At the Fritton Lake Triathlon Festival on Saturday and Sunday May 29 and 30 the London Fields Triathlon Club found two new champions! Seb Balcombe, competing in his first ever triathlon, won his age group in the Super Sprint on Saturday. In the true spirit of the club Seb even stopped to help the guy … Continued
Developing a good breathing technique is one of the biggest challenges for beginner and intermediate swimmers. Do you have a strong side and a weak side? Why is that do you think? Problems with breathing can have an effect on other parts of your stroke. For instance, breathing can cause scissor kicks, a poor body … Continued
Calf pain is a common problem especially in athletes whose chosen sport involves running. If not diagnosed and managed properly it can persist for months or recur causing disruption to training routines and frustration. The calf consists of two muscles, the gastrocnemius and the soleus. They both share a common tendon, the Achilles tendon, that … Continued
Hello there! This weekend’s swim session is focussing on ‘body roll’. Body roll refers to the rotation of the shoulder, torso and hips about the long axis of the body with each stroke. A good efficient freestyle stroke will result in the shoulders, torso and hips rotating together. The head remains stationary turning only slightly … Continued
With four of our club members joining me for long run in the cold wind and driving rain on Sunday it wasn’t long before our minds wandered away from thoughts of spring and the upcoming race season. The topic of conversation instead turned to human anatomy and more specifically buttocks! One of the group had … Continued
Periodization allows you to divide your annual training plan into ‘periods’ or phases of training. Each period will have a different emphasis. The ‘transition’ period is a recovery period and occurs after a race and at the end of the season. The transition period will last between one and six weeks. One week after a … Continued
Joe Friel, world renowned triathlon coach, describes three basic abilities for successful multisport racing: endurance, force and speed skills. These three basic abilities form the foundation for successful multisport training and racing. Endurance is the ability to delay the onset of fatigue and reduce its effects on performance. For a novice multisport athlete endurance is … Continued
To understand ‘periodization theory’ it is important to understand the training principles that form the basis of the theory. Principle of specificity A training program will progress from ‘general training’ to ‘specific training’ throughout the year. For example, an athlete may want to develop greater cycling strength. Early in the season they might use a … Continued
For some of us, including me, our first race is only 8 weeks away. It may not be a high priority race but a race you have chosen to blow the cobwebs out and sharpen your race skills. So what should we be doing differently in the next 8 weeks? That brings me to the … Continued
Finally, a cycling blog that is not about black ice, bike crashes and bruised bodies! For those of you joining us on our first cycling session I have a few tips for you regarding cycling technique and skills. Developing good cycling technique and skills is vital to ensure you as a triathlete can perform to … Continued