the_fake_webmaster
09-11-2007, 09:33 AM
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* Note: How can I win? Answer all questions in the order that they are asked.
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TOPIC: What Is The Best Triathlete Training Workout?
For the week of: 9/11-9/16
Sunday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).
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A triathlon consists of swimming, cycling, and running. In order to compete, one must be multi-talented in the field of athletics.
What is the best triathlete training workout? Be specific.
What kind of results can one expect from this type of training?
Who would benefit from this type of workout?
Who would not benefit from this type of workout?
BONUS QUESTION: Do you use any form of a triathlete training regimen?
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Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.
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Thanks,
Bodybuilding.com
BigTruckGuy3500
09-16-2007, 12:11 PM
n consists of swimming, cycling, and running. In order to compete, one must be multi-talented in the field of athletics.
What is the best triathlete training workout? Be specific.
A Triathlon is a test of ENDURANCE both mentally and physically. And the only way to really excel at it would be to train for almost nothing but endurance.
A triathlon training regimen revolves around developing your body?s cardiovascular ability, as well as developing endurance fibers in your muscles. You have to train for each phase of the triathlon individually, but also learn how to handle all three at once. Learning efficiency will not only save you a little bit of time but it will keep you from exhaustion before it is time.
Swimming
For the swimming leg of the triathlon, it is important to develop good technique first and foremost. By practicing with poor technique and form you will only instill those habits into your muscle memory and perform poorly on game day. So start out by taking it slow and working just on form. The most common stroke is the front crawl/freestyle stroke, and that is because when done correctly, it is an efficient stroke that allows people to keep going practically forever.
A good video on freestyle form can be found here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=i-NE8_1OG3w. Keep in mind that your legs are typically big muscles and use a lot of oxygen without providing an appreciable amount of forward thrust, so it would be wise to learn your own body?s balance for leg work in freestyle.
After you are done perfecting your stroke, it is time to start training in the water. Knowing what length of triathlon you will be competing in will be key here. Some triathlons can have a swimming phase of a few hundred meters, while some will be over two miles. So knowing what you?re training for will dictate how you will train, so that is key.
Generally, a good swimming workout will involve sprints as well as slower swims. An example would be the following:
Warmup-
100m freestyle slow
100m breast stroke slow
Workout-
50m freestyle sprint
25m freestyle slow
25m freestyle sprint
25m freestyle slow
50m freestyle sprint
2 minutes working rest with other strokes at a casual pace
Repeat
Cooldown-
50m freestyle slow
50m breast stroke slow
50m freestyle slow
Your technique should be a strong focus during the entire routine, but be especially mindful when you are going slow after a sprint and you should be tired. In between sprints, or just during the slower legs, you can put on paddles on your hands, or use a kickboard to focus on your stroke strength/technique or kick technique.
As time progresses, you can lengthen the distances of your sprints.
An alternative workout would be one designed for shear distance swimming at a relatively non-competitive pace. And that is simply just get in the water and start swimming, focusing on form, and take short rests every now and then to hydrate, but keep moving.
Cycling
The cycling portion of the triathlon can be a relief if you are moving as efficiently as possible. Once again, just like your form while swimming, cycling correctly can save you extreme amounts of energy as well as speed you up.
Again, depending on the lengths of your triathlon, you will need to adjust your training. The main thing when it comes to cycling however is acclimatizing your body to something different. If you?ve never cycled an appreciable distance before, you?ve probably never experienced horrible soreness in your rear end. I does not feel good. So start out small with 10 mile rides, and work your way up.
Another key here is to involve sprints in your riding. Cycling at a fast cardio-intensive pace for 10 miles is very difficult, so sprints are what will allow your heart to get some serious action in while also teaching your muscles how to cycle oxygen at a faster pace to recover.
So a typical 50 mile bike ride during training might involve a few miles of casual pace warm-up, followed by a riding pace where you are tucked in (to reduce air resistance) and peddling at a consistent cadence. Once you?re in your ?groove? and you feel like a machine, pull out a one minute sprint at about 85-95% effort. When this is done, return to your prior pace for 5 minutes or so, and then pull out another sprint. Continue this until there are about 10 miles left. Then, depending on how you are feeling, continue for another 5 miles, or just relax and begin a gradual cool down. It is best to not risk over exerting yourself on long rides, because if you under estimate your abilities and you?re still 25 miles out from your destination when your body begins to shut down, you?re in trouble.
Running
And again, proper form will not only help you avoid injuries, but will save you from early exhaustion. There are many approaches to running from all kinds of experienced people, but it is important to not try and mimic something that doesn?t feel natural to you. Running should be a smooth motion throughout your entire body, and should feel natural. If something feels a little off while you are running, you probably need to reevaluate your running form.
Shorter triathlons can be just a few miles, while some can be as long as marathons (26.2 miles). And I?ll repeat myself again, know what you?re training for. Aside from competitive marathoners, most marathoners run at a slow steady pace. If you are training for longer distances, it will be important to train your body to be able to run these longer distances initially. I recommend focusing on long runs at a comfortable pace, that is still hard, but it doesn?t make your heart beat like a jackhammer. As your body and you are adjusting to this and learning how to run for long distances you can start shifting to other types of cardio.
There are three basic types of runs that your training should generally revolve around. They are sprints, tempo runs, and distance runs. Sprints are pretty self explanatory, as they are just basically picking a distance, and running it as fast as you can, resting a little, and then running back. Tempo runs are probably the hardest thing to do as they involve you pushing yourself at a fast pace (85-90% effort) for a medium distance run of probably about 3-5 miles, maybe a little longer for the more advanced runners. Distance runs, as discussed earlier are more for teaching your body how to last a long time in the heat, your feet how to ignore swelling associated with long runs, and basically just teach you how to keep moving. Distance runs are probably 6-16 miles in length.
A good running program will revolve around these three runs.
Sprint work out:
Warm-up/cool down -
? mile jog
Workout 1?
4 x 50m
2 x 100m
2 x 400m
1 x 800m
2 x 400m
2 x 100m
2 x 50m
Work out 2-
1 x 50m
6 x 800m
1 x 50m
Workout 3-
1 x 400m
1 x 600m
1 x 800m
1 x 1000m and back down
Sprints should pretty much crap you out, because if you did them right, your body is going to be begging you for oxygen and you will be breathing like no other.
A good way to mix sprints with tempo runs is by sprinting from one light pole to the next, and jogging at a fast pace between the next two, and repeating. Indian runs are also good if you are running in a group. These involve running in a long line, and the person up front will sprint to the front of the line and set the pace of the line when he gets there. As soon as he reaches the front, the next person at the back of the line will sprint to the front, and so on and so forth.
Note on strength training:
It is important to maintain some time in the gym lifting, but heavy weight training will not help you, and in fact will probably hinder you. It would be best if you focused on lighter weights and higher repetitions while in the gym. What typically works best for me is if I focus primarily on body weight calisthenics 2-3 times a week, and use free weights to hit the shoulders, traps, and other muscles that are hard to hit doing mostly just a push/pull/sit workout.
Combining it all together:
Now that you know how to train for each component of a triathlon, it is time to combine that training together. Now you can?t train every day, without risking injury, and you can?t train for just running one week and then just swimming the next. It has to be a balanced program, with a little more emphasis going towards your weakest aspect.
Typically, you should plan on training 4-5 days a week. Alternate training between the three different components, and then one day just combine it all together. Ride your bike over to your swimming pool, or get someone to drop you off with your bike. Swim, but don?t focus all your energy into it. When you feel you?ve accomplished a reasonable distance proportional to your triathlon, hop out and get changed and get ready to ride. This will also be a good opportunity to practice your transitions between phases because that time will usually count against you too. Hop on your bike and go. Don?t worry about doing sprints right now, although you can if you want. Focus more on maintaining a fast and steady pace, and learning how to pace yourself, and what you pacing limits are. When you?ve reached your destination point, lock up your bike, or give it to someone you know and start running. Or if you have to transition out of your special cycling shoes (should you have them) do so and get moving. You should start feeling worn out right now, but that?s no excuse to quit or cut your training short. Keep going, because you?re almost finished. When you?ve reached your destination, just relax and hope you?re either close to home, or have someone to take you there.
It will be very important to cut down the intensity and frequency of training every few weeks to ensure your body is adequately recovering and you are not over training and wearing yourself down.
BigTruckGuy3500
09-16-2007, 12:12 PM
As with the entire course of your training, make sure you are hydrating plenty, even when swimming. Macronutrient ratios need to move away from a diet high in protein and one more towards one extremely high in carbohydrates. Protein will still be extremely important, but you need to make sure that you aren't getting your body weight in it, because that will only grog you down, especially if it is coming from heavy meats.
Whey protein is a good source of protein for during the day. Casein protein would be great for during the night to give your body plenty of what it needs to repair muscles during the night, along with a good multi-vitamin, and maybe some calcium supplements to help repair your bones from all the jarring of running. Other supplements that may help with the mental and physical strain would be the amino acid beta alanine, as well as a BCAA supplement like Xtend. But by far, the most important thing is to keep yourself hydrated and each healthy meals limited on simple sugars and saturated fats.
What kind of results can one expect from this type of training?
Through triathlon training you will notice that you will probably lose a substantial amount of fat if you monitor what you eat and eat clean. Although the biggest noticeable difference will be in how you feel during the day. You will notice that you have much more stamina during the day and it takes more to get you stressed out because your body can just withstand more and has become much more efficient. If you pick up strength training after increasing your endurance in the manner above, you will notice that you don?t get tired as quickly when lifting. You might not be able to squeeze out that last rep, no matter how hard you try, but when you get up, you muscles won?t be spazzing because they?ve become markedly more efficient and have already started replenishing oxygen and energy back into your muscles.
Who would benefit from this type of workout?
Anyone who is generally under high stress, or is at risk for heart disease can probably benefit from a training regimen like this, or similar to it. You don?t necessarily need to train for a triathlon to experience the benefits of triathlon training. If you only picked one aspect of this training to add to your current routine, I would recommend the running program, as a large chunk of Americans are at risk for heart disease and are just overweight, I believe most people can benefit from the running program detailed above.
Who would not benefit from this type of workout?
The only people I can imagine that would not benefit from the above training would be someone with a condition that would make it dangerous for them to do it, power lifters, or pure bodybuilders. Power lifters really can?t afford to train anything but strength, and while amateur bodybuilders can probably afford some time off from training to increase overall fitness, competitive bodybuilders will probably not be able to risk losing too much gym time. As part of a cutting program however, this training regimen can be modified to not be so strenuous for bodybuilders.
BONUS QUESTION: Do you use any form of a triathlete training regimen?
While never having done a complete triathlon myself, I have competed in long distance runs, done endurance swimming, and participated in amateur bicycling tours. So I have incorporated all of the above aspects individually into my training at one point or another. Currently I?m focusing on running and calisthenics, with a small push towards developing my swimming abilities further. I do use the above running program, as well as the above swimming program(except I do more strokes) and have noticed great improvements.
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eagles56
10-14-2007, 05:11 PM
http://www.crossrefme.net/
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BigTruckGuy3500
10-14-2007, 08:47 PM
you think they cheated???
I know I didn't. I just sat down at my comp and typed up everything I remembered ever told to me or that I've learned.