Skipping A Workout, Ask Yourself This!

You should ask yourself some basic questions, how long have I been going at this 6,8, 12, 16 or 24 weeks. Will I really suffer, when is your next race.
1. Will I regret this decision?
2. How much have I exercised this week?
3. How will I make up for my missed workout?
4. Do I have a legitimate reason to skip this workout?
5. How will missing this workout affect my goals?
6. What could I do to make my workout more appealing?
7. How could I reward myself for doing my workout?
8. How could I change my workout?
9. How will skipping my workout affect my day?
10. What stands in the way of my workout?

US Gran Prix of Cyclocross

It's coming to Mercer County NJ, again. I know it early but get it on your schedule and get ready for the mud. Last year was great.

The second weekend of the USGP of Cyclocross returns to Mercer County Park on November 14th and 15th where the racers are sure to face windy, challenging conditions and deep fields from the highly competitve Mid-Atlantic cross scene.

Once again Clif Bar will present it's Kids' Cross Clinic featuring the Clif Bar athletes at the race venue.

Course designer, CyclocrossWorld.com's very own Stu Thorne, says about the Mercer venue:

This is a course for the powerful racers. The first turn after the start will be critical and it leads into a long, slow grind into the false flats on far-side of the course. The sand pits - three in a row - are long and favor the strongest, technical riders. On the final lap, the race could turn on a strategic run through the pits. The pit is located fairly close to the finish and right before the fly-over. The person who gets a good bike change in the pits would be positioned well for the last trip over the fly-over, into the technical section along the lake into the final gravelly turn onto the long up-hill sprint to the finish.

In general, with the fly-over, sand and grass there is more than enough on offer on this course to make it very interesting! Throw in the strong winds coming off the lake and we're in for a great weekend of racing.

Getting to the Gym.

So the season is in full swing you are swimming, biking, and running 12-18 hours a week more or less. Now you find yourself lacking strength, but another couple hours at the gym a week, who has time. Well make time take a little of the workouts and put the time in, it will make you stronger and less prone to injury. TriFuel has a great post about this.
Summary:
The crème of the crop for a weekly gym workout during triathlon, using the following two criteria for choosing exercises:
1) the exercise must strengthen the external rotation muscles of the shoulders, hips, and core, which are the most neglected muscles of triathlon training and the most prone to imbalance and injury from swimming, cycling and running.
2) the exercise must not create excessive soreness, which will detract from important swim, bike and run workouts during race season.
Using those two criteria, here are the instructions for "The Exact Gym Workout to Do During Race Season."
-Warm-up 5 minutes. Go through each station 3x, performing the indicated number of reps for each exercises and resting only long enough to be able to do the exercises with good form. Once you finish all three exercises in a station 3x through, move on to the next station.
(here's the good news for you visual learners: each link will take you straight to a video for that particular exercise)

• "The Exact Gym Workout to Do During Race Season."
• Station 1: Hip External Rotators
• Exercise 1: Band Side Walks - 20 steps in each direction http://www.pacificfit.net/trivideos/SideWalksBand.mov
• Exercise 2: Hip Hikes - 10 per side http://www.pacificfit.net/trivideos/HipHikes.mov
• Exercise 3: Ice Skaters- 10 per side http://www.pacificfit.net/trivideos/Iceskaters.mov
• Station 2: Shoulder External Rotators
• Exercise 1: Bow Row - 10 per side http://www.pacificfit.net/trivideos/BowRow.mov
• Exercise 2: Lateral Step with Reverse Fly - 10 per side http://www.pacificfit.net/trivideos/LateralStepReverseFly.mov
• Exercise 3: Pull-ups or Pull-downs - 10 (no video, you know how to do these)
• Station 3: Core External Rotators
• Exercise 1: Side Plank Rotations - 10 per side http://www.pacificfit.net/trivideos/SidePlankRotations.mov
• Exercise 2: Cable Torso Twists - 15 per side http://www.pacificfit.net/trivideos/CableTorsoTwists.mov
• Exercise 3: Woodchoppers - 10 per side http://www.pacificfit.net/trivideos/Woodchopper.mov

By incorporating this routine at least once per week during race season, you will be working the exact muscles necessary to keep you injury free AND make you faster. Although this workout is not in my book "Top 12 Resistance Training Routines for Triathletes" at http://www.thestrongtriathlete.com, it would be a good workout to incorporate along with the routines in the book.more..

Messenger Mirror

Easy post here these are simple, light and one of the best designs to use on a bike.

MessengerMirror allows you to view things approaching from behind and increases your safety on a bicycle when cars are present. Cooked up by a cyclist who was looking for a cycling mirror and found the available products (T-a-L, 3rdi) were too expensive, had their design flaws, and all were too bulky to have in his face.

• Compact, light, affordable
• Fits thick and thin frames
• 1/2" diameter Glass mirror
• Approx length is 6.5" overall

The MessengerMirror is very compact so adjust your expectations of field-of-view accordingly. New riders, plus those familiar with other cycling mirrors, will quickly adjust and develop a method to best utilize it. It is designed to be fit on the left side of glasses but could be easily modified for right side use.

Rudy Project Sterling Road Helmet

Rudy Project is having a great deal and with some athletes from the Tour wearing Rudy's you can't lose.

Rudy Project is proud to unveil our newest addition to the road and mountain bike helmet line. Our new Sterling helmet will be our lightest, best-fitting and most ventilated helmet ever!

- 18 large vents
- Incorporated "Eyewear Dock" that securely fits your favorite pair of Rudys during those long climbs
- weight: ~270 grams
- CPSC Certified
- $225 MSRP / VIP Price $135
- Available in White/Silver/Blue Matte, White/Silver/Red Matte, Titanium/Black/Red Matte and Black/Silver/Red Matte

Armstrong's Custom Bikes

Every major events brings out the best in people and products, so this should not be a surprise that Lance would be an exception. The time trial showed us a new bike, the opening of the Tour gave us another, but what is to happen when he gets the yellow. We have seen many bike changes and color schemes from Lance, from glasses to gear, the major release it yet to come. Just go to trek Bikes to see some of the latest. Already released is the Cancellara’s Specialized Tarmac SL3 yellow bike, you know that Lance will not be outdone. So in short Lance get the jersey already the suspense is killing us.

4 Ways to Avoid the Bike-Run Bonk

All your preparation is done, you have put the miles in, hair smells like chlorine, bike tires worn, shoes been replace, in all you are ready, or so you think. What about the fourth sport, Nutrition. You feel OK on the bike, only to suffer a gastrointestinal meltdown in the run. Stomach feels sloshy, can't shake it, Active.com nailed the reasons why. Now every one is different and take with a grain of salt, but the main gysgt is EXPERIMENT, don't let a simple avoidable mistake ruin a great day.

Under Amour HeatGear ® Recharge Compression

So Under Armour has been in the Compression business for a while now, mostly in the high impact arena like football, lacrosse and soccer. With the HeatGear® Triathletes can start to rejoice. Training in the winter months is much better outside, everyone would agree, but freezing temperatures keep many on treadmills. Now their site recommends this for football, but if you are whiling to experiment Under Armour can't be beat on durability and price.

ArmourGrip™ technology locks gear in place using a tactified compound that prevents slippage. Strategic vent zones built into key points where the body dumps heat, keeping you cool, dry, and comfortable. Built with Flatlock Seams that feel smooth against the skin and prevent chafing. Armour&Stretch improves mobility and accelerates dry time with lightweight fabrics built in a 4-way stretch.

Nutrition Periodization

Trying to get your nutrition down on a regular bases is hard enough, now through swimming, biking and running into the equation. Well Bob Seebohar seems to have solved that problem. Eating well balanced meals, and following a year round approach rather than weeks leading up to an event. Biggest thing is the explanation of how and when you should take fluid and when your tank might be low. Follow this book, put down the sports drink and enjoy one of your best season ever.

Tri-sition Area, Great shop, selling Newton Shoes

There seem to be a lot of shops online but one that stands out for Triathlon gear is Tri-sition Area not only are they a store that sells goods but they are dedicated to Newton Running always a plus.

Tri-Sition Area is a place for Triathletes by Triathletes.

We are a mulifaceted shop that strives to meet the needs of each customer who walks through the door. Whether a beginner or a seasoned Ironman veteran, we are here to meet your every need.

What seperates us from other bike shops:
Experienced staff of triathletes.
Tri-Specific F.I.S.T certefied bike fit studio.
Endless Pool available for rental, assesment, coaching, or wetsuit trial.
Wide range of tri-specific products.
Associated coaches who offer all ranges of coaching and testing services, from individual assesment to full training plans.

iBikePak

One device and one holder, iBikePak hss made the one device mantra a possibility.

The pack is great, and has storage like a Bento Box. Price $24.95, beats buying a new watch.

The iBikePak is an innovative way to interact with your iPhone, iPod touch, Blackberry, and most other cell phones while you are literally riding your bike. We have heard and feel for you, and therefore, we dedicated our time and passion to bring you what you have been waiting for. Created by a true cyclist, we are proud to bring you the new 2009 iBikePak.

Solid Engineering / Solid Design

The iBikePak allows you, the user, to enjoy your cycling experience to the next level; while you take control of everything your mobile device has to offer you at the touch of your fingertips. The iBikePak allows you to take full advantage of your personal media of choice or apps, as well as your personal items, such as your keys, energy bars, wallet etc.

Pool-Mate, keeps track of my laps and more.

Swimovate has come up with the Pool-Mate, keeps track of the laps you have swum. Ok it is another device you have to buy but think of the brain cells and energy that you will save not having to do that, you can concentrate on stroke, and form.
The Pool-Mate is the only fully automatic lap and stroke counter for swimmers. It will work with all major strokes, all abilities of swimmer and all sizes of pool.
Containing accurate motion sensors and our unique software algorithms, the Pool-Mate automatically recognises each swim stroke and change of lap so you don't have to count anymore. The Pool-Mate will display Lap count, Time, Average Strokes per lap, Speed, Distance, Calories and Efficiency, all completely automatically and store details in a large memory for recall at your leisure.

Sliming Shirts for men or CORE PRECISION UNDERSHIRT

Equmen high-performance men’s compression clothing is designed to immediately improve how men look and feel, street to sport, work to weekend. Equmen compression undershirts and underwear are engineered with seamless athletic technology and physiotherapist techniques for ergonomic results. Equmen Helix-Mapping Technology focuses on core body mechanics – optimising support, improving posture stability and slimming at the same time. This makes Equmen compression clothing ideal for any man, whether he wants to slim his body under a suit, reduce back pain, or improve performance in any sporting activity. Equmen is for every man, every day, every wear.

New iPhone Best Cycling Computer

WOW is all that has to be said and it has a compass, the apps are going to start flying into the Apps area of iTunes as we speak. The iPhone 3GS. The 3GS introduces a number of new features: faster hardware, faster connections with the added support of 7.2Mbps HSDPA, increased battery life, digital compass, video capture, 3 megapixel autofocus camera, voice controls, and integrated support for Nike+, yes the Nike+, now if it could only go in the water.

Two hundred squats training program

From the 100 pushups in 6 weeks, 200 sit-ups in 6 weeks, comes the 200 squats in 6 week. These can be found at iTunes
Now preforming the 100 pushups in 6 weeks works so seeing if the 200 squats won't kill you and breaking the normal workout routine could be good.

"If you're serious about increasing your leg strength and basic fitness, follow this six week training program and you'll soon be on your way to completing 200 consecutive squats!

Think there's no way you could do this? I think you can! All you need is a good plan, plenty of discipline and about 30 minutes a week to achieve this goal!

No doubt some of you can already perform an impressive number of consecutive squats, but let's face it, you're in a big minority. Most of you reading this won't even be able to manage 20 squats. Actually, I'm sure many of you can't even do 10.

However, it really doesn't matter which group you fall into. If you follow the progressive squats training program, I'm positive you'll soon be able to do 200 squats!"