Over the past 4 weeks Racers’ Toolbox has been running our inaugural survey. This survey is aimed at understanding how and why you exercise so that we are able to offer you the most relevant information and services. We will be stopping this survey in one week so please click here and complete the survey for us if you have not done so already. It only takes 1 minute.
Last Chance To Take The Racers’ Toolbox 2010 Survey
May 13th, 2010Take the 2010 Racers’ Toolbox Survey
April 7th, 2010The 2010 Racers’ Toolbox Survey. We’re trying to find out more about you and how you exercise! The survey will take you no more than a minute to complete. Please click here to access the survey. Thanks for your help
Be Present
April 6th, 2010We have all heard of and seen athletes who can rise to the occasion of race day and perform at their best. More often than not, these are the athletes who are not only physically fit but mentally fit too.
During the last 2 years I was racing, I spent a lot of time working with a mental conditioner in New Zealand who spent many sessions drilling into me the importance of being present. This morning I was online reading one of my favourite triathlon websites when I stumbled onto a good article on this topic. Click here to read it!
As athletes we spend so much time and effort training the body but fail to recoginise the importance of a strong mental game and therefore neglect its development. I can tell you from experience that the few hours of practice I put in each week working with my mental conditioner and practising what I was taught improved my performance tenfold. Not only did it improve my racing but it has given me valuable skills that I use on a daily basis running my business and with the people I interact with.
With the racing season just kicking into gear here in Asia, perhaps now is a good time for you to start working on your mental game?
Check out the video below for a great example of being present. I am lucky to have trained and raced with Bevan Docherty and I can assure he is very mentally TOUGH!
Why Hydration is Critical
March 17th, 2010
When you train it is absolutely critical that you remain hydrated. Being well hydrated:
- Assists with recovery
- Avoids dehydration
- Helps you optimize your training
This graph shows exactly this positive benefit of hydration in action. The graph shows two separate training days (from one of our clients) and compares the effects of being hydrated as opposed to becoming increasingly dehydrated. As you can clearly see, the blue line represents speed which is controlled by monitoring heart rate. As the run went on, the clients speed had to decrease in order to keep the heart rate in the correct zone, due to dehydration effects. In contrast the pink graph shows the client drinking water during the session, and over the course of the session was able to maintain a much higher average speed (at the given heart rate).
So why did this happen? When you become dehydrated your blood gets thicker (because the plasma loses its water content). This is medically known as increase viscosity. As the blood gets thicker it also becomes harder to pump to your muscles and needs to beat faster to deliver the essential oxygen to keep going. Hence the athlete will either need to slow down or can continue at this pace, which could lead to adverse training effects.
If you apply this principle over several weeks and months of consistent training, a person who continually stays well hydrated will get in many more quality hours of training than someone who is dehydrated.
Now the question is who do you want to be?
Race Day Nutrition – Overlooked and Underrated
March 10th, 2010
Having invested hundreds or possibly thousands of hours training, and several thousand dollars on equipment, many people do not take a mere 30min to think about and plan a sound race day nutrition strategy.
There are a few things you need to think about when planning the strategy:
- Personal factors (internal) such as pre race nerves and perspiration levels
- Personal preferences such as what nutrition you currently use and what you like
- External factors such as specific course conditions like heat and wind
Once you have identified some of these basics you can then apply a plan to the following model, including hydration at every stage:
- What will I eat the night before?
- What will I eat the morning of?
- Within the critical final 2hours pre race, what do I need?
- During the event what should I use?
- What do I eat having competed the race to enhance my recovery?
Having thought about all of the factors above, it is critical to go and get the products you require at least 2 weeks prior to race day. The early the better (unless they are perishable) as you need to train what you will do on race day so that you are sure your stomach will agree with it.
Talk through your plan with a coach or someone with sufficient race experience and knowledge to tidy it up and then put it into action!
Choose Your Weapon – finding the right racing flat
March 2nd, 2010
The racing season is just getting under way here in Singapore so now is an appropriate time to start thinking about getting yourself into a racing flat.
Things to think about when buying a racing shoe:
- Comfort – It is essential to be as comfortable as possible when racing. This becomes more important the longer the distance/duration of your event
- Fit – You need a shoe that fits you properly. If you are racing triathlon and not wearing socks you may need to consider buying a shoe that is half a size smaller than your training shoe
- Weight - Think about how important this is based on the above comfort point. Usually the comfort comes down as the weight of the shoe reduces. The shoe pictured on the right is the new Nike Luna Racer and it is brilliant. Not only is it super light, the cushioning is amazing. This, in my opinion is the nicest race shoe on the market.
- Personal Biomechanics and Injury History – If you are a person who is prone to injury or you have severe pronation, it may not be wise to use a specific racing flat. For you a light weight trainer with a little more support could be a good option
- Coolness Factor – This one is not so crucial and you should not base your selection on this point alone, but it is always a slight psychological advantage to feel like the real deal.
Running Drills
January 27th, 2010
Running drills are a great way to improve your running efficiency and ultimately reduce the chance of getting an injury. There are many different drills you can do to improve your overall technique, stride frequency and stride length.
Below I am going to outline 4 key running drills that can easily be build into your weekly running schedule. Two to work on your stride frequency (how fast you turn your legs around) and two for stride length (how far you go with each stride). All drills should be done over a flat 20m – 30m section of ground and each drill should be repeated 2 – 3 times each.
Fast Feet
The idea behind this drill is turn turn your legs around as quickly as possible.
- Short fast steps (imagine you are riding a little clown bike)
- Keep your chin parallel with the ground (look straight ahead)
- Drive your arms forward
Butt Kicks
Again the idea with butt kicks is to get your heal to your butt as quickly as possible over an over again.
- Stay upright with a slight forward lean
- Continuously flick your heal back kicking your butt
- Keep your chin parallel with the ground (look straight ahead)
- Drive your arms forward
High Knee
The idea with this drill is to drive off your back leg and get as high in the air as you can.
- Stay upright with a slight forward lean
- Drive hard off your back leg bringing your knee up to 90 degrees (the idea with high knee is to get as far off the ground as possible. Get high.)
- Make sure when you lift your knee up your foot stays parallel to the ground
- Drive your arms forward
- Keep your chin parallel with the ground (look straight ahead)
Bounding
When completing the bounding drill the idea is to go as far as you can with each bound.
- Stay upright with a slight forward lean
- Drive hard off your back leg bringing your knee up to 90 degrees (the idea is to go as far with each bound as possible)
- Make sure when you lift your knee up your foot stays parallel to the ground
- Drive your arms forward
- Keep your chin parallel with the ground (look straight ahead)
If you can add drills into your running routine once a week and consistently practice these drills you will start to become a more efficient runner over time. Efficiency = speed.
When practicing drills make sure you are not tired and try to perform them as well as you can. Perfect practice makes perfect so if you are feeling tired and you do not complete the drills properly you will just reinforce a bad habit and risk getting injured.
Ben
Training Diet
January 19th, 2010
Training places high demand in athlete energy requirements. Whether athletes train for endurance, high-intensity or stop-and-go sports, the fundamental nutritional requirements for each are similar. Day to day eating strategies are more important than focusing attention to eating before & after competition, as skills adaptations occur in response to training, not competition. A well balanced diet that provides essential nutrients required to meet training needs will have the biggest impact on your success.
Benefits To Athletes
- Optimal adaptation from training
- Enhanced recovery between training
- Achievement and maintenance of an ideal body composition
- A reduced risk of injury and illnesses
- Consistency in achieving high level competition performances
Fluid
- Essential for effective body temperature regulation
- Intake before, during and after exercise help to ensure hydration during physical activities
- Intake with meals, in between meals and throughout the day is important in maintaining well hydrated
Carbohydrate
- Should form the basis of your meals
- Major source of energy during moderate to intense exercise
- Intake before, during & after exercise can help improve performance by maintaining blood sugar levels and providing additional fuel to hard working muscles
- Many carbohydrate rich foods are also valuable sources of other essential nutrients
Protein
- Should be included with every meals
- Essential for growth and plays an important role in the adaptation to exercise
- Provides building blocks for the formation of new tissue including muscle, and the repair of old tissue
- Combined with carbohydrate and consumed soon after exercise, promotes muscle recovery
Fat
- Required in small amounts
- Provides essential fatty acids and facilitates fat soluble vitamins metabolism
- Provides insulation and shock absorption for body organ especially under strenuous physical activities
Vitamins & Minerals
- Required in protecting body immune system associated with physical activities
- Reduce free radical damage produced during strenuous physical activity
- Specific mineral such as calcium is required to promote bone health and iron is required to prevent iron deficiency anemia associated with physical activities
Jon
Recovery 101
January 12th, 2010
Any endurance sport is tough and the training for such an event can be demanding. Maximising your recovery from training will maximise what you get out of the sessions you are doing. This is crucial for all working athletes who are busy juggling a job, family and training as you want to get the most out of the time you commit to your training plan.
Below are a few things you can look at doing to increase your recover rate from training:
Ice and Cold Water Therapy
Most elite athletes will tell you that stretching and massage on a regular basis will keep their muscles long and in good condition. Keeping your muscles long and knot free is essential when you are trying to train hard day after day.
Just remember to keep it light after a hard training session or race as deep massage can slow recovery especially if you do not get regular massage.
Off Road Running
Running is a high impact (not quite like rugby) sport. One way to help reduce the impact on your joints and tendons is to run on grass or on softer surfaces. By staying off the road I have found that this reduces post training muscle soreness and allows me to train harder more often.
Stretching and Massage
After a run, run a cold hose over your legs (especially your shins) or sit your legs in a swimming pool or bath. This is an effective way to reduce fluid build up. You can also use ice but make sure you wrap the ice in a wet towel to avoid ice burn.
Elevation
Elevating your legs after training helps to reduce fluid build up. Combined with Cold Water or Ice Therapy this is very effective.
Contrast Therapy
Contrast therapy is where you hose down or soak your legs in cold water (like ice or cold water therapy.. see above) and then jump into a hot shower or a spa pool. Once you feel your legs heating up and are red with blood jump out and put them back in the cold water. Repeat several times.
Nutrition
It has been said that within 30mins of finishing training you should eat to start replacing all the nutrients that you lost while exercising. I usually find this hard to do especially after a hard session so I tent to take a shake with a mix of both carbohydrate and protein. Many companies make these recovery shakes including SIS, Hammer nutrition and Power bar and you can get them at most cycle shops. If you also find eating hard after a session then I definitely recommend that you try one of these.
Compression
The use of compression socks and tights is the latest trend in recovery. The pressure that compression socks put onto the veins, arteries and muscles helps push blood through narrow veins; therefore, increasing the flow of blood and returning it to the heart as it should.
Relaxation and Sleep
This is my favorite form of recovery. Aim to schedule harder sessions on days when you can relax and aim to get more sleep. It has also been proven that short sleeps of up to an hour after training can help increase recover by increasing circulating hormones.
Ben
New Years Resolutions
January 7th, 2010
Well here we are in 2010 already (happy new year by the way) and if you are like me, you may have made a resolution to lose a little bit of fat (a little bit more than before the holiday season started in my case) and trim up.
Here is what I plan to do to get the fat down:
1. Spend more time in my fuel efficiency zone
Exercising at a very low intensity is a great way for me to burn fat. By spending time doing my training at this low intensity early in the year, my body becomes more efficient at metabolizing fat and essentially makes me a more efficient and faster (not to mention leaner) athlete in the long run. When I combine this with step 2 (see below), I become a fat burning machine and not only am I effectively burning fat when I exercise (at any intensity), I am burning a higher amount of fat when doing nothing. This is what will help me reach my goal.
You can retrain your body using a few simple techniques to become a fat burning machine.
2. Try to eat organic and less processed foods
This for me is a tricky one and is most definitely a work in progress. I have a very sweet tooth and am struggling to replace my soft drinks with water and my chocolate / sweets and fast food with less processed, less surgery foods.
Foods such as cheese, whole milk, butter, french fries, burgers, sweets, energy bars, and soft drinks are what are known as energy dense foods as they are very high in calories relative to their size or volume. This has been a typical diet of mine for the past 20 years.
Now that I am older (and wiser I hope) I am trying hard to change my nutrition habits to eat more nutrient dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, fish and lean cuts of meat. I am hoping that along with the weight loss benefits, I will see an improvement in my energy, complexion and focus.
So far the plan seems to be working, since 1 Jan when I started this, I have already lost 4mm of fat and am feeling a little more energetic. This doesn’t sound like much but it is pretty good in just 1 week. I am now at 61mm of fat and the goal is to get back down to <50mm by 21 March (half ironman). We will see how it goes.
All the best to everyone for a happy, healthy and safe 2010!
Ben