TRIATHLON TRAINING

By: Shannon Mulder, USAT L2 coach

A successful Triathlon season is difficult to strictly define. Some people may want to complete and not just compete in a Triathlon. Others may want to compete for the “prestige of the podium”. Still others may just want to change their unhealthy lifestyles by partaking in a cross-training (swimming, cycling, and running) regime that helps them regain their fitness. Regardless of the person’s goals, there are a lot of different training methodologies being adopted by people. Some partake in random training. This is the type of training that may get the person out on a random weekday or weekend either alone or with friends. It usually involves very little planning and doesn’t take periodization into consideration. This usually makes the exercise sessions irregular in duration or intensity. For people partaking in this method of training, there is the assumption that training progresses linearly. In Laymen’s terms, this means that there is an assumption that a person will continue to reap in the physiological benefits of training regardless of changes in duration or intensity. The important thing to the person subscribing to random training is that they actually just get out and exercise. Random training has its pro’s and con’s. If a sedentary person suddenly starts to exercise, there will be physiological improvements in the body for a period of time. Unfortunately, these benefits will eventually either plateau or lead to overtraining in the long term since a body exposed to the same stimulus over and over again becomes ineffective. That is why numerous athletes partake in periodized plans that map out their seasons.
Periodization simply means that an athlete will follow a strategic training plan for a set period of time. This period of time has a specific goal and purpose. Once this period is complete, the focus of the next period of strategic training changes slightly to accommodate physiological changes in the body. The culmination of these periods eventually should lead someone to an eventual peak in their season. Usually, these peaks are planned around big events such as the novice’s eventual first Triathlon or the seasoned Triathlete’s Championship race at the end of the season.
There are several ways of learning more about periodization. The first is to find research on the topic through various reliable sources. There is a large amount of information on Pub Med. Although this website has a lot of articles that must be purchased you can review their abstracts for free. Rest assured that the articles come from establishments using valid testing protocols publishing peer reviewed articles. Remember that just because you may hear a commercial state that their product is backed by scientific research, you should always be able to check sources that they provide. If they do not provide any such sources, you may be suspicious. You can also request some information from the governing bodies of each sport. Triathlon’s governing body is USA Triathlon (www.usatriathlon.org). Swimming’s governing body is USA Swimming (www.usaswimming.org). Track & Field’s is USA Track & Field (www.usatf.org) and Cycling’s is USA Cycling (www.usacycling.org). These governing bodies are non-profit organizations that use current scientific research to create the best possible programming for athletes and coaches. It is the primary goal of these institutions to help athletes be successful at what they love to do. Now may be a good time for a word of caution. Be careful of the articles that are not scientifically valid. The authors or vendors of this information may just be selling you information without using science. Their motivation can come from taking your money or believing that because a certain program worked for them that it will also work for you regardless of interindividual variability.
Interindividual variability accounts for the fact that individual responses to a training plan are uniquely different depending on a number of factors such as age, initial fitness levels, and health status. These differences make creating exercise programs an art form. A person’s specific needs, interests, and abilities must be taken into account when creating a program that improves adherence. These plans must take specificity of training, overload, progression, initial values, diminished returns, and reversibility into account. In other words, there is an art of exercise programming that can help someone maximize usage of their time as well as the outcome of their performance. Creating a periodized schedule will involve training in different intensities for differing durations. The phases will incorporate aerobic and anaerobic training, sport specific training (I.E. bricks), and tapers. If these topics seem overwhelming, there are various ways in which a person can get help. The University of Utah provides Triathlon Training courses to people not enrolled at the University and also to students for credit. These courses run three days per week for 6 week sessions. More information for non-enrolled students can be found at www.continue.utah.edu/noncredit/. Classes are extremely affordable and fun. Weekend and weekday short clinics are also available. The University of Utah Exercise and Sport Science Department also offers free riding and running dates to train with groups of people who share the same interests. You can find out more information by contacting me at Shannon.mulder@utah.edu. If the University isn’t for you, there are USAT coaches throughout the valley willing and able to help any athlete reach their desired potential. You can also look for free lectures on the REI calendar. There are various clubs also set up throughout the valley. Now, get up and get moving!

New study finds lowfat chocolate milk is effective post-exercise recovery aid for soccer players

(AND TRIATHLETES)

Soccer players and exercise enthusiasts now have another reason to reach for lowfat chocolate milk after a hard workout, suggests a new study from James Madison University presented at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting. Post-exercise consumption of lowfat chocolate milk was found to provide equal or possibly superior muscle recovery compared to a high-carbohydrate recovery beverage with the same amount of calories. In this study, 13 male college soccer players participated in "normal" training for one week, then were given lowfat chocolate milk or a high-carbohydrate recovery beverage daily after intense training for four days. After a two week break, the athletes went through a second round of "normal" training, followed by four-day intensified training to compare their recovery experiences following each beverage (with the same amount of calories). Prior to the intense training, at day two and at the completion of this double-blind study, the researchers conducted specific tests to evaluate "markers" of muscle recovery.

All of the athletes increased their daily training times during the intensified training, regardless of post-exercise beverage yet after two and four days of intensified training, chocolate milk drinkers had significantly lower levels of creatine kinase – an indicator of muscle damage – compared to when they drank the carbohydrate beverage. There were no differences between the two beverages in effects on, soccer-specific performance tests, subjective ratings of muscle soreness, mental and physical fatigue and other measures of muscle strength. The results indicate that lowfat chocolate milk is effective in the recovery and repair of muscles after intense training for these competitive soccer players.

This new study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting milk may be just as effective as some commercial sports drinks in helping athletes recover and rehydrate. Chocolate milk has the advantage of additional nutrients not found in most traditional sports drinks. Studies suggest that when consumed after exercise, milk's mix of high-quality protein and carbohydrates can help refuel exhausted muscles. The protein in milk helps build lean muscle and recent research suggests it may reduce exercise-induced muscle damage. Milk also provides fluids for rehydration and minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium that recreational exercisers and elite athletes alike need to replace after strenuous activity.

Nearly 18 million Americans play soccer, according to American Sports Data, and millions more engage in recreational sports. Many experts agree that the two-hour window after exercise is an important, yet often neglected, part of a fitness routine. After strenuous exercise, this post-workout recovery period is critical for active people at all fitness levels – to help make the most of a workout and stay in top shape for the next exercise bout. Sweating not only results in fluid losses, but also important minerals including calcium, potassium and magnesium. The best recovery routine should replace fluids and nutrients lost in sweat, and help muscles recover.

Increasingly, fitness experts consider chocolate milk an effective (and affordable and enjoyable) option as a post-exercise recovery drink. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that Americans drink three glasses of lowfat or fat free milk every day. Drinking lowfat chocolate milk after a workout is a good place to start.
Source: Weber Shandwick Worldwide

MENTAL TRAINING: GETTING PAST "THE WALL"

BY NICOLE MILLER, PhD

The WALL. The formidable, imposing, seemingly impenetrable WALL. You’ve hit it before. You fear it now. You know it’s coming. But what can you do? Realize this: your mind will give up long before your body; however, once your mind goes, your body quickly follows. Your body knows only two things: injury and what your mind tells it to do. When you start thinking, “I’m tired”, “this hurts”, etc., your body responds by creating those sensations. Most of the time, if you can keep your mind going in a positive direction, your body will continue to achieve your goal. Triathletes have used many techniques to overcome hitting the wall, one of the most popular being self-talk. As soon as you say to yourself, “I want to quit”, your body responds by quitting. So, what would happen if you said, “I can keep going”, or “this is what I’ve been training for”. Keeping your mind moving forward will keep your body moving forward. A popular thought on attention is that we can only pay attention to one stimulus at a given moment. Therefore, if you are thinking about moving forward, you are not thinking about wanting to stop. It takes a conscious effort to stay on top of your mind, but if you truly want to have control over your performance, and either avoid or break through that wall, you must first control your brain. So, take a lesson from Dory on Finding Nemo, and tell yourself to, “just keep swimming”.

Want to learn more from Nicole? She can be reached at (801)712-7956; nicole@headstrongconsulting.com; or www.headstrongconsulting.com.