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Coach Matt is a freelance author and his articles have been featured in a wide variety of publications such as Triathlete, Runners World, Mens Fitness, H2O, Inside Triathlon, Atlanta Sports Fitness, Competitor, Triathlon Life, Performance Conditioning and Active.com. If you would like permission to use his content, or for freelance authorship inquiries please email him coachmatt@sportfactory.com
10 Practical Rules of Dietary Fitness
100 Wins
From Adventure Racing to Xterra, The Sport Factory team members and coached athletes have taken home the top gold in a very eclectic variety of endurance sports.
Are You a Wet Sponge?
There are a great number of things that affect how much training volume a person can absorb in a given time period, including individual physiology, stress/lifestyle, nutrition, age, recovery technique, sleep amount and quality, and of course practicality.
The Ever Shifting Paradigm of Training
But even a successful athlete gradually moves towards the “glass ceiling’ of their physiological limiters season after season. It takes a progressively more creative training process to address these limiters and squeeze more speed out of an already fast athlete.
5k Warm Up Process
A sound pacing strategy will pull the most out of you but a proper warm up process is also critical for short/fast events.
6 Steps To The Ultimately Clean Bicycle
There is clean, and there is spotless. When it comes to my bicycle I prefer the later...
A Few Facts on Fat
If you are trying to achieve a more effective power to weight ratio body fat is the ballast you want to drop, however, during endurance training and events fat is the fuel source you want to utilize the most.
Absorb, Process, Persevere
A successful athlete is like Teflon; they do not let negativity stick to them.
Address Footstrike for Running Speed
A good foot-strike involves brief, forceful contraction under or slightly in front of the center of gravity.
Aerobic Base Training- Going Slower to Get Faster
Base Mistakes
To make the most of your base phase, you may need to dispose of a few myths and rationalizations.
Beat The Heat
It is important to understand your body’s individual physiological response to a hot and/or humid environment, and how much energy it must expend to cool itself. You may be surprised that most of the chemical energy used for muscular contraction is lost as heat-- up to 90% at high intensities!
Bike Selection and Purchase 101
Find out how to select your purchase of a bicycle based on price, components, and value...
Body Type, Training, and Racing
When it comes training and racing, your body type is an important consideration.
Calculate Your Sweat Rate
Knowing how much fluid you need to take in is very valuable for athletic performance. In order to calculate this you must estimate how much your body will loose in a given condition.
Cannondale Slice- Cannondale Goes Full Carbon
Coaching Desire
Even the best, most efficient training plan is useless without the determination and desire to follow it.
Coming Back From Catastrophe
Even the most attentive cyclist has no control over the actions of others. When disaster does strike it can take your passion away only to have it replaced with fear and trepidation.
Coming Back From Catastrophe
Ginny continues to be a source of light and inspiration to those around her.
Concentrating Your Pedal Force
You may either pedal with greater force, more pedal velocity, or both to achieve greater speed. In order to accomplish this you must first transfer your body's energy to the pedals.
Correcting Knees Out Pedaling
of the more common issues I see with cyclists is bow-legged or knees-out pedaling. This is almost never efficient and often causes discomfort (or worse) in the knees.
Designing The Hybrid Training Plan
The most difficult training plan to design is one that addresses multiple and diverse events in a single season.
Developing Your Junior Athlete
It is very important to provide a level of training and teaching that is commensurate with the junior athlete’s age, experience, and interest.
Do You Have Training Discipline?
Do You Know the Rules?
The presentation he gave the club was very informative and some of the more common rule violations were surprising.
Don't Week End Stack Your Training
If you have a full time job it is probably most difficult to find the hours to train on week days.
Drafting Dilemma
...the big question is if something should be done, and if the answer is "yes," then it becomes what and when.
Eliminate The Junk Miles
Before you begin your training for the day you should ask yourself one question, What is the specific purpose of this workout?
Fast Does Not Equal Strong
What makes one ‘strong' is a stable, flexible, and balanced platform that allows maximum recruitment and firing of sport specific muscle fibers. This platform can often be improved upon, and that is where strength training enters the picture.
Fat Loading
...however, we have enough fat in our bodies to complete virtually any event with energy to spare. Better utilization of this stored energy for long endurance events could give an athlete a key advantage.
Focus On The Bike
Triathlon coaches recommend you spend your majority of the time developing your cycling because you spend the most time in a triathlon on the bike; right?
For Running Speed, Hit the Hills Season Long
Hill work is some of the most productive training you can perform. There is no doubt that runners who regularly hit the hills get faster. However, you should vary your hill routines, throughout the season just as you should vary your training.
From Sofa to Starting Line in 90 days
An athlete's journey to his first multi-sport event.
General Fitness vs. Athletic Achievment
Not only were they able to achieve their fitness goals but they developed a change in attitude; a sense of pride and a new realization of their capabilities.
Get Acclimated To Go Aero
After realizing the disadvantage of competing on a traditional road bike, many understand that it is time to go aero. This can, unfortunately, be a painful process.
Get Course Specific
But the athlete that addresses course specifics in their training will have a leg up on the competition.
Get Fitted To Get Fast
In order to get the most value out of your investment your bicycle should fit you like a glove. The three main considerations in fitting a cyclist are comfort, power production, and aerodynamics. You must choose a balance and proportion of these three elements in order to achieve your optimal fit.
Get Under The Wind
Reducing this wind resistance is a key consideration in increasing speed. The more upright your riding position, the more aerodynamic drag you create.
Give Some Space on Race Week
....race week stress levels do run very high. It is important not only for the athlete to recognize this, but their spouse or significant other as well.
Going For Broke
A young man heals very quickly but this type of trauma affects the body for a lifetime.
Good at Many; Great at One
If you consider yourself a competitive athlete you may only have a window of so many years to achieve your best results.
How Long Does It Take To Recover?
A common assumption is that a day or two allows full recovery from training or racing. For the most part this level of rest will allow you to resume training...
How do I achieve my goals?
Some simple observations on the phsychological skill sets needed for successful goal setting and completion.
Implement Trail Running for Injury Prevention
Learn to Ride Faster and Safer with Bike Handling Drills
A lot of crashes can be avoided by being aware of your surroundings and having the skills necessary to react instinctively to emergency situations.
Mark Your Seat
Massive Volume Does Not Equal Massive Performance
Many athletes (and some coaches) insist on throwing massive amounts of training volume at themselves with the idea that more volume equals more speed.
Mental Peaking
What are the characteristics of a mentally peaked athlete, and how do you obtain them?
Mental Skills For Training and Racing
Mental Skills- A Winners Mentality
Mental Skills- Adapt and Overcome
Metronome Running
Money Can Make a Difference
It is the rider not the bike that determines speed correct?
Morning Hydration
We may wake up in a dehydrated state and begin our work outs with a strike against us.
Motivate Me?
Motivation is something athletes are always seeking, but can be elusive to obtain...
Multi-Sport Race Tactics
There are, however, instances where tactics and strategy can help you defeat an opponent in a close race.
Never Try
�I will try" is not a positive affirmation. To try is to simply make an attempt and then leave the rest to chance.
Overcoming Race Shock
This should be your wake up call; you are not training at intensities or durations that mimic that of your races.
Pacing and Performance Predictions
No athlete likes to be passed during a race. A natural reaction is speed up and attempt to keep pace with the person whose dust you are now eating...
Point Of Diminishing Returns?
One thing is for certain- the faster you get the harder it is to get faster.
Pool Running For Injury Recovery
With the use of a flotation belt and a good program you can use water running as an effective means of run training while you let your body heal.
Post Work Out Icing
Power Training - Beware of the High Bar
Coach Matt reviews the basics of training with power.
Power Training- Using A Power Meter For Triathlon Pacing
...however, if used to correctly, a power meter is a powerful tool that can increase training accuracy and facilitate a much higher level of post race or work out analysis. Utilizing a power meter within a multisport pacing strategy can give a tactical edge as well. If you are one of those athletes that like to work every angle, adding a power meter to your arsenal may be appropriate.
Progressive, Gradual, and Quantifiable- The Training Process
Random training produces random results. You may get faster, you may get slower, or you may make no progress at all. In order to increase your fitness level a few basic and key elements need to be in place.
Quick Transitions Tips
Many athletes do not practice transitions and end up fumbling on race day, wasting valuable seconds.
Race Day Equipment Check
H aving an equipment failure during a race is probably the most frustrating thing that can happen to an athlete.
Race Day Mental Skills
Race Pacing and Avoiding Placement Predictions
Race Week Readiness
Redline- Designing Your Individual Pacing Strategy
Athletes often contemplate what the “right” or “correct” pace should be for a particular triathlon or duathlon distance. Designing and implementing a race pacing strategy can be challenging as pacing is highly individualized, and there are a variety of methods and ways to approach pacing.
Rolling Over Road Obstacles
Like all cycling skills there is a specific way to keep your self on the bike when faced with an obstacle in your path.
Running Off The Bike
Running On Faith
I have worked with athletes who are emotionally fueled by a combination of every one of these motivators. I was surprised by Jackie Seibert�s, though; her motivator is her faith, which I find fascinating. It must be a powerful one as she recently finished 7th overall female and 2nd in her division at the Atlanta ING Marathon.
Should I Buy a Power Meter?
Although I believe training with power does offer a significant advantages in training accuracy and analysis, I also recognize that it is not for everyone. There are some key questions you should ask yourself before purchasing a power meter.
Side Stich and Inspiratory Muscle Training
If this scenario sounds familiar, you have likely experienced “runners stitch,” a fairly common malady that affects as much as 60% of all runners (although not exclusive to the sport of running). There are many theories as to what causes runners or side stitch but the exact cause remains unknown.
Sitting Up
You can shave a considerable amount of time off of your bike split by knowing when to change your riding position in a race.
Sneak Peak- Giant Trinity Advanced SL
Take a sneak peak at the most aerodynamic bike on the planet
Soft Surface Running
The impact forces and eccentric contractions associated with running stress muscles, ligaments, and tendons to a point that requires greater recovery than the other sports.
Sport Supplements- Let The Buyer Beware
...to make the selection process even more trying the multi-billion dollar supplement industry is an unregulated wild west of products.
Ten Commandments of Training
Ten Quick Fixes to Save Your Running Knees Long Term
The Blessing and Curse of Training Technology
The landscape of training and coaching technology has changed pretty dramatically in the last decade. Just as our phones, computers, and televisions have transformed so has the hardware we train with, and the software we utilize to analyze our training. And all new technology eventually becomes less expensive and trickles down to the masses.
The Culmination
The peaking process dictates that the closer you get to a goal race, the more specific and race-like your training must become.
The Golden Ratio
If you are a cyclist, power to weight ratio is the golden ratio.
The Injury Shuffle
The Last 10%
Mentally these efforts are the hardest to focus for and require the most fortitude to complete, but they may be the necessary stimulus to prepare you for your next race.
The Most Efficient Athlete Wins
...it does demonstrate how important efficiency is, and that the most fit athlete does not always win.
There Is No "Off" Season
The fall and winter is a common time for athletes' to wrap up their race season. It is also a good to take some time off and let you body recuperate from the rigors of high intensity training and racing. Some athletes take as much as four weeks off, but this does result in loss of fitness and requires making up lost ground later. Endurance especially is one of the more difficult aspects of fitness to rebuild. A better approach is to enter a "transition" period in which training and intensity are reduced; perhaps greatly, but a level of fitness is maintained.
Tighten Your Bolts
Time to Hang Up the Bike?
When is it time to take a break? How do we decide when to step away from the training and racing that has driven us all year?
Train Your Weakness
A fairly typical mistake athletes make is that they focus too much of their training time on what they are good at.
Training Technique
Training Technique
Travel Cycling- Taking Your Work Out on the Road
...you have not been on your bike since last Sunday's ride and feel you are losing your fitness in the face of your upcoming race. You go down to the hotel gym and find one somewhat dilapidated Lifecycle. How is it possible to get a good workout in on one of these? Will the fitness remotely transfer to real road cycling?
VO2 Max- How Big is Your Engine
Warm Up in Winter
What Happens When The Wheels Come Off?
The very nature of endurance sports is to prolong this stress which creates a constant battle between the unconscious central governor and the conscious will.
When Not To Train
Training, simply, is adding specific stress to the body. Your body then adapts to the stress load, and gets stronger, faster, or more powerful. There are times when completing your work out is detrimental to your training and perhaps your health.
Who Needs a Coach?
The athletes that are most hesitant to obtain a coach could often benefit the most. A common perception is that coaching is for "serious" athletes only. In actuality, anyone who wants to work toward a physical goal, or reach their true potential can benefit greatly from coaching.
Why Am I Doing This; Again?
Why Do Triathletes Run Funny?
Why Schedule a Transition Phase?
The transition phase may be referred to as �off season� training but is not a time to take �off.� Actually, there is no �off� season. The transition phase is the time of year to let your body fully recover, both mentally and physically, while maintaining a level of fitness.
10 Practical Rules of Dietary Fitness
100 Wins
|
Are You a Wet Sponge?
There are a great number of things that affect how much training volume a person can absorb in a given time period, including individual physiology, stress/lifestyle, nutrition, age, recovery technique, sleep amount and quality, and of course practicality.
The Ever Shifting Paradigm of Training
But even a successful athlete gradually moves towards the “glass ceiling’ of their physiological limiters season after season. It takes a progressively more creative training process to address these limiters and squeeze more speed out of an already fast athlete.
5k Warm Up Process
A sound pacing strategy will pull the most out of you but a proper warm up process is also critical for short/fast events.
6 Steps To The Ultimately Clean Bicycle
There is clean, and there is spotless. When it comes to my bicycle I prefer the later...
A Few Facts on Fat
If you are trying to achieve a more effective power to weight ratio body fat is the ballast you want to drop, however, during endurance training and events fat is the fuel source you want to utilize the most.
Absorb, Process, Persevere
A successful athlete is like Teflon; they do not let negativity stick to them.
Address Footstrike for Running Speed
A good foot-strike involves brief, forceful contraction under or slightly in front of the center of gravity.
Aerobic Base Training- Going Slower to Get Faster
One of the hardest concepts for an athlete to understand and implement is base training. It is counterintuitive to run or bike slowly in order to gain performance later in the season
Base Mistakes
To make the most of your base phase, you may need to dispose of a few myths and rationalizations.
Beat The Heat
It is important to understand your body’s individual physiological response to a hot and/or humid environment, and how much energy it must expend to cool itself. You may be surprised that most of the chemical energy used for muscular contraction is lost as heat-- up to 90% at high intensities!
Bike Selection and Purchase 101
Find out how to select your purchase of a bicycle based on price, components, and value...
Body Type, Training, and Racing
When it comes training and racing, your body type is an important consideration.
Calculate Your Sweat Rate
Knowing how much fluid you need to take in is very valuable for athletic performance. In order to calculate this you must estimate how much your body will loose in a given condition.
Cannondale Slice- Cannondale Goes Full Carbon
|
Coaching Desire
Even the best, most efficient training plan is useless without the determination and desire to follow it.
Coming Back From Catastrophe
Even the most attentive cyclist has no control over the actions of others. When disaster does strike it can take your passion away only to have it replaced with fear and trepidation.
Coming Back From Catastrophe
|
Concentrating Your Pedal Force
You may either pedal with greater force, more pedal velocity, or both to achieve greater speed. In order to accomplish this you must first transfer your body's energy to the pedals.
Correcting Knees Out Pedaling
of the more common issues I see with cyclists is bow-legged or knees-out pedaling. This is almost never efficient and often causes discomfort (or worse) in the knees.
Designing The Hybrid Training Plan
The most difficult training plan to design is one that addresses multiple and diverse events in a single season.
Developing Your Junior Athlete
It is very important to provide a level of training and teaching that is commensurate with the junior athlete’s age, experience, and interest.
Do You Have Training Discipline?
Even though you may be a disciplined athlete, training discipline means performing the right volume, intensity, and work out and then allowing your body to recover from it. It also means knowing when not to train. Training too hard can be more detrimental than not enough.
Do You Know the Rules?
The presentation he gave the club was very informative and some of the more common rule violations were surprising.
Don't Week End Stack Your Training
If you have a full time job it is probably most difficult to find the hours to train on week days.
Drafting Dilemma
...the big question is if something should be done, and if the answer is "yes," then it becomes what and when.
Eliminate The Junk Miles
Before you begin your training for the day you should ask yourself one question, What is the specific purpose of this workout?
Fast Does Not Equal Strong
What makes one ‘strong' is a stable, flexible, and balanced platform that allows maximum recruitment and firing of sport specific muscle fibers. This platform can often be improved upon, and that is where strength training enters the picture.
Fat Loading
...however, we have enough fat in our bodies to complete virtually any event with energy to spare. Better utilization of this stored energy for long endurance events could give an athlete a key advantage.
Focus On The Bike
Triathlon coaches recommend you spend your majority of the time developing your cycling because you spend the most time in a triathlon on the bike; right?
For Running Speed, Hit the Hills Season Long
Hill work is some of the most productive training you can perform. There is no doubt that runners who regularly hit the hills get faster. However, you should vary your hill routines, throughout the season just as you should vary your training.
From Sofa to Starting Line in 90 days
An athlete's journey to his first multi-sport event.
General Fitness vs. Athletic Achievment
Not only were they able to achieve their fitness goals but they developed a change in attitude; a sense of pride and a new realization of their capabilities.
Get Acclimated To Go Aero
After realizing the disadvantage of competing on a traditional road bike, many understand that it is time to go aero. This can, unfortunately, be a painful process.
Get Course Specific
But the athlete that addresses course specifics in their training will have a leg up on the competition.
Get Fitted To Get Fast
In order to get the most value out of your investment your bicycle should fit you like a glove. The three main considerations in fitting a cyclist are comfort, power production, and aerodynamics. You must choose a balance and proportion of these three elements in order to achieve your optimal fit.
Get Under The Wind
Reducing this wind resistance is a key consideration in increasing speed. The more upright your riding position, the more aerodynamic drag you create.
Give Some Space on Race Week
....race week stress levels do run very high. It is important not only for the athlete to recognize this, but their spouse or significant other as well.
Going For Broke
A young man heals very quickly but this type of trauma affects the body for a lifetime.
Good at Many; Great at One
If you consider yourself a competitive athlete you may only have a window of so many years to achieve your best results.
How Long Does It Take To Recover?
A common assumption is that a day or two allows full recovery from training or racing. For the most part this level of rest will allow you to resume training...
How do I achieve my goals?
Some simple observations on the phsychological skill sets needed for successful goal setting and completion.
Implement Trail Running for Injury Prevention
Joint stability and integrity is crucial for injury prevention. This is where trail running comes in...
Learn to Ride Faster and Safer with Bike Handling Drills
A lot of crashes can be avoided by being aware of your surroundings and having the skills necessary to react instinctively to emergency situations.
Mark Your Seat
Massive Volume Does Not Equal Massive Performance
Many athletes (and some coaches) insist on throwing massive amounts of training volume at themselves with the idea that more volume equals more speed.
Mental Peaking
What are the characteristics of a mentally peaked athlete, and how do you obtain them?
Mental Skills For Training and Racing
Learning and refining your mental skills can give you an advantage over more talented but less focused athletes. The ability to focus mentally is equally important in training and racing, and can make each work out more productive. Mental skills are an often neglected part of training. It is advantageous to develop and refine your mental as well as your physical skills.
Mental Skills- A Winners Mentality
There are key psychological characteristics a winning athlete must possess. These are just as important as natural ability and can be identified and worked on just as you would a physical limiter.
Mental Skills- Adapt and Overcome
We have all heard the phrase �adapt and overcome� but when faced with a situation that challenges us it takes skill, practice, and discipline to implement this strategy. To adapt requires flexibility; to overcome- resolve. These skills are not necessarily innate, but can be learned and practiced.
Metronome Running
Money Can Make a Difference
It is the rider not the bike that determines speed correct?
Morning Hydration
We may wake up in a dehydrated state and begin our work outs with a strike against us.
Motivate Me?
Motivation is something athletes are always seeking, but can be elusive to obtain...
Multi-Sport Race Tactics
There are, however, instances where tactics and strategy can help you defeat an opponent in a close race.
Never Try
�I will try" is not a positive affirmation. To try is to simply make an attempt and then leave the rest to chance.
Overcoming Race Shock
This should be your wake up call; you are not training at intensities or durations that mimic that of your races.
Pacing and Performance Predictions
No athlete likes to be passed during a race. A natural reaction is speed up and attempt to keep pace with the person whose dust you are now eating...
Point Of Diminishing Returns?
One thing is for certain- the faster you get the harder it is to get faster.
Pool Running For Injury Recovery
With the use of a flotation belt and a good program you can use water running as an effective means of run training while you let your body heal.
Post Work Out Icing
Power Training - Beware of the High Bar
Coach Matt reviews the basics of training with power.
Power Training- Using A Power Meter For Triathlon Pacing
...however, if used to correctly, a power meter is a powerful tool that can increase training accuracy and facilitate a much higher level of post race or work out analysis. Utilizing a power meter within a multisport pacing strategy can give a tactical edge as well. If you are one of those athletes that like to work every angle, adding a power meter to your arsenal may be appropriate.
Progressive, Gradual, and Quantifiable- The Training Process
Random training produces random results. You may get faster, you may get slower, or you may make no progress at all. In order to increase your fitness level a few basic and key elements need to be in place.
Quick Transitions Tips
Many athletes do not practice transitions and end up fumbling on race day, wasting valuable seconds.
Race Day Equipment Check
H aving an equipment failure during a race is probably the most frustrating thing that can happen to an athlete.
Race Day Mental Skills
Race Pacing and Avoiding Placement Predictions
No athlete likes to be passed during a race. A natural reaction is speed up and attempt to keep pace with the person whose dust you are now eating, but in doing so you just got pulled out of your game and put into theirs.
Race Week Readiness
Redline- Designing Your Individual Pacing Strategy
Athletes often contemplate what the “right” or “correct” pace should be for a particular triathlon or duathlon distance. Designing and implementing a race pacing strategy can be challenging as pacing is highly individualized, and there are a variety of methods and ways to approach pacing.
Rolling Over Road Obstacles
Like all cycling skills there is a specific way to keep your self on the bike when faced with an obstacle in your path.
Running Off The Bike
Once a cramp or pull occurs it will probably get progressively worse. By using these techniques you will adopt a smooth and injury free transition from the bike to the run.
Running On Faith
I have worked with athletes who are emotionally fueled by a combination of every one of these motivators. I was surprised by Jackie Seibert�s, though; her motivator is her faith, which I find fascinating. It must be a powerful one as she recently finished 7th overall female and 2nd in her division at the Atlanta ING Marathon.
Should I Buy a Power Meter?
Although I believe training with power does offer a significant advantages in training accuracy and analysis, I also recognize that it is not for everyone. There are some key questions you should ask yourself before purchasing a power meter.
Side Stich and Inspiratory Muscle Training
If this scenario sounds familiar, you have likely experienced “runners stitch,” a fairly common malady that affects as much as 60% of all runners (although not exclusive to the sport of running). There are many theories as to what causes runners or side stitch but the exact cause remains unknown.
Sitting Up
You can shave a considerable amount of time off of your bike split by knowing when to change your riding position in a race.
Sneak Peak- Giant Trinity Advanced SL
|
Soft Surface Running
The impact forces and eccentric contractions associated with running stress muscles, ligaments, and tendons to a point that requires greater recovery than the other sports.
Sport Supplements- Let The Buyer Beware
...to make the selection process even more trying the multi-billion dollar supplement industry is an unregulated wild west of products.
Ten Commandments of Training
Ten Quick Fixes to Save Your Running Knees Long Term
Because of the compressive forces and types of muscle contractions involved, running can be very hard on your body. If you are a large or heavy set person; harder still. If you plan on running long term there are some basic rules to follow which will keep you striding long term.
The Blessing and Curse of Training Technology
The landscape of training and coaching technology has changed pretty dramatically in the last decade. Just as our phones, computers, and televisions have transformed so has the hardware we train with, and the software we utilize to analyze our training. And all new technology eventually becomes less expensive and trickles down to the masses.
The Culmination
The peaking process dictates that the closer you get to a goal race, the more specific and race-like your training must become.
The Golden Ratio
If you are a cyclist, power to weight ratio is the golden ratio.
The Injury Shuffle
The Last 10%
Mentally these efforts are the hardest to focus for and require the most fortitude to complete, but they may be the necessary stimulus to prepare you for your next race.
The Most Efficient Athlete Wins
...it does demonstrate how important efficiency is, and that the most fit athlete does not always win.
There Is No "Off" Season
The fall and winter is a common time for athletes' to wrap up their race season. It is also a good to take some time off and let you body recuperate from the rigors of high intensity training and racing. Some athletes take as much as four weeks off, but this does result in loss of fitness and requires making up lost ground later. Endurance especially is one of the more difficult aspects of fitness to rebuild. A better approach is to enter a "transition" period in which training and intensity are reduced; perhaps greatly, but a level of fitness is maintained.
Tighten Your Bolts
Time to Hang Up the Bike?
When is it time to take a break? How do we decide when to step away from the training and racing that has driven us all year?
Train Your Weakness
A fairly typical mistake athletes make is that they focus too much of their training time on what they are good at.
Training Technique
Having an effective training plan is very important, but if you are reinforcing bad habits or technique with your training you are working against yourself. Technique, form, and skill are often overlooked facets of training. Athletes should spend a portion of each season perfecting their form, just as they work on strength, endurance, and speed.
Training Technique
Travel Cycling- Taking Your Work Out on the Road
...you have not been on your bike since last Sunday's ride and feel you are losing your fitness in the face of your upcoming race. You go down to the hotel gym and find one somewhat dilapidated Lifecycle. How is it possible to get a good workout in on one of these? Will the fitness remotely transfer to real road cycling?
VO2 Max- How Big is Your Engine
Warm Up in Winter
What Happens When The Wheels Come Off?
The very nature of endurance sports is to prolong this stress which creates a constant battle between the unconscious central governor and the conscious will.
When Not To Train
Training, simply, is adding specific stress to the body. Your body then adapts to the stress load, and gets stronger, faster, or more powerful. There are times when completing your work out is detrimental to your training and perhaps your health.
Who Needs a Coach?
The athletes that are most hesitant to obtain a coach could often benefit the most. A common perception is that coaching is for "serious" athletes only. In actuality, anyone who wants to work toward a physical goal, or reach their true potential can benefit greatly from coaching.
Why Am I Doing This; Again?
All athletes train for various reasons. These reasons are what keep us going. It is important to regularly examine your motives and ambitions and to keep them close to you. Without an internal purpose to our training we are like old plow mules; slogging along because we always have. Without a purpose your enthusiasm to train and compete will eventually fade.
Why Do Triathletes Run Funny?
Why Schedule a Transition Phase?
The transition phase may be referred to as �off season� training but is not a time to take �off.� Actually, there is no �off� season. The transition phase is the time of year to let your body fully recover, both mentally and physically, while maintaining a level of fitness.
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