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Triathlon on a Low-Carb High-Fat Diet (ketogenic)

By Vinnie Santana, ironguides.net

Vinnie SantanaNutrition has always had a special place for us at ironguides; it’s a way to improve our athletes’ performance and health. In addition to our training approach, The Method—which is based on hormonal balance—all our coaches had always understood that a diet low on carbohydrates, especially when well timed, is the ticket to improving both performance and health with our athletes.

However, we took this approach to another level when I personally was forced to train, live and race under a LCHF (Low-Carb High-Fat) Ketogenic diet for health reasons. The article below is an introduction to my personal experience on this topic, triathlon training on a “keto” diet.

Background

Back in 2000, I was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 1 at the age of 15. People around me wanted to make me feel better and said, “You can still do whatever you want.” With that motto in mind, I continued on my journey to becoming a professional triathlete.

I was managing diabetes as well as I could back then but, due to the lack of adequate information, my diet consisted of the recommended one for high-performance athletes and I tried to cover all that carbohydrate intake with insulin. That did not work so well and my blood glucose levels were running chronically high.

Despite all the challenges, I still managed to turn pro after winning my first Ironman race in 2004. It came full circle when in 2007 I had a PB of 8h50 at Ironman Brazil, which qualified me—as the youngest professional triathlete—for the Ironman World Championships in Kona. My PB also still stands as the fastest time by a Type-1 Diabetic over the Ironman distance.

Then at the end of 2012 I came across a book named “Diabetes Solution” by Dr. Bernstein and he recommended a diet with no more than 30g of carbohydrate per day. The impact on my health was amazing; after only a couple weeks I was seeing blood glucose levels that until that point had been a distant dream. This result created hope that I was now given a second chance with my health and I could carry on with all my other goals in life, as I felt diabetes wouldn’t be a threat anymore.

Vinnie 1 year A1C

A1C tracks average blood glucose for previous 2-3 months

While I felt great overall, my new diet killed any physical performance I still had—even going up the steps of the local subway station became a challenge. While I didn’t have major plans of racing again, I still exercised on a daily basis and enjoy pushing the intensity here and there, but on that diet, forget it—there were several times I had to walk home from a run, even a slow run.

My work also requires that I train some of my clients in a one-on-one situation. On several occasions I almost got to the point of telling them I couldn’t keep up—and these were beginner athletes, we were running slower than 1-hour 10km pace, a pace I would previously consider slower than a warm-up jog.

To me the message was clear: I had regained my health, but lost my sport. It was a trade-off I could live with but preferred to change. So I kept researching until I finally discovered the world of endurance training on a Ketogenic diet—low in carbohydrates and protein, but high in fat. There was hope again I could continue with triathlon training lifestyle I love.

While there are some resources out there, none of them offered information about a higher-performance racing approach and high intensity training. In theory, Ketosis allows your body to tap into this endless resource of energy stored in your body, named FAT. But it was not clear how well you could perform, at a high level, within this approach.

While I got adapted well enough to get back into doing some exercise, I started to wonder if the athletes I coach could benefit from this diet. So I began to do some experiments in my own racing and training, since my diabetes was now very stable and as an athlete I—unlike my athletes—no longer have pressure to deliver results.

I decided to become my own guinea pig to test what was possible in terms of sports performance on a Ketogenic diet.

While we don’t believe in the magical solution, preferring consistent hard work as the winning formula, a small improvement in performance could make a big difference to some of the athletes we coach—from a more high-performance athlete who is winning smaller ironman races but is not as close to being a threat at the world championships, to the very beginner, but busy, athlete that wants to break a certain time at the next 10km race but has maxed out on his training load.

The theory

There are several books and reputable blogs out there that will cover the benefits of a low carbohydrate diet. I will try to keep this article to the unique information that I can provide based on my experience. But just as a quick intro to sports performance: in theory, being “fat adapted” will provide you the opportunity to use fat as your primary energy source while training and racing, which means that even the leanest athlete still carries dozens of thousands of calories from stored fat and would be able to access to it.

I’ve seen the following analogy that makes things easy to visualize:

  • Non-Fat-Adapted Athlete (on a high-carb diet): Is a Petrol Truck that runs out of fuel and has to stop by the side of the road, since he can’t have access to the huge tank of fuel he is carrying. That would be a non-fat-adapted athlete bonking during an endurance event.
  • Fat-Adapted Athlete (on a LCHF diet): You develop access to the big petrol container that you carry. The same Petrol Truck won’t run out of fuel since you can now access a close-to-unlimited amount of fuel. Or in the athletic world, you won’t bonk anymore in your next endurance events.

On race day your muscle glycogen will also be used better and reserved only for very glycolytic parts of the race.

There are other benefits too in health—especially addressing the metabolic syndrome issues such as lower blood pressure, improved blood fat levels, weight loss. The other very positive benefits of a Ketogenic diet aren’t necessarily to sports performance: brain function and energy levels. Once both body and mind start to work on a consistent flow of energy, there are no dips. My productivity at work, for example, has improved drastically, but we will save this topic for another article and stick to sports performance for now.

Getting adapted

The term “low carb” comprises a relatively flexible range: less than 150 grams per day is technically low carb, but I went straight into what is considered the lowest, a VLC (very low carb) or Ketogenic, diet, and aimed to keep my carb intake below 30g per day as per the book’s recommendation.

As mentioned, the blood glucose results were nothing short of a miracle and that was the single reason why I didn’t quit this way of eating. While working and other daily activities were fine, exercise was a nightmare: I was feeling horrible for everything from easy jogs to higher intensity workouts, but reading that it would take between two and six weeks to adapt, I stuck with it. In fact, I HAD to stick with it FOR LIFE, so there was nothing to lose. I would just stay on the plan, hoping to feel a bit better in a few weeks down the road.

Six weeks into it, I definitely started to feel better, there were still some off-days on which I would feel completely empty in training, when slowing down wasn’t enough and I had to stop the workout completely. But after about three months, those days wouldn’t appear as often. While there was a slower session here and there, I got back onto a “training plan” and started to do several time trials to track progress in which I tried to keep variables for conditions very stable:

  • 5km run on the treadmill
  • 400m swim at a 50m pool
  • 20km bike in the velodrome
velodrome in bangkok

Keep variables consistent while doing tests. Velodrome, treadmill and pool are great facilities for that.

With the above scenario I had the opportunity to track the benefits of several aspects that are supposed to help on a LCHF diet, such as adding electrolytes to the diet to increase blood plasma, Generation UCAN superstarch that releases a very slow carbohydrate into your system, and other general experiments with carbohydrate intake, such as what’s the difference in performance when eating 20g of carbs per day versus 60g of carbs per day.

Fuelling in Training

The whole theory is that you don’t need to fuel in training. However, on the very long sessions fuelling does help to protect muscle mass, keep hunger away after training to avoid overeating and being kicked out of Ketosis, since during training and most of the day you won’t feel very hungry anyway.

At first is difficult to find the appropriate fuel to take in training. I remember I used to make a shake of avocado, coconut milk, nuts, coconut oil, and take it on a bike ride in one of my bottles—right there I had more than 500kcal with very few carbs and would keep the flat flowing through my system.

As you get more experienced and just want to keep things simple, you end up finding your own favourite fuels. These days I enjoy the convenience of UCAN superstarch, packets of nuts, and individually wrapped cheese. I must admit that recipes aren’t my thing, I tend to eat similar things every day and I may need to outsource a recipe book for the LCHF diet. Once you understand the core concept, be creative.

Changes in Body Composition

Staying lean is a challenge for carb-intolerant athletes. Vinnie (white hat) training with Olympic Champion Nicola Spirig at teamTBB.

Staying lean is a challenge for carb-intolerant athletes. Vinnie (white hat) training with Olympic Champion Nicola Spirig at teamTBB.

A nice benefit of a low carb diet, both as an athlete and as an active individual, is the convenience of losing body fat relatively easy.

My whole family is carb intolerant, my father is obese, my mother is borderline pre-diabetic and I have a 2-year-old nephew who has Type 1 diabetes—carbohydrates aren’t our family’s best friend and as an athlete I’ve always struggled to maintain my race weight. I would always train relatively heavy and diet very hard (calorie restriction) in the build-up to my races to lose weight and increase my power-to-weight ratio.

 

Vinnie on a Ketogenic diet – easier to maintain low body-fat percentage.

Vinnie on a Ketogenic diet – easier to maintain low body-fat percentage.

While on Ketosis my weight has been oscillating a lot less, and it has been slowly changing to a leaner and healthier looking body type.

Special attention to high performance training

This part of this article may not apply to 98 percent of the readers; however, there may be two downsides of a LCHF diet for high-performance training that I’m still working on to improve.

  • Lack of Glycogen for high intensity training

If you are an elite athlete, a 10km runner for example, you will need to run faster than your race pace at several moments during your race. This is a very glycogen-oriented activity and being on Ketosis may make this type of work relatively difficult.

There are two solutions for this problem: 1. fast running on the treadmill because that biomechanically teaches you how to run faster without the extra aerobic load, and 2. sprint runs on a downhill because that has a similar stimulus.

The same challenge also applies to the swim and bike, for which there are also training methods and tools that can be used to mitigate the downsides.

  • Train Low VS Race Higher

Even though your training performance will be very good once you are adjusted, if you go to a high intensity, you will still have the perception fatigue is coming faster and stronger compared with when you are on a high carbohydrate diet. Training tired is hard enough, training tired and low on glycogen can be mentally very draining; it takes a lot of confidence in this approach to know that once race day comes you will be feeling way stronger.

By pulling back your training load (rather than by carboloading), you will get more rest, your muscles will feel fresh and remember that your body is in carbohydrate starvation mode; it will spare every possible gram of glycogen into your muscles, even while you maintain a low-carb diet leading into the race. The result is that on race day you will have a much higher energy level and speed than you are used to in training.

My experience, for example: I could barely break 5:40 on my 400m time trials, then on race day I managed a 5:08—both were done in a pool, that’s a considerable difference!

Racing

There is no substitute for testing your training, equipment, strategy or anything else, than doing the real thing—a real race. After being away from the start line for two years, I decided to put the whole theory to the test and entered several local races.

All were sprint distance that would take me about one hour, mostly in similar conditions in terms of course elevation and weather. So I now had now the opportunity to test the famous carbo-loading theory! In fact there is a little race here in Bangkok that is almost like doing a triathlon inside a gym since it happens in a pool, but you still get the adrenalin boost and the challenge of competition. Below are the things I’ve tested while doing these events:

  • Carbohydrate Loading both the day before and race morning
  • Protein Loading (to achieve gluconeogenesis, i.e. the body’s generation of glucose from non-carb sources)
  • Electrolytes Loading

I wanted to find out how a fat-adapted body could perform on fat only, Ketosis, but with ‘some’ muscle glycogen via protein intake; I also did a relatively high carbo-load (200g on the day before the race). It was also interesting to see the result all those tests had on my diabetes control and blood glucose. Of course I was limited to some of the carbo-load protocol, for example 10g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight, but I’m testing some of these on athletes I coach.

While most of these tests are already done, the more I study and try things, the closer I get to bring out the ideal racing protocol to people on a LCHF. I’m also testing all this on a few of my athletes who are getting ready for Ironman triathlons and marathons. I am aiming to provide an update on the results in about a year.

For now I can say that the difference is very, very small between most of the above scenarios and one can perform very, very fast racing on a Ketogenic diet. I have broken 1 hour in the sprint distance triathlons on Ketosis—while this isn’t a world class time, it’s faster than most triathletes out there.

So, who is this for? Is this for all athletes of all levels?

Everyone can benefit somehow. Some athletes will benefit a lot more, while others need to be very careful with the way they apply the LCHF in their training, otherwise they may be worse off.

This is NOT the magical ticket to success. I remember researching this topic—the message sold was that this was the real deal, rocket fuel that would provide unlimited amount of energy and that I would be able to cruise at my race pace very efficiently without eating any carbs.

You come across testimonials of athletes improving 20 to 40 minutes on their half marathon times and more than an hour on their marathon times. The problem was that this only happened with athletes who were overweight (in relative terms); after losing weight with the LCHF, they went faster mostly due to being lighter, NOT only due to being able to burn fat more efficiently.

So who and how should each specific group use the LCHF? The answer depends on the combination of the length of your event, your performance level and body fat percentage. Below a quick summary of the benefits for each group:

Recreational Athletes – Unless you are very young or part of the lucky ones who won the carb-tolerant DNA ticket, a low-carb approach would bring several benefits, starting at a rapid weight loss, to increasing the ability to burn fat as your primary fuel while training and racing. Since you are also a recreational athlete, your health and wellbeing may also be very high on the priority list; both are two other big reasons to go low carb.

High Performance Age Groupers ­– It depends on the distance you are training for and competing at, but you certainly want to go to a low carb diet and may time your carbohydrate consumption too during, and straight after, your training. If you are a long-distance athlete, spending a lot of time in Ketosis will definitely bring you benefits on your race day.

Professional Athletes – Can definitely benefit from training periods in a lower carb range, but this should also be timed with the type of work they are doing in each period of the week. The biggest difference to the amateur athlete is the very high intensity training and importance of that on race day, especially from a strategic point of view. At that level, athletes aren’t racing against themselves or against the clock, they are racing their competition. There are times they may be forced to dig deep into their glycogen stores to match attacks and stick to the front group. A fast swim start, for example, can cost an athlete the whole race if they miss the pack, or if an athlete is training low on carbs year around, they may find it more difficult to achieve certain speeds and biomechanical efficiencies that come with it.

Post Lunch in Cape Town with Professor Tim Noakes & Wife Marylin Noakes - Tim is the author of Lore of running and most recent has shifted his focus to Low Carb nutrition and published Real Food Revolution - we discussed at lunch the benefits of LCHF for athletes of all levels, beginners is a clearn benefit, while advanced, they can also metabolize fat at a higher rate even while racing after a certain carboload period

Post Lunch in Cape Town with Professor Tim Noakes & Wife Marylin Noakes – Tim is the author of Lore of running and most recent has shifted his focus to Low Carb nutrition and published Real Food Revolution – we discussed at lunch the benefits of LCHF for athletes of all levels, beginners is a clearn benefit, while advanced, they can also metabolize fat at a higher rate even while racing after a certain carboload period

Special Groups – These are usually health related. Diabetics including me are part of this group. Also, if you have any of the conditions listed as metabolic syndrome, you will have huge health benefits (and subsequent performance benefits) of going to a lower carb range.

Conclusion

Do you fit in any of the above categories? Do you think the LCHF approach is for you? Before you make the switch, I suggest you study the topic a bit more and also understand the other health benefits that come with it. In the end this is a change that can improve your performance, health and wellbeing.

Vinnie Santana, ironguides Head Coach

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. Information on www.ironguides.net is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional.

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October 2016 Newsletter – Ironman World Championships Especial







Our eKick this month has a variety of articles to help you with your training and racing! Check it out.

Welcome to ironguides Ironman and Ironman 70.3 World Championships Especial.

We had some solid results at both races with a near podium 6th place. Coach Woody also reviews the strategy used by Daniela Ryf on racing “blind” (without a watch)

If you were inspired by these two events, check our articles on how to qualify for the World Champs in the future.

We have also launched our instagram account with videos and advice on how to improve your performance. Your best is our business.

 

Enjoy the read,
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ironguides at the Ironman & Ironman 70.3 World Championships

Congrats to all ironguides athletes who qualified and finished both the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 World Championships.


ironguides team at Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Sunshine Coast, Australia

RESULTS – KONA (IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPS)

RESULTS – SUNSHINE COAST (IRONMAN 70.3 WORLD CHAMPS)






 

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 Speed up your Ironman Racing with Neuromuscular Resets – Coach Woody

At ironguides we emphasize developing motor patterns in training, instead of the traditional focus on endurance development. We approach training this way to ensure specificity and reduce the risk of injury. The endurance element of training is still developed on the side – it’s just no longer the sole focus. (more)

 Increase your chances for a Kona slot – Coach Vinnie

Every year a few weeks ahead of Kona all triathletes start to get excited about the big show, wondering if one day they could be a part of the Ironman World Championships as a competitor themselves. Having done the race when I was a professional triathlete and having worked with many athletes who qualified for the race in the past few years, I have found there are some very clear rules on what it takes to qualify – apart from hard work. (more)

  Rest Days and Focus, learn how to read your body and think about what you’re doing. – Coach Shem

This article is written for the obsessive competitive streak in all triathletes and runners. Every athlete putting in dedicated training to a well-thought-out plan will eventually approach their physical limits for that season of their athletic career. (more)

 

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Athlete Profile: Alexis Girin

AGSwim

First up – Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a French citizen, living in Asia for 5 years now, married with my beautiful wife, Caroline and we are blessed to have 3 lovely children,  Noemie 8, Anthonin 6 and Mathilde 2. They give us joy and satisfaction every day. I started triathlon 4 years ago in Thailand doing my first 70.3 in Phuket casually with friends. I completed it in 5h48. I was able to improve over the next few years to 5h19, and then 5h08 last year. I joined MetaSport in September 2015. It was the perfect place to meet great people an

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3 lessons from Rio Olympics Men’s Triathlon that will improve your racing

The men’s triathlon race at Rio Olympics has been run and won, we watched another dominant performance from the Brownlee brothers that defended their Gold and Silver medals on a day that was almost a repeat of the test event in 2015.

In the article below, we broke the race down in three lessons that any age grouper can learn from and apply to your own training and racing to perform better in your upcoming events:

It was just another race
While most amateur triathletes don’t follow much of the draft-legal circuit, these 55 men racing in Rio have been racing each other for several seasons, multiple times per year. In order to qualify to the Olympics, you need to be a top ranked triathlete and race often in the world circuit, there wasn’t anyone in the start line that hasn’t been around at the ITU world series races in the past couple years.

Not only the athletes know each other well, but there’s also so many scenarios a race like Rio could have developed into, the non-wetsuit swim, technical bike calls for a small pack of strong swimmers being able to gain time on the main, larger pack of runners and that was exactly what happened.

At the test event in 2015, 8 triathletes entered transition two with 1’40” gap to the main gap, at the Olympics there were 9 triathletes 1’30 ahead, and several athletes were in both front packs. With that gap to the main pack it was clear the win would come from the front pack, with a small possibility the best run of the day would be able to sneak into the podium, at the test event in 2015 Richard Murray (South African) ran 30’30 for 10km and placed 3rd, and in Rio he ran 30’38” and placed 4th

Just another race start for these athletes
Just another race start for these athletes
The lesson here is that regardless of how important a race may be to you or anyone else, performance won’t vary drastically from other events and races especially if training has been consistent. It doesn’t matter how much you care about the race; the result is never anything that couldn’t have been expected. This should be looked especially if you get nervous before a race, even if you spent months thinking about this one day, any race is “Just Another Race” and as long as you stick to your pacing and race day strategy, the result will come.

Many of these athletes that did Rio, are already back to training the day after thinking about the next race on the world circuit.

See also: Gallery: Tri-Dash Bangkok – Long (14.Feb.2016))

2) You don’t win a race in the swim, but it can make you lose it

In a draft legal race such as in Rio, the swim has a massive weight on the outcome of the race, since it sets the tone of how the race will unfold. We knew two of the best runners in Rio, Spain’s Mario Mola and South Africa’s Richard Murray would be a threat to the Gold medal if they could make it to the first pack, which didn’t happen, instead what we saw was a small group of swimmers working well together on the bike trying to stay away from these two guys and aiming to have as much time on the chase pack as possible to increase their chances of a medal or top 10 finish position.

The smaller pack works well in a tight and technical course like Rio, allows athletes to go faster on downhills and turns and also to communicate among themselves. Richard Murray had the best run split of the race, finishing 4th place, if he made the first pack a medal would have been guaranteed.

One of the best swimmers in triathlon Henri Schoeman used his swim to set himself to a great race
One of the best swimmers in triathlon Henri Schoeman (right) used his swim to set himself to a great race
And how can this lesson can be useful for the everyday age grouper that is doing a non-drafting racing and often an Ironman or Ironman 70.3? The faster your swim, more experienced and better athletes you will find yourself next to on the swim and bike, on the swim chances are you will have a smoother experience by going straight with better navigating, less body contact and less people around and on the bike you can still benefit from legal pacing by respecting the drafting rules, also less people around which will avoid an unfair drafting penalty or the need to accelerate and slow down for overtaking.

Despite the swim only account for a small percentage of a long distance triathlon total finish time, it has a big impact on the day’s strategy and may be the difference of a podium finish, a Kona slot, or a new personal best. Weigh that when you allocate time and effort for your swim training, look into it as a key component of your race instead of only a small and least important segment of the triathlon

3) Stay within your fitness ability

France’s Vincent Luis had an incredible 2015 season, he was 2nd only to Javier Gomez at the Rio test event and was one of the strongest runners of the field, his 2016 has been quiet with no many races or major wins, however once the pack on the bike was established and the gap was increasing to the chasing pack, it was clear he would be the only one that could spoil the party of the Brownlees.

See also: 12 Weeks to Your First Triathlon
Early on the run, Vincent positioned himself in between the brothers, on a strategy similar to what Gomez did to win a silver in London. The trio quickly opened a gap on the rest of the field and it brought some excitement to the race, when would the Brownlees start attacking Vincent? Would they act like a team? Vincent is an excellent sprinter and the Brownlees certainly wouldn’t want to leave the race for the final few hundred meters.

However, with just over one kilometer into the run, Vincent got dropped, that was it. From that point onwards the Brownlees were cruising and we were now wondering if Alistair would be a good old brother and let his young sibling win a gold medal, and now we know the result.

France’s Vincent Luis keeping up with the Brownlees brothers early on the run
France’s Vincent Luis keeping up with the Brownlees brothers early on the run
Back to Vincent, after that aggressive and risky first kilometer he started to pay the price and got slower and slower as the race progressed, getting overtaken by not only the two fastest runner of the chase pack, but also from athletes from the same pack he dropped too quickly early on the race, such as Henri Schoeman and Marten Van Riel.

Vincent finished at the 7th place which is incredible, but did his early attack (and aggressive work on the bike) cost him a medal? Could he just have sat behind Schoeman for the entire run and outsprinted him for a bronze medal? Probably, but he opted to give it the Gold a go and that costed him the Bronze, a fair shot and he is likely aware of it.

But for the age grouper triathlete the lesson here is that this type of relatively small mistake in pacing or race strategy can cost several minutes if not hours in the case of a full ironman, the risk of trying something great that you can’t quite back it up with your fitness for Vincent costed him a medal, while for the age grouper may force you to walk the later stages of your run.


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)

 

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ironguides newsletter – E-Kick May 2016

 

 

Our eKick this month has a variety of articles to help you with your training and racing! Check it out.

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May 2016

Have you wondered what type of training the professionals triathletes do on the bike that can be useful for the everyday age grouper? Watch our video and learn more about it.

Read also our articles on how to deal with the challenges of ironman training, and learn the benefits of strength to endurance athletes

Enjoy the read,
ironguides team

Video: The triathlon cycling workout of World Champions 

The below video explains a very simple yet important workout that will take your cycling to the next level and will also help your swim and run training since this will boost your recovery when positioned after your endurance sessions via hormonal balance (an anabolic stimulus after a catabolic endurance training): Read article and watch video.

Articles from the Coaches

 Speed: A Key Skill for Every Endurance Athlete – Coach Woody

Conventional wisdom and training practices have created a void between coaching of endurance sports and that of high-skill sports such as basketball and soccer. Are these sports really so different in their demands and as such should the training be so different? In endurance sports it seems almost set in stone that any program must start with building a base, aimed at spending all available training time logging slow easy miles to build aerobic fitness. This practice has even created a paranoia and fear of speed sessions and interval work. (more)

  Navigating the Ups and Downs of Ironman Training – Coach Shem

The Ironman training cycle is a crazy rollercoaster ride that can take you from good days, filled with hope and confidence to nightmare “off” days that will leave even the fittest athlete discouraged and questioning their ability to even cross the finish line. This article offers advice on how to spot the patterns of overtraining and how to minimise the “down” days for a more balanced, manageable and effective training cycle. (more)

  Strength Training: Benefits for Endurance Athletes – Coach Woody

The topic of strength training in endurance sports is always a controversial one, with some coaches avoiding it at all costs and others praising it as the key to success. Over the past few years strength training has really started to make a big comeback; almost every magazine dedicated to endurance sports will have a section on strength training. Articles in this section always relay the same message: functional exercises are the only type of strength work that will benefit endurance athletes. (more)

Our Coaching Services


Event and distance-based training plans to help you achieve your goal: a one-stop shopping experience that will ensure the right preparation for your chosen target race. Follow the plan and you’ll be ready! (more)


If you’re looking for the most personalized training plan and coaching advice, this is the program for you. We offer Basic, Complete and Premium Online Coaching. High performance athletes, this is for you! (more)


At $39USD/month, Our monthly subscription plans offer a more tailored approach focusing on different disciplines and levels. We offer, for example, a Beginner Triathlon subscription plan, or a Swim-focus Triathlon program, and a Run-focus Triathlon program. Great value! (more)

Special Offer: 20-Week Ironman Plans Advanced Level – Your ticket to Kona and a Personal Best – Only 145USD

The ironguides 20-week Ironman Distance Triathlon Training Manual provides all the information you need to successfully prepare for your next Ironman. It’s effective, efficient, safe and fun. Based on The Method, a sophisticated yet simple way of training high-performing athletes developed in more than two decades, this plan will give you all you need to be ready physically and mentally for your next challenge.. (more)

Testimonial:
“Twelve months ago I decided to do Ironman China with the aim of maybe qualifying for the World Championships in Kona. I purchased the ironguides 20-week Ironman program, and followed it reasonably closely for the 20 weeks leading up to the Ironman. Well, it worked!! I finished in 9:52 – the 2nd fastest age group time at the race – and I confirmed my spot at the World Championships in Hawaii. Woo hoo!!!” – David Bently, ironguides athlete at Ironman China 2010

Qualify to the World Championships with our Personalized Online Coaching packages 

Life can be hectic. That doesn’t mean training for and racing in triathlons is impossible. If you’re a busy person, whether a novice or an experienced athlete, this is the training option for you. Your ironguides Coach will develop a training routine that is tailored to your limited amount of time available for swimming, cycling and running. You will receive time-efficient workouts. You’ll be amazed at the quality of training you can do when time comes at a premium. This training plan will be tailored to your agenda and fit into your busy routine. In fact, many of our athletes fit into this category—with time-consuming corporate jobs and young families—because triathletes typically tend to be high achievers and we at ironguides know all about that.. (more)

Testimonial:

“When I signed up for ironguides, my goal was to break 11 hours in a full Ironman and break five hours in a half Ironman while still juggling with my professional & personal life. ironguides helped me achieve both of of them. I owe this to the carefully built training plans from my coach and from the confidence I had in the approach. As a bonus I also learned that triathlon is not only about the numbers but it became my lifestyle & passion! ” – Vagner Bessa

Bike Focus Training Plan – Only $39/month

The ironguides Bike Focus Triathlon Training Subscription program is perfect for the athlete who struggles with sluggish, uninspired cycling splits in their triathlon results. Much of your training time will focus on building bike strength and power, while maintaining or somewhat improving swim and run skills. The Bike Focus program teaches you to ride “triathlon style” so that you conserve your run muscles and glycogen, control your heart rate, and leave your fast twitch fibers ready for a strong run. The program follows the principles and structure of The Method to ensure quality training and full day-to-day recovery..
(more)

“I’ve always been self-coached but didn’t want the commitment of a coach while I was interested in following a structure that works. The subscription service is a great idea as I’m still able to train using The Method, while it fits my budget and gives me flexibility to change the focus from single discipline to the balanced programme as I progress into the season”
Keegan Scott

Free eBook: ironguides’ Triathlon Secrets, a superb tri resource

Download ironguides’ free ebook Triathlon Secrets and discover the secrets of Olympic medalists and Ironman champions.

Excerpts from Triathlon Secrets:

… an obsession with data took hold of me and began to displace the spontaneous joy I used to experience in training…

…The Method meant learning to read the body’s signals and knowing to trust one’s own intuitive understanding…

…enables you to develop a broad feel for the workings of your body. Like life, training by The Method is a qualitative experience!

…don’t waste time or energy readjusting to new, haphazard sessions and reconfiguring weekly schedules…

…train to maximum efficiency (for your situation) while optimizing recovery… [more]

Tri Gear

ironguides updated catalogue!  Check the photos out below or download our catalogue for more details. 

In This Issue

Articles:
 Articles from the Coaches  

Profiles:
Featured ironguides athletes around the world 

Offers:
 Coaching Service Offers 
 Free eBook: ironguides’ Triathlon Secrets
 ironguides ffiliate programme 

Gear:
 Tri Gear

Website Refresh

We refreshed our website! Did you notice? Check out our new look at ironguides.net

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How did you feel crossing the line of your 1st Ironman in such an impressive time?

 

IM Ride

The time didn’t really register, I just felt an enormous sense of relief and excitement, a weight lifted off the shoulders to have finished.

 

In December 2014 I ran my first marathon, and around March 2015 dec

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