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Is Fitness More Important Than Technique?
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Sunday, 22 March 2015 01:10
By Lance Watson (home.trainingpeaks.com)
Is fitness more important than technique for the new triathlon swimmer? The definitive answer to this question is, of course, it depends! In fact, many swim coaches will prescribe both within their swim sets.
As a triathlon swim coach I have the opportunity to see many types of swimmers as they join our group. Some are adults who swam a lot in their youth, either at the local pool, competitively on a high school swim team, or even in college. They may have been out of the water for 15 to 20 years and put on a few extra pounds, but as a coach, right away you know they can swim. Their technique may be a little rusty, and they may be out of breath after 50 yards but in a month or so they will be back making waves with their lane mates....
Cadence Debate Stuff...
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Saturday, 21 March 2015 01:10
Since we’ve started selling training plans on trisutto.com I have been asked frequently about bike cadence and why I’m such a proponent for age-group and pro triathletes from non-cycling backgrounds using low cadence training:
By Trisutto.com
My view is that if an athlete has not had the advantage of a competitive cycling background then the ability to learn how to ‘feel’ the pedal stroke, which enables a rider to spin effectively, is lost to all but an exceptional few.
Indeed, many professional cyclists who train between 750km to 1200 km a week never acquire the ability to use the high-cadence technique effectively. So if professional riders spending 6-days a week training a minimum of 4-5 hours a day are not able to find it, then what hope does someone with no cycling background putting in a maximum of 200km have of mastering the ‘Lance Armstrong high cadence’ model? In my experience very little....
80/20 Stuff...
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Friday, 20 March 2015 01:10
YndeCam Photo - A great pic that has little or nothing to do with the story.
By Mackenzie Lobby Havey (triathlon.competitor.com)
Follow the 80/20 rule for new performance gains.
To get to the finish line the fastest you have to power through at your hardest effort, but when it comes to training, a growing body of research confirms that endurance athletes should be doing 80 percent of their training at a low intensity and the other 20 percent at a moderate or high intensity. Simply put, hammering your way through every workout is ill advised.
The latest of these studies, published in the Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, demonstrated this by rounding up a group of recreational runners who ran between 30 and 43 miles per week. Half of the participants followed the 80/20 rule, ...
The Strength to Back Off...
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Thursday, 19 March 2015 01:10
By Angie Anderson (usatriathlon.org)
“One of the most important keys to success is having the discipline to do what you know you should do, even when you don’t feel like doing it.” –Unknown
This quote is typically read as a motivator. Be inspired! Be great! To quote Nike, “Just Do It!”
For a highly driven, motivated athlete, getting the work done is seldom an issue. Photos of professional athletes training through sleet and snow, wind, hail, cold, hills and heat are everywhere. We are inundated with inspiration. The harder our session, the stronger we are. Athletes are defined by their last challenge.
The problem with this innate drive however, can be a resistance to stop when injury or illness hits. Athletes want to race. They want to train. They are terrified of losing fitness. They train because they love it. They have a goal, and there is work to be done to accomplish their goal! ...
Not Resenting Your Triathlete Husband...
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Wednesday, 18 March 2015 01:10
By Laura Radniecki (trueagagpe.net)
The word “triathlon” had very little meaning to me five years ago.
I knew what a triathlon was, and I knew a few friends who had taken the triathlon class offered back when we were in high school. But aside from knowing it included three different sports, and sometimes involved a big race called an Ironman, I didn’t know much.
Oh, how things change.
My husband Matt spent 2005-2009 as an Active Duty Marine, stationed on Oahu, Hawaii. During that time, he did two tours to Iraq. Matt’s time was spent either training up for a deployment, or readjusting back to normal life after returning stateside, leaving little time for hobbies.
In 2010, we had moved back home to Minnesota, and Matt was in an accelerated bachelors degree program at the local college. He was busy, but life looked very different from what it had the previous four years....
