December 2nd, 2011 — Biking, Motivation, Swim Bike Run
The popularity of biking in America has meant an increase in how many children bike competitively. There has been a switch between those who bike for fun and those who are biking for a reason. This creates a unique opportunity for parents who enjoy biking and would like to share the activity with their children. You can sign up for family competitions and mixed age events which will allow your children to compete in the same events you are competing in. It will also give them something to strive for in their future of biking.
Keep Biking Fun
While more children bike with intent, it is important to keep everything grounded. Make sure your children are having fun when they are riding. This will make it where they will stick with biking for the rest of their life. Biking should be a way of life, not something which is a have to do. By riding with your children, you will be able to have fun in competition. Try letting your children win a few times in races. Make something fun like ice cream a treat for completing a challenging ride with a good time. You should still give some kind of reward just for trying so they do not feel biking is do-or-die.
Find a Club to Join
There are bike clubs you can join in your area. Children bike clubs are just as prevalent as adult clubs. These clubs help to teach your kids the fundamentals of safe riding. They will also go on great trips with the club. Some clubs do not have age restrictions. This means you can join the same club your children are in. You will be able to learn what they are learning and make sure they understand everything which they have been taught.
Sign up for Some Races
Whether you are in a club or not, there are bike races in your city for all ages. Signing up your kids in a children bike race is a way for them to have fun and get a taste of friendly competition. This is a great way to teach your kids the importance of competing for fun instead of competing purely for winning. Try to remind them when they lose that every race teaches them fundamentals which will help them in future races. Having grace after losing a race is important to a life of good sportsmanship.
Joining a Team
For children with more ambition, there are teams which they can join. These include teams which form in their schools as well as teams which are local. These are good way to go from children bike races to Olympic level racing. The only thing standing between some children and the highest levels of competition is the right instruction and the right opportunities. As long as your children can remain grounded, there is no reason why they should not be allowed to pursue every dream they have ever had. Let them pursue the gold if that is what their heart desires.
Photo Credits: MoBikeFed
Originally posted 2010-03-29 10:05:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 26th, 2011 — Swim Bike Run, Triathlon Tips, Triathlon Training
Triathlon races are among the most challenging things people will do in their lifetime. This is true no matter what your athletic level is. This is because you challenge your body to stand up to the abuse from three different sports back to back. Racing in one of the sports is enough to wear most people out. To complete the triathlon with a good time, you will need the right kind of training. This includes training in each other events as well as making the transitions from one event to the next.
Practicing Transitions
One place where people lose a lot of time is when they are transitioning from swimming to biking or from biking to running. The challenge you run into is the fact you will be wet from swimming and from sweat at every point in the challenge. This is why when training for triathlon races, it is important to train in changing your equipment from one event to the next in the fastest possible time. While you will not be able to have instantaneous changes, you will be able to shave off precious seconds from your final time.
Practicing Your Start
The norm for triathlon races is to start with a run into the water for your swim portion. You should practice being able to easily transition from a run into swimming. Some people prefer to dive in while others prefer to get under water and push off from the sandy bank. Choose the one which feels right to you and improve upon it. Time yourself in your ability to go from shore to full swim. The faster you are swimming, the faster you will reach your destination. Do not waste your time wading in as far as you can before you start swimming. Start swimming as soon as the water is almost to your groin.
Using a Training Schedule
Plan out how you will train for your triathlon. Proper scheduling is the only way to make sure you will be properly prepared for every part of triathlon races. You will be able to not only schedule out when you will be training and in what ways. You will be able to keep track of your progress and make expectations of how you will perform in your next training session. This will give you an accurate indicator of how you are progressing.
Use Dry Runs to Your Advantage
While you might not have the route of triathlon races available to you for training, you can create your own route for a dry run. Have a friend help you to make sure your equipment is in the right place and is left alone. This will help you to concentrate on making your transitions as well as running through the actual event. The first dry run should be much shorter than the length of the race you are competing in. As you get closer to the race, improve the length of the dry run. You will notice your endurance level increasing and your time decreasing.
Photo Credits: Mat Honan
Originally posted 2010-03-24 03:15:36. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 20th, 2011 — Swim Bike Run, Swimming
Swimming is a sport which takes a lot of preparation. You need to have the right training to have good form and a good time. This is true whether you are swimming on your own or in a relay. Your performance in a swim meet can only be affected by the time and effort you put into practice. This means doing more than just swimming laps in the pool. You need to train the muscles you will be using to perform to the best of their ability.
Know Your Pool
The first thing you should know is whether your swimming meet will be in a meter or a yard pool. The standard pool is in a yard pool. The normal length is a 25 yard length for the swim lane. The 25 meter length will be much longer. This means if you are training in a yard pool, the meter pool will seem torturous by comparison. By training in the right kind of pool, you will have an accurate training environment for what you are facing on the day of the meet.
Train Your Arms
A good training exercise to strengthen your arms for a swimming meet is to use paddle boards. These are plastic square boards which strap on to your hands. You use them to isolate the muscles in your arms and strengthen them by creating more pull. When using these, allow your legs to drag behind you without kicking. You will also notice when you are turning your hand. This is important as you will not catch the water correctly if your hand is slashing through the water at an angle. You will learn to keep your hand at the optimal angle to create more push.
Train Your Legs
The kick board is another great piece of training equipment for a swimming meet. This is a Styrofoam board which you rest your torso on. You will then kick your way from one side of the pool to the other. The board will stop you from using your hands as well as creating drag. This will help develop the muscles in your legs. You will find when you strengthen your legs that you will swim faster and stronger while you are in the meet.
Alternate Training Methods
To get the most out of your training for the swimming meet, you need to vary the exercises you are doing every day. This is because you do not want to wear yourself out. It is a good idea to split up between lower and upper body exercise for isolation purposes. You should also make sure you are taking the right amount of breaks. A good rule of thumb would be to swim for five days and take one to two mornings off in between. If you want to swim on the two days between the five, make it a light workout. This will allow your muscles the chance to recuperate and strengthen.
Photo Credits: Greg Livaudais
Originally posted 2010-03-22 10:08:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 15th, 2011 — Swim Bike Run, Swimming, Triathlon Tips
Swimming in the triathlon is different from any other kind of swimming. There are tips which will allow you to perform well in this portion of the competition without sapping all of your energy. This is important seeing as you will still have two kinds of competition to engage in after you are done swimming. If you wear yourself out in the swimming portion, you will have nothing left for the rest of the competition. The tips include what you should do in training as well as what you should do in the competition.
Enter the Water Fluidly
One of the first tips for swimming in a triathlon you should know is how to enter the water. Unlike a swimming competition, you will not start with a starting block. This is because you will be starting with at least a hundred other contestants. It is not feasible to start in waves. The majority of competitions will start on the shore of a lake or other body of water. The object is to get as far into the water as possible without slowing yourself down. Once the water is between the knees and the groin, it is a good time to dive in. Practice this on the shore of a body of water to get the timing down right.
Saving Your Energy
It is important when you are done with the swimming portion of the triathlon that you still have enough energy to complete the rest of the triathlon. Among the tips for swimming here will be to find a nice steady pace. This is something you can train yourself to do. Many swimmers have taken to using the long stroke. This is because you will get a lot of power out of every stroke without having to take a lot of strokes to generate the power.
Concentrate on Your Stroke
The more power you get out of every stroke, the less energy you will have to put into swimming. Good tips for swimming will always teach you the best method to produce power in your swim stroke. This includes using an S-Stroke. This stroke finds new water which will propel you faster through the water. You will get more out of every stroke so that you will not use up all of your energy before you ever straddle the bike.
Save Your Legs
Knowing you will have to ride a bike next, good tips for swimming in a triathlon include saving strength in your legs. This means not putting a lot of emphasis on your legs to propel you through the water. When training, it is important to use floaters to develop your upper body strength. This will allow your legs to be as fresh as possible for the rest of the race. After all, the swimming portion is the only part which uses the muscles in the upper body. The rest is all about the lower body. Saving your leg muscles will allow you to at least get across the finish line.
Photo Credits: Eustaquio Santimano
Originally posted 2010-03-20 10:59:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 13th, 2011 — Clothes and Gear, Nutrition and Health, Running, Swim Bike Run
So, you have signed up for your first 10k race. You are nervous about how you will perform in the race. This is understandable. This is why you are looking for the best 10k training program to get started the right way. The good news is there have been a lot of people who have run before you. They have been able to train well for the big day and you can too. Following the right advice will have you in shape to not only finish the race, but get a good time in the gamble.
Choose the Right Shoes
The first commitment in your 10k training program you should make is to train in the same shoes you will run the race in. Some people want to trade up for a better pair which are not worn out when they run in the race. The problem is while the shoes will not be worn out, they will not be broken in either. You will end up causing your feet some pain by wearing shoes you are not familiar with. If you really want a newer pair of shoes for the big day, wear them for at least the week or so before you run the race.
Increase Your Daily Run
The amount of running which goes into a 10k training program will far exceed what you normally do in a morning run. This does not mean go out and start running ten times the amount you usually run the first day of your training. You will end up hurting yourself. You should increase your running in increments. This way you will be able to dial in the distance you should be training at without causing serious injury to yourself. The best advice is to only increase your distance by 10% every month.
Eat Right
Keep in mind your 10k training program will cause you to burn way more calories than what you are used to. You will have to eat foods which will replace these calories. This does not mean eat a lot of high fat foods. Instead you should be eating foods which are high in complex carbohydrates and low in sugars. You should also make sure to eat foods which are high in potassium because they will help you to avoid cramps as you are running.
Drink Plenty of Water
The sagest advice in your 10k running program is to drink plenty of water. This is good advice no matter how long you have been running for. Your body needs water to stay lubricated. Water will provide cushion in your joints to prevent pains. It will also help to keep your spinal column from becoming impacted. Water also helps to keep your body cool as you run more every day. You may even want to bring a water bottle with you as you are running. There are jerseys available which have special pouches just to keep a water bottle in while you are running.
Photo Credits: Sonic Fitness
Originally posted 2010-03-15 10:31:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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