly be a resource FOR them.
4.) IN PARENTING an athlete CONSIDER THEIR ABILITY LEVEL & WILLINGNESS TO LEARN. If your athlete is not sure how to do something – ask the coach if they have a drill, video, or recommended mentor your athlete can work with on developing the skills in question. If your athlete has ability but isn’t willing to put in the training time to master a skill – you can not do it for them. You can support them by playing with them…offering practice opportunities…look for position coaches who specialize in those skills…show highlights of pros YOUR athlete admires who put in the time and got the results.
Rule of thumb: If your athlete wants to learn but doesn’t know how – they need direction. If your athlete is able but not willing (lazy, poor practice habits, inattentive) – they need support. Think FUNdamentals: If they aren’t having FUN they won’t want to learn. If you are on their case about it, they may become even LESS motivated (remember the rebellious child and adolescence.) Others are likely to be able to encourage and restore the FUN in mastering those skills – AND – Once that momentum is established in your athlete’s training regimen – you can rest a bit because your child’s motivation has been tapped. Intrinsic motivation is huge – and – it is the birthplace of our love of sport.
5.) BE POSITIVE FOLLOWING COMPETITIONS. Emphasize the effort. Emphasize the fun. If your athlete is upset, it is likely best to WAIT awhile before talking about at contest. When the timing is right you can empathize and compassionately acknowledge how it’s sometimes hard to put in a great effort and not get the desired outcome…but always positively recognize the EFFORT and any other positives you can offer up. A great game is a great game even if your team comes up short. We tend to learn more when challenged to the max.
6.) LONG AFTER a contest (hours) you can ASK YOUR ATHLETE if they would like some FEEDBACK. IF they DO – ASK THEM WHEN. Make an appointment. They will have had time to process it some, and, so will you. This will take much of the emotion out of the exchange….so the focus can remain on lessons learned, skills applied, and highlights to feel good about. BE POSITIVE – Very important.
7.) PICK NO MORE THAN 1-2 POINTS TO REVIEW. ALWAYS START WITH POSITIVE OBSERVATIONS (both general and specific.) Ask your athlete how they experienced the contest in the trenches. What did they notice? What were they focused on doing? Did they have a specific emphasis or skill they were working on? What was the game plan? These kinds of questions allow you to collaborate with your athlete and understand THEIR EXPERIENCE of the contest. If they get defensive at all – drop it immediately – because you will lose and your child will lose the gains you’ve made in establishing a collaborative exchange. If they are confused about something, make a note to tell the coach…or better yet…if your athlete is developing the kind of confidence and personal motivation to be successful – let them experiment with you on HOW to ask the coach for extra help.
8.) LOOK AROUND FOR WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR ATHLETE. If you are reading this you have already done so. If they need help with conditioning – strength training – or speed and agility – give them the opportunity to train with an expert. If they are unfocused or experience anxiety and you can see that it interferes with play offer them a consultation with a sport psychologist. Consider a nutritionist, take them to a clinic or talk, let them see what adult athletes do to better prepare themselves for competition. Look for readings that will help your athlete learn and grow. These things will help you both – and – reinforce the collaboration you are developing.
9.) TREAT INJURIES WITH COMPASSION AND TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY. When dealing with an injury of any kind – be earnest about it. Examine the part of the body your athlete is complaining about. Look for swelling, make sure the joint is articulating properly, clean cuts and abrasions, and, do first aid if there is no trainer available. Find a trainer if you need one. No matter how old the athlete this piece is important. Even if you think your child is exaggerating – this might be an important learning opportunity for them – or – they may be expressing a symptom of over training and under recovery. Be thoughtful. Ask questions. Yes, we all want to learn mental toughness, but NOT when an injury needs to be checked out. The important part is focusing on the recovery, being positive and encouraging proper self-care. Balance is key and remembering the functional side of the nurturing parent can help. The goal is to properly evaluate the problem, provide the best practices in recovery, and get back to the fun part – playing.
10.) PLAY WITH THEM WHENEVER YOU CAN. Remember to play – not necessarily to compete – but because it is FUN for them and you. FUNdamentals are mastered through this kind of practice. Not only will it help your family bond, but your athlete will appreciate your attitude – learn to love fitness – and enjoy the fact that you are proud and interested in helping them develop their skills and talents as far as they can go.
I hope that this article has been helpful and provided some good insights into athlete parenting. Look to www.AdvanceMyAthlete.com for further applications of the best principles of applied sport psychology for you and your child. Further information on this and other sport psychology topics are available at www.PodiumSportsJournal.com or at the web site of the author: www.drstephenwalker.com.

References and Resources:1) Fraser-Thomas, J., Cote, J., Deakin, J. (2008) Examining Adolescent Sport Dropout and Prolonged Engagement from a Developmental Perspective, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20:3 pgs 318-324, Routledge Press.2) Davis, N., Meyer, B.B., (2008) When Sibling Becomes Competitor: A Qualitative Investigation of Same-Sex Sibling Competition in Elite Sport, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20:2 pgs 220-236, Routledge Press.3) Berne, E., (1992), Games People Play, Ballantine-Random House Books, NY.4) To take a survey on parenting styles to see where you might land on the continuum click here: https://pediatrics.about.com/cs/quizzes/l/bl_prnt_style.htm5) Gladwell, M., (2008), Outliers, The Story of Success, Little Brown & Co., New York, NY.6) Mecklenburg, K., (2009), Heart of a Student Athlete, All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families, Booksurge Press, Denver, Co.7) Vealey, R.S., (2005), Coaching for the Inner Edge, Fitness Information Technology – Division International Center for Performance Excellence, Morgantown, WV.8) Ripken, C., Wolff, R., (2006), Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way, Ensuring the Best Experience for Your Kids in Any Sport, Gotham Books, New York, NY.9) Smith, R.E., (1989), The Parent’s Complete Guide to Youth Sports, AAPHERD Publications, Waldorf, MD.10) Perconte, J.S., (2007) Raising an Athlete, How to Instill Confidence, Build Skills, and Inspire a Love for Sport, PositiveParentinginSports.com.11) Links: https://www.asep.com/parents/index.cfm
https://www.educ.msu.edu/ysi/forparents.htm
https://www.podiumsportsjournal.com/parenting-competitive-kids

About the Author: Dr. Stephen Walker

“My Goal is to help you achieve more joythrough improved performance and better health.”
In the field of sport and performance psychology, Stephen Walker began his work at the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Colorado and for 19 years worked to develop the use of mental conditioning skills with athletes from the CU Golf, Track & Field and Cross Country teams. He has interviewed many of the world’s finest athletes (both professional and Olympic), and worked with accomplished athletes at many different levels of sport. These include little leaguers to seasoned professionals recognized world wide. He particularly enjoys helping to support both the parents and their promising young athletes as they strive to realize their potential. His innovative program called Brain Tough™ focuses each athlete on developing the reps and sets for skills essential to achieving competence and mastery in mental conditioning. He has trained with and studied elite coaches and sport psychologists over the past several years culminating in his role as Editor-in-Chief of Podium Sports Journal: The Journal of Mental Conditioning available at www.PodiumSportsJournal.com.
Dr. Walker’s background, skill sets, personality, good humor, and caring nature have attracted athletes and other motivated people seeking to achieve their goals more quickly and efficiently. He is certified by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, is a member of the United States Olympic Committee’s Registry of Sport Psychologists and Division 47 of the American Psychological Association. He is the founder of Health & Sport Performance Associates, an interdisciplinary consulting group providing counseling assistance, clinical support and performance driven personal coaching services, seminars, workshops and clinics to individuals, teams, and business groups in and around Boulder County and Colorado. Outside of his consulting work, Dr. Walker is an accomplished public speaker and facilitator of clinics and corporate workshops.
For more information contact Dr. Walker:
Stephen E. Walker, Ph.D.5829 Niwot RoadLongmont, ColoradoPhone: 303.530.4439 fax: 303.530.4643Email: Walker544@comcast.netWeb site: www.drstephenwalker.comBe sure to visit: www.PodiumSportsJournal.com