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Triathlon Injuries: 3 most common and 2 treatments

January 24, 2019

Training for top level performance in Ironman, injuries are inevitable but there is a lot we can do to prevent injuries from occurring. So many of us focus on simply swim bike run and neglect the little things that can make sure we do not break down.

When we focus on simply endurance training little problems can be developing below the surface like a time-bomb waiting to explode. This is normally in the guise of tight muscles or stiff joints.

The problem we face as athletes is the body is extremely adaptive and will compensate for any tightness by using different muscles to perform required movements – the result is we do not notice the problem as it is occurring and then it builds to a point and we get a sudden breakdown.

So how do we prevent this from happening?

Firstly I would advise at the start of any new season having a full movement screen by an experienced coach or physiotherapist – they should be checking all basic movements are correct and the correct muscles are working and no underlying tightness is present. From a screen like this you should be able to go away with a set of exercises to address any problems or if all is ok you have a bench mark to work from in case anything does come up during the season.

This option will not be available for everyone and can be quite costly, so how do we check ourselves?

While it is not possible to do a full check we can certainly go through some basic movements to see if we do have problems. As triathletes there are some areas that are typically tight and dysfunctional – these are hips/ lower back and glutes.

HIPS

Stand up with feet shoulder width apart – keeping legs straight put both hands above head and then try to lean back as far as possible. What should happen is in order to lean back, hips will push forward to allow the movement to occur. If you are tight in the hips you will tend to have very little movement doing this and you may even feel strain in you lower back. In bad cases of tight hips you may notice when standing you have excessive curvature of the lower spine and your bum sticks out!!

LOWER BACK

Standing with feet together and hands by your side try to lean over so your hand traces a line down to your knee – this should be smooth and pain free. If you have tightness in your lower back this will feel very uncomfortable and you will find you want to twist in order to allow the moment to happen.

GLUTES

Sit on a chair with back straight and looking straight forward. Now place the ankle of one leg over the other knee and press down slightly on the knee of the raised foot. Now gently lean forward and keep your back straight. If the glutes are tight you will probable feel a deep cramping/ aching sensation as soon as you move, if they are in good condition you should be able to lean forwards with a straight back fairly easily.

Treatment

If you find any issues from these basic movements above then it would be wise to address these before staring any training program, starting a program with an underlying issue is asking for trouble. Spending a couple of weeks working on mobility and maybe seeing a specialist to advise on exercises will make training when you get started much more productive but will also allow you to be more consistent with your training and this really is the key to success.

Day to Day care

We all have our daily routines, what we do first thing on waking up and how we go about our days, simply adding one thing to this routine for all endurance athletes would significantly reduce injury occurrence and in my opinion enhance your ability to train consistently.

What I advise is having a foam roller or trigger point roller close at hand and getting on for a quick check through your muscles for any areas of tightness. This process would take no more than 5 minutes and you will be surprised what you will pick up. The number of times I have had athletes tell me everything is good only to have them jump through the roof after one roll through a muscle group is testament to the fact we really do not feel tightness building up until its at quite an advanced stage.

When rolling look to start at the feet and work up through the body, aim to roll 10 times over each major muscle group, so feet, calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, ITB bands, glutes, lower and upper back.

This rolling has been called the paupers massage but in my opinion is even better than massage as nobody can feel what is going on inside your body quite like you can. If you find an area that is particularly sore then spend more time with small rolls over the muscle until you feel it ease off. If you are not able to relax the muscle you can then consider visiting a sports therapist for deeper more targeted massage.

By performing this simple task day to day you will not only be keeping your muscles in great shape you will be alerted to any problems way before you will feel any tightness or problems in your training.

When we are looking towards achieving the best we can in terms of physical performance we need to be achieving long periods of consistent training in order to reach our true potential. If you were to look at the day to day life of our sports top athletes compared with top age groupers the main difference is not the hours of training as you would be surprised with how little some our best performers train but its the little things around the program that enable them to knock out week after week of hard training. For example hitting the gym for 10minutes after a swim session to work through a hip strength routine or some rotator cuff exercises, spending 10minutes on the roller before a hard run session… all small things but they make a huge difference to development.

Take a step forward with your training and add this 5 minute check to your daily routine and you will reap the rewards come summer.

Enjoy your training.
By Alun “Woody” Woodward
ironguides is the leading Lifestyle Facilitation company for athletes of all abilities. We provide coaching and training services, plans and programs, as well training education, health and fitness products to help you learn and live a healthy lifestyle. Come get fit with one of our monthly training subscriptions, event-specific training plans, coaching services, or a triathlon training camp in an exotic location! ironguides also provides Corporate Health services including Corporate Triathlons, Healthy Living retreats and speaking engagements. At ironguides, your best is our business!

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All About Ice

August 6, 2018

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recovery, Training, Uncategorized

ALL ABOUT ICE – Why, When, and How??

The practice of applying ice to an area has its origins with the early Greek and Roman physicians. Cold applications of snow and natural ice were used to treat a variety of medical ailments hundreds of years ago, but it was not until 1835 medical physicians began to routinely use ice compresses for aiding in wound healing. During the 1940s, icing athletic injuries and other musculoskeletal injuries began to be common practice, and this has continued to the present day.

When muscles and connective tissue are first injured, there are a few physiological processes that begin to happen. First, the area may bleed a small amount, depending on the severity of the injury. The bleeding and damage to the tissue set off a cascade of chemical reactions, with the end result of edema or swelling. As the area swells, the blood and oxygen supply to the surrounding tissues becomes compromised. At this point, the cells in the immediate vicinity (although not injured in the original accident) become vulnerable to a process called secondary hypoxic injury, whereby they begin to die from a lack of oxygen due to the compromised blood supply.

Of course, the body has its own mechanisms for dealing with these processes, but applying an ice pack to the injured area is one of the best ways to help your body deal with an acute injury. By cooling damaged tissue, ice causes several reactions that help to speed healing. The rapid decrease in temperature causes the local blood vessels to constrict, and this decreases swelling. Less swelling means less pressure, and that equates to a decrease in pain sensation. The sensation of cold also helps to override the sensation of pain, and gives relief.

As the temperature of the tissues drops, so too does the metabolic rate of the cells that make up that tissue, with the result being that the cells require less of the already limited blood and oxygen supply they are receiving to stay alive. This limits the amount of tissue damage due to secondary hypoxic injury, and creates a healing-friendly environment as soon as possible.

A variety of methods exist for icing an injury, but whether it’s crushed ice, shaved ice, a commercial gel pack or (Mom’s old stand-by) a bag of frozen peas, the most crucial element is that the area gets put on ice soon after the injury occurs. If ice is going to make a difference with respect to recovery time, it needs to be applied within the first 48-72 hours after the injury takes place. To do this, lay a tea towel, t-shirt, or sock (depending on the area) over the injury site, and then apply the ice. Using a wrap to secure the ice in place is helpful for applying compression to the area, but be sure the wrap is loose to avoid stopping blood flow altogether. Elevating the area is also helpful for limiting swelling. Leave the ice on for 15-20 minutes, and then allow the tissues to warm up to normal temperature over the next hour, making a total treatment time about

80 minutes in total.

Placing a barrier (such as the tea towel mentioned above) between the ice pack and the skin helps to decrease the chances of frost nip or frost bite. It is a good idea not to use a wrap with a commercial gel/ice pack, as the gel is capable of becoming much colder than ice, and frostbite could be an issue. Limiting the “ice time” to 15 minutes is the best way to prevent the area from becoming too cold.

For those who want an alternative to the traditional ice pack, an ice bath is always an option. This depends, of course, on the body part needing to be cooled! With walkers, it’s usually a lower leg, ankle, or foot, and in this case start by filling a bucket with cold water, then add in the ice. Next, take a deep breath and plunge the foot into the cold water. Using this method, ten minutes should suffice to bring the foot temperature down. If you finish your walk near a river or lake that you’re comfortable putting your tootsies in, then roll up your pants and head into the water barefoot for up to 10 minutes. This is usually very refreshing even if you’re not dealing with an injury at the time.

If finding time to ice an injury is a problem, plan ahead and have the ice and other supplies waiting in the car at the end of a workout. Stretch out for 10 minutes, and then apply the ice for the drive home. That way arriving home means the workout is finished, and the injury has also been addressed.

An easy way to remember all the details of icing is to keep the word RICE in mind. It acts as an acronym for Rest, Ice (for 15-20 minutes, followed by a full hour of no ice), Compress (with a wrap) and Elevate (above the heart). These are the four key components to remember for the next time your body needs a hand with healing an injury.

ironguides is the leading Lifestyle Facilitation company for athletes of all abilities. We provide coaching and training services, plans and programs, as well training education, health and fitness products to help you learn and live a healthy lifestyle. Come get fit with one of our monthly training subscriptions, event-specific training plans, coaching services, or a triathlon training camp in an exotic location! ironguides also provides Corporate Health services including Corporate Triathlons, Healthy Living retreats and speaking engagements. At ironguides, your best is our business!

–

Train with ironguides!

Personalized Online Coaching: Starting at USD190/month

Monthly Training plans (for all levels, or focused on one discipline): Only USD39/months

Event based training plans:

Sprint Distance (USD45 for 8-week plan)

Olympic Distance (USD65 for 12 week plan)

Half Ironman (R$95 for 16-week plan)

Ironman (USD145 for 20-week plan)

X-Terra (USD65 for 12-week plan)

Running Plans (10k, 21k and 42k – starting at USD40)

7 Tips for a Better Iron-Distance Taper

May 16, 2018

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Home, Race prep, recovery, Training

When triathletes reach the taper period of their training plan, their eyes light up as finally, the days of long and hard workouts are behind them. But ask any triathlete about their plan, most of them will have that deer caught in the headlights look.
Am I resting enough? Or am I doing too much? That is the most common lingering question on taper weeks for most age-groupers. For many weeks of long workouts, coupled with high intensity work, it is truly an unfamiliar ground to break it off, especially when you feel you have peaked.
To keep it in perspective, the primary goal of a taper period is to shed and regain. Sounds ironic? It is to shed fatigue, and regain proper form. Fatigue and form usually doesn’t go along well. When your muscles are fatigued, they are tight and usually do not function in their full range of motion. That is why form suffers when you are in the tail-end of any endurance event.
But shedding fatigue and sharpening form has its strategy. You do not suddenly turn-off a tuned engine for three weeks then expect it to run perfectly on raceday.
Here are the tips for a better Iron-Distance Taper:

1. Reduce length and volume. This is a no-brainer, but the rule of thumb is a 25% training volume reduction in the 1st week of 3-week taper. Fifty percent in the next week, and a 75% reduction in race-week. Again, this is a template. A consistent, solid, fitter triathlete will need lesser training volume reduction as mentioned.

2. Do not catch-up on missed workouts! Any age-grouper will miss training, due to work, family time, or even sickness. Catching up with the hard and long workouts and ultimately lessening your taper period will not improve your fitness anymore. One pro triathlete said it best; “there is not a lot you can do inside three weeks to help your race, but there is a lot you can do to shipwreck it.”

3. Too much Easy/Recovery sessions. Reducing the training load does not mean you will ultimately forget high-intensity sessions. Inadequate high-intensity training in the last 3 weeks ultimately leads to a flat race, wherein you feel you cannot exert the power and intensity you gained in your peak period. Just remember to keep your sessions short and at ironman-specific pace…or just a tad-faster. This will keep your body in vroom-vroom mode until raceday, just making it remember you are one fine-tuned athlete.

4. Maintain the regular training schedule/number of sessions in a week. Again, if you mess up with a schedule that you have been regularly doing the past 16-20 weeks or so, this will again lead you to overdoing the “rest”part of the taper, leading again to a flat race. It is important to keep the routine but with less volume. Mentally, that will benefit you greatly as you stay focused on the plan.

5. Reward your body. The build and peak period has made your body one high-fitness machine. During this time, we bet that there was little time devoted to non-swim bike and run recovery sessions. With time and volume decreased in this taper period, you can accelerate healing your body with flexibility/stretching sessions, foam rolling and sports massage. This sessions will help regain proper form, improving your swim, bike and run economy. A repaired and rebuilt body will have maximum potential for power on raceday. Just a warning though, never do a hard, sports massage too close to the race. It will do more harm than good.

6. Not the time to reward yourself by overeating. The race isn’t over yet. The hard work is done, but this is not the time to celebrate by over-indulging with food..or even drinks (alcohol). Maintain your nutrition/meal plan you executed on your build and peak periods. This is also not the time to experiment on what type of nutrition you will need on race-day.

7. Stay sharp mentally. With more time on your hands, this is the perfect time to review and assess what have gone right and wrong on your iron-distance training. Remind yourself your strengths and implement them on your race strategy. This is also not the time to correct whatever weakness you discovered in your training. Instead, work around your weakness and hopefully hide it on your race plan. Review your travel plans, make your packing and gear checklist. Also, this is very important: review the race maps and information guide. An informed triathlete is always the faster triathlete.

Ironman Recovery Guidelines: Learn how to get back into training

July 25, 2017

ironguide2

Home, recovery, Training

As soon as you cross the finish line of an Ironman, it is normal you will already start planning the next season and races you want to do. However, taking a rest after the Ironman is import for both body and mind, after all, you spent months of extreme dedication, your weekends were practically sitting on the bike, and you endured various dietary restrictions.

But what is the best way to recover from an Ironman? How many days you must rest and what is the best type of workout to do once you are back to a training routine?

The article below explains in detail everything you need to know about resume training after an Ironman.

The negative impact of an Ironman race in the human body

To do an Ironman race is not in the nature of the human body. Over millions of years, the human body was designed to either exercise at low intensity and high duration, or short but high intensity, that is based on the needs of mankind evolution and what our ancestors had to do. To exercise at moderate intensity (gray zone) for nine to seventeen hours is not natural or even healthy to us, and a simple blood work before and after an Ironman can detect be some problems as:

Hormonal imbalance:

An Austrian study concluded that takes three weeks for antioxidant levels return to healthy patterns, as well as muscle injury and inflammation markers to settle.

The immune system plays an important role in helping your body recover from intense workouts, but the immune system is overwhelmed during prolonged exercise and stay at low levels for up to three days after this type of activity, leaving him exposed to viral infections and bacterial.

This combined response with a fall of hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone, and an increase of cortisol (stress hormone) complete the total hormonal imbalance after competing in Ironman.

Kidney overloaded:

With the high rate of muscle cells breakage, there is an increase in blood levels of myoglobin. Myoglobin is a protein and harmful to the kidneys. Some athletes report change in color of urine after an Ironman race, which is a sign of rhabdomyolysis, a medical condition that indicates overload the kidneys due to muscle damage.

The combination of dehydration and ingestion of Advil (Iboprufen), may further worsen the picture of the kidneys, in some rare cases even get in renal failure. Therefore taking advil for an Ironman is never recommended.

The good news is that while the response of your body to an effort such as an Ironman race sounds serious and dangerous, you can mitigate some of these downsides with appropriate recovery and training once you are done with the race. Here’s how:

Phase 1 (1 to 21 days after the race) – Recovery Guidelines

Day 1 to 10 after the Ironman:

Beginners or intermediate athletes should take as many days off as you want, this will do you good not only for your body but also the mind, you have worked hard and now is the time to recover. If you think some easy exercising will help you feel better and less bloated or tight, do 20-40min swimming or cycling but at very low intensity. Do not run during this period.

High performance athletes should take a few days off completely and rest during this period, but active rest with some swimming or cycling, both at low intensity, will help you recover faster. Do not run during this period.

Day 11 to 21 after the Ironman:

Beginners or intermediate athletes should start back wish some activities at low intensity and little structure. Try to keep the activities (note the word activity and not training) shorter than an hour. You can also get back to some running and exercise daily. However if you still feeling like resting fully for the whole day, do it without guilt, the time is now.

High performance athletes will benefit from daily activities and some accelerations in the pool using paddles and on the bike pushing some heavy gears, this will help you recruit your specific muscles but still keeping your heart rate low. Some days you should also do double training, keep in mind that two short workouts is less aggressive for your immune system and hormone levels than one longer session.

Phase 2 –What to train after the 21st day after your race

Once you get back to a proper training plan, it should not only consider the races you want to do from that point, but also the specific training for the Ironman you did in the previous three months.There are several fitness aspects targeted in a training plan, and you must understand that your Ironman preparation required specific sessions and you spent most of your workouts in the “gray zone”, at moderate intensity but long workouts.

This type of training is important for a good performance in Ironmans, but considering that this type of training begins mostly in the last twelve weeks before the race, it means that other important aspects of your fitness, such as strength, speed and high intensity aerobic training, were left aside on that final Ironman prep.

Once you complete your recovery protocol, your best option is to start a training block focused on short races, even if the short or medium term goal is another long or middle distance race.

Understand that just maintaining your endurance in your post Ironman training is enough to maintain good endurance as you will be coming off months of endurance focused training.

Add weight training in this phase can also be a good idea as it will help your hormonal level to balance out again and give you some general strength.

Phase 3 – Plan your race calendar wisely

Avoid any kind of races for at least 3 full weeks after the Ironman. Then starting on the fourth week, you can schedule some short events that will give you the opportunity to also test the short course training you will be doing and acquire skills and race day strategies that will be useful for long races in the future.

If you have a long race scheduled 4-6 weeks after your Ironman, you do not need to go long in your training as you would had you not competed in the Ironman, your endurance will still be at a decent level (refer to graphic above).

A Common error is to run a marathon under 4 weeks after the Ironman as the risk of an injury is huge, not only during the competition itself, but also due to reason the athletes will focus more on running after the Ironman and that should be the discipline you will train the least!

Nutrition after the race? Tips for athletes of all ages, sports and historical levels

Post race nutrition – How your ability, age and background have an impact on it.

It is normal and will do you good to let the diet go a little after the race. Even “pigging out” some and putting on some weight is fine and will help you to recovery.

But there is profile of athlete that must hold back a little and think ahead before putting on five or more kilos in the weeks after the Ironman. They are the masters athletes (forty-five years or more) at a high performance level. The reason is that as you age, weight loss becomes increasingly difficult, and you fought so hard to get to this excellent physical shape and run the risk of lose it all and start all over again.

That would be fine if your goals ended up there (such as placing at a major Ironman event or qualifying for Kona for example), otherwise, you will deal with the challenge of being a little heavier right at the beginning of the first block of training after the Ironman, and combined with the intensity of the short course training that follows your Ironman recovery, this can be a recipe for an injury. High performance master athletes should find a good balance of letting the diet go a little to get that mental break, but don’t overdo it. For all other types of athletes, either at a beginner level or the younger that can lose weight easily, enjoy the off-season, eat well and do not rush to resume training.

Enjoy your training.

Vinnie Santana