Most triathletes drive themselves into the ground trying to ‘get in their hours’.
Some triathletes are wildly successful with a minimal amount of training.
A majority of triathletes integrate a gym workout into their training without any real understanding of how to workout for triathlete shape.
Most triathletes believe that if they want better results, they need to put more hours into the pool/track/spin class with the instructor that wears the tight bike shorts.
Here is the normal training program 90% of triathletes seem to love:
Swim.
Bike.
Run.
Repeat in a variety of order and progression until you have forgotten where you live and the names of your children.
If you are about to start training for a triathlon, have been training for one or have a friend that does triathlons, know this.
As in most things in life, at a certain point your repetitive training cycle will reach a ‘point of diminishing returns’.
By doing the same three movements repetitively you pull your body into a series of tightnesses and muscle imbalances you
A list of common injuries sustained by triathletes:
Chondromalacia Patella (runners knee)
Achilles tendonitis
Thoracic tightness
Swimmers shoulder
What can be done? Here are the top three things you can do:
check your gear
Having the correct gear that is correctly alighned to you is very important. If you can afford it get your bike tuned and your shoes checked (most upper end shoe stores nowadays will check video as you run on a treadmill – it isnt an exact science, but its better than guesswork).
recover hard
Just as you work hard, make sure you recover hard as well. Massage, hot baths, footrubs, all those things that tough athletes aren’t supposed to do but things that your body needs to stay performing at a high level – you are in this for the long run, right? Or would you rather be an elite triathlete for 2 years and have a career ending injury then? Your call.
get specialized advice
Personal trainers are many and varied in their training – find a few that are able to speak ‘tri’ and see what you come up with. If you have someone that knows what they are doing, a few sessions later you will understand your body much better than you could ever imagine.
So mix up your training – go see a personal trainer to get ideas on how to ‘open’ your body up. Get a massage, for goodness sake! Triathletes in general spend ludicrous amounts of money on their equipment and leave their body to fend for itself. Just as you wouldnt pay thousands for a nice car and put a beat up engine in it, you hurt your performance by buying a great bike and gear only to neglect the actual driving force that puts up the real effort, your body.
Yours in health,
Jamie Atlas
[…] Triathlon Related Injury and Overtraining Can Be Avoided … […]
[…] Triathlon Related Injury and Overtraining Can Be Avoided … […]
[…] Triathlon Related Injury and Overtraining Can Be Avoided … […]
[…] Triathlon Related Injury and Overtraining Can Be Avoided … […]
[…] Triathlon Related Injury and Overtraining Can Be Avoided … […]
[…] Triathlon Related Injury and Overtraining Can Be Avoided … […]
[…] Triathlon Related Injury and Overtraining Can Be Avoided … […]
Here is a women’s only triathlon coming to Denver.
Trek Women Race Series
Denver Race August 23, 2009
Registration Now Open!
Who: All Women Age 14+ Looking for a Life-Changing Experience
What: The new Trek Women Race Series will take place in 10 cities in 2009 including Denver, Colorado. The Series is aimed at breaking down barriers for women athletes and is the ONLY Women’s Triathlon Series CREATED BY WOMEN, RUN BY WOMEN, EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOMEN.
How: Visit http://www.trekwomenstriathlonseries.com, select the Denver, Colorado race, and one of our 7 official race categories including Age Group, Mixed Age Group, Athena, Women in Uniform, Physically Challenged, Elite and Relay Team.
When: August 23, 2009 Start time: 7 AM
Where: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Commerce City, CO
Cost: The entrance fee for the Trek Women Race Series is $75.00. 7% (the current national unemployment rate) of each race’s entries will be allocated to women who have lost their jobs in the past six months. Entry includes free ticket to Colorado Rapids Home Game (Value $17.) One ticket per individual entry and one ticket per relay team entry. (All participants must pay $10.00 for USAT one day insurance.)
Additional: Join Hall of Fame triathlete Sally Edwards, Spokeswoman/Chief Inspiration Officer for the Trek Women Race Series in this life-changing triathlon where every participant is a winner! Series Director Maggie Sullivan has been a major force in building participation opportunities within the sport of triathlon for women for over 19 years.
The event starts with 2.5 mile run from the north side of the park. Participants will head east on roadway to the new Commerce City Trail. The surface is crushed stone, the paths nice and wide. Athletes will bike 10 miles through the streets of Denver before finishing the race with a second run of 2.5 miles back to the park.
On the charity front, The Trek Women Race Series is partnering with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and The National Association of Team Survivor, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization for women who have a present or past diagnosis of cancer. Team Survivor provides women with free group exercise, health education classes and support programs. The Trek Women Race Series and Team Survivor allow women in the program to train, receive complimentary race registration for their first triathlon and benefit from special race day support.
Sponsors: Trek Women Triathlon Series is a property of The Xxtra Mile, LLC., a women’s and girls’ active lifestyle company based in New York City. Its properties currently include the Trek Women Triathlon Series, Team Future™, a mentoring and training program for women and girls, and BRAIDS™, a think tank for women’s and girls’ active lifestyle initiatives. Other Trek WTS sponsors include Mass Mutual, BIC, and Jelly Belly.
For more information about the Trek Women Triathlon Series, please visit http://www.trekwomenstriathlonseries.com or contact:
SK Communications LLC at 973.267.5605:
Mike Gugliociello, mgugliociello@sherryllc.com , P.J. Kinsella, pkinsella@sherryllc.com