Triathlons

How A Triathlete Trains Through Nagging Sports Injuries

Swimmer's shoulder, sports hernia, lower back muscle strain, tendonitis, groin pull and foot stress fracture are just a few of the sports injuries I have had to manage as a triathlete in training.

Triathletes with injuries often feel conflicted about how much of their training is necessary to scale back in order to achieve healing and recovery.

Recently, I was in the doctor's office with a lower back issue. As the doctor was explaining my injury, my mind was already fast at work determining ways I could work around it in my training.

If you have had a recent sport injury, one of your main concerns will be how this is going to affect your training. There is not a one-size-fits-all answer, because each triathlete and each injury is unique. Returning too soon can increase your risk of re-injury or developing a chronic problem that will lead to a longer recovery. Waiting too long, however, can lead to unnecessary de-conditioning.

So, how does a triathlete train through nagging injuries?

Continue reading: Training Through Nagging Sports Injuries

Addressing Lower Back Problems In The Triathlete

Between 2 and 6 million Americans suffer serious back pain every year. At some point in their lives, 4 out of 5 adults will suffer a pain severe enough to warrant medical care.

The sport of triathlon continues to grow by leaps and bounds. This has also raised the numbers in some unfortunate categories, such as the numbers of people in sports clinics and doctor's offices with lower back problems. Resent research shows that the 2 primary risk factors for long-term back problems include sports-related injuries and overuse.

Initially, it was believed that triathletes would be associated with less overuse injury due to more balanced stress distribution in the musculoskeletal system. Unfortunately, this has not born out to be true.

In a study done among a group of Ironman triathletes, 91% of them had suffered at least one soft-tissue overuse injury during the previous year's training. Spine injuries were most common, with 72% of the triathletes reporting low-back pain.

There are several reasons why the sport of triathlon may have a high percentage of cases of lower back problems among its athletes, including: 

Continue reading: Lower Back Problems For Triathletes

What Every Triathlete Needs To Know About Carbohydrates

There are 4 macronutrients every triathlete must effectively blend into their daily diet: protein, fat, carbohydrate, and water.

How much of each you include in your diet significantly impacts the quality of our triathlon training and performance.

Every triathlete must determine what their specific nutrition and daily dietary needs are based on gender, body weight, level of training, and any specific nutrition needs related to a specific health or medical condition.

A general rule of thumb states that a healthy balance of key nutrients is:

• 55-60% healthy carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans)

• 15-20% lean protein (soy, low-fat dairy, chicken breast, fish, round steak, turkey)

• 20-25% healthy fats (avocado, nuts, seeds, olives)

In addition, you should spread out your total calorie needs into 4-6 smaller meals throughout the day.

Continue reading: Triathletes And Carbohydrates

What Every Triathlete Should Know About The Power-To-Weight Ratio

There can always be something a triathlete doesn't like about their body. But since your basic body type is primarily determined through genetics, it's futile to lament what you can't change.

Maybe you are tall, thin, and lanky, or perhaps you are short, broad, and husky. The trick is to use what you've been given to your advantage.

Whatever body type you may have, improving your power-to-weight ratio (PWR) will aid you in reaching your full potential as a triathlete.

It is also known as strength-to-weight ratio. It's especially critical as it relates to running and cycling; not quite as much with the swim, due to the buoyancy of the water.

For most triathletes, one of the most simple and cost-effective ways to get faster is to explore ways to increase your power-to-weight ratio.

Continue reading: Power-To-Weight Ratio Explained

How To Become A Better Swimmer

For a lot of triathletes, swimming is their “limiter” or area needing the most improvement.

Of course, this wouldn’t be true if you have a strong swim background, but many triathletes don’t.

When I became interested in the sport of triathlon I barely knew how to swim at all. At first, I had a negative attitude about swimming. It was something I knew that had to get done, but I didn’t feel like I was ever quite getting it, certainly not enjoying it. Biking and running were much more do-able, swimming was a constant battle.

Swimming was especially difficult for me at first because I assumed that good swimming was a matter of being in peak condition and exerting intense effort. Basically, I figured I could muscle my way through it.

It became increasingly frustrating to see how slow I was swimming, despite all the effort I exerted. Speeding up my stoke and kicking my legs harder wasn’t making me any faster, but it was sure wearing me out.

I got by in my first couple triathlons with a pathetic freestyle (or front crawl) stroke. I grew frustrated enough that I decided to seek out some help.

Continue reading: How To Swim Better

Becoming The Peaceful Triathlete: 3 Tips For Success

Is training and competing in the sport of triathlon a source of anxiety and stress in your life?

Does it sometimes feel like a constant uphill battle?

Are you chronically dissatisfied with your performance or progress?

Do you compare yourself to other triathletes or fit people and feel like you don’t measure up?

Are you constantly nagged by the question of whether you are doing enough?

Does your stress level shoot off the chart as race day approaches, and you feel like a bundle of fears and nerves at the starting line?

Whether you are a beginning triathlete or a seasoned triathlete, there is much to gain by approaching the sport of triathlon from a place of peace.

Imagine being a triathlete who is:

• Undisturbed by conditions and circumstances

• Free from the burden to earn worth and identity through performance

• Confident in their ability to meet the challenge at hand

• Open to experiencing the joy and peace of the moment

• Skilled at tapping their inner resilience to endure

• Able to move beyond self-focus to aid the success of others

Continue reading: 3 Ways To Become A Peaceful Triathlete

Tips & Suggestions For The Beginner Triathlete

Many people become interested in the sport of triathlon in the months of December and January.

Looking ahead to a new year, people set new goals for themselves, which are often associated with some aspect of health and fitness. Choosing the sport of triathlon has become more common as the sport has grown in popularity and offers the advantages of cross-training.

For some, becoming a triathlete is combined with the desire to lose weight and be in optimal health.

The reasoning often used to assure people that anyone can be a triathlete is that it involves doing 3 things that virtually every person enjoyed doing as kids: swimming, biking, and running.

Yes this is true, but there are several elements involved in fulfilling the desire to be a triathlete such as:

Choosing a specific triathlon event to train for

Building a triathlon-ready level of fitness

Selecting the right triathlon gear, equipment, and sportswear

Establishing a year-round systematic training plan and weekly schedule

Fueling your body with proper nutrition

Preventing and treating injuries

Learning proper technique for swimming, biking, and running

Developing the skill of open-water swimming

Managing the specifics of competing in a triathlon event

Like most goals worth achieving, becoming a triathlete is going to require an investment of time, physical and mental energy, and financial resources.

It is likely you will need to make certain lifestyle adjustments in order to free-up the time, energy, and resources necessary to train and race in triathlons.

Though there are certain foundational principles for all triathlon training, there is no one-size-fits-all triathlon training plan. The reason is that there are no two triathletes who are the same.

For example, right now you are located someplace on a long continuum of fitness level, knowledge, and skill. Your physiological and psychological makeup is unique. You may or may not have some background in one of the 3 sports involved in triathlon: swimming, biking, and running. You have certain time, financial, perhaps even physical limitations that you must take into account. All of these and other factors will influence your specific triathlon training plan.

It can all seem quite overwhelming, and sometimes it’s difficult knowing where to begin.

Here’s how I would approach getting started for a newcomer to the sport of triathlon...

Continue reading: Tips For Newbie Triathletes

Jim's Fun Times Guide Triathlon Awards

The sport of triathlon is a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. We laugh, we cry, we celebrate, we agonize. We train hard, we race hard, and we push ourselves to our furthest limits, and consider all of this fulfilling!

Robin Williams once said, “You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Maybe that’s what we are doing as triathletes – giving expression in our own way to that little spark of madness.

So, I decided to close out one year and start a new one on The Fun Times Guide to Triathlons with some special awards.

Jim’s Fun Times Guide Triathlon Awards

Continue reading: Fun Triathlon Awards

The Fear Of Losing Fitness In The Off-Season

It’s the triathlete’s biggest fear – THE OFF-SEASON!

Taking time off, expending less carbs, consuming holiday treats, no more races to compete in – it can only mean one dreadful thing: getting out of shape, putting on weight, setting you back, and losing your edge.

So the question for this post is: Must the triathlete lose fitness in the off-season?

The answer is a resounding, YES! (And by the way, as it should be.)

Continue reading: Becoming Unfit In The Off-Season

How To Be A Green Triathlete

Green.

It’s not just a color anymore, but identifies an ecological movement that has risen to the forefront of cultural awareness in recent years.

It’s a mentality and way of life that attempts to reduce an individual’s and society’s use of the Earth’s natural resources.

It’s often referred to as “sustainable living” or “ecological living,” which involves reducing our carbon footprints by such things as altering methods of transportation, energy consumption, and diet.

Being green means living your life in a way that is consistent with sustainability in which the Earth's resources are used at a rate at which they can be replenished. Being green is being respectful of humanity’s symbiotic relationship with the Earth's natural ecology and cycles. By minimizing our “ecological footprints” — the extent to which we create an environmental impact — we hope to preserve the Earth for future generations of human beings and other life.

It’s not easy being green, but there are a wealth of resources aimed at educating us about ecological living, and offering practical guidance in this way of life. For example, there is Wikia Green, which is a database of resources related to living green. The singular most practical site I have come across about living green is The Fun Times Guide to Living Green, written by Jeffrey Davis.

So, what does this have to do with the sport of triathlon and you as a triathlete?

Continue reading: Are You A Green Triathlete?