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5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying a Power Meter(Post)
Bicycle power meters are without a doubt the most influential training technology to come down the pipeline in decades. Once a mythical device used by the rich and pros that spouting such terms ...
Six Most Common Athlete Misconceptions and Dispelling Them(Post)In my experience, there are a few common misconceptions many athletes have.1. Miles = Speed. Going farther does not necessarily mean getting faster. If you put in a lot of weekly miles, but lack any ...
The Wrench Does Not Fix The Machine- Bike Fitting(Post)There are interesting new tools designed to aid the bike fitting process. Some incorporate dynamic motion sensing and capture technology. As a gadget guy, I am compelled by new technology and I ...
Fat Loading and Improving Endurance(Post)You are likely familiar with carb-loading or adjusting your diet to be more carbohydrate rich in the days leading up to an event. The objective is hyper-saturating the muscles with energy stori ...
Peripheral Training for Athletes and When To Implement It(Post)By Coach Matt Russ for USA Triathlon Multisport ZoneAthletes commonly question whether participation in one sport or activity will enhance performance in another. As with most training related que ...
Single vs Dual-Sided Power Meters: Do Cyclists Really Need Left/Right Power Analysis?(Post)With the rise of cycling power meters, riders now have access to more performance data than ever before. From training zones to advanced performance metrics, power data can dramatically improve struc ...
Understanding the Genetics of your Child's Speed(Post)If your child ranks in the 5% category for height/weight it probably means his or her parents are of slight build as well. And if your child tells you he wants to play nose guard on the footbal ...
Bicycle Cleat Float, Knee Pain, and You; installing cleats(Post)The most common malady I encounter in bike fitting is knee pain, and the first place I address this is at the foot/pedal interface. There are five components to adjustment at the foot/pedal int ...
How To Use a Power Meter for Triathlon Pacing(Post)Power meters are by no means perfect devices and can be expensive to boot. A power meter requires a level of technical and analytical aptitude that not every athlete will possess. However, if used ...
How To Extend Your Running Career and The Life Of Your Knees(Post)The act of running although natural may be very hard on ones body. It involves highly compressive forces many times your body weight unlike other sports such as cycling or swimming. The eccentr ...
5 Best Places To Spend Your Cycling Dollars(Post)The average cyclist does not have an unlimited budget when it comes to upgrades and a common question is where is the "best" place to put limited dollars. One of the first things to consider is ...
Preventing Swimmers Shoulder in Triathletes(Post)No swimmer works hard, swimming lap after lap, just to get injured. But that may be the cause of swimmer's shoulder. Lap after lap, done with the wrong swimming technique, too often or too fast. US ...
Inattentiveness Even More Deadly for Cyclists(Post)I recently witnessed this near calamitous incident between motorist and cyclists; and a lot can be learned from it. I was driving home behind one of the local group rides. The riders were ...
The Athletes Most Secret Weapon- And It Is Legal!(Post)Athletes are always looking for an edge. This may come in the form of a new supplement, gadget, piece of equipment, or training methodology. Many of these are of negligible or no value to performance ...
Sport Supplementation- Let The Buyer Beware(Post)Although our bodies are very similar in many regards, when it comes to sport nutrition and supplementation what works best for one athlete may have another doing laps to the the race day port-o-let.
How Team Dynamics Affect Individual Sport Performance(Post)By Coach Matt RussWhen I began coaching individual athletes almost twenty years ago, I had a somewhat simplistic perspective on what was required to achieve peak performance. I believed that with t ...
The Frugal Triathlete- Getting the Most Out of Your Dollar(Post)In these economic times triathletes are looking for ways to limit expenditures like everyone else. I am often asked where the “best” or most effective place to invest in triathlon equipment lies. A ...
You Are Going To Die(Post)I had entered protected airspace and was a seven and a half feet and closing fast when I was stopped in my tracks by a wary glance that told me I was getting too close to the six foot limit. I ...
Nutritional Needs for the Triathlon Swimmer(Post)By Michelle Hanson MS, RD, LDAddressing the nutrition needs of an athlete is actually quite a complicated topic. There is no one general formula that will work or that can be applied across all disc ...
The Most Important Element of Triathlon Training(Post)An athlete I was consulting with asked me a pointed question recently, "what is the most important element of training." Without a doubt consistent training is the most important aspect of athletic ...
Drafting Dilemma in Triathlon and How To Fix It(Post)By Coach Matt RussThe illegal drafting that occurs during multi-sport events has received a lot of press this year. Many athletes are frustrated by the blatant and continued disregard some race par ...
Beware The Validation Trap, the dark side of athletics(Post)Nothing motivates like progress. Nothing inspires like accomplishment. And nothing validates like success. I have witnessed these things countless times in over two decades of coaching amateur to ...
How To Destroy Your Child's Athletic Future In 3 Easy Steps(Post)In over two decades of coaching athletes I have had the pleasure of seeing some of my junior athletes make it all the way to the professional level. Along the way I have developed a somewhat gl ...
When Is It Safe To Stretch An Injury Without Doing More Harm(Post)Injuries are frequent during the course of a long triathlon season. A typical reaction from an athlete is to stretch the affected area. Few athletes realize, however, that this stretching can lengt ...
SRAM Expands Line of Power Meters(Post)SRAM once again upsets the power meter market with new offerings from $220 for a crank based system. Using their Quarq technology SRAM integrates the power meter in two locations; within the sp ...
That Bounce In Your Running Stride Can Cost You Big Time(Post)If you have ever watched the opening intro to "Baywatch" you can easily envision too much vertical movement in your stride. The characters look like they are running on the moon with big, bound ...
When Things Go South; How Real Athletes Adapt and Overcome(Post)We have all heard the phrase adapt and overcome but when faced with a situation that challenges us it takes skill, practice, and discipline to implement this strategy. To adapt requires flexibility ...
The Jury is Still Out On Running Shoe Design(Post)Runners are an interesting breed. It’s obvious that the number one goal in most sports is to do something (to win, to get stronger, to pass more), but the top goal for many a runner is to not do so ...
The New Superfat and Athletes(Post)By Michelle Hanson MS, RD, LDAthletes often find it hard to determine the correct balance of foods and food types to consume to maximize performance. There are so many food myths and diets out ther ...
Georgia Cycling Safety and Etiquette- Rules of the Road(Post)I live in Atlanta, arguably the worst city in the country to ride a bicycle. Planning (or lack of) Atlanta's explosive growth has rarely considered the cyclist. Roadside commuter bike paths are few ...
Pre Season Swim Progression and Technique(Post)By Coach Tracy PalmerAs a coach and an athlete, I have always welcomed the off season. I like the change in pace and the change in focus with my athletes. We may work on running a little more, spen ...
How to Tell If You Need a Proper Bike Fit: Watch Your Knees(Post)How to Tell If You Need a Proper Bike Fit: Watch Your Knees One of the easiest ways to determine whether a cyclist needs a proper bike fitting is by observing their knee alignment while pedaling. Whe ...
For Running Speed Hit the Hills Season Long(Post)A healthy dose of hill running is some of the most productive training you can do. There is no doubt that runners who regularly hill train get faster. For best results you should vary your hill rout ...
Pedal vs Crank Based Cycling Power Meters(Post)Power meters used to come with big compromises. The most popular design was located in the hub of the wheel which meant sacrificing performance (added weight) for the data as well as limiting y ...
What to Look For In A Bicycle Light(Post)Bicycle lights have come a long way with dozens of features. There are now literally hundreds of lights on the market and it can be a bit hard to navigate what to look for. We will break ...
5 Tips to Quell Race Day Anxiety and stress(Post)I once heard an athlete aptly refer to their race day anxiety as "race brain." The stress of race day is not just the race itself but all the logistics of getting to the starting line. Th ...
How To Prevent Burnout In Youth Athletes(Post)Combined my wife and I have over 50 years coaching experience up to the professional level. We have witnessed a lot of athletes excel, and a lot burnout, especially on the youth level. On ...
Endurance Athletes and Iron Deficiency(Post)Iron is a trace element, meaning it is present in the body in extremely small amounts. However, it plays a critical role in human metabolism. Iron forms the oxygen transporting compounds in blood ( ...
The Wise Athlete and How To Become One(Post)Training, simply put, is adding specific stress to the body. Your body then adapts to the stress load, and gets stronger, faster, or more powerful. But there are times when completing your wo ...
Elevation Training and Course Specificity for Cycling(Post)By Coach Matt Russ for Triathlon Life MagazineTo be well prepared for your next event you must consider not only the distance, duration, and intensity of the race, but the race course itself. Althou ...
You Are Disciplined To Train, But Do You Have Training Discipline?(Post)By Matt RussI have the privilege of working with motivated athletes of all levels, and most exhibit a very high degree of self discipline. Contrary to perception it is not hard to push these at ...
There Is No Off Season for Triathlon(Post)The fall and winter is a common time for athletes to wrap up their race season. It is also good to take some time off and let your body recuperate from the rigors of high intensity training and rac ...
Thule Sleek Stroller Product Review, Thule tandem(Post)With a two year old and another on the way we began our search for a tandem stroller. What I discovered was that while there were plenty of tandem strollers, there were few that could accommoda ...
ACAI- Superfruit or Another Dietary Fad?(Post)Acai berries have been categorized by many marketers as a “superfood.” A superfood is a term sometimes used to describe food with high phytonutrient content that would offer health benefits as a re ...
How to Successfully Navigate the “Suck Phase” With Your Growing Athlete(Post)Recently a friend opened up to me about her anxiety over her son being in a lacrosse “funk” and suffering from low self-esteem. My first reaction was to say, “Oh, he's just having a few bad games.
When Is the Best Time for Athletes to Lose Body Fat Without Hurting Performance?(Post)When Is the Best Time for Athletes to Lose Body Fat Without Hurting Performance? Increasing speed requires the consistent and careful application of training stress. However, gaining body fat works d ...
Mental Skills For Athletes- A Winners Mentality(Post)To win at any sport takes a combination of natural ability and mental skill sets. Both of these charactoristics must be developed and honed. Even if you are not physically capable of becoming a cha ...
How to Fix Neck, Shoulder, and Upper Back Pain When Cycling(Post)Neck and shoulder pain is one of the most common problems cyclists face—especially during long rides or when using an aggressive riding position. Fortunately, this issue is usually easy to so ...