When talking about training, consistency as a key to training. Lack of consistency will create a lot of frustration and increases the possibility of physical breakdowns or mental burnout. In addition to consistent training, consistent recovery is a must, therefore, athletes must have regular recovery days built into their schedules.

If you miss a workout or have to cut one short, don’t overcompensate by making your recovery days harder, it creates more fatigue and lowers the quality of your workouts. The solution is to make your harder workouts harder and your easy workouts easier. Recovery lets your body absorb the training and make the physiological adaptations you are seeking

Before, During and After Workouts:

Warm Up-

Taking the time to thoroughly warm up prior to training  aids in recovery by limiting the muscular damage training induces by:

Thinning of body fluids

Opening capillaries to allow more oxygen to reach muscles

Raising body and muscle temperature

During-

While training, you can start the recovery process by replacing fluids and replenishing your carbohydrates stores during the session. Drinking between 16-24 ounces of sports drink (with carbs) per hour of training is a good general guideline.

After-

You have a roughly 30 minute window to replenish the carbohydrates and protein that your body has used up. In the 30 minute window after either training or racing, your body is even more capable of absorbing and replenishing those nutrients.

Compression-

Compression is an outstanding way to aid in recovery. The general theory is, as you compress your legs (either lower legs or the whole leg), you are increasing blood flow to the muscles that have been used, increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients that are needed for recovery while aiding in flushing away the metabolic waste that is produced during training or racing.

Sleep-

Sleep is the best recovery aid available to athletes. A nap of 30 minutes or more is recommended due to the release of growth hormone from that point on. A good nights sleep is also crucial to training.

Recovery Days

A recovery day should be built into every training week. Some general guidelines for recovery days are:

<10 hours of training per week: day off

10-15 hours of training per week: weight lifting instead of a riding

15-25 hours of training per week: recovery ride (2h in Z1-2)

Recovery Weeks

The normal training cycle for an age-group athlete comes in four week blocks, three weeks of work or progressively difficult week, followed by a recovery week. In general, the volume and intensity is reduced during the recovery week. The recovery week doesn’t have to be a full seven days, some athletes will find that their recovery is complete after as few as 4-5 days.

A great analogy for recovery goes like this: every time you workout, you are digging a hole (expending energy, fuel, and creating muscular damage). By practicing the above recovery techniques, you will start to fill in the hole that you have dug. When you string together consecutive training days, the hole gets deeper and deeper with each workout regardless of the recovery techniques mentioned above. It has been found that after 2-3 weeks of hard training, the hole gets to a point that you have to dedicate time to filling it back in. Taking the time to fill the hole back in allows your body to absorb the training over the past 2-3 weeks and make the physiological adaptations you are seeking.

Coach Ryan is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling Certified coach, the Founder and Head Coach of Break Through Multisport Inc. Ryan has earned a Masters Degree in Biochemistry and Organic chemistry and is currently working towards a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology. You can reach Coach Ryan at  Ryan@BreakThroughMultisport.com with any questions, comments or for all of your coaching needs.

Chicago Triathlon Training Packages include:

Training Plan:

The Sprint and Olympic distance training plans are 12 weeks in duration  with 2-3 workouts per week in each sport with an additional 1-2 strength training session per week. ($29-59 retail value).

Initial Interview:

Each athlete will receive an athlete interview form to fill out. This is an in-depth interview form covering your past training and racing, mental and physical health history, training zone evaluation and calculation and equipment evaluation. ($150 retail value)

Email Consultation:

Bi-weekly email consultation with your coach. This is the opportunity for you to ask whatever questions you have, receive feedback and get some extra motivation ($100 retail value).

Race Uniform:

Each athlete will receive a full Break Through Multisport race kit to include a triathlon top, bottoms, hat or visor, t-shirt and water bottle. ($200 retail value).

Long Run Workouts (10):

Each week, the training group will get together for a long run that is specifically designed for athletes competing in the Chicago Triathlon. Each long run will last from 1 to 2.5 hours and will fit seamlessly into the training plan. (14 total runs, $210 retail value).

Track/Speed Workouts (13):

Each week, the training group will get together for a track and speed workout that is specifically designed for athletes competing the Chicago Triathlon. Each session will last an hour and will fit seamlessly into the training plan. (18 total sessions, $216 retail value).

Open Water Swim Workouts (13):

ach week, the training group will get together for an open-water swim workout that is specifically designed for athletes competing the Chicago Triathlon. Each session will last an 1 hour and will fit seamlessly into the training plan. (14 total workouts, $140 retail value).

Weekend Training Trips:

Once in June and July, the training group will gather in Madison, WI for a weekend of informal workouts on the IM Wisconsin race course. Each workout will be fully supported by vehicle when possible with nutritional support. ($20 retail value).

This is the best value in triathlon group training that you will find available. The total retail value, if purchased separately is over $800.

May, 2009

Volume 2, Issue 5

In This Issue:

NEW Announcements

New BTMS Coaches

Recovery

Food Fatigue Fight

Building Endurance

SPONSOR of the Month-

Blue Seventy- 20% OFF

Chicago Triathlon Training Package

TrainingPlan+

2009 Training Camps

Shin Splits

Triathlon Swim Program

BTMS Triathlete Finishes 15th in the Nation

Lubbock, TX

April 18th

The University of Illinois at Chicago Triathlon team headed down to Lubbock, Texas for the 2009 Collegiate National Championships in April. Last year, UIC could only muster up two triathletes, this year they sent seven athletes. After a solid fall and early spring of training, the UIC team had a great day.

The break through  performance for the UIC team was put forth by Cameron Schafer, who has been training with BTMS since January. Cameron ended up finishing 15th overall (14th undergrad) in the Nation, capping off a great race for the up and coming UIC team.

In Cams own words “I thought it the whole event was organized and put together really well. It was fantastic to see so many collegiate athletes taking part in the event, and raising the level of competition. I thought the setup of the race course and organization of the event was executed very professionally - having clean, safe roads; adequate course marshals; and a great transition site. All in all I thought it was a great competition and a great weekend for USA Triathlon.

Looking back at my performance in comparison to the field of athletes I am very happy with what I achieved on race-day. The conditions of the swim and bike were very challenging, with freezing 53 degree water and heavy winds, which made the course very slow. However I think this played into my favor a little, since I've learned growing up over the years not to let bad conditions get to my head. I felt I had a decent swim overall, despite the bad start, managing to come out in the top 20 of the first wave. I felt incredible on the bike, moving up 10 places and still feeling strong at the end. Although my time doesn't show it, I feel it was the best bike performance I've had in a Triathlon so far in my career. Probably the most surprising part of my race was my run split. I got off to the usual "heavy legged" start on the run, and really battled for the first 5K. But something kicked in on the way home and I was able to push it back hard actually passing back a few competitors that got me in the beginning of the run. I ended up doing a 37:22 time, and if there is one thing I'm most happy about in this race, it would be my run time.

Since starting with my coach Ryan Riell in January of this year, I have began to feel confident in my training and overall triathlon performance. I feel like my swim technique have improved a lot, and most importantly my ability to run a competitive pace off the bike really stepped up a level. I have enjoyed my training a lot this year, and I feel like it was the perfect program for a 19 year old freshman, dealing with college life, to still improve tremendously in performance and knowledge of triathlon, without burning out.

I still think my overall performance on each leg of the triathlon needs to improve somewhat, but this will come as I naturally get older and stronger, and get more years of training under my belt. Otherwise I still feel like the run is the key to winning a triathlon and would like to improve my time by at least 2-3 mins over the next year or two, as to have a chance of winning a race.”

Break Through Multisport is proud to announce two new coaches that have joined the company! As a company, we have experience an incredible amount of growth this year and are actively looking to expand. The criteria that must be met in order to become a BTMS coach are 99% higher than most coaching company’s in the country. All coaches are required to have a certification in the sport(s) that they are going to work with athletes in, the must earn CEU’s each year and maintain their certifications. This policy is in place to ensure that you, the athlete are receiving the best coaching available by coaches that have invested in their own knowledge and skill sets as coaches. I am very happy to introduce to you our two newest coaches:

Mike Koerner, Break Through Multisport’s new Director of Swimming,  is a retired Naval Officer who served as both a Cryptologic and Surface Warfare Officer for over 20 years.  While in Navy, he served three years as an Physical Training Instructor where his duties included development and training of Naval Aircrew Candidates for swimming and deep water survival.

A native of West Des Moines, IA, he began his swimming career at age 6 and competed as an AAU and USS age-group swimmer earning both regional and national qualifications as a Sprint Freestyler.  He continued his career as a high school swimmer where he earned All-American honors as a high school senior, three State top 10 awards while helping Valley High School to the State Swimming Championship in 1984.  He was recruited and swam all four years for the University of Northern Iowa, leading the team as one of the co-captains his senior year while also earning a BA in Criminology and minor in History.

Mike is a USA Swimming and ASCA Level 1 certified coach.  He is currently working on an additional designation as an ASCA 8 and under developmental coach, and continuing education in swimming physiology and sports psychology for swimming.   In addition to coaching with Break Through Multisport, Mike is currently the Assistant Coach for Swimmer Development at Midway Aquatics Club, an affiliate of the University of Chicago. Mike can be reached at mike@breakthroughmultisport.com for all of your swimming needs.

Laura Koerner, Break Through Multisport’s newest full Assistant Coach, is a native of Bloomingdale, IL. She began her running career as a varsity cross country and track & field runner for Lake Park High School, where she was an individual sectional qualifier in cross country and state qualifier in track & field as a member of the 3200 yd relay. In college, at the United States Naval Academy, Laura ran two seasons of cross country and then joined the Marathon club. In her first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, she finished in first place in the 19 and under age group, running a Boston Marathon-qualifying time. After earning a BS in Systems Engineering, Laura attended graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology earning a MS in Nuclear Engineering. After serving 6 years in the United States Navy as a Surface Warfare (Nuclear) Officer, Laura moved to San Diego and continued running marathons in Carlsbad & San Diego, qualifying again for the Boston Marathon. But before she ran Boston, she was introduced to the sport of triathlon and was hooked. Since then, she has been training for and racing triathlons at all distances through Half Ironman. Laura can be reached at laura@breakthroughmultisport.com for all of your swimming needs.

Break Through Multisport Inc.

1235 North Clybourn, #355

Chicago, IL 60610

(931) 220-7050

www.BreakThroughMultisport.com

Ryan@BreakThroughMultisport.com

By Ryan Riell, USA Triathlon Certified Coach

Break Through  Multisport Inc. is happy to announce the training camp schedule for 2009.

July 10-12, 2009

Spend a long weekend training for the Steelhead 70.3 with Break Through Multisport, training with like-minded athletes in a friendly environment! Whether this is your first Half-Ironman or your 10th, this camp is for you. Between, during and after workouts, we will teach you what you need to know in order to accomplish your

Half-Ironman goals!

August 14-16, 2009

Spend a long weekend training for IM Wisconsin with Break Through Multisport, training with like-minded athletes in a friendly environment! Whether this is your first Ironman or your 10th, this camp is for you. Between, during and after workouts, we will teach you what you need to know in order to accomplish your Ironman goals!

October, 2009

Spend a long weekend training for IM Arizona with Break Through Multisport, training with like-minded athletes in a friendly environment! Whether this is your first Ironman or your 10th, this camp is for you. Between, during and after workouts, we will teach you what you need to know in order to accomplish your Ironman goals!

By Dina Aburmishan RD, LDN

The newest addition to the Break Through arsenal of training options With the TrainingPlan+ option, it enables an athlete to purchase a training plan ($29-$119) and still receive the high-end coaching that personal coaching provides Prices start at $30 a month

Contact Coach Ryan for details

Liz Yerly, MPT, ATC, CSCS, C-ART

Since 1993, Blue Seventy designed, tested, refined and crafted wetsuits and swimskins that transcend the confines of what is possible.

In the process, they’ve carried world-class athletes to victory and instilled confidence in beginners.

We swim. We compete. We obsess – poring over details that others have and will continue to miss; revolutionary details that equate to comfort, freedom from restriction and competitive advantage.

Blue Seventy make products that empower swimmers to achieve their personal bests.

To place your order, please call or email BTMS.

The deadline for this order is June 1st, 2009.

20%

Chicago Triathlon Full Training Package

(with workouts)

$480 USD

Chicago Triathlon Training Package

(WITHOUT workouts)

$250 USD

Starting Wednesday, April 8th

7:00-8:30PM

Starting Tuesday, May 16th

6:00-7:30PM

Starting Thursday, May 14th

6:00-8:30PM

Starting Wednesday, June 3rd

5:30-7:00AM

The information contained in this newsletter is the opinion of Ryan Riell and Break Through Multisport on endurance training, racing, and nutrition. These points are suggestions on how to train and not recommendations for athletes. Any article on the Break Through Multisport website may be reprinted into a paper or online newsletter for your NON-PROFIT club or organization, so long as Ryan Riell and www.BreakThroughMultisport.com are credited.  If you do reprint or link to any Break Through Multisport material, please send a courtesy email to Ryan@BreakThroughMultisport.com. For medical advice, and before starting a strenuous training program, consult with a physician.

Coming Soon

OFF

Expires June 1st, 2009.

Do you complain of feeling tired all the time? Wishing you had enough energy throughout the day not just for your intense workouts, but also to get you through the day? Well, I can guarantee changing up your diet just a little might help with your lack luster energy. Obviously, diet isn’t the only culprit that contributes to fatigue or lack of energy--sleep and stress also have a huge impact on how overall tired you are. Even so, a properly balance and timed out meal plan will do wonders to bringing back that spring in your step. Here are a few tips to increase you energy by adjusting your eating pattern and habits.

Clear mind!

Mental exhaustion can come from a long work day or worrying about something, either way this type of exhaustion has a big impact on your overall energy level. Therefore it’s essential to find ways to improve your mental endurance and health. Studies have shown a diet high in omega 3 fatty acids help improve memory, cognition and shows signs of reducing depression. Iceland has the one of the lowest rates of depression, which can be attributed to a diet rich in omega-3 foods. Having a clear mind will be the first step to reducing your overall fatigue. Shoot for 4-6 ounce servings of fatty fish twice a week or ask your doctor about taking omega-3 supplements.  

Eat!

Eating continuously through out the day has been repeatedly studied in human endurance studies and shown to increase stamina and endurance in physical activity, especially before and during an endurance activity. When you pull back on your calories to loose weight, you are pulling back on your fuel source. You wouldn’t give your car less fuel then ask it to go a farther, you will literally run out of steam on not perform at your highest potential. A good rule of thumb is to eat every 3 waking hours.

Combine!

Combining certain foods will allow you to get the most out of each food. For example, having just pasta alone will cause your blood sugars to rise quickly and drop. Adding fiber (vegetables) and protein (lean beef or chicken) will keep you full for much longer and release sugar slowly throughout the day to keep your metabolism at the highest level. The types of food you eat together may also have an impact on how tired you become. So many times I hear clients complain that after they eat they could very easily take a nap. There are two main reasons why, first, they eat too much. Your body wants to shut down and all the blood goes to your stomach so the body can focus on digesting the food. By eating to a ¾ full level, meaning your not full at all, but you have had enough to move you for the next 3 hours, you will allow your body to focus on two things at once—digesting the food and continuing to run you. The second reason why people get tired after lunch or a meal, they have eaten too much carbs. I do not advocate shying a way from carbs, I advocate adding protein to your meals. A meal should never, never just contain pasta, rice, a bagel, chips, bread, cereal, etc. You should always have some protein source at the meal. Think of protein and carbohydrates as pants or shirt…you would never go out with out both, then never eat only one. This is a rule for meals, as a snack it ok to just have a cheese stick, but try to have a cheese stick and a piece of fruit. This combination will also keep your blood hormones up and keep your metabolism active.

Try following just one of these tips and your energy will improve. Employ all three and you should see a strong difference in your overall energy level. Below is a meal plan following all of the mentioned tips to help you get started on getting your energy level back up!

Alert Meal Plan

Breakfast (within 1 hour of waking)

½ cup steel cut oatmeal (uncooked, cooked in water)

½ cup fresh blueberries

1 tsp. brown sugar

2 veggie based sausage, or 2 slices of turkey bacon, or 2 slices Canadian bacon

Snack (2-3 hours after breakfast)

½ cup-3/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese

10 grapes cut in half

1 tsp. sliced almonds

Lunch (try to schedule lunch in the middle of the day)

2 slices whole grain bread (3 grams of fiber or more per slice)

2 ounces of lean turkey, ham, chicken, or roast beef

1 slice reduced fat cheese

2 slices of tomato

2 slices of Romaine lettuce or spinach leaves

½ cup sliced cucumbers

2 tbsp. hummus

1 cup of sliced strawberries and sliced kiwi

Snack (2-3 hours after lunch)

5 whole grain crackers

5-7 cherry or grape tomatoes

1 wedge of Laughing Cow light cheese

Snack (2 hours before Dinner) Remove if dinner is early or use for a pre/post workout snack

1 medium orange

½ ounce of nuts (small handful)

Dinner (dinner should be 3 hours before bed)

5 ounces grilled salmon

8-10 spears of grilled asparagus

2/3 cup whole-grain cous cous (squeeze a lemon while cooking to punch up the flavor)

3 slices of grilled tomato (slice a beefsteak tomato and just grill on both sides for a bit add olive oil to each side)

½ cup sorbet of any flavor

Snack (After dinner)

3 cups air-popped popcorn with 1 teaspoon olive oil

Dina Aburmishan RD, LDN is a registered dietitian who works with endurance athletes. Dina owns DMA Nutrition Inc. a private practice nutrition consulting company. You can reach Dina at dina@dmanutrition.com or www.dmanutrition.com or call her at 847-581-1160.

2754 N Clybourn Ave Suite B-5   Chicago, IL 60614 

(773) 529-4874

Starting Monday, May 25th

5:30-7:15AM

Liz Yerly, MPT, ATC, CSCS, cART  is a licensed physical therapist and athletic trainer who has experience working with the highly trained athlete, as well as the weekend warrior She is the facility manager of the Bridgeport Accelerated Rehabilitation Center, as well as a treating therapist specializing in advanced certifications such as Active Release Technique and Graston Technique. She uses her manual skills to successfully rehabilitate her patients and quickly get them back to where they need to be. You can reach Liz at: lyerly@acceleratedrehab.com or call her at (773) 254-5250.

Program runs from Monday, May 25th through Friday, August 28th.

Every Mon, Wed and Fri from 5:30AM to 7:15AM

Coach Mike

Coach Laura

By Ryan Riell, USA Triathlon Certified Coach

When looking at the most basic foundation of an “endurance sports,” whether it be running, cycling, swimming or any other version, you will normally hear people talk about building an “aerobic base.” So what exactly is an aerobic base?

The term “aerobic” indicates a bioenergetic pathway that utilizes oxygen for the formation of ATP.  When put in layman terms- it’s considered to be below threshold or training zones 1-4.

It is generally agreed that there are three main basic abilities that make up fitness: Endurance, Force and Speed skills. No matter where you go, you will hear athletes and coaches alike talking about building an aerobic base, they are referring to endurance. Endurance training takes place in training zones 1-4 and primarily focus on slow-twitch muscles, which are responsible for slower contractions with a quicker energetic recovery. When an athlete builds endurance, they are making several physiological adaptations, all of which are important to endurance sports:

1.Your ability to preferentially utilize fat as a fuel while conserving carbohydrate based fuel.

2.Increased plasma volume.

3.Increased muscle mitochondrial enzymes

4.Increased lactate threshold

5.Increased muscle glycogen storage.

The key points to remember are: endurance is specific to the event, needs to progress from general training to race-specific training, continual exposure to the activity is a must and you must be very careful while increasing volume.

Some general guidelines for building endurance while running:

•Stay in training zones 1 or 2

•Find a flat or gently rolling course

•Use a treadmill to simulate a gently rolling course by setting the incline at no more than 4%

•Keep your cadence high (~90 left foot strikes per minute)

•Runs up to 2 hours are effective for building aerobic endurance

•Don’t increase your volume (distance and/or time) by more than 10% per week.

Keeping in mind that there is more to an aerobic base than building endurance, if you can keep these general guidelines in mind, you will be on your way to developing that solid aerobic base that everyone talks about.

References:

1.Holoszy, J.O., Coyle, E. F. Adaptations of skeletal muscle to endurance exercise and their metabolic consequences. J. App. Physiol. 56:831-838, 1984

2.Holozsy, J.O., Booth, F.W. Biochemical Adaptations to Endurance Exercise in Muscle. Ann. Rev of Physiol. 38: 273-291, 1976.

3.Convertino, V. A. Blood Volume: It’s Adaptation to Endurance Training. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 23:12, 1338-1348, 1991.

4.Powers, S.K., Howley, E. T., Exercise Physiology: Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance. 4th Edition, McGraw Hill.

5.Friel, J. The Triathletes Training Bible. 3rd Edition, Velopress.

6.ACSM’s Resource Manual for Guidelines or Exercise Testing and Prescriptions. 6th Edition, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

7.Noakes, T. Lore of Running.  4th Edition, Human Kinetics.

8. 8.Brooks, G.A., Fahey, T.D., Baldwin, K.M. Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and It’s Applications. 4th Edition, Human Kinetics.
   

Coach Ryan is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling Certified coach, the Founder and Head Coach of Break Through Multisport Inc. Ryan has earned a Masters Degree in Biochemistry and Organic chemistry and is currently working towards a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology. You can reach Coach Ryan at  Ryan@BreakThroughMultisport.com with any questions, comments or for all of your coaching needs.

20% OFF all Blue Seventy Products!

All orders and product pickup will be

through Element Multisport