Sports & Athletic Performance

Recently Answered

• QWhat are some tips for doing an Ironman race?

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  A Ellen Charnley , Health Education, answered

  

  Endurance Nation preaches the following keys to Ironman racing:
  

  1. Walk for 30 steps at the end of each aid station; this gives you something to look forward to each mile and also gives you some brief recovery time and opportunity to properly take in fluid.
  2. Focus on only those things immediately around you that you can control; don’t think outside of your box, stay focused within it.
  3. Know and rehearse your “one thing,” the “one thing” that is the reason you are doing the Ironman, the reason why you have invested so many hours of training and the reason why you are still putting one foot in front of the other.
  4. The final key from the Endurance Nation coaches is that the race is about execution and not fitness. The race only truly begins at mile 18 of the run; therefore, an important strategy is to have a steady bike. They say to ride the pace that you should ride and not what you could ride, so that when you finish the bike portion, you still have plenty of energy to run the marathon. In fact, the Endurance Nation coaches preach that if you do the reverse of what everyone else is doing out there, you may well be in good shape.

  

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• QWhat is a good Ironman taper?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  In general, the full Ironman taper is somewhere in the 10-20 day range, but the first 7-10 days is barely noticeable. The general idea is to reduce overall volume for those three weeks; a little the first week, a lot the second week, and then the week of the race is super light. The absolute intensity stays about the same, but the volume of that intensity comes down over the three weeks as well. The frequency of training should be nearly the same as the rest of the training, maybe a little lighter. You can do less riding and especially running, but increase the number of swims you do, of course assuming that an increase in swimming volume won’t beat you down because you’re in really good swimming shape. Less impact workouts are what you are going for, while not just sitting around on the couch consuming empty calories and letting your pre-race jitters get the best of you. Here is a sample two week block that brings the overall training volume from 15-16 hour per week to 6-8 hours per week. Two Weeks To Race Monday: off. Tuesday: Bike: 45 min recovery miles, Swim: 2700 2x1000, 4x25. Wednesday: Bike: 1:30 Endurance miles run: 30 min recovery pace. Thursday: 1 hour run with 6x10 second strides, Swim: 3000 20x100, 8x25. Friday: 30 min recovery miles, 20 min recovery run with 4x15 second strides. Saturday: 2 hour endurance miles with 30 min tempo interval, 2000 endurance swim. Sunday: 1:15 run with 10 min steady state interval. Race Week. Monday: Off. Tuesday: 90 min endurance miles with 2x10 min tempo swim 2600. Wednesday: 45 min endurance run with 6x15 sec strides. Thursday: 1 hour endurance miles with 2x5 min steady state, 30 min recovery run. Friday: off. Saturday: 30 min open water swim, 15 min recovery miles, 20 min recovery run with 4x10 sec strides. Sunday: RACE

• QWhat should my heart rate be for my sprint triathlon?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  Heart rate is affected by heat, hydration, nutrition, levels of anxiety, and excitement; for this reason I do not prescribe heart rate zones for races. Instead focus on rate of perceived exertion on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 10 being a maximal effort. You should be racing between an 8 and a 9 for the entire race, where your breathing is rhythmic but you could still sprint or attack if you need to. Even a sprint distance triathlon is a long event and you need to keep your efforts controlled. Be sure not to go out at a 10 in the first 30 minutes. Race pacing is tough and it is personal as well. The more experience you get with racing the more you learn what your body can handle and how it tolerates stress at certain points in the race. The best race strategy is to race hard and have fun.
• QWhat is the best way to predict my performance in a sprint triathlon?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  Research has found that run and swim speed is more of a predicting factor for triathlon success in a sprint distance triathlon than cycling.
  
• QHow can I work intervals into my lacrosse training?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  Interval training is very effective for lacrosse because of the anaerobic and aerobic demands it has.  In lacrosse, there is a lot of running and at times you will need to sprint at a high intensity.  The running is mainly aerobic while tapping into your anaerobic system during the sprints.  Your conditioning should mimic this, using repeated intervals of jogs to sprints in a controlled manner to make sure the intensity is high and form is good.  Once you can do these linear sprints and jogs for two minute periods, add change of direction to the drills.  This can be simple cone drills that work on acceleration and deceleration while changing directions.
• QHow many days a week should I do cardio in-season for lacrosse?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  In-season cardiovascular training for lacrosse is based on how many games you are playing during the week and the intensity of the game.  This can change based on your position and the score of the game.  The general rule is that you should perform two high-intensity cardiovascular training days per week.  If you are playing two games per week with a lot of minutes, you should have enough high-intensity work to maintain cardio strength.  If not, you may need to supplement with some high-intensity intervals for no more than ten to fifteen minutes once a week.  The most important cardio days for players who get a lot of minutes of playing time are the recovery days after a game, working at a low intensity on either a bike, elliptical or even in the pool.  If you are not playing a lot of minutes in the game you, will need to do some additional high-intensity intervals several times a week for ten to fifteen minutes to maintain your cardiovascular strength. Your anaerobic threshold and endurance training should be maintained by normal practice time.
• QHow can I improve my cardio for lacrosse while also trying to add bulk?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  Lacrosse demands both conditioning and power.  This means that both cardiovascular training and strength training are very important for most players.  For many, this means they have to continue to add strength and bulk while not reducing their speed or endurance.  Conditioning this type of athlete can be challenging.  The goal during conditioning is to keep it short and at a high intensity.  Your endurance will come more from practice than additional long runs, which will burning too many calories with too few benefits.  The goal of the limited cardiovascular training is to keep it under fifteen minutes in total time, while pushing the intensity and heart rate high for short periods of time (five to thirty seconds), then adding equal amounts of rest until the workload (speed, distance, or watts) starts to decrease. When the workload decreases, it is a sign of fatigue and you need longer breaks (one to two minutes) before repeating.  If you overlook the signs of fatigue, you can set yourself up for overtraining and injuries.
• QIs lacrosse an aerobic or anaerobic sport?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  When watching a lacrosse game you will see that there is a high anaerobic demand put on the athletes followed by a shift change and recovery period.  Lacrosse is truly an anaerobic sport and a good aerobic base is required for the total amount of running needed.  The power that a lacrosse player has to generate while out on their shift is very high, with some players doing long sprints the full length of the field.  Some of the highest demands are when you decelerate with repeated accelerations.  The recovery period is very important to allow the athlete to replenish the anaerobic system so they can repeat the next shift at the same intensity.  Without this recovery, you cannot maintain this anaerobic level.  Training for lacrosse consists of a lot of anaerobic power sessions and aerobic training to build up your cardiovascular base for the long season. 
• QShould I work pre-season cardio into my lacrosse training?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  Pre-season cardio for lacrosse will depend on your current fitness level.  The goal in the pre-season is to do a lot of your conditioning with sport-specific drills, but if you are not in good shape and the intensity of the drills is low, you will not get the cardiovascular benefits you are looking for and you may even be setting yourself up for an injury.  For players trying to lose weight or that need more time to build an aerobic base, a six-day cardio training rotation is needed.  Two days will focus on endurance around anaerobic threshold, two days will be at a higher intensity, working on the anaerobic energy demands of the sport and will be designed around lacrosse drills, and two days will be at a low intensity for recovery and building an aerobic base.  As you improve your fitness level you can take out the lower-intensity recovery days and just use foam rolls, massages, and other modes to help recover.
• QWhat can a softball pitcher do to get more power into her pitches?

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  A National Academy of Sports Medicine answered

  Relax the upper body and bend the throwing-side knee to push the pitching rubber back toward second base. A stronger leg drive cures many power concerns of softball pitchers.