This week's episode focuses on injury prevention! We cover rest days; strength and mobility; warm-up and cool down; cross-training; maintaining proper form; fueling; sleep; zone 2; and establishing a local body care team. We also go through some listener questions, share our thoughts on how to choose a goal race, and indulge Jim's dream of becoming a basketball star.
Extended show notes:
Listener Question: How to choose a goal race?
Considerations:
Optimizing for the terrain you live in
Optimizing for weather during your training window
Optimizing for your strengths/preferences -- do you like hills? Flats? Do you have a specific PR in mind?
Case study: Athlete living in Vermont choosing a 2024 trail race
First choice - optimize fully for terrain/weather
If constraints on schedule/timing etc. (i.e., you need to race in April given availability in winter and not beyond that) -- how to prepare for a race with a different climate/terrain?
Lots of training tricks -- hill work, lower body strength work, even cardio on uphill treadmill/stair stepper. Hiking in the mountains. Etc.
Add a training camp -- go out to a place you will compete if you are able to get a feel for the terrain there.
Heat acclimation protocols (i.e. sauna protocol, fan off, etc.) for hot races
Listener Question: Is season planning relevant even if you are not doing an official race?
YES! Periodization is good for several reasons:
Your body needs a natural off-season with 1-2 months of lower volume to recover and bounce back the next season.
Periodize with the weather -- get outside when the getting’s good, stay inside and do other activities when not. We are big advocates for building outdoor durability when the weather is warm.
You don’t need to be racing to have goals -- getting fitter, faster, even having progressively better times up your local hill or around the neighborhood run loop is a perfect goal.
10 Injury Prevention tips for endurance athletes
#1: Take time off when needed.
1-2 days off for a niggle can prevent 1-2 months off
Most people can tell the difference between ‘normal workout pain’ and injury pain.
Check your ego, shut down the run/ride/etc. and head home if you start to feel a yellow flag and take 1-2 days off or cross-train.
Inform your coach!
#2: Rest days -- even when not injured
1-2 per week depending on goals/volume
Let your body rebuild and repair. What should you do on a rest day? Light Z1 activities are OK -- walking, light mobility-focused strength work, yoga. Or completely off, especially if that helps you mentally. If you can take time to sleep in.
A question we get frequently -- should you eat less / fuel less on a rest day? No! Time to repair and rebuild. Great day to top off the fuel tank for the week ahead. Takes ~24 hours for liver and muscle glycogen to restore. Especially important during heavy volume.
#3: Strength and mobility
Focus on compound exercises. Compound exercises are ones that use multiple muscle groups in one exercise. Good compound exercises are bench press, deadlift, shoulder press, pull ups, and squats. There are tens of variations on these exercises. You can do them with a barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell or bands. Start easy and light and progress to heavier weight over weeks and months.
For our Master athletes this is particularly important as you start to lose muscle mass and strength quite rapidly after the age of 40.
How often? Ideally 3X per week during the Base period and then 2x per week on season.
Get a personal trainer if this is brand new territory for you
You can try online mobility - ECFit Monday mobility videos
#4: Warmup and cool down
Especially important in winter/cold temps. Can warm up inside as needed (Active recovery spin on trainer pre-outdoor run)
Warmup -- we like walking, run drills, plyometrics, glute activation routine.
Cool down -- 3- 5’ walk after run or easy jogging, easy spinning at the end of a ride.
The warmup is super important as we are all indoor cats with most of us sitting at our desks all day. The goal of the warmup is to gently ramp our sitting HR to an exercise HR. It’s not good for you to go from sitting with HR 60-70 to hitting the road straight to an exercise HR 130 - 140.
A proper warm up will also help regulate your lactate system.
For post workout, always take a dry shirt and fuel. Any workout that is more than a few minutes from home, I bring a bag with a dry shirt and protein shake. And in winter I’ll include a hat and a warm jacket to put on right afterward especially if I’m going to coffee or run errands. Always think your next workout starts immediately after your last workout ends. Fuel and recover to ready yourself for the rest of your day and tomorrow’s workout.
#5: Cross-training
Incorporate activities like yoga, pilates, hiking, nordic skiing into your routine to avoid overuse injuries and improve overall fitness.
Think about activities that activate muscles beyond the forward-backward plane of swimming/running/cycling.
I bought a basketball a number of years ago. It’s fun to play with friends and it gets us moving in a side to side motion with lots of organic plyometrics. Triathlon is a very forward motion sport. I wanted a creative way to incorporate other planes of motion, quick bursts of speed and lots of jumping for speed and power training.
#6: Proper form and technique
Having good form in all three disciplines is essential for preventing injuries. Consider getting coaching or videotaping yourself to identify any areas where you can improve your technique.
Run Gait analysis and working with a physical therapist can help.
A bike fit is very important. An improperly fitted bike can lead to neck, shoulder, back pain. If you are numb anywhere when you cycle, this is not good!
If your bike fits improperly you will not be able to hold aero which is critical for long distance athletes and you will not be able to generate lots of power which is critical for our short course athletes. If you are serious about triathlon or cycling, you should invest in a professional bike fit.
#7: Eat enough / fuel the work
Don’t want to be on the edge of illness/injury at all times. You need a buffer so that if a gust of wind comes you won’t get blown over. Fuel for performance. Get a sports nutritionist if this is something that you need help with
Key times to fuel: before activity (mostly carbs), during activities over 75 minutes (carbs), after activity (carbs and protein). Throughout the day, whole foods, fruits, veggies, healthy fats, etc. Don’t restrict.
#8: Sleep and allow time for rest/relaxation
That’s when the repairing happens. 7-9 hours per night and recommend tracking sleep to see patterns.
Consistent bedtime and wake up time.
#9: Zone 2 / easy aerobic training
Talked about this before but injury risk goes down considerably if you are staying in zone 1-2. Our Zone 2 podcast.
#10: Establish a body care team -- develop a local network of sports chiropractor, sports massage, Physical Therapist, strength trainer, bike fitter, your primary care doctor, dietician, etc. These can all be part of your local network.
Core message that underlies all of this: open dialogue with your coach. Difficult when we are not seeing you every day in person so as soon as something feels off, say something.