Swimathon for Sport Relief 2014

Today was the day we had been waiting for, training for, eating for....

OUR FIVE THOUSAND METRE Swimathon for Sainsbury's Sport Relief:

In all honesty, our motivation for doing it wasn't in the spirit of charity; we decided pretty last minute to get involved and I wasn't even sure if I would be able to get any sponsorship money. We were using the Swimathon as a "C event" for our anticipated Lake Coniston end to end swim.

(TAKE A LOOK, especially if you're looking for some good, long, hard, chilling swimming; it's EPIC http://www.chillswim.com/the-swims/coniston-end-to-end)

Despite my less than angelic intentions, I did take the sponsorship form to work and between some of my colleagues and clients have raised about £100 including a little on Justgiving, which I think isn't too shabby.

If you've not done Swimathon before,enjoy swimming and have been waiting for ways to drag your friends into the sport then THIS IS IT. There are hundreds of pools to chose from all around the country but I think your experience of the event does depend on which one you choose and of course who you bring with you!

The Pool in question gets sent a CD, various coloured hats, lap counting sheets and of course the most important thing; medals! If the managers are on the ball they'll appoint lap counters for each lane, or make sure that people are willing to volunteer on the day and will designate lane direction properly; clockwise-anticlockwise alternating.

During the signing up process you get the opportunity to state how fast you think you are so don't worry if you feel intimidated by those sharks that race past or concerned that the slow ones might inhibit your personal best.

After the first kilometre I started to develop what turned out to be a raging headache that lasted the rest of the day. I did think to myself  "crap, not again, I'm not sure I really want to carry on". The thing is, it's not really a triathlete's mentality to give up (no matter professional or amateur) and even though the thought of doing four more of the same daunted me with this headache I decided that a massive percentage of training is attitude- train your attitude and you can conquer anything!!!

I thought of nothing but stroke technique for that whole hour thirty eight minutes- a great meditation and essential for learning about the way your body works in the water. I would definitely recommend dedicating a long swim every few weeks to check off a head-list of swim components: kick pattern and speed; pointed toes; rotation; stroke length and speed; hand entry, head position and breathing. Think about it all individually then two things at once, then three and so on...

I was the first to finish out of my lane so got to cheer Sarah on and take some good photos of her finish.

We both topped our PBs so all in all a good morning's work.

A fuzzy photo of my f/c

Sarah's tired but happy finish and us showing off our Pool Mates

Our supportive friend, Farrell, carrying out a makeshift awarding ceremony. Thanks Farrell!

Peripheral Heart Action (PHA) Training 1

I love this kind of training. It's personally my favourite kind of workout as you can feel both the cardio and muscular improvements PLUS it's SHORT AND EFFECTIVE. You can adapt the exercises to make it as manageable or challenging as you like; the formula is simple: 8 exercises alternating between upper and lower body. 

I'll put a series of these PHA workouts up, all the exercises will be functional, multi-planar,  floor based and using minimal/ inexpensive equipment. 

Here is the first one:

ENJOY!

Clock lunges

Lunges on all planes; front, diagonal, side.

Round the step press up

I use a reebok step with one side higher than the other but any raised platform can be used. To get a range of positions with the press ups, start in the regular position then move one arm and one leg to a new position, press up, then follow with the other arm and leg.

Curtsey lunges

Face forward but cross one leg behind the other in a lunge to hit the gluteals of the front leg

Lat roll outs on Swiss ball  

Keep a plank-like body position and roll the ball out under the arms by extending them. The exercise can be done from the knees or the toes to make it harder.

Dumbbell/ kettle bell swings

As you push up through the squat, thrust the hips forward to swing the weight with long arms to shoulder height. Squeeze the glutes together tight to stop the momentum of the swing from hyper extending the spine.

Tricep dips on a step or tricep bar for more difficulty

Scissor twists with Swiss ball

Lay on your back on the floor with a Swiss ball between your lower legs. Raise our legs vertically into the air and rotate the ball left to right whilst tensing the abs to keep the back supported and close to the floor.

Plank with sliding disc

Plank from the hands rather than the elbows over a 5-15kg bag or disc, take a wider stance with the feet if needed for balance and pull the weight from the left to the right with the right arm and visa versa. Throughout the exercise keep the hips level. 

2000m speed-focused set

10 length warm up "meditating" on your stroke, taking your time, and thinking methodically and meticulously about technique.

3 x 250m (10 lengths) Going 80% effort on lengths 3,6 and 9. Take your time on the other lengths to REGAIN and REFOCUS good technique.

2 x 250m split as the following:
50m 60% effort
50m 95% effort
50m 30% effort
50m 60% effort
50m 95% effort

Make sure there is a noticeable difference in your speed via PULL STRENGTH and KICK SPEED between the 30, 60 and 95% efforts.

6 x 25m
2 x 75m
1 x 150m
2 x 75m
6 x 25m

To work out your turn around time (time taken to sprint swim + approx 10 seconds of rest time) swim the big set of the pyramid (in this case 150m) at a comfortable pace (60% effort) and time yourself. Divide that by the number of sets and that gives you the time you need to take for that set distance.

For example if this 150 set takes 3 mins (180seconds) then:
180/6 = 30sec- the 25m must be swum in under 30 seconds, hopefully leaving around 5-10 sec to rest each time.
180/2 = 90sec- the 75m must be swum in under 90 seconds, leaving ~ 10 sec to rest each time.

COOL DOWN with some easy back stroke (2-4 lengths)

HAVE FUN!

Approximate total time:
novice 60 mins
intermediate 40 mins
pro 30 mins

Upper body workout for swim@gym

Yesterday I met with Beth for the first time after being approached by her in the gym asking for a session to help her with her upcoming sprint tri.

I put some leg stuff in her programme but here will give you just the swim specific upper body stuff. Bite-sized is good.


Warm up and kick in to action the muscle groups we will be using:

Light jog on the spot - 30 sec 
followed immediately by a standing balance on LEFT leg keep RIGHT knee high - 10 sec   
Light jog on the spot - 30 sec
followed immediately by a standing balance on RIGHT leg keep LEFT knee high - 10 sec

REPEAT the above set 2 more times increasing the balance by 10 seconds each time. 

Total time = 5 mins

This gradually increases the heart rate whilst activating the most instinctive core muscles for the balance.  

Mountain climbers 30 sec slow and controlled; focus on keeping the body flat and parallel to the floor in a plank position, squeezing the buttocks and abs, bring one knee at a time as far up to the chest as possible without raising the hips.
Followed by 30 seconds fast and hard maintaining good technique

REPEAT the above set 2 more times taking 10 seconds off the slow and adding 10 seconds to the fast each time. If you're feeling hard core, add another set AND YES the last set is 60 seconds off the back of a 50 seconds!

Total time 3-4 mins

"Suitcase squats"
Squats with a heavy dumbbell in one hand only - use a weight that you can manage to lift 10 times without failing technique. On the lift phase, maintain a vertical upper body - resist leaning to the side of the weight.

2 sets each side, total = 40 squats rest up to 60 seconds if needed between each set.

Single arm lat pull down
Using a top cable, attach a single handle and with one hand, pull the cable back but keep it above your head so the weights are off the stack and with a straight arm pull the handle down to the outside of your thigh.

20 reps on each arm, 3 sets

Front crawl cable 
Move the cable joint to shoulder height, again attach a single handle and pull the cable back to take the weight off the stack. Take a spilt stance and lean forward at the hip with a flat back as if you're lying in the water. Start with the arm extended fully, drop the forearm but keep the elbow high to engage the lats then explosively extend the arm back to the hip, recover low but like you would for front crawl.

20 reps on each arm, 3 sets

Double and single arm roll-outs 
Use dumbbells that allow the handle to roll independently of the weights either side. Kneel on a mat and place the 2 dumbbells (disregard the weight) in front of your knees on the floor. Rollthe dumbbells forward away from the body with straight arms whilst maintaining a plank-like position with the rest of the body. bring the body as low as possible, to a point of tension then return to the upright kneeling position by pressing into the floor and rolling them back, not by leading the hips back.and pulling the body up. keep the arms straight and body rigid.  
To increase difficulty, instead of doing the exercise from the knees, do it from the feet as in a full plank. 

The single arm roll outs are the same, but with arms moving alternately; this increases the use of the core and obliques as creates instability. it mimics the resistance your core should face when going hard through the water.

10 reps double followed immediately by 10 sets single (5 on each side) 3 sets. 

Don't forget to include an all over body stretch at the end of your workout.

Good luck!!!

220 Triathlon Show at Sandown Race Course, Esher

Yesterday- Sunday 2nd March- Sarah and I made a last minute decision to visit the 2014 TRI SHOW in Esher and I'm SO glad we did!

We arrived at 1100 and paid £12 on the door which is a standard price at these kind of exhibitions. The 10km morning run was just finishing - which neither of us fancied at the time as I am nursing a cold and she had just come off a night shift on the tracks dealing with locomotives. It would have been and extra £4 to enter the run which is pretty good going.

We spent 6 hours there and I feel even that wasn't enough, especially if you're going to take advantage of the guest speakers. We heard Terry Laughlin, the founder of Total Immersion swimming, talk about his thing; being calm in the water; having emotional control when entering an open water swim and so on.

Here is a demonstration of him swimming http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC8ZZZhabp4

Sarah asked me about this style of swimming a good 6 months ago, I hadn't heard of it so looked it up and to me, it looked like how front crawl should look- not a new stroke as she had thought. I don't blame her confusion. The way Total Immersion is presented, it does sound like this revolutionary way of swimming yet throughout my research 6 months ago and even throughout that 60 minute talk sitting IN FRONT of Terry, I was struggling to get a handle on WHAT it actually was and what it meant. My initial thought was that front crawlers should be swimming like this anyway and a good teacher will teach you this way. I think I was looking for something obviously PHYSICAL about the stroke that set it apart as TOTAL IMMERSION. What I surmise now, after the show, is that it's more of a psychological approach than a physiological approach to swimming. Terry promoted staying calm, working WITH the physics of the water, keeping the head down and the body aligned with each stroke, stretching long and gliding far. However, I STILL feel this is everything a "standard" swim coach should be advocating and do not see the specialised niche for 'Total Immersion'. All I can say is I guess this "brand" works for Terry and his coaches and those that are coached because of the angle of approach; the emphasis on making the water work for you.

Looking at the programme which was thrust upon us as we entered, I would have liked to have gone for the entire weekend. You could spend a half a day or more JUST looking at the products and gadgets (which left me £200 poorer) LET ALONE attending the talks on the timetable:
Insights from world champions
Nutrition advice
Chi running (what the hell is that?!)
Run biomechanics - now THAT would have been interesting and useful.
Choosing the right bike for you

 And the list goes on... the fountain of useful tips help and information was endless, especially for a novice triathlete.

Downstairs was filled with samples of gels, protein shakes, protein bars, energy flapjacks, energy powder. All the flavours of the magical Bertie Botts. I must say though, I did really like the flavour of toRQ http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/acatalog/torq_energy_gels.html raspberry ripple which as the guy said, really DOES taste like the ice cream. I am sceptical of using these isotonic powders, energy gels and whey proteins as they do nothing natural food wouldn't do yet are charging 4 times as much. (I'll go more in depth in another post.)

Two things I did find particularly useful were the WATT BIKE and the VASA ERGOMETER SWIMBENCH. Both of these pieces of equipment allow you to assess your cycle and swim technique respectively.

There is actually a Watt Bike at work which I had been on but was oblivious as to how I could use it's technology to my advantage. The thing I loved about the computer on the bike was the graph that assess the power output of the entire revolution of then pedal stroke. For example, how much emphasis is on the down stroke, are you using the hamstrings to pull on the up stroke? I was pleased to see that my pedal graph produced a fuller rounded shape which meant that when I put my mind to it, I was maintaining momentum and pulling and pushing with even force throughout each cycle.

The shapes are explained here on page 87/88 of the training guide http://wattbike.com/uk/guide

Now, the Vasa Swimbench... this is COOL. Rod Hart, the lead guy of Swimmergy www.swimmergy.com, took me for a few laps on this land-based swim machine and MAN he worked me hard. It was GREAT! I could feel my lats working hard, my triceps were burning, all the right parts were driving my stroke forward. I must say, I did have a little trouble getting the co-ordination right as it's not like pool swimming but it DID make me realise that I am just NOT working my muscles hard enough when I swim. It too, of course, has a small computer which assesses power and stroke rate, distance etc... so a perfect tool for analysing stroke.

I applied the feeling of the Vasa Ergometer to my swim workout the next day, engaging all the right parts of the body, plus the spanking new Speedo hand paddles I'd bought at the show and went hard in the pool.

There's much more I could write about this show, but for me, these things were the highlights of my 6 hours there. I am now looking forward to sifting through the snow storm of leaflets that scatter the sofa to find my perfect getaway - a triathlon training holiday abroad in the sun!

Aim of this blog

I suppose there are a few aims of this blog:

• I will post workouts I have done myself or with clients so others can follow how I'm training for TRI and try the workouts themselves.
• I will write about how I am managing a training-life balance and HOPE that people will comment and share their experiences so we can HELP each other. 
• To be an information board of events and to get everybody entering something! 

• I am a SWIM TEACHER and so a lot of the focus will be swim specific plans, technique and exercises. I hope that people will come to me for tips and advice as I am here to give it!
• Lastly, the blog will log and document my journey as a Personal Trainer in years to come. 

ENJOY! 

Introduction

Getting hyped up on free samples of energy gels, bars and coffee (that last one was my fault) I decided to start a USEFUL blog for like-minded people who also find themselves ripping small tubes of black plastic with their teeth whilst moving at 30mph and sucking out the apple crumble flavoured gunge inside. 

A 29 year old lady came to me in October 2012 saying she had entered herself for the 2013 Windsor Triathlon and could I teach her to swim; little did I know what I was getting myself in to when with an enthusiastic smile I said "of course". She works hard and plays hard in central London and wanted to break the monotony by entering a big event. So of course she went and picked The British Triathlon Federation's 7-time award winner to the 'Event of the Year'. 

Sarah couldn't swim a length (25m) of front crawl in a swimming pool and we had 8 months to get her ready for 1500m of an Olympic distance triathlon in the Thames. 

At first, I saw her on a weekly basis for 30 minutes of 1:1 technique training. She had to come back in her own time and practice the lesson before I saw her next. Fortunately for me, Sarah is a hard-working, determined individual who, once set her mind on something, will go out of her way to achieve. 

Over the 8 months our relationship evolved and I suggested she come work out with me in the gym as I could show her some sport-specific exercises to help make her stronger and faster and fitter. Sarah really loved her gym sessions with me despite the evil looks she shot me for the entire hour and her fitness improved vastly.

We were both training up to 8 times a week in open water swims, cycles, runs and gym sessions when Sarah asked the obvious, "why don't you just do a triathlon? you've done all the training."

It's true, I'd scrutinised her food diary, repetitively drilled her in the pool, nagged her to stretch whilst unwittingly putting myself through the same process. 

Sarah took part in the Windsor Triathlon on the 16th of June 2013, I dragged myself out of bed at 4.30am (I am NOT a morning person) to drive up to support her. I got to the swim exit just in time to see her climb out so I could scream like a mad woman all sorts of positive (positively ridiculous) things. She completed the swim in an impressive 33 minutes 32 seconds (remember she couldn't do a length 8 months prior!) and finished her first triathlon at 3:16:36.

I want to say a massive well done Sarah and THANK YOU for kicking my arse in to gear to get signed up for my first tri too. 

I completed the Votwo Eton Dorney Triathlon on 29th September 2013 in 2:59:37 and THAT is the beginning of my story.