Resistance Training for Endurance Athletes?

For all time you crunched multisport athletes out there, I feel your pain.  Who needs weights when we only have time to run, bike, and swim?  Unfortunately, resistance training is essential for building power and strength. In addition, adding resistance training to your program will decrease risk of injury as you are creating increased strength around your joints.  Furthermore, weight training can dwindle out muscle imbalances if you target the appropriate areas.

Studies show that when an endurance athlete incorporates strength training into their training program, their time to exhaustion increased (run or bike farther than previously at the same intensity).  Strength training can improve an athletes efficiency in a sport as well.  Most endurance athletes are afraid that if they incorporate resistance training, they will gain weight.  You need not worry because since most of our time is devoted to endurance training, our bodies do not gain muscle mass easily.  But if we do end up gaining a few pounds, it shall typically result in increased power, something we should strive for.

How many reps? How much resistance? How many sets? These are all common questions I face everyday and this is where the principal of individuality comes in.  Everyone has different needs when it comes to training, but I will try and simplify these common questions.  I must reiterate, everyone's needs are different, therefore there are no cookie cutter exercise routines.  Each one needs to be tweaked for the individuals needs and requirements.

For a beginner who is new to weight training or someone who hasn't done resistance training in over 3 months, the first thing you want to work on is proper technique, therefore high reps (15-20) is adequate with low resistance (40-60% of 1 repetition maximum [RM] ).  The last rep should not be to failure, and if it is, lower the resistance for the next set.  The amount of sets for each exercise should be 3-5 and you should attempt to take a break no longer than 30 seconds to a minute between sets. This can be continued for 2-8 weeks while performing 2-3 workouts per week.

For someone who is used to weight training and feels confident with technique, I suggest they focus they try to focus on power and strength.  This can be accomplished multiple ways and many magazines and books offer their own resistance training templates.  I will explain my suggested plan as it can improve your applied force in the gym, but also translate to increased power when out for a bike ride or a run.  Keep your rep range within 5-8, with your last set being to failure.  The speed of your repetitions be moderate and the resistance should be about 60-80% of your 1 RM.  You should attempt to do 3-6 sets for each exercise and progressively increase the resistance as you go through sets (60% of your 1 RM for the first set progressing to final set being 80% of 1RM).  Your rest period between sets should be 2-4 minutes.  Continue this weight training for 3 weeks (2-3 sessions a week if possible) but on the 4th week change it up by doing explosive (fast) repetitions, which will cause you to increase your power.  Again, I shall reiterate for the 3rd time - this is merely my personal opinion and every individuals needs are unique.

Here are 4 guidelines for weight training, especially for us time crunched athletes:

1. Sport Specific Movements - When doing an exercise, try to mimic the exact position you would be in if you were doing the sport.  For example, if you are doing a single legged squat - bend your knee no further than if you were running, this is where you will need most power.
2. Big Muscle Groups - focus on doing exercises which target the major muscle groups used in each discipline. For example, the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteus are all used during cycling, therefore a great exercise would be a squat since it would target all areas.
3. Multijoint Exercises - these exercises can save you precious time in the gym because they allow you to work many muscles at once.  Again, squats are a wonderful example since they incorporate the ankle, knee and hip.
4. Wore Your Core - if you do not have a strong core, this may be what is keeping you from reaching your potential.  A strong core is necessary for an efficient swimmer since this is where most movements are initiated.  In addition, runners require a strong core to maintain an upright position during their distance.

Here are 5 essential exercises one can incorporate into their training programs resistance plan:

Single Leg Squat:

Standing Lat Push Down:





Lunges:





Dumbbell Chest Press:

Alternating Oblique Twists:

Enjoy and don't forget, weight training can be beneficial and break the mold of constantly swimming, biking, and running!

Java Jolt - Caffeine and Endurance Performance

Researchers have laboriously studied the effects of caffeine on sports performance with very optimistic results.  Caffeine has been known to increase wakefulness, reduce fatigue, and increase alertness.  This knowledge has been known for centuries and has been put into practice by around 90% of the adult population.  I myself require a coffee every morning to start my day off.  In addition to that, caffeine addiction is prevalent and symptoms of withdrawl can be observed for people who attempt to ‘quit’ drinking the miracle brew.  Again, I can attest to the withdrawl symptoms, and if I haven’t had my morning brew – get outta my way!

Back to the research surrounding caffeine ingestion and performance, which has had mixed results.  Caffeine can be found in coffee, sports drinks, energy drinks, capsules, and specific supplements.   Much research has been conducted and one main finding which seems to be accepted throughout is that the most effective form of caffeine is from capsules.  Some research assumes that another component of the drinks (coffee and energy drinks) works to antagonize the actual affects of coffee.

Caffeine has proven to improve endurance performance ranging from activities 30 to 120 minutes in duration.  So what makes caffeine such a potent ergogenic aid?  Research has shown (to different extents) that caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, increases lypolysis, increases catecholamine release, increases cortisol release, increases potassium release, increases levels of intracellular calcium, inhibits cAMP phosphodiesterase activity,  produces central nervous system activation and increased respiratory ventilation, PLUS functions as an antioxidant (Sinclair & Geiger, 2000).  I will explain a few of the most important affects of caffeine, but for a full review, please refer to the journal by Sinclair & Geiger titled Caffeine use in sports.

Increased lypolysis is crucial for endurance performance because energy is produced from the breakdown of fats (event called lypolysis).  Increased catecholamine release, epinephrine to be exact, causes increased circulation of free fatty acids and vasodilation of blood vessels to increase blood flow to exercising tissue.  Cortisol levels increase during exercise and improves athletic efficiency.  Increased intracellular concentration of calcium is facilitates the excitation-contraction coupling mechanism for skeletal muscle.

Now that I have stated all the positives regarding caffeine, I must inform you of the consequences.  One is that caffeine can be addicting and individuals become habituated to the effects of caffeine.  This ultimately results in increased consumption of the substance so that its effects can be felt.  In addition, as mentioned earlier, withdrawl symptoms can be observed when an individual stops ingesting caffeine.  Caffeine is also I diuretic which may cause athletes to urinate excessively, but the diuretic properties of caffeine do not occur during exercise.  Caffeine can cause sleeping problems and can inhibit the function of adenosine induced erythropoietin (hormone which stimulates red blood cell formation). 

So what does research suggest? Through much of the scientific literature, it seems evident that the adequate amount of caffeine to ingest is 2-3 mg/kg of body weight before and (or) during exercise.  Ingesting more caffeine than this amount does not increase performance, it may actually have adverse effects.  As an aside, in 2003, the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code included caffeine as a banned stimulant.  If an athlete’s urine caffeine concentration was greater than 12ug/mL, they were disqualified.

I am not saying that the missing link in your training is caffeine supplementation.  You must do your research before attempting to change your diet, especially with supplements.  Caffeine has positive and negative effects; therefore it is up to you to decide if you wish to pursue ingestion.  I have provided the list of journals and studies I read to write this article so please feel free to draw your own conclusions from them as well.  Click here to gather a list of articles using the popular Google Scholar which searches through peer reviewed journals. 

References

Bell, D.G. & McLellan, T.M. (2003).  Effect of repeated caffeine ingestion on repeated exhaustive exercise endurance.  Official Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, 35(8), 1348-1354.

Burke, L.M. (2008).  Caffeine and sports performance.  Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 33, 1319-1334.

Conger, S.A, Warren, G.L., Hardy, M.A., & Millard-Stafford, M.L. (2011).  Does caffeine added to carbohydrate provide additional ergogenic benefit of endurance?  International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 21, 71-84.

Graham, T.E., Hibbert, E., & Sathasivam, P. (1998).  Metabolic and exercise endurance effects of coffee and caffeine ingestion. Journal of Applied Physiology 85, 883-889.

Sinclair, C.J.D. & Geiger, J.D. (2000).  Caffeine use in sports: A pharmacological review.  Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 40, 71-79.

National Capital Run 2011 - 10km

What I was chasing for 10 km

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 …. 8:35 am – the 40 runners taking part in the National Capital Run 2011, 10km distance were off.  We ran the 5km course so therefore we had to complete 2 loops.  I had never ran this course before so I was unfamiliar with what I was to encounter.   The only words of advice came from Matt Despatie, a veteran to the event, “I hate this course… there is this hill after the bridge which isn’t long, but steep.” – Real words of encouragement.

I started out quite well, actually leading the pack for about 3km.  I loved the route, it was scenic and downhill.  But one thing I truly forgot… I will have to come back uphill.  We started at Mooney’s Bay and ran towards the parkway, with gorgeous scenery everywhere.  Trees all around, the water alongside, I even recall a squirrel running across my path.

Initially I had looked back at around the 1km mark to really see my position and what kind of lead I truly had.  The pack was a fair distance away but I told myself to not try and over exert myself.  I have learnt from the past that I cannot do sprints as I deplete my immediate energy reserves too quickly which causes me to decrease my pace considerably.

At around the 3km mark, I heard footsteps behind me.  He was considerably faster than me as he made the quick dash ahead.  I attempted to maintain pace with him… but he was a fairly well conditioned athlete, and I had gone into this race with two mindsets – 1. Finish under 40 minutes, 2. Do not concern myself with other competitors.  I reminded myself of these two things and maintained my pace.

I hated the return route.  After that steady decline I had to fight through uphill battle after uphill battle.  I constantly pushed myself each step.  Once I got up these never ending hills I would take a second to slow my pace down so that I could recuperate and then continue.  These precious seconds I was wasting to slow down seemed costly but effective since I would have to do this hilly part for the final 25% of the race.

I made it to the 5km turnaround and thought to myself… I have to do this again? What made this even worse, the man in 3^rd place was inches behind me.  I knew my strengths were in the downhill of this course so I made sure to increase my cadence with short strides while running downhill.  This would spare my energy for the flat parts and the worst part of all… the uphill struggle to the finish.  I could hear the feet of 3^rd place bashing the ground the whole way.  I think the last time I looked back was with 3km remaining and he was 4 strides behind me.

As I made it to the 7.5 km marker, which was the return portion of the 5km, I thought I had made a considerable gap between myself and 3^rd place.  He was literally one stride away from me.  I kept pushing and never looked back, the only thing I knew was that if I could hear his footsteps, he wasn’t far.  Hill after hill I climbed, pushing myself harder and harder because every second counts at this point.  I managed to make decent gains during the uphill struggles, but I was finding myself burnt out when reaching the top which allowed him to catch up.

I remember looking down at the ground with 1 km left in the race.  His shadow was covering mine and I could hear his breaths becoming heavier; he too was just as tired as I was.  He attempted to pass me at one instance, but I pushed even harder.  My goals quickly changed at this very instance because I love competition.  I couldn’t let him pass me, especially this late in the race.

We were neck and neck as we made the final turn.   I looked up and saw my girlfriend standing there with a face of panic - I knew I couldn’t let him pass.  I couldn’t.  With approximately 150 meters left, I heard his breathing become labored and his foot strikes becoming harder.  I myself went into an all out sprint.  My breathing was getting harder and harder, my legs were sore, my calves were stiff, but I couldn’t let him get in front of me.  He was behind me since the 5km marker and I was not going to let him do anything else but chase me.  My mind shut off, my eyes fully focused on the task at hand, finish before him.  The pain in my legs had taken over my body, my mind was telling my body no more, no more.  I let out a scream of agony and dug even deeper with the last few strides to go.

I couldn’t believe how close our times were. I never thought I would have such a close race.  Here are the exact times which are posted on http://sportstats.ca/ :

PLACE	TIME	PACE	NAME	BIB NUMBER
1	37:43	3:47	Lavoie,Teddy	946
2	39:56	4:00	Ravanelli, Nicholas	1000
3	39:57	4:00	Georgieff, David	916

How much closer can it get?

Not only did I make my goal of finishing under 40 minutes, I also came second overall.  Initially I did not realize it since the timing clock was 5 minutes ahead because the 5km and Duathlon had started before at 8:30am.  My girlfriend had to tell me 4 times to convince me, especially while I was panting and wheezing after my all out battle.  It was an amazing day and I have to give credit to the support I had today from my girlfriend, she gave me that look of panic, but she knew I had it in me.   Seeing her at the final turnaround gave me that extra push I really needed.

Me after finding out I actually finished under
40 minutes.

I also want to send a shout out to Matt Despatie, who unfortunately had to back out of his Olympic Duathlon after the bike portion.  His lower back was enormous discomfort and he made the smart decision of not continuing on.  He came first place at the 2011 Smith Fallls Classic Sprint Duathlon.  Hopefully you can recover soon!

I also want to thank Somersault Events for hosting yet another successful event.  You guys sure know what you are doing and I will definitely sign up for future events with you.  Thank you.

National Capital Run 10km tomorrow

One more sleep until the National Capital Run 10km tomorrow... Do I think I will make my goal of 40 minutes? I feel confident, I really have to focus on pacing.  I have learnt from my past experience and I have made changes to my racing mentality.  Initially I assumed that if I went out hard, I would be able to maintain pace but never succeeded with this objective.  I plan on finding my pace and maintaining it throughout. I will solely focus on my running and technique since I find that I concern myself with other runners.  I am very competitive... I recall during the Colonel By Classic I attempted to maintain pace with the leader, I burnt myself out of energy and found myself slowing down completely, ending with 6th place overall.... I do not want that outcome again.

I will definitely take many pictures with my Blackberry Curve 9300... I apologize in advance for the poor picture quality.  Keep posted!

Do We Actually Acclimatize to the Heat?

Amateur and elite athletes around the world understand that if they reside in a hot and humid environment, they will acclimatize to the heat.  Many books and journals state that it is best to acclimatize to the race specific environment 2 weeks to even 4 months prior to your event.  For example, if you wish to partake in Ironman Hawaii, many authors state that it is beneficial to train in that environment to become acclimatized to the heat, especially if you reside in an environment farther from the equator.  But what if we live in an environment where we are exposed to heat for 4-6 months out of the year? do we fully acclimatize to the heat throughout the duration of the summer? Does anything interfere with our bodies acclimatization?

Anthony Bain, a Masters student at the University of Ottawa, working alongside Professor Ollie Jay in the Thermal Ergonomics Laboratory, posed the question - do we acclimatize to the heat since we reside in the environment?  Bain’s study, which was published in June 2011 by the European Journal of Applied Physiology, tested the present knowledge that individuals who live in hot and humid regions would exhibit increased skin blood flow, decreased core temperature, and the sweat response would occur at a lower core body temperature due to heat acclimatization.  The participants completed two trials; one trial in the last 2 weeks of May while the other was within the first two weeks of September.  Each trial consisted of biking at 60% of their VO_2peak for 90 minutes in duration.  The temperature of the room was 22.4 ± 1.0⁰C with a relative humidity of 37 ± 15%.  Core temperature, skin blood flow, and heart rate were monitored during the trials.  In addition, Bain had the participants record an Activity Log/Lifestyle questionnaire for the duration of the summer.  This log consisted of their activities performed (inside or outside) and whether they worked in or lived in air conditioning.   What did they find?

Bain concluded that no heat acclimatization had occurred throughout the summer months which were evident between the two trials performed for each participant.  There were no significant differences between sweat rates, core temperature and heart rate.   In addition, all of the participants worked in an environment with air conditioning and 50% of them lived with air conditioning in their homes.  Anthony Bain explains that since people are not exposed to the hot and humid weather for significant amounts of time, they do not acclimatize to the heat.  Just because an individual resides in such an environment, if they constantly expose themselves to a cooler climate, they will never fully acclimatize the heat.  Since all the participants were working in an air conditioned environment, no changes in physiological responses occurred between the two trials.  The main message Bain wanted to portray is that you cannot assume you have been acclimatized to the heat since you live in the environment.  Bain states, “Many people have a false sense of security while running in the late summer months thinking that they have properly adapted.”

So how do you fully acclimatize to the heat, especially if you plan on completing an Ironman in a hot and humid region like Hawaii?  Simple, do not solely train in the environment, but live in it too.  Just because you run or bike in the heat does not mean you will acclimatize to it eventually.  You need to continue the exposure to the environment before AND after your training.   If you are staying in a hotel for 2 weeks to 4 months prior to the event, turn off the air conditioning in your room and open a few windows.   You can also spend as much time as possible outside in the natural environment to reap the benefits of heat acclimatization.  The more time you spend in the environment, the better your body will acclimatize to it.  Remember, physiological adaptations do not occur overnight, they take countless hours of constant exposure to occur.

To read the full journal article: Does summer in a humid continental climate elicit an acclimatization of human thermoregulatory responses? - European Journal of Applied Physiology by Anthony Bain and Ollie Jay – CLICK HERE.

Rest & Recovery – One Major Limitation in Today’s Society, But Required

In today’s fast pace environment, it is difficult for many people to find time to rest and recover. We lead stressful, hectic lives and are always on the go, taking little time to fully recuperate physically and mentally. Rest and recovery are the greatest tools that an athlete can benefit from, but not many take an opportunity to halt and relax.

Much scientific literature has been devoted to the benefits of rest and recovery for athletes since it’s during this period where the body makes physiological adaptations. These physiological adaptations include increased stroke volume (volume of blood which the heart can pump out each contraction), better glycogen storage, increased fat-burning enzymes, decreased body fat, increased strength of tendons and muscles, decreased resting heart rate, and much more. The problem with most athletes, especially beginner multi-sport athletes, is that they constantly work themselves harder and harder without adequate recovery. They have such strong determination and willpower that they constantly strive to push themselves. Unfortunately, this mentality can cause overtraining and possible injury which may cause an athlete to stop training entirely.

90% of an average athletes time is spent recovering from workouts (I encompass sleep into this time since it is the most crucial for your body to make physiological changes). What you do with this bulk of time can dictate your progression. Optimally, it would be great to sit back and relax all day and only physically exert yourself during your workouts, but that is not the case. We all lead demanding lives which also fatigue the body, therefore one should also decrease their workloads during training to ensure that they do not succumb to the symptoms of overtraining such as fatigue, no progression, decrease in physical performance, inability to sleep, and decreased appetite. Every bit of stress is accountable to the body’s physiology, whether it is mental or physical stress.

Figure 1.0 Periods following workout stress

The above illustration simplifies the stages that the body undergoes after a training stress is applied. Initially, you fatigue the body’s energy reserves and may have produced micro tears throughout the muscle fibers specific to the exercise stress applied. Your overall fitness level decreases since both of these phenomena’s have occurred. The next stage is recovery where the body attempts to restore energy and repair the muscle fibers back to their original state prior to the applied stress. The next stage is known as overcompensation where the body not only returns but elevates past its original fitness level.

I have color coordinated Figure 1.0 to facilitate understanding. Simply put, if you attempt to stress the exact same muscles which stress was originally applied during the RED zone, you risk detrimental fitness effects. If you attempt to stress the muscles in the GREEN zone, you can increase your fitness levels since your body has adequately recovered from the last bout of exertion. Timing is crucial for the most efficient training program, but every athlete recovers at different speeds. What works for elite athletes such as Michael Phelps (Olympic Swimmer) or Mark Allen (6 time Hawaii Ironman winner) may not work for you. Trial and error is the best method to establishing proper resting periods. Maintain your training journal is crucial so you can evaluate increases or potential decreases in fitness. If you see decreases in performance, its best to reevaluate your program and increase rest periods because you may be overtraining.

In addition, here is a list of ways to help you during the recovery period after a workout:

• Active Recovery (IE:walking after workout)
• Massages
• Relax or stretch
• Hot shower or bath
• Lying down

Rest & recovery is the most crucial part of training, without it, you would never see improvements in fitness. By following the simple guidelines I have set out in this article, you can certainly avoid overtraining. The farther you can stay away from overtraining, the more efficient your training will be and you will be able to reach your goals safer and healthier.

National Capital Race This Saturday :)

Hey everyone! if you have just started to follow my ever recent blog, you might have noticed my race calender located on the right side of the page. As it states I have a race this Saturday July 30th taking place on Mooney's Bay Park. I am attempting to run the 10km distance in under 40 minutes. I will be happy none the less to finish in under 45 minutes, which is something I know I can definitely accomplish.


My reminders for race day? Firstly, I am not going to come out of the gates sprinting. That has always created problems in the past so I plan on trying to keep a steady pace throughout, but pour it on in the last kilometer. Secondly, I am going to properly warm up prior to this race. In the past I have solely done a few 'butt kicks' and gotten into the starting gate. I feel if I properly warm up I stand a better chance of making my goal. I have been training and attempting to maintain a pace of 4min/km, its now time to imitate training on race day!

Here is a link to the website with more information on the National Capital Race, and there is still time for last minute registration! :)  I will definitely keep everyone informed on the outcome post-race !

Wish me luck!  Follow my blog and get instant updates by submitting your email --> located on the right of the page!