FLEXIBILITY EXERCISES: LOWER EXTREMITY STRONGER LEGS: YOGA FLOW SEQUENCE Band resisted row with calf raise Why? Row with calf raises is to improve mid back strength and calf strength simultaneously. Mid back strength is important for posture in endurance sports especially towards the end of a race – helps maintain the position of the rib […]
Key Sessions 90 Min Bike | May 14. ~Heat Training. Failed~ 90 Min Cadence | May 16. ~7 All-time Bests. Hm… slowly getting back on track~ +3 Hr Ride (3×10′ bouts) | May 18. ~IRONMAN Mont Tremblant bike course (100 km)~ 1hr 30 min @200 Watts |May 21. ~70.3 Continuous Effort. Extremely Sore~ 90 Min […]
Triathlete’s Essential Swimming Equipment Theory Coaching feedback (Ayesha, Team Atomica): Professional swimmers use 20% of their legs. As a triathlete, I need to use only 10% of my legs mainly for balance and buoyancy. I’m lean and need to breathe every third stroke so I hold the air in my lungs longer which should give […]
Long-Term Low-Carbohydrate, High-Fat Diet Impairs Performance and Subjective Well-Being in a World-Class Vegetarian Long-Distance Triathlete The aim of this case study was to report on the performance outcomes and subjective assessments of long-term low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet in a world-class long-distance triathlete who had been suffering from gastrointestinal distress in Ironman competition. The lacto-ovo vegetarian […]
Pushing harder does not work. I’m stuck and the harder I press on gas pedal, the faster and deeper I dig myself into the hole. Mud and smoke. Sweat and tears. I am sure there are other athletes who struggle with similar issues. I respect those who did not give up and just like me, […]
Athletes from all over the world had races scheduled in the United States. Now, that restriction caused by pandemic lighten up, the races start happening again. Ironman recently made the following announcement: Announcement: We appreciate your continued patience and understanding while we have been developing options for you during this very dynamic time. After assessing […]
To remind myself. So important to remind myself to slow down, look in the rear mirror and give yourself compassionate smile; to pat myself on a back and say “Good job partner!”; to shut down my mouth and open my eyes. Three months to think, to reflect, to dig deep into myself. Physical pain is […]
Winter is coming and all Canadian Bears submerge in their caves. Me too. Me and Blake decided to shuffle around several things in our lives and cut out unnecessary things. To spend the winter I found a dark, cozy cave for us – a pain cave. Unlike bears, I won’t have time to sleep this […]
Today I met with my surgeon to see how the recovery is going. I was secretly hoping to hear it goes better than expected and I can return to my training. X-Ray pictures, then range of motion assessment… impressive! What? Indeed, I’m healing really fast and haven’t lost any mobility in the shoulder. In fact […]
Injuries happen and nutrition is one of the methods to counter the negative impacts of an exercise-induced injury. Typically injury result in reduced activity and training. While some injuries are minor, such as a bruise or inflammation, others are much more debilitating such as a tear, broken bone, impingement, stress fracture or ruptured tendon. To […]
Spartan Racing is not my specialty and often compromises my performance in triathlon, but still I do it.Why? To spice up my life and training by doing something different and fun. To get a sense of competition. To get outdoors and explore new places, new cities, meet new people. To get an extra […]
Sport of Triathlon is expensive AF. Triathlon bike is probably one the biggest expenses that you will have to make as it may give you the most advantage on the course. People often spend ridiculous amounts of money on their two-wheeled buddies, but totally forget about the main component of getting faster. I believe that […]
– I can not continue like this… ENOUGH!– I am sick to my stomach. Few days ago, after the awful bike performance, I said to myself ENOUGH! I decided I will do something different. I can’t continue like this any longer… The things I did differently for this workout:Instead of training in the morning, I […]
Training Peaks Metrics If you can’t measure it, you can not manage it. Luckily we live in the world where we have access to technology that allows us to measure different body metrics. This is especially helpful for athletes who are looking to understand their bodies more. Of course, you should not solely rely on […]
PRICE: $3,199.00 Aquila is Canadian brand, based in Oakville and Toronto at the bike shop called Racer Sportif. They offer carbon road, triathlon and track bikes. This carbon triathlon bike came with combination of Ultegra Di2 and Shimano 105 components. Aerobars, as well the handlebars underneath had electronic gear shifting, which moved the chain exactly […]
The past two years I’ve been training and racing on my 2003 Specialized Allez. I bought it for $300 from Craigslist, while in Phoenix. It got me through a lot. People laugh at me and keep on saying that I should throw it away and get a normal bike. I believe that the only thing that […]
Pre-Race It was a crazy week for me, at work and life. I felt drained and literally exhausted… Friday night got home pretty late from work and didn’t touch the bed until 9:30 pm. The race took place at Annie Williams Park on Saturday morning in a small town called Bracebridge. 2:50 am wake up! […]
Treatment Plan: The goal is to move the body from sympathetic (fight of fly) state to a parasympathetic (rest & recover). Herbs & Oils: Cleavers Tea. 1 tablespoon of herb to a 1 cup of hot water. 3 cups a day. Castor Oil. Apply on chest or neck before bed. Adrenal SAP (NFH). 1 capsule […]
PRE-STORY Mental Masturbation Marbella race completely destroyed my expectations, flipped everything upside down. For about 3 weeks after the race I suffered from depressing thoughts and emotions. I got locked up in my head. I almost dropped out of sport of triathlon… It was dark and I searched for help at different places. I was […]
Repeat of the last week’s workout: 90 Min Cadence, May 16, 2019. 10′ easy spin 1hr’ ride holding 180-200 wattsAt the top of the 20th min put in an 8′ effort as follows…2′ at 210W at 90rpms2′ at 210W at 100rpms2′ at 210W at 110rpms2′ at 210W at 90rpms 2′ soft pedal then go directly […]
Spent 30-40 minutes on the beginning trying to fix some technical issues with the KICKR. Power and speeds were way off. Pre-meal: 300 Calories (74C/0F/6P) Sweet Potato: 70g Banana: 120g Basmati white rice: 100g Felt motivated going into the workout. Fueling: 700 Calories (116C/18F/31P) Cliff Energy Shot Cliff Bar “ONE” Protein bar (zero sugar) – […]
On May 19th I am doing the SPARTAN race near Montreal, Quebec. A day before, I’ve got scheduled a long bike ride which I planned to do in Mont Tremblant. Why there? This is where one of the most popular IRONMAN races take place in June. I am not doing that particular race, but since […]
10′ easy spin 1hr’ ride holding 180-200 wattsAt the top of the 20th min put in an 8′ effort as follows…2′ at 210W at 90rpms2′ at 210W at 100rpms2′ at 210W at 110rpms2′ at 210W at 90rpms 2′ soft pedal then go directly into the following bout 2′ at 225-250W at 90rpms2′ at 225-250W at […]
IRONMAN Marbella 70.3 is over and Kona race is in 2 weeks. I took about 10 days of recovery and this is the first somewhat serious bike workout. Since Hawaii race will be done in much warmer climate than I’m used to, I need to train for that. To do so, I implement the “heat […]
4 Essential things to improve your swimming: #1: Increased volume (three times a week 1 hour each) #2: Proper mechanics #3: Proper training plan (most important)#4: Having a coach 3 Essential Aspects of Swimming to Work on: #1: Tautness#2: Alignment #3: Propulsion Tautness It’s the ability to hold properly our bodies in the water. It’s about holding a […]
Front-mounted Swimming Snorkel (by Finners): to break down your mechanics into bite size pieces and work on each individually. It eliminates the head movement. Buoy. Used for pulling. Ankle Strap. Eliminates kicking while pulling. Paddles. Mostly beneficial for elite athletes. Not necessary for regular athletes like me and you. The purpose is to desensitize the […]
Pre-Story: Since the Paris marathon which I did on January 6th this year I decided to focus entirely on triathlons. Despite my coach’s concerns in regards to racing frequency, I set myself ambitious goal to do 5 IRONMAN Races this year. Four of them are 70.3 and one full distance, to close the season. 4 […]
As you already know, during exercise you lost a portion of electrolytes along with sweat. As you drink after the training, you increase the fluid levels in your body, which will lower electrolyte concentration even more. Natural foods, like fruits will replace nearly all the electrolytes, except sodium. Add two-three pinches of salt to your […]
What we are trying to achieve here is to prevent more than a 2% drop in body weight caused by fluid loss (about 3 lbs (1.4 kg) of weight loss for 150 (68 kg) pound athlete). The two main goals of performance hydration is to: Improve calorie absorption by utilizing performance hydration as a “transporter” […]
As I already mentioned in the introduction, starting a workout in dehydrated state will take you places you don’t want to be in. As little as 1% of body weight decrease due to fluid loss will make you competitively disadvantaged and put you at greater health risk. Research shows that adequate hydration level prior physical […]
Your body stores much more energy in form of fat than as carbohydrate. Some athletes strive to change their metabolism so that their bodies rely more on fat to fuel exercise which in turn allows them to spare the carbohydrate that’s stored in muscle and liver and improve your endurance capacity. In theory, training when […]
Your body’s engine is a hybrid, it can run off two different fuel sources: fat and carbohydrates. These fuels are stored in separate “gas tanks”: FAT STORAGE: Adipose tissue (100,000 calories)CARBOHYDRATE STORAGE: Muscles (500-2000 calories) + Liver (100-400 calories) + Blood Glucose (25-100 calories) First a little bit of background. In 1853 Claude Bernard discovered that […]
Past 4-5 weeks were hell. The taper began 5 days ago and my training volume has been decreased. Having failed so many times I am not looking forward to this workout. The race is in one weeks, but I am not excited, I am not confident. Not in a right place mentally or physically. I […]
Key Sessions 2 hr 15 min Bike + 15 min Run. February 16, 2019 2 hr 45 min Bike + 15 min Run. February 23, 2019 ~Bonking~ 3 hr Bike + 15 min Run.March 2, 2019 ~Strong like a BULL~ 3 hr 30 min Bike + 20 min Run. March 9, 2019 ~God’s Mode~ 4 Hour […]
This the first time this year I was riding outside. For the past 5 months I’ve been training in my basement on a trainer. I am so happy to finally get outdoors and test this machinery I’ve been working on so hard.
Pre-meal Large breakfast:Rice 300gBeets 120gOatmeal 50gProtein Shake (Muscle Milk)135C/10F/44P = 800 calories During (Fueling) Gluten Free Bar (BFB)Quest Bar BCAA 2 scoops54C/21F/28P = 470 calories Sweat Pre: 69.6 Post bike: 68.8 Post run: 68.1 Liquids consumed: 1400 mL Sweat Rate: 1450 mL/h Weight Loss: 2.9 kg 4% BIKE 210 Watts were relatively easy to hold. […]
Hydration Volume: (Average Sweat Rate 1400 mL x 3 hr ) = 4154 mLCarbs: 120 g (3% Solution) Fueling Formula: min 0.25 – max 0.33 grams carbs per hour x body weight (lbs)Ormin 1 calorie/hour x body weight (lbs) (0.25 x 150 lb) x 3 hr = 112 g of carbs Results Prior to the workout had digestive problems that woke me up at 3:30 […]
You are a competitive athlete. You put a lot of hard work into your training days in, days out, completing every workout as prescribed. You are the workhorse, doing everything necessary to succeed in the sport you are in. You pay close attention to your nutrition and your kitchen has no place for Doritos and […]
BRICK 4 hours holding 200 Watts + 15 min Run off bike A brick workout is any workout that combines swimming, biking and/or running into a single session. The most common example is the bike to run brick, where you go for a run immediately after finishing a bike ride. Today I pushed myself above my physical limits. Today my mind won […]
SATURDAY and it means one thing to me – #paintrain in my basement is waiting on me to take me into the magic world of pain.
This time I’ve come prepared. I learned my lessons last week and made the adjustments.
It all payed off! Good job Sasha!
The race is over. You’ve given all you had. What’s next? Recovery.
Proper post-exercise nutrition as much important as the previous stages. Learn about how to maximize your recovery through the lenses of sports nutrition.
SATURDAY and it means one thing to me – #paintrain in my basement is waiting on me to take me into the magic world of pain.
This time I’ve come prepared. I learned my lessons last week and made the adjustments.
It all payed off! Good job Sasha!
Energy expenditure is extremely high in endurance sports and a lot of athletes are failing to adequately fuel their bodies. Under-eating is commonly seen among endurance athletes. Hydration During Exercise Hydration is a complex topic and deserves a special attention. Hydration before, during and after exercise is discussed in the post that can be accessed […]
BRICK 2:45 hours at 190 Watts + 15 min Run off bike A brick workout is any workout that combines swimming, biking and/or running into a single session. The most common example is the bike to run brick, where you go for a run immediately after finishing a bike ride. Pre-exercise meal (30 minutes before): 2 bananas + BCAA + […]
I often meet people, healthy people, who tell me they wish they “could” run, wish they “could” bike, wish they ”could” get in shape. They wish they had the discipline or self-control needed. They act as if you are either born with this mysterious gift of willpower or not… The bad news is that no […]
For athletes, eating carbohydrates is like putting the octane in your body. Consuming carbs will increase your blood glucose levels and help to fill your tanks before training or racing.
The closer I get to my first IRONMAN, the more race specific my training gets. On today’s agenda is the “BRICK”: 2 hour 15 minutes Endurance Bike Ride (180w) immediately followed by10 minutes run of the bike Fueling Before: 2 cups of coffee Essential Amino acids Whole Grapefruit 360g (40 carbs) Hydration Considering my previous […]
Do you want to get the taste of every shade of pain? I’ve got a perfect recipe for you – get yourself dehydrated. All you need is to lose just 1%-2% worth of your body’s weight through the fluid loss. Here is how you do it: wake up early in the morning to get that […]
You will learn what the HRV is, and can it help you to improve your health, well-being and sports performance. I will teach you how to track and interpret your HRV data and show you real life examples of how daily life events and trainings impact your performance and recovery.