STRENGTH TRAINING
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
MOTIVATION
BREATHING
HYDRATION
SLEEP
NUTRITION
EXERCISE
NUTRITION
Nutrition is a big can of worms for everyone these days.
Everyone has some new diet plan, claiming to get the best
results possible. But is it really for you? Don’t be sucked into
the next fad and amazing nutrition plan.
First of all keep a food diary for 10 days to see how much
crap you are actually eating. From there, eliminate any take
away, junk foods, sugar snacks, processed foods, and replace
it with real organic whole foods. Eat 3 meals a day and be
aware of what’s happening to your body when you eat. Are
you full, bloated, cramped, sluggish, tired, or still hungry?
Note al this information down. Start to fine-tune YOUR diet
for what makes YOU feel the best.
TRAINING
The foundation to any training session no matter what sport
you are in, is to have a healthy functioning vehicle (your
body) with good posture and mobility to optimise your
athletic performance and reduce the risk of injuries during
high training loads.
THESE ARE THE BASIC STEPS TO ACCOMPLISH BEFORE
STARTING ANY TRIATHLON COACH/CLUB PROGRAM
Most coaches/athletes I see know why training in the gym is
important but generally don’t have an eye for correct technique.
This is a big problem because instead of strengthening weak
muscles or muscles that you are trying to target, the athlete
starts to work hyper tonic over-worked muscles which then
leads to more postural imbalances and higher risk of injury.
What we need to do is take a step back from the heavy loads
on the body and really start to stretch, mobilise, correct and
activate before returning to a lighter weight than usual to install
new motor patterns and perfecting our new technique.
The most common imbalances I see triathletes during my
advanced postural assessments are excessive forward head
posture. Every 1cm over the 3cm limit is an extra 3.5kg load on
the neck.
In swimmers, I will often find the upper traps and levitator
scapular excessively tight. Long hours on the bike can lead to:
Lumbar pelvic posterior rotation, flat lumbar spine, excessive
anterior pelvic position from tight lumbar erector/hi-flexors and
limited lower ab coordination/strength.
Here are some basic corrective exercises to get you started before you hit
the gym.
I recommend getting a solid 4-inch roller which will have enormous impact in
releasing myofascial tissue and mobilising vertebras:
- Thoracic extension
- FB Hamstrings
- Quads on roller
- Lumbar extension
- Lower abdominal coordination
You can watch video demonstrations of each exercise:
visit aaronbuchan.com/videos
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