4 Keys to Training in the Heat

Train Safely in the Heat

This time of year in the Southeast the

 heat can be nearly unbearable but that doesn’t mean you have to stop training all together.  During my threshold workout yesterday in the 95 deg, 100% humidity weather as the sweat was dripping on the top tube of my bike I thought, “what better time to discuss this than now!” Training can be done in nearly any climate but there are four key factors that need to be consider as you are training in the heat and they include your timing, intensity, hydration and clothing selection. Timing Timing is everything!  If you have not been out in the heat of the day doing any type of exercise it is important to prepare your body for the stressors that will come. Gradually build up your time in the early morning rides and let your body acclimate to the longer bouts of training and increasing heat as the day progresses. If the heat of the day is the only time you have available to ride be sure to keep your initial rides short.  Spending no more than 30 minutes in the heat the first week and drinking more fluids that you typically would on a ride will all help your body in the acclimation process and keep you safe. Intensity You might not be able to ride at any time other than the middle of the day when the sun is blazing down on you and you feel the 130 degree heat radiating off the jet black asphalt.  This is no time to be out trying to accomplish your hardest VO2 workout.  As your workload increases your muscles generate large amounts of heat and make it more difficult for your body to cool itself.  Lowering intensity is helpful in maintaining a proper core temperature and can be instrumental in regulating body temperature. Hydration Whether it is hot or cold outside maintaining proper hydration levels is extremely important.  We typically discuss this regarding peak performance because minimal changes in total body water can result in extensive decreases in performance.  In this instance our goal is safety, not performance, and minimum intakes are usually thrown out the window.  Several key notes to keep in mind is that a cold drink is absorbed into the body more easily but it also helps to cool your core.  Either using insulated bottles and packing them with ice or stopping at filling stations more frequently will help keeping water cool. Clothing Long gone are the days of the extreme dehydration style workouts.  Where athletes would “train” their bodies to work without fluids.  As our knowledge of the human body has increased, so to has the clothing.  now you will find lines purposed for varying weather conditions.  The most basic information for clothing during the summer is that it should be something that “breathes” very well and is a thinner material. Base layers are worn year round now and there are some for cold weather and some for the heat.  I personally wear a base layer year round and in the summer months I find it more advantageous.  A base layer’s goal in the summer months is to effectively increase the body’s surface area, much like a car’s radiator, and aid in the evaporation process, which cools your body.  You might find that the first few minutes of riding will feel a touch warmer until the base layer is wet with sweat but once that is accomplished you will begin to notice the differences. Signs of dehydration/heat exhaustion Preparing for your rides/events is crucial but sometimes the conditions are drastically different than what you have prepared for.  Ironman Couer d’Alene this year was a perfect example.  Athletes normally experience highs in the low to mid 80’s but for 2015 the high hit 108deg.  There is no possible way that any athlete had properly prepared for this event, however, there were athletes that still finished the day.  Many medics and officials were looking for several key signs that athletes were experiencing which included:

  • Sweating cessation
  • Chills
  • Confusion
  • Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
  • Dizziness
  • Fainting

If you begin to experience any of these symptoms it is important to have someone who can help monitor you, seek cooler temperatures (air-conditioning is best), lower core temperature with a bath or other means such as fans or iced towels. The heat is nothing to joke about and if improper response to heat exhaustion is given it could result in severe injury or even death.   Looking to improve your fitness even with the heat?  One of our SoS coaches can assist you with your training, nutrition and hydration to make sure you are making the best decisions possible.  LEARN MORE

Cramping

Due to the repetitive nature of our sports, endurance athletes are particularly vulnerable to cramping. Regardless of an athlete’s experience or level of fitness cramping can be an issue. Today we’ll take a look at some of the more common causes and cures for muscle cramping. Causes: There are several causes for muscle cramps, but the most common are exertion cramps. These are due to a combination of dehydration, heat stress and low levels of electrolytes. They begin as spasms and then spread throughout the muscle. As you become increasingly dehydrated over the course of an event or workout the connective tissues can adhere and inhibit muscle contraction or release. Once the cramping begins it spreads from one muscle to another. Less common are muscle fatigue cramps. As your muscles work, they contract and release over and over. Eventually, the muscles can fatigue to the point that they simply lock in a contraction and are unable to release. These cramps are more common amongst novice athletes but they can hit seasoned competitors as well. Usually they occur early in the season when you’re just getting back into training and aren’t yet up to the workload. If this is the case, simply back off the intensity and build a base fitness that you can expand on over the course of the year. Prevention: It’s hard to point to one factor as being responsible for muscle cramps so the best approach is to stay on top of all of the contributing factors. So let’s take a look at what you can do to prevent cramping. Nutrition: Electrolytes and water are essential for muscle contraction as you burn through them during work it becomes increasingly difficult for muscles to fire over and over again unless you continue to replenish both. Heat contributes by increasing fluid loss through perspiration and exhalation. Maintaining a steady intake of fluids/electrolytes while consuming calories goes a long way to prevent cramping. On particularly hot days dumping water on yourself helps lower your core temperature and slows fluid loss. However, if water is limited, it’s always better to drink it. Post Event/Exercise: The importance of fluid intake doesn’t end once your done. After exercise is when you can actually bring your fluid, electrolyte and carbohydrate levels back to where they were before you started.  Stretching helps fatigued muscles to relax and restores them to their natural length. Ignoring tight muscles will not only lead to cramping later on but injury. Incorporating a 15min stretch to your post workout routine can do wonders to help you recover. Don’t know where to begin? Take a look at this great routine we created just for you! Massage helps flush the waste that accumulates in muscles and releases tight muscles that can be difficult to address with stretching alone. Both pre and post event massage can have tremendous benefits to athletes of all levels (Trevor Marshall is an AMAZING therapist over at Englebrecht Chiropractic). If all else fails and cramping continues to be a problem a Nutritional Blood Analysis can help determine if you are abnormally low in an essential nutrient. Even if you eat a well balanced diet, take all the right supplements and stay well hydrated, it’s still possible to miss something. After trying everything you can imagine one of our own athletes still had problems with cramping, it wasn’t until he had a blood test that it was revealed he was exceptionally low in a particular nutrient. If you suspect you might be deficient, it is much better to get tested before trying to treat yourself as that can create problems as well if you take too much of a particular vitamin or mineral.   What about you? What kind of methods do you use to for cramping? Pickle Juice? Apple Cider Vinegar? Mustard Packs? Tell us about it!

Rainy Day Interval Workout

Rainy days are one of the hardest things to get out for and get a workout in.  So, let us help you with your rainy day.  Here is a trainer workout that will test you and help to improve your fitness. Preface:  We don’t believe in “entertainment workouts” but we do believe in accomplishing something in a workout.  So we add our physiology expertise to our workouts to make something that will benefit you in a minimal amount of time and give you something to focus on (the effort) other than a wall.

Workout

Warmup: 10 minutes

5 minutes (RPE: 5/10)

30 Second – Fast Pedal 110+Rpm (hips should not rock or bounce in saddle)

30 Second – Fast Pedal 110+Rpm (hips should not rock or bounce in saddle)2 minutes (RPE: 5/10)

1 minute (RPE: 4-5/10)Intervals: 4 x 8 minute threshold w/4 minutes Rest Between Intervals Cool down: 5-10minutes as needed Threshold Intervals – These are an 8/10 in intensity and should be right at that point where you begin to notice a burning sensation in your legs.  If you are doing these on a trainer use speed as a gauge for intensity as well as perceived exertion.  Speed on a trainer should be consistent per effort just like a power meter.   Did you find this workout beneficial or are you looking for expert guidance with your coaching?  We can help you achieve your goals and FAST! LEARN MORE

The Struggle: Getting Out The Door

Sometimes getting out the door can be 90% of the battle!  Coach Brady experienced that this evening.  There is a benefit once you do though!  

Dynamic Stretching For Runners

With all of the running events coming up on the calendar I thought it would be a good time to talk about the benefits of dynamic stretching. As our training begins to ramp up so too does our risk for injury. Many of the aches and pains so common to runners have to do with the limited range of motion involved in running. The main difference between dynamic stretching and traditional (static) stretching is that it is active. The purpose of dynamic stretching is to warm up the muscles and connective tissues by increasing blood flow and taking them through a wider range of motion, preparing them for action. Static stretching encourages the muscles to relax, great for recovery but counterproductive before activity. The intent during dynamic stretching is not to gain flexibility but to simply warm up your body and prepare it for activity.

Here’s a sample routine to try before your next run:

-Hip Circles
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands on your hips. Rotate your hips in circles, clockwise 10 times and then counterclockwise 10 times.

-Lateral Leg Swings
Hold onto a wall or light post for stability. With your feet shoulder distance apart, swing a leg straight out to the side and then across the front of your body to the opposite side. Repeat the motion 10 times for each leg.-Calf Stretch Starting on all fours, raise your hips so the body forms an inverted “V” and you’re supporting yourself on your hands and feet. Slowly pedal the feet, lowering one heel to the ground while raising the other. Keep your leg as straight as possible when lowering the heel and then bending the knee as you raise it. Repeat 10 times each leg.

-Lateral Lunge
Stand with your legs about double shoulder width with your toes pointed slightly outwards. Keeping your back as straight as possible, bend one knee about 90 degrees and lower your self while keeping the other leg straight out to the side, raise up to a standing position and then bend the other knee and repeat. Repeat 10 times each leg.

-High Kicks (Toy Soldier)
Walking forward, kick your leg as high as you can while keeping it straight. Alternate legs as you walk. Repeat 10 times each leg.

-Butt Kicks
Walking forward, kick the heels back into the glutes with each step. Repeat 10 times each leg.

-Walking Lunges
Step forward bending the front knee 90 degrees (take care to make sure the knee cap is over the ankle) while keeping the rear leg as straight as possible (without straining). Lower rear knee to the ground in a controlled and easy motion. Stand up (using your hands if needed) and step forward with the rear leg. Repeat 10 times each leg.Adding a simple routine like this one prior to your workouts and events can do wonders for performance and injury prevention. As always, if you have any additional questions feel free to email us at Science of Speed and we will be happy to answer them.

Grab a Bottle

As the temperature continues to rise let’s briefly touch on one of the endurance athletes biggest issues: HYDRATION. A good baseline for water consumption is half of your body weight in ounces (i.e. a 150lb person would need 75oz). When you add training hours on top of that your hydration needs increase dramatically. The number varies depending on environmental conditions, duration, fitness level and genetics. To reduce the risk of dehydration and optimize performance here are a few rules of thumb to follow: 1. Hydrate before exercise. Throughout the day continue drinking water, I find that keeping one of my water bottles on me and drinking whenever I think of it (and continuing to refill the bottle) helps me stay on top my hydration. 2. 30 min or so before your workout make sure you drink an entire bottle. 3. During exercise your hydration needs (and your ability to fulfill them) will vary. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests 3-6 oz of water for every 20 min of exercise. 4. Hydrate after exercise. An easy way to determine water loss is to weigh yourself before and after exercise. Every pound lost is equal to about 16 oz of water. Noticing a trend? Drink water. All day long. The effects of dehydration are cumulative, just like caloric intake. You don’t have to hit your numbers exactly everyday but rather over the course of the week your consumption/expenditure should even out. Staying on top of your hydration is one of the simplest ways to prevent injury and improve both recovery and performance. Join us Thursday June 26th at 6pm for our final lecture in our Training Talks series. Trevor Marshall LMT and Dr. John Englebrecht will discuss common issues, their contributing factors and the benefits of Massage Therapy and Chiropractic Work for endurance athletes.

You’ve Got to Have a Plan

Sometimes finding the time to train can be a struggle. Balancing work, family and a social life with serious training can often leave you feeling like you just aren’t doing enough to make any real gains. Having a structured training plan is a way to achieve those gains you’re looking for by maximizing the time you have available to train. Whether it’s 6-8 hours a week or 10-15 there is a plan that can help you achieve your fitness goals. With limited time available to train it’s important that the body is sufficiently stressed by the effort in order to make improvements in fitness. The most efficient way to do that is through structured interval training. Simply going out and doing hill repeats week in and week out will help you improve but only up to a certain point. Once your body adapts to the demands of the work, the gains start to become minimal and eventually plateau. Periodized training enables the body to go through periods of intense effort but also periods of recovery in order to make the adaptations necessary for improvement and then build on those gains. We offer a variety of coaching options from personalized static plans to fully customized 1 on 1 coaching packages. Do you have Training Questions? Send us an email and we’ll try to get it answered at our upcoming lecture on Structured Training (May 29th).

Knowing When It’s Time to REST

The idea behind any training is to stress the body to the point that it has to make an adaptation in order to handle the training load. It’s only by resting that the body can effectively repair itself and improve. Finding the balance between training and rest can be challenging though. For some athletes, the problem is not finding the motivation to train it’s knowing when to stop and rest. Highly motivated athletes often run the risk of over training, resulting in not only a lack of gains but actually losing fitness. As they continue to push themselves past exhaustion the quality of their workouts begin to suffer and they are no longer capable of pushing themselves hard enough to actually accomplish anything and it simply becomes a death march. Another common issue is training through an injury. Aches and pains come with the territory and sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between soreness and an actual injury. It’s always best to err on the side of caution when it comes to pain, especially early in the season when a serious issue can ruin the entire year if it isn’t handled properly. Due to the repetitive motions and long hours of training in endurance sports, seemingly insignificant issues can become big problems if they are ignored. When treating an injury, always remember: ICE. The answer 99.9% of the time is ice, not heat. Heat encourages blood flow and as a result, inflammation. Which is the last thing you want. Icing a sore spot for 15-20 minutes, getting it elevated and taking a few days off the bike is the best way to get you back on the road as soon as possible. So how much rest is enough? One day of complete rest a week is usually plenty. Changing how you approach rest after your workouts can help a lot as well.Taking the time to replenish fluids and nutrients, stretching and putting your legs up in the 30 minutes following your workout will help you more in the long run than extending your ride by another 30 minutes and then rushing home to do the yard work. Some days it’s all you can do to fit the workout in and that’s fine, just make the effort when you can.      

Harden The BRICK Up! Part 2

ucy, Lance, Jeff and JT
of the Rose City Tri Club[/caption] Continuing our Harden The BRICK Up! series we met up with a group of athletes from the Rose City Tri Club this past weekend to work on pacing. Following the workout, the main focus of the discussion was on how much mental state can effect performance. Often an athletes will push themselves harder when they’re chasing someone down but once they catch or pass that person, their pace drops off. Or on an out and back course they find they can push a little harder on the return because they know the end is in sight and aren’t worried about blowing up too soon. By practicing at race pace over the same distances you will encounter in your event you can familiarize yourself with what those efforts feel like and have a better understanding of what your body is capable of. More often than not, you will find you’re a lot stronger than you                                                                      gave yourself credit for. 

Rose City Tri
Thomasville Tri Club

 Next month’s brick will be in Thomasville. Saturday, April 19th at 9am. (Here are the maps for Bike and Run)

Harden the BRICK Up!

Rose City TriRose City Tri Taylor Shiver, Lance Parker, Jeff Drawdy, Trevor Marshall, Joe Porter and John Bennett[/caption] Thanks to all the Rose City Triathletes who turned out on a chilly Saturday in Thomasville for our first brick workout! Despite the temperature, Joe, Taylor, Jeff, Lance and John showed up bright and early, ready to work.  We had favorable winds on the 11mi rolling bike course and by the time we started the 3mi run the sun finally started to warm things up a bit. After finishing the run, we had a brief Q&A on topics ranging from pacing, riding position, hydration, stretching to recovery. 

 Special thanks to Melissa Thompson who, even though she’s still waiting on her brand new Trek Speed Concept and had no bike to ride still came out just to show her support. Next workout will be Saturday, March 15th in Tallahassee. 9am start. Course map for bike and for run