kenj - motivated triathletes in training - CLOSED (Page 16)

Now that seems wrong. Was it an actual emergency or just a drill? Ugh....

Ken - I am sure this has been discussed to death, but can we have a discussion on bike cadence, more specifically how important is it to work on higher cadence? I can hold 90-100 in the small chain ring but not in large, at least not without major heart rate spike, thus sacrificing speed.  A guy at the LBS said that swapping out the standard crank for a shorter crank on my tri bike would help with cadence, but I am not 100% convinced this is necessary. 

Hey DJ, I don't know what to tell you about what kind of top to wear, but I can recommend a sunscreen.  Have you ever tried the Neutrogena spray-on, ultra-sheer, or ultimate sport products?  I find them to be much lighter than most.  Haven't tried the sport version, but I know the ultra-sheer is really light and goes on dry.

That doesn't sound like fun.  I wonder if that happened at my Y, which way would the life guards make us go out?  Directly through one of the 2 emergency doors or through the locker room?  I couldn't imagine being outside in a speedo this morning, I didn't want to go outside in my street clothes with a jacket for that matter!

I don't think you are getting good advice from your bike shop, or you misunderstood them.  You can change the crank from a standard to a compact and that will change your cadence.  That is because you are changing the gear ratio of both the big and the small gear.  You can do the same thing by changing the cassette on on the back of the bike too unless you have already done so.  If you cannot maintain the desired cadence, then you do need to go down a gear.  This is where time in the saddle building endurance is beneficial.  BUT, pushing the bigger gears, even at a lower cadence helps develop leg strength.  My opinion, is that the goal for cadence should be to develop a comfort level and the leg strength to manage a wider range of cadence. 

As far as crank length, the desired goal in changing crank length is to improve the fit on the bike.  For instance, if you can get low in an aero position, but your hip angle at top dead center of the pedal stroke is too tight, you can either raise the aero bars to optimize the hip angle or put on a shorter crank to open the hips up. 

ETA: I do recommend considering a compact crank if where you ride is at all hilly.  I have it on my road bike which is the bike I ride if I am going to be doing much hill climbing. 

Brrrrrr.. That sounds crazy....

Congrats on the baby.. It is on the hush hush.. Hope your back gets to feeling better soon.

Thanks Ken, this clarifies some things for me. The guy at the bike shop suggested making the change during a bike fitting last year. It is very likely that I misunderstood what he was suggesting. 

X2

I agree with Ken here.. I have a compact crank on my tri bike and I enjoy it a lot..I can really pass people going up hills because I'm able to keep my cadence up and most of the time I'm still able to stay in aero...I ride standard cranks on my road bike and use this bike for group rides, and hill repeats.. It does build more leg strength which helps me keep my cadence up on my tri bike in the big gears.. As Ken said this is where time in the saddle is very beneficial, because you can adapt and become more comfortable with your cadence in different gears..

FYI: The crank length is all about bike fit, because I think Craig Alexander crank arm length was 167.50 on his bike for Kona this year and I know in the back of my mind that is not standard for his height..

Carla, that was an inspiring and moving report.  Congrats on moving forward with your dream.  You will make it this year.

Congratulations!! We'll keep it quiet.  But, yay!~

OK this is good information. My road bike has a compact crank and I will say that hills are easier on that bike. I live in a very flat area, but have signed up for a HIM in a hilly area. 

I have done this in the season on occasion.  I did 3X per week & cardio on other days.  

I think it depends on your goals...

If you want to podium then you are wasting time & energy.  The upper body muscle mass if dead weight.

If you want to compete, be healthy & all around fitness, definitely do it.  Many feel that it would prevent injuries as well.

JMHO...

The article I read did not mention the swim Robin, but I think there may be some corrolation.  I have read that there is an optimal rythm for swimming and that they sell metronomes designed for swimming.  I beleive though that it was refering more to the pull rather than the kick.  This one of the areas I have little bit of a problem with (amongst others) is I have a slow pull. 

I have in the past.  Did a lot last winter to gain upper body strength for the IM swim.   Now I want to shed some of it because I'm carrying 20 pounds more than I'd like. I have a weight machine and free weights.  I try to stay moderate on the weights and do high reps to train smooth lean muscles rather than bulk.  Meeting a PT tomorrow who teaches kettlebells.  I'm going to try to incorporate some of it into my week.  2x weekly, 30 mins a time. 

I try to, but I usually don't get in as much as I would like.  I think there is some advantage to it, especially as we get older.  The debates here go on and on about the value of it and both sides have valid arguments.  I don't disagree that if you want to be a better swimmer/cyclist/runner than the biggest return is in swimming/cycling/running.  But I can't see how it can hurt to add in some strength training.  I think this is especially true when talking about explosive type exercises like plyometrics.  Working the core, which includes the hips, back, glutes is also important. 

Usually the first thing to go for me when the volume gets higher is the strength training. 

If nothing else, strength training in the off season is a good way to burn some fat and do something different. 

I used to get into these debates and then stopped. MY opinion is that strength training is one of the best things you can do all year, even in season. It always kills me when people talk about "adding bulk". It is hard to get big and muscular, or all the dudes in Zubaz pants and tank tops would do it. As long as you are eating correctly, you can lift heavy weights and get strong without getting big.  I need strength for my job so I carry more muscle mass than is ideal for triathlon, but I would rather stay alive than win a medal for a race.  I firmly believe that a program focused on full body compound movements can be a difference maker for you as far as power and injury prevention.  Scott mentioned Kettlebells. They are awesome for this!

Wow I have to check this forum more often. Everytime I log in there is over a page of discussion to read. Glad to be in such an active group!

I also ride a compact crank on my road bike (I don't have a tri bike) and love it. The areas I ride in are hilly. I don't do any strength training, but that's basically because I'm not very knowledgable about it. There is a group class at my gym called Body Pump that I used to take and I really liked it because they showed me exactly what exercises to do. When left on my own, I'm not very good at creating a good/challengng weight workout. It's something I'm interested in learning more about and trying to work into my training in the future. Although at this point, I'm just working on getting back to basics: a consistant running & cycling routine (I'm not even thinking about swimming yet). I've been consistent with doing short easy run for a week and have cleared out a place in my garage and set up my trainer & DVD player (I have some Spinervals DVDs). Slowly but surely...

Thanks for this info, just went on Amazon & looks like some of these are available pretty cheap on DVDs.

Those Spinervals are good workouts too. I don't do very well either if left to my own devices.