firstoffthebike.com - Tri 101

The key to speed: building an injury resistant body

Text by Jen Brown

Talking about injuries is not a sexy topic. But the fact remains that being able to train consistently and with intensity is essential in order to improve your performance on race day. And avoiding injuries allows you to do just that.

We all love to swim, bike & run (some disciplines more than others) and just squeezing those key sessions into an already busy lifestyle can be difficult. But there are a few simple (yet often overlooked) things you can do to reduce your risk of injury and maximise the effectiveness of your training efforts:

Your body is constantly sending you messages. Are you listening?

Everything from headaches, ‘tired’ eyes, urine colour and sore throats to niggles and injuries are your body’s way to trying to get your attention. Are you listening?
Most of us have been guilty of ignoring these signs from time to time. How many times have you had a niggle or full blown injury, ignored it and continued to train through it in the hope it would magically disappear? Yes, me too.

Unless there is a trauma involved (ie, an accident), injuries for triathletes & runners rarely happen spontaneously. So don’t bury your head in the sand. Pay attention to your body & the messages it is sending you. Monitoring what your body is trying to tell you allows you to take proactive steps to correct the problem before it escalates to the point that you need to cut back your training.

Your core is key (aka crunches are for bodybuilders)

We all know appearances are an important part of triathlons. ‘The look’ is of course all important. But do yourself a favour and stop doing crunches!

Your ‘core’ consists of a lot of small muscles whose primary purpose is to stabilise your body. And your ‘six pack’ muscles are not included!

Unlike a bicep which turns on and then turns off to move your arm, these stabilisers are switched on, at a low level, all the time. Think of a car that is in neutral. It is on and operational but only at a low intensity.

Having a stable core creates a stable base or platform for your legs and arms to produce force and power. Without it, your arms and legs aren’t able to produce as much power as they normally would (as they are too busy trying to stabilise you) and your body isn’t able to use the (limited) power it does produce efficiently.

So make sure you choose sports-specific and integrated whole body movements which incorporate your arms and legs. Swimming, cycling and running (like most sports) require integration and co-ordination; do your stability and core work in the same way.

Are you strong and balanced?
Only doing swim, bike and run training means that your body becomes strong in some ways but equally weak in other ways, creating imbalances in your body. These imbalances are generally the cause of most triathlon-related injuries. So developing a balanced body is essential if you are going to stay injury free.

Most professional triathletes incorporate some form of core, flexibility & strength training within their programs. Yet it is something that many age group triathletes seem to think is not important.
The signs of these imbalances are easy to spot to the trained eye (and even to the untrained eye). Anyone who has had an ITB problem (hands up if you haven’t) would know that dropping your left hip when your right foot hits the ground when running is a classic sign that your glutes (your butt), core & other muscles aren’t functioning properly.

Incorporating only 15-20 minutes sessions of supplementary training (strength, core & flexibility) once or twice a week will go a long way to creating a more balanced, and therefore, more injury resistant, body. But be aware that training body parts separately can shut down your body’s ability to co-ordinate its movements. So make sure you choose integrated, whole body movements.
Your muscles are like elastic bands: less stretch = less power

Muscles are like elastic bands. They only produce energy (power) when stretched.

Trigger points – sore and tight spots in your muscles – reduce the extent to which your muscles can stretch and therefore produce power. Quite simply: less stretch = less power.

Unfortunately you can’t ‘stretch out’ a trigger point. But by treating your trigger points properly, you will improve your ability to stretch (or lengthen) your muscles and therefore increase the amount of power you are able to produce from them.

There are plenty of tools on the market that you can use. Try a foam roller, pool noodle or the range of products sold by Trigger Point Therapy and target your calf muscles, quadriceps, butt and the sides of your rib cage under your arm pit.

Combined with a strong & stable core and you will be well on your way to your next PB!

Posture perfect
Ok, so I know that most men’s eyes have probably just glazed over right now but stay with me!
Posture is not normally something associated with injuries but how you sit and stand everyday affects your body and can increase your risk of injury. Think about how you sit on the couch, in the car or in front of the computer, and how long you spend seated on a daily basis. These types of repetitive movements cause changes in your muscles and joint function.
Would you ride your bike if your brakes were rubbing or your handlebars were crooked? It is no different from having a body that is out of optimal alignment. A tightness in one spot will inevitably produce a problem (whether it is a movement compensation or pain) elsewhere.

Being aware of your posture – how you sit and stand on a daily basis – and correcting it when you find yourself standing in a manner that is less than ideal (especially when combined with self-myofascial release) will go some way to reducing your risk of injury.

So pick one of these tips to implement today as your first step towards a faster race day performance!

Jen Brown Heads up Sparta Personal Training
Delivering intelligent sports performance through innovative strength, core & flexibility training programs
www.sparta-pt.com
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