Training Tips

[lazyboypops]

Shaughs is right about the HR training but one thing to remember is everybodys HR is different. To do effective HR training you need to determine you max HR. This can be done by taking a VO2 max test or going out on a specific test run and and determining it from there. Training within the correct HR zones will then be very beneficial especially for anybody involved in endurance sports.

The other key ingredient to training is rest. Those who know my training methods will testify that I am an expert at this Overtraining will lead to poor performance, illness and most likely season ending injury. Listen to your body and if you think it needs rest then let it have some. There is nothing to be gained by going out and doing a hard interval session when all you want to do is rest. Just think back over your previous training and see how good you feel after an unseen forced rest of a few days. You generally come back bursting with energy and rarin' to go.

[johnd]

Skin is waterproof, and running gear won't wash off you, get out in the rain, its great craic, dont let pansiness get in the way of your training. Nothing like plowing through the wind and rain on a quiet country road with not a sinner out. Stuff newspaper into your runners to dry them.
Stretch as much as you can, lots of different views and opinions but for me, don't bother stretching beforehand, at best is a waste of your time, at worst counter productive if muscles and tendons are caused damage by being stretched when cold. warm up with slow run, then do a few dynamic stretches like kick bum with heels and high knee lifts. When finished, stretch everything you can think of good and slow, hold each stretch for at least 60 seconds and preferably 90. And remember how long a second is, don't just count 1,2,3,4... as quick as you can
I find that if I don't stretch after training I get sore and pick up niggles, if I do stretch then I can run injury free - that's all I need to know
Slow days slow fast days fast, an old one knocking around a while, but you need to be fresh to hit the tempo runs and intervals that Shaughs talks about. If you're going out for a slow run, keep it slow, when you're doing intervals embrace the pain and push on. If not you just end up doing everything at a medium/fast speed and struggle to get faster.
Hills are good try to do your slow runs/bikes and long runs/bikes across a hilly route and get a double work out, no need to push it too hard, just get up the hills, what wont kill you will only make you stronger
Plan ahead all my best training has happened when I've been following a plan, mainly out of books or off the internet, but anytime I've gone by feel I get nothing worthwhile done. You should know today what your doing (swim/bike/run, slow/interval/long etc) for at least the next week, and have a nice vague plan for the next several weeks. Use step back weeks, don't burn out.
smile none of us are professionals, if you're not enjoying training you're doing something wrong - change it

[BShaugh]

great tips John, a lot of sense there

[Tom]

Form and your core.

They both go hand in hand, a weak core will inevitable lead to poor form which as distances increase will lead to injury. The off season is the ideal time to get your core work in and remember your core is not just your abs it's everything from your neck to your ass front and back.

On form we would find it strange to start a swim workout before doing drills and working on technique, yet when it comes to cycling and running we give it very little time if any at all. The reason east and north african runners are so far ahead is because of their economy, american and european runners have on average a higher VO2 max but are not near as economical. Running drills need only be done twice a week before or after a workout and can make a hugh difference. Towards the end of a race something as simple as thinking about form can take your mind off the pain and help maintain your pace.

Drills http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcH97Dx8VCk

Form from head to toe
Head should be looking ahead not down at ground
Chest out - think Johnson
Shoulders relaxed and down - once you get tired they tend to hunch up and restrict breathing
Arms should not cross the body and elbows should stay behind torso - should move back and forward think thomas the tank engine
Lean slightly forward - let gravity help out -not from hip your whole body
Keep feet below the torso
Midfoot or forefoot hitting the ground not heel - this acts as a brake and causes most injuries
Make sure your using your energy to move forward not up and forward, thats bounding not running - Bannister trained beside a 6 foot wall with a friend on the other side looking to see if his head popped over and he turned out to be fairly decent
When running downhill never ever increase stride length instead increase turnover and lean forward - your quads will thank you

Perfect form except for her arms as some people have commented on - note most of us are slightly taller and heavier http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd1QvXJS ... re=related

If that all seems like too much bother there is a simpler way to get faster. Forgo the christmas dinner and get on a diet EVERY POUND OF BODY WEIGHT LOST IS WORTH 2 SECONDS A MILE. Thats 28 seconds a stone. I'm around 11.5 so if I can just get myself close to the 7 stone mark I reckon I can win the 1500m 5000m double in London.

[BShaugh]

Very interesting Tom.

So what about our club champ or Joy who had two great marathons?

[don]

This has turned out to be a great thread. Tom is so right about the three things he mentioned, weight (I'm a testament to that), form (or efficiency I call it) and Core, probably the single most important thing. That goes for the MTBers as well, facing any hill you need a strong core, you could have all the leg strength in the world but unless you engage your core, it's useless. When you engage both your strong leg strength and Core together, it's amazing the results...

I mentioned about periodisation before and the importance of Base Training. Well I saw an excellent post in Triathlon Ireland (thats a rarety) for bike base training. Have a read, it gives great detail on the reasoning and a few good sessions too.
http://www.triathlonireland.com/index.p ... 07&nid=585

[don]

It's me again....

I mentioned before about the words 'Less is More', which was my mantra for the last year and half and this again feeds into Tom's post about form over speed. Alexandre Popov, one of the top swimmers ever to grace the swimming pool has a few tips about training. He was proven to have up to 40% less power than his counterparts but yet beat them all hands down everytime he competed. Here's his secrets (I've reduced my swim stroke by nearly 4 strokes in the last few years by just practicing this, which leaves more fuel in the tank for the rest of the race ).
http://swimming.about.com/od/freeandbac ... m_fast.htm