Faster Triathlon Splits

Article by Gary Tingley

Faster Triathlon Splits – Sports – Other Sports

Search by Author, Title or Content

Article ContentAuthor NameArticle Title

Home
Submit Articles
Author Guidelines
Publisher Guidelines
Content Feeds
RSS Feeds
FAQ
Contact Us

The bike leg of triathlon and duathlon is essentially a time trial race sandwiched in between swimming and running. You will find subtle differences in training for a true time trial race, such as frequency, duration, and other TT specific workouts.

Here are a few tips for your first time trial:

* If preparing for an upcoming event, use the race as training, race the time trial using all equipment you will have with you during a tri – spares and water – this way you “train like you race”.

* Wear a jersey that covers your shoulders, many USCF races require this.

* You may be required to purchase a 1-day license at the event.

* Warm up for the race for at least 45 minutes incorporating ‘step’ intervals that prepare your body for high race efforts. Consume some CHO drink.

* At the starting line a ‘holder’ will hold your bike saddle (at most events) and allow you to clip in to your pedals. Start your stopwatch when the rider in front of you goes off – then subtract the time difference when you finish (depending on the race, usually 30 seconds).

* You will want to start the race on your non-primary leg (your weaker leg) which will allow you to power a full revolution of your more powerful leg once you start the event. Make sure you are in the correct gear, spin your cranks forward and backward before you line up to make certain that your chain will not drop. Take a few deep breaths right before the start, then when the official says “GO!” (on the basebar) shift your weight forward and push hard, sprint up to speed (10 seconds) and settle into your pace.

* Don’t worry about keeping a set heart rate or power during the first five minutes of the race, instead try to maintain a pace just under your 1-hour race effort. After the first five minutes you will want to hold your power or heart rate just below or right at your 1-hour threshold power/pace, then bump it up and really give it your all in the last 1/3 of the race. Focus on finishing strong.

* Depending on the course profile, finish the race with the same power and a higher perceived intensity that you started it with, but have nothing left to give at the end of the event. If the profile is hilly, you will want to push a little harder on the climbs.

* Properly warm down and stretch to prevent injuries. Hydrate and get some CHO drink into your system.

Time trial racing is one of the best ways to improve your bike split. You already have the bike and the fitness, all you need to do is show up and race a TT!

About the Author

Gary Tingley is a USA Cycling Certified Level 2 / CPBT Power-based Training Coach, 6x Calif state Time Trial Champion (ITT/TTT), 2x USAC Masters Road Nationals medalist, and USCF road Cat. 2 cyclist at http://www.garytingley.com

Use and distribution of this article is subject to our Publisher Guidelines
whereby the original author’s information and copyright must be included.

Gary Tingley

RSS Feed

Report Article

Publish Article

Print Article

Add to Favorites

Article Directory
About
FAQ
Contact Us
Advanced Search
Privacy Statement
Disclaimer

GoArticles.com © 2012, All Rights Reserved.

Plz give me video requests 🙂

More Splits Stretches Articles

Common Misunderstandings About Ballet Stretches and Doing The Splits

Article by Dianne M. Buxton

I am flabbergasted at the misunderstandings being perpetuated about doing the splits. Ballet stretches taught properly help with muscle flexibility. Ballet exercises in soft shoes and pointe shoes all require the correct posture and alignments. Doing the splits for a jete or a penche does not come naturally to many dancers. So how do they make it look right?

One of the biggest reliefs I had when I went from amateur to professional training was that hips do not have to be square in a derriere (behind you) position. Including doing the splits.

I started my training in the R.A.D. system. I had natural turnout. It looked great except when I did a tendu (French word for stretched) derriere. We had to keep our hips square. In more advanced classes the developpe to the back, and attitude positions still looked terribly turned in. Naturally the students would go for height, which opened our hip. Our teacher would correct our hips, placing them back to a square position, and both the height and turnout looked miserable.

When I got into classes taught by teachers from The National Ballet of Canada, I was elated to find I could open my working hip. The waist, upper back and shoulders had to stay square, but not the hips. I finally and instantly had a professional looking line in arabesque, attitude, etc. When I explained how I had been taught they said “no one can do that!”

Another absurdity is that some people will never do the splits due to hip deformity.

Doing the splits depends on overall hyper-mobility. Not only hamstrings and quads need to be extremely flexible, but your postural muscles, the iliopsoas, needs to be very flexible. Hyper-mobility of the joints is an extra blessing for doing the splits, but creates a lot of problems too.

A professional ballet dancer will do whatever it takes to get a good line in a split jete or penche. Those who cannot do the splits perfectly open the hip more, and sometimes slightly bend the leg so that their foot lines up with the hip, and even though the entire leg is not lined up, the illusion of the splits is seen.

The hard and fast rules of ballet technique are for safety – for prevention of dance injuries. Getting the right line allows for accommodations that skilled teachers know how to teach.

Stretch after your ballet exercises when you are warm. Relax your muscles first. Use a rubber ball to knead out the worst tension. Then stretch gently in correctly aligned positions. You will improve your muscle flexibility, and you may end up doing the splits. But if you never do, it is not going to kill a dance career.

Get more safe technical advice found here in professionally written ballet manuals.

More Ballet Stretches Articles