Workout Of The Week: Squires…
“It’s the long run that puts the tiger in the cat.” – Coach Bill Squires Written by: Mario Fraioli At the
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Workout Of The Week: Squires…
“It’s the long run that puts the tiger in the cat.” – Coach Bill Squires Written by: Mario Fraioli At the
View original post here:
Workout Of The Week: Squires…
New Australian triathlon star Melissa Rollison will expand her racing experience this year as she further explores her vast potential in the sport. Rollison wants to gauge her abilities over longer and shorter distances as she looks at racing the Hawaiian Ironman and possibly trying to make the triathlon team for the 2016 Olympics. The 28-year-old from Brisbane has been a triathlon revelation over the past two years since a succession of injuries forced her to give away international track running. She has focused on long-course triathlons, winning last year’s world 70.3 title. Rollison is the favourite for Saturday’s women’s race at the Australian Long Course Championships (2/80/20) at Falls Creek in alpine Victoria, Australia, her first race of the season. She has been training at the ski resort to prepare for the March 3 Abu Dhabi triathlon, which she is using as a potential stepping stone to the Hawaiian Ironman. Abu Dhabi features a 3km swim, a 200km cycle and 20km run – on the way to the brutal Ironman distance. At the other end of the racing spectrum, Rollison will also contest two big Olympic-distance events in the United States this year to see if it might be feasible to target the 2016 Olympics. Read more: Ninemsn.com.au
Choppy water. Flailing arms And legs. Sharks. Limited visibility. Frigid temperatures. Shuddering yet? The fear of open water holds back a lot of triathletes who are otherwise confident swimmers, taking pre-race anxiety to another level. To help athletes with this problem, Lidia Garcia uses hypnotism. “Regardless of their training, if athletes have a doubt in their minds, what they’re focused on is probably going to come true,” says the hypnotherapist and running coach from Toluca Lake, Calif. Through hypnosis, Garcia can desensitize the fear until athletes are ready to race with confidence. Most of Garcia’s clients fear “the pack”: getting beat up by fellow swimmers or missing a breath because water splashed in their mouths. Under hypnosis, she guides them through race day step by step. As soon as they show signs of anxiety, she’ll go through the fear over and over until the athlete can pass through. “It’s just like going on a rollercoaster,” Garcia says. “The first time it was scary, but the 20th time it’s like nothing. As soon as the water fear comes up and they get anxious, I replace that feeling with something else.” Sports psychologists across the country are using hypnosis to help prepare athletes for competition. Runner Kara Goucher works with a sports psychologist who uses mental rehearsals, mantra reciting and anchors (triggers for emotional or physical changes), all techniques Garcia also incorporates. Garcia starts sessions with an interview process to understand how your fear was manifested and why it’s holding you back. From there, she’s able to create suggestions to change the ideas you have in your subconscious mind. If you’re thinking, “I can’t be hypnotized,” take note: Garcia says athletes are actually easier to hypnotize because of the mind-body connection they have from doing an individualized sport. And hypnosis doesn’t involve the pendulum-swinging “you are getting verrrry sleepy” scenario that leads to dancing with a broom in front of a room of strangers. She says everyone is hypnotized on a regular basis—those moments where you forget the past five minutes while driving, or when you’re crying during a movie, or how you feel right before you fall asleep, are all trance-like states. Overcome Your Open Water Fear • Create a vision board. Include photos of a goal race PR, your planned reward after the race (i.e. Coldstone) or a cutout of your head on Chrissie or Macca’s body. “Look at it for 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes at night. Meditating on it will change how the subconscious mind sees the result,” Garcia says. • Put “anchors” in place—decide on a motion that reminds you that you’re safe. (Touching two fingers together is a common one.) • Come up with a mantra that’s present and positive. “Keep moving forward,” for example. • Do a full mental rehearsal of your race from alarm clock to finish line. The more often, the better. • Try a session with Garcia if you’re in the area (starting around $80), or contact her for a recorded hypnosis that you can listen to pre-race. Lidiamgarcia.com More swim training articles from Triathlete.com.
Photo: Paul Phillips Cycling is an extremely repetitive sport that involves long duration and high-intensity training—which can ultimately lead to injury. Much like changing your car’s oil allows it to perform better and last longer, these five injury prevention techniques can help you perform at a higher level and reduce your risk of overuse. 1. Pre-workout: Perform dynamic stretches for 5–10 minutes, such as leg crossovers and scorpions to open up the hips and spine. They will help reduce joint and muscle stiffness prior to hopping on the bike. 2. During the workout: Keep your cadence at 90 rpm or greater to reduce stress on the knee, specifically the patellofemoral joint (kneecap area). High-intensity training at lower rpm may have rewards but also comes with greater injury risk. 3. Post-workout: Use the foam roller to reduce muscle soreness and tightness. Focus on the iliotibial band, quadriceps and piriformis (a deep gluteal muscle). 4. Gear: Assuming that a professional bike fit has been done, keep well-documented measurements of saddle height and fore/aft position. Always check measurements when traveling with the bike and after a bike crash. 5. Shoes: Tighten cleat screws/bolts, as they sometimes loosen and cause the cleat to shift. Once you have the cleat in the ideal position, make sure you outline the cleat in permanent marker. Overuse injuries can be created if the cleat shifts too far forward or back, increasing stress on the knee. More cycling articles from Triathlete.com.
Photo: Nils Nilsen I have my athletes do broken sets—rather than one long continuous swim—for testing. I find that it’s easier for swimmers to pace themselves during the test, making the results more accurate for use in workouts. In both of the test sets (one for sprint racers and the second for Olympic distance or longer) the goal is to swim the fastest sustainable speed for each repeat. Avoid sprinting on the first repeat only to fade on the last one, resulting in a big discrepancy in times. After the test, you’ll know your T-pace (test pace) that you can apply to future workouts. For both tests, warm up with your choice of swimming, kicking and pulling for about 15 minutes. Near the end of your warm-up, include 4–6 x 25 at goal pace or slightly faster with 10 seconds’ recovery between each. Sprint test: Swim 3
