Submitted by Cindy Dallow on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 1:23pm
Your alarm goes off at 5:00 AM (or earlier) and you have 30 mins to gulp down coffee, get your gear ready, and get out the door to swim, bike, or run. The 64 million dollar question is: should you eat and if so, what should you eat?
The quick answer is yes, you should eat something but what (and how much) you eat depends on several things.
First, think about what is going on inside that fine-tuned body of yours. If your last meal was several hours before you went to bed, chances are you have used up all the glycogen in your liver throughout the night (this is one of the ways we maintain blood sugar at night: we break down glycogen from the liver).
If this is the case and you don’t eat anything before attempting a high intensity workout (or a long workout), you will be starting this workout at a slight disadvantage because your liver glycogen is gone. This means you will only have muscle glycogen to supply your muscles with glucose (unless you want to break down muscle for amino acids to be converted to glucose or use the few free fatty acids floating around for energy). This is not good.
If you are only planning on a short, easy workout, you can easily get by with the aforementioned nutrients but if you are planning a longer, more intense workout, then keep reading.
If you decide to ingest a high carb food or beverage before your workout, these carbs will be in the bloodstream within 30 minutes and on their happy way to your fast-moving muscles. This is good.
If you decide to eat or drink something high in fat and/or protein and low in carbs, you’ll have a little energy to play with but not much.
It may help to know a few facts about digestion and “substrate utilization”:
When food is digested, it is broken down into fat, protein, or carbohydrate. These “macronutrients” are metabolized at different rates with carbs being the fastest (especially simple sugars), and protein and fat being the slowest: they can hang out in your stomach for several hours before moving on to the small intestine. While fat and protein help you to feel fuller longer, they’re not a good choice to consume prior to high-intensity exercise or you may end up with severe GI cramps.
Lower intensity exercise uses about 50/50 carbs and fat for energy so if you don’t eat breakfast before doing an easy workout, you probably won’t run out of glycogen because you’re not oxidizing that much carbohydrate for energy. But the total number of calories burned is much less than in high intensity activity so don’t fall for the myth that low intensity exercise is best for “fat-burning” because it is not. The percentage of fat being used for energy is higher in low intensity activity but the total number of calories burned is less than what is burned in high intensity activity.
High intensity activity uses 80 – 100% carbohydrate for energy, most of which comes from stored glycogen. You can use up a good portion of your glycogen with 30 - 60 minutes of high intensity training. This is why its important to eat or drink something high in carbs before an intense workout. You’ll have a lot more energy if you do.
The ideal situation is to eat a high carb breakfast 2 hours prior to a hard workout (or extra long workout) but if that is not possible, get something in your tummy before heading out the door.
What should you eat or drink? Here are a few real-food suggestions for quick high-energy snacks to eat within 30 mins of exercise:
Yogurt and juice (use 100% fruit juice for more nutrition)
Banana and half of a small bagel
Small muffin or lowfat cookie (Fig Newtons or homemade cookies) and juice
Handful of Cheerios and apple juice (for you parents out there!)
Drinkable yogurt and banana
Sports bar and juice or grapes
These also work for pre-race “meals” when you don’t have time to eat a full breakfast. By taking in some carbs before the workout, you will prevent your blood sugar from dropping too low and delay the depletion of your muscle glycogen stores.
Lastly, prepare your food/beverage the night before so that when you wake up, all you have to do is grab and go. Make those early morning workouts worth the effort by giving your body what it needs to do the job right!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Dialing in your nutrition
Submitted by Cindy Dallow on Mon, 03/05/2012 - 6:10pm
Contact Cindy at cindy@t2coaching.com
One of my clients is training for Ironman Arizona and recently he said "as soon as I get my nutrition dialed in, I'm ready to go".
When I asked him what "dialed in" meant to him, he stuttered and said "well, its where you tell me what to eat, isn't it?"
Well, sort of.
I can tell anyone what to eat - meal by meal - but obviously its better in the long run to acquire the knowledge necessary to make healthy food choices yourself. And essentially, this is what I love to do: help people learn enough about nutrition so that they have the confidence to plan their own meals and snacks for optimal health and performance.
Since March is National Nutrition Month, here are five nutrition tips to jumpstart your training plan.
1. Eat regular meals and snacks. Do NOT skip meals or just munch all day long on whatever is handy. Its too easy to over or undereat this way, which is what most female athletes do, and then they wonder why their race times are not improving. Ideally, you should eat 5 - 6 times a day and focus on nutrient-dense foods (more on that below).
2. Eat a light meal or snack before and after working out. Of course you can workout on an empty stomach - all of us do once in awhile - but chances are your workout will be mediocre in quality. Maximize that precious training time by having plenty of energy on hand to go the distance (for tips on recovery snacks and meals, see http://www.gotribalnow.com/expert/recovery-nutrition-101).
3. Focus on high quality carbs and protein. A Big Mac with fries and a large Pepsi is a high protein/carb meal but no one in their right mind would say this is a high quality meal. That's because the protein comes from low-grade, high fat ground beef and cheese, and the carbs come from white bread and sugar-filled Pepsi. A plateful of brown rice, veggies, lean beef (or tofu), and a glass of low-fat milk is also high in protein and carbs but contains a lot more vitamins, minerals, and fiber than the Mickey D meal.
Remember that each meal should have 2-4 oz of lean protein, 3 - 4 servings of grains and vegetables. Top it off with cold milk (regular or soy) and you've got yourself a turbo-charging good meal.
4. Avoid processed foods - Yes, this is a no-brainer but still worth mentioning. Packaged cookies, crackers, chips, donuts, frozen meals and the like are fine once in awhile but shouldn't be a staple of your daily eating plan.
5. Every meal or snack should have at least one fruit or veggie. This is the one thing most Americans (and many athletes) don't do enough of, which is ironic considering its also the one thing that people mention when asked what makes up a healthy diet. If you want to get serious about health and wellness, then you better get real familiar with the produce department and all it has to offer. Not only will fruits and veggies give you more energy, they're likely to keep you from getting sick by supplying lots of natural vitamin C, A, potassium, and other good stuff to make you a lean, mean, training machine.
Start dialing in your nutrition now and you'll be one step ahead to achieving your training and racing goals.
Contact Cindy at cindy@t2coaching.com
One of my clients is training for Ironman Arizona and recently he said "as soon as I get my nutrition dialed in, I'm ready to go".
When I asked him what "dialed in" meant to him, he stuttered and said "well, its where you tell me what to eat, isn't it?"
Well, sort of.
I can tell anyone what to eat - meal by meal - but obviously its better in the long run to acquire the knowledge necessary to make healthy food choices yourself. And essentially, this is what I love to do: help people learn enough about nutrition so that they have the confidence to plan their own meals and snacks for optimal health and performance.
Since March is National Nutrition Month, here are five nutrition tips to jumpstart your training plan.
1. Eat regular meals and snacks. Do NOT skip meals or just munch all day long on whatever is handy. Its too easy to over or undereat this way, which is what most female athletes do, and then they wonder why their race times are not improving. Ideally, you should eat 5 - 6 times a day and focus on nutrient-dense foods (more on that below).
2. Eat a light meal or snack before and after working out. Of course you can workout on an empty stomach - all of us do once in awhile - but chances are your workout will be mediocre in quality. Maximize that precious training time by having plenty of energy on hand to go the distance (for tips on recovery snacks and meals, see http://www.gotribalnow.com/expert/recovery-nutrition-101).
3. Focus on high quality carbs and protein. A Big Mac with fries and a large Pepsi is a high protein/carb meal but no one in their right mind would say this is a high quality meal. That's because the protein comes from low-grade, high fat ground beef and cheese, and the carbs come from white bread and sugar-filled Pepsi. A plateful of brown rice, veggies, lean beef (or tofu), and a glass of low-fat milk is also high in protein and carbs but contains a lot more vitamins, minerals, and fiber than the Mickey D meal.
Remember that each meal should have 2-4 oz of lean protein, 3 - 4 servings of grains and vegetables. Top it off with cold milk (regular or soy) and you've got yourself a turbo-charging good meal.
4. Avoid processed foods - Yes, this is a no-brainer but still worth mentioning. Packaged cookies, crackers, chips, donuts, frozen meals and the like are fine once in awhile but shouldn't be a staple of your daily eating plan.
5. Every meal or snack should have at least one fruit or veggie. This is the one thing most Americans (and many athletes) don't do enough of, which is ironic considering its also the one thing that people mention when asked what makes up a healthy diet. If you want to get serious about health and wellness, then you better get real familiar with the produce department and all it has to offer. Not only will fruits and veggies give you more energy, they're likely to keep you from getting sick by supplying lots of natural vitamin C, A, potassium, and other good stuff to make you a lean, mean, training machine.
Start dialing in your nutrition now and you'll be one step ahead to achieving your training and racing goals.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Want to Improve your Swimming? Follow these steps
It’s no secret that swimming is a technique-intensive sport. Whether your goal is to develop a healthy, injury-free fitness routine or perform faster in races, good form is a fundamental prerequisite.
Giving advice without demonstrating in person is difficult. Below is my step-by-step process I follow with someone during their first lesson with me. If someone is an out-of-area client, I suggest they have someone video them and upload the links to YouTube so I can evaluate their form.
1. Breathing
2. Kick
3. Body Balance Rotation
4. Recovery
5. Hand Entry
6. Catch and pull
The first step is evaluating their breathing. They must be comfortable breathing before they can focus on body balance, which is needed before they learn swim mechanics. If they work on mechanics before they are breathing efficiently, they will be frustrated. If they can breathe, we move on to kicking and balance
If someone is having breathing issues typically they cannot swim more then 1-1.5 lengths before they are breathless. I have them use a kickboard and practice inhaling with their face above water and exhaling underwater. The key to breathing is a forceful exhale before inhale.
If someone cannot kick (they either show no forward progression or move backwards) we discuss kicking (pushing) from the quad and hip flexor. Once we’ve address any breathing and kicking issues, I evaluate body balance and rotation.
If they are dragging their legs on the bottom, if they are not rotating from left hip to right hip, on a few stroke drills to help correct that.
Balance
A common problem with most newbie swimmers is poor body position, which can lead to legs sinking. We discuss pressing the weight of their body on their sternum and tucking their chin. This brings their legs closer to the surface of the water and produces a "downhill" swimming sensation. I often will demonstrate total immersion balance and kick on side drills.
Kick on side drill: This kick is done without a board, and fins are encouraged. Start off lying on your right side with your right arm extended above your head and your left arm at your side. Kick about six times; then initiate a stroke with the right arm and rotate to the other side.
With this drill, you are effectively freezing your body position after each stroke – one arm in extended entry position, the other arm in extended follow-through position while continuing to kick. As you take a stroke to rotate to the other side, focus on gradually accelerating from the beginning to the end of that stroke. Finish with a nice snap of the hips as you roll the body to the side.
Another common theme among newbie swimmers is not rotating on the hip or side they don’t breathe on. Most often, they are one-side-dominant breathers. They consistently rotate on one side to breathe and never fully rotate on the non-dominant side. I discuss the benefits of bilateral breathing, breathing on both left and right hips, and the value that provides with proper body balance and rotation. Basically, when your left fingertips enter the water, rotate on your left hip, when your right fingertips enter the water, rotate on your right hip, whether you are breathing on that stroke or not.
Once breathing, body balance and rotation are fine-tuned, I focus on the mechanics of freestyle. There are three main phases of the stroke: recovery, hand entry, and underwater catch/pull. I often see swimmers recovering with straight arms and entering the water with their palm and elbow at the same time. creating a straight-armed pull with no high-elbow catch. In the end high-elbow recovery sets them up for a nice fingertip-angled entry when they rotate which, in turn, sets up a high-elbow catch and pull.
Recovery Phase
High-elbow recovery means leading with your elbow and relaxing the phase of your stroke where your arm exits the water. I frequently remind swimmers to swim with their fingertips below their wrist and below their elbow, and to drag their fingertips along the surface of the water on the recovery.
Here are two keys drills I use to create a high-elbow recovery:
Thumbslide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fcoHbKagOc
Fingertip drag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3ID1VtdLG0
Just as the same implies, fingertip drag is dragging your fingertips across the water and thumbslide is dragging your thumbs up the side of your body. Both drills create a narrow recovery with high elbow, arm close to your body.
Entry Phase
Entry phase means an angled, deep hand entry, which can help create a high elbow catch and pull phase. I often demonstrate fist and head-out-of-the-water drills to exaggerate the entry.
Fist drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi-4bsv6Psk
Head-out-of-the-water drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2uUSEkX3v0
Just as the name implies, in the fist drill you close your hands into fists and swim. If you feel like you aren’t getting very far, remember to keep your elbow high during the "pull" phase of the stroke. Let your arm seek out the optimal position that grips the water and provides the most power. If you have a tendency to drop your elbow and just let your arm slip through the water rather than helping to pull you, this drill will provide the feedback you need to develop a better “feel” for proper arm positioning during your open-handed stroke.
Head-out-of-the-water drill is just as the name implies. Swim with your head out of the water, increase your arm recovery rate, and focus on an angled hand entry making sure not to reach and flatten your hand at entry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv4E3ocazF0
Attention to body balance, rotation, high elbow recovery and hand entry will set you up to develop a stronger pull and power phase of the stroke. If you make stroke drills an integral part of your training, you will be rewarded with fewer injuries and faster times.
Me swimming from above the water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi-4bsv6Psk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Kjb2vZ_2E
Me swimming, underwater view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyDzLgLD1J8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNF5BDtlT4E&feature=related
Giving advice without demonstrating in person is difficult. Below is my step-by-step process I follow with someone during their first lesson with me. If someone is an out-of-area client, I suggest they have someone video them and upload the links to YouTube so I can evaluate their form.
1. Breathing
2. Kick
3. Body Balance Rotation
4. Recovery
5. Hand Entry
6. Catch and pull
The first step is evaluating their breathing. They must be comfortable breathing before they can focus on body balance, which is needed before they learn swim mechanics. If they work on mechanics before they are breathing efficiently, they will be frustrated. If they can breathe, we move on to kicking and balance
If someone is having breathing issues typically they cannot swim more then 1-1.5 lengths before they are breathless. I have them use a kickboard and practice inhaling with their face above water and exhaling underwater. The key to breathing is a forceful exhale before inhale.
If someone cannot kick (they either show no forward progression or move backwards) we discuss kicking (pushing) from the quad and hip flexor. Once we’ve address any breathing and kicking issues, I evaluate body balance and rotation.
If they are dragging their legs on the bottom, if they are not rotating from left hip to right hip, on a few stroke drills to help correct that.
Balance
A common problem with most newbie swimmers is poor body position, which can lead to legs sinking. We discuss pressing the weight of their body on their sternum and tucking their chin. This brings their legs closer to the surface of the water and produces a "downhill" swimming sensation. I often will demonstrate total immersion balance and kick on side drills.
Kick on side drill: This kick is done without a board, and fins are encouraged. Start off lying on your right side with your right arm extended above your head and your left arm at your side. Kick about six times; then initiate a stroke with the right arm and rotate to the other side.
With this drill, you are effectively freezing your body position after each stroke – one arm in extended entry position, the other arm in extended follow-through position while continuing to kick. As you take a stroke to rotate to the other side, focus on gradually accelerating from the beginning to the end of that stroke. Finish with a nice snap of the hips as you roll the body to the side.
Another common theme among newbie swimmers is not rotating on the hip or side they don’t breathe on. Most often, they are one-side-dominant breathers. They consistently rotate on one side to breathe and never fully rotate on the non-dominant side. I discuss the benefits of bilateral breathing, breathing on both left and right hips, and the value that provides with proper body balance and rotation. Basically, when your left fingertips enter the water, rotate on your left hip, when your right fingertips enter the water, rotate on your right hip, whether you are breathing on that stroke or not.
Once breathing, body balance and rotation are fine-tuned, I focus on the mechanics of freestyle. There are three main phases of the stroke: recovery, hand entry, and underwater catch/pull. I often see swimmers recovering with straight arms and entering the water with their palm and elbow at the same time. creating a straight-armed pull with no high-elbow catch. In the end high-elbow recovery sets them up for a nice fingertip-angled entry when they rotate which, in turn, sets up a high-elbow catch and pull.
Recovery Phase
High-elbow recovery means leading with your elbow and relaxing the phase of your stroke where your arm exits the water. I frequently remind swimmers to swim with their fingertips below their wrist and below their elbow, and to drag their fingertips along the surface of the water on the recovery.
Here are two keys drills I use to create a high-elbow recovery:
Thumbslide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fcoHbKagOc
Fingertip drag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3ID1VtdLG0
Just as the same implies, fingertip drag is dragging your fingertips across the water and thumbslide is dragging your thumbs up the side of your body. Both drills create a narrow recovery with high elbow, arm close to your body.
Entry Phase
Entry phase means an angled, deep hand entry, which can help create a high elbow catch and pull phase. I often demonstrate fist and head-out-of-the-water drills to exaggerate the entry.
Fist drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi-4bsv6Psk
Head-out-of-the-water drill: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2uUSEkX3v0
Just as the name implies, in the fist drill you close your hands into fists and swim. If you feel like you aren’t getting very far, remember to keep your elbow high during the "pull" phase of the stroke. Let your arm seek out the optimal position that grips the water and provides the most power. If you have a tendency to drop your elbow and just let your arm slip through the water rather than helping to pull you, this drill will provide the feedback you need to develop a better “feel” for proper arm positioning during your open-handed stroke.
Head-out-of-the-water drill is just as the name implies. Swim with your head out of the water, increase your arm recovery rate, and focus on an angled hand entry making sure not to reach and flatten your hand at entry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv4E3ocazF0
Attention to body balance, rotation, high elbow recovery and hand entry will set you up to develop a stronger pull and power phase of the stroke. If you make stroke drills an integral part of your training, you will be rewarded with fewer injuries and faster times.
Me swimming from above the water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi-4bsv6Psk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Kjb2vZ_2E
Me swimming, underwater view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyDzLgLD1J8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNF5BDtlT4E&feature=related
Monday, February 13, 2012
Recovery Nutrition 101
Recovery Nutrition 101
Submitted by Cindy Dallow, t2coach, Ph.D, RD.
If you’ve been working out for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly heard about recovery drinks and snacks. But why do we need them? And who needs them? And most importantly, what are they?
For most athletes, it’s not hard to see why we need recovery nutrition. After all, if you’ve ever hobbled around the day after a hard workout because your muscles and joints were stiff and sore, you know that you depleted your body of something. And that depletion can really wreck your plans for a PR if you don’t do something about it.
First, replace the fluids you lost during your workout with water. The harder and longer you worked out, the more water you lost in sweat. Drink plenty of water or diluted sports drink after a hard workout, especially if you plan to work out again the next day (or later that same day).
Second, replace the carbs you lost during your workout. During long workouts or high intensity workouts, you can use up almost all of our glycogen stores. These are easy to replace but many athletes don’t do a great job of it, especially if they believe that carbs are bad for them. Drink and/or eat a high carb meal or snack within 30 minutes of completing a hard workout (not necessary after a shorter, low-intensity workouts) and then again in two hours. Try to make most of your post-workout meals high in carbs to refuel your glycogen stores. Your muscles might still be sore, but at least you’ll have energy to burn.
Third, add a little protein to that recovery meal or drink. Research shows that a small amount of protein right after a hard workout helps to repair the inevitable muscle damage that occurs during exercise. The key is to not overdo it; protein will not replace glycogen stores, only carbohydrate can do that. In fact, most sports scientists recommend a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein as the best strategy for maximizing muscle recovery and glycogen replacement.
The good news is that you don’t have to buy expensive bars, shakes, or pre-formulated products to get what you need. Regular food can do the trick. For example:
-8-10 oz milk with graham crackers
-8 – 10 oz chocolate milk with a few cookies or crackers and fresh fruit
-Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and cookies
-Fresh fruit, cheese, crackers and milk (soymilk is fine)
-1 cup of cereal with milk and fresh fruit
-Bagel sandwich with peanut butter and honey
-Sub sandwich with turkey, ham, or roast beef (and all the veggie fixins)
-Pankcakes with skim/1% milk, fresh fruit
-Powerbar with chocolate milk, fresh fruit
-Pizza and non-alcoholic beer (more on that one later!)
There are lots of real-food options for recovery meals and snacks but the most important thing is to make them higher in carbohydrate, moderate in protein and to have them soon after a hard workout, along with a full glass of water.
Lastly, who needs recovery nutrition? Anyone who plans to workout hard several days in a row, or anyone who plans on more than one workout per day, e.g., brick workouts for triathletes. Glycogen stores can be depleted in one hard and/or intense workout so if you expect your body to go hard again later in the day or the next day, you have to replace the glycogen before that second bout of exercise.
Recovery nutrition isn’t rocket science but you have to make time for it and plan ahead. Keep high carb/protein snacks and drinks on hand and ready to go during your training season. Pop a sports bar in your gym bag or purse for those times when you don’t have access to real food. Just remember, a well-nourished athlete is a smart athlete!
Submitted by Cindy Dallow, t2coach, Ph.D, RD.
If you’ve been working out for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly heard about recovery drinks and snacks. But why do we need them? And who needs them? And most importantly, what are they?
For most athletes, it’s not hard to see why we need recovery nutrition. After all, if you’ve ever hobbled around the day after a hard workout because your muscles and joints were stiff and sore, you know that you depleted your body of something. And that depletion can really wreck your plans for a PR if you don’t do something about it.
First, replace the fluids you lost during your workout with water. The harder and longer you worked out, the more water you lost in sweat. Drink plenty of water or diluted sports drink after a hard workout, especially if you plan to work out again the next day (or later that same day).
Second, replace the carbs you lost during your workout. During long workouts or high intensity workouts, you can use up almost all of our glycogen stores. These are easy to replace but many athletes don’t do a great job of it, especially if they believe that carbs are bad for them. Drink and/or eat a high carb meal or snack within 30 minutes of completing a hard workout (not necessary after a shorter, low-intensity workouts) and then again in two hours. Try to make most of your post-workout meals high in carbs to refuel your glycogen stores. Your muscles might still be sore, but at least you’ll have energy to burn.
Third, add a little protein to that recovery meal or drink. Research shows that a small amount of protein right after a hard workout helps to repair the inevitable muscle damage that occurs during exercise. The key is to not overdo it; protein will not replace glycogen stores, only carbohydrate can do that. In fact, most sports scientists recommend a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein as the best strategy for maximizing muscle recovery and glycogen replacement.
The good news is that you don’t have to buy expensive bars, shakes, or pre-formulated products to get what you need. Regular food can do the trick. For example:
-8-10 oz milk with graham crackers
-8 – 10 oz chocolate milk with a few cookies or crackers and fresh fruit
-Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and cookies
-Fresh fruit, cheese, crackers and milk (soymilk is fine)
-1 cup of cereal with milk and fresh fruit
-Bagel sandwich with peanut butter and honey
-Sub sandwich with turkey, ham, or roast beef (and all the veggie fixins)
-Pankcakes with skim/1% milk, fresh fruit
-Powerbar with chocolate milk, fresh fruit
-Pizza and non-alcoholic beer (more on that one later!)
There are lots of real-food options for recovery meals and snacks but the most important thing is to make them higher in carbohydrate, moderate in protein and to have them soon after a hard workout, along with a full glass of water.
Lastly, who needs recovery nutrition? Anyone who plans to workout hard several days in a row, or anyone who plans on more than one workout per day, e.g., brick workouts for triathletes. Glycogen stores can be depleted in one hard and/or intense workout so if you expect your body to go hard again later in the day or the next day, you have to replace the glycogen before that second bout of exercise.
Recovery nutrition isn’t rocket science but you have to make time for it and plan ahead. Keep high carb/protein snacks and drinks on hand and ready to go during your training season. Pop a sports bar in your gym bag or purse for those times when you don’t have access to real food. Just remember, a well-nourished athlete is a smart athlete!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Focus on Run, Bike Technique, Too
Often-overlooked areas of focus for new triathletes are running and biking technique. Most of us, whether new or experienced, often put a large amount of emphasis on swimming technique and either don’t know or neglect to work on proper running and biking techniques.
Why focus on run and bike mechanics? Because proper form:
• is a critical part of running and biking performance and injury prevention.
• will improve your economy and efficiency.
• will allow you to cycle and run easier, faster and farther.
hereas poor form will slow you down, decrease your efficiency and can even be the cause of many injuries.
The article focuses on running mechanics. Next month I will discuss biking mechanics.
Some run low to the ground with little knee lift, while others run powerfully, with high knee lift and a strong kick. Some athletes run with a slight forward lean and some run very upright. Despite the large variety in specific running forms, there are a number of elements that are common to successful running styles, even among elite triathletes/runners.
After running for more than 20 years, I am still continually making small adjustments to my form. Like swim technique, running technique is a learned skill. The main areas of focus when you are running are footstrike, posture, rate, stride and arm swing.
Footstrike
One of the most important phases of running mechanics is the position of your foot when it lands on the ground. When you foot strikes the ground, you can land in a variety of ways – toes first, ball of the foot first, flat footed or heel first.
Heel strikers
Heel strikers often overstride when reaching out in front of their body. Landing heel first is like putting on the brakes with each step, as if you are trying to drive your car while pressing on both the gas and brake pedals at the same time. This wastes energy and makes your running harder than it should be.
In addition to being inefficient, heel striking can cause of a long list of injuries. When you land on your heel, your leg is straight and extended in front of your body. The combination of a straight leg and a hard heel landing transfers a lot of impact through your heel and up through your knee to your hip. The excessive stress that a heel strike places on your joints can cause pain and injury to your hips, knee, ankle and foot. Shin splints (pain of the front of your lower legs) is one example of a common running injury that can be caused by heel striking and over striding.
Toe strikers
Toe first landings result in a lot of up and down motion in your stride and puts a lot of stress on the calf muscles. Toe running is more appropriate for sprinting than for distance running.
Mid-foot strikers
The most-efficient footstrike is one in which your foot lands directly under your hips or your center of gravity. This is when you land on the ball of your foot or flat footed. Doing some barefoot walking and running will help strengthen the ankle and foot muscles that stabilize your lower leg. Doing exercises and drills on an unstable surface such as a wobble board or stabilization pads can also help with this problem. The Newton Running website is a great resource of information on running form. The offer video tips every Friday and run clinics Saturday mornings at their store in Boulder. I also can meet with you with a video camera and discuss more in person.
Posture
Within the last couple of years, I was told I run with a very upright and straight posture. I know the importance of a forward lean and had no idea I was still running upright. I attribute my posture to years of running with my dogs, who often pull me forward, which causes me to lean back to keep them closer to me. I often have my husband observe me run if I am struggling with injures or when running becomes more difficult and less enjoyable.
The most efficient posture is one that is upright and relaxed, with a slight forward lean. Your chest should be out and your shoulders back. A backward lean will cause you to over stride and land heavily on your heel, stressing your knees, hips and back.
Keep your hips pressed forward and your butt tucked in. Visualize standing face first against a wall. Press your hips forward so that the bones of your hip touches the wall. Running with your hips forward will help you lift your knee higher with less effort. Concentrate on keeping your shoulders, jaw, torso and legs nice and loose. Keep your head and chin up, don’t tuck your chin and look down. Keep your focus forward, toward the horizon.
Stride Length and Rate
I covered the problem of overstriding earlier. When you reach out in front of your body with your foot and land heavily on your heel, you get the braking action that I mentioned earlier.
In a proper stride, your foot should land directly under your body with every step. You should run at a rate of about 180 footstrikes a minute before you focus on your lengthening your stride. Do not sacrifice quick rate for a longer stride. The quicker rate will allow you to land midfoot, underneath your center of mass.
Where toe strikers tend to leap or bound forward and push off vigorously, and heel strikers reach out and almost pull themselves forward, a midfoot strike with a high cadence and a forward lean propels you in a subtle, forward falling way. You land on your foot in the way it and your body were built to move, and efficiently use and conserve your energy and momentum.
Arm position
The main purpose of an arm swing is to provide balance and coordination with the legs. Arms should be loose and relaxed, close to the body. Relax your shoulders and down through your back – no shrugging! Your wrists and hands should be loose, not clenched. Keep your arm swing compact and your elbows at about a 90 degree angle. Drive your elbow backwards with each stride. Avoid “robot arms” where you drive your arms forward causing over striding. During the arm swing, your hands should not travel above your chest or behind the midline of your body. Avoid crossing your hand in front of your body, as any lateral movement across your body robs you of forward momentum.
Putting It All Together
So what does an efficient running stride look like? Just put all the pieces together.
Head up, your body is loose and relaxed from head to toe, with a slight forward lean. Shoulders are back, chest is out/forward. Arms are close in to your body, elbows are at about a 90-degree angle. Tuck your glutes underneath you and press your hips slightly forward. Drive your knees forward and up, and follow through with your foot/leg as you finish each stride. Land midfoot, and you heel will make contact with the ground. Keep your cadence high – about three strides a second.
Easier said than done, right?
Like any complex movement, it can be difficult to pay attention to everything at once. Through a proper warm up, some specific exercises to focus on specific parts of the movement, and staying focused as you run, you can put the pieces of a fast, efficient, comfortable running technique together.
The most common form flaw I observe in runners I’ve coached is over striding and running with a cadence less then 170 foot strikes a minute, so those are the first things I focus on when evaluating someone’s run technique.
Why focus on run and bike mechanics? Because proper form:
• is a critical part of running and biking performance and injury prevention.
• will improve your economy and efficiency.
• will allow you to cycle and run easier, faster and farther.
hereas poor form will slow you down, decrease your efficiency and can even be the cause of many injuries.
The article focuses on running mechanics. Next month I will discuss biking mechanics.
Some run low to the ground with little knee lift, while others run powerfully, with high knee lift and a strong kick. Some athletes run with a slight forward lean and some run very upright. Despite the large variety in specific running forms, there are a number of elements that are common to successful running styles, even among elite triathletes/runners.
After running for more than 20 years, I am still continually making small adjustments to my form. Like swim technique, running technique is a learned skill. The main areas of focus when you are running are footstrike, posture, rate, stride and arm swing.
Footstrike
One of the most important phases of running mechanics is the position of your foot when it lands on the ground. When you foot strikes the ground, you can land in a variety of ways – toes first, ball of the foot first, flat footed or heel first.
Heel strikers
Heel strikers often overstride when reaching out in front of their body. Landing heel first is like putting on the brakes with each step, as if you are trying to drive your car while pressing on both the gas and brake pedals at the same time. This wastes energy and makes your running harder than it should be.
In addition to being inefficient, heel striking can cause of a long list of injuries. When you land on your heel, your leg is straight and extended in front of your body. The combination of a straight leg and a hard heel landing transfers a lot of impact through your heel and up through your knee to your hip. The excessive stress that a heel strike places on your joints can cause pain and injury to your hips, knee, ankle and foot. Shin splints (pain of the front of your lower legs) is one example of a common running injury that can be caused by heel striking and over striding.
Toe strikers
Toe first landings result in a lot of up and down motion in your stride and puts a lot of stress on the calf muscles. Toe running is more appropriate for sprinting than for distance running.
Mid-foot strikers
The most-efficient footstrike is one in which your foot lands directly under your hips or your center of gravity. This is when you land on the ball of your foot or flat footed. Doing some barefoot walking and running will help strengthen the ankle and foot muscles that stabilize your lower leg. Doing exercises and drills on an unstable surface such as a wobble board or stabilization pads can also help with this problem. The Newton Running website is a great resource of information on running form. The offer video tips every Friday and run clinics Saturday mornings at their store in Boulder. I also can meet with you with a video camera and discuss more in person.
Posture
Within the last couple of years, I was told I run with a very upright and straight posture. I know the importance of a forward lean and had no idea I was still running upright. I attribute my posture to years of running with my dogs, who often pull me forward, which causes me to lean back to keep them closer to me. I often have my husband observe me run if I am struggling with injures or when running becomes more difficult and less enjoyable.
The most efficient posture is one that is upright and relaxed, with a slight forward lean. Your chest should be out and your shoulders back. A backward lean will cause you to over stride and land heavily on your heel, stressing your knees, hips and back.
Keep your hips pressed forward and your butt tucked in. Visualize standing face first against a wall. Press your hips forward so that the bones of your hip touches the wall. Running with your hips forward will help you lift your knee higher with less effort. Concentrate on keeping your shoulders, jaw, torso and legs nice and loose. Keep your head and chin up, don’t tuck your chin and look down. Keep your focus forward, toward the horizon.
Stride Length and Rate
I covered the problem of overstriding earlier. When you reach out in front of your body with your foot and land heavily on your heel, you get the braking action that I mentioned earlier.
In a proper stride, your foot should land directly under your body with every step. You should run at a rate of about 180 footstrikes a minute before you focus on your lengthening your stride. Do not sacrifice quick rate for a longer stride. The quicker rate will allow you to land midfoot, underneath your center of mass.
Where toe strikers tend to leap or bound forward and push off vigorously, and heel strikers reach out and almost pull themselves forward, a midfoot strike with a high cadence and a forward lean propels you in a subtle, forward falling way. You land on your foot in the way it and your body were built to move, and efficiently use and conserve your energy and momentum.
Arm position
The main purpose of an arm swing is to provide balance and coordination with the legs. Arms should be loose and relaxed, close to the body. Relax your shoulders and down through your back – no shrugging! Your wrists and hands should be loose, not clenched. Keep your arm swing compact and your elbows at about a 90 degree angle. Drive your elbow backwards with each stride. Avoid “robot arms” where you drive your arms forward causing over striding. During the arm swing, your hands should not travel above your chest or behind the midline of your body. Avoid crossing your hand in front of your body, as any lateral movement across your body robs you of forward momentum.
Putting It All Together
So what does an efficient running stride look like? Just put all the pieces together.
Head up, your body is loose and relaxed from head to toe, with a slight forward lean. Shoulders are back, chest is out/forward. Arms are close in to your body, elbows are at about a 90-degree angle. Tuck your glutes underneath you and press your hips slightly forward. Drive your knees forward and up, and follow through with your foot/leg as you finish each stride. Land midfoot, and you heel will make contact with the ground. Keep your cadence high – about three strides a second.
Easier said than done, right?
Like any complex movement, it can be difficult to pay attention to everything at once. Through a proper warm up, some specific exercises to focus on specific parts of the movement, and staying focused as you run, you can put the pieces of a fast, efficient, comfortable running technique together.
The most common form flaw I observe in runners I’ve coached is over striding and running with a cadence less then 170 foot strikes a minute, so those are the first things I focus on when evaluating someone’s run technique.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The Simplest, Most Effective Running Form Cure
I subscribe to McMillian Running Newsletter and thought this one was a good article on running form. I ran in high school and have been a triathlete for 20 years. What Greg says has been my practice with running, TRX training, and other functional movements I practice
Think Tall for Good Running Form
The Simplest, Most Effective Running Form Cue
by Greg McMillan, M.S.
I was lucky to run at a high school where the coach and the upperclassmen focused on proper running form. It was something we worked on frequently. As a result, nearly every runner leaving the program had very good form. Notice that I didn't say "the same form." We all had differences in our body structure and function, so we had variations in our form. We all, however, looked good running.
The first lesson that our coach taught us was to "run tall." It's the easiest cue to use for runners and will clear up most form issues. It's a simple idea that when consistently implemented results in significant improvements in running form.
Here's the idea: Your head should be balanced over your shoulders. Your shoulders should be balanced over your hips, and your hips should be balanced over your legs. No slouching your shoulders (a common problem since most of us are hunched over a computer all day). No head in front of your body (more thanks to the computer). No butt sticking out. Since I've coached high-schoolers up to senior citizens, I know that just by telling them to run tall, their running technique improves greatly no matter how experienced of a runner they are.
We can debate footwear (from "normal" shoes to minimal shoes and even to bare feet), foot plant (heel strike, midfoot strike and toe strike) as well as any of the other biomechanical theories/opinions that are gaining popularity. But if you focus just on running tall, you'll run better. You'll have better technique. You'll create less stress on your body. And you'll counteract the gradual return to a hunched-over caveman that our everyday lives encourage.
Your task, then, isn't to spend hours reading opinions on running form and footwear. Your task is just to think about running tall over the next week. This doesn't mean running stiff. It means simply holding your body in a relaxed yet balanced position. Once you achieve this relaxed, balanced position with your body, then the rest of good form is pretty easy to correct.
More on Form
I'm indifferent when it comes to all of the hullabaloo about running form and footwear. I see successful runners with all types of running form and types of foot plant. While I think we should all work to gain or maintain good running form, my opinion on running form and foot plant is that the most important running form/foot plant for you is the one that keeps you healthy. I was a mid-foot striker (often considered to be a more "correct" foot strike) but was hurt all the time. Now I'm a heel-striker and am healthy. Many people are the opposite. It doesn't matter as long as you stay healthy. A healthy runner can train more consistently over time, which is a key to realizing your potential. Running tall encourages the foot to land more under the body (instead of in front of the body) no matter which part of the foot is touching down first.
The second consideration is that your best running form/foot plant should make you efficient. Since most of us run races of 5K to the marathon, efficiency (running economy) is more important than pure speed. We need to be able to run as economically as possible.
The third consideration is that your best running form/foot plant should make you fast. While I've heard far too many bio-mechanists try to get distance runners to run like sprinters, we know that running this way is too energy costly, which is why efficiency is ranked second in this list. But we all like to sprint at the end, and good running form and foot plant should allow us to do this. Having powerful technique can also help us avoid injury because of the way our bodies recruit muscles when running in our most powerful position.
A few years ago-since my form was changing anyway-I developed two running styles. One is my heel-strike, super-efficient form that keeps me healthy and racing economically. The other is my up-on-my-forefoot sprint technique. Having both techniques in my arsenal means I can stay healthy and run efficiently, but I can also sprint when necessary. Learn to run tall first, then experiment to find your best technique for whatever type of running you do.
Watch Yourself
In high school, we watched ourselves run past store windows, car windows or any other reflective surface we ran by. This visual feedback will help you find and perfect your best running form. Take a peek the next time you have the opportunity.
Please visit RunningTime.com for more of my articles.
Think Tall for Good Running Form
The Simplest, Most Effective Running Form Cue
by Greg McMillan, M.S.
I was lucky to run at a high school where the coach and the upperclassmen focused on proper running form. It was something we worked on frequently. As a result, nearly every runner leaving the program had very good form. Notice that I didn't say "the same form." We all had differences in our body structure and function, so we had variations in our form. We all, however, looked good running.
The first lesson that our coach taught us was to "run tall." It's the easiest cue to use for runners and will clear up most form issues. It's a simple idea that when consistently implemented results in significant improvements in running form.
Here's the idea: Your head should be balanced over your shoulders. Your shoulders should be balanced over your hips, and your hips should be balanced over your legs. No slouching your shoulders (a common problem since most of us are hunched over a computer all day). No head in front of your body (more thanks to the computer). No butt sticking out. Since I've coached high-schoolers up to senior citizens, I know that just by telling them to run tall, their running technique improves greatly no matter how experienced of a runner they are.
We can debate footwear (from "normal" shoes to minimal shoes and even to bare feet), foot plant (heel strike, midfoot strike and toe strike) as well as any of the other biomechanical theories/opinions that are gaining popularity. But if you focus just on running tall, you'll run better. You'll have better technique. You'll create less stress on your body. And you'll counteract the gradual return to a hunched-over caveman that our everyday lives encourage.
Your task, then, isn't to spend hours reading opinions on running form and footwear. Your task is just to think about running tall over the next week. This doesn't mean running stiff. It means simply holding your body in a relaxed yet balanced position. Once you achieve this relaxed, balanced position with your body, then the rest of good form is pretty easy to correct.
More on Form
I'm indifferent when it comes to all of the hullabaloo about running form and footwear. I see successful runners with all types of running form and types of foot plant. While I think we should all work to gain or maintain good running form, my opinion on running form and foot plant is that the most important running form/foot plant for you is the one that keeps you healthy. I was a mid-foot striker (often considered to be a more "correct" foot strike) but was hurt all the time. Now I'm a heel-striker and am healthy. Many people are the opposite. It doesn't matter as long as you stay healthy. A healthy runner can train more consistently over time, which is a key to realizing your potential. Running tall encourages the foot to land more under the body (instead of in front of the body) no matter which part of the foot is touching down first.
The second consideration is that your best running form/foot plant should make you efficient. Since most of us run races of 5K to the marathon, efficiency (running economy) is more important than pure speed. We need to be able to run as economically as possible.
The third consideration is that your best running form/foot plant should make you fast. While I've heard far too many bio-mechanists try to get distance runners to run like sprinters, we know that running this way is too energy costly, which is why efficiency is ranked second in this list. But we all like to sprint at the end, and good running form and foot plant should allow us to do this. Having powerful technique can also help us avoid injury because of the way our bodies recruit muscles when running in our most powerful position.
A few years ago-since my form was changing anyway-I developed two running styles. One is my heel-strike, super-efficient form that keeps me healthy and racing economically. The other is my up-on-my-forefoot sprint technique. Having both techniques in my arsenal means I can stay healthy and run efficiently, but I can also sprint when necessary. Learn to run tall first, then experiment to find your best technique for whatever type of running you do.
Watch Yourself
In high school, we watched ourselves run past store windows, car windows or any other reflective surface we ran by. This visual feedback will help you find and perfect your best running form. Take a peek the next time you have the opportunity.
Please visit RunningTime.com for more of my articles.
FAT are you measuring up?
Now let's talk about FAT. I don't mean saturated or unsaturated oil. Are you measuring up? Are you in a healthy body composition range? Do you know your lean muscle mass to fat ratio?
There's nothing wrong with getting on the scale once in a while to see how much you weigh, but that really doesn't tell you about your healthy body weight. Body fat percentage is a better indicator of health and fitness. If you care, you're aware or will take the time to educate yourself.
Your body has two components: fat and fat-free mass (muscles, bones). The goal is to keep the percentage of body fat in a healthy range. We need a minimum amount of body fat because it performs all kinds of critical roles in our brains, nerves, cells and providing energy. Generally, this minimum range for women is 10%-12% and for men between 6-8% (these are the minimum ranges). Most athletes will fall between 12-20% for women and 6-10% for men. An average body composition is 18-25% for women and 11-15% for men.
When you change your nutrition (more or less foods), and/or activity level, more time or intensity, with the goal of losing weight, to be sure you are losing more fat while preserving muscle, get a baseline measurement of your body fat.
Muscle plays a starring role in your metabolism. It helps burn fat and keep it off! Too many popular, low calorie diets cause you to lose fat and muscle, which actually makes your body lower its metabolism and store fat.
Because muscle weighs more than fat, you may not see weight loss on the scale. As you eat nutrient dense foods and get in better physical condition with exercise you may actually gain muscle mass and therefore weigh more. If you know your baseline body fat to lean muscle ratio and take measurements when you lose or gain weight it is easier to determine if you lost or gained fat mass.
Because a pound of muscle is denser and takes less space than a pound of fat, as you become fitter and change your body composition, your weight may or may not change much, but your measurement will. The best indicator is how your clothes fit.
You can loss fat and gain muscle with simple changes to how you eat and exercise. YES, you can eat more and lose fat. To find out more, set up a consultation with Dr. Cindy Dallow or myself.
Take the LifeTraits Test and attend a Lifetraits class. The next one is January 31th at 5:30pm at the Fort Collins Club. AFter taking the test you will receive a 2 week membership to the Fort Collins Club. When you attend the class, you will receive a FREE session with me. FREE session includes skin fold body composition and fitness test, swim session, TRX session, weight room session, or a consultation.
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