Month: June 2010

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Triathlon training – Why swimming, cycling and running is not enough

Strength TrainingThe triathlete’s winter “off season” is no doubt the best time to get down to some productive gym work so as to start the next season even stronger. This article sets out the rationale and a good programme… Mike

It’s time to tear up the ‘old school’ rulebook…

There’s a revolution going on in sports training – and you’re invited!

Triathlon may be the ultimate test of cardiovascular endurance, but triathletes who neglect musculoskeletal strength and flexibility will never fulfil their true potential

Triathlon is an endurance sport consisting of swimming, cycling and running over various distances. In most modern triathlons, these events are placed back-to-back in immediate sequence, and a competitor’s official time includes the time required to ‘transition’ between the individual legs of the race, including any time necessary for changing clothes and shoes.

While there are various race distances the three most common are Sprint, Olympic and Ironman. Take a look at the breakdown (see table 1 below) for each stage of the event and you can see that when it comes to the Ironman competitors, these are no normal athletes!

table 1

Shifting paradigms

For most triathletes, the benefits of strength training are outweighed by the fear of gaining too much bulk, loss of flexibility and diminished ‘feel’ of their sport. Unfortunately this thinking keeps many triathletes from participating in a properly designed strength and conditioning programme.

Many triathletes tend to have a traditional ‘endurance training’-based paradigm, centred on volume of training and time spent training for the actual event itself. It’s all about wearing a badge of honour for the number of hours spent running, cycling or swimming. Unfortunately this is a pretty flawed approach, not least because there is a mass of research showing that volume of training is one of the main culprits of overtraining and injury incidence(1,2)

By and large the triathlon community has overemphasised the benefits of endurance-based training and underestimated the benefits of strength training. Triathletes will spend hours completing endurance sessions in the hope that they can squeeze a little bit of extra performance from their cardiovascular system, but are reluctant to spend just a couple of hours a week in the gym.

One heart, two lungs, lots of muscles!

Part of the reason for the above is that many triathletes have forgotten about the huge potential that the musculoskeletal system has to offer to performance and pay scant regard to its training benefits. Let’s not forget that the only reason your cardiovascular system is involved in the first place is because of the demand from your muscular system; your muscles don’t move because of cardiovascular demand – the demand on the cardiovascular system is elevated because of muscular demand.

If the musculoskeletal system cannot handle the stress of thousands of repetitions (which is what happens when you are training for a triathlon) then you need to condition the musculoskeletal system first. In other words, you should programme your body based on the movements it’s going to perform – not based on the cardiovascular system, which is an upside down method of programming!

Strength training in the gym can make a real performance difference via a direct ‘transfer of training’ effect into the event (see PP256 for a full explanation of this training effect). Typically the triathletes that I’ve worked with have had so little structural integrity that a resistance training programme to target their muscular weaknesses and imbalances had to be our first approach.

The fact is that for many triathletes, moving the body is the biggest problem – not their ability to transport oxygen! I’m currently working with a number of triathletes who have seen the light and are now benefiting from a structured strength training programme. For years they’ve been focusing purely on improving their cardiovascular system but more often than not, they’ve broken down at some point during their season through illness or injury. Using a motoring analogy, they were trying to put a new engine in a beaten up old car with worn out chassis and suspension. A better approach is to set to work on improving the chassis and bodywork first and tinker with the engine later.

Setting the programme and shifting the mindset

Triathletes typically cite three main areas of concern when considering engaging in a strength programme:

1. Increased mass – fear of weight gain and subsequent drop in performance is a real worry. However, this is not a problem; a correctly balanced training programme will develop relative strength and power (ie improved power and strength to weight ratio) without significant increases in weight;

2. Lack of time – many triathletes are convinced they won’t have any extra time to fit strength training into their already busy schedule. This is flawed thinking! Many triathletes have lots of time to swim, cycle and run but won’t consider adding just a small proportion of strength training into their training schedule. The key is to make sure that your programme is time efficient – 30-45 minutes duration (maximum);

3. Increased risk of overtraining – triathletes are often (rightly) concerned about overtraining, so there is a very real concern that extra strength work may tip them over the edge. However, the key is to ensure that the strength training sessions are quality focused and don’t have too much volume in them. That said, the risk of overtraining is much more likely to arise from hours and hours in the pool or on the road than a couple of 40-minute gym workouts!

Having convinced the triathlete that we can help them, the key is to develop a programme that will have a positive impact on performance. I like to tackle programme design using the following continuum:

Flexibility    Stability    Strength

Flexibility

Flexibility, corrective stretching and dynamic movement preparation should play a major role in every triathlete’s programme. This is not to say that you need to adopt a ‘stretch everything’ mentality but you do need to recognise that the nature of the sport means you undoubtedly have to address some flexibility issues before you even think about working on developing strength.

Box 1 (above left) uses the example of the cycling portion of the event to demonstrate why you may want to prioritise the development of flexibility before moving on to strength.

Stability

If I had to choose just two core exercises that produce the biggest bang for the buck, it would be the plank and side holds. Research has shown that these two stabilisation exercises result in far more recruitment of the core musculature than more traditional exercises such as sit-ups etc.

The plank is a static exercise for strengthening the abdominals, back and shoulders:

1. Position yourself on your elbows and toes (elbows under your shoulders);

2. Keep your ankle, hips and shoulders in line;

3. Maintain your back, head and body in a neutral position – think about squeezing your glutes together, tightening your abdominal muscles and pushing your chest away from the floor);

4. This is a static position – so don’t move!

5. Hold for 30-60 seconds.

Side holds:

1. Start by lying on your side, legs straight, feet stacked on top of each other;

2. Support yourself on your elbow, keeping it in line below the shoulder, and place free hand on your hip;

3. Balance on sides of feet (feet are stacked) – squeeze your glutes and tighten up through your stomach;

4. Don’t allow your hips to drop toward the ground;

5. Again, this is a static position – so don’t move!

6. Hold for 30-60 seconds.

Strength training

Here we focus on what the Americans like to call ‘big bang for your buck exercises’! These exercises are multi-joint, multiple-muscle group and sometimes multi-planar exercises that recruit considerably more muscle mass than a single joint or machine variation. The box below provides explanations of some of the best training exercises for triathletes:

Split squat (you can perform this exercise with bodyweight or external loading such as dumbbells or a barbell):

1. Place barbell on your back or dumbbells in your hand, and take a long step out (the shin of the lead leg will determine the horizontal length of this step during the lowering – keep it fairly vertical);

2. Aim to keep the trunk vertical throughout the movement;

3. The bottom position should be one where the knee of the rear leg is almost touching the ground. The top position should be just short of the end of range;

4. This can be progressed into dynamic and walking lunges once the appropriate level of control, stability and general strength has been achieved.

Single-leg hip extension (a great exercise to activate the gluteal muscles; most triathletes have problems activating their glutes as a result of spending so much time in the saddle):

1. Lying supine on the floor, bend your left leg to 90 degrees and straighten your right leg (make sure your toes are pulled up to your shin on both legs);

2. Your arms should be face up at 45 degrees from your body;

3. Now lift your entire body up one inch by pushing off your left foot. This is the start position;

4. Continue to lift your body ensuring you maintain a straight line and your thighs are parallel to each other (the only other parts of your body that are in contact with the floor are your arm, upper back and left foot);

5. Lower to one inch off the floor, pause and repeat for the desired repetition – be sure to keep your hips in a straight line.

Press-ups

A simple but extremely effective exercise for triathletes, press-ups are not just a great upper-body exercise, but a great exercise for the core (female triathletes note; if you struggle to complete a press-up it may have very little to do with upper-body strength and more to do with your core strength – make sure you build planks and side holds into your training). I’m not going to explain how to do a press-up here – you should all know how by now!

1. If you can’t do full press-ups, you can start on an incline;

2. If they are too easy simply slow the tempo (see PP 256 for an explanation of tempo), or try decline, medicine ball or weighted vest variations.

Inverse pulls

Second only to press-ups, this is possibly the most feared exercise in our training facility. Again this is a horizontal pulling movement that is a total body exercise and which really works the core.

1. Lie on your back under an Olympic bar that is placed in a squat rack just slightly beyond arm’s length;
2. Grip the bar with an overhand grip and pull the upper body to the bar so that the chest touches the bar;

3. Keep the body completely flat throughout the entire movement;

4. Once the exercise becomes easy (this will take some time!) you can increase the difficulty by raising the feet. If it is too hard to start with the legs bent.

Summary

Training the cardiovascular system alone and neglecting the musculoskeletal system and its contribution to performance is a big mistake that will inevitably lead to reduced performance. This article has hopefully provided an insight into how a strength and conditioning programme can help improve a triathlete’s performance by addressing not just the strength, but the flexibility and stability requirements too.

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Fat Burning – using body fat instead of carbohydrates as fuel

In this article the fat burning processes are well explained and the latest scientific research dispels many popular myths. Mike

Fat oxidation through intense exercise

Fat burning is a very popular and often-used term among endurance athletes. But is it really important to burn fat – and, if so, how can it best be achieved? Asker Jeukendrup looks at the latest research

The term ‘fat burning’ refers to the ability to oxidise (or burn) fat, and thus to use fat – instead of carbohydrate – as a fuel. Fat burning is often associated with weight loss, decreases in body fat and increases in lean body mass, all of which can be advantageous for an athlete.

It is known that well-trained endurance athletes have an increased capacity to oxidise fatty acids. This enables them to use fat as a fuel when their carbohydrate stores become limited. In contrast, patients with obesity, insulin resistance and type II diabetes may have an impaired capacity to oxidise fat. As a result, fatty acids may be stored in their muscles and in other tissues. This accumulation of lipid and its metabolites in the muscle may interfere with the insulin-signalling cascade and cause insulin resistance. It is therefore important to understand the factors that regulate fat metabolism, and the ways to increase fat oxidation in patients and athletes.

Fat oxidation during exercise

Fats are stored mostly in (subcutaneous) adipose tissue, but we also have small stores in the muscle itself (intramuscular triglycerides). At the onset of exercise, neuronal (beta-adrenergic) stimulation will increase lipolysis (the breakdown of fats into fatty acids and glycerol) in adipose tissue and muscle. Catecholamines such as adrenaline and noradrenaline may also rise and contribute to the stimulation of lipolysis.

As soon as exercise begins, fatty acids are mobilised. Adipose tissue fatty acids have to be transported from the fat cell to the muscle, be transported across the muscle membrane and then be transported across the mitochondrial membrane for oxidation. The triglycerides stored in muscle undergo similar lipolysis and these fatty acids can be transported into the mitochondria as well. During exercise, a mixture of fatty acids derived from adipocytes and intramuscular stores is used. There is evidence that shows that trained individuals store more intramuscular fat and use this more as a source of energy during exercise (1).

Fat oxidation is regulated at various steps of this process. Lipolysis is affected by many factors but is mostly regulated by hormones (stimulated by catecholamines and inhibited by insulin). The transport of fatty acids is also dependent on blood supply to the adipose and muscle tissues, as well as the uptake of fatty acids into the muscle and into the mitochondria. By inhibiting mobilisation of fatty acids or the transport of these fatty acids, we can reduce fat metabolism. However, are there also ways in which we can stimulate these steps and promote fat metabolism?

Factors affecting fat oxidation

Exercise intensity – One of the most important factors that determines the rate of fat oxidation during exercise is the intensity. Although several studies have described the relationship between exercise intensity and fat oxidation, only recently was this relationship studied over a wide range of intensities(2). In absolute terms, carbohydrate oxidation increases proportionally with exercise intensity, whereas the rate of fat oxidation initially increases, but decreases again at higher exercise intensities (see figure 1). So, although it is often claimed that you have to exercise at low intensities to oxidise fat, this is not necessarily true.

In a series of recent studies, we have defined the exercise intensity at which maximal fat oxidation is observed, called ‘Fatmax’. In a group of trained individuals it was found that exercise at moderate intensity (62-63% of VO2max or 70-75% of HRmax) was the optimal intensity for fat oxidation, whereas it was around 50% of VO2max for less trained individuals (2,3).

However, the inter-individual variation is very large. A trained person may have his or her maximal fat oxidation at 70%VO2max or 45%VO2max, and the only way to really find out is to perform one of these Fatmax tests in the laboratory. However, in reality, the exact intensity at which fat oxidation peaks may not be that important, because within 5-10% of this intensity (or 10-15 beats per minute), fat oxidation will be similarly high, and only when the intensity is 20% or so higher will fat oxidation drop rapidly (see figure 1).

Figure 1

This exercise intensity (Fatmax) or ‘zone’ may have importance for weight-loss programmes, health-related exercise programmes, and endurance training. However, very little research has been done. Recently we used this intensity in a training study with obese individuals. Compared with interval training, their fat oxidation (and insulin sensitivity) improved more after four weeks steady-state exercise (three times per week) at an intensity that equaled their individual Fatmax (4).

Dietary effects – The other important factor is diet. A diet high in carbohydrate will suppress fat oxidation, and a diet low in carbohydrate will result in high fat oxidation rates. Ingesting carbohydrate in the hours before exercise will raise insulin and subsequently suppress fat oxidation by up to 35%(5) or thereabouts. This effect of insulin on fat oxidation may last as long as six to eight hours after a meal, and this means that the highest fat oxidation rates can be achieved after an overnight fast.

Endurance athletes have often used exercise without breakfast as a way to increase the fat-oxidative capacity of the muscle. Recently, a study was performed at the University of Leuven in Belgium, in which scientists investigated the effect of a six-week endurance training programme carried out for three days per week, each session lasting one to two hours(6). The participants trained in either the fasted or carbohydrate-fed state.

When training was conducted in the fasted state, the researchers observed a decrease in muscle glycogen use, while the activity of various proteins involved in fat metabolism was increased. However, fat oxidation during exercise was the same in the two groups. It is possible, though, that there are small but significant changes in fat metabolism after fasted training; but, in this study, changes in fat oxidation might have been masked by the fact that these subjects received carbohydrate during their experimental trials. It must also be noted that training after an overnight fast may reduce your exercise capacity and may therefore only be suitable for low- to moderate- intensity exercise sessions. The efficacy of such training for weight reduction is also not known.

Duration of exercise – It has long been established that oxidation becomes increasingly important as exercise progresses. During ultra-endurance exercise, fat oxidation can reach peaks of 1 gram per minute, although (as noted in Dietary effects)fat oxidation may be reduced if carbohydrate is ingested before or during exercise. In terms of weight loss, the duration of exercise may be one of the key factors as it is also the most effective way to increase energy expenditure.

Mode of exercise – The exercise modality also has an effect on fat oxidation. Fat oxidation has been shown to be higher for a given oxygen uptake during walking and running, compared with cycling(7). The reason for this is not known, but it has been suggested that it is related to the greater power output per muscle fibre in cycling compared to that in running.

Gender differences – Although some studies in the literature have found no gender differences in metabolism, the majority of studies now indicate higher rates of fat oxidation in women. In a study that compared 150 men and 150 women over a wide range of exercise intensities, it was shown that the women had higher rates of fat oxidation over the entire range of intensities, and that their fat oxidation peaked at a slightly higher intensity(8). The differences, however, are small and may not be of any physiological significance.

Nutrition supplements

There are many nutrition supplements on the market that claim to increase fat oxidation. These supplements include caffeine, carnitine, hydroxycitric acid (HCA), chromium, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), guarana, citrus aurantium, Asian ginseng, cayenne pepper, coleus forskholii, glucomannan, green tea, psyllium and pyruvate. With few exceptions, there is little evidence that these supplements, which are marketed as fat burners, actually increase fat oxidation during exercise (see table 1).

Table 1

One of the few exceptions however may be green tea extracts. We recently found that green tea extracts increased fat oxidation during exercise by about 20%(4). The mechanisms of this are not well understood but it is likely that the active ingredient in green tea, called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG – a powerful polyphenol with antioxidant properties) inhibits the enzyme catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT), which is responsible for the breakdown of noradrenaline. This in turn may result in higher concentrations of noradrenaline and stimulation of lipolysis, making more fatty acids available for oxidation.

Environment – Environmental conditions can also influence the type of fuel used. It is known that exercise in a hot environment will increase glycogen use and reduce fat oxidation, and something similar can be observed at high altitude. Similarly, when it is extremely cold, and especially when shivering, carbohydrate metabolism appears to be stimulated at the expense of fat metabolism.

Exercise training

At present, the only proven way to increase fat oxidation during exercise is to perform regular physical activity. Exercise training will up-regulate the enzymes of the fat oxidation pathways, increase mitochondrial mass, increase blood flow, etc., all of which will enable higher rates of fat oxidation.

Research has shown that as little as four weeks of regular exercise (three times per week for 30-60 minutes) can increase fat oxidation rates and cause favourable enzymatic changes(10). However, too little information is available to draw any conclusions about the optimal training programme to achieve these effects.

In one study we investigated maximal rates of fat oxidation in 300 subjects with varying fitness levels. In this study, we had obese and sedentary individuals, as well as professional cyclists (9). VO2max ranged from 20.9 to 82.4ml/kg/min. Interestingly, although there was a correlation between maximal fat oxidation and maximal oxygen uptake, at an individual level, fitness cannot be used to predict fat oxidation. What this means is that there are some obese individuals that have similar fat oxidation rates to professional cyclists (see figure 2)! The large inter-individual variation is related to factors such as diet and gender, but remains in large part unexplained.

Figure 4

Weight loss exercise programmes

Fat burning is often associated with weight loss, decreases in body fat and increases in lean body mass. However, it must be noted that such changes in body weight and body composition can only be achieved with a negative energy balance: you have to eat fewer calories than you expend, independent of the fuels you use! The optimal exercise type, intensity, and duration for weight loss are still unclear. Current recommendations are mostly focused on increasing energy expenditure and increasing exercise volumes. Finding the optimal intensity for fat oxidation might aid in losing weight (fat loss) and in weight maintenance, but evidence for this is currently lacking.

It is also important to realise that the amount of fat oxidised during exercise is only small. Fat oxidation rates are on average 0.5 grams per min at the optimal exercise intensity. So in order to oxidise 1kg of fat mass, more than 33 hours of exercise is required! Walking or running exercise around 50-65% of VO2max seems to be an optimal intensity to oxidise fat. The duration of exercise, however, plays a crucial role, with an increasing importance of fat oxidation with longer exercise. Of course, this also has the potential to increase daily energy expenditure. If exercise is the only intervention used, the main goal is usually to increase energy expenditure and reduce body fat. When combined with a diet programme, however, it is mainly used to counteract the decrease in fat oxidation often seen after weight loss (11).

Summary

Higher fat oxidation rates during exercise are generally reflective of good training status, whereas low fat oxidation rates might be related to obesity and insulin resistance. On average, fat oxidation peaks at moderate intensities of 50-65%VO2max, depending on the training status of the individuals(2,8), increases with increasing exercise duration, but is suppressed by carbohydrate intake. The vast majority of nutrition supplements do not have the desired effects. Currently, the only highly effective way to increase fat oxidation is through exercise training, although it is still unclear what the best training regimen is to get the largest improvements. Finally, it is important to note that there is a very large inter-individual variation in fat oxidation that is only partly explained by the factors mentioned above. This means that although the factors mentioned above can influence fat oxidation, they cannot predict fat oxidation rates in an individual.

Asker Jeukendrup is professor of exercise metabolism at the University of Birmingham. He has published more than 150 research papers and books on exercise metabolism and nutrition and is also consultant to many elite athletes

References
1. J Appl Physiol 60: 562-567, 1986
2. Int J Sports Med 24: 603-608, 2003
3. Int J Sports Med 26 Suppl 1: S28-37, 2005
4. Am J Clin Nutr 87: 778-784, 2008
5. J Sports Sci 21: 1017-1024, 2003
6. J Appl Physiol 104: 1045-1055, 2008
7. Metabolism 52: 747-752, 2003
8. J Appl Physiol 98: 160-167, 2005
9. Nutrition 20: 678-688, 2004
10. J Appl Physiol 56: 831-838, 1984
11. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 17 Suppl 3: S32-36; discussion S41-32, 1993

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