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The Benefits of the Treadmill

August 27, 2019

The treadmill is a very misunderstood part of the arsenal of tools available to a triathlete. Using the treadmill, you can get a better return on your training time if you learn to use it in the right way. For example, one ironguides athlete turned his two-hour long run into his 1:34 long run over the course of about a year using the treadmill for specific sets including his long run.

Most of the people I coach are encouraged to make heavy use of the treadmill, especially if they are based in big cities with limited access to good running venues. I can tell you that a few professional world champions have run almost exclusively on the treadmill for long stretches and come off running faster than ever. How does a treadmill contribute so much to improved run skills?

In basic terms, running on a flat treadmill enables you to run at the same aerobic load as on land, but to run at a faster pace for that aerobic load. Meaning: You can run faster for longer, which means you are training neuromuscular patterns to fire at a rate that equates to a faster run pace. The aerobic training component in either case is the same

What does this mean? It means you are getting more bang for your training buck. Yes, a 7min mile on a flat treadmill “feels” easier than a flat 7min mile on land — and it is — but remember that the context here is to run at the same aerobic load. If you can hold a 7:00min/mile pace on land for 20min, and you can hold a 6:50min/mile pace on the treadmill for 20min, that 20min run on the treadmill will give you the same aerobic training load but will teach your motor neurons to fire at a faster pace. Do this often enough for long enough and you are teaching your nerves to fire at a faster rate — your muscles follow suit and learn to contract at a faster rate. You run faster because you’re training more than just your aerobic system.

As you come to better feel and understand the usefulness of this approach, you can come to use the treadmill then to simulate triathlon running more closely. You can make use of the gradient option, a nearby spin bike or weight machines to strip the strength from your legs and force yourself to run fast on tired legs. As long as you approach the session with the underlying goal of running with best-possible form (don’t get lazy or sloppy), you can quickly improve triathlon-specific run skills. There are all kinds of ways of doing this outside, too.

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By enabling you to closely control the variables (wind, gradient, surface), the treadmill lets you better monitor improvement over time and get a better feel for how your body responds to changes in your training environment: Sleep, nutrition, life stress and so on. Over time, you develop a better intuitive feeling for your training state of body and mind and as your training career progresses, you can use your past sessions to compare current treadmill performances in certain sets and immediately see where your fitness level is without having to test yourself over race distances.

So getting back to your question: Running on a flat treadmill at the same pace as on windless, flat land (hard or track or similar surface) is easier to maintain. But by inverting that standard way of perceiving the situation and asking: Does a treadmill allow me to hold a faster pace at no extra aerobic burden? you can come a step closer to making use of some great tools and structuring your training in a way that makes your training much more effective and specifically useful for triathletes.

Enjoy your training,

Vinnie Santana

Vinnie Santana

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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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Training for an Ironman? This race simulation workout is crucial on your preparation

July 29, 2019

If you are training for an ironman, it’s very likely you are following a training plan that calls for a weekly long swim, long bike and long run, these are on separate days and the idea behind breaking the work down, you can train fresher, with better technique, faster, and recovery quicker from each of these, the day after a long bike or long run for example, you can easily do a high intensity swim workout and keep on adding fitness with no long recovery needed within your week.

However, beginner athletes, with zero to little experience in the ironman distance may benefit from a race simulation during their prep. The benefits are:

Confidence: The suggested distance is as long as your body can handle without requiring a long period of recovery. Anything longer than that and you may as well do the whole ironman distance in training. You can’t really simulate the back end of the ironman marathon while training, you are better by stopping just before that, recovering fast, then getting back to consistent training.

Specific Endurance Training: While you can acquire endurance by training each discipline separately and that has its benefits too, a long training day is as specific as it gets for your endurance, once you bounce back from the stress of this race simulation, you will find your fitness at a new level

Pacing strategy: You will be able to simulate, at least under a less stressful environment (no pre-race adrenalin), how well you can pace at this strange. You will see guidelines and goals for each segment of the simulation. On race day, pacing, along with nutrition, are the two biggest components that will impact your race, since there isn’t anything you can do about your fitness on that day. Failing to get the pacing right in training is a guaranteed recipe for disaster on race day.

Equipment testing: How many times have you done a long swim in your wetsuit? If you live in a warmer weather place, chances are you didn’t even have a wetsuit before signing up for your ironman overseas and the chafing some of these suits give is something you want to be aware of and be ready for on race day (with a lot of Vaseline). Make sure you also test all the equipment you plan to use on race day, wheels, helmet, shoes, anything that you keep on a race bag and only use when racing, should be tested on your race simulation day

Nutrition: The goal here is to test for any issues related to either your stomach not tolerating well your nutrition, or you just get sick of the gels and flavoring you first thought you would handle over the race. Keep in mind that race day will see additional stress on your stomach so your nutrition strategy has to be perfect in training, if you have small issues, these are likely to be much bigger come race day

Other weaknesses: Putting the body through enough stress can also show you a few weak links that a normal training day won’t. It can be a comfort issue on the bike for example, tight neck or back that without the swimming prior you don’t feel but in this simulation it will allow you to tweak details such as bike fit, core strength, flexibility, that would have slowed you down on race day.


Scheduling it within your training plan

Pick a weekend, 6 to 8 weeks out, that works for you. This will allow you plenty of time to fully recover then start the final and most specific training plan, including the lessons you learned on your race simulation and adjust your training to address any weakness shown at the simulation day.

Best day to do this is on a Saturday, as if the weather doesn’t cooperate you can push one day and this will also allow you to enjoy Sunday as a sleep in and rest day.

Requirements:

To be able to get this training done and recover from it relatively quick (within 1 week) you must have completed within 6 weeks of the session:

*4 long rides of at least 4 hours each
*4 long runs of at least 2 hours each
*4 swims of at least 1 hour each

If you can’t meet the above requirements, this race simulation will do more harm than good, you will be better off by just doing a normal weekend of long sessions and also work on your training consistency

Another requirement is to have done an official half distance race within the previous 12 months of race day. If you haven’t, book an event instead (these can be 4-10 weeks out), the pre-race adrenalin, traveling, dealing with the real world experience can’t be simulate on training. Race simulation works well for experienced racers who are stepping up to the full distance, but you need that half distance race in your legs before your full distance.

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The set up

Ideally, do this at a place you have access to a convenience store (your aid station for the day) or take a cooler with your fuel and leave inside your car. A course that you can do several laps is also required to track your pacing.

As swimming pool access can be far away from cycling venues, it is ok to drive after the swim to a more appropriate place to drive, just try to keep the transitions relatively short

SWIM: Duration = 1 hour

Pre-establish a swim distance before the session that will take you around 1 hour to cover, then break the swim in at least 2 equal parts with a short break in between, your goal is to swim the second half faster than the first

If wetsuit is allowed on race day, use it today, unless is an exceptionally hot day pool (over 27C) – additionally, if you are swimming in a wetsuit and you live in a hot weather country, break the distance down in even shorter repeats, take at least 2 bottles with you (1 of iced water to pour on our head, the other of sports drinks to sip through the workout)

TRANSITION 1: Duration =up to 30min

Here is the exception to the rule of “use everything planned on race day on your simulation day” – at transition 1, you want to have a small snack that includes both carbohydrate and protein (fat is optional) – this will help to reduce your recovery window. Logistically, a short drive from the pool to a bike and run venue is fine.

BIKE: Duration = 5 hours

Similar to the swim, you can pre-establish a distance on the course you will be doing and target to increase the pace in 3 different segments, for example up to 1h40, then you need to increase the pace a little until the 3h20 mark and the final 1h40 should be the fastest of them all. Stop every 100min or so to refill your water bottles

If possible, do the bike on a course that simulates race day, hills, technical descends, flats, find something that will get you mentally and physically ready for the big day.

TRANSITION 2: Duration =up to 20min

Transition two should be a lot quicker than the first one as it won’t require changing venues and you should also run on the same gear you plan to on race day, for many athletes that is a trisuit or two piece. Just put your bike in your car (or store somewhere) and head out for the run.

You also want to have a snack here, something easy to digest with plenty of water. Remember, your goal is to finish today’s session with your tank “half full”, this will make recovery a lot faster, slow down if you have to, to be able to process all the calories and liquids you are taking in today

RUN: Duration= 1 hour
While the swim and bike are quite close to race distance, a one hour run may be only a fourth or a fifth of the time you will be running on race day, why is that? Running requires a much longer recovery time compared to swimming and cycling due to the impact of running – that is the same reason why you should never do a marathon on your preparation. The goal here is to run enough to learn pacing, practice your nutrition, test your equipment, but stop before you dig too deep.

Do this preferably on a lap that won’t take you longer than around 30min to complete, this will allow you to track your splits, as the aim is to do the second lap faster than the first, and also provide you access to your nutrition and cooler half way into the run.

Take one quick break at the 30min mark to refuel, then bring it home the final 30min faster than the first. By the end of it you want to be feeling strong and feeling that you could have kept on going, if you don’t feel that way, this is a red flag that your pacing goals wasn’t appropriate for your current fitness level.

RECOVERY:

Have a snack, straight after the workout, then go home and another meal within 2 hours of finishing the session. Researches have shown better replenishing rates within 30 and 2 hours of exercising, this will allow you to get back to training faster and will also help your immune system to bounce back, avoiding any potential sickness in the week following the race simulation

Here is a suggested recovery guideline for the simulation on Saturday:

SUNDAY: 30-40min swimming, as 20-30min of easy 50m repeats with paddles/buoy + 10min easy kicking (25 or 50m) with board. Doing something today as an active recovery is far superior to a total day off, easy swim or easy spin on the trainer will get your blood pumping a little faster, help the muscles to heal and clean any lactic acid remaining in the muscles

MONDAY: Easy 30-40min spin on the bike trainer or gym bike

TUESDAY: DAY OFF – with 2 active rests days behind you, a total day off will boost your recovery even further

WEDNESDAY: 40min easy run

THURSDAY to SUNDAY: Get back on your training plan on both a reduced intensity by one notch and volume (cut it short by 25-33%)

Following week, back into the full plan

FINAL 5-7 WEEKS:

Once you are back in training, resist the temptation to do another race simulation day, remember that doing shorter and more frequent long workouts gets you fitter than big, race simulation days. Just adjust your training based on your performance on the race simulation day and stick to it until the final two weeks when you should star tapering

In this final block you should also avoid any type of racing as this will break training consistency once again. Keep on adding fitness without pushing it too hard

Enjoy your training,

Coach Vinnie Santana

 

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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Race Day Nutrition

June 27, 2019

We are heading into Ironman season again and the big topic among athletes is always what to do with nutrition come race day. Yet again it amazes me how many athletes will have read an article and decide on a new path to take for race day rather than the tried and tested methods they have used in training. There is a simple message in this article and it is STICK WITH WHAT WORKS.

There really is no magic nutritional strategy for Ironman, there is no set amount of calories you need to be taking per hour in order to guarantee success or any specific ratio of fructose glucose in products that works better than another despite everything you may have read. What you will find is that your body is adapted to what you typically eat and drink when training and in normal life in order to get the calories it needs.

So the first thing to do when you start to think about race day is to think about what you take in during your normal training days. If you’re on a long bike and stop to refuel and the choice is Coke then this is what you should be thinking about on race day not some energy drink that you have never used. Same goes with taking on solid food – if you’re on a long ride and you always stop for a sandwich or munch on chocolate bars then this is what you should be taking with you on race day not a gel or energy bar that you assume must be better because you saw advertising in a magazine before the race or see at the expo.

We have all heard athletes complaining after the race that they just did not feel like eating or could not stomach another gel and that it ruined their race in one way or another. Speaking with these athletes you do tend to find they will not have trained on these products and just followed last minute advice looking for a miracle.

So what should you do?

First let’s look at some facts:

  • Our bodies will take on between 250 and 350 calories per hour while exercising at Ironman intensity,
  • Hydration on race day will vary hugely due to environmental conditions so do not rely on liquid calories,
  • Don’t count on chocolate if you’re racing in a hot environment as it will melt.

Calories 

We cannot store enough calories in our muscles to get through an Ironman so we need to eat and drink during the race in order to race to our body’s ability. Numerous studies and athlete experience have shown that we can take on between 250 and 350 calories per hour when racing at Ironman intensity. This does not mean aim at 350 calories; it is a guide and should have been experimented with in training.

When looking at the top athletes in our sport we tend to see they are the ones who can tolerate the upper limits of this. At the same time we see athletes who excel in short distance racing who cannot move to long course as they simply cannot tolerate the calories needed.

We need to find what works for us and again look to your training as a guide – if you eat and drink very little in training and have no issues with lack of power or energy then you are likely to lie on the lower side of the calorie level. If you find you’re regularly losing power and strength and always hungry in training then you will most likely be on the upper end.

Liquid calories 

The environmental conditions we race in for Ironman are always different and we cannot ever guarantee what they will be so I think it is crazy to base your calorie consumption off liquid calories. A big problem I see with this regularly is in cold races such as Ironman UK – athletes simply do not feel like drinking in these conditions and so they will be taking in far too few calories in the cold when the body is needing more than normal to both move and keep warm – athletes then start feeling really cold due to calorie shortage and feel even less like eating or drinking which just leads to the body shutting down.

My advice is always to case calories off solid food (I do include gels in this) and then drink to thirst using energy drinks or Coke.

Another big issue with liquid calories is carrying them in the race, I have had athletes suffer in recent events due to on course drinks being extremely watered down and thus not providing the necessary calories and derailing the athletes race. If you like to have Coke on the bike then take some with you or put some in special needs – see video attached on a unique way to attach Coke to bike that is extremely aero and saves weight over more expensive devices!

Solid calories 

Personally I prefer my athletes to race with solid food as this is essentially what our bodies are most used too. I will always have my athletes look to what they feel like and typically eat when training. There is NO right or wrong here, I have had athletes race with salami and cheese sandwiches on their bikes and others who like mints and jelly babies – just make sure it is appropriate for the environment and have a little variety as you will find over the course of an Ironman bike your taste will change.

One thing I have noticed recently is athletes complaining of a dry mouth when racing, this can happen when we have a little too much sugar in drinks – sometimes happens with Coke in hot conditions. If this happens maybe having some mints or sweets you can suck on would be a wise addition to your race nutrition.

See picture below for a great example of a mixed nutrition selection for race day for an event in cooler conditions!!

nutrition

In conclusion stop reading articles and listening to what other people do for their race day nutrition and start thinking about yourself. Think about how you generally feel and what you generally eat when training and then use this as the basis of your race day nutrition. Keep it simple and success will follow!!

Enjoy your training

Coach Alun “Woody” Woodward

http://youtu.be/-tFS6hEDnf4

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)

 

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5 Most Common Mistakes on Race Month

May 28, 2019

There are so many ways to ruin a perfect performance on the weeks leading up to the race. Learn from others athlete’s mistakes, don’t repeat the same mistakes described below.

 

1) Tapering too early and too much:

I’ve written in a past article, why marathon tapering is different than the “conventional” tapering we keep hearing about. To sum it up, marathon, especially at the age group level, is all about fitness and not speed like the events that were the origin for taper (short course track or road) for that reason if you start cutting back on training 3-4 weeks out of race day, you will get to the start line feeling super fresh, but also very unfit!

Marathon taper should start no earlier than 2 weeks out and no later than 1 week, for most of the athletes. And you should cut down first on intensity, then on volume and last on workout frequency.

2) Letting the body shut down on race week:

Stay active! Stay loose! Once you get to race week, is a matter of getting a rest but not letting your systems shut down or you will feel just stale on race day. Do a lot of 20 to 40 minutes easy sessions, with a few fast strides here and there at race pace and race technique, that way you keep your muscles firing and familiar with the work that will come on race day, but keep those strides short so that won’t be long to take anything out of you for race day!

Avoid a day off the day before the race, two days out is better, do a little touch (10 minutes) the day before, just to get your rested legs going again.

3) Mental fatigue from race week hype:

Keep the hype under control. I often recommend my athletes to get to the race venue as late as possible, by doing that I know that the damage done to those who are easily caught by the hype, will be limited to a few days. If you can book your accommodation a few miles away from the race area, that really helps too.

 

Another great way to switch your mind off the event for a good few hours before race day is when you have a family member or friend with you. Although supportive (since that person is there with you anyways!), I’m sure that a conversation at dinner about something else than running, would be quite a relief for that person, this will help to put your mind at ease, relax and save your mental energy for the last 6 miles, where you will need to squeeze out every bit of mental strength to keep putting o foot in front of the other.

4) Physical fatigue from race week:

How many times have you gone to bed the night before a race and thought “ouch, my legs are tired, I shouldn’t have walked the expo for that long today”? Once again walking around the expo, standing around and talking to your buddies for hours is also part of the experience, but you should avoid those situations, especially if you are trying to improve your own PB or to perform at your best on race day.

Get one period of one day, best if 2 days out of race day to do all the socializing and shopping you want. For example if the race is on a Sunday, spend Friday morning at the expo, buy all the souvenirs you have, take as many photos you want, and catch up with all your friends on their training and racing expectations. Than this is it, avoid going back there.

5) Radical changes at your diet or sleep habits:

If you go to bed every day at mid night, is very likely you won’t be able to sleep by nine at the night before a marathon race. You will only frustrate yourself and make things even worse. For most of the athletes, if you get enough rest from a reduced training load and good sleep nights for the whole week before the race, the actual night before, doesn’t make a big difference. Same rule with your diet. Keep it simple, eat the same breakfast (or meal) you usually do before your training sessions. Diet alone won’t make you any faster on race day, but a different diet can sure cause your problems. The carbo-loading usually happens on race week anyways since you do get less training than the usual in the last few days before a race, so if you keep eating what you usually do, you will be eating more calories anyways, there is no reason to over eat the days before a race.

Some coffee drinkers try to stay away from coffee/tea on race week (or even weeks before that) to decrease caffeine tolerance, then once you have a double espresso on race morning the boost would be stronger. This can be a terrible idea since the lack of coffee will make you feel terrible, which can result in a worse than normal training session, feeling overly tired and might even play up with your confidence, which can result in bad choices. If coffee makes you feel good, keep drinking it up to race morning!

Stay fit, stay calm, tune out the noise, organize yourself and race fast!

Coach Vinnie Santana

 

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)

 

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Treadmill as a Training Tool

May 2, 2019

The treadmill is a tool that is not explored as much as it should be. It has a reputation of being boring compared to running outside. As much as there is a good deal of truth to this, it also offers many benefits that can’t be replicated on the roads for athletes of all levels. Learn more about this excellent training tool in the article below.
More Efficient Biomechanics

Running on a treadmill with zero degree incline allows you to run faster than you would on the road, but with the same aerobic load, which means you can run faster for longer, thus developing the motor skills associated with that improved speed. Make sure you keep the treadmill completely flat (no incline) at 0% grade, not 1% as some coaches or articles recommend.
What does this mean? You have a greater benefit from the same workout. This is because the feeling and load when you run for example at 4’30″/ km on the treadmill is easier than the same pace when running outside, so in order to generate the same aerobic load you are able to increase the speed.

If you can run at 4’30″/ km for 5 km outside, it is likely that you can hold around 4’15” / km on the treadmill, at the same aerobic load, same heart rate and very similar perceived effort. However, you work your motor skills at a faster rate, and by doing it frequently, your muscles will be used to working and getting that rhythm and you end up running faster because you are training your legs at a faster rate than your aerobic system.
Fewer injuries and faster recovery is another benefit of treadmill running. While it is crucial, especially for long races, to get some pounding into the legs from the long runs, for most of the other run sessions, the impact on the legs from a treadmill is lower than running outside. This allows the athlete to train at a higher quality and volume without increasing the risk of injury.
Controlled variables

The treadmill allows you to better monitor your workout improvement and that gives you the opportunity to better understand how your body responds to external factors such as sleep, diet or stress. The more often you run on the treadmill with consistent variables, a feedback is generated on where you are in terms of fitness in relation to your recent training. This can also be a gauge for your fitness level without the need of entering a race very often.

This is only possible when factors that are variable outside, become controllable on the treadmill, such as gradient, wind speed and temperature.
As you get used to doing your running on the treadmill, you can simulate the reality of a triathlon race. You can use gradients, or combine with a spinning bike to simulate your race day needs. Depending on the gym, you can swim then run, or lift weights then run and that will teach you to run on tired legs. As long as you do every workout in order to run with the best technique, you will greatly improve your ability to run well in a triathlon.

Learn Pacing

One of the major limiting factors of every athlete is to run at an appropriate pace both in training and races.

The treadmill helps you learn to control your pace, because unlike running outside, if the pace is too fast and you need to slow down, you have to manually make this change in speed and slow the treadmill down, while out on the roads, your speed may drop without you noticing.

Each time this happens, it is a stimulus for you to try to maintain the next repeat or run at the same speed until the end.

This also simulates running with a strong training partner since when you run with a faster athlete, it is easier to stick to that faster pace compared to running alone. The motivation to run with a training partner helps you achieve new speeds and goals. The same can be done with the treadmill, because you need to make the decision manually, to “give up” when you slow the treadmill down, or compared to outside running, you decide to let your training partner go.

Convenience

For some athletes based in big cities, the commute to a park or a track can just take too long, while there is usually a gym close to home with a good treadmill (which reaches at least16km/ h). You have the benefits of finishing the workout at the gym, either before or after work, in addition to the always mild temperature, regardless if outside it is too hot or cold.

Safety is also another reason for treadmill training that should not be ignored. Some athletes only have the opportunity to train early in the morning or late in the evening. The treadmill allows athletes with non-traditional schedules to train safely at whatever the time they have to run, and it also keeps them safe from cars or bicycles.

Improves ability to stay focused

The main reason for most athletes to not use the treadmill is the mental part, we may all agree that a run on the treadmill without a challenging set can be relatively boring and it just won’t beat the fun of running outdoors, especially in a nice place with a group of friends or in nature.

Enjoying training is one of the reasons why we do this sport, and the lifestyle benefits. I had an athlete who once told me “I refuse to train indoors, I do triathlons to feel the wind blowing through my hair,” which is an understandable argument. But once you care a little about performing in races, or you find yourself in a situation and circumstances where you aren’t allowed to train in nice environments, try to structure your workouts into sets on the treadmill and it can become extremely fun and challenging.

Every athlete must also learn to understand the positive side of every situation, in addition to all the benefits already mentioned in this article, running on the treadmill makes you mentally stronger and not easily distracted. This has a great value in triathlons, as you will find yourself in a situation when you will need to focus on the effort you are doing, especially later in the run leg when you are getting fatigued.

Enjoy your training,

Coach Vinnie Santana

vinnie2

 

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)

 

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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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Ironman Training – Spring Mistakes

January 4, 2019

By Alun Woodward, Online Triathlon Coach, ironguides.net

Spring is a time of growth in nature and a time of booming enthusiasm among athletes. After the cold dark winter months the nights are getting longer and the temperature is heading north, no longer are we waking up or finishing work with the prospect of training in the dark. This alone gives us a huge motivation boost but also the lighter days are signalling race season is right around the corner.

Having trained well all winter and in good shape we need to take a step back and make sure we do not get carried away with this boost in motivation. Your training plan may well have changed to coincide with the arrival of spring and the impending race season and with these changes there are some often ignored elements that need to be taken into consideration.

NUTRITION

One of the biggest mistakes being made at this time of year is with nutrition, a sudden rush among athletes to get to race weight usually means a reduction in calories. In general you are going to be training a little more and with more intensity in your spring program, if you add these 2 elements to your training program and then restrict calories you are going to be setting yourself up for a problem pretty quickly.

As you ramp up your training you need to also ramp up your calorie intake, the more intensity in your program the more the calories need to maintain the workload, the increase in training load will slowly take care of getting you to race weight without the need for restricting calories. Always have in the back of your mind you want to be at race weight for your main race not your first race unless they are one and the same! A slow progression to race weight is always the best.

Having said this judging how many calories you need is a hard one to judge so how do you know if your not getting enough? Look for the following symptoms and act upon them!

Feeling more cold than normal

If your feeling cold more than normal and others around you are not noticing this then its a sure sign your not getting enough calories by a long shot!

Have you become the GRUMP

Have you found yourself becoming grumpy at times when everything seems to be going se well for you, no idea why your feeling like this – its quite simple – you need to eat more. I see a lot of athletes who eat well and very healthy meals who very quickly get into this state and do not understand it – the problem is the meal size/ calorie load was just not enough for the demands being put on your body. Studies have shown that ab libitum feeding post intense exercise is not enough for replacing calories expended.

If you often find yourself in this state or maybe ask those close to you if your becoming like this then its time to make a big effort to up your calorie load and see your mood come back on track.

Lack of progress

If all the hard training your doing is not translating to improved fitness and speed then once again limiting calories could be your issue. We need to train hard to improve but if your not fuelling

the hard work your body will not be able to adapt, imagine building a wall of bricks without using cement – the wall will always have a limitation and keep falling down as there is nothing to hold the bricks together. If you want your body to adapt and improve you need to be providing not only the training stimulus but also the fuel for growth.

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ADDING VOLUME THROUGH SOCIAL TRAINING

Another issue athletes often fall guilty of is too much social training once the weather turns, not that training with others is a problem in itself the issue is more jumping into more training just because friends are heading out and thinking another couple of hours on the bike will make no difference as its easy! While this may seem like no issue the problem is more that the additional hours added to your training load can just be too much and too much training stimulus can also stop adaptions occurring. So if your getting lots of invitations to head out with others make sure that the sessions closely match your plan and your not adding too much volume to your overall plan.

Not only the added volume of social training needs to be considered but also the competitive side of the sessions, all too often that easy ride with friends turns into a race especially as everyone is desperate to prove their fitness after all the hard indoor sessions that have been done during the winter. Resist the urge to join in and be confident in the work you have done and remember the time to show your fitness is race day!

If you look back at last years you will generally find the friend who was sitting at the back of your group of seemed to be suffering during training sessions is the one who is up front on race day not the guy who is always charging away at the front of training sessions!

NEGLECTING RECOVERY

The arrival of spring makes us feel invincible with the added energy it seems to bring, the increase in vitamin D levels through expose to the sun is a boosting hormone and we just feel so much more alive than we did during the winter time.

This not only brings possible issues with everything above but this feeling of invincibility tends to lead us to forget the importance of recovery methods in our training program. On those cold dark winter nights it is easy to find a little time in the evening to jump on the foam roller or do any rehab strength exercises we may need to keep on top of to prevent injures but once spring rolls around we all too easily put these things away and do not think about them again until injuries hit.

Spring time with the change in training plan and intensity mentioned above is a time when we need to be even more diligent with out recovery, if your training harder the muscles are under more stress and you need to work harder to look after them in order to get the most out of yourself as an athlete.

This spring make sure you consider all we have talked about and implement them into your training plan accordingly and you will reap the rewards with improved fitness and accelerated adaptions to your training.

Eat well, eat more, recover hard and you will have the best summer race season ever.

Enjoy your training ,

***

Alun Woodward, ironguides Online Coach 

Alun Woodward

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Triathlon Maintenance program to get you through the holidays

December 7, 2018

The Holiday season is fast approaching and for athletes this time of the year presents a significant challenge when it comes to finding the time to train and still enjoy all the festivities and family time.

As we head into December its a good time to plan for the month ahead, knowing ahead of time that a little curtailing of your training program will allow you to both maintain fitness and free up time for family and friends. Taking the stress away from trying to stick rigidly to your training program and relaxing more with family and friends while maintaining fitness will see you head into the New Year refreshed and highly motivated to get back to your plan.

Firstly we need to understand that maintenance of fitness is possible with significantly reduced training volume for a period of 3-4 weeks. We need to get away from the mentality of always chasing fitness and accept that for a short time the only focus is on maintenance. So if your regular week involves 12 hours of training then you can quite safely reduce this to 6-8 hours a week. Just think if you take into account all the commuting and preparation time for these training hours you may be freeing up 10 plus hours a week – at such a busy time of year this can be very welcome extra time.

When sitting down and looking at your training schedule the first sessions you can reduce or remove are the endurance sessions, losing your long ride and run at this time of year are not going to hurt your performance. Quality in your training does need to be maintained, your strength and speed sessions are important but these too can be reduced in volume and number, we just want to make sure in each week that we hit one of each session type. For example if your run speed session called for 30minutes of intervals then this can safely be reduced by 50%, the speed remains the same to ensure we keep hitting the muscles the same way – the focus is on keeping the muscles used to the motor patterns of the workout without stressing them for progress as we would in a regular week.

EXAMPLE CHANGE – RUN SET

ORIGINAL – 2x3k moderate + 3min easy between – 4x1km hard + 90s rest

NEW SESSION – 2x2km moderate + 2min easy between – 2x1km hard + 90s rest

Rest days are not something we normally plan into a training schedule at ironguides as we believe life will always get in the way at times and force rest days upon us but during the holidays planning a rest day or 2 can work well especially if it is following a special event or night out so you can indulge without guilt at it effecting training the following day.

Talking of special events such as a night out, meals with family and friends and drinks then this does tend to come with a certain amount of guilt for many athletes, that guilt tends to be in the form of the excess calories that will be consumed. The typical response from many is the need to train more before or after such events to compensate for this over indulgence but this can lead to problems in itself as the body is already tired and stressed and training more at this time of year can over stress your immune system and leave you more prone to infections and illness.

This guilt or fear of such events if we are honest is not focussed around losing fitness but more on gaining weight, it is typical for most to put weight on over the holiday period so this fear is very real. I think one of the best quotes and one of the only factual quotes in fitness is the “six pack abs are made in the kitchen not the gym”! No amount of abdominal work is going to give you six pack if they are covered in a layer of fat from excess eating!

The reason people experience significant weight gain during the holidays is because we make no change to our regular diet and just add to this during nights out and family events! We have to make some adjustments to what we are eating in order to enjoy the festivities guilt free. Embracing intermittent fasting is a great way to do this, a simple way to control calorie intake and avoid overdoing the calories without realising.

Intermittent fasting involves a daily period of fasting, a good starting point is 16 hours per day without any calories and consuming all your calories in an 8 hour window. For example your first meal may be around midday and last meal 8pm, this not only gives the body a longer period of fat burning daily it also allows bigger more satisfying meals to meat your daily calorie requirements. For example a typical male calorie requirement per day is around 2500 calories,

MEAL 1 – 12pm to 2pm – approx 500 calories

MEAL 2 – 5pm – 800 calories

MEAL 3 – 8pm – 1200 calories

For most of us eating 1200 calories at one meal is going to be a struggle but at a restaurant or holiday meal with all the high calorie foods and drinks available getting to this quantity will not be hard at all. If you know you have a tendency to go totally overboard at such events you can further curtail your days calories leading up to the event leaving you a larger calorie buffer for the event!

So rather than seeing the solution to overeating as quite literally training your ass off look at making some little changes to how you eat through the day in order to enjoy your big meals guilt free.

Finally have some fun over the holidays, maybe throw a challenge day into your training, you are on reduced volume and you may have have a few forced rest days so your body is going to be fresh and you can use this freshness for a challenging day, maybe a crazy session you have always wanted to try or an extra long run loop. Another option is there are always a lot of fun local events on over the holidays so jump in and enjoy your fitness, Christmas Pudding runs on the 26th December are very popular in the UK and so many other fun events are out there. Locally we have a Wheelbarrow race that takes place on the 1st of December, this is a 1 mile event involving teams of 2 people and a wheelbarrow, you have to get round the course as fast as you can with one runner pushing the other in the Wheelbarrow and changing positions as many times as needed on the way round.

Make sure you take a little time to plan how your training will look over the holidays, this will allow you to enjoy the period stress free and not only maintain your fitness but you will find you go into the New Year refreshed and ready to get back to your regular training routine with rented focus and determination!

Enjoy your training.
Alun Woodward
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Ironman Performance – Overcoming a Frustrating Season

October 26, 2018

Triathlon can be very rewarding and when things are going well with training and racing all seems perfect but when we are chasing ironman performance this is not always the case. Its very easy to get stuck in a negative situation with injuries or sickness effecting plans and compromising both performance and the enjoyment we used to experience from training.

We all experience this at times as sickness is inevitable but if your not careful its easy to go through a roll coaster of sickness after sickness and before you know it a whole season has passed by in this state.

Lets start by looking at why this happens and then we will look at how to get back to full health and start enjoying and progressing once more with your training.

Firstly ironman training for performance is very stressful on the body, the simple fact of training to improve performance means we have to stress our bodies in order to force the body to adapt to that stress and progress our fitness.

The big issue that most athletes face here is balancing stress, yes we have to stress the body in order to improve but the level of stress required to bring about adaption is a lot less than most athletes think. Not only is the level of stress required less than we think but if we put our bodies under too much stress then adaption simply stops as the body cannot keep up/ adapt fast enough.

This state of being overstressed with too much training is where most athletes are, they train very hard yet see very little if any change in performance over time. Now factor into this that lifestyle stresses also play a role here. When i say lifestyle stresses i am talking about how much sleep we get, how demanding our job may be, hours spent driving or commuting for school or work, household chores and dietary stresses are all major influences on our stress levels. The body does not differentiate between training stress and lifestyle stress, so if you are overloaded with lifestyle stress and try to increase training stress then things are not going to work out well.

What happens when we do this is our bodies start to break down, our immune system is one of the first to suffer, our body is trying so hard to adapt to the stresses of training and life that our immune systems not longer have the resources available to fight off basic infections. We simply end up picking up infection after infection that normally our bodies would fight off with ease.

If this sounds familiar to you then its time to take action and make some changes. Stop looking at vitamin bottles and recovery drinks and assuming these are going to be the solution, that your simply lacking something in the diet, this is very unlikely to be the case and will not prevent this pattern of repeated infections.

Firstly we have to look at all the stresses going on and figure out which ones we can reduce in order to get our health back on track. If you work 8 hours a day with a 1 hour commute this is not generally something you can change whereas a 30min commute and 30minutes in the supermarket twice a week is something you could change by trying online shopping. If you use a gym twice a week that requires a 30min commute for strength training then maybe investing in some basic strength equipment at home would free up even more time and reduce stress.

We also have to look at training volume and intensity, this is the one area an athlete will look at last and find it hardest to change. If you generally train 10 hours a week maybe you need to reduce this to 6-8 hours a week and see if you experience better health and improved performance. I have seen time and time again with athletes that amazing performances can come from very little volume and its quite simply a result of everything being in balance and just ensuring that the body is receiving adequate stress from the training in order to force adaption.
Learning to go easy and really hard are also a lesson many athletes need to learn, so many train almost always at a moderate intensity that is very stressful on the body. For example the long run is a foundation to almost every training plan, this should be a very easy run, heart rate low and you should be able to maintain the effort for hours, you should not be finishing your long run if its 90min long feeling like your done in, you should be finishing feeling fresh and full of energy! On the other side of the equation you need to go very very hard for short periods, this is how our bodies are built, we adapt very quickly to this kind of stress so long as the intensity is short enough and hard enough, the issue most athletes have is they are so tired from going too hard on their easy workouts that when they try to go hard they are really not much above their moderate pace and so no real stimulus to adaption is going to take place.

So how do we make changes to stop this pattern reoccurring and wasting another year. Firstly you have to accept that a change is needed, and you need to accept that it is going to take some time, i like to set aside 8-12 weeks for this initial change before reevaluating.

With training we need to look at the most important sessions for health as a starter, that means we need very very easy aerobic sessions and some very very hard short duration interval sessions. What we need to take away from our training programs is all the moderate effort and long duration hard interval sessions as these are too stressful on our bodies while we are trying to recover optimal health.

Lets set 1 long run and 1 long ride per week into the schedule, on these sessions you need to keep intensity low, using a heart rate monitor would be wise here and keep volume to 90min run and 2hr30 bike – for the bike heart rate below 120 and for the run below 130 – if you need to walk to do this especially on any hills you may encounter then thats what you need to do.

Add into this program 2 short duration high intensity sessions, these are safely done on the bike or in the pool to avoid possible injury. For these to be effective the duration of interval needs to be between 30 and 45 seconds and the intensity is all out with long recovery between efforts, for example

6x40s all out effort with 3minutes very easy active recovery between

Keep the warm up and down relatively short for this session, the stimulus is coming from the all out efforts not the duration of the session, a session like this should typically take 40-60minutes no longer.

This basic program will already give you 6 hours of training in the week and add in a couple of additional easy sessions and your at the volume you should be sticking at for the 8-12 week recovery period.

So looking at your week you may now have a plan as follows

MON – ALL OUT INTERVALS IN POOL – 60min

TUE – ADDITIONAL EASY BIKE – 40min easy

WED – EASY ENDURANCE RUN – 90min

THUR – ALL OUT INTERVALS ON BIKE – 60min

FRI –

SAT – ADDITIONAL EASY RUN – 40-60min

SUN – EASY ENDURANCE BIKE – 2.5 hours
This plan may look very basic and volume low but there is plenty of training here to create stimulus and the lack off volume will allow you to push much harder on your all out intervals to help deliver the desired adaptions!

Be patient and ride out this program for the duration, do not be tempted to increase volume or intensity duration even if your feeling great and refreshed, that feeling is the desired effect and if your feeling this way then the plan is working – if you straight away increase then you will go straight back to where you were and start once more on your roller coaster of sickness.

Enjoy your training

–

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Kona Performance Nutrition: Turning Theory on its Head

October 22, 2018

Alun WoodwardHaving discussed the training approach for performance athletes aiming to race competitively in Kona, I want to now take a look at possible nutritional strategies that could be used on race day.

Nutrition for race day is a very controversial issue—and for good reason, as there is simply no one formula that works for all athletes: we are all different and have a body adapted to eating and drinking a certain way.

At the very top of the field, intensity levels are right on the edge and the fuelling needed for this is very specific. Experts in nutrition are starting to believe more and more that in Ironman the very best maybe not the best athletes, but certainly the best at taking sugar onboard as fuel without any ill effect.

Past Ironman World Champions such as Normann Stadler have been quoted as taking on board 32 energy gels during the bike, something that would make most athletes throw up without question, yet Stadler was able to metabolise this at intensity and perform to his best as a result.

Chris McCormack had his breakthrough race in Kona after falling victim to throwing up early in the race unable to take on his planned NUTRITION; after being instructed to consume only Coke, his race turned around and he finally had a solid performance in Kona.

Taking these things into account and working with pro athletes racing at this level, I think it is clear that sugar is crucial to race well but the complexity and timing are also very important. We have heard for years that the race should see us move from complex carbs to simple carbs as the race goes on, as this is easier for our system to cope with and prevents sickness. However, we see far too many people using this system suffer so it is time to try something else.

If we look at the race and the relative intensity then we can see that the most intense parts of the race are likely to be the swim and first hour of the bike—especially at the front of the race there is very little pacing. Rather than taking on complex carbs at this point, I believe it would be better to take on board simple sugars such as Coke to fuel this intensity effectively. As the race moves on, the intensity declines and this is the time to start thinking about more complex carbs and fuelling for later in the race.

So looking at a fuel plan for the day, after the swim:

BIKE: 1st hour – Coke, no solid food at this point

BIKE: 2nd and 3rd hours – this is the time to move to more traditional sports drinks/bars for fuel.

BIKE: after 3 hours – at this point fatigue will be affecting intensity and we should be looking at caffeine and a meal replacement drink which will be absorbed more readily now at a lower intensity. A product like Ensure Plus works well here.

RUN: the run in Kona is always going to start out fast and the last hour of the bike should reflect this—move back to simple sugar and stay away from solid food.

The first 10 miles are going to be fast and high intensity, along with a sudden increase in heat now the wind resistance from riding is gone. The focus for the first 10 miles is on cooling and hydration along with getting in simple sugar from an energy drink or Coke.

After 10 miles, the athletes hit Palani Hill and move away from the crowds into the lonely lava fields, a very depressing time as this is when major fatigue is going to hit the body! Taking some caffeine 1 mile before this point is going to help maintain a positive attitude at a time when many athletes lose themselves. This caffeine can come from Coke, Red Bull, or simple caffeine tablets, but the drinks will also give a sugar kick which is a big help.

RUN: Second half

The final half of the run is all about who falls apart the least. Intensity is way down at this point so more comes carbs can be effectively taken on: some solid food, jelly babies or gels work well at this point. We tend to see athletes grabbing for Coke at this stage and running on fumes between aid stations—with more complex carbs at this point a more stable finish to the race may be achieved.

By Alun ‘Woody’ Woodward – ironguides.net

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