For several years, we’ve known that first class compression garments such as 2XU Compression are an essential part of your kitbag, but we wanted to independently put them through their paces and see how they performed. Johnny Hammond, an age-group triathlete donned the distinctive black and silver 2XU Compression tights to find out if they lived up to the hype in his review for the Triathlon Gear website.
“We’ve worn other compression tights in the past from brands such as LineBreak and Skins but have often found them too tight to do much more than lay at home on the sofa and recover in” said Johnny, “unlike other tights we’ve tried, the 2XU 50 Denier fabric feels a lot nicer against the skin”.
Following a tough tempo ride the previous day, Johnny ran in the tights and could feel how they held his muscles in place, providing a more upright running posture. “As our legs warmed up, we started to pick up the pace to a quicker tempo and ended up sprinting the last leg of the run home” he commented.
A thorough warm up is essential prior to plyometric training. Attention should be given to jogging, stretching (static and ballistic), striding and general mobility especially about the joints involved in the planned plyometric session. A cool down should follow each session.
How Many?
It is wise not to perform too many repetitions in any one session and since it is a quality session, with the emphasis on speed and power rather than endurance, split the work into sets with ample recovery in between.
Summary
Plyometric type exercises have been used successfully by many athletes as a method of training to enhance power. In order to realise the potential benefits of plyometric training the stretch-shortening cycle must be invoked. This requires careful attention to the technique used during the drill or exercise. The rate of stretch rather than the magnitude of stretch is of primary importance in plyometric training. Plyometric exercise and weight training can be combined
Upper Body
Press Ups & Hand Clap
Press-ups with a hand clap in between is a particularly vigorous way to condition the arms and chest. The pre-stretch takes place as the hands arrive back on the ground and the chest sinks, and this is followed quickly by the explosive upwards action. To get the best training effect keep the time in contact with the ground to a minimum.
How to perform the drill
A box high enough to elevate your feet above your shoulders when in a push-up position- advanced level. Usual push up position – mid-level, and knees bent push up for beginners
Face the floor as if you were going to do a push-up.
Push off from the ground with your hands and land. Progress to clapping after push off
Catch yourself in the starting position
Keep the catch time to the shortest time possible
How Much?
1 to 3 sets
Allow a full recovery between each set
10 reps per set
Quality of Push Ups is far more important than quantity
Lower Body
Single Leg Hill Hopping
How to perform the drill
Stand on one leg
Push off with the leg you are standing on and jump forward, landing on the same leg
Use a forceful swing of the opposite leg to increase the length of the jump but aim primarily for height off each jump
You should land on the ball of the foot, allowing energy to be stored by the elastic components of the leg muscles, and immediately take off again
Keep the foot touch down time to the shortest time possible
Try to keep your body vertical and straight
Perform this drill on both legs
Beginners will use a straighter leg action where as advanced athletes should try to pull the heel toward the buttocks during the jump
How Much?
Three to six sets of 20 hops. (Alternating 5hops left leg, 5right,5left,5right)
Choose a moderately steep incline (6-10%)
Allow a full recovery between each set, walk back or take a long jog
Quality of hopping is far more important than quantity
Hill Hopping
Hill Bounding
How to perform the drill
Jog into the start of the exercise
Push off with your left foot and bring the leg forward, with the knee bent and the thigh parallel to the ground
At the same time, reach forward with your right arm. As the left leg comes through, the right leg extends back and remains extended for the duration of the push-off
Hold this extended stride for a brief time, then land on your right foot
The right leg then drives through to a forward bent position, the left arm reaches forward, and the left leg extends backward
Make each stride long, and try to cover as much distance as possible
You should land on the balls of the feet, allowing energy to be stored by the elastic components of the leg muscles, and immediately take off again
Keep the foot touch down time to the shortest time possible
How muchOne to three sets over 30 to 40 metres
Choose a moderately steep incline
Allow a full recovery between each set, walk back
Quality of bounding is far more important than quantity
Wind Sprints
How to perform the drill
Jog into the start of the exercise
Push off with your left foot and bring the leg forward, with the knee bent and the thigh parallel to the ground
Push-off keeping the cadence as high as possible,Leg speed is more important than stride length.
Keep relaxed
The right leg then drives through to a forward bent position, the left arm reaches forward, and the left leg extends backward
You should land on the balls of the feet, allowing energy to be stored by the elastic components of the leg muscles, and immediately take off again
Keep the foot touch down time to the shortest time possible
How much6 to 10 sprints over 40 to 60 metres
Choose a flat area or slight declining slope
Allow a full recovery between each set, walk back or take a long jog between sprints
Quality of sprinting is far more important than quantity
Warning!
Keep the bounds and hopping to up hill only. This will reduce the amount of stress that is relayed though the muscles and joints due to the forces of gravity and thus will reduce the risk of injury.
The sprints are different from the uphill bounds, and should be performed on the flat the aim is for leg speed, (cadence) not distance per stride. While the benefits and effectiveness of plyometric exercise are well documented, the risks of injury should not be forgotten.
Plyometric exercises are specialised, high intensity training techniques used to develop power. Plyometric training involves high-intensity, explosive muscular contractions. Common sense would tell us that you should always pay attention to what your body is telling you and stop any exercise that causes pain. Start very gradually and build slowly. Allow plenty of rest between plyometric workouts, and stop immediately if you feel any pain in your joints !!
I would recommend consulting a personal trainer or taking professional advise before embarking on a programme of plyometric training.
All good buildings are built on strong foundations. The same is true of training.
Plyometric training is the essential element of base 1 ‘Power Training’. This 6-8 week period during winter/spring should be thought of as laying the ‘foundations’ for the coming season.
Base training is not what athletes commonly believe: “lots of long slow distance.” It should be geared towards increasing core strength and power. With increased power the next phases of the years training can be performed more efficiently.
The most important 3 sessions of the weekly programme when developing power will be composed of weights, circuits and plyometric running (which for convenience I have simply labelled as Plyometrics.)
There is no one magical formula and set way of doing plyometric training.
It is however, important to, always be fully rested before doing plyometrics, this is why it is not possible to perform any anaerobic speed training or long distance training in the power training phase.
One final pointer: Do all exercises correctly, do not rush or take short cuts. Do not add on reps.
Remember: Quality not quantity
Development of Power: OverviewImprovement in the sport of triathlon is achieved by optimizing various abilities. The most important areas of conditioning are Endurance, Speed and Strength. Endurance is developed through longer runs and bike rides. Speed and strength should be developed via plyometric training.
Running speed is a factor of stride length and stride frequency (cadence). By developing greater strength, runners are able to increase stride length and so run faster. Increased strength helps generate greater force more quickly. Improvements in power are achieved by overloading the muscles. By making the muscles cope with a greater resistance or load than they are used to.
In a “flat” race it takes a short time to accelerate up to race speed. Once acceleration is complete energy demands drop as momentum is being maintained. As soon as a hill is encountered energy demands climb steeply. This is because travelling uphill is like constantly accelerating. Suddenly the athlete must lift their body’s weight against gravity rather than moving it across the pull of gravity. This is why hill reps are an important element of the power phase of training.
Hill Repetitions are the easiest way to develop strength. Depending on the goal of the session and the demands of your future races you can vary the grade of the hill, the length of the hill, your recovery, and your pace.
Long Hill Reps of beyond two minutes are a great way to get into oxygen debt. The legs and lungs start burning. (This is part of pre-race season training). Steep hills can really improve strength in a short time. Make sure gradients are not too steep to maintain pace. Keep repetitions short enough, so that you do not slow down during the repetition.
TerminologyCircuit training: is a mixture of cardio-vascular and resistance exercises which are great to improve your sports performance. Circuit training is a very flexible format which can be done pretty much anywhere. Indoors if it rains, outdoors in good weather! By the beach if you are on holiday.
Circuits come under the banner of Cross Training. It is the use of training methods from another sport or sports to help the training for your own. Many sports have similar characteristics, so using the conditioning or even skill practice from one will overlap into another, it may also help in reducing the risk of injury.
Core Stability: I expect that at some point we have all been told to sit up straight or not to slouch. This is good advice and is pretty much what core stability is all about. The aim is to keep good posture whatever you are doing and to do this requires a mixture of muscular work and controlled breathing. A good example of an exercise that requires good core stability is a press up. A proper press up is done with the body straight (not bum in the air and not slumping to the ground!). This correct position requires the muscles supporting the spine to be in action as well as breathing control, this is where you get the core stability.
Plyometrics: Speed and strength are integral components of fitness found in varying degrees in virtually all athletic movements. Simply put, the combination of speed and strength is power. For many years coaches and athletes have sought to improve power in order to enhance performance. Throughout this century and no doubt long before, jumping, bounding and hopping exercises have been used in various ways to enhance athletic performance. In recent years this distinct method of training for power has been termed plyometrics. Whatever the origins of the word, the term is used to describe the method of training which seeks to enhance the explosive reaction of an individual through powerful muscular contractions as a result of rapid eccentric contractions.
If you want to swim, bike or run faster, plyometric training can help. This type of training is high impact and high load, and popular belief would have it that you need to have a certain amount of strength before you start. The truth is that anybody can do it. Hopping for example we have all done and that is a low level plyometric exercise which is very useful for us triathletes.
Muscle Mechanism involved in plyometric trainingThe maximum force that a muscle can develop is attained during a rapid eccentric contraction. However, it should be realised that muscles seldom perform one type of contraction in isolation during athletic movements. When a concentric contraction occurs (muscle shortens) immediately following an eccentric contraction (muscle lengthens) then the force generated can be dramatically increased. If a muscle is stretched, much of the energy required to stretch it is lost as heat, but some of this energy can be stored by the elastic components of the muscle. This stored energy is available to the muscle only during a subsequent contraction. It is important to realise that this energy boost is lost if the eccentric contraction is not followed immediately by a concentric effort. To express this greater force the muscle must contract within the shortest time possible. This whole process is frequently called the stretch shortening cycle and is the underlying mechanism of plyometric training.
Choose the method to fit the sportThe golden rule of any conditioning programme is specificity. This means that the movement you perform in training should match, as closely as possible, the movements encountered during competition. If you were a rugby player practising for the line-out or a volleyball player interested in increasing vertical jump height, then drop jumping or box jumping may be the right exercise. However we are triathletes so I listed some of the keys exercise for us below.
Swim: push ups, tricept dips
Bike: leg curls, leg extensions, leg press, body squats, burpees
Running: calf raisers, squat thrusts, burpees, hill hopping, hill bounds, sprints
Warm up with an steady run for 10 -15 minutes, do some light mobility work, do not over stretch before the session. Stretch after the session (stretches for triathletes for details)
If you keep the wind sprints short ( about 50m) you can replace an easy run with this session, which is a more efficient usage of your time.
Key Points:
Run at 90% Relax, do not strain
Build up speed and slow down gradually, to reduce the chance of injury
Lean forward, run on your toes and drive with the arms
Bring your heels through as close to your buttock as possible with a high knee lift
I was in Hong Kong recently, with very sore legs, having just ran the East China Half marathon. But I literally felt on top of the world, 35 floors up overlooking the skyscrapers of Hong Kong and Kowloon.
I had to fly there via Tokyo for business and the journey took about 30 hours, (not recommended). I left home in Reading at 9 am last Friday, and finally got to bed in Hong Kong at 2 am Sunday morning.
Unfortunately, at 5am I was up again to travel to the race in the New Territories for an 8am start. Although just aiming for 80 minutes run time, I had had to look after myself on the way to the start line. I had done all the recommended stuff on the flight, wore my 2XU compression tights, drunk plenty of water, walked around the plane and stretched. If I had not I know it would have been an impossible task to run so soon after such a long flight. I love travelling and racing at great venues around the world, so I just put up with the consequences these days. During the race, the views were spectacular; sharp mountain peaks and dark green rugged forested coast line. To my amazement within 400m of the start we turned a corner and ran up a steep hill into a country park. After that point, I did not see another building until the finish, 21km later…this was not the concrete jungle I was expecting.
After the race I went out with a group of the runners, and one of them (an ex footballer), told me how he his legs always burn up just minutes into a run. It doesn’t matter if there is a big hill in the way or not. He said he can either sprint fast or jog very slowly, but nothing in between…it reminded me of similar problem a rugby playing friend of mine told me about last summer. I began thinking; this may be a common problem amongst team sportsmen and women who take up running, cycling or triathlon.
Do you start off training feeling light on your toes, only to be heavy legged, and lose your coordination too quickly?
…and do your muscles burn up and slow you down to a jog, within minutes of starting to train?
As an overview, the following will aim to bring you up to date on my recent training exploits, as well as highlight some of the adjuncts I have also included over the past few weeks in order to maintain an ever increasing training regime; let alone also trying to juggle clinical work, house hunting, family life, wedding plans, and of course that often overlooked requirement…. sleep!
Anyway, since I last graced the pages of this site, I (like so many) have done my best to battle through the snow, ice and generally bleak weather conditions in a vain attempt at maintaining some form of continuity with my base training – and where dictated to by the inclement weather, improvised using treadmill, mountain bike and turbo.
The most fun of which was probably a proposed 1.5 hour MTB ride home from clinic across the countryside one cold and snowy day a couple of weeks – which in the end took over 2.5 hours and a call for a roadside pick up due to low light and dare I say near frostbite (although our spirits were somewhat lifted after bumping into Reiko – Mike Tree’s wife – who thought it a good idea to capture the moment for prosperity). That said, I soon bounced back and found myself a few days later taking charge of a local public golf course for what amounted to 18 holes of deep snow running – with my colleague (Alex) in hot pursuit…. on his x-country ski’s
Other than that, my other training sessions would probably appear a little mundane if posed alongside those already noted – other than to say, they have consisted of the usual swim sessions, running intervals and hill work, the Wednesday night track session at TVA and where able, some road biking / turbo based workouts to counter the variable weather conditions.
More recently though, and following a review with my coach (Mike Tree’s) and my colleague (Alex Drummond) last week, my training regime/program has now stepped up a gear to include some heavy intervals sessions (on swim, bike and run), as well as some longer slower sessions to promote a more sustained and specific training regime to match those hours needed to complete an ironman event – although, some of my fellow co-runners at TVA may have argued otherwise after watching me run (relatively slowly) around the track last Wednesday evening. That was of course, until Mike interjected, and informed them I was under strict instructions not to pursue them or increase my heart rate above my Anaerobic Threshold for this particular session.
What’s Anaerobic Threshold I hear you ask. To put it simply, our Anaerobic Threshold is the point at which our body starts to lose its ability to limit the production of lactic acid build up. Hence, when training above our anaerobic threshold, for any extended period to time, we will tend fatigue much more quickly and our intensity cannot be sustained for any real duration.
So, from a training perspective (no matter what distance and or event), our ability to accurately gauge which training zone we are working in, will provide for a much more specific training session and allow us to gain the maximum benefit from every session we undertake – as opposed to blasting every session with maximum effort, on the pretext of… ‘No pain, no gain!’
Consequently, under the guidance of my colleague Alex Drummond, last week saw me undertake a treadmill VO2 test. Whilst this isn’t typically a pleasurable experience, it has helped to provide me with a more specific heart rate and training zone upon which to base my current training program… albeit at the expense of now having to run behind my peers during my track session
Thereafter, and to help offset the general stiffness and aching muscles caused from both general training and an increasing amount of time spent in the saddle / hunched over the aero bars, I’ve also initiated a weekly soft tissue massage and stretching session with either Alex, or my other colleague (Arran Nicholson) to help keep me from over stressing my body and breaking prior to the big day… which is just over 100 days away
PS – Hope to see you all at the track soon… and or Triathlon Show this coming weekend.
For more information on VO2 + Lactate testing and or information on specific training programs to suit your individual discipline, please contact Drummond Clinic on: 0871 221 9394 or Mike Tree Training on: enquiries@miketrees.com
In the last of our current series of Stretches for Triathletes, Carl Holland looks at the Global Muscle Stretch.
Why: This particular stretch/movement pattern incorporates a host of muscle groups throughout our body, so it will typically target/be felt by an individual in areas which are tight and or structurally restrictive for them.
Consequently, this full body stretch and mobility exercise, could help to improve our ability to twist/rotate our body – such as when breathing during front crawl.
Start: Start by laying flat on your back, with your arms stretched out above your head.
Action: Bring your right arm down to shoulder level, before slowly starting to twist/rotate your hips to the left. Now bring your right knee level with your hips, before attempting to straighten your right knee; but remember, you are also aiming to keep as much of your right arm in contact with the ground as possible. (Thereafter, please refer to the ‘key points to remember’ as previously highlighted).
Finish: To exit this position, gradually reverse this set up – ie: bend your right knee, let your legs come together, before slowing returning to lying flat on your back and allowing your right arm to return to its original position above your head and alongside the left arm.
This week’s travelling is playing havoc with my training.
I have just spent a week in Asia, and never really got over the jet lag. I did all the usual tricks, drinking lots of water and moving my watch straight onto the new time zone, but I think the killer was doing the East China Half Marathon last weekend, only 6 hours after landing in Hong Kong. It took more out of me than I was expecting. Since then I have not managed to find the time to get in a pool all week, and apart from one spinning session I managed to squeeze in at a hotel in Hong Kong, I have not been near the bike. Running has been out of the question as, running on very stiff and sore legs is a short cut to injury. However, although this is a setback on route to the Windsor triathlon, I am keeping a positive mind, and treating it as a recovery week!
This past weekend, I have had to give two running workshops in Tokyo. They were both sponsored by Newton Running, (http://www.newtonrunning.co.uk) which is hugely popular running shoe in Asia, and learning how to run correctly is also in vogue.
In my opinion, I consider correct running form to be landing on the forefoot or mid foot. Flat foot landing is also OK, so long as your centre of gravity of is over the landing foot. “No heal striking, please”. I am passionate about this natural way of running and so always keen to give workshops and conduct training sessions to help teach the concepts.
As a side, I was forced to start forefoot running over 25 years ago, when I developed knee pains, from too much high mileage running on the roads, and most of it was heel striking, back then running guru, Arthur Lydiard was promoting heel striking. Even he changed to forefoot running before his death. The trouble is that when you land on the heels of your feet your knee is locked and all the shock is transferred to the knee joint, which for me wore out after running over 100 miles a week for about a year!
It took me two years to get over this injury. But with time, a good weight training programme and after many running drills, I was able to run pain free again. To this day, 25 years on, my knees are still pain free, thanks to forefoot running.
The reason for this is because landing on the forefoot, with my centre of gravity over the front of my shoes, my knees are always bent when my foot lands. The shock is not transferred to the knees anymore, but absorbed in the muscles. As a muscle is living tissue and continually repairing and rebuilding itself, I remain pretty much injury free to this day.
One other big point that will help you stay injury free is by not running every day. As a runner I ran every day, now I swim and bike regularly. The body cannot recover from the stress it is put under on a daily basis and so over time it will slowly breakdown, however it seems that the legs can recover from a running session if they are given at least 36 hours between sessions. This translates to about 3 or 4 runs a week. Which is plenty if you are a triathlete also wanting to improve your swimming and cycling. If not, I would still recommend putting some swimming and cycling into your programme to allow your legs a chance to recover from the pounding they get while you are running.
In the first of our video demonstration blogs we’ll look at ‘one legged running’ or ‘one leg hill hopping’ as a way of improving your running. One legged running will help build up your distance-per-stride by strengthening the calf muscles and achilles working on the forefoot drive.
One leg hill hopping can be done up to twice a week and incorporated into a 30-45 minute easy run, just as you would incorporate a fartlek run. Run naturally and on an uphill section just start hopping, only do 5 hops on one leg before changing legs. Repeat and then continue running freely. Your heart rate will rise and it will take a while to recover. Ensure that you are fully recovered before doing another set.
Key Points:
Maintain steady running pace between hops, do not stop to rest.
Try and think of this as one legged running
Drive with the arms, and the leg will follow
Never hop on flat sections or down hill
Next time we will look at Wind Sprints for improving cadence.
I have been at my new training regime for about one month now, so like many of you, I am starting to think I should be improving. Today is time for an update of where I am at.
As a pro, I would have sacrificed my socializing, ensured I got to bed early and ate correctly to maximize my recovery, come hell or high water I would never have missed a training session, unless I was ill or injured. So far I have missed about 30% of my sessions due to work, fatigue, lack of motivation or family commitments, so my planned 10 hours a week is averaging around 7 hours.
On the plus side, my diet has been second to none. I had a scare last year with high cholesterol and since then have revisited my eating habits. Now, I am happy cutting out cheese and full fat dairy products, these are replaced by soya. I have stopped eating junk, no more biscuits and cakes. Once I set my mind to it, I have not been tempted, to eat badly, apart from chocolate. I now allow myself a small amount of it, so long as it is over 70% cocoa…why 70%? Well, recent studies suggest that in small amounts dark chocolate may have certain properties that protect the heart!
I have also stopped drinking alcohol at home, and now only drink with friends in the pub….Drinking alone at home is an bad habit to pick up easily, an odd glass of wine here and there, a cold beer while watching TV…it all adds up. By changing my approach to food and drink, I have already dropped from 70kg to 65kg, without actually dieting.
As for the training, I have really struggled with the bike, the snow has meant that apart from my trip to Lanzarote I still have not been out on the road bike in England, I have substituted it all for indoor turbo sessions…which lest face it, (unless you can get a good sound track to ride to or a good Tour de France DVD to motivate you), is mind numbingly boring. One plus, is my indoor trainer has a very good watts meter so I can monitor my power output. This is still lower than it should be, at around 200 watts a session, but as I have lost 5kg of fat already, I know my power to weight ratio has improved.
The track running has been a disaster due to the weather, but I have enjoyed running in the snow, and this has given me some real stamina sessions, offering a great and unexpected base work out.
Swimming has been my favourite training, I am currently working on my timing, which is so important and something I have tended to over look in the past…if I am pushing too hard to think about my stroke, I slow the pace down. This strategy is paying dividends, yesterday I knocked out my best set in the pool for over 7 years. I did 10 x 200m on 3:30, averaging 2:40 for them all; proving to me that age is not a barrier to fast swimming, it is my technique!
I am writing this at 40,000 feet, somewhere over the North Pole on my way to Japan and Hong Kong. This flying could prove to be my undoing. I will be away for 10 days and have no bike with me. The prospect of a 10m hotel pool does not thrill me. But, consistency is the name of the game, and blanks in the schedule, could be my down fall…
So, one month in, and I can happily say, that my swimming times are ahead of where I thought they would be. Unfortunately the bike is still well below par, but my running is still on target. I think I need a few races to find out just how fit I really am.
For several years, we’ve known that first class compression garments such as 2XU Compression are an essential part of your kitbag, but we wanted to independently put them through their paces and see how they performed. Johnny Hammond, an age-group triathlete donned the distinctive black and silver 2XU Compression tights to find out if they lived up to the hype in his review for the Triathlon Gear website.
All good buildings are built on strong foundations. The same is true of training.
I was in Hong Kong recently, with very sore legs, having just ran the East China Half marathon. But I literally felt on top of the world, 35 floors up overlooking the skyscrapers of Hong Kong and Kowloon.
Anyway, since I last graced the pages of this site, I (like so many) have done my best to battle through the snow, ice and generally bleak weather conditions in a vain attempt at maintaining some form of continuity with my base training – and where dictated to by the inclement weather, improvised using treadmill, mountain bike and turbo.
Start: Start by laying flat on your back, with your arms stretched out above your head.
I have just spent a week in Asia, and never really got over the jet lag. I did all the usual tricks, drinking lots of water and moving my watch straight onto the new time zone, but I think the killer was doing the East China Half Marathon last weekend, only 6 hours after landing in Hong Kong. It took more out of me than I was expecting. Since then I have not managed to find the time to get in a pool all week, and apart from one spinning session I managed to squeeze in at a hotel in Hong Kong, I have not been near the bike. Running has been out of the question as, running on very stiff and sore legs is a short cut to injury. However, although this is a setback on route to the Windsor triathlon, I am keeping a positive mind, and treating it as a recovery week!
