YOU’VE SPOKEN

We’ve processed your responses to our December subscriber survey.  Check out some of the highlights below.

IF FOR ENDURANCE?

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating (for example, eating during just an 8 hour window out of every 24 hours).  Intermittent fasting (or IF) has many advantagesfor athletes, such as teaching your body to be more efficient at burning fat and mitigating the effect of bonking or “hitting the wall”.

How can you make IF work for you, without compromising your training?  The experts at Runner’s Blueprintprovide a useful guide on how to get started with intermittent fasting and how to adapt your workouts to fit into your fueling window.  They even provide insights on BCAA supplementation for more intense sessions.

If you decide to give IF a try, remember that it’s about caloric timing, not calorie deprivation.  For best results, make sure that you’re getting enough healthy food during your feeding hours.

MIRACLE INTERVALS

Many of us struggle to break away from the chronic long, steady rides when training on the bike.

In this article Gale Bernhardt outlines a time-efficient HIIT workout that will liven up your training, and improve your cycling speed and power.

Gale was Team USA’s triathlon coach at the Athens Olympics and is a leading multisport coach on Trainingpeaks.com.  She knows how to convert “potential” into “performance”, even for triathletes who are pressed for time.

You’ll notice that these intervals are very short and are followed by a full recovery.  Why?  We’re focusing on a different energy system here.  The key is quality over quantity… you’ll want to perform each interval at 100% effort.

Schedule this HIIT cycling session (indoors or outside) twice weekly.  When combined with additional endurance workouts, you’ll soon see improved power production on the bike.

IM VR ROLLS ON

As we all patiently await the return of “real” triathlons, IRONMAN doubles down on its successful virtual racing series.

It kicks off 2021 with a more fully integrated offering within the IRONMAN Virtual Club, including VR events, online workouts and (as always) its M-Dot ecommerce.

You can check out the latest IM VR Challenges and register for your favorites here.

THE SURVEY SAYS…

In our recent December subscriber survey, 9307 of you provided feedback on what you need now to elevateyour triathlon performance.

Here are some highlights:

43.2% of you feel that cycling is your strongest discipline
49.5% admit that swimming is your weakest skill
37.9% want to improve your functional bodywork

The most frequently cited goal for faster performance:
Running faster off the bike.

If you didn’t have the chance to complete our survey, then you can do so now by clicking here.

We’ll use your feedback to help us shape and improve our content to make you faster and more informed in 2021.

BOTTLE SHOCK

Where do you place your bottles on your bike for the greatest aerodynamic advantage?

This seemingly mundane topic has been a perennial source of confusion among triathletes for years.  Now, thanks to the big brains at AeroCoach, we can see definitive data on what bottle position creates the least amount of drag.

Should you place a bottle behind your saddle or between your aero bars?  What about in the traditional location on the downtube?  The conclusions from this study reveal the wattage cost of each bottle position.  Choose wisely!

JAN’S 1-HOUR RUN

The thought of a VO2 run session can strike fear into any triathlete, no matter how experienced.  Not only do they really hurt, but these high intensity sessions have been the cause of more than a few injuries.

Jan Frodeno’s coach Dan Lorang has a clever solution.  After a sufficient warm-up he points his athletes uphill, claiming that short uphill intervals put less structural stress on the body (compared to running on the track) while eliciting a greater effect on your VO2max.

Give this workout a try… It’ll help you develop strength, speed and mental toughness.

QUICK HIITS:

  • Mental Swim
    For years pro triathlete Heather Jackson approached her swim training with a negative attitude.  Learn how she’s reversing her defeatist self-talk and get a glimpse of her new perspective on swimming.
  • Podium Position
    You probably can’t name the pro who has the most podium finishes… but the number-crunchers at ProTriathlonStats.com can!  This is a fascinating website that dives deep into the data of triathlon racing.
  • Must Be the Shoes
    Researchers have proven what athletes already knew: the carbon-insoled supershoes (introduced by Nike then quickly copied by other brands) make you 2.0% to 2.6% faster.  Curiously this performance-enhancing effect was greater among females.