Wednesday, October 30, 2013

HeadStrong Posture Trainer, Simple & Perfect!



So many different techniques to get the body in alignment while swimming, do this drill, try this method, etc.. 

Headstrong™ was invented to help athletes achieve their maximum potential while swimming. It gives insight to proper head position and aids in the correction of total body posture. Headstrong™ is a training tool like fins, paddles, or buoys... designed to aid in the development of your skill level.
With its patent pending technology, Headstrong™ delivers continuous "real-time" feedback while you train. With this innovative training device, you now have the unique ability to easily correct your head position leading to a more efficient stroke. Headstrong™ is made of HDPE which is chlorine resistant and UV resistant. Headstrong™ works for all types of swimming techniques - Freestyle, Breast or Butterfly stroke. Swimmers can also wear the device to provide a focal point... which is especially helpful for doing the backstroke. It was developed for male and female triathletes and swimmers training at any skill level. It's design uses "range-of-motion" to alert athletes of their head position and is completely undetectable to the swimmer until head position exceeds the recommended posture range. Headstrong™ took years of conceptual thinking, research, development and testing to perfect. Headstrong™ is a "one-of-a-kind" tool designed for swimmers, by swimmers. We are excited to be able to offer you the latest in swim training. Our goal is to help athletes become better athletes. Start getting the results you are searching for.
HeadStrong posture Trainer

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

CrossFit, Ironman Meets the California Bear!


Crossfit is many things to many different people, the one thing that stands out story after story is the ones about broken athletes. Yes they know how to train, which helps them not get injured, but doing CrossFit to re-build themselves is amazing, going from unable to move or compete to a functional and competitive athlete again!
In 1985, Chris Hinshaw finished the Ironman in second place, and at the peak of his career, he was one of the best triathletes in the world. But years of endurance training left him brittle and barely functional.
Today, at 50 years old, Hinshaw runs a 4:58 mile.
“The only thing that I’m doing differently is adding CrossFit. That’s it,” he says. “I’m not only functional, I can do things that I could never have imagined myself doing even back when I was a triathlete, back when I was one of the best in the world at it.”
Hinshaw trains at NorCal CrossFit, home of Jason Khalipa, who placed second at this year’s CrossFit Games. Khalipa credits Hinshaw with helping him get to the podium.
“He’s just like the Rich Froning of running to me,” Khalipa says of Hinshaw.
For his part, Hinshaw has equally complimentary words for the 2008 Games champion.

“Look at him,” he says as Khalipa begins a track workout. “This is his fifth mile. Fifth mile. Jason Khalipa, 220-lb. man, sub-six-minute pace.”

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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Bike Frame Build, Price $-$$$$

from Gear Patrol
For a long time options for buying a bike were limited to what was at the local shop, which was a roll of the dice in terms of selection and service. In many ways, the manufacturer-distributor business model is antiquated and direct-to-consumer sales are the way forward. With e-commerce consumers have limitless information available at a mouse click. What does this mean for the bike buyer? You have options.
Purchasing a bike online used to be nigh impossible, but sites like Competitive Cyclist and Wrench Science are making it easy and worthwhile to get a high-quality ride off the web. However, if you’re in the market for a performance bike, it’s still expensive. Luckily e-commerce has also allowed for inclined customers to buy individual components. The wonders of a global marketplace also mean that in some instances you can buy components online from reputable European shops for less than your local bike shop can get them wholesale.
This availability opens the door for a bike purchasing option that didn’t really exist until the last 10 years: riders can now build their bike piecemeal, purchasing each individual component either new from online retailers or used from auction sites and classifieds. The result is a bike that can be built entirely outside of the bike shop system and that can be tailor-made to fit your specific wants and needs. That’s a recipe for high quality at low cost — so long as you know what you’re looking for.
With the experience of working in a bike shop under my belt and a good idea of what type of bike I wanted, I decided to try the “internet bike build” myself. With a budget of $2,000 I set out to best some of the similarly priced complete bikes for sale at the local shop.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Sub 2 Hour Marathon!

Is the sub-2 hour marathon imminent?  Don't hold your breath!
From Science of Sport!

Yesterday Wilson Kipsang took 15 seconds off the marathon world record, running 2:03:23.  It triggered, as it always does, talk of how close they are to breaking the two-hour barrier.  But that's very, very premature.  For reasons of physiology, performance evolution, and the inter-connectedness of performances from 10km to the marathon, we are a long, long way from going under two hours. 

It's not the same as for you or I, who find ourselves a few minutes outside a barrier, and know that six months of hard training and a good day will break it.  This is a world where the margins are tiny - that's why we can look at the pacing strategy and the splits and comment that perhaps it was a little too fast in sections, when in reality, "too fast" means 1 second per kilometer, accumulated over 20 minutes!  The precision of the physiology to run a 2:03 is extra-ordinary.

So consider for instance the progression.  In the modern era, catalyzed by da Costa's breaking of Dinsamo's 1988 record, the improvements in the record are as follows:
23 seconds, 4 seconds, 43 seconds, 29 seconds, 27 seconds, 21 seconds, 15 seconds.

This record is not going to be "smashed" by anyone.  Anything greater than 20 seconds is a big improvement. 
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