Just an example of the topics we have in our AMP forum

I was wondering if anyone out there has any tips or experience with dropping weight while race training.  By way of background...

I am 38 years old, 6 foot 4 inches and at 225lbs right now.  I have dropped 10 in the last month but was hoping to get down to around 200.  My diet is actually not bad and I try to hit around 1800 calories a day.  I track meals with myfitnesspal to keep me honest and use a fitbit charge hr to get an idea of health/activity level outside of training.  I have a desk job so during the day I am pretty sedentary.  I have two young kids so schedule can get hectic.  This is my second season doing triathlon.  Last year I did two sprints and one olympic.  This year I have a sprint in May and a 70.3 in July.  Aside from health I want to drop the weight because hauling 20 less pounds around the course would clearly help performance.  If I have a weakness diet wise is salty snacks.  I avoid the chip aisle in the grocery store like the plague because I have no self control.  (Who can avoid bacon mac and cheese flavored chips?)  As I said I have lost 10 in the last month but when I ramp up intensity and training hours that is when the hunger comes on stronger and I am worried I hit a wall weight wise.

One last thing.  While I don't have a need to attend weekly meetings where they serve stale donuts and bad coffee I like beer.  The occasional weekend trip to the brewery with a growler to go home is sometimes as important as those long runs and rides.  It helps the mental health when you have 6 year old twin girls.


So with that background in mind here are a few questions and if anyone out there have some of their own to add or are trying to do something similar feel free to chime in.

How much intensity should you have in your workouts vs. low heart rate so you can spend more time working out?

What things should you look to snack on when the hunger hits between meals?  (please don't say a handful of broccoli)

Are late evening meals deadly for progress?  (Sometimes due to schedule I don't sit down to eat until 8 pm or so after I workout)

Rather than take a rest day should you incorporate something like very light spinning just to burn off some more calories?

Is 1800 calories a reasonable target and how should you distribute them throughout the day?  I usually have something very light for breakfast decent sized lunch and a little larger dinner.

Your comment...

Tanya would be a bit better for these but let me take a crack at what helped me:

In general you cant manage your weight just through working out. don't fall into this trap. Its an easy one to get caught in for sure. I still struggle with that too. Your weight will be mainly managed through your diet. 

intensity is key to helping you burn calories. that doesn't make you fat burning efficient though, those are two different things. when you work out harder, you burn less percentage of fat but the overall calories burnt are a lot more. so its like getting 50% of a dollar or 30 percent of 10. percentage is lower but the caloric burn is a lot more. you also get an EPOC effect with things like high intensity or weight lifting. that basically means that when you do high end type stuff, your body continues to burn after you stop.

TO be successful at long course triathlon though, you have to get your body efficient at burning fat for a fuel source. You have to accomplish that by working out at the right intensity, not taking on any calories (in my opinion) for the first 60 -120 min depending on you, your experience, and activity level. They when you DO take on calories you do something to help limit your blood sugar spikes. One thing that I would try to take on my long rides were the individual made nut and raisin pouches from Trader Joes. Easy to carry and you don't have to finish it all at once.

- BTW I would use those as snacks too. 

I also like mojo bars as they are easy to carry, taste good and low on the glycemic index   

I am not qualified to tell you how much you should eat but good rules of thumb:
- never eat a carb by itself. Always try to eat a fat or protein with it. 
- only eat if you are biologically hungry
- try to eat real food when you can
- don't change too many things at once. 
- if I was hungry at night I would have a snack. but not a large one. after a few bites, you are probably not hungry anymore. 
- chew gum :)

Oh and drink a lot of water. 

Have you done what you NEED to do so you can do what you WANT to do?

This time of year it can be a wonder if how you feel in training is actually going to translate to better results this season. Most people train in doors through the winter months and do not get a chance to test themselves against their competition, or the clock in a race like situation.

I remember going into most of my early season races. I would be constantly searching for objective feedback to make sure I had done what I needed to do in order to do what I wanted to do. Until you can get out there and race, or do a hard training session with your friends, you won’t REALLY know. However, there are some pretty cool things you and your coaches can look at to make sure the training you did this season has had positive changes. If it hasn’t, that’s OK! It’s still MARCH and plenty of time to course correct for this season.

A lot of winter months I will try new workouts with my clients, or new programs such as Trainerroad, or Zwift. It is based in science and experience, but at the end of the day there needs to be a leap of faith to see if the new changes are working.

I also like to use testing but like to test my athletes at times when then don’t even know it. J These charts give us an ongoing look at what things look like at any given duration. They take your best effort no matter what the date, what the workout, etc. It looks through all your efforts and takes your best results and charts it.

One of the things I do is look at how we are doing relative to the entire last season. In March, that means we are normally off on a lot of the duration's. This is the case because we are measuring your current winter fitness against all your races from the previous year. Not a fair comparison. So we do another look to see how we are doing relative to the same date range a year prior.  

Getting the right results can be key

Wanted to take a min to show you what some of the tweaks you can make in training can do to effect results.

This is an athlete that is performing at a high level in both bike and run but the principals could be applied for many levels. Too often athletes train every zone too hard. It’s easy to understand the reason and logic behind why they do that. They assume if they work really hard they should get results, and they do! Sometimes though results that they didn’t want.

Last year with this athlete we spent a lot of time building strength and really pushing their ability to hold higher wattage for longer periods of time. The issue though is we wanted to raise high end output this year to a new level. We decided to take a risk and significantly back off the intensity on the longer days trying to save energy for the shorter days. It seems to be working perfectly!

Check out these charts below to see the progress graphically

Setting up your training

When planning for your season, we talk about working backwards. I think too often athletes put themselves into programs that fit into their current abilities. That could mean the things they like to do, or it could mean they live in a cold environment and it’s what is most available to them i.e. indoor trainer versus outside.

Its complete understandable why athletes think like this, and by default it can really be a pretty good way to go. The trend is definitely more towards long course for the last several years. With long course doing short hard workouts indoors is not a bad recipe for having a great season plan. We have to be careful though, because while general fitness is a good thing to develop; you want to make sure you start to develop specific fitness as well.

One of the features we offer in our AMP pro, and to our coached athletes is Best Bike Split. I think it’s another great tool to use. You can select the race you wish to do, enter your specific metrics, what your goals are, and BOOM! You’re give an “ideal” race plan. Pretty cool! Now we just need the World to always be an “ideal” place when we are trying to race and compete. Often times wrenches are thrown in but none the less, it can be a great tool to help you prepare physically and mentally for the challenges you have ahead of you.

Remember, we want to work BACKWARDS to get ahead. So we want to take a look at the ideal race strategy. Whether it is generated from a program, or old school by talking to people and doing self-reflection.

-        Figure out the demands you expect to deal with for the race

-        Figure out the things that you need to get better at to deal with those demands

-        Come up with a plan of action to work on them in training such as “key sets”

-        If you have the time (which is why the “off season” is really important) then what things can you be doing now to help set you up for success in those key sessions which will intern set you up for success in your race

Let’s look at a simple example, using Best Bike split. California 70.3 is a race that is coming up which I also know well. I have had the experience of having my ass handed to me at that race, and then eventually being the overall AG winner, and everything in between. I can’t control who shows up, but once I figured out that race, I was able to have A LOT more success. We can get into the details in our forum about the tricks of the race, but for now, let’s just use the BBS profile and gain some insight on how to work backwards.

In the attached images you will see the race plan. I used the IF (Intensity Factor) setting because this will be the most universal for all to relate to. I set it to 80%. Basically this means I would like my overall average effort to be 80% of threshold. Some may need to go slower; others may be able to go faster but I had to pick something. I feel 80% is a solid 70.3 distance effort that if trained well, you can still run off the bike.

The program will also use your FTP (Functional Threshold Power). This is the power you can produce at you LT (Lactate Threshold). It will use this number along with the overall average intensity factor you want to race at and compute based on the course what is the best way for you to spend your energy to get around the course the fastest.

For this model I used an FTP of 100. I did this so that the model can be essentially expressed in a percentage of FTP. So where you see it say “89” for example, it really would be saying 89%.

Knowing the time is irrelevant because if someone had an FTP of 100 they would be out there awhile, the graph is best looked at in miles. Assuming people will ride 20 mph on average (just keeps the math simple) you can start to predict the demands of the race.

THE MAP

If we look at the Map we see we have about 25-30 miles of flatter course. Wind depending and assuming you are traveling 20 mph we know it’s going to take us 75-90 min to negotiate that part of the course. It has some ups and downs but we can see that it is calling for us to average between 75-85% on this portion of the course for some sustained periods of time.

We then have about 15 miles of some pretty significant ups and downs. If we look at the power outputs its calling for us to have it can range from 85-116% for several minutes at a time! We need to be ready for that. This is also a great example of blending the technology with the experience of advice from people who have been there. I say this because I can tell you that HOW you are going to be doing those efforts can range from standing up grinding the pedals and your legs screaming because the hill is so steep, to being aero and aerobically your lungs are on fire because you are trying to get up a roller or a false flat.

If we look at the last 15 mines (45 min or so) we see the chart has us doing a lot of 65-7% efforts because it’s mainly downhill (false flat). Again though, I can tell you that if you have a headwind coming back. It’s not going to be that easy and this is the part of the course that eats a lot of people up and takes their run from the, as well.

For a lot of reasons.

-       -  People haven’t trained right or specifically enough

-       -  They are mentally rusty from having to push nonstop for 2:15+. That’s a completely different animal then pushing harder off and on in spin class – trust me.

So if we were to set up a training set to help us prepare for this, it would look something like this:

Warm up 15 min

In the warm up include 3 x 1 min big gear low RPM standing with 3 min rest between. (There are some good climbs to get out of the harbor. Practice staying relaxed under high torque.

Main Set

3-4 x 8-12 min @85-89% Half way through each interval do 30 sec. HARD!,  then right back to working intensity (3 min easy spin between)

2-4 x 4-6 min @ 95-115% alternate however you want seated and standing. Can break them up in intervals, or within the intervals, but throw in some sustained hard gear standing (recover 4 min between)

2-3 x 12-20 min @85-90% (2 min easy spin between)

You can mix and match those how you want. You don’t have to progress every set equally. You can do all the longer ones for example and fewer short ones, or some combination you choose. The important thing is knowing and identifying what YOU need to do. We can help you with that. 

consultations coming in!

Our Amp program is growing every day, its so exciting to see athletes really starting to take advantage of the included resources!

Here is an example of one of the athletes and what types of questions and feedback we help them with, included in the 59.00 a month price -

TBC,

I'm 36, I've been "dabbling" in triathlon since 2007. My overall goal is continuous improvement with my focus being on the general fitness the training provides. 

I completed IM CDA with a 16:19 time, IM Florida with a 16:18 time. I competed in the Rev3 Cedar Point in but had to pull out after 70 miles on the bike due to a knee injury. I ran IM AZ, finishing in 15:20. 

I ran IM UK but had not been training well and missed the time cutoff at mile 90 on the bike. This year I ran IM France, my training was improved but still not adequate, especially for the challenging bike route and I missed the time cut off at mile 80. 

I've signed up for IM France again next year (June 5th) and I'm considering IM Wales or IM Dublin 70.3 as well but I need to get my training on track before making that call. My goal for IM France is to break 14 hours.

As you can tell from my results I'm a mediocre age group athlete. This is primarily due to inconsistency in my training. I've been listening to the TBC podcast for a while now to help with my motivation and decided to join the AMP to get a little more guidance, motivation and accountability in my training in order to achieve that consistency.

I currently live in England and my work schedule is quite hectic with changing hours week to week and frequent trips. I can train an hour each week day and 3-4 hours most Saturdays and Sundays. 

I have a small indoor pool to swim in, not big enough for laps so I have a tether to hook myself to the wall. I have a treadmill and Computrainer as well. Necessities as the English winter sets in.

So that's a little bit about me. 

Thanks again for the help,

AMP member

Are you working hard at hardly working?

As triathletes we are used to working hard and overcoming problems. It’s usually an object of pride. If our FTP needs work, we work hard to get it up. If we need to get our pace down on the run or swim, not a problem, we work hard and try to make it happen.

When it comes to the weight room, we either skip that workout all together but if we do go, we want to win at that too. The issue is we start to incorporate muscles to help us keep up with what we think we should be able to do and in our defense, our bodies try to do it without our even knowing most of the time.

When our bodies try to help us by over compensating, this is how injuries start to creep in. This is what I have been learning over the past year.

I have had to recently get PRP in both my Achilles tendons. This stems from having calcification in both my Achilles tendons. The reason I have the calcification is because I have bone spurs on the back of my heel which rubs against my Achilles. The reason I have that… tight calves.

I’m sorry if that seemed confusing, but the point is just like the song says: “the thigh bone really IS connected to the shin bone.” When we get caught trying to do the best we can sometimes we can accidentally or on purpose avoid the process that needs to take place to make us better.  

Here is another example. My Achilles hurt for several years off and on. I would spend time getting them worked on so they would not hurt as bad. I eventually figured out that the calves being tight were what put added strain on the Achilles tendons. What I was not aware of was why my CALVES were tight! I was not using my glutes to run. I had become a calf runner. I was compensating with other muscles, over working them like my back, hip flexors, etc. All these issues were making my calves do more work than they are made to do.

I am lucky enough this past year to meet Gina, she owns Achieve Athletics, and Garrett who owns Champion Sports Advantage. As I rehab my PRP we are using this as an opportunity to work on areas that I need to get to fire. It isn’t even so much of a strength issue. I simply haven’t been activating the right muscles in the right sequence.

Below are some videos at how terrible I am doing this work with proper form. The task was to be able to activate my glute only to raise my foot towards the ceiling. I could do all I could do to just activate my glute! In a world where a lot of endurance athletes run to things like “Crossfit” because they want to work hard to get fit hoping they will get faster from the fitness, trying to talk them into this is a hard sale! This is why I have hired Garrett to work with all my athletes this year. Everyone can benefit from this.

Thankfully Garrett was able to demonstrate the proper form.

If you are interested in learning what you need to work on to get faster and avoid injury, contact us today. We will try to get you sorted out. 

Never too old to learn

This year I turned 40 which unless you are my friends who like to tease me, really isn’t that old. However, I have been doing triathlon in some way shape or form since late 1980’s. So in that respect I am getting pretty long in the tooth with endurance sports.

This year has been one of my toughest years I have had, I have been battling injuries in my lower legs for several years, and this year they have really come to a head. I have calcification in both achillies tendons and something called Haglund’s deformity. It’s like a bone spur on the back of your heel that then rubs and irritates the achillies so much in defense the achillies build up calcium (bone) in the tendon and it hurts. BTW it’s really brought on from tight calves so as a side note, keep stretching!

I have had an amazing team around me trying to help keep me in the game but there just hasn’t been the opportunities to train at the level I usually do on the run in regards to intensity at all this year and it’s showed. I kept telling myself that it didn’t matter so much because at IM I didn’t need to run fast, I needed to run strong. That’s true in the race but I think my economy and motivation were really impacted. I think this was for several reasons.

At first I was pretty disappointed on how my season was unfolding. Last year I was ranked #1 in the World for the AWA rankings for 70.3 (although I would argue I was top 5 actually) I was at the top. This year, it was a battle all year. You race long enough, everyone will have an off time. This was my time. That being said, I really tried to take inventory of WHY and learn what I could so I could learn as a coach. I learned a few very important lessons this year.

First, I walked a lot in my marathons this year. A lot. I have often told my athletes who plan for this you have to plan for the walk, but I now fully feel the impact of having to walk. You HAVE to build walk fitness if you think you are going to walk. You have to. The muscles you use are very different. The only thing I could relate it to is it was like trying to ride a bike with a new fit on race day. Even if it’s a better fit, you aren’t going to be used to it and are going to be quite sore.

My father is a 14+ hour finisher. I would have him cut grass, work around the house, and then go start his run training for the day. I wanted him to practice being active all day. I still think that is a good way to get ready but please build some walking into your training. If nothing else if you are fit to walk you can walk 2-4 min faster per mile then someone who hasn’t! it doesn’t seem like a big deal but if you are going to walk 10+ miles its almost an hour faster.

The second thing I think I really learned is I have been too focused on Ironman for too long and the distance while very hard, isn’t providing the stimulus I need to keep getting better. It’s hard to go backwards in distance which is why short course guys coming across our way have it better, but I think I am getting to the point I need to rebuild shorter fitness (even if I do an ironman next year I want to explore that. I also think that why my body is breaking down. I have done 10 Ironman races in the past 5 years and that doesn’t even include all the training I have done.

In general, you tend to work a program until it doesn’t, then you have to make a change. That is the power of having an attentive coach. I have always been low maintenance, I don’t ask for a lot from people who are helping me, but I will now for a while. I want to look into how I respond to different things and what changes I need to make and trust some new processes.