Below you will find a number of blogs/ articles on training/ nutrition/ pre & re-hab/ Ironman racing and many more… please get in touch if you have any further questions
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Do you like being injured? Do you look after the little things as well as you could? Massage, nutrition, sleep, relaxation, balanced lifestyle, etc?
One of the key areas outside of training & sleeping to enhance performance for me is something called ‘Pre-Hab’.
What is Pre-Hab?
Pre-Hab (Pre Habilitation or doing things to prevent injury) is often low down the list of priorities for most people trying to balance training with the rest of their lives.
This is normal; we have jobs, families, and lives and are simultaneously trying to get better at three disciplines (and transitions). However, as a coach one of the most difficult scenarios I come across is the athlete struggling mentally due to long-term and sometimes short-term injuries.
Firstly, what is mental toughness?
Is it never having those thoughts of quitting or slowing down? No, this is natural.
To me, mental toughness is about finding a way to deal with these moments, coming through adversity/ a wobble, and maybe, just maybe having a wee smile to yourself when you do!
Why do I prescribe sand running and its benefits? Each February I take the team (and the London triathlon Academy) away for a warm-weather camp. It’s the perfect time of year for us Brits to get away and feel some sun on our backs.
There are a number of key sessions I like to replicate on camp, runs on the same hills, bike sessions over the same courses, and swim sets in the same pool, etc to see if we are in the same or better place physically than last year or 3 years ago.
However, one of the key benefits for us City dwellers is the use of around a kilometer of soft sandy beach, right outside the hotel.
In the past few years I've watched some very ordinary* young triathletes become very accomplished juniors; and a 29 year old city Lawyer take 19th in the London Olympic triathlon after only 18 months as a full-time athlete. Then there's the 40+ age grouper who sits on the turbo for up to five hours and then achieves a sub 9 hour ironman, a feat he never thought possible four years earlier.
I am writing this article due to total and utter frustration from within my sport. If you’re a triathlete, you probably feel, as a sport, that we’re in a great position. We are in many respects, however…
I like my Youth / Junior athletes to be aware of what I term the “athletic curve” in our sport (triathlon). The basic premise is that you are either ahead of it, on it, or behind it.
Behind = perhaps around regional or good school standard
On = National
Ahead = International
Releasing your calfs using this techniques (MET) I find much more specific than using rollers or a ball on your calfs, please have a go and share if you like it if you have found it beneficial. Tight calfs can lead to shin splints, achilles problems and plantar fasciitis. It's imperative for the triathlete/ runner that the calf is kept healthy, supple and free from pain.