Biomechanics of Cycling Overview

Biomechanics of Cycling Overview

As a coach, bike fitter, and a performance tester, I regularly get the question: “How do I get faster on the bike?” The simplest answer is: Ride more. However, that does not take into consideration of how your body interacts with the bicycle. So, the more accurate answer is this: You can ride faster on the bike by maintaining maximum sustainable power output while minimizing drag.

By working with a coach, you can make gains in cycling endurance, power output, bike handling, and muscular strength and endurance. All of which has been addressed in other articles by Playtri coaches. Likewise, although minimizing drag can be impacted by your cycling kit, helmet, and wheel choices, how your body interacts with the bike has a larger impact on minimizing drag.

A proper bike fit ensures that your bike is the correct size and your position on the bike is optimal for performance, safety, and efficiency. Every bike fit begins with a cycling-specific flexibility and functional strength assessment. With over 20 years of experience fitting and coaching cyclists and triathletes, our first priority is to ensure that your bike fits you safely. We work to ensure your body position isn’t too far forward, too far back, too high, or too low on the bike which can make you unstable. Although a lower front end is more aerodynamic, it might not be sustainable for you. And we pay close attention to the 3 points of contact in cycling: your pelvis on the saddle, hands on the handlebars or aerobars, and your feet on the pedals. If you feel any numbness in these contact points, there is either something off with your bike fit, your cleats need to be adjusted or replaced, shoes or bike shorts need to be replaced, or there is a muscular imbalance that needs to be addressed. Of course, a bike fit is not a one-and-done thing. As your body adapts to the training and changes as you age and gain fitness, it is important to reassess your bike fit. We recommend that you get a new bike fit at least once a year depending on your fitness goals. You can learn about our different bike fits and schedule one here.

Once your bike fit is done, I then encourage my athletes to continue to pay attention to how their body interacts with the bike. There are a few things I particularly pay attention to with my athletes: Is their upper body still or rocking back and forth while riding? Are there dead spots in their pedal stroke or is it smooth and circular? Do their knees track properly or do they collapse in or outward? Assuming that the bike fit is good, we can then start to address the biomechanical issues that are related to these issues. To maintain a relaxed, still upper body, we focus on developing core strength. For dead spots in the pedal stroke, we incorporate high cadence, low cadence, and single leg drills into our training. And to help your knees to track correctly, we work on strengthening or releasing your gluteus maximus and hip abductors (depending on whether your knees collapse inward or outward).

So, what’s the take away from this article? If you want to get faster on the bike, your bike fit and how your body interacts with the bike matter a lot. If you increase your riding, yes you will gain fitness, but at some point, your bike fit and body function will impact your ability to sustain maximum power. So, remember: 1) Make sure you have a good bike fit that allows you to ride your bike in a comfortable, safe, and efficient fashion. Update it every year. And 2) Pay attention to how your body moves on the bike. Are you able to maintain a solid but relaxed upper body position while your legs function as smooth, fluid pistons? Are your feet remaining relatively parallel to the ground? And are your knees tracking correctly?

Again, if you would like to learn more about bike fits and to schedule one, you can find more here. If you are interested in performance testing or scheduling a one-on-one with a coach, you can find more information here and here. And if you have questions about anything in this article or are interested in learning about different coaching options, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

Nutrition + Hydration for Long Course Racing

Nutrition and hydration is the number one topic that comes up in my work as a coach with a wide range of endurance athletes. Whether it’s a first time Ironman, ultramarathoner, Ironman World Championship Qualifier, or a randonneur, this is the topic that gets the most discussion. Why? Because it can make or break your race. Since the triathlon season is just around the corner (I just received my athlete check in email for Ironman 70.3 Texas), this topic seems timely.

As a coach, I want you to have a very simple and systematic approach to your nutrition and hydration on race day. Your nutrition and hydration strategy should be repeatable and easy to follow because your focus ought to be on the race and not trying to count calories. This strategy can be developed through two different approaches: trial and error; or testing your sweat content, your calorie expenditure, and knowing your heart rate zones.

Through testing we can determine what heart rate zones are the best for you based on the amount of calories you burn at different heart rate levels with a Vo2 Calorie Expenditure Test, and we can determine how much sodium you need to replace with a Sweat Test. Then we can figure out which hydration products offer the best sodium replacement for you and how many calories you need to consume during the bike and run. We then use these products during Key training sessions to make sure they sit well in your stomach and do not cause any gastrointestinal distress.

Testing is the best way to get these results but it may not be possible for you to come to Dallas for these tests if you live further away or if finances are tight. If that is the case, then trial and error is the way to go. With this approach you need to be incredibly systematic in your nutrition & hydration trials. Take notes on everything. Weigh yourself naked immediately before and after your longer key training sessions so you know how much water your have lost. Write down how much sodium, water, and calories you consumed per hour so that you can make adjustments as you continue in your training. Those who menstruate should track where they are in their menstruation cycle since different phases can effect hydration levels and performance. Whether you go with testing or trial and error, a general rule of thumb is to keep weight loss to less than 2% of your starting body weight. Any more than 2% means you are experiencing a level of dehydration that can be detrimental to your well being.

As you start out working with a coach or figuring out your nutrition and hydration strategy on your own, here are some guidelines to get you started.

Female athletes can look to consume at least 1 bottle of low calorie electrolyte drink per hour and 150-250 calories per hour on the bike. On the run, start with 100-150 calories per hour and hitting the aid stations for hydration. Male athletes can look to consume at least 1 bottle of low calorie electrolyte drink per hour and 250-350 calories per hour on the bike. While on the run, start with 150-200 calories per hour and hitting the aid stations for hydration. As a starting point for hydration, I recommend products from Skratch Labs, Precision Hydration, and The Right Stuff. For nutrition, I recommend Honey Stinger waffles and gels like GU. The amount you drink and eat changes based on intensity and environmental factors like temperature, humidity, and elevation.

If you plan to use the nutrition and hydration that is available on course, then practice with it throughout your build to race day so that your gut is trained accordingly. And if you plan to bring your own nutrition and hydration then think through the logistics of how you will carry your nutrition and hydration for the entire race. Will you create a “super bottle” or two of your hydration product to sip throughout the race and supplement with water at aid stations? Will you rely on extra bottles of hydration product in your special needs bag? Will you use salt capsules for the run? How will you carry your preferred nutrition products on the bike and the run?

If you are only now just thinking about this, it may seem overwhelming. Do not be discouraged. Every body is different, which means every other athlete on course with you will have had to think through this as well. Part of the excitement of coaching endurance athletes is working with them as they figure out what will sustain them in their races. The other part is celebrating their successes!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

Nutrition & Hydration: Short vs Long Course

Nutrition & Hydration can make or break your race day. Although we, the coaches at Playtri, are neither dieticians nor do we masquerade as them on social media, we have learned over the years that certain recommendations can be useful and beneficial for most endurance athletes. Of course, if you have exceptional circumstances such as health related issues, then we encourage you to connect with a registered dietician who has experience working with athletes and sports nutrition to help you plan your nutrition & hydration strategy.

Nutrition & hydration in triathlon is much like camping; the more extreme your camping or racing is, the more preparation and focus on execution needs to be at the forefront of your plan. Sprint distance races are a bit like RV camping, while Ironman distance races are a bit like wilderness camping in the desert or frozen tundra. You can get by with making mistakes when you go RV camping, but the mistakes come back and bite you in extreme camping situations.

However, triathletes often prepare for races a bit backwards; over-preparing for short course with gels and water bottles galore AND under-preparing for long course with little nutrition and hydration pre-planned for race day. Before we get into some general recommendations for short course and long course, please hear this: Use your training sessions to prepare for race day! You can’t wing it during training and expect things to go well on race day.

Generally speaking your body functions on a mix of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Our main fuel source for necessary bodily functions (like brain activity) and physical activity comes from carbohydrates and we have approximately 2 hours of carb fuel in our bodies at any given time. Thus it is important to plan your race day nutrition around carbohydrate consumption. (You can teach your body to utilize bodily fat for fuel, but that’s a topic for a different day and you still will want to take on some carbohydrates on race day.)

A general rule of thumb for women for nutrition is to consume approximately 100-200 calories per hour on any run 1.5 hours or longer and approximately 150-250 calories per hour any bike 2 hours or longer. Likewise, women should look to consume at least 1 bottle of a low calorie electrolyte drink per hour for any bike/run 1 hour or longer. Men: consume approximately 1 bottle of electrolyte drink per hour for any bike/run 1 hour or longer; approximately 150-350 calories per hour on any run 1.5 hours or longer and approximately 250-350 calories per hour on any ride 2 hours or longer. Variations in intensity, heat, humidity, and altitude will bring those numbers either up or down. It is good to start dialing in your nutrition at the lower end of the calorie range and adjust upward if needed. In addition, the longer your race/training the more calories you will need overall and the more solid you want your nutrition on the bike to be. We’re not talking meatball subs on the bike, but we do suggest that you go with some kind of nutrition bar or easily digestible solid like PBJ on white bread.

So if you are racing a triathlon and will be finishing in less than 2 hours you most likely won’t need any nutrition on race day. Plan on having a small bottle of electrolyte drink and a few gels available on the bike, and a gel or two available on the run.

If you are racing a triathlon and will be finishing in 2-4 hours you will need to plan a bit more. For the bike you can go with either gels or solid food or both and then stick to gels on the run, while making sure that you have a bottle of electrolyte drink per hour on the bike and hitting the aid stations on the run for water/electrolytes.

For triathlons in the 4-6 hour range you can go with a mix of gels and solids on the bike and then gels/chews for the run. Again plan on at least 1 bottle of electrolyte drink per hour on the bike and hitting the aid stations on the run.

And finally, any triathlon in the 6+ hour range go with mostly solids with some gels on the bike and gels/chews on the run with at least 1 bottle of electrolyte drink per hour on the bike and treating the aid stations like a buffet line.

Again, these are just general guidelines. Although we believe these general guidelines work for the vast majority of triathletes it certainly doesn’t hurt to work with a coach to help you plan your nutrition and hydration. And if you want a more specific nutrition and hydration plan, consider our performance testing options at Playtri Dallas (www.playtri.com/testing). A calorie expenditure test will help you know how many calories you expend at different heart rates, a sweat test will help you know how to hydrate to replace lost electrolytes, and a resting metabolic rate test will help provide you with a baseline for your daily nutrition planning.

Whichever way you go—experimenting with these recommendations, working with a coach, and/or getting performance testing—remember to get started now! Use your training to practice your nutrition & hydration strategy so that race day is an enjoyable, challenging experience.

Coach Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 3 Coach, and also holds a USA Triathlon Level I Coaching Certification, a UESCA Triathlon Coaching Certification, and a TRX Coaching Certification. He is available for individual coaching, one-on-one sessions, and performance testing. He can be reached at jim.rowe@playtri.com.

Metabolic Testing: Avoid the Bonk

Metabolic Testing and the Bonk

As many of you know, I spend a few hours every day getting to interact with retail customers at the Playtri Store. It’s a great experience for me as a coach, because I get to hear and consider all the questions that athletes have regarding the sport. It often leads to quality conversations that hopefully have a positive impact on the athlete’s training and racing.

A common question prior to every big Ironman race is “I’m trying to figure out my nutrition – what should I do/use?” I always hope athletes are asking for a race months down the line, but more often than not, they’re asking for a race in a week or two.

First, know that nutrition is king in Ironman. It isn’t a last minute consideration. All the quality training in the world can fall apart in a blink on race day with the wrong nutrition strategy (I’m not even going to get into hydration here – see the last email article on hydration and electrolytes).

Let me explain. Athletes who have been training or racing long course have likely all experienced “the bonk” – that dreaded sensation of suddenly hitting a point where either the muscles stop firing, the brain stops thinking, or, you know, both. It will quite literally stop you in your tracks. It happens reasonably often in triathlon, and exponentially more at the Ironman distance. Note that bonking is NOT the same as cramping (another evil villain of endurance sports), though they can definitely happen concurrently!

Bonking occurs due to a lack of carbohydrates available to brain and/or muscles. Why does this happen? Without going too deep into the science, carbohydrates and fats are both potential energy sources for the creation of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), a chain of three molecules that split to create the energy that causes muscles to contract (allowing us to swim, bike, run, etc.). Of the two potential energy sources (fat and carbs), carbohydrates are easier for the body to access for the process of creating ATP, so the harder we work (swimming, biking or running faster/harder), the more our body moves towards relying on carbs instead of fat. This would be great, except that, while our bodies have massive stores of fat (that’s not a comment on the reader’s weight – even the leanest athlete has enough stored fat for days at any given time), our carbohydrate stores are much more limited – perhaps 500g (2000 kcals), give or take 100g.

This is where we run into a problem. Some athletes may burn through 1000 kcals or more of carbohydrates in an hour at high intensities, meaning they could easily burn through their stores before their event is completed (fun fact – the average Ironman finish time is 12:35:00 – significantly longer than 2 hours, which is approximately how fast you’ll burn through your carbs at 1000 kcals per hour). You likely have two questions for me now:

1. Can’t I just replace the carbs I’m burning? Isn’t that what gels are for?

Yes, thank goodness. The challenge is that, on average, women can only absorb 100-200 kcals of carbs an hour, and men can only absorb 200-300 kcals an hour, at moderate intensity (yes – the faster you go, the more carbs you burn, and the harder it is to absorb carbs that you are consuming!) So if you’re burning 1000 kcals of carbs an hour, and can only replace 200 kcals – you do the math, but you’re still not making it to 12 hours and 35 minutes before you bonk.

2. If I burn through all my carb stores, won’t my body just slow me down and start using fat stores instead?

Unfortunately it isn’t that simple – aerobic metabolism requires some carbohydrates, even at very low activity levels, so if the carb tank is empty, you’re probably not going anywhere, slow or otherwise.

3. But the pros are going super-fast – aren’t they burning through 1000’s of carbs on the bike?

Yes, the pros are going super-fast – but we have to remember that our super-fast is their moderate. It isn’t that their bodies just have more carbs to burn, they just maintain higher power/speed at lower heart rates.

Many athletes take the trial and error approach – while doing progressively longer workouts, they test different nutrition strategies and track successes and failures, hopefully narrowing it down to something that works. Of course, that means if you don’t have many successful experiments before race day, you may or may not have a solid plan going into your event. There’s definitely a “hope for the best” element to this strategy that isn’t my preference, but has certainly worked for plenty of athletes, so I won’t knock it.

However, at Playtri we utilize a form of performance testing that takes a good deal of the guesswork out of nutrition strategy for Ironman, which we call “Caloric Expenditure Testing,” or “Metabolic Testing.”

 I just about require all of my 70.3 and IM clients to complete this 15-20 minute test, which gives me a data chart that looks something like this:

Athlete Name: Edna Example

Test Date: May, 2017

Test: Bike

Let’s say this chart was completed for the athlete on the bike. If the athlete wanted to do her IM bike in 6 hours, and could average 19 mph on the bike on race day at 130 bpm, she could take 100 kcals of carbs an hour and come off the with carb stores essentially intact. So let’s say she isn’t quite that strong, and her heart rate will be at 145 for her to maintain that pace – taking 100 kcals of carbs an hour would now mean that she burned through 900 kcals of carbs prior to starting the run. Well, if she had 2000 kcals in the tank to start, that means she may have 1100 left for her run (not counting kcals burned during the swim), which, if she has the same chart for her run calorie expenditure, it could then be determined if that was enough to achieve her goal for the day.

For many athletes, doing the test and understanding how much they burn at different heart rates is enough – they or their coach can take the information, and formulate effective plans for training and racing.

However, what if the chart looked like this:

Athlete Name: Edna Example

Test Date: May, 2017

Test: Bike

Even if the athlete can hold 19 mph at 130 bpm, and absorb 100 kcals of carbs an hour, she would still burn through 1800 kcals of carbs during the bike, leaving her with next to nothing to run her marathon on. Assuming she has done this test some months prior to her race, she has three options:

1. Change her goal (go slower than 6 hours on the bike)

2. Improve her ability to utilize fat instead of carbs at 130 bpm

3. Improve her power/speed at a lower HR

If she is doing the test a week before her race, she has one option:

1. Change her goal

This is why we recommend doing this test twice during long course training – once at the beginning of training to assess the situation, and help the athlete or coach effectively plan their focus for the coming training block (instead of just hoping for decent numbers prior to race day), and then once right before the race, to re-check numbers going into the event, and finalize the nutrition strategy.

Hopefully, this gets your gear spinning on long course nutrition. Of course, it isn’t just a numbers game. Other considerations, like what type of nutrition to take in, how to time it with hydration, what you personally are able to absorb, etc., are also part of the planning process. The most important thing is to start planning nutrition NOW, and make sure you have as much data as possible to do it efficiently. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me, or any of the other Playtri coaches.

Learn more about Performance Testing at: playtri.com/testing/

Bike Handling for Better Racing

Bike Handling for Better Racing

Want to get a leg up on the competition at your next non-drafting triathlon? Looking to get started in draft legal racing? Developing solid bike handling skills will give you a decisive advantage over your competition and make you a more confident, safer, and faster triathlete. 

Playtri has been working with triathletes and cyclists of all ages and experience levels for over 20+ years to be safer, faster, and more confident bike handlers. Our coaches regularly provide one-on-one bike handling sessions with athletes in the DFW area. Below are my favorite bike handling drills that can have an impact on race day.

Hold the Line: While in your aerobars, ride on the white line close to the shoulder. See how far you can ride without touching bare road. Try this at different speeds. As you gain confidence, try it one handed while you move your free hand to your water bottle, back of your jersey, back of your seat, helmet, etc. Make sure to practice with both hands.

Bottle Grabs: This is very race specific. Practice grabbing a water bottle from someone standing on the side of the road. Then practice filling your front hydration and/or placing the bottle in one of your bottle cages.

180 turns: In an empty parking lot, set up a cone to practice doing 180 turn going left and right. As you approach the turn, gear down into an easier gear. Apply the brakes as you come into the turn. Put your inside knee up, while pushing down on your outside foot, and use body lean to carry you around the turn. As you come out of the turn, spin your legs to get back up to speed. Practice this on your own and with friends.

Braking and Corners: In an empty parking lot, set up a set of cones that require you to make 4 left or 4 right turns. To keep from sliding out in the turn, place more of your weight on your front wheel by putting your hands on the bull horns of your tri bike or in the drops on your road bike. Don’t pedal while you corner. Instead put your inside foot up and outside foot down, lean the bike toward the direction you are turning, keep pressure on the outside foot. Release the brakes before you start the turn and lean your bike, not your body, into the turn. As you gain confidence, lean further into the corner. Remember to look where you want to go and not where you are or at the corner. Practice this on your own and with friends.

Drills like these not only help you gain more confidence but also make you a faster and safer cyclist. And if you are looking for specific guidance for ways you can improve as a cyclist, you can book a one-on-one session with one of our coaches here: https://playtri-dfw-scheduling.as.me/private-lessons

If you have questions about anything in this article or are interested in learning about different coaching options, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

Transitions - Great ROI for Free Speed

By Peter Balyta

Improving your transitions may be the easiest way to gain speed in your next triathlon. Many coaches refer to this as “free speed” – a great Return on Investment (ROI). If you are looking to take 3-5 minutes off your overall race time, this article is for you.

The transition between the Swim Exit and the Bike Out (referred to as T1) and the transition between Bike In and the Run Out (referred to as T2) are great opportunities to gain free speed. Expert and/or seasoned triathletes understand this and practice flowing through transitions as quickly as possible. Athletes newer to the sport are often shocked by how much time they spent in T1 and T2 when reviewing their overall race performance. It can be disappointing to see hard earned performance improvements simply evaporate in transitions. For example, those precious minutes shaved off your swim time after months of focused pool and open water swim training can be completely lost if you were not intentional about practicing your transitions. Whether you worked hard to improve your swim, bike, and/or run time, you don’t want to lose that time in transition.

Below are a few tips to help you gain free speed in your next triathlon. While there are many additional ways to improve your time in transitions including more advanced techniques like having your bike shoes already attached to your bike, practicing faster bike mounting and dismounting techniques, the tips below can be used by triathletes of all levels.

Athletes Guide

Read the athletes guide or the race details on the race website. These always include information related to transitions. I encourage the athletes I work with to read the Athlete Guide 4 times each day leading up to race day. When my first triathlon coach told me to do this prior to my first triathlon, I thought she was exaggerating. It turned out to be a great way to help me visualize the entire race. The athletes guide will also provide important information regarding more complex transitions for long distance triathlons.

Keep it simple

The key is to only have what you need in transition. If you bring everything you think of for every continency you could imagine, this leads to a very messy transition area that will slow you down. Use what you have been training with and train with what you will be racing with. Nothing new on race day also means nothing new in your transition area.

Special notes:

- Wear your tri top, tri bottoms, or tri suite from start to finish. Wardrobe changes in T1 and T2 are the biggest time sucks and offer little ROI.

- Lube your wrists and ankles to facilitate getting out of your wetsuit (if using a wetsuit).

- Apply your Chamois cream or Body Glide and sunscreen before the swim.

- Loosen your bike shoes with socks rolled back to the toes in the heel of your shoes (if wearing socks) for quick entry. Left sock in heel of left shoe and right sock in heel of right shoe. This was the best early advice I got from my Playtri coach when I started racing. Your feet are wet. You just finished a long swim. The last thing you want to do is struggle finding and then pulling a pair of socks over your wet feet.

- Untie or loosen your running shoes with socks rolled back to the toes in the heel of your shoes (if wearing socks) for quick entry.

- Make sure to have elastic speed laces on your running shoes and practice using them. Speed laces like the ones from Nathan Sports are inexpensive and can save you valuable time and effort putting your shoes on. Make sure to cut them to the right length for your shoes and practice using them. If they are too long, they will bounce on and off the ground. If they are too short, you will have hard time slipping into your shoes. Again, the key is to practice and shorten the laces until you find the right length for you.

- Have a race belt with your race number and nutrition (i.e. gels) already attached. Race belts are also inexpensive and can really simplify your bike to run transition. Simplification means time savings and less things to think about. For example, I have my race number, a few gels (depending on the length of the triathlon), some sodium pills (based on my sodium needs for the event), and a Halo headband attached to my race belt the night before every event. I don’t have to put anything into the back of my jersey in transition. I know it’s all pre-attached to my race belt.

- Have a plan for your nutrition and hydration. Know how many calories (solids & gels), water bottles, and electrolytes you will need and where you will be putting it. Race morning is not the time to think about your nutrition and hydration plan or how to carry it. There are many options available at your local Playtri store. You should also practice executing and dialing in

your nutrition and hydration plan well before race day. This is a good conversation to have with your Playtri coach.

Keep it organized on Race Day – Sprint or Olympic Distances

Rack your bike, fill your water bottles, and put your water bottles and your nutrition in the pre-decided carriers.

You should be able to have everything you need neatly organized into two rows on a hand towel.

- First row (for T1): Bike shoes (with socks rolled back to the toes) if using socks. Helmet with your sunglasses inside. Sunscreen. Once in T1, put your wetsuit/cap/googles under your bike. Put your bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses on. Grab your bike and get to the mount line. DO NOT get on your bike until after you cross the mount line.

- Second row (for T2): Running shoes (with socks rolled back to the toes). Race belt with number and nutrition attached and visor (or sweat band) attached. Once in T2, put your shoes on, grab your race belt and GET OUT OF THERE. You could put your race belt on as you are leaving transition. You could put your visor on as you start running. You get the point – get out of transition quickly.

Keep it organized on Race Day – Long Distance Triathlons Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events normally require everything to be in a Bike Bag and a Run Bag. Note that most Ironman events involve checking in your bike, Bike Bag, and Run Bag on a specific day (and time slot) prior to race day.

In these situations, you need to be very intentional about filling these bags. Remember that the first things you put into your bags will be the last things that come out so plan how you fill your bags accordingly. You will typically experience one of two different scenarios (more on that below) that will be specified ahead of time in your Athletes Guide provided by race organizer. The Athletes Guide and pre-race athletes meeting will give you important information about setting up your transitions and so much more. You will be instructed on where and when to rack your bike. You will also be instructed on when and where to place your Bike Bag and Run Bag (and sometimes optional Gear Bag). You will also be given instructions on what to do with your Morning Clothes Bag). Don’t overfill your tires the afternoon you rack your bike. The heat from the hot sun does cause tires to pop.

It’s a scary thing to hear and even more scary, when you show up to your bike in the dark on race morning and see the damage. Rest assured that you will have access to your bike in T1 on race morning (you don’t need to leave them there overnight). That’s when you put your water bottles and nutrition on your bike and check your tire pressure.

Below are the two most common scenarios you will experience at long distance events:

- Scenario 1: T1 and T2 are the same spot and you will have both your Bike Bag and Run Bag at that spot next to your bike. Everything needs to be in those bags when you leave for the swim.

- When you come into T1, put your wetsuit/cap/googles next to your bike wheel, grab your Bike Bag, undo the knot, put on your sunglasses, helmet, and shoes. Don’t forget to quickly put your swim stuff in the Bike Bag you just emptied – quick knot and put bag under your bike. Grab your bike and go. Once you return for T2, rack your bike, empty your Run Bag, put your helmet and bike shoes into the Run Bag, put your running shoes on, grab your race belt, and go.

- Scenario 2: T1 and T2 are different locations. Everything needs to be in those bags in their designated areas when you leave for the swim.

For these and many more reasons, you need to read the Athletes Guide many times before race day. Read it 4 times a day during race week so that it gets locked into your memory.

Practice, practice, and practice

Practice your transitions in real conditions before your race and practice often. Even if you are short on time, you could always set up your transition spot in your driveway, or garage before your next bike and/or run training session. Before you head out on your bike, hose yourself down or jump in the pool. Being careful not to slip, “hurry slowly” to your transition spot and put your socks and shoes on before putting on your sunglasses and helmet and heading out on your ride. It’s very helpful to get used to doing this while wet and under pressure. You don’t even need to ride for very long before making your way back to your transition, dismount your bike, take your helmet and bike shoes off before putting on your running shoes, grabbing your race belt, and heading out for your run.

In summary, you should either be practicing your transitions from one transition area with your bike stuff and running stuff laid out intentionally in two rows on a hand towel next to

your bike OR practicing your T1 and T2 from one or two different locations using the Bike Bag and Run Bag. In all cases, you need to be intentional about your layout (or bag fill) and practice.

Visualization

Visualize the process from Swim Exit to Bike Out and from Bike In to Run Out. Visualization can help you practice your transitions using mental imagery from the comfort of your desk or airplane seat. Visualization is not a replacement for practice, but it does help you improve or solidify your process by rehearsing all of the steps involved in your transitions. The more you do it, the clearer the mental imagery gets and the more automatic and fluid the steps become. Not only will this technique help you get faster, but it will also reduce your stress as you approach race day. You should update your mental video on race morning to include physical features or landmarks to help you find your bike quickly when you exit the swim. Remember your race number but also count the number of bike racks you will run by before turning left or right towards your bike. Is your bike racked in front of unique tree or house that could help you get there faster? If yes, add it to your mental video. The last two steps are very important ones. Make sure to walk/jog the exact path you will use from the Swim Exit to your bike. Visualize putting on your bike socks/shoes, helmet/glasses, take your imaginary bike off the rack, and jog to the Bike Out. Do this ten times. Next go to the Bike In. Walk/jog your imaginary bike from the Bike In to your transition and rack your imaginary bike. Visualize removing your helmet and bike shoes, putting on your running shoes, grabbing your race belt and jog toward the Run Out. Do this ten times. If practicing for a long distance event that requires a Bike Bag and a Run Bag, simply add the opening of your bags into your visualizations and mental videos.

On Race Day

Plan to arrive at transition when it opens. This will give you plenty of time to add air to your tires, load your bike with nutrition and hydration, set up your transition area, visit the toilets before the long line-ups, walk/jog your transitions, visualize your transitions, apply sunscreen and body glide, and warm-up. Plan to be out of transition with your swim cap, timing chip, googles, and wetsuit if using one 30-40 minutes before you jump in the water and get the party started.

Say thank you.

Always thank the volunteers that are dedicating their time to support you, keep you safe, and help you create memories that will last a lifetime. You will find helpful volunteers in and around transitions. No matter how hard you are racing or how tough it gets on the course, smiling and having an attitude of gratitude will always make you feel better.

I wish you a great race season and look forward to seeing you out on the courses. I am pretty sure that I will not be seeing you in transition though because you now know the secrets to getting free speed. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about how to quickly and efficiently navigate through transition or to discuss other aspects of your triathlon journey.

Peter Balyta is a Playtri Level II Coach, a USAT Level I Certified Coach, and an Ironman Certified Coach. Peter is committed to helping athletes live the life they want to live. He delivers practical advice to help athletes of all ages and abilities drive superior performance in their training and racing while balancing their family, work, community and fitness goals. Peter brings his 20+ years’ experience as a corporate executive and community advocate to his triathlon coaching. Learn more about Peter at https://www.playtri.com/peter-balyta.

Why you need to train in the Open Water

Why you need to train in the Open Water

Every triathlete needs to regularly include open water swimming in their training routine. (Unless, of course, you are only going to be doing triathlons with pool swims.) Why? Because the vast majority of our races take place in open water. As a Playtri coach who regularly coaches at the longest running open water swim practice in the DFW Metroplex, I have seen triathletes make huge improvements in their open water swim abilities through regular exposure to swimming in open water in various conditions (windy, rainy, sunny, calm, cold, hot, etc.) If you still need a few reasons why you should swim in open water regularly, here are a few more:

Specificity: Training that is specific to the conditions of our races is critical to success. Thus, the more time you can spend training in open water, the better your swims will be on race day. However, if you show up at the lake to swim, you need a game plan like you do when you show up at the pool. Your coach should provide you with a workout for your open water swims. Or if you come to Playtri Open Water Swim practices on Saturday mornings from mid-March through September, you will have a coach leading your workout the whole time. Which brings us to the next reason…

Skill development: Because open water swimming is different from pool swimming, it is essential that each of your open water swim training sessions include focused work on skill development. Some of the skills that are necessary to develop are: sighting, buoy turns, starts, exits, dealing with physical contact from other swimmers, a higher arm cadence, and the ability to change pace quickly and then recover.

Anxiety: Many people who participate in open water swimming struggle with anxiety, especially if the majority of their swim training is done in a pool. The pool offers a controlled environment that has clear water, boundaries, and line to follow. Open water does not provide the same environment and so swimmers can be anxious if the water is murky, deep, has swells, chop, or a current, and has other animals in it. If you are a person who gets anxiety in open water, then it is beneficial to swim in open water more and include breathing exercise in your warm up. Open Water Anxiety is something that I regularly address with triathletes at Playtri Open Water Swim sessions on Saturday mornings, because it is so prevalent.

Safety: And, of course, always make sure you are being safe. Swim with a partner, with a lifeguard present, or someone watching you from shore to ensure your safety. Leave a message with a family member or friend about your swim plans and when you will be back. And make yourself visible by wearing a bright swim cap and swimming with a buoy.

If you have questions about anything this article or are interested in scheduling a one-on-one swim lesson, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

What gear do I need for Open Water Swimming

What gear do I need for Open Water Swimming

With the triathlon season fast approaching, now is the time to take stock of your open water swim supplies and plan any replacements or upgrades. Here is my gear list to help you get started.

Swimsuit: Finding a comfortable swimsuit that provides good coverage and mobility is a given.

Wetsuit: Wetsuits improve buoyancy and reduce drag in the water. The higher the price, the more flexible the neoprene. And remember: full sleeve is faster than sleeveless.

Swimskin: In warm water conditions when wetsuits are not legal, a swimskin can help reduce drag in the water with a hydrophobic coating and by smoothing out your race kit.

Goggles: Because weather conditions vary when swimming outside, it is good to have a variety of lens colors. First, go mirrored. The mirrored surface reduces glare and reflects light away from your eyes. Blue tint increases color perception. Orange or gold lenses improve clarity in hazy, misty, or foggy open water conditions. And black tint helps reduce eye fatigue when it is bright.

Bright swim cap: Swim caps keep hair out of your face, improve your hydrodynamics, increase your visibility for other swimmers, lifeguards, and boaters, and can help keep you warm. If you are swimming in colder water, a neoprene swim cap is an excellent addition to your swim bag.

Earplugs: Earplugs help protect your ears from cold and/or dirty water. They can also be helpful in preventing vertigo or dizziness. Silicone, moldable earplugs are effective and cost efficient.

Swim buoy: Like a bright swim cap, swim buoys add another way to be seen by other swimmers, a lifeguard, or boaters. Swim buoys also give you a temporary place to hold on to if you need/want to stop swimming briefly.

Body Glide: Like all other sports that have repetitive motions, chafing happens when you swim. Use Body Glide at all points where fabric (swimsuit or wetsuit) transitions to skin.

Playtri Open Water Swim Pass: The Playtri Open Water Club is the longest-running weekly open water program in the DFW Metroplex. It runs mid-March through September on Saturday mornings from 7:30-8:45am at Pier 121 Marina. There are two training groups: skills development and deep-water swim. Cost is $10 (cash only) for a single swim drop-in or $100 for the season.

If you have questions about anything in this article or are interested in scheduling a one-on-one swim lesson or coaching, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

biomechanics of swimming overview

Biomechanics of Swimming Overview

As a Playtri coach, I believe that one of the best tools for helping triathletes become better swimmers are swim lessons in our Endless Pool. Unlike working with an athlete at a lake or a regular pool, we can make adjustments to an athlete’s form and give feedback quickly since the athlete and coach are always within a few feet of each other. As part of the Biomechanics of Swimming clinic, we had a few athletes get into the Endless Pool and we addressed certain aspects of their stroke after we talked about the physics of swimming and the hierarchy of swim form. At Playtri we want athletes to be able to understand why we coach the way we do and have the knowledge to improve as athletes.

Any knowledge about swimming begins with knowing the 4 different forces actively working against/with the body of the swimmer: Gravitational Force, Buoyancy Force, Thrust Force, and Drag Force. Gravitational Force is the downward force that we always have working against us whether we are on dry land or in water. Buoyancy Force is the force working against gravitational force. As the swimmer’s body displaces the water around them, the water pushes up on the swimmer with a value proportional to the volume of the displaced water. Thus, if the swimmer is able to float at the surface of the water, the buoyancy force is equal in magnitude to the gravitational force. Thrust force is the force that allows the swimmer to make forward progress in the water. Generally speaking, this force is a combination of the kick and the pull. While the swimmer moves forward in the water, the water pushes back on the body of the swimmer, creating drag force. Drag force is influenced by the shape and size of the swimmer. If your legs and hips are not level with the surface of the water, but dragging behind you beneath the water, then you are creating more drag.

Simply stated, to make improvements as a swimmer, you want to:

· find the balance between gravitational force and buoyancy force so that your body is aligned near the surface of the water

· produce enough thrust force to overcome drag force so that you move faster in the water

Since you can’t change gravity or the density of water, your focus is on producing more thrust force than drag force. To do that you can either increase thrust and/or decrease drag. To decrease drag you can:

· wear a smooth swim cap

· shave your body hair

· wear a wetsuit or swim skin, depending on race rules

· eliminate/minimize folds, seams, and pockets

· and #1 on the list: improve your body position in the water. If your hips or feet are sinking, then you are creating more drag

To increase thrust you can:

· increase your kick. (Although for triathletes with limited ankle mobility, this isn’t really practical. Your kick is primarily there to help with body position)

· improve the quality of your catch and pull through the water by adjusting the shape of your hands and arms in relation to the water so that you are pushing water back toward your feet instead of pushing down on the water

Of course, there are outside influences that impact triathletes while they swim. Most of our races do not happen in a static environment like a pool. In Open Water Swimming, we are constantly dealing with waves & swells, current, sun position, physical contact with other athletes, buoy turns, sighting, and open water anxiety. All this impact our ability to hold a consistent stroke and body position. Thus, we work with our athletes to have:

· a light kick that helps with buoyancy, but has the ability to react with speed as needed

· a higher arm turnover to increase the number of catches and pulls

· a same-sided breath once per stroke cycle to help with the breath and decrease anxiety

Because of these impacts and stroke changes, we have a hierarchy for swim form. When working with a swimmer, the first thing I look at is body position. Are the back of their head, glutes, and heels breaking the water throughout the stroke? Then I look at their kick. Are their toes pointed, but relaxed? Is the kick small and fast from the hips or with bent knees and splaying out to the side? Next: rotation. Are they swimming flat or are they over rotating? Then, elbows and arm pits. Are their elbows up and arm pits open throughout the entire stroke? And finally, I look at the breath. Are they fully exhaling while their face is in the water or are they holding their breath? If, however, I am working with an athlete who has open water swim anxiety, I begin with the breath. Because when we hold our breath, our anxiety can increase.

The goal of any one-on-one session or workout is to make improvements even if those are incremental gains. We want the swimmers we work with to be comfortable in the water so that they work with the water and not against it, using the four different forces to their advantage and making simple adjustments to their stroke that help them improve body position, increase thrust force, and decrease drag force.

If you are interested in learning more about the various swim options we have, check us out at playtri.com/aquatics. And if you have questions about anything this article or are interested in learning about different coaching options, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

Let's Talk About Bike Fit

At Playtri we’ve always said that bike fit is (or should be) a component of coaching. As a coach I’ve probably fit upwards of 1,000 bikes over the past 7 years – tri bikes, TT bikes, road bikes, gravel bikes, mountain bikes, you name it, I’ve probably fit it at some point.

Along the way, I’ve learned how crucial bike fit is to allowing athletes to achieve their potential, regardless of their level or goals. Want to bike faster? Get your fit checked. Want to bike longer? Get your fit checked. Want to run faster off the bike, prevent injury, enjoy riding more? Get your fit checked.

I always explain the importance of bike fit by describing the rider and the bike as two parts of the same athlete. We talk a lot about muscle imbalances in our sport – if this muscle is too tight, it increases likelihood for injury. If the hips are out of alignment, it causes a decrease in activation and performance. Poor position on the bicycle essentially creates imbalances in the athlete that the rider and bicycle create together by requiring muscles to perform movements and hold positions that aren’t as smooth or efficient as they could be, and may even be damaging to the rider over time.

Following are some of the more frequently asked questions I get regarding bicycle fit, and my responses. Like any area of coaching, bike fit still has a lot of gray area, where rules may or may not apply depending on the rider and the bicycle. At the end of the day, the fit needs to work for YOU – following the rules only matters if you are riding comfortably and efficiently.

What makes a “good” fit?

There are a lot of “right” answers to this question, but the simple answer is that a good fit is one that removes any potential barriers to the athlete achieving their goals on the bicycle. A good fit requires both a bicycle that has a geometry (frame size and proportions) complimentary to the athlete’s anatomy and goals, and then (in 99.9% of cases) additional adjustments to the position of various components on the bicycle. Oftentimes athletes will need to replace components on the bicycle (stems and saddles are the most frequently swapped items) to achieve an optimal position.

Does it matter who does my fit?

Yes. Best case scenario – find a fitter who comes recommended by a variety of athletes currently riding with no discomfort and/or racing to potential on the bike. Fit philosophies and practices vary widely across fitters, and some are more widely-applicable/successful than others.

But I had a Retul/Guru/other computerized fit done – so it doesn’t matter who did it, right?

Wrong. Dynamic fit tools and software are fantastic tools in the right hands. I’ve enjoyed using both the Retul and Guru systems in my time as a fitter. However, they are just that – tools. They do not tell the fitter what adjustments to make – they simply show a greater breadth of information that is collected using a method (dynamic capture versus static measurement) that is truer to life. Ultimately it is the fitter’s decision where in the suggested range of skeletal angles the athlete should be, and how to get them there. A rider could easily have a dynamic fit done twice in the same month by two different fitters and end up with dramatically different results.

Should a proper bike fit always feel comfortable?

Almost always yes. There are some exceptions to this rule, particularly for high level road racers and time trialists, and strong short course triathletes – these riders may well need to sacrifice some comfort for aerodynamics and more aggressive handling. However, the rider’s position still needs to be sustainable for the duration of their rides, allow for the power production required by their goals and (in the case of triathletes) not leave them so locked up post-bike that they are unable to access their potential on the run.

But what if a comfortable position isn’t as aerodynamic as I’d like?

First, let me start by saying that the fitter’s goal is to help you achieve your goals, so whatever position you end up in should give you the best opportunity to achieve the speed/endurance/run-off-the-bike that you are shooting for. That being said, in my experience this question is usually based on one of the following scenarios. The first scenario is that you may have an unrealistic view of what an aerodynamic fit “should” look like, and what the trade off is between aerodynamics and power production. A more aggressive or aerodynamic fit narrows the rider’s hip angle, making it harder for your posterior chain muscles to activate and produce power. Maybe the increased aerodynamics mean the speed is the same – but you pay for it on the run. Or maybe you just plain can’t produce the power needed to support that position, and you would actually be faster in a slightly less “aero” stance. The second scenario is that you do have a realistic view of where you should be, but your mobility (particularly in the posterior chain – hip/glute/hamstring/back muscles) doesn’t support it. To put it more simply – if you can’t touch your toes, it’s unlikely that the most aerodynamic position on the bike is actually the fastest position for you. Forcing this often leads to low back pain, inefficient power production, and ultimately slower times. To fix this problem – use that foam roller and do your stretching!

Will I just get used to saddle discomfort?

I get this question a lot. “MY friends said I’ll just get used to it…” Alright, maybe in some cases, but in general – WRONG. If you can’t keep your full weight on the saddle for the duration of the rides you need to do (i.e. you aren’t constantly shifting or “hovering” around the saddle) then you are not riding at your potential because the bike is not able to support you at your primary contact point, meaning muscles are working on dealing with your discomfort instead of supporting and/or creating power production.

Ok so do I need a new saddle?

Not necessarily. Saddle discomfort can be caused both by the saddle and by your position. Oftentimes during a fit we make adjustments to saddle position and other parts of the bike that cause the rider to suddenly have a comfortable position on the saddle. However, when the fit is properly adjusted and the rider is still having uncomfortable/unsustainable pressure, it’s time to look for a new saddle. If possible come to a place like Playtri where you can test different saddle options during your fit before making a decision.

Does it matter what I wear for my fit?

YES. Your apparel can 100% affect the quality of your fit. Always wear skintight kit (cycling or tri), no baggy material anywhere. Short sleeves and shorts (versus tights) are preferable because they allow the fitter to better see what the muscles/bones are doing at the knee and elbow joints. Bring the cycling shoes and pedals you plan to use with the bike as well – a fit without your cycling shoes is dramatically different than a fit with them.

I had a fit done – why didn’t it fix my (fill-in-the-blank) pain?

There are two possible scenarios here. The first scenario is that the fit still isn’t where it needs to be. You may need a follow up with your fitter so they can reassess and adjust based on your feedback (we offer free follow ups at Playtri for this very scenario), or you may need a different fitter. Use your best judgment here, and keep in mind that it is not uncommon to still encounter challenges after an initial fit – things can happen after 3+ hours of riding on the road that just can’t be predicted in the fit studio! The second scenario is that the fit is about as good as it can get, and you need to look at the volume and intensity you are doing on the bike, as well as your recovery practices (again – foam rolling and stretching matters!) Bike fitters aren’t magicians, and we can only fix issues related to position – not those caused by overuse.

I keep cramping on the bike – will a fit fix this?

Maybe. Cramping is a neurological failure that can be caused by overuse (which could be due to poor position) or depleted hydration/nutrients. Lack of proper hydration (water + electrolytes) is a common cause of cramping on the bike, so no guarantees a fit will fix this issue, but it could help.

Can my fit actually help me run faster off the bike?

Believe it or not, yes. Studies have shown that triathletes whose hips are in a more forward position on top of the bottom bracket (versus the further back position common in road bikes) can run over 10% faster off the bike. Why? The jury is still out on the specifics, but check out the Garside study “Effects of Bicycle Frame Ergonomics on Triathlon 10K Running Performance” from 2000 if you’re interested. On this note, if a fitter references your triathlon fit as a TT or time trial fit – it’s not. UCI has specific rules governing saddle position for time trial riding that dictate the saddle being a certain distance back from the bottom bracket, and these rules do not apply to triathlon. It could be a slip of the tongue, but remind him or her that you are doing triathlon, not time trial racing. If they tell you it is the same, consider finding a different fitter.

I got my bike fitted when I bought it 5 years ago – so I’m good, right?

Wrong. Bike fits should be updated as frequently as once a year because your body is constantly changing, your goals likely change every so often, and it’s not uncommon for parts on the bike to slip or wear out as well. In essence, the fit that was perfect for you last year may not be perfect today. If you start to notice increasing pain or tightness that you didn’t notice before and isn’t associated with specific changes in training, that would be another clue that it’s time to have your fit looked at.

Do you have questions about bike fit?

Email headcoach@playtri.com for answers! Coach Morgan Hoffman has been fitting bicycles at Playtri for 7 years and is one of the lead fitters at the Playtri Dallas Store. She also runs the Playtri Coaching Education Programs and Team Playtri Elite. Learn more about Coach Morgan at www.playtri.com/morgan.

Road Bike vs. Tri Bike

Bring the right weapon to the fight. The bike industry has developed many tools to combat the conditions of racing and you should know how to choose the correct one for your goals.

Road Bike

A road bike has the traditional drop handlebars, skinny tires, and 10 or more gears. It is often the bike an athlete starts with before they realize how much they love the sport of triathlon. The geometry of the bike is designed with handling as the priority, to effectively climb steep slopes, descend sharp turns, and sprint through the finish line. To accomplish these goals, the saddle is farther back behind the bottom bracket thanks to the angle of the seat tube. With disc brakes and larger tire clearances, the road bike has become even more versatile as it can now go into gravel comfortably. If you have the budget for only one bike and plan to ride beyond triathlon, the road bike is likely the one for you.

The downside to road bikes in triathlon goes back to that seat tube angle. The bike forces you to sit farther behind the bottom bracket and therefore closes your hip angle. There are steps you can take to combat this, but it compromises the weight distribution and handling of the bike.

Triathlon Bike

If you want to race triathlon effectively, get the correct weapon for the job. A triathlon bike has aero bars and bull horn handlebars. It is designed with aerodynamics as the priority. It is designed to go fast in a straight line and more frequently provide storage for the triathlete’s nutrition needs through long course racing. The geometry allows the athlete to sit more forward relative to the bottom bracket so they can open the hip angle while getting lower in the front end. The aero bars on the triathlon bike get an athlete lower and narrower to reduce drag and go faster at the same power. These bikes are only allowed in non-drafting triathlon which is much more common than draft-legal triathlon.

The triathlon bike will have diminished handling compared to the road bike but will be significantly faster for a solo effort over most courses. An exception would be a strict uphill course where speeds are below 12mph.

No matter the bike, you will need a professional bike fit to get the most out of the bike. Our fitters and coaches can help you find the right bike for you in consideration of your race goals and personal needs. Some exceptions apply to this conversation that should be discussed on a 1-to-1 basis.

Coach Ryan Siebert is a Level 2 Playtri Coach and a USAT Level I Coach with Long Course Area of Focus.

RETUL Fit First with Playtri: Finding the Perfect Bike

You want to buy a new bike because you want to be faster. Your body position on the bike has a major influence on your speed and performance. At Playtri our 20+ years of coaching and bike fitting have taught us one bike can be the fastest under one rider and the quite slow under another. Human beings are built uniquely - even two riders of the same height and weight can have very different proportions, strengths and weaknesses. One may have a longer torso while the other has longer femurs, one longer arms and the other a less mobile shoulder due to surgery. These seemingly subtle differences can have major impacts on how these athletes should be fit on the bike to optimize their performance.

The cycling industry has seen major changes as the focus on aerodynamics has grown and this can be seen in the trickle down of fully integrated bikes with proprietary parts. Some bikes require you to use their parts to adjust the fit, which results in some limitations. Your perfect fit may call for a longer stem or lower stack than what the proprietary cockpit allows. So, you can only get a “good” fit at best and not your perfect fit.

Other bikes allow you to replace the proprietary parts at the cost of optimized aerodynamics. If you can make the bike fit, you may not be getting the aerodynamic advantage that you were expecting based on product reviews and testing. The bike was designed with those parts in mind so any data you saw about its performance in the wind tunnel may not be reproduced by you with a replacement cockpit.

All this means that finding a bike built to your proportions and strengths/limitations is a critical component of getting the most out of your new bike purchase. RETUL Fit First at Playtri can help you find that perfect bike for you. You start on the RETUL Fitbike that is infinitely adjustable, meaning the effective top tube can be shortened, crank arms can be lengthened, stem angle and length can be changed. Saddles, pedals, and bars can be swapped out. Every variable in the fit can be adjusted. As you ride, the fitter analyzes your position with the help of RETUL software that provides the values of the critical skeletal angles of your body throughout the entire pedal stroke.

However, using our Retul software is only the first step as fit is not all about the software and numbers. At Playtri our fitters use their coaching and industry experience to understand your goals and limitations. A triathlete interested in winning an Olympic distance race may even benefit from a different fit when they want to win an Ironman. Even though this is the same athlete with the same limitations, their goals change, and this should be considered in the fit.

Once you and the fitter have agreed to the fit, the fitter will use the measurements from the Fitbike to determine which bike models and sizes are best for you (and your budget). Unlike many fit studios that require you to go search for recommended models, at Playtri we have bikes on the floor ready for you to test ride, meaning in most cases you get to ride the model(s) you are interested in purchasing, in the correct size, with any major fit adjustments necessary. Why does this matter if the fit is perfect? Because different frame materials, builds and geometries can dramatically impact how a bike feels and rides – meaning two bikes that fit you perfectly can still feel drastically different on the road. With RETUL Fit First at Playtri, like Goldilocks, you will find the bike that is just right.

Finally, when you buy the bike from Playtri, the RETUL Fit First service is FREE*.

Coach Ryan Siebert is a Level 2 Playtri Coach and a USAT Level I Coach with Long Course Area of Focus. He coaches juniors and adult athletes of all levels and is a bike fitter and performance tester at Playtri Dallas.

Schedule your RETUL fit at https://www.playtri.com/bikefits

*Some exclusions apply

Why Regular Bike Service is Important

Most of us triathletes like to swim, bike, run, have fun, and that’s about it. We don’t put a lot of thought into tracking the number of hours our shoes have, how old our helmets and wetsuits are, and doing regular maintenance on our bikes. Servicing our equipment is something we need to think about on a regular basis. Maintaining your equipment is incredibly important for all three disciplines, however for many triathletes, bike maintenance is the most daunting. If you are looking to make improvements or increase your exeperience and time in this sport then regular maintenance of your equipment is important, especially the bike since that is where we spent most of our time and money as triathletes. The four main reasons for servicing your bike equipment are: performance gains, longevity, cost effectiveness, and safety.

Performance Gains

Performance gains through equipment service is most obvious with the bike. A happy bike is a clean bike. Depending on the conditions you bike in (outdoor weather AND sweat accumulation from trainer rides), you can significantly lose drivetrain efficiency if you don’t clean and lube your chain on a regular basis. Studies show that some chain lubes can decrease drivetrain friction significantly, thus making it easier to go faster. A dirty, less efficient chain requires more power output to go the same speed. I’m partial to CeramicSpeed’s UFO Drivetrain cleaner and lube. Likewise, a rubbing brake, a slightly bent rim, or under (or over) inflated tires will slow your roll. I recommend bringing your bike into your local Playtri store for regular maintenance at least every quarter, before your “A” races, and after any crashes.

Longevity

Triathletes love to hammer the bike. The mixture of this love and training in two other disciplines can make it difficult to remember to perform regular bike safety checks. Bikes are made up of a collection of nuts and bolts that can loosen and degrade over time from hard pedaling and exposure to harsh conditions. Again, drivetrain components are the best example for explaining the importance of bike service. Chains need to be replaced after a certain mileage. The more you ride, the more your bike chain stretches. Once a chain stretches past 0.75%, the chain will start damaging the cassette and chainrings. Once the cassette and chainrings are damaged and start to slip over gears, then all three need to be replaced, which can be expensive. The same is true for all nuts and bolts on your bike. If you are not checking and cleaning these on a regular basis then you are more likely to have issues with breakdown or complete failure. Having a torque wrench set at home can ensure that you aren’t over tightening bolts.

Cost effectiveness

It is true that bike service can cost you money from time to time. But in the long run it can cost significantly less to perform regular maintenance than having to replace the entire drivetrain. Replacing the oil in your car is less expensive than buying a whole new engine, the same is true for your bike. Bring your bike in to your local Playtri store at least every quarter, before your “A” races, and if you have a bike crash. https://playtristore.com/pages/stores

Safety

Regular bike service is a preventive measure against riding an unsafe bike. Bikes that are serviced regularly will be tightened, inspected, and lubricated, ensuring their parts are in working order and pose no risk of seizing, breaking, or corroding. Speaking from experience as a coach and a triathlete, don’t put off bike maintenance to get a ride in. Something breaking on a ride can lead to injury and/or major damage to your bike, which will negate any performance gains, your longevity, and any money you might have saved.

Drop your bike off today at your local Playtri today to get the speed and safety you need and the TLC your bike deserves!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

How to Get Started with Strength Training for Triathletes

How to Get Started with Strength Training for Triathletes

Strength training in triathlon is one of those topics that has grown in popularity over the last couple of seasons as professionals and age groupers alike began to really understand the positive impact strength training had on overall performance. When performed correctly and with a purpose, strength training can not only make you stronger within the three disciplines of triathlon, but it can also help with injury prevention and flexibility.

Strength Training Periodization

Just like all triathlon training, strength training should be periodized throughout the year. You should start with a general strengthening and preparation phase, which will allow you to build base strength in the off-season. During the off-season, with no races on the calendar, you can focus more on building power and strength that will increase your overall base as you head into the upcoming season. This is an opportunity for an athlete to implement a progressive overload plan to increase overall strength. Strength training in the off-season is also a great change of pace from the general swim/bike/run training that takes over during the race season, and will allow you to build strength without worry about fatigue affecting other workouts.

During the pre-racing and racing stages, your strength training will be less about building base strength and more about honing in on specific and focused power and speed as it relates to the specific sports. Athletes will now focus on becoming more powerful in movements that directly relate to the three sports of triathlon, which will work in conjunction with your general triathlon training.

Once the season is over, take some time off to let your body rest and recover. Following some time off and your body has fully recovered, then you can get back in the weight room and start building that off-season base!

Why is Strength Training Necessary for Triathletes?

Strength training for triathletes improves muscular endurance, increases your power input, and prevents injury. Throughout the long triathlon season, we put our bodies through rigorous training, and the addition of strength training will help ensure that we can continue to be strong as the sessions get longer and more intense. An athlete with a well balanced strength training plan has the ability to efficiently transfer power from their body into their swim, bike, and run.

Injury prevention is something that we as coaches at Playtri put at the top of our goals for our athletes. As your workouts get more challenging, your body requires the proper support from your muscles to maintain good form throughout the duration of your race. Building core strength is at the center of our focus for strength training as Playtri coaches.

How to Get Started

Strength training does not have to mean lifting heavy weights at a commercial gym. Simple body weight activities and resistance bands will go a long way in the improvement of an athlete looking to get into strength training. The key is to find specific workouts and movements that will directly correlate to the movements that go into each of the sports in a triathlon. The best way to get started with strength training is to get in touch with someone who has experience training endurance athletes in the strength training space (contact me at michael.rourke@playtri.com).

Body weight exercises are great to build muscular endurance and improve flexibility. The next step would be resistance bands and maybe some lightweight dumbbells. Just the addition of some weights will increase the strength base and you will see that carries over into your training. Finally, once you have consulted with a coach or an expert in the strength training space, you can look to add heavier weights to really take your training to the next level.

Time to Get Strong!

Strength training does not have to be a chore, and it does not have to take up endless amounts of time. Utilizing 2-3 days of strength training for about 30 minutes at a time can exponentially increase your fitness and be a game changer for you in the sport of triathlon. Go to www.playtri.com/individual to learn more about our coaching programs and how a Playtri coach can help get you started strength training; we can get you to your next finish line feeling stronger than ever!

Coach Michael Rourke is a Level 2 Playtri Coach and an American Swim Coaches Association Level 4 swim coach. He coaches junior and adult triathletes of all levels, as well as high school elite swimmers. He is also a 70.3 World’s Qualifier.

Physiology of triathlon

Physiology of Triathlon

One of the great joys of being a coach and an athlete in the Playtri system is knowing that our coaching philosophy has a long history of success informed by scientific research and in-house performance testing and experience. If you weren’t able to attend my February 4th clinic on the Physiology of Triathlon or the Facebook Live - feed kept dropping (Sorry about that! I’m not sure why that kept happening), then this is a good overview of what we talked about.

Many of you probably know that Playtri is the official bike shop of Ironman branded races in the US and also USA Triathlon. Not a day goes by that I don’t get excited about coaching the whole athlete, from bike fit to finish line. But what you may not know is that Playtri started over 23 years ago as a coaching company. The bikes, shoes, wetsuits, and other equipment we carry are selected because we believe they are the best for you to pursue your fitness and health goals. And that coaching philosophy has a deep grounding in understanding how the body works.

As a Playtri coach, I believe that it is incredibly helpful for athletes to understand how their body makes energy to do what they want to do and so here is an overview of how your body produces energy, how testing and coaching can help you maximize your energy production and usage, and how this will ultimately make you a better and faster endurance athlete.

Your body converts the chemical properties of food into adenosine triphosate (ATP) from food into energy your body can use. No matter what your body is doing, you are using ATP to function. And you have two energy systems (three energy subsystems) that create ATP. There is the aerobic system and the anaerobic system. The aerobic system uses oxygen to convert carbohydrates, fats, and occasionally proteins from food into ATP and is the primary system that endurance athletes and the system you use in your daily functions. The anaerobic system is a secondary system used by endurance athletes, and uses no-oxygen chemical processes to create ATP, and is used primarily for shorter duration and intense efforts. Which energy system your body prioritizes in sport is dependent upon exercise intensity and duration, but primarily intensity. Understand that at no time during rest or exercise does your body rely solely on one energy system to provide the complete supply of energy your body needs. 

Within the anaerobic system there are two subsystems called the phosphagen and the anaerobic glycolysis systems. Very simply, the phosphagen system does not require oxygen but relies on chemical reactions of ATP and creatine phosphate (CP) to provide energy at a high rate. This system is used primarily for very short-duration, high-intensity exercise and is the first energy system that your body taps into. ATP and CP are stored mostly in fast twitch muscle fibers in low amounts and thus gives you fast energy for a short amount of time; think 10 second sprints with long recovery (approximately 3-8 minutes) or the get up and go speed at the beginning of a mass start swim in a draft legal triathlon. In less intense and longer efforts, this phosphagen system produces very minimal ATP.

The anaerobic glycolysis system again does not rely on oxygen and provides ATP for 1-3 minutes. This system primarily uses carbohydrates as fuel and the end product of this energy system is lactate. You may have heard that lactate (often referred to as “lactic acid”) is bad, but in reality, it isn’t bad at all. Lactate can be used as an energy source. Lactate is often labeled as “bad” because when the body produces more lactate that it can convert back into ATP, we start to have acidic build up in the muscles. So once the lactate builds up in the muscles, we need to slow down and recover.

The final subsystem is the oxidative or aerobic system. This system uses oxygen to convert carbs (glucose/glycogen), fat (fatty acids) or protein (amino acids) into ATP. Protein is not metabolized in high amounts and generally is not a concern for endurance athletes unless they are doing ultra-distance events of 24+ hours. This oxidative/aerobic system is the primary source of energy during rest and lower intensity, longer duration exercise.

Why is this important? Because as endurance athletes we rely primarily on the oxidative/aerobic system, but as time-crunched age group athletes we want to get faster, so we spend more time in the anaerobic glycolysis system. Instead of building up fatigue in our muscles from long, low intensity aerobic exercise, we build up fatigue from acidic build up in our muscles. If you do this, you may see short-term gains, but ultimately this can lead to injury, burn out, or overtraining; all three being detrimental to improving as an athlete.

So how does Playtri coaching use this physiological information? Simply, we test and we work individually with our athletes to improve their skills and approach. We have all our individually coached athletes do blood lactate testing for the bike and the run using our proprietary in-house testing protocol and analysis, so that we can prescribe our athletes specific workouts that will help them to improve their aerobic engine. Some of those workouts will target aerobic power improvement (how fast you can produce energy using the aerobic system), while others will target aerobic capacity improvement (how much energy you can produce using the aerobic system). And we work one-on-one with our athletes to make technical and technique improvements that will help that gain advantages come race day.

If you have questions about anything this article or are interested in learning about different coaching options, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

Bike Handling Drills for Triathletes

Bike Handling Drills for Triathletes

When a triathlete shows up to pretty much any group ride, there is the usual banter about the bike handlings skills of triathletes or the lack thereof. In fact, it is almost a surprise when triathletes do have good bike handling skills! Our sport, especially the non-drafting version that the vast majority of us participate in, is not one that instills a lot of bike handling practice. Tri bikes are designed to be aerodynamic and fast going in a straight line.

Still, working on your bike handling skills is necessary. Improved bike handling skills instills more confidence, creates a safer environment, and can make you a faster triathlete. Playtri has been working with triathletes and cyclists of all ages and experience levels for over 20+ years to be safer, faster, and more confident bike handlers. And our coaches regularly provide one-on-one bike handling sessions with athletes in the DFW area. Below are my favorite bike handling drills for that I use when working with athletes one-on-one.

• Hold the Line: While in your aerobars, ride on the while line close to the shoulder. See how far you can ride without touching bare road. Try this at different speeds. As you gain confidence, try it one handed while you move your free hand to your water bottle, back of your jersey, back of your seat, helmet, etc. Make sure to practice with both hands.

• Parking Lot Criterium: In an empty parking lot, set up a set of cones that require you to make 4 left turns. To keep from sliding out in the turn, place more of your weight on your front while by putting your hands on the bull horns of your tri bike or in the drops on your road bike. Don’t pedal while you corner. Instead put your inside foot up and outside foot down, and lean toward the direction you are turning, keep pressure on the outside foot. Release the brakes when you start the turn and lean your bike, not your body, into the turn. As you gain confidence, lean further into the corner. Remember to look where you want to go and not where you are or at the corner.

• Figure 8: Set out two cones and perform figure eights going in each direction. As you progress, bring the cones closer. If you don’t have cones, use a parking spot in an empty parking lot.

• Bottle Grabs: This is very race specific. Practice grabbing a water bottle from someone standing on the side of the road. Then practice filling your front hydration and/or placing the bottle in one of your bottle cages.

Drills like these not only help you gain more confidence but also make you a faster and safer cyclist. And if you are looking for specific guidance for ways you can improve as a cyclist, you can book a one-on-one session with one of our coaches here: https://playtri-dfw-scheduling.as.me/private-lessons

If you have questions about anything this article or are interested in learning about different coaching options, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

Open Water Swim Drills for the Pool

There is a regular conversation I hear before every race and it goes something like this.

“Are you ready to race?”
“Yeah…” (chuckle) “If I survive the swim.”

“Well… good luck then.”

Many triathletes experience anxiety when it comes to open water swimming and it is completely natural. For one, our bodies are not designed for swimming. We don’t have gills or webbed hands and feet and we see poorly underwater. And we also do much of our swim training in an artificial environment that has good lighting, temperature regulated, clear, clean water with lane lines and etiquette rules.

The best way to get over open water swim anxiety is to swim in open water on a regular basis. (If you are in the DFW area, join us for our weekly Open Water Swim workouts starting in late March.) However, if access to safe open water is limited by location or conditions or time of the year, there are some drills you can do in the pool to help your open water swimming. Here are my favorites:

Sighting

If you are swimming longer sets, then this is an opportunity to incorporate your sighting on each lap. Sight at least once per length or every 6-12 strokes. Remember to use “alligator eyes” when sighting. Lift your head just so your eyes get above the water and then turn your head to breathe.

An added bonus, if you have the lane all to yourself, is to swim with your eyes closed and then open your eyes when sighting. This will help you practice swimming in a straight line in murkier water. If you do this, just make sure you know how many strokes each length is for you, so you don’t swim into the wall.

Turn at the T

Pushing off the wall at the end of each length gives you a bit of an added break. You can practice your turns by not touching the wall at the end of each length or turning at the T at the end of the black line on the bottom of the pool. Although this may be a tight turn it does help you practice getting back up to speed after a turn. If you can swim in a double lane, then you can practice wider turns.

Deep Water Starts

It seems most triathlons these days have time trial starts. However, you may end up doing a race that has a deep water start. These starts can happen in chest deep water or deep water. To practice these starts in the pool, do the following:

For chest deep water, stand in the middle of the pool and work on pushing off the ground into a sprint.

For deep water starts, start in the middle of the pool starting your swim for treading water or a stationary floating position.

Partner Swimming/Drafting

Many triathletes see other athletes as obstacles in the water instead of an advantage. Ideally, athletes should spend 100% of the race with their head within 1-2 feet of another’s hip, never having to forward sight and enjoying the benefits of swimming in someone else’s wake. If you regularly swim with another triathlete, then you can practice drafting in their wake just off the hip or swimming behind them on their feet.

If you have questions about anything in this article or are interested in scheduling a one-on-one swim lesson, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.

SHOULD I EAT RIGHT AFTER A WORKOUT?

We often hear that we should eat right after we workout, but it's not always clear why, or just how soon after we should be eating

When we exercise, our bodies' arteries expand to send additional blood rich with nutrients and oxygen to the muscles being used. These arteries stay more "open" for up to 2 hours post-workout, and are the most open up to 30 minutes after. Eating within 30 minutes after finishing training uses that window to allow more nutrients to get to the muscles that were doing the most work, kickstarting the recovery process so you can adapt and feel good for your next session. The harder or longer the session, the more benefit you'll get from eating "within the window."

Because the calories you eat during this time are going straight to your recovering muscles, you also want to make them healthy calories from good food whenever possible. Chick Fil A tastes great post-workout, but as a regular thing fried food is not the way to go. Try to stick with whole foods post-workout - some combination of healthy carbs (vegetables, starches, rice, pasta, couscous) and protein (steak, salmon, chicken, beans). Your body will thank you later with quicker recovery!

Not able to get "real" food right after training? Some food is better than no food, so plan ahead and keep an energy bar or drink mix in your car or training bag for times when you aren't able to get a big meal right after a session.

Coach Emeric Arnaud is an experienced triathlete, and did track and cross country at Davis & Elkins where he completed his degree in exercise science. You can contact him at emeric.arnaud@playtri.com.

Why Use a Swim Snorkel?

By Coach Emeric Arnaud

A common issue for new swimmers is maintaining body alignment while swimming - at Playtri, this is one of the first things we talk about with new swimmers. While swimming freestyle the body should stay in a straight line, with a little side-to-side rotation to facilitate breathing and arm recovery - the body should also stay near the surface (we like to say the goal is head, hips and heels breaking the water) to avoid creating additional drag. When I first started swimming, every time I took a breath, I lost that alignment (this happens to almost everyone!) - my coach liked to call it "the snake" because my legs were always swinging left to right. Part of the issue was core strength, but even though I did lots of core work it still didn't fix my problem.

I started swimming with a swim snorkel so I could practice maintaining proper body position for long periods of time, without the interruption of the breath. A swim snorkel is different from a regular snorkel because you use it with your regular swim goggles, and the actual snorkel is positioned in front of the face instead of off to the side so that it doesn't interrupt your stroke (it also cuts through the water more easily). We usually have a few different models available at Playtri, but one of our favorites is the Finis Swimmer's Snorkel.

When I first started with the snorkel, I was too focused on going fast to really work on my technique and get the benefit - however, once I slowed down a bit and focused on maintaining the line of my body in the water, my swimming started to become much more efficient. I became aware of when I was maintaining good body position, and when I was losing it - I realized when it was being maintained I got much more forward motion out of each stroke, and was able to stay more relaxed. That efficiency led to faster swim times, and more energy for the bike and run - a win/win!

The swim snorkel also makes it easy to learn new swim drills, and do kick drills with better alignment than when using a board to hold the head out of the water - it's one of our most recommended swim tools at Playtri.

If you are new to using a snorkel, here are a few tips for incorporating it in your swim training:

• The first time you use the snorkel, put it on and practice breathing by the wall in the pool with your face in the water - avoid breathing in or out through the nose!

• If you have trouble with water getting in your nose (uncommon, but it does happen), get a Nose Clip to solve the problem

• Use the snorkel during your warm up to practice feeling good form before you move to regular swimming

• If you are a new swimmer, don't be afraid to do most of your training with the snorkel early on - good muscle memory will make adding the breath eventually much easier

Want help fixing your body alignment? Check out Playtri Swim Lessons - DFW and remote options available!

Coach Emeric Arnaud is an experienced triathlete, and did track and cross country at Davis & Elkins where he completed his degree in exercise science. You can contact him at emeric.arnaud@playtri.com.

Why Triathletes Need Carbohydrates, part 2

In part 1 of this article, I shared about the importance of carbohydrates for triathletes in training and racing. I mentioned the three macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates) and the roles of each in supporting your activities. I specifically highlighted the role of carbohydrate consumption to help you avoid the bonk during training and racing. In this second part of the article, I will be highlighting why you need carbohydrates in your day-to-day nutrition.

Now here’s the disclaimer. I am a coach, not a registered dietician and I don’t play one on TV or social media. However, as an athlete and coach with Playtri I have seen the impact of these principles in my training and racing and in my athletes. (We do not make recommendations without backing it up with science and over 20 years of experience.) And as a Playtri coach I do make general nutritional recommendations to my Gold Level athletes who have done the performance testing that allows for these recommendations. So while I believe that the information I am going to share with you is useful and beneficial to 99% of endurance athletes, I also know that every athlete is different. I even work with some athletes who, because of underlying medical conditions, limit their carbohydrate intake in their daily diet. If, after reading this two part article, you have questions about nutrition, I am happy to talk and refer you to a registered dietitian for further questions.

Let’s start at the beginning: What is a carbohydrate? A carbohydrate is a sugar molecule. Carbs are found in foods and drinks and your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which is a fast acting source of energy for your body. Glucose can be used immediately or stored in your liver and muscles for later use.

There are three main types of carbohydrates: fiber, starches, and sugars. Fiber is a complex carbohydrate, most of which our bodies cannot break down. Diets high in fiber help prevent gastrointestinal issues like constipation and make you feel more full. Fiber is found in foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains. Although we want to include fiber in our diet on a daily basis, we want to avoid high  amounts of fiber before key training sessions and the 2-3 days before a race.

Starches are also complex carbohydrates made of lots of simple carbohydrates strung together. Your body breaks down starches into sugars and uses them for energy. Starches include, bread, cereals, and pastas. Starches are also found in vegetables like potatoes, peas, and corn. Starches take longer to metabolize than simple sugars.

Sugars are simple carbohydrates because they are the most basic form. There are naturally occurring sugars in foods like fruits, vegetables, and milk. And there are added sugars found in foods like soda, candy, desserts, processed foods, and sports nutrition items (think gels). It’s a good idea to limit ingestion of simple sugars except before, during, and after training and racing.

Here are a few of the day-to-day benefits of carbohydrates, especially starches and fibers.

1. Carbohydrates, with fat, provide fuel for the daily functions of your cells, tissues, and organs.

2. Carbohydrates, with protein, play a big role in muscle development and recovery.

3. High quality, nutrient rich, fibrous carbs support the microbiome in your digestive tract, where 70-80% of your immune system is located. Simple sugars can inhibit the microbiome and your immune system.

4. Carbs are the main energy source for your nervous system.

If you are serious about maintaining good health and fueling your endurance sport, then it is a good idea to include fiber and starches in your daily diet and save the sugars for training, racing, and the occasional treat. During heavy training periods, you need to increase your food consumption, especially carbohydrates, and you want to shoot for approximately 60% of your diet to be from carbs, 20% from protein, and 20% from healthy fats. And if you are in a low training period, you need to decrease your intake and you want to aim for 50% carbs, 25% proteins, and 25% healthy fats. If you are looking to improve your fat efficiency, change body composition, or have an underlying health condition, then it is can be beneficial to slightly decrease your carbohydrate intake during the offseason, far away from your key races for the year. Heavy training requires an increase in carbohydrate intake, not a decrease.

If you have questions about anything in part 1 or part 2 of this article, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. And if needed, I can recommend a registered dietitian whom my athletes and I have worked with in the past. Happy training and racing this year!

Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, and NASM Certified Personal Trainer who works with adult athletes of all abilities from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.