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GOTRIbal! ...and Tanya and Diana on TV

If you're female and into fitness, with even a slight interest in endurance sports, then GOTRIbal could be a great resource for you.

Check out the KUSI TV coverage for the upcoming GOTRIbal Conference and Retreat in October!

This October in San Diego is a great opportunity to experience GOTRIbal -- with an enviable array of expert speakers and clinics on fitness, triathlon, nutrition, and wellness.

...And here's a great article on GOTRIbal from the San Diego News Room.

Triathlon Video - Chicago Tri

...Just wanted to share a very nice video of the Chicago Triathlon experience. I haven't done this particular race myself yet, but these videographers did a great job of capturing the feel of triathlon!

(They jumped right in the water at the pro swim start - check out the underwater sculling technique early on.)

Why and When Should I Stretch?

(Note: This article appeared in the July 2010 Lovejoy Fitness newsletter.)
Stretching might be the last thing you want to do when you finish a workout, and need to move on to the next activity of the day or evening... So, does it really matter if you skip the stretching?

Yes! Here's why:

The more flexible a muscle (and the surrounding tissue) is, the stronger it potentially can get.
"The more pliable the muscle, the more ability it has to produce work,” explains Ann Frederick, co-author of Stretch to Win. “And by stretching the surrounding connective tissue, you’re able to have larger, more defined muscles, not just stronger ones. This is because tightness in the fascial tissue restricts how much a muscle can grow.”

If you want to add mass, this means bigger muscles, faster! If you want to lean and tone, it means more defined muscles, sooner. The specific method of strength training, and intake of protein (and optionally other supplements), determine which look you'll have.

The amount of mass you build depends on the amount of weight you lift. To get leaner, focus on core and functional strength, with limited heavy loads. For explosive sports performance, incorporate phases of heavier and/or faster lifting. Number of sets and reps, load size, and tempo all determine how muscles form. I can help design the perfect strength program for you!



Stretching reduces the risk of injury to muscles, ligaments and tendons. A recent study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed a significantly higher injury rate in the group who did not stretch before and after workouts.

However, stretching was not shown to reduce overall injury risk (for example, falls or broken bones). Strength and balance exercise does reduce overall injury risk.



Stretching reduces soreness. The same British study concluded that 8% fewer participants who stretched before and after every workout experienced "bothersome soreness," than in the control group.

Stretching relaxes the mind and body – i.e., it feels good. Stretching a muscle for 30 seconds activates a muscle cell body called the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO). GTOs yell to your brain, "Hey, relax it down here!" …and the muscle tissue actually relaxes. The related chemical change in your brain causes mental relaxation as well. Exhaling as you stretch a little further increases the relaxation response. This may be why yoga experts look so serene!



Which stretching to do, and when?

Contrary to what we've learned in the past, you should NOT do sustained stretching just before a workout. This fatigues muscle tissue, increasing the risk of pulls and strains.

Pre-workout, short-hold stretches are ideal. A short-hold, "functional" stretch warms up joints, ligaments and muscles, without fatiguing them.

Taking a few minutes for a functional warm-up improves overall strength, fitness and balance, and lowers risk of injury.

Pictured: An example of a functional warm-up stretch, great for pre-workout!







The World’s Greatest Stretch, or lunge-to-hamstring stretch. This one targets the inner thigh, hip flexor, and hamstring.

1. Assume a lunge position, right leg forward. Drop your right elbow inside your right knee.

Tighten your left glute for 2 seconds, to stretch the left hip flexor.

2. Straighten both legs to stretch the right hamstring.
Pull up gently on your right big toe.
It’s OK if the leg is bent! Tighten the right quad muscles for 2 seconds, to intensify the stretch.

Switch legs, and repeat on the other side. Do 3 rounds on each leg.

FREE Online Seminar: Race Day Tips

Session 4: Wednesday August 11 2010, 11:30-12:15 PM

GOTRIbal founder Tanya Maslach and I complete the 4-session FREE series on what's really involved in triathlon prep with triathlon race-day tips - including how to avoid getting stuck in the porta-potty line!

Here's how to listen and watch!

FREE Online Seminar: Getting Ready to Rock Your Sprint Tri

First session: Monday July 26 2010, 11:30-12:15 PM

Tanya Maslach, founder of GOTRIbal, and I present a 4-session FREE series on what's really involved in triathlon prep - from real fears, to fitness, to when to pee!

Triathlon is a serious matter, but it's also good for some laughs...join us!

*** Details and registration ***

Switch To Kozy Shack® Photo Contest

Please vote for my photo entry!

They're looking for the "photo that best represents the fresh, wholesomeness of Kozy Shack® pudding."

I tried to represent a fit-for-the-long-term lifestyle.

(You can vote daily through 9/16/10.)

Thanks for your support!

Diana

Oh Geez, My Knees! Or, Preventing Knee Injury

(I recently posted this article under Resources -> Expert Coaches on http://gotribalnow.com - check out more great training tips there!)

No question - triathlon puts some stress on the knees. Even if you're a featherweight, it's only a matter of time before you feel pain or tightness in your knee or hip...unless you're smart about it!

Chances are, if your knees hurt, the cause isn't the knee itself. The most common cause of knee stress or injury is weakness in a muscle group above or behind the knee, or in the hip. "Knee bone connected to the...thigh bone..." Yep, it's true for your whole musculo-skeletal system too.So...You've got to have a strong lateral hip (that squishy area to the side of your gluteus maximus, a.k.a. "bootie"). And, you need balanced strength in the quad and hamstring.


Lateral Hip Strength

When I signed up for my first core strength mentorship in 2004, my right hip was so tight my run became a hobble - and the knee didn't feel much better. The master trainers took a look at my baggy tri shorts, which were slipping dangerously close to my crack-side, and declared my hips too skinny. I tried to balance on one leg and do some movements - and then we were sure I'd neglected my poor little hips.

Within two weeks after this strength workshop (which worked muscles I didn't know I had), my hip and knee pain were gone. One more week, and I ran a PR at Age-group Nationals, even though I hadn't been able to do run training. This was purely due to improved mechanics, flexibility, and core + hip strength.

Here's the number 1 must-do exercise if you run, ride, or play any sport involving running, jumping, hopping, etc.:




...If you have straight hips, this will enhance your waist-to-hip ratio. If you're feeling a little flabby or round, this will trim and tone, smoothing out your hip line. (Who doesn't want a little of that?)

Balanced Quad and Hamstring Strength


To get it, include a squat or lunge (to work the quad) and a hamstring exercise in your routine. If you have current knee pain, DO NOT DO SQUATS YET. Start with a seated 1-leg extension, 2x20 reps, with no weight to light weight.

Then, add a hamstring curl with a swiss ball. This is a gnarly but so-effective solution for keeping the hamstrings and glutes strong, to protect your knees and make you faster.



If riding or running is still a pain in the knee even though you're working the strength, check your shoes!
Running shoes -- Are you running in a "stability" shoe when you should be in a neutral/cushioned shoe? Do you have enough arch support? Do you run on level surfaces? (A road or trail that's cambered - slanted downward to one side - tightens the IT band and lateral knee.)

Cycling shoes -- Are your cleats centered under the ball of your foot? Have you had a good bike fitting recently? Pain in front of the knee (patellar) can mean your seat is too low, or your feet are too far forward. Pain behind the knee can mean your seat is too high.

Riding the Wave of Functional Strength

For more useful training tips, subscribe to my monthly newsletter!

As you may know, Greg and I had a tough year in the process of trying to build a family. –But most things also being opportunities...we took one for a bit of surfing in Costa Rica!


Despite some rain and initially rough conditions, we had an excellent time being there together, and sharing meals with the other guests at the surf hangout.

Each time you take a real vacation, don't you wonder why you don't do it more often? Surfing can be the perfect mental “break” for me (pun intended)! Triathlon is a very structured sport: Do x for y minutes at z intensity. With surfing, it's better if you just let it all go.

Rough conditions meant a LOT of paddling...and some fun waves in the end. The first time I paddled out smoothly through multiple breaks, rip current, and significant churn, fellow surfers Rob and Koto asked how often I normally swim - every day?

Actually, I've averaged only one swim per week over the last several months. But, I also do functional strength training twice a week. While training for triathlons, I make it tri-specific; I switched to a surfing emphasis 2-3 weeks out from our trip.

The result? The ability to surf or swim 1-2 times every day, with no soreness or injury. By the end I had some tired arms...but I'd been able to go for any wave, including many of the bigger waves.

...Now to get my board-riding skills up to par with the paddling ability. I guess we'll just have to go back!

D.O.T. Supports Peds and Cyclists!

Secretary Ray LaHood recently has made several public statements to the effect that federally funded road planning will take into account the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

(From WIRED online) In what amounts to a sea change for the Department of Transportation, the automobile will no longer be the prime consideration in federal transportation planning. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the needs of pedestrians and cyclists will be considered along with those of motorists, and he makes it clear that walking and riding are “an important component for livable communities.”

While it may take time for the results of the new policy to trickle down to our neighborhoods, it's a move in the right direction! Making room for people to ride and walk not only increases safety for everyone on the road; it encourages people to take the active route more often - something this country desperately needs.

Full article: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/03/lahood-policy-statement/

Beautiful Swimming

So I've been teaching more swim lessons lately, mostly for adults who want to improve their stroke, or are training for a triathlon.



I've never been an NCAA swimming champ myself, but NOT being a natural-born dolphin has motivated me to work even harder through the mechanics of swimming. I've always been comfortable in the water, and started swimming at a very young age. But, I found that the kids who excelled naturally had certain body traits -- very flexible backs, mid-sections and ankles; wide, stable shoulders; sometimes hyper-exenteded knees; and a natural tendency to float.



Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has been physically analyzed ad nauseum; and sure enough, his physique reflects all of these traits, plus flipper-like hands and feet - the perfect form for moving through water (though not necessarily on land).



So what do you do if you're a natural "sinker," have narrow, hypermobile (unstable) shoulders, a relatively stiff but overly-curved lower back, and bricks for feet? Well, first you work on gaining as much flexibility and stability as possible. Then there's technique, which comprises a HUGE part of comfortable swimming.



Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion program (workshops, books, DVDs) is a fanatastic method for "the rest of us." Terry himself wanted to compete in swimming, but was mediocre at best. ...Until later has was coaching, and really applied his analytical mind to the problem.

In his 50s, Laughlin became an open-water swim champion - able to swim long distances with an amazingly efficient stroke, at record-breaking speeds.

Here's Total Immersion Japan coach Shinji Takeuchi doing TI freestyle with a two-beat kick. (Takeuchi is pictured above.) This is the result of countless hours in the pool, re-creating and perfecting mechanics -- but the result is low-effort, high-efficiency poetry in the water.

Organic Food Makes the Main Aisle!

Have you ever really acheived one-stop grocery shopping? I haven't, which is why I make rounds at Trader Joe's, Henry's, Von's, and occasionally the elite-priced Jimbo's, depending on what I need and where I am that day.

You also may have noticed that it's harder to find and obtain really good, healthy food. It's easy to walk the main aisles of a supermarket, and pick up all the convenient food in pretty boxes, loaded with preservatives, colors, artificial sweetener, flavor, texture, fat substitute, you-name-it. Normally, much of the truly healthy stuff (real food!) is buried along the perimeter of major supermarkets, in hard-to-find spots.

So I'd discovered that Von's had, waaaay in the back behind the produce section, an organic frozen foods section. Score!! The products and their prices befuddled cashiers, who didn't see those items very often. These were healthy - truly, containing no man-made stuff and balanced, good fats - entrees and pockets by Amy's Organics, Cascadian Farms, Cedarlane, etc.

The other day in Von's, I was dismayed to see that whole freezer section EMPTY. Oh no, what happened? Did they banish the real food to a quiet holding cell, to be forever forgotten? Thinking maybe they'd moved things, I went to aisle 7, the center of the store. Lo and behold, the organic foods!

Not only that, but Von's Carlsbad has added new inventory - a small section dedicated to frozen, non-dairy desserts, and a few all-natural dairy items.

Hallelujah! This feels like some kind of small but noticeable forward progress...

BTW, Amy's whole-grain sandwich pockets are perfect with a high-protein smoothie. If you don't have time to make your own, try Naked Juice's Protein Zone, or Odwalla's Protein Monster. Often there are 2-for-1 or club deals in stores - stock up then!

Getting Perspective on The Biggest Loser

The hit reality show The Biggest Loser has entertainment value. And it motivates people to exercise. That's two great things already!



But, while you enjoy watching other people sweat off the pounds by the minute, keep in mind that entertainment does not equal reality.



Here's what's unrealistic (and even risky) about the show:

• Lack of workout progression. Overweight contestants do sprints, advanced jumps, or haul another person (ALERT - potential back injury!). While this is what we see, the show's producers say that contestants undergo an adaptation phase first. Great!
  
  The problem is that we only see a subset of the actual training that happens. The average viewer might think he should also start by sprinting across the gym with his friend on his back.



• Unrealistic time allocation. This is TV, so contestants get to work out with trainers for hours each day. First, it's not realistic for most people. Second, this much exercise all at once is a recipe for burnout. It's like 1980s "crash training" - your body just can't keep it up, so you're more likely to lose gains quickly when you become exhausted after a few weeks or months. It's also more conducive to repetitive-stress injury.
  



• Extreme exercise selection. Again, this is TV. Some exercises are extreme, dangerous, silly, or just unnecessary. My concern is that this makes viewers think they have to do "extreme" things to get and stay fit. The most effective path to permanent weight loss is a consistent but varied routine of activities you can do correctly.



• Overly-rapid weight loss. The contestants work out a lot, and hard! They also start out with a LOT of extra weight. Generally, weight loss is "reverse exponential" - an obese person loses weight more quickly at first; it's much harder to lose the last 5-10 lbs. The show sensationalizes fast, and BIG, weight loss, because it's interesting to watch! --A good case of "Do not try this at home!"

The main point is, just remember it's TV, and it's a partial picture! Then, enjoy the show.