Bryan Hoskinson

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 12:28:58 PDT

This time of year I get questions from athletes regarding how to keep their fitness. Either they have completed all of their races for the season or the A race is over and they have some events left. In both instances they have lost their fire because their big event is over.

At the same time they want to stay strong and fit through the winter and start where they left off in their training for next year. This is very difficult or impossible for many reasons, the big one is mentioned above they have lost their fire and without a clear goal that they are willing to do anything to reach they will just blow off workouts. Another key reason is the body cannot maintain top fitness non-stop.

I have always found with myself and my clients that having clear off season goals that support our next seasons goals provide the best results. Typically these goals include some form of events, time in the weight room, yoga, whatever their interests are. The goal is to strengthen the muscles, tendons and ligaments we demand so much out of, so we can use them again next year.

The other side is to nourish the mind and the soul. Get outside and enjoy nature. Depending on where you live this might be a park to watch the fall colors and then winter sports. Mountain biking in the wilderness or along the beach.

The key is to think about what you want to accomplish next year, determine what you can do to prepare for this in the off season and then enjoy the process.

Take care and train smart.

Off Season Training,

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:33:01 PST

While this should be a welcome time of year for everyone, it can be confusing to excessive obsessive, compulsive athletes. The concept is simple for most of the year you push your body and your family relationships to the max, now is the time to let both of them recover!

Training for specific sports makes you more efficient in those sports, it also stresses the muscles, tendons and ligaments that support those movements. The off season is the time to focus on building supports for those groups so you can become stronger + faster = more efficient next year.

What I hear a lot from clients I coach and other athletes is, now that my triathlon season is over I am going to work on my limiter running and do several marathons over the winter. Fortunately none of my current clients are saying this. The problem with this line if thinking is that training for marathons takes a lot of specific training, which limits the amount of time to train as I said above and to spend time with the family. Not to mention that marathon running has little benefit to triathlon running.

What I recommend to my clients is for the first few weeks just do unstructured exercise, whatever you feel like doing go do it. Have fun, enjoy the fitness you built! Then gravitate to off axis work to build the muscle groups I mention above. Then find ways to have fun running and riding off road, this helps to build strength and agility for both. If you are looking to increase speed in any of your disciplines then I recommend doing form work, it will make you more efficient and does not require all the miles and time commitments that running marathons do, thus pounding on the body.

The main thing is to have fun, enjoy your healthy lifestyle and prepare your body and mind for next season of training.

I suppose I should put in here that if marathons are your thing and you want to do them for fun, go for it. Just be honest with yourself, it is not recovery!

Train smart, enjoy the holidays and spend some time with your family!

Rest and Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:51:13 PDT

About this time every year I get emails from athletes complaining about the heat and being tired all the time. So I thought I would blog about how I coach my clients to fresh while training for long course events in the heat.

Athletes that are training for late summer and fall long races are just now starting to add more duration to their training, and with it getting hot now, they can never start early enough to avoid the heat. As with anything everyone needs to experiment with what is going to work for them, and during training is the time to do it. The important thing to think about when training for triathlons is you have three events to prepare for so typically triathletes are more fatigued than cyclist or runners.

The two best ways I have found to recover from long workouts and get ready for the next one are proper rest and good eating. These athletes do not have the luxury of thinking of one workout at a time, they need to be thinking of the next day, week, month and season. This is why they have recovery days, and weeks built into their plans. The good eating is just as important, without the proper fuels the body will not be able to perform for very long.

I encourage my athletes to eat good most of the time, leaving room for mouth entertainment. The key times for good eating are the night before, morning of and right after long workouts or races. I suggest they try cool foods for the mornings, and the fuel that works for them during the workouts. Early in the season I suggest they carry more fuel than they need until they dial in what works for them. In most cases athletes scramble in the last weeks before a race to find how to carry enough calories with them, because they bought stuff at long stops on training rides.

Perhaps the most important part is the recovery, this can last from 1 hour to 2 days depending on the duration of the training. Right after a workout or race is the time to get some good recovery products in the body. There are many on the market now, and good old fashion fruit will go a long way. Then getting off your feet is important, sitting on the beach in the heat will only server to dehydrate a already dry body. Cooling in the water is a much better way to enjoy the summer fun. After you recover it is time to start fueling for your next workout, hopefully thinking in this way will help you to choose the right foods to eat, most of the time.

One last thought, just because some people are eating potato chips and cookies at a rest stop does not mean that you should. Yes they provide the calories needed and will get you through a tight spot. The key is, what are those other people training for? Can they be sore and tired for the next few days? Can you afford to?

Something to think about.

Edible Science

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Tue, 24 May 2011 06:48:15 PDT

Many of you that read my posts know that in my youth I did little to maintain my health and my eating habits were far less that healthy. Because of this I am faced with the constant issue of eating properly or face health consequences. I choose the option of proper physical exercise and a combination of eating the right foods with good supplements.

By proper physical exercise I mean not going to extremes and pushing so hard the body is in stress mode all the time, I will discuss this more in the future. Eating the right foods, is pretty much the Paleo Diet for Athletes, most of the time. Particularly staying away from high fat, sugar and salt mouth entertainment foods. Not always, especially after a hard training day, yet most of the time.

I think the most difficult of the three for athletes to get is the right supplements. I like all endurance athletes see the great ads in the magazines and at the races. It is difficult to find the right combination for you vs the masses. For the most part I have found that the products are more of a shot gun approach and try to cover all bases for everyone. While I agree this is much better than the potato chip and pizza approach, I think there are better options.

Personally I like, when possible, to make my own smoothies and recovery drinks, or use some whole foods for these purposes. I find the pre made recovery meals or packaged drinks typically have way too many things in them that we may never need. The same goes with the supplements I choose to take.

For years I have been relying on Steve Ellis at Edible Science and my primary health care provider to help me determine which supplements would work best for me. We test these with bi-annual blood work to make sure they are working and I am not taking too much of any of them. Steve is constantly searching for the highest quality products he can find, and shares the reasons he chooses them on his web pages.

If you want to have a more precise approach to your supplemental program I encourage you to visit http://www.ediblescience.com/ and see their products for yourself. You can use the online help programs or contact them directly to help design your program. If you enter Coachbryan as the wellness referral they will reduce the price for you.

Train smart, recover smart, eat smarter!

Feel free to contact me directly if you want more information on any of my exercise, eating or supplemental programs.

St Anthony’s Triathlon

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:24:47 PDT

Yesterday while cheering on some of my clients, who all “PR’d” by the way, I was reminded what a fantastic sport triathlon is. Sometimes when I stand outside the lines I feel regret for not being inside and racing. Then you look around and see all the people cheering and sharing with their families you quickly realize it is just as good here than in there. Especially when you see someone who is for sure digging deep respond positively to something you say.

While it is fundamentally an individual sport at events like ST Anthony’s it is a family event. It is rewarding to see all the families at the race and the day before, taking in the sites and cheering for their families. It strikes me how healthy almost everyone in attendance is. Certainly far greater than the general population, or other sporting events for that matter.

There is as much going on outside the race lines as there is inside them. I had great pleasure interacting with clients families before, during and after the race. They are so happy to finally be part of what all the training was for, I think it gives them a sense of being apart of their athletes accomplishments. Something for athletes to remember when they are doing long hours of training and the family does not get a real sense of what it is all about.

Try to bring them to an event like St Anthony’s which provides many opportunities for following athletes and plenty to do when waiting for them to finish.

All and all a great weekend!

Group Training

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 11:53:34 PDT

Today I want to talk about the benefits of group training.

First everyone should agree that it is easier to push hard when training with others. It is just plain fun to measure yourself against your training buddies and those who think they are faster than you. There are other benefits as well.

In group swims, especially open water ones, it is a great time to practice sighting, swimming in a straight line and around other swimmers. It is rare in a race that you are not going to have one or more people that are going to want to swim in your way. They may be zig zagging, or just a whole bunch of swimmers heading in the same direction. I encourage you to practice pausing to let swimmers move out of your way, a few seconds can let them pass and take a lot of frustration out of your race.

Another option is to speed up so they are behind you and you can swim your pace, caution here as it can wind you and the cost in energy may not be worth the pace. In large races you may find that you have no choice other than to swim across another swimmers path, this is typical in IM races. If you can get a group to train with you, you can learn to do this with out the other swimmer even knowing you did it and it will not effect their race one bit. Again this takes practice and if you don’t do it properly you may catch an elbow or foot for your efforts.

Have fun practicing this with your swim buddies and train smart it will pay off in the long run.

Early races and group training.

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:48:16 PDT

Welcome to spring, and if you are here in Florida, it is close to summer out there!

If you are like most triathletes you are enjoying the weather, taking advantage of early season races and working out with friends. This is a large part of the endurance sport life style. There are many benefits in doing races now, and training with groups, the both help you to stay focused and finish workouts and push harder than you would on your own.

One of the things I work with my clients on is how to balance these hard training days, weeks, months with enough recovery to be able to absorb the work and get stronger from it. Too many times athletes get caught up in the mentality that they have to do every group workout that they come across and prove that they are the strongest at every one of them. When in fact there are diminishing returns to this practice. Each hard workout builds on the last one if you let it, if you just keep going with the hard workouts at some point your body will not be able to perform like you want it to.

The wiser athletes are the ones that know when push hard and when to recover. Many times they will avoid group workouts on recovery days, or train with trusted friends who have similar goals for training that day. If you think about it you can still do the group workouts on easy days, just don’t be attached to being the strongest or fastest. In fact, if you are really competitive going easy every other workout will give you an advantage on the hard days.

Training like this should allow you to have fun and enjoy the group training and be able to improve your fitness through the season. This way your late season races will be your best, instead of a suffer fest because you are burned out and cannot wait for the off season.

In a future post I will talk about how to get the most from group training to prepare you for swimming with groups in races, riding without drafting, and efficient running. Of course, nutrition!

Train smart and exceed your expectations!

Day Light Savings Time

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:29:44 PDT

If you are anything like me you are very happy that there is more light at the end of the day!

It allows us more time to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather here in Florida and for many the urge to train more.

Tonight starts the week group riding season, translated as group races. No matter what everyone says before the rides, they always turn into a hammer fest.

The thing to remember is that some people are in the middle of their race season right now and you may be at the beginning of yours. So if you try to keep up with them it will be a painful experience. I suggest creating your training plan and start slower than you think you should, we always over estimate the time it take to get back into shape.

Soon enough you will be in the condition to keep up with your faster buddies.

Enjoy the group rides and allow them to help you improve your fitness, not take it all away.

Also remember, others may not have been ridding all winter and may have rusty bike handling skills so keep an eye out for them.

All the Best

The holidays are here!

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:50:20 PST

Much like I suspect many of you will, I will be traveling to spend time with family this week. It is wonderful to be with family and spend time together. Unfortunately, a lot of that time traditionally is spent eating or preparing to eat! Also traditionally this can be non-nutritious foods!

This year I encourage everyone to limit their portions as much as possible and since that probably will not work, get out and move as much as possible.

Walk the dogs or play with kids outside. If like me you are traveling North do something you would not normally do. Build a snow fort, have an all-out snow ball fight, or three. Go cross country skiing or like I hope to do, snow shoe through a large park. Be as creative in finding ways to move as you are in finding different foods to eat!

All of this unstructured exercise will be good for you when you start back to swim, bike and run workouts as it will help to strengthen you lateral movements which are totally ignored in triathlon training.

Enjoy the holidays and look forward to a 2011 full of training and racing!

Bryan

Client Openings

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:17:24 PDT

About this time last year when my daughter Mila joined us, I changed my coaching model from coaching 15 to 20 clients and running camps and clinics to working closer with fewer clients.

While I miss the interaction with athletes in group settings, the change has been very rewarding as I am more involved with the clients I have and my schedule more conducive to family life.

I have also found that the clients I am working with now are more interested in the overall experience of the endurance lifestyle, than a place at the top of the podium. Not that they do not strive to win, and often do, it is more a desire to enjoy the sport and have it support their life, not the other way around.

The clients I work with trust me to know where they are in their fitness and to prescribe workouts that will move them towards their goals. Often times this requires modification due to business travel or a child's ball game. They know how considerate I am of the time they have to work out and that I will prescribe the best workout for them in the time they have available.

I am telling you this because due to economic and injury issues I currently have openings for 2 new clients. So, if you or anyone you know is in need of a coach who understands the demands of time from work, family and training; provides personalized science based coaching.

Please contact me at bryan@coachbryan.com and we can set up a time to discuss your particular needs and how I can help you reach them.

FYI, my clients are located in Sarasota and all across the country, many participate in group workouts with their local clubs or groups and use me help them get the most from their options.

I also provide consultations and customized training plans for clients who do not want full time coaching.

How is your season going?

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 06:53:21 PDT

This time of year most triathletes fall into one of two categories.

They are extremely fit and on track to reach their goals, or they are have run into some obstacles and are not happy with their fitness right now.

If you are in the first of these two groups congratulations and keep doing what you have been doing.

I was recently asked by a client that has had many life issues this season how he was going to reach his goals. My answer was, what are your goals?

I know what they were at the beginning of the season, I had them sitting right in front of me when I was talking to him. My question was, what are they now that you have not been able to get much of your prescribed workouts in?

After a lengthy discussion we came to the agreement that his primary focus in life is overall fitness so he can enjoy life with his family, not a specific time in an IM race. This was a good starting point and I suggest if you have had some issues this season you invest some time to consider where you are and where you want to go.

We went on to decide he would still do his race, yet not focus on time. In his case he is going to look to 2011 for his key race and this year mix in more base miles with all around fitness training so he can be better prepared for next season.

So many triathletes focus so much on swimming, bicycling and running that they skip exercises that will make them more resilient to injury. Like off axis workouts and lateral movements.

So if you find yourself having to re-evaluate your goals you may want to consider taking some body works classes or the TRX classes that are the rage now.

Whatever you do, have fun with it and keep your overall goal in mind.

A beginner’s perspective on group rides.

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:41:22 PDT

Recently I was asked to be a front man on a tandem bike for a friend that can no longer ride on his own. At first I was very excited about being able to share cycling with him again, something we both have a passion for. Not to mention the idea of 2 guys on one bike being able to go fast with less effort than just one!

I quickly learned there was a very steep learning curve involved and if I did not “really” want to ride with my friend I would easily have passed on the opportunity after one short ride. It never occurred to me that I would have to learn how to ride a bike all over. Every corner, every bump and most of all every stop/start require communication and skills that I never even think about any more on a bike by myself.

In addition to riding again my friend has reached out to the community and has recruited larger groups to ride with him. Many of these riders are new to the sport or rusty as they have not ridden in years. I notice how they are tentative in riding with a group and now have a greater appreciation for what they are going through. Each time they want to wipe sweat out of their eye, talk to someone beside them or take a drink of water it is a major event. It takes practice to do this and you have to “want” to do it if you are going to ride with groups.

Group riding has a lot of pros and cons and I was talking about this with one of my clients earlier and thought others might benefit from my new found perspective and started this blog.

The first point I would like to make is there are many types of group rides and you do not need to like them all to like any of them. For instance there are fast race training rides that only very experienced riders like and should be on. There are social rides that are very slow and can be boring. Then there are rides with long pulls and other with rapid short pulls or rotations. The point is, check out multiple groups before you rule them out. Then if you decide they are not for you at least you know that you checked them out.

The biggest benefit for group riding is that you are pushed harder than when you would ride alone and can increase your fitness and cycling abilities rapidly. The key is to get comfortable in a group. Plus new people typically stay a bike or two lengths back because they are not comfortable being so close to other bikes. I understand it takes time to get used to this, what you need to understand is this reduces the amount of draft you get from the group. If you are the 3 rd person sitting a bike length back you basically have no draft. So here you are in a group of experienced riders and working 3-4 times as hard as they are, this is not a recipe for success.

What I suggest for you is to get to the front 3^rd of a group to start and stay there as long as possible, each time you will get more comfortable and learn how to maneuver in a group. Then as the speeds pick up, gradually move to the back where you will be more comfortable. Over time you will be more comfortable up front and soon be riding like everyone else.

When you are in the group watch what the experienced riders do, you can learn a lot by watching them. If you feel comfortable, ask them question and let them know that you are new to a group, most of them will be happy to give you pointers. Here is a very important point, if someone yells either at you or someone you are with during a group ride don’t take it personally, sometimes people do unexpected things and riders get scared and they are just making their point.

Most people find that after the first few “awkward” rides that group rides are a great way to get fit and spend time with like minded individuals. I encourage you to stay with it and enjoy the new found fitness that will come with it!

Feel free to contact me with any questions on group riding,

Coach Bryan

More on training in hot humid conditions

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Mon, 24 May 2010 05:55:21 PDT

Thank you to everyone that replied to my heads up on the heat on Saturday!

I was cut short on the rest of my thoughts by little Miss Mila and never got the chance to elaborate.

As many of us communicated via emails and social media over the weekend, we have gone from comfortable temperatures for training to full out hot and humid. I got in my jeep yesterday afternoon and it registered 100 degrees as the outside temperature! It did cool to 98 after a few minutes of driving.

Many of us have become spoiled by the cool winter, especially those in the Northern states, and have yet to start carrying the supplies necessary to exercise in the heat.

There are many ways to do this, I recommend a few below, yet do not intend for this to be an all inclusive list. Most importantly you should mix up all the options you have until you find the right one that works for you.

Since you will be effected more by the heat and humidity during bouts or higher intensity, I encourage you to schedule easier efforts until you get adjusted to the conditions.

You can start thinking about your training sessions the day before making sure you are well hydrated and consuming more summer foods which are high in water. I.e. a nice salad with fruits, nuts, plenty of veggies and lean meat rather than a large pasta bowl with sauce and cheese.

I like to start my long training sessions in the summer with a smoothie rather than dry food. It is cold, full of nutrients and I do not get bloated. When I can, I finish with another smoothie or some watermelon to recharge and hydrate myself, as well as cool off! Again this works for me, it may not for others.

During training, there are lots of supplements out there to use, during the winter you may get away with just water, now you will want to consider some options, like salt tablets, additives to your sports drinks and specialized custom made drinks. All of these in the right combination work differently for each of us, so I suggest if you are going for a long hot ride you take more than you will need to make sure you make it home and adjust down ward from there.

Another area that I personally focus on is supplements, I know there is a lot of talk out there about what works and what is wasted. Not to mention what you can get from your diet if you eat right. Personally I hold that the foods we can get our hands on do not hold the nutrients that they did previously, so I use supplements that I have determined with my supplier will support me in the summer months. Let me know if you would like their name.

Ok, all for now, and I hope this helps you plan a great summer training season, no matter what your goals are!

Need to Plan for the Heat!

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Sat, 22 May 2010 05:05:55 PDT

It is a warm Saturday morning, make sure you plan for the heat when you start your training today.

I have been hearing many stories about those who have forgotten what the heat does to them.

Late Winter/ early spring traditions.

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:48:44 PST

I hope this message finds you lean and on track to reach your fitness goals for this year!

This week as I watch the news and listen to people make their commitments to for lent and other various traditions I can not help but wonder where they all come from.

It just hits me that all the carnivals and national traditions come at the same time of year, most on the same day. For example Fat Tuesday and Punski day and the start of lent. The concept is eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we diet, or at least for my point here it is. Why do all these cultures do this at this time of year?

My guess is that about now, late winter/early spring is when people over the ages realized they did not keep their new year resolutions and that they had better get moving if they are going to have beach bodies for the summer. Or to those I am writing to, be able to compete in there triathlons this year.

I guess my point is, if all these cultures have events in place to jumpstart the spring, there must be a reason. Seems to me it is difficult to stay focused on fitness when it is so cold outside, so they have rituals in place to get things going right now. Again, I am only focusing on the fitness side of the rituals I know some of them go much further than that.

What does all this mean to you? If you have not been training and are not in the shape you want to be in, take heart you are not the only one!

So what do you do now? Start planning immediately and commit to a plan that will help you reach your goals. You know you want to do this, so just set down and do it.

You can make it elaborate and complete with all your workout details in it, simply commit to working out each and every day, or call Bryan and commit to working with him to reach your goals. Seriously, all of the above options are good and if you want some third party support that is what I am here for. I can help you know what to do during your allocated training time so you make the most of it and don't waste valuable training time figuring out what to do. If you want I can even be there to walk you through it.

The most important thing is that you get moving now, today! Decide how you are going to proceed and commit!

I know everyone is fighting to keep you from doing it, I see grocery stores running ads with all the high fat foods on sale and fast food restaurants pushing their fare. I encourage you to do what you know you want to do, commit to being fit!

Ok I will get off my motivational stump for now, just know that I am here if you want any motivation or guidance in to reach your goals.

Oh, I suggest you watch the Olympics, if that does not motivate you to do what you want to do, then perhaps you need to question your true goals:)

I hope you have an outstanding weekend and I hope to see you out enjoying your fitness!

Off season goals and training

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:54:57 PDT

It is great to hear all the stories from recent races, and talk to people about their preparations for the season ending races.
With the fall races coming soon there will follow very shortly afterwards, what used to be the “off season”. Traditionally from October to April there were no triathlons in the Northern Hemisphere, it was a time to rejuvenate the body, refresh the mind with less focus on training and enjoying other attributes of life and reconnecting with our families.
Now days there are races year round, which is nice in that it gives those of us who cannot train in the summer an opportunity to race in the Winter. The downside is that some people look at it as an opportunity to get stronger for next year, by training with the same intensity they did all season in the same three sports. Or more frequently we hear, “I will train for a marathon, what great cross training”! And, yes it is good cross training if done right, and a sure recipe for disaster if not.
Here is what I mean; if you finish your big race or series of races for the season and then take a week off to “recover” then, start a structured running plan for your marathon. Where is the recovery time? Your body can not possibly recover from all the stresses you put on it during the season in that short of time, and you have not had time to clear your head from all the structured training. Does this sound familiar?
Too many times I have seen people start the winter with the best intentions to have a great season next year, to never see them training again. Or more common to see them in the spring so out of shape and demoralized that they wonder if they will ever race again. Many never do!
So am I saying you are doomed? Or that you should spend the next 2 months on the couch? No of course not, and I also have been around long enough to know that I do not have all the answers.
At the same time, I have also seen things that work and want to share them with you. While a structured training plan or a “too” structured training plan can be detrimental, the same can be true for an unstructured “off Season”. What I have seen work best is to have a goal in mind for the off season, a clear concise goal, and a plan for achieving it. With fun, nontraditional exercise mixed in with lots of rest and play time.
It is a great time for sports that you take less serious and still love, like tennis, football, basket ball ect. Note; it is not by mistake that these all require off axis movements that are rarely used in triathlon. Other great activities include Yoga, strength training, mountain biking, Pilates, cycle cross and many more. All of these can help to make you stronger and more resilient to injury next season, while refreshing your competitive spirit and improving your technique. It is a matter for future posts to discuss the benefits of each individual activity, feel free to ask me about them though.
One area that so many triathletes stay away from is determining their Limtors and strength training. You really owe it to yourself to determine what your limitors are and work on them. Mine are feet and hip flexor’s I will go through my process and a future post, soon. Then set a plan to work on them.
You probably already know what they are, is your swim the weakest link, or is it the run? Let’s say it is the run, what part of running is it that bothers you? Is it endurance or a specific ache? Is it cardiovascular endurance or muscle endurance? Keep asking yourself questions or get with a professional to help you determine what your limits are, and how to improve them.
I have found Boot camps to be a great way to cross train and address a great variety of limtors. I will have one so you can see what I am talking about. So October 24th, 8 am Siesta Key beach. This will be a fun and innovative workout for you to learn some things about your body and have a great time in the process.
The key is to keep the off season fun and playful, while improving your sport technique. Let me know what you think about this and some of the things you do in the off season to stay fit!

What is your race pace?

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:19:28 PDT

Now is the time that you should be preparing for your late season “A” race.

Training yourself to maintain the pace you anticipate or desire for your race. There are many ways of doing this, and assuming you have build a solid base, the most effective is to do your longer workouts as race simulations to test your pace, nutrition, equipment and strategies.

No matter how tempting it may be, this is not the time to be doing group rides at paces faster than you will be racing. So find other people to ride with:)

Let me know if you have any questions about this,

Till then train smart and let me know how your race goes!

Any Conflicts with your key race?

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:45:24 PDT

Typically this time of year I get a lot of questions about changing scheduled races and what logical substitutes should be. This year is no exception!

Understandably, especially in longer races where you have to register a year out, life throws us curve balls and we cannot always adjust to them easily. Sometimes it is because of an injury and sometimes because of family and or work conflict. Either way, athletes are left with a difficult decision, to continue their training, in a limited fashion, cancel the event all together or to find another event that will better fit their current situation.

What I typically do when asked these kinds of questions is to ask them why they signed up in the first place. If it is that they have a burning desire to complete some event or distance, this year, and they are not willing to give that up. Then I help them find a way to get it done, with perhaps different expectations than they originally had regarding time or other performance parameters.

More times than not when they think about their original goal they realize that perhaps they do not have to complete this, this year. Many times they have lost sight of what their original goals where and why they started doing endurance sports in the first place. When this is the case I suggest that they seriously consider picking an event that better suits their issues, and train for it. Rather than cram an event in this year. In my experience those who have done this have 100% of the time been happy about the decision.

Those that really wanted an event done no matter what, and changed their expectations of outcomes, have been happy too.

I hope this is not an issue with you this season, and I hope this thought process helps you now or in future seasons.

Let me know what you think about this.

How much should I eat?

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:25:21 PDT

There is a lot of conversation right now in the triathlon community about nutrition.
Actually there is always a lot of conversation about nutrition in the triathlon community.
Recently there have been posts on coaching boards, articles written and blogs regarding the amounts of food we actually need to consume to train and race.
Over the last few years I have cut down dramatically the amounts of food, or fuel if you will, that I consume and recommend for my clients. The conventional thought when I started doing triathlons was to eat as often as you could and continuously drink water and sports drinks in between.
I found that following this protocol left me feeling like I ate a bunch of sugar which is not a good feeling, or I was so bloated that I could hardly move. So I began with mixing whole natural foods with my sports products and experimenting with how little I could eat and still perform at my best. The first thing I found is that it was easier to maintain an athletic body weight, which was a big sign that I was consuming too much during training. This lead me to look at portion size in all of my meals and resulted in cuts there as well. It is amazing how many wasted calories are in the American diet!
In conversations with clients it has always been a challenge to help them find the right mix. The biggest issue is product advertising always focuses on more, and the rule of thumb has been to take in 200 to 400 calories per hour, depending on how big you are and how fast you will be going. Then you toss in the electrolyte conversation and you have a lot of calories on board for training.
I encourage you to play with how little you need to consume during your training so you have the right fuel on board for your races. I think you will find as I did that you do not need as much as you thought. Also you might find that the needs for electrolytes do not have to come from sports drinks rich in sugars and calories, natural sources and the foods you are already consuming might be enough for you. It is an individual thing and if you are doing all the training I think you will agree it is worth looking at the nutrition, because it can ruin your race just as fast as not training for it can!
I find it interesting that Joe Friel is writing a lot about this same topic now. Even though the levels he is talking about seem extreme to me, it adds to my we are all individuals statement.
Let me know if you are experiencing the same thing, I am interested to know.

Challanging Beach Interval Workout

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:19:24 PDT

Interval Beach Training

June 27th, 7:30am

This in no ordinary day at the beach!
· Everyone is welcome to come have some fun and get in shape at the same time.
· The start time is 7:30am at the southernmost “YELLOW” life guard stand.
· This work out is designed to help us improve our fitness in a fun and exciting way.
· We will pair up in groups of two or three individuals of similar fitness levels.
· Each group will need one mountain bike or beach cruiser.
· All levels of fitness are welcome everyone will train at their own level!
· For more details www.bluedolphincoaching.com

· Items needed 1 bike per group, running shoes, swim goggles, water or sports drinks!
· Desire to push your self to new levels of fitness!
· A big smile and desire to have fun!

For information:
Bryan Hoskinson 941-320-7111
bhoskinson@trainingbible.com

Warning; while this brick work is out designed to increase speed for short races and leg turn over for longer races; it can sometimes turn into a race!

The workout can be conducted with two or more participants per team, the more teams involved the more fun it is. This is a fun substitute for track work outs. You will pair up with one or two other athletes that want to run at a similar speed as you do.

With this in mind the work out is a lot of fun and perfect for Siesta Beach. You will need one mountain bike or cruiser for each team of athletes. We will head south to the Southern wall first, mainly because we cannot ride bikes through the public beach area once the guards are on duty. Then we will follow the same process north and back.

Each team will start at the same time with the runners taking off first at their predetermined pace and the cyclist waiting a few minutes for them to get a head. The cyclist will pass their runner and lay down the bike and begin running along the course. This process will be continued for the distance of the workout. If one of the members of a team gets tired they can ride the bike longer to recover leaving the stronger team mate to get their workout in.

This workout is good for training for races of any distance as the pace is determined by the participants. Ideally it is a pace 10 to 15% faster than your next “A” race, pace. As in all group workouts you will have to be mindful of what your goal is as this can turn into a race. And if the other teams are training for a sprint race and you are preparing for an iron distance race, you could set your training back a few days for recoveryJ

After all teams have completed the first part of the workout we will get ready for the swim portion. The idea here is to practice swimming for the end of the swim when you are tired and your stroke typically falls apart. We will have a mass start running into the water practicing our swim entry, swim around the buoy, exiting the water as efficiently as possible then run around the guard stand, do 15 pushups and repeat 2- 4 more times.

Again this is a great workout opportunity, lots of fun and all levels of athletes benefit from it. So call your friends and bring the family to relax on the beach for a bit afterwards.

Call me with any questions.

Bryan
941-320-7111

Race Expectations

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:57:35 PDT

Over the last few weeks I have been getting many questions from clients and non clients alike, asking if they are ready for their event or not. I always find this a common thread in questions because we all wonder the same thing just in different levels.

For instance, am I ready to finish the event?
Am I ready to PR?
Am I ready to win my age group?
Am I ready to win over all?

My answer is pretty much the same for all of them, yes as long as you don’t try to do something in the race that you haven’t done in training. So many times the race suit comes out and people think they can go faster than they have ever gone. While this may be true for a short distance, I think you know what I mean, race the race you trained for and you will do well. Expect too much and you will be disappointed.

That is my advice, let me know what you think!

Best to all at Disney 70.3 this week!

There is more to the life than swimming, biking and running!

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:21:40 PST

“Again…..I thought tri was just simple….. swim…bike…run….they don’t let you in on the secrets until you are hooked!...:)”

This is part of an email I recently got from one of my clients, it is not uncommon for me to receive some like this. I have included some of my reply to her here I hope you find it interesting.

What a great line. Truth is for most people it is just that, for those who look beneath the covers they find a much richer experience and opportunity to explore the balance and integration of body, mind and spirit. For to really enjoy the lifestyle you need to find the balance between the training, the recovery, the fueling and balancing it all within daily life!

You will know when you are there, when you feel free riding, look at watching tv as the optimal time to stretch, and go to bed more excited to wake up and run/meditate than sleep.

The foam roll, while physically challenging, is actually a reward in releasing the tension built in the muscles while training, so you can train some more.

Starting to see that it all goes back to that, the training and subsequent meditation is the reward, not the work? All things lead to the time to have and be training!

You may find that this resonates with you in different ways than this client. Yet, I suspect that if you are living the endurance athlete lifestyle, at some level you know what we are talking about.

Enjoy the process of testing what works best for you and how to best integrate it into your life style.

Let me know if that makes sense.

Notes on the Y-Tri

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:43:29 PST

Once again John D. Letourneau did a fantastic job of making the Super Bowl Y-tri a success. Each year he pulls together a group of people with just the right talents to make it a huge success. The first year it was Dale, Tony and I, some others, sorry I do not recall everyone.
This year it was Steve B, Melinda Z, David B, Melissa C and a host of other help. Once again I helped with the run course which, due to the nature of the course allows me a lot of contact with the volunteers and the athletes. Since the volunteers are club members we share a passion of helping others learn about our sport, and almost compete to cheer the most for each athlete as they come by our post.

Being part of the “innocence”, as I call it, of the sport is always a great source of re-newance for me. It reminds me of the purity of the sport and why I love it so much. I hope it does the same for you, and encourage you to volunteer when ever you can. I know it can get in the way of your training and racing, yet in some ways it is the ultimate workout.

With this said, now may be a good time to re-evaluate your goals for the season, see which are realistic and challenge you enough. Do us both a favor and set some lofty goals that will make you find out more about who you are I know I am.

More on that soon!

Annual Race Schedule.

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:36:32 PST

For the last few months I have been getting a lot of familiar questions regarding annual plans. For the most part they start with spring races like St Anthony’s and club races. In all but a few cases, the schedules are too full! Way too full!

Beginners’ questions go something like this. “I have not been exercising for years and have signed up for an Olympic distance race in April, with 3 sprints leading up to it. One the week prior to the April race. They all are very important to me, so they are “A” races for sure! So how many days a week should I train, oh and what kind of a bike do you think I should get?”

Experienced athletes. “Ok, this is my 5th season and I always start with St Anthony’s, I never seem to run very well there, so I signed up for 3 winter ½ marathons and a marathon 3 weeks prior to SA’s and the sprint the weekend before. That should have me ready for a run PR right?”

The rest of the season is typically similar with a race almost every week end and everyone of them very important “A” races.

First I should say I love these questions and this time of year, everyone is focused on fitness, every lane in the pool is full and the temperature out side is close to 80. I much rather these questions than having to go into peoples homes and drag them off the couches!

That said, my answers to the above are if these races are so important to you, why haven’t you done them before? I appreciate that you are excited and motivated now, so lets set about a plan that will help you to reach your goals and want to continue with the healthy lifestyle that triathlon demands.

The biggest things to think about in regards to these questions are if you are racing all winter, and every week during the season you do not have time to build a base or recover for your true “A” races. While I agree it is important to have race experience and practice under your belt prior to your race, it is a rare person who can take it easy in a race and since sprint and Olympic distance races demand different energy systems, the results are seldom the best way to reach your goals. Lastly, if you are so focused on running in your off season, where will the swim and bike come in, I know you will get them in, yet at what cost.

A better designed plan will get you prepared for your “A” races, work on your weak disciplines, start you off with a solid base of fitness and prepared for the best season of your life! Be realistic on what you can do and how much time you have to do it, plan for recovery and family time and focus on your key races.

Have fun, stay motivated and train smart!

My thoughts on the Y-tri.

noreply@blogger.com (BryanHoskinson) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:12:28 PST

We started this event so people could learn more about the sport and the benefits of the healthy life stile it promotes. It has grown to an early season race, and it a regular on many triathletes calendar.

We hope to get back to the roots again and those who have done many races will come support those who are just getting into it.

So please come out and join us for a morning of fun and give back to the sport that has given us all so much!