There is a difference between completing an endurance event and being able to do it well. Training constantly at one tempo during your training will ensure that you don't go any faster come race day. Improving your anaerobic system will pay dividends in improving your racing speed. Strength training is one of the keys to improving performance and reducing injury.

1. Debunking the Myth:

It's a myth that endurance athletes should train with light weights for high repetitions. In a round about way it seems to makes sense, but endurance athletes are already getting enough endurance training outside the gym! Strength is the neglected link for getting faster, reducing injury risk and improving economy. Strong athletes uses less energy with each running stride or pedal stroke as they propel themselves. Proper strength training also corrects muscle imbalances making strong athletes more resilient to injury.

The fear of most endurance athletes is that strength training will slow them down due to increased muscle bulk. A properly designed strength training program will focus on neuromuscular adaptation (the body's communication to your muscles) rather than hypertrophy (increasing muscle size).Training for strength involves heavy loads, low repetitions and perfect technique.

2. The Right Exercises

Squats, Lunges, and Deadlifts (and variations of these) are great for improving strength. These are the big bang for your buck exercises that should be included in any strength program. As these exercises are complex and use multiple joints it is important to have proper instruction, feedback, and practice before using heavy loads. In general all exercises should be executed in a neutral spine position (that is if someone put a wood dowel on your back it should make contact with your head, mid-back, and tail bone).

3. The Right Program

The needs of each athlete will vary but there are many similarities I have come across in my experience as a strength coach working with endurance athletes.  Generally this population has stronger thighs than gluts and need to double up the work on the backside to balance themselves out. Sometimes the best balanced program is an imbalanced program.

Resistance training is one component of a gym training program. It is also necessary to spend time improving muscle tissue quality, joint mobility and flexibility, core stability, and muscle power and elasticity. These components are taken care of preceding resistance training (and each component is it's own topic).


Until next time.

Train Right, Steve.

• i) Kill Your Overconfidence
• ii) Know how long will your training session take

• i) Water - 0.5 L for every hour of training (more on a hot day)
• ii) Electrolytes - 1 gel for every hour, one "Shot Block" or "Sharkies" pack for every 2 hours
• iii) Calories - prepare 200-300 calories for every hour of exercise. That's an additional 100-150 calories in addition to an electrolyte supplement.

• i) Cross Train - address weaknesses in training (for more detail check out The Making of a Durable Endurance Athlete)
• ii) Movement Prep - perform self massage techniques using 'the stick' or a foam roll. Follow up by performing some active stretches. It is an integral part of your training bout but it should not occupy more than 10 to 15 minutes.

• i) Sleep - consistency strive to achieve 8 hours (recovery hormones are released when sleeping)
• ii) Post Workout Hydration - consume 0.5 L of water for every 1 pound lost during a bout of training
• iii) Post Workout Nutrition - protein or carb protein mix within 20 minutes of completing your exercise bout.
• iv) Foam Roll and Stretch - similar to your movement prep warm up
• v) Avoid an Overtraining Effect - ensure recovery from 'like' bouts of exercise (min 48 hours recovery recommended)

• i) Progressively Overload - incrementally increase intensity, duration, and distance of your training. Rome was not built in a day!
• ii) Avoid a Detraining Effect - 3 consecutive days off of training will lead to decrements in fitness

Compression gear has been one of latest crazes in gear for endurance athletes (triathletes in particular). I have to admit that I get excited about this stuff. There is a lot of hype behind compression, but not a lot of research to back up the plentiful claims of improved oxygen supply, muscle stabilization, and minimized muscle vibrations as well as decreased lactic acid accumulation and improved performance.

The compression technology has been adapted from medical technology that has been used to treat people with conditions such as varicose veins and lymphedema. CEP is actually owned by a medical compression company called Medi. They have been pioneers in the field of compression making medical compression gear for the past 85 years. CEP is the athletic adaptation of the technology.

CEP's sleeve provides graduated compression from the ankle towards the knee. This compression sleeve fits very close to the ankle, this is said to incorporate the more vasculature (and apparently more than other compression brands). The compression around the calf is uniform throughout.

My purpose for wearing the sleeves has been solely for recovery. I do notice a difference the instant I put them on, and the sleeve is very comfortable. I will wear them after a run or bike training session or whenever I feel some tightness in the calf. I have been impressed by how my calves feel when I am wearing them and when I take them off to train. Technically you can wear them training as they are supposed to boost performance by reducing muscle vibration, and bringing more oxygen to the muscles. I think that may be a bit gimmicky, but there is an article in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning that does support the notion that CEP's compression technology does improve running performance. This is very preliminary, and quite possibly a placebo effect. For my purposes, I don't want to become psychologically dependent on wearing compression to train or race.

It's personal but I prefer a sleeve over a sock. I can easily wear a sleeve to bed and not be bothered about my feet getting too hot and I also prefer to walk around without socks in the house so for me it is just a more comfortable lifestyle fit. If you are wearing sleeves for a triathlon you can also get away with wearing them in the water under a wetsuit and then transitioning into a sock or go barefoot without a second thought.
If you train intensely and you notice that you get tightness in your calves, it's a no brainer, go and get these sleeves. CEP is definitely a bit more expensive than other brands, but they have been around the block.

Till next time. Keep training right!

Steve.

I had a chance to learn from some of the best strength coaches in the world this weekend and thought I would share some of the wealth.

1. Live Inspired.

In order to inspire others we need to commit ourselves to living inspired.

What is your "BIG 5"? What are the top five things that you want to achieve in life? What are five things you want to accomplish this year? Write them down, and read them everyday. It is easy to lose focus with all of the distractions that are available to us on a daily basis, remind yourself constantly of where you are, and where you are going to stay motivated. Give yourself some quiet time everyday for the purpose of inspiration; read, think, breathe without distraction.

2. Master your Craft.

What do you need to do to become the best at what you do? You need that clarity before you can achieve mastery. Invest in yourself! Read (leadership, personal growth, autobiographies, etc.), watch educational DVD's, attend conferences and mentorships, become part of a mastermind group. The money you spend will be earned back in abundance when you put this knowledge into practice. Be focused and always continue to hone your craft.

3. Be Tenacious!

What excites you? What scares you? Do those things!

This is taken directly from Todd: 100 senior citizens in nursing homes were polled about what they would do differently if they could do it all over again. These were the top three results: Laugh more, spend more time with loved ones, and take more risk.

Don't live with those regrets!

4. Conditioning

The two most important resources that we have are our physical energy and mental focus. Take the time to keep yourself fit and focused. Sleep, eat right, and exercise! It doesn't sound that hard, but most of us are not doing a good job of at least one or two of those things.

Sleep is undervalued, but of utmost importance. Deprivation has a negative effect on memory, learning, metabolism, weight, focus, mood, cardiovascular health, and immune function.

It is no harder to eat right than eat wrong. We all need to make better choices. To paraphrase Martin Rooney, "The most important meal that you eat is the next one". Sure it matters that you had a good breakfast but if you skip the next meal or make poor dietary choices you are canceling out good you would have otherwise done. Get some good meal momentum going!

5. Take Action!

"Action is like gas in the car; Without it, the care will not go." Here's Todd's $25,000 piece of advice:

Step 1. Every morning write a list of what needs to be done and prioritize them.
Step 2. DO THEM! (starting with the things that you don't like to do early in the day.


Create momentum in your life. As Todd says, "MOmentum is MO Happiness".

Steve.