Thinking about symmetry and muscle imbalances in triathlon

Muscular imbalances can slow you down and might even cause injury. They can hurt your technique which leads to being slower and less efficient, making you tired more quickly.

I want to write about identifying causes of muscular imbalance and how prevent or fix them.

First, let's look at Rob in the video below (I don't know Rob; I found this on youtube and thought it was a good example of what I'm talking about). Notice is right shoulder muscle during the contraction phase. Freaky! Aside from the discussion about machine v free weights, think about how long he has been doing the exercise that way to get that kind of imbalance.



And here's a video about running with a muscular imbalance. Again, this was from a quick youtube search. The good stuff starts at 1:36, but the beginning is a nice summary and educational portion.



So what do I think some common symmetry problems are in triathletes?

The core has to be the most imbalanced muscle group we read about, and it's a bit more complicated than just side to side. In fact, most common is probably a weak core that leads to lower back pain.  Stronger core equals stronger lower back, and that will help you maintain an aero position on the bike and definitely help you on longer runs.

Swimming Imbalances: With so many of us having trouble getting a good streamline, there are many areas that lead to imbalances.

1. Breathing: this one is pretty obvious, and I'm probably the lead problem-child because I simply decided not to worry about bi-lateral breathing. Anytime you are doing something to the same side repeatedly, you are asking for trouble. I know this causes a somewhat major imbalance in my stroke technique and I think it leads to differences in my abs. The solution is obviously to breathe bi-laterally, which most people say will also greatly improve your overall technique and certainly streamline you better.

2. "Strong-arm" pull associated with a strong side of the core: Again, we are going back to the core. A good swim technique involves using the core muscles as a platform to push against in the water. If you are pushing stronger with one arm, you are leading yourself to an imbalance in your core as the associated side gets stronger, too.

Bike Imbalances: These are a little harder to think about. With a bike leg that drastically lags behind my swim and run in terms of where relative times in races, I figure I must have a few imbalances.

1. Quads and Hams: Most people will tell you to pedal in circles in effort to ensure you are not "mashing." Well, that mashing will certainly lead to an imbalance between quadriceps and hamstrings. There must be a perfect ratio of "quads to hams," but I don't know it. The point being that bicyclists should consider if that ratio might be out of whack and creating an imbalance of quads-to-hams effort.

2. Core and Lower Back: Well, here is that pesky core showing up again. Staying in an aero position is not something everyone is immediately comfortable doing. It takes a bit of getting used to. And part of that transition is building an equally strong core and lower back that facilitates that position. I think you'll also find that as you cycle more in the areo position, your abs become significantly stronger.

3. Right versus Left: Everyone has a dominant arm, hand, and leg. It could be showing up in your bicycling. Catch it early in the season to prevent other problems. I personally think (without any review of studies) that a muscular imbalance between right and left can create knee problems because one leg ends up "mashing," which leads to the knee problem.

Run Imbalances: This isn't as simple as you would think. How hard can running be, right? Weeeellll, it can get more complicated than just putting one foot in front of the other as quickly as you can.

1. Posture: Go back to the second video today. In the first few slides, you can see different yellow lines and how they line up (they should be symmetrical on both vertical and horizontal axis). When you get tired and start slouching, you are showing your musclular imbalances. Which way do you lean when you slouch? Concentrate on good posture when you run, and that will help immensely with any imblances.

One of the main triathlon magazines had an article about running posture and it directly affected the outcome of the race. Lines were drown on the men racers, with the question something like "based on the running posture, which of the eight racers won the race?" Well, the guy that was at the back of the pack won the race because he had perfectly vertical posture. It's really a shame that I can't find that article now (and spent 30 minutes looking!).

2. Heel strike: Without getting too far into this issue, suffice to say that different angles of foot strike will create different muscles being used. Ensure each foot is striking the ground in a similar fashion.


Weight lifting:  Refer back to Rob at the beginning of the video. You don't want to be like Rob.  Here are some thoughts I have about weight-lifting for triathlon and some specific items to consider while you are lifting weights.

1. ALWAYS think about each and every action of each rep. You should know the general "lines of movement" that the exercise should follow in order to properly isolate the muscle group you are exercising. If you feel your whole body working to complete a rep, you are probably doing it wrong, and you'll end up like Rob (read the note of the video for more insight).  Isolate the muscle on each side properly to ensure you are lifting the same amount of weight on each side.


2. "Lines of movement" should be the same for both sides. The "lines of movement" are the actually paths in the air that your body makes. For example, given a bench press with individual dumbbells, are your arms following the same path through the air relative to your body? If not, you will eventually end up with a muscle  imbalance.

3. Angles: Similar to "lines of movement," the angles at which you are working need to be the same. For example, on the leg press, both feet should be in the same position relative to your body in the seat. Be picky about this! A little three-degree angle difference could lead to some significant imbalances. And are the angles close to what you are actually doing on the bike?

That's my attempt at a quick note about symmetry in your training. Obviously, there is much more to be said about this. But my point is that everyone should be thinking about it during their training sessions. Sometimes,     there is a pre-existing imbalance that is hurting your technique which then hurts speed and endurance. Or, because you are new to the sport or just not thinking about it, poor form will lead to an imbalance, which can be terribly difficult to train out of.

More on big breakfasts

As Matt says in the video linked below, "Go ahead and chow down."

I've posted before about big breakfasts, and this is a little two  minute clip with more to say about that. My breakfasts run in the 800-1000 calorie range (based on how many cups of cereal fit in my standard size breakfast bowl), so when he talks about 610-calorie breakfasts, it really isn't that much.

Take a peak and start eating big in the morning:
Racing Weight: The Benefits Of Eating A Big Breakfast - Triathlete.com

1st Day of Christmas: One Philosophy of Consistency

Christmas is tomorrow! Wow!

Everything up to now has focused on gear. But gear is not the most important thing in triathlon training and racing.

1st Day of Christmas: Consistency!

All the best gear in the world is not going to get you to the finish line of your big training days or big races. Only training can get you there. A smart training plan that builds upon weekly successes to create monthly successes that then create annual successes. And the foundation of all that training is CONSISTENCY.

It's really that simple. For 90% of the triathlete population, consistent training at a moderate pace will bring consistent improvement at a moderate pace.  And then it's just a matter of time until you break into the upper echelon in which gear and equipment provides specific advantages.

But even the philosophy of consistency has it's own foundation. To be consistent, you have to be dedicated to get up every morning and hit that scheduled workout of 3-4 sessions for each sport per week. You have to have a schedule that let's you get in consistent workouts. Most importantly to me, you have to coordinate your family time such that they remain the priority in life.

Consistency will indeed pay off, usually fairly quickly for people just starting.

A key element to how quickly it pays off is if you are hitting the right intensity level. It certainly shouldn't be high intensity in the very early stages like the first three weeks, when you should be simply setting a groove for yourself and letting your body adapt to new stresses. The second three weeks, you can turn up the intensity a bit, and then you'll start noticing the changes towards the end of the third week.  Each week, you either maintain an intensity and volume level or increase ONE of them (don't increase both because then you'll certainly lose consistency from lack of recovery or injury).

Of course, if you workout consistently at too low of an intensity level, you'll never see a difference. I like to keep things around 80% of max heart rate to ensure I maintain consistency. Anything harder than that, and I have to start worrying about appropriate recovery towards the end of the week (and I certainly do do the harder workouts! they are scheduled appropriately for recovery).  I always here about people who go to the   gym or walk EVERY DAY but can't lose weight...well, short and simple....their intensity level is too low or they haven't adjusted calorie intake.

If you want to improve in triathlon, CONSISTENCY is the key.

2nd Day of Christmas: Two things you DON'T NEED

All of the mentors I've had in life had at least one thing in common; they knew that wisdom is counter-intuitive. It's counter-intuitive to think about thing you don't need to succeed.   And then there are the definitions of "need" and "want."....and only you can define "want" versus "need" in your case.

So, let's get started....

2nd Day of Christmas....Two Things You DON'T NEED.

You DON'T NEED a really nice bike. In fact, you DON'T NEED a time-trial (TT) bike with aero-bars. What you do need to do is figure out your goals for triathlon and then get gear that helps you meet those goals. If winning the Ironman World Championships is one of your goals, well...ok...then you probably need a really sweet $10,000 bike.  If you want to enjoy the effects of triathlon training...better mood, better physique, lower cholesterol, and all those things....a bike can't help with those things.  Take a year or two beforel you go big-spender on the bike, and you'll be much smarter about what you want and what you should get.  I didn't wait, and I now have a bike I'm not completely happy with (although it fits exactly what I wanted...basic TT bike).

If you already have a mountain bike, then look for Xterra races in your area. If you already have a road bike, then spend your money on better things like  a wetsuit, pool membership, and such. For most people, time and money spent on taking ten minutes off our time should be spent on the swim.


You DON'T NEED all the supplements that the marketing guys and gals throw at you. Yes, I just did a post about Hammer Nutrition and all the great things that will do for you, but re-read it and you'll see several mentions about how I minimize their intake. Like the bike, they are really expensive and might not directly help you meet your goals. My annual budget for supplements is about $70-$100 (a bag of protein mix, a bag of Recoverite, a couple bottles of gel, and a few individual servings of HEED), and I think that is almost excessive.  I save alot of the individual serving items from races and use those during breakthrough training sessions. This is all for what I consider a fairly competitive season.  You can get all the nutrition you need (and get from supplements) from stuff likely already in your kitchen.

3rd Day of Christmas: Three Visions of Sugarplums and Really Sweet Gear!

The third day of Christmas, and now I'm dreaming. Here is some of my dream gear. Remember, I have two little kids now, so I doubt I'll see these dreams come true for a while.

1. Power meter: I want a real, no-kidding power meter that works in all places and at all times. Right now, I use the "meter" that comes in the Kurt Kinetic wireless bike computer, and it calculates the power rather than measures the power. It works good enough for what I bought it for. But I want something that is always truly measuring the power and will give me the downloads of data for analyzing it like some freak scientist.

2. Computrainer: These look sooooooo AWESOME! I honestly have never had the opportunity to ride on one, but how could the theory go wrong. All reviews are that it is quite realistic. The premise is that the computer changes the difficulty of your trainer compared to the elevation and other factors of the course you are riding. You can make up courses with topo maps (ie the course you've ridden three times weekly for the past five years), or you can buy courses that also come with live video as if you were riding down the road.

3 Endless Pool: I have the place already picked out where this will be put in our yard and attached to the house. Now I just have to win the lottery! Wouldn't it be great to have this at home for a 30 minute swim every morning without the pain of dealing with a packed pool and the denizens of the local pool? I can only dream of this sort of thing!

4th Day of Christmas = Running Shoes

Running Shoes. This is one of those topics that is impossible to please everyone because there are so many opinions and scientific studies. I'm not going to get into the specifics about this other than to say I think you need four pairs of shoes.

Thus, Four Pairs of Shoes on the Fourth Day of Christmas.

1. Trainers: these are your every day, volume and tempo running shoes. They should be sturdy with padding to prevent injury.  I like the Nike Structure Triax 14 that I bought last year. They solved my calf muscle problem that I could never really pinpoint a cause of. When choosing your trainer, this is where you get into the types of shoes for pronating and such. Below is a good video on the subject (found on Triathlete.com today!).

2. Race Shoes / Sprint workouts:  First off, let me tell you that I don't have a pair of race shoes like this, simply because I haven't moved them up the financial priority list (ie I don't have the money!). These are the shoes that are specially made for racing; they are light, easy to slip on in transition, and provide minimal padding. Not only are they race shoes, but you should probably run in them occassionally during the year, probably during sprint workouts or 2-3 race distance tempo runs each month so you know that your body "likes" them and they don't cause injury. Some of them look pretty cool, too.

3. Trail Shoes: I like trail running, and trail shoes can make a bit of a difference. If you think you'll be doing a fair amount of trail running in your training year, go ahead and get a pair of trail shoes instead of wearing your road shoes on the trails. I find that the biggest problem with the road shoes on the trail is that the tread gets eaten up pretty quickly. Stability and such is a long-second to simply getting my road shoes beat up too much.

4. Miscellaneous Shoes: All my used shoes turn into miscellaneous shoes. These are the beat-up shoes that are too worn down to run in but can provide basic shoe functions during other activities. The first option is gym shoes, like during a quick weight lifting routine. Or, they can be the shoes I throw on to ride bike with the kids. Some shoes turn into lawn-mowing shoes and get the green-grass-stain treatment. They could also be your first wet-wading shoes for fly-fishing or a pair of very light hikers, but I recommend some real water-shoes or hiking boots for those tasks. Don't forget that charities take shoes, too!

5th Day of Christmas = Headphones (that work for triathlon!)

I've had a lot of trouble finding useful headphones that work for triathlon workouts. I'm talking about big-sweat-fests on the trainer and long runs where I need some mental stimulation.  I prefer bluetooth simply to get rid of the cords.

Here are five headphones for you to check-out, in order of usefullness.

I currently am using a pair of Jayfree Freedom headphones. I like them the best of all the bluetooth headphones I've tried, but they still aren't perfect. I haven't run with them because I'm not doing long nine-milers right now and I only recently got them a couple months ago. They fit snugly in my ear during long bike rides and require minimal fidgeting.  If you're going to get a pair of bluetooth headphones, I recommend these, if only for the sweat-proof guarantee.  I also like the wire that connects the earbuds because it is fairly flexible. Someday they'll come up with headphones that don't need to be attached to each other, and then I'll finally be happy. Finally, the box these come in and the carrying case are a bit over the top for me.....cut the price by $15 and skip the packaging bling for happier customers.

Second in line are the Backbeats. I like these for driving and listening to movies at home on the computer, but I don't recommend them for triathlon (although if you must, they would probably work). Like the Freedoms, the wire between them makes them much more comfortable and flexible than the S-9's.

Third is the Motorola S-10s, theoretically an upgrade from the S-9's. I had three pair of S-9's, all of which shorted out.  These are ok for driving or office-work but I can't recommend them for anything related to triathlon.

Here are some swimming MP3 players. I haven't tried them.  I talked to one person at the pool who had them (the Finis) on, and she was happy with them. I can't see them staying on after a hard push from the wall. I suppose if you are doing only kicks, they would work ok.  I think you should focus on your swim technique instead of music during swim workouts. But here are two options for you....

$79.95 for Fitness Technologies @ Swim Outlet

    

$134.90 for Finis SwiMP3 at Amazon.com