New Year New You...reopened for late comers (Page 4)

Originally posted by mgk

Hey Neil,
Glad surgery went smoothly. Here are my January goals.

1. 3x weekly pool work outs (every other week coached sessions starting next week)
2. 3x weekly strength work with focus on core
3. Stretch daily
4. Lose 3 pounds

So far so good for week one. My knee injury was diagnosed as due to muscle imbalance by the local surgeon, probably leftover from a torn hamstring last summer. Should be good to go by end of February. Won't have much bike/run base but need to work on the swimming anyway.

Hope you and everyone else in the group had a great Holiday.

Best,

Matt

Originally posted by RobR

Goals for January

1. DON'T GET INJURED! slowly build the base for running and cycling, otherwise on track right now
2. Aim to swim 100m (using bi lateral breathing technique) without stopping, drowning or any other impingement!

Originally posted by mheard

January Goals

1. 3x week on indoor bike trainer - work on both distance and speed improvements
2. 2x week in the pool - Specifically work on breathing
3. Run 1 mile everyday for 30 days (a 2014 Spartan workout challenge)
4. Drop 4 pounds

Originally posted by [email protected]

Really good article about bilateral breathing.

A small point that I want to give. I believe that it is very important to learn bilateral breathing especially when you get into open water swims. Definitely practice in the pool during workout sessions and get comfortable. =)

1) Waves might cause problems breathing on your "natural" side
2) Other competitors preventing easy breathing on your "natural" side
3) Oxygen intake needed (Allows for rhythm breathing and opportunity for more air intake)
a) I do a breath right 2 times
b) With a 1 stroke (not 3rd stroke) I immediately go to my left side
c) I breath 2 more times on left
d) With a 1 stroke I breath right side again
e) Repeat

Originally posted by [email protected]

I have so many things going on for goals in January.

1) Get into the pool (long over due)
2) Ride 30-50 miles on single day weekend rides
3) Lose 8 lbs (already dropped 2.5 lbs in one week)
4) Get better sleep habits
5) Work on understanding and doing stretching to increase range of motion
6) Be cautious of my food intake (meal proportions)
7) Run at least once a week
8) Make sure my rides home from work 8.88 miles have meaning (different training objectives)
9) There are actually quite a bit more, but not quite Beginner Triathlete related

Originally posted by [email protected]

Virginia, you have quite a nunber of questions. With limited experience, I hope that others might confirm or correct my answers. Many of the answers depend on the distance you are training for. For example, if you are training for a sprint triathlon, the bike you use is not as critical; I have a bicycle that I use for my sprint triathlons that was on sale for $70 (seventy). A simple 21 speed has worked for me for two years with the only complaint being it is about 30lbs.

Bike Purchase:
Most important thing is comfort no mater what. Regardless of the event, you will be putting on miles and miles of usage.

Indoor vs Outdoor:
They both have advantages and disavantages. But, here are some things to keep in mind. Different positioning when cycling will cause you to use your muscles differently. So, if all you do is indoor, your muscles will work efficiently for that position; you get on your bike, you won't be as efficient and fatigue faster. Indoor cycling will not get you used to or gain experience needed for environment adjustments like wind or 8 mile inclines. However, as far as cardio, lung conditioning, and base endurance or speed drills, indoor cycling will help. Personally, get on your bicycle as much as possible.

Time vs Distance:
The only time either of these matter is when you start getting into events that go beyond your comfort zone. For example, if you are not used to 4 hour rides because 2 hour ride fatigue your muscles (not just legs), once in a while, do a long distance ride to get your body passed the 2 hour problem. But, shorter quality workouts like interval training will get the same if not better results.

One last note: most beginners focus on legs only when riding or working out for riding. Keep in mind that your whole body is working out when riding, for examples, your shoulders and back keeping your body in a forward position consumes energy and can cramp just as easy as your legs.
-and-
Just like with swimming. Taking one week off isn't a bad thing. However, it is always best to do what you can to keep your body in motion.

Originally posted by virginia_BT

January goals:

1. Swim 1000m at a relaxed pace (I used to swim long-distance, so this is reasonable for me)
2. Bike 5 miles with moderate effort
3. Run/jog for an hour straight without dying!
4. Not get injured/maintain a regular stretching schedule
5. Eat healthy meals at normal times

by #5 I'm really trying to stop just eating when i feel like it - this turns into really late breakfast, a big lunch/dinner at like 4:30, and usually a dinner at 9ish. I know this is horrible, it's really an issue of being too lazy to cook meals and weird college cafeteria hours.

I want to focus this month on biking, since it is my weakest sport. For now I'm only doing indoor cycling, is this bad? I'm going to rent a bike at some point this week, and I'll buy a good bike at some point. I have no idea what type of bike to get, but I'm not too worried about that now. How often should I be on a real bike versus indoor cycling? When I'm cycling, should I be more focused on the distance I go or the time I spend on the bike? Time and distance are both important of course, but I am unsure how I should best measure these types of sessions.

Also, I have some questions about different training plans. Most plans are between 12 and 20 weeks (at least the ones I've seen so far). At the end of April I will be taking all my final exams for college, and that means I will be chained to my books all night and day for about 10 days. I'm taking 18 hours of classes so I know now that April is going to be a really difficult month for me. If I started one of the training plans today I would be ready for the Triathlon (supposedly) around April, and I know that I won't be able to spend much, if any, time exercising during finals week. I don't want to start a plan and then take a week off right before the end! I'm pretty unsure about what to do, so for now I am trying to go to the gym 4 or 5 times a week and get in better shape, thinking I might start a training schedule in 4-6 weeks? If anyone has a better idea I'm very open to suggestions.

Virginia

Originally posted by Wumba41

Big list David - reat stuff, plenty to go at, be careful not to overdo things, make sure you keep enjoying what you are doing. Two questions, firstly what are you going to do in the pool and secondly do you have a view on the stretches you are doing, happy to sign post you to some good all round stretching or target certain areas, let me know.

Originally posted by [email protected]



Any suggestions and ideas are welcomed. I honestly don't stretch much at all. I do make sure that I give myself a warm up and warm down session. I know it's not a good habit =(

I'm looking for overall better range in motion for all moving body joints and limbs.

fyi: i've been commuting to/from work for about 2 years now and clocking just over 5,000 miles. I'm always concerned about the over doing things; some of these goals are continuations and/or extensions of things I've been already doing =)

Originally posted by Jen in Training

Hey everyone!

Just finished my very first triathlon swimming class tonight and it went great!! Very happy I signed up for this class. I've learned a lot in the first class and I'm looking forward to improving as time goes on. I also did a 5km run on the indoor track and completed a cycling class this week too. So far I think the training is going well for the first week of so much extra exercise lol. I've also increased my stretching and I'd like to make sure I get some yoga in 2-3x per week. A hot yoga studio just opened up here so I may take advantage of that too.

Originally posted by Jen in Training

Hey everyone!

Just finished my very first triathlon swimming class tonight and it went great!! Very happy I signed up for this class. I've learned a lot in the first class and I'm looking forward to improving as time goes on. I also did a 5km run on the indoor track and completed a cycling class this week too. So far I think the training is going well for the first week of so much extra exercise lol. I've also increased my stretching and I'd like to make sure I get some yoga in 2-3x per week. A hot yoga studio just opened up here so I may take advantage of that too.

Originally posted by Jen in Training

Good to know! I've got one on order. The swimming lessons are done in the pool right now because we are under 6 feet of snow but in the early summer our lessons will be in the same lake the race will be in. I'm very thankful for that! She's also going to have us complete a mini version of the race to help prepare us. Will give us a good idea as to where we stand and what we need to work on to sustain enough energy.

In my first swim lesson I got some tips for better head position for breathing and hand positions. I felt a huge difference when I was able to breath more efficiently and taking in less water. Before the lesson I wasn't having too much problems with taking too much water in but I felt breathless at times. I was told that my head position was out of the water too much which was also slowing me down. Seems as though I've joined a good group of people too. A couple have done the triathlon before and 3 others haven't. I'm considering joining a cycling group in the spring to hopefully learn more there.

Originally posted by [email protected]

Something that can help with improving your swim workout sessions. It gives suggested workout plans based on your level and other factors. Plus, it's a free website =)

http://swimplan.com/

Originally posted by [email protected]

Any suggestions and ideas are welcomed. I've honestly don't stretch much at all. I do make sure that I give myself a warm up and warm down session. I know it's not a good habit =(

I'm looking for overall better range in motion for all moving body joints and limbs.

fyi: i've been commuting to/from work for about 2 years now and clocking just over 5,000 miles. I'm always concerned about the over doing things; some of these goals are continuations and/or extensions of things I've been already doing =)

Originally posted by [email protected]



Forgot to answer the other question (pool):
In the pool - The first session was a relaxing 1000 yd swim. It was a lot slower and took an hour. I was in with my son, who is on the high school swim team; during that time, I was pointing out some adjustments on his form for efficiency along with some other very minor objectives. During summer last year, I was doing about 2000-3000 yd in about 1.5 hours. Much faster pace along with speed drills, etc.

I posted http://swimplan.com/for everybody as well. Free website that will give suggested swim workouts based on entered factors.

Originally posted by [email protected]



Any suggestions and ideas are welcomed. I honestly don't stretch much at all. I do make sure that I give myself a warm up and warm down session. I know it's not a good habit =(

I'm looking for overall better range in motion for all moving body joints and limbs.

fyi: i've been commuting to/from work for about 2 years now and clocking just over 5,000 miles. I'm always concerned about the over doing things; some of these goals are continuations and/or extensions of things I've been already doing =)

Originally posted by Jen in Training

Good to know! I've got one on order. The swimming lessons are done in the pool right now because we are under 6 feet of snow but in the early summer our lessons will be in the same lake the race will be in. I'm very thankful for that! She's also going to have us complete a mini version of the race to help prepare us. Will give us a good idea as to where we stand and what we need to work on to sustain enough energy.

In my first swim lesson I got some tips for better head position for breathing and hand positions. I felt a huge difference when I was able to breath more efficiently and taking in less water. Before the lesson I wasn't having too much problems with taking too much water in but I felt breathless at times. I was told that my head position was out of the water too much which was also slowing me down. Seems as though I've joined a good group of people too. A couple have done the triathlon before and 3 others haven't. I'm considering joining a cycling group in the spring to hopefully learn more there.