alathIN Member

OK, recovery within the workout itself - what about recovery days or weeks?

Do you have recovery built in to your training regimen? In my swim-bike-run group, the coaches have recovery periods built into each workout. There is also a three week cycle of build week, big week, recovery week. On recovery week, the coaches will actually scold you for working out too hard. The whole concept of building…

I'm in the "participant" category. For the past 3 years, I have been in a multisport group where we do Tris in the Summer, run events in the spring and fall, and swim meets in the winter. I have done at least one sprint and one Oly each year. I am one of those strange people who like Oly distance because the swim is my…

Maybe it would be good to step back and define what your over-arching goal for this program is. If getting the lowest possible number on the scale is the most important thing to you, then sure, do your lemon water purge or whatever. Just know this may not be best for your workout performance. Personally I have tried to get…

I tend to agree with you - I definitely fall on the "more volume" side of this debate. If you click on the Bobby McGee video, you'll notice the title is "How to become a fast runner: Going fast through going slow" ;-)

I was where you were about 4 years ago. Last week I swam in my first swim meet (500 free, 200 free, 100 breast, 200 breast) and next month I will be swimming the mile in our state meet. So you can definitely get there and it is a lot of fun and a great fitness activity. My progression was two stages: For about 6 weeks, I…

OP you have obviously run into one of the coaching controversies in running - people who believe in a lot of speed work versus those who do not. There are smart coaches and accomplished athletes on both sides of this debate - and part of the difference comes from speaking to different training goals and different fitness…

A couple of things: The whole pregnancy isn't the same. In the first trimester there is not much difference from your usual exercise tolerance. Some providers have advised keeping HR < 140 bpm from my lit searches I do not believe there is any evidence basis for this restriction. Later in pregnancy the risks are mostly…

My favorite at-desk food would have to be a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie. But I'm not eating like that now ;-) For me the best food to have at work for a mid-morning refuel is a grapefruit. I don't actually even like grapefruits; can barely stand to eat them. But it does kill off the hunger pangs quite effectively and I…

I'm in a very well-coached tri-sports group, and the coaches have recovery built into each workout, weekly cycles, and seasonal cycles. Our weekly cycle is: 1) build week, 2) big week, 3) recovery week. So every third week, we do about 20% less volume and the intensity is low. The goal of workouts in recovery week is to…

http://www.finisinc.com/swimp3/ As noted by Wuggums above. I tried one of these and it worked fine and sounded pretty decent - a bit tinny but not bad. Ultimately I wound up deciding that music was just annoying while swimming and quit using it. Strange because I love running with music. Swimming, not so much.

There is nothing wrong with counting calories in the postpartum period, even with breastfeeding, as long as the targets are realistic and account for the extra energy needs of nursing. Swimming is a great fitness activity that should not exacerbate your pelvic floor problems.

I am in a tri-sports group. Right now we are in swim-focus season and this is my "targeted" routine: Monday: swim (usually tempo focus) Tuesday: swim (usually VO2 or sprint focus) Wednesday: spin class, swim (short distance focus) Thursday: swim (sprint or distance focus) Friday: spin class, swim (stroke) Saturday: Swim…

I use a HRM pretty regularly and I find it especially helpful during longer races like half marathon. A lot of people - me included - have a tendency to get excited and try to run too fast in the beginning. Or sometimes I will catch myself going too hard when I am feeling good mid-race. That is often a mistake. If you have…

I used to wear contacts every time I went to the pool, until I got a pair of these: http://www.amazon.com/Speedo-Vanquisher-Optical-Goggle-Smoke/dp/B001HBHVXU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383952329&sr=8-1&keywords=speedo+vanquisher+optical+goggle They are not at all expensive, and much better than dealing with the hassle of…

Beginnertriathlete.com is a great resource, agree w/the above. The only thing I would add is to see if there is a triathlon group in your area. There is power in the group. Most of them are very beginner-friendly.

Something that really helped me: go to an OA (overeaters anonymous) meeting. Most of us do not get overweight by eating for hunger based on nutritional needs - we often mistake emotional or other kinds of needs as hunger, and go try to fill up something inside with food. If you have a need, a hurt, emptiness, fear, or…