The Maven approach to a successful multisport season- Part 1

What's our training philosophy here at Maven?

You all know from Mavenaction (mavenaction.com) that we believe health has to come first.

So, what is health?

Well, generally, we believe that there are 4 major components- physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Any strain or pull in one of these areas diminishes the effectiveness and overall state in the other areas.

For this blog's purpose, we'll be emphaszing the physical-

Fitness is, first and foremost, a major constituent to the foundation of general physical health and wellness, which allows one to take on any sport or athletic activity to a maximized level of performance. When we talk about fitness, we must also understand that "clean" nutrition gives fitness the necessary fuel to attain that level of performance. Sleep, rest, and recovery are also well infused components of being more healthy.

Put it this way, how can you even think of having your best race in your respective competitive sport (not exclusive to multisport) when you haven't sufficiently trained ALL of your body's energy systems, incorporated functional strength training as well as flexibility acquisition/maintenance and balance work (let alone managed a solid nutrition plan, recovery, and rest training) ?

Are you fit just because you can do an Ironman? Many people think so, but this is definitely not the case. You've seen them before- the skinny fat athletes, the overweight athletes who are very good at enduring, but have high, double-digit bodyfat.

From my own experiences competing in multisport endurance activities for the past 13 years, I can say for sure that aerobic conditioning (cardio) are merely one facet of fitness, but by no means do they complete the palette. I am faster (and fitter) at 37 than I was at 27. I have been PR'ing every race I've done this season since I really began to take fitness more seriously as part of my tri-training with Mavenaction and crossfit endurance, while my triathlon training volume has decreased....and continues to decrease. I have to admit, while the science supports this way of training, mentally/emotionally, it hasn't been easy...and, to be honest, tri-training is usually more fun than cross-training (don't we all tend to gravitate towards what we love to do?? I am not immune!). While I've been in the fitness industry for over 15 years, the last two years have been the most eye-opening even for me as far as my personal results and professional endeavors.

If you've ever done a Mavenaction workout, you'd know what I mean. There are triathletes, runners, and other endurance specialists who could do laps around me till kingdom come, but if I were to have them do...say...10 minutes of burpees, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, squats, they'd be screaming for mercy (which used to be me, by the way)....if I had them attempt a few sets of pull ups and push-ups, they'd be a goner.

I think you get the drift.

In essence, to be the best triathlete you want to be next season, you MUST be fitter. How do you become fitter? Add cross-training (functional resistance training) as PART of your triathlon training, not as something separate; as a soon-to-be certified USAT level 1 coach, this is how I intend on program designing and mapping out your best tri performance next season.

What do I mean by adding in cross-training? Instead of 7 days a week of all cardio or multisport activities during the season, 3-4 days would be dedicated to your sport, and the other 2 days would involve functional, resistance training or a combo of activities; for example, drop and do 20 burpees or 20 push-ups every 100m of running around a track at your 5k pace for 2 laps x 4 sets...try it, I dare you, then come back and visit my blog for more). Of course, remember that you need to make rest a part of your training as well, and for longevity in the sport, 1-2 days/wk is necessary.

We'll get more into the specifics as we move along in this multi-part series.

Sprint tri workout. week 1

Team Maven-
Thanks for your patience!

Overall program design for the team- we're doing our best to provide an appropriate beginner's level tri workout that incorporates a heavier emphasis on cross training and high-intensity interval training.  Your feedback is appreciated (too hard, too easy, just right). 

We really believe you'll have a much better first-time triathlon experience when your overall conditioning and nutrition are humming along at their best.

Where to Swim???
-Glen Rock Pool has a daily admission rate of $12.  Great pool.  50 yds (similar to race length).
-Paramus Munical Pool- daily admission of $20 as a guest (we have a few team members who are members there).  This is also a 50 yd pool.
-Maywood Pool- $10 admission as a guest (we have a few team members who are members here as well).  This is also a 50 yd pool.
-24 Hr Fitness- currently has a flat month-month rate of $80 for use of the entire facility.  This is a 20 yd. pool.
-Wyckoff YMCA- feel free to come as my guest for $10 and intro swim lessons by yours truly.  This is 25 yd. pool.

Training tools-

Heart rate monitor:
Using a heart rate monitor is very useful to have during training so that you can monitor your response to and progress during activity.  You can a get a decent one (Timex, eg) for a relatively low price on Amazon.com, and it will last you a long time. 

If you don't have one, not all is lost. Click on this target HR link, so that you can get a general idea of your aerobic range...this means you'll have to stop and check your pulse during activity, which can be a bit of an inconvenience.  The best way to take your pulse is at the wrist area below your thumb (radial pulse).  Take your pulse within 1 minute to get the most accurate reading. 

Bike computer:
Even if you never use it again after this race, the $20 investment will be a good one.  Track your mileage, your speed, time spent on the bike.  Better yet, if you own an iPhone, download the free Strava app.  Strava will track your bike metrics as well via GPS.

Here's the workout regiment for this week!!

Tuesday-

Swim:  300 yds (8 laps in a 25 yd pool or 4 laps in a 50 yd pool)
warm-up: 25 yds with focus on relaxing and keeping body close to the surface of water (you should be looking down at the bottom of the pool with head in neutral and feel for your hips rising to the surface). Repeat 4x and rest for 30 seconds between each length of the pool.
main set: 2x 50 yds with a 1 minute rest between each set.
cool down: 25 x 4 (repeat wm-up above).

Bike:  30 minutes-
warm-up: 10 minutes with emphasis on pedal stroke- if you have "basket" or clipless pedals, try pedalling with one leg only for 1 minute, then switching for total of 10  minutes.  Goal is to keep an even stroke with minimal forward rocking feeling.  Try this activity in every gear on the bike.  Use a stationary bike if you can't get on a real saddle!
Main set: 20 minutes- sustain aerobic zone pace (click on link).
cooldown: 10 minutes- bring heart rate down to 90-100 beats/minute

Wednesday-

Walk/Run:  40 minutes-
walk fast for 10 minutes, jog/run 8 minutes (aerobic zone pace), walk 1 minute.  Repeat x 3.  Cooldown walk for 5-10 minutes.

Cross training:
Perform 3 rounds of the following:
15 push ups
15 air squats
15 burpees
15 crunches
15 jumping jacks

Thursday-
Swim:  400 yds
warm-up: 25 yds with focus on relaxing and again keeping body close to surface of water. Repeat 6x and rest for 30 seconds between each length of the pool.
main set: 6x 50 yds with a 10 second rest between each set.
cool down: 25 x 4 (repeat wm-up above).

Bike:  40 minutes-
warm-up: 10 minutes with emphasis on pedal stroke- if you have "basket" or clipless pedals, try pedalling with one leg only for 1 minute, then switching for total of 10 minutes. Goal is to keep an even stroke with minimal forward rocking feeling. Use a stationary bike if you can't get on a real saddle.
Main set: 30 minutes- build up to aerobic zone pace (click on link) at your own pace.
cooldown: 10 minutes- bring heart rate down to 90-100 beats/minute

Friday (repeat of Wed workout)-
Walk/Run: 40 minutes-
walk fast for 10 minutes, jog/run 8 minutes (aerobic zone pace), walk 1 minute. Repeat x 3. Cooldown: walk for 5-10 minutes.

Saturday-
6:15 (sharp)-7:20 am GROUP BIKE Ride on 9W- out and back.
Meet at parking lot behind office building on 2440 Lemoine Ave.
(Lemoine/Washington Ave) in Fort Lee.

then, off to MAVENACTION WORKOUT!!!!!!

BRING A GU OR OTHER GEL, CLIF BLOKS, AND PLENTY OF
HYDRATION TO CONSUME BEFORE THE MAVENACTION WKOUT.

Sunday- active recovery- choose one of the following single sport activities:
swim: 20 minutes (combo of deep water running or easy treading water)
bike: 45 minutes (light gear)
run: 45 minutes (8 min jog/1 min walk)

Monday- Rest