Building Your Athletic Fortress Part I
We have all heard the story of the three little pigs. Each one chose to build their house of different materials biased by their value of instant or delayed gratification. As a coach, I see a lot of athletes who are like the first two pigs. They want to build their athletic house NOW and get on the podium, set a PR, or qualify for Kona yesterday.
Yet, to attain their full athletic potential an athlete needs to build an Athletic Fortress vs. the straw houses so many seem so eager to construct. You have to build the house from the bottom up, then perform constant check-ups and perform maintenance as needed to fortify your structure.
To build your Athletic Fortress, we must start deep by placing four cornerstones that will serve to support our structure through the most trying times. A cornerstone is an indispensable and fundamental element. Neglect one of these four and you risk a collapse of the other structures we will be building on top.
The first pillar is Lifestyle. This includes things like sleep, nutrition, and daily habits. As an athlete your body needs more rest than the average person. The time needed is a bit different for everyone but most hard training athletes need about 9.5 hours of quality sleep at night. The body repairs itself while sleeping and we are designed to “go offline” at night as certain hormonal events build and repair us. To insure you are getting the best out of your sleep, research suggest getting to bed no later than 10pm and waking no earlier than 6am.
Nutrition for the athlete means getting the right amount of nutrients at the right time. There is not a perfect way to eat for an entire group of people, but there is a perfect way to eat for you. Our genetics and biological make-up play a large roll in what foods are best, so for a specific plan it is wise to consult with someone who can see you as an individual.
There are a few general things we can all do however. Eat more of our calories around workouts emphasizing carbohydrates and protein close to a 4 to 1 ratio. The body starts certain enzymatic processes to absorb nutrients and restore the body when stimulated by physical stress. There is a window of 30 minutes to 2 hours directly after exercise when your body is actively replenishing itself when given proper nutrition. During periods outside this 30 min to 2 hour window, it is important to decrease calorie density and increase nutritional density. Drink plenty of fresh water and strive to eat foods in their most primitive forms, as this is how our bodies have evolved.
Daily habits are all the things you normally do in your day-to-day life. They encompass stress, work, and family obligations; as well as workout habits, smoking, and drinking. Anything you do on a regular basis that positively or negatively affect your training must be considered. A good exercise is to right down all the negative things you are doing and then all the good things you are doing. Finally, right down all the things you could be doing (note: written in positive). Now replace 3 negative habits from your list, with 3 positive things you need to do. When you change your habits after a few weeks, repeat the process.
The second cornerstone is Body Alignment/Structural Integrity/Flexibility. Before a automotive race, the car’s alignment is checked and retooled. High-speed racing and the insuring g-forces make “getting loose” a common occurrence with racecars.
Most athletes don’t even realize when their bodies are out of alignment until an injury occurs. Athletes may not be aware of what good alignment is, or have compensated for so long that they feel “normal.” It is important as an athlete to understand that you will perform better and lesson the risk of injury if you are mindful of keeping your body in structural alignment.
You can do some of these evaluations yourself, such as comparing the symmetry of flexibility between the right and left side of your body. For instance, if you notice your left quad is much tighter than your right, you can be sure that this will affect your performance and long-term health. Even if both are tight, it is wise to focus your time on the tightest one until they are both symmetrical.
A chiropractor, physical therapist, or C.H.E.K. Practionar can evaluate and recommend exercises, stretching, and therapies to manipulate your body back into its ideal alignment. You maybe prescribed foam rolling, mobilization techniques, adjustments, Graston ™, ART ™, stretching, and strengthening for your special situation.
Someone who understands the nature of your sport and training is of great benefit. I have been hired to create dry land workouts for swim teams. It is very common for swimmers to develop upper cross syndrome, flat backs, and weak/injured stabilizers in the shoulders. Much of what I have designed aims to correct and balance the work these athletes do in the pool.
The respective nature and high volume of endurance sports such as swimming, biking, and running makes it a constant battle to keep the body in balance. My training as a C.H.E.K. Practionar and working closely with one of the USAT Team Chiropractors has given me a new respect for this under emphasized and often neglected aspect of the sport.
If one is a cyclist, a good bike fit that takes into account the athlete’s structural limitations also falls under this cornerstone.
The third cornerstone is Body Composition and Weight. This is one of the easiest and hardest ways to improve. Of the three disciplines of triathlon, running is affected the most and swimming the least by this cornerstone. When the body is lean, it dissipates heat more efficiently, is more hydrodynamic and aerodynamic. When the body is both lean and lighter, the heart does not have to work as hard, there is more benefit from elastic recoil while running, and the watts per kilogram is generally higher for cycling.
Elite male distance runners are usually 2 lbs. for every inch high and about 4-6% body fat. Elite cyclists are about 5 to 10 lbs heavier. Swimmers are another 0 to 5 lbs. heavier with a slightly higher percentage of body fat.
Women need to be cautious when as lean as 12% body fat. Any lower than this and certain female systems start to shutdown and negatively affect the health even though performance may be temporarily enhanced. If you are female and 12% or lower you need to have a physician keep tabs on you and make sure you are getting adequate nutrition. I have seen some female athletes that can hold really low body fat percentages and do just fine from a health standpoint and others who simply fall apart. Everyone is different, but the common tipping point seems to be 12%.
The best time to try to drop weight through dietary changes is in the non-racing portion of the year, or when taking a break because of injury. I find that diet and nutrition are the most effective ways to drop unwanted pounds. This does not mean severe starving, BTW. An athlete should work with a qualified professional to create a program just for them.
It is not advisable to try to drop more than a couple of pounds through focused diet during the more strenuous times of training and racing. The exercise itself should serve as a stimulus for the body to drop weight if needed.
The last cornerstone of our Athletic Fortress is Technique and Skills. I think I maybe a little controversial here, but I’ll wager that those who have been competing for a while will have the light turn-on with my observations pver the years.
First, good technique needs to be structurally sound. A cyclist’s hips, knees, and ankles should all stay in straight alignment when pedaling. A runner should not crossover their centerline. A swimmer should not let their hips drop when they swim or “muscle” through the water. There are some things you should not do. That being said everyone is different and “good form” should account for individual strengths and weakness.
The overall theme of good form is bang for the buck to create economy. Economy can be measured by oxygen uptake at various velocities or power outputs. The more efficient you are, the less oxygen you have to use, or the faster you can go for the same amount of oxygen. Since most can’t strap on a mask and be hooked up to an $8,000 machine everyday, you are going to have to be aware of HR, pace, power, and/or perceived exertion as you consciously fine-tune what you are doing while performing. This doesn’t seem too controversial so far?
But I have observed that good form is a bit of a moving target. I see most coaches rigidly prescribe to one technique or method that they want the athlete to maintain no matter what! And to be fair, many world-class competitors seem to do just that. They maintain the same form for the duration of the event while others start to crack under the pressure. Gold Medal 400 meters runners Michael Johnson and Jeremy Werner are great examples. But there are also examples of athletes that change their form during the event.
Former World Hour Record Holder, Francesco Moser would pedal 4 strokes with one leg then the other when he started to fatigue. Many swimmers will alternate between a 6 beat and 2 beat kick or switch the side they are breathing on to switch the emphasis on one muscle group or energy system during competition.
Once I have taught an athlete a good solid technique, we may try to have them switch-up the emphasis to cycle between different muscle groups giving one a “rest” while the other takes over. This goes beyond the scope of this article, but if you are a high level athlete in a long event, chances are you have intuitively done some of this in your racing.
Worthy to note is you need to learn what good form feels like vs. trying to mechanically move your body like the textbook says. A second set of eyes from a coach you trust is helpful, especially when swimming. The best endurance athletes are constantly monitoring their bodies and ask the questions, “Does this make it seem easier or faster?” Keep asking the questions during your racing and training and don’t be afraid to experiment a bit. Learn what works for you.
The one thing to be aware of is if you have been training with “bad” or structurally destructive form, you maybe “fitter” and “faster” with bad form than good? You may have to take a few steps back to learn and become fit at a new way that in the short run slows you down, but in the long run makes you faster and less injury prone. About 6 years into my triathlon racing, I went to see a swim technique expert in California. It took me a year to change my form in the water and it slowed me down considerably the first 9 months. Most athletes I know would not have been so patient and to be honest I had lots of doubts and frustrations. However, one year later I was faster than ever and I continued to improve well into my second and third year using the new techniques I learned.
Skills like cornering, turning at a buoy, making a quick transition, and shifting on the bike are all things that influence performance and should not be ignored. When racing at a high level it is the little things that can make all the difference.
A true story is a friend, fellow coach, and training partner who competed in the USAT National Championships. His combined swim, bike, and run would have made him the champion in his division. Instead he got third due to his transitions. During all his training and preparation, he neglected to work on this aspect of his performance and it cost him a national championship. People don’t think “skills” when it comes to endurance sports, but at the highest level of competition everything is important.
Once your cornerstones are built, you are ready to build your base and oxygen dependent system through lactate balance point. This will be discussed in Part II.
