Caffeine and Endurance

Intro: For years athletes have been using caffeine in various doses to improve their performance. Everyone knows that a strong cup of Java gives you that alertness and sense of extra energy. Drink three cups of leaded Starbucks coffee and you'll feel like you want to run a marathon! So... does the caffeine just make you want to run that marathon or do you actually run it and run it faster?

Recovery Recipe for Success

Intro: Talk to ten endurance athletes and you'll get ten different recovery concoctions. Should you focus on protein, vitamins, carbohydrates or simply purchase one of the many recovery products that line store shelves and appear in magazine ads? Most supplement ads tout 'maximum recovery', but it's important to maintain awareness of some key principles with solid clinical research supporting their effects. Keep in mind that no supplement will allow you to go from a sedentary lifestyle, or one with limited training, to a 20 hour per week training schedule overnight.

The Quick and the Dead: Slick Transitions for Additional Speed

Coach Brendon writes: If you have a look through race results you can often see that the difference between final placings is the transitions. Even at the elite level there can be as much as 10 seconds between a good transition and a poor one.

Let's take a closer look at the two transitions in triathlon.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Why am I doing this; again?

All athletes train for various reasons. These reasons are what keep us going. It is important to regularly examine your motives and ambitions and to keep them close to you. Without an internal purpose to our training we are like old plow mules; slogging along because we always have. Without a purpose your enthusiasm to train and compete will eventually fade.

A Guide to Fluid Intake for Cycling

A fluid strategy is important not only for performance but also for safety and enjoyment. Without a good fluid plan you won't be able to make the most of your training. A common theme coming out of the round Taupo ride was people running out of fluid late in the ride. Not wanting to lose contact with their bunch, riders wouldn't stop to grab needed water.

How much fluid do you need?

A Guide to Fluid Intake for Marathon

A fluid strategy is important not only for performance but also for safety and enjoyment. Without a good fluid plan you won't be able to make the most of your training. A loss of only 2% of your body weight will decrease your performance by 10%. If you want to achieve your personal goals in the marathon then having a good fluid strategy (that you have practiced in training) is important.

How much fluid do you need?

Swimming and Shoulder Injuries

Most sports come with injuries to accompany them. Although swimming is, by most standards, not a sport associated with high risk of injury, it does have it's own problems. By far the biggest source of sidelining swimming injuries is the shoulder.

Mental Skills for Training and Racing

Being physically gifted is only one attribute of a successful athlete. There are many others that are not so easily quantified such as drive, ambition, determination, and the ability to focus mentally through adversity. These mental skills are not genetically imposed, but are learned from a variety of sources such as parents, coaches, sport psychologists and other athletes. Learning and refining your mental skills can give you an advantage over more talented but less focused athletes.

The Athletic Performance Diet

Interestingly the athletic diet has changed very little over the years. The reason being is that there are not many pathways to fueling the body most efficiently. A diet consisting of 60-65% carbohydrate, 20-25% fats, and 15-20% protein is the proper ratio of macro nutrients for most athletes and has been the mainstay for years. A highly trained endurance athlete would not last very long on a high protein diet, because their glycogen stores would quickly become depleted and they would no longer have the energy or reserves to train effectively.

Motivate Me?

Motivation is something athletes are always seeking, but can be elusive to obtain. Motivation can put a lesser skilled athlete on the podium standing over his more gifted and talented peers. It is the life blood of training. Simply put motivation is how much an individual wants to achieve a goal, but sources of motivation can be as varied as athletes.

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