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Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 1:48PM Pro triathlete John Hirsch comes to Texas to start his training for 2013. He's going to be giving us a daily review of how he's training, with tips and tricks for all.
Friday, January 11, 2013 at 2:40PM
(Pro tip - When you're lifting weights soaking wet and in your underpants, you're done.)
It is trendy in triathlon to decry weight room machines as "not engaging your core" and tell anybody who will listen to use free weights (dumbells and the like) instead. This is a severly polarized view of training that might do you more harm than good. Yeah, you're working your core. But you're all over the place and not getting much stronger in your limbs, and your limbs are what actually move you.
If you back up and take a bigger view of things, then you'll realize that machines are fantastic for increasing strength in a particular area. They hold your form much better so the work can be focused on a problem, dramatically improving strength in a short amount of time. If that is your goal, then you can't go wrong with using a machine.
More often, you have a mix of issues you are working on when in the gym. Some problems areas are very specific, others are general. Just like in Zen, the smartest method is one of "appropriate response." Ask yourself why you are there, then find the free weight or machine that best addresses the issue you are trying to improve.
One hidden gem that may not be obvious and falls between machines and free weights are cable devices. Cables allow you to clip on whatever handle you want, then position yourself in a way that allows you to work on your core or balance if you need to, and then crank away. They give you nearly all the freedom of movement of free weights with the quick weight changes and predicability of machines. If you can make it work, you should try to get it done with cables.
My own routine uses six machines, two cable stations, and one pull up bar. Every exercise has a triathlon-specific weakness it is fixing. And by the way, my core is engaged to the max while cranking hard on the machines. You can tell by how tense your back and ab muscles are while using them. I step off of a leg machine and my abs can be burning up!
Not all is at it seems, so pay attention while training to make your focus to improve your weaknesses. Make a list of what you want to fix before you even go to the gym and work on that. Reasses often, and be willing to change when something isn't working for you any more or you find something better.
Enjoy!
Monday, January 7, 2013 at 1:28PM Click here to download or play the show.
Let's get motivated for 2013! Lots of cool stuff is going on and coming up, so check out all the tips inside.
Show notes -
Motivation tips
Level out and then pay attention to how things feel.
Take the focus off yourself by helping somebody else.
Guy Kawasaki's "This is how I work." http://lifehacker.com/5971940/im-guy-kawasaki-and-this-is-how-i-work
Inspiring video for getting stuff done.
The best habit is to get addicted to finishing.
What happens when you're done?
The trick to figure out is what gets you moving again.
Casey Neistat - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKpufZ2U1YE
William Sichel - http://www.williamsichel.co.uk/?page_id=7689
Weight Vest - http://www.weightvest.com/25-lb-weight-vest-vmax-weightloss
Get off sodas by drinking sparkling water instead.
Riding around on Google Streetview for trainer rides.
Tips for getting to the pool in cold weather.
Nuts can help you lose weight!
SOS Triathlon - http://www.sostriathlon.com
Amrita bars - http://amritahealthfoods.com/
Monday, January 7, 2013 at 9:48AM For our second part on Weightlifting for Triathletes series, I want to share a great tool for improving your swim. Check out the photo below.
This is an overhead cable pull "machine." (It's really not a machine, but a cable, some pulleys and weights.) You put a single handle on the cable, back up and get on your knees so you can extend your arm all the way out, and then pull it towards you like a swim stroke.
The most important thing to focus on is engaging the muscles in the correct order all while keeping your body as straight as possble. To simulate great swim form, you first bend the wrist down, then bend down the forearm, then sweep the elbow and shoulder to the side. Notice how my elbow is well above my hand and my wrist is bent out facing forward instead of backwards.
The whole time you do this, try to keep your body as straight as possible from the waist up. Have somebody video you doing it and show you right then and there what you look like. Keep adjusting until you have it right.
Even as a strong swimmer, I can only do about 40 lbs. for about 15 reps before I give out. So, don't be upset when you're surprised how hard it is. While I rest one arm, I work the other one. I go back and forth that way until I knock out about four sets total.
If you do this on a regular basis, you will notice huge gains in your swim speed and durability. Enjoy!
Friday, December 28, 2012 at 5:00AM 
You've been bitten by the weight room bug for the New Year, but how do you do it right for endurance sports? Here I will be posting a series of informative guides on how to lift weights appropriately for triathlon, so keep checking in. This information also applies to single-sporters of swimming, cycling, running, and especially ultrarunning.
Today, we'll cover sets, reps, and single vs. both-extremety exercises. Let's get rockin'.
A "set" is a repeated motion against resistance until you fatigue. You then take a break for a short amount of time, then do it again. If you haven't worked that muscle that way in a long time, you should probably only do one or two sets. More than that will give you a huge amount of soreness in the following days and you'll regret it. Once you've gotten over the initial soreness of the first few workouts, more sets are fine. More than four sets of an exercise doesn't reap much benefit, though.
A "rep" is a single execution of a movement that you then repeat a bunch of times. For endurance sports, somewhere between 12 and 15 reps is perfect. You want the last rep of each set to burn significantly and to have your limb shaking a little bit. When you can't do one more rep and you're between rep number 12 and 15, you've nailed it.
The whole reason you do sets and reps is to prevent injury. You could lift a really heavy weight just one time and nearly kill yourself, but the odds that something goes horribly wrong are pretty high. Best to lift something much lighter a whole bunch of times, and then do that a few more times to get the muscle tired without risking your life.
Write down in your smartphone's note app what your starting weight is for your first set for each kind of exercise you do. Mine says something like, "Leg extension machine - 60 lbs." Then carry around your phone with you in your gym shorts so you can refer to it. Then, you don't have to guess what your starting weight is on your first set. You nail it every time. Smart! Don't worry what you look like - everybody is focused on that weird guy with no neck wearing a beanie hat indoors and pants with lightning bolts on them.
After your first or second set, it will become obvious that you won't be able to do 12 reps for your next set. That's OK, just drop the weight by a little bit. Then you can do between 12 and 15 again. Some people have a lot of trouble grasping this idea, but it's obvious once you do it.
Now, let's amp things up a little bit. You're using a machine that's like the one at the top of the post. It's designed so that you can both legs at once... but should you? No! Since you swim, pedal, and run on one limb at a time, you need to do weight work on one at a time. When you use both at once, you don't work the muscles anywhere near to their real-life drills. You'll notice that the weight you can do with a single limb is much less than half the weight you can do with both, proving that you're essentially cheating if you don't split it up. I do the one above as 12 to 15 reps right leg, 12 to 15 left leg, very short rest, start again.
Next post, I'll cover how triathletes should plan their weight training sessions by ordering the exercises correctly. Stay tuned!
