Boston Performance Coaching

However, watching the athletes swim this morning at the BPC Swim Class, I am truly impressed by the improvement in speed, technique and confidence of these participants.  The biggest comment I have heard from participants is the change they feel by learning about breathing, using the wall and the fluidity of the flip turns.  So many times athletes will complain about the swim, but I feel that it's really a fear.  Why not learn how to flip turn and learn how to swim like a swimmer?  That's how we improve-breaking out of the comfort zone and continually challenging ourselves.  We have 2 more weeks of swim classes, and I look forward to seeing the weekly improvement and confidence from these athletes.

Cycling Classes have been great fun for us this fall.  Instead of really killing folks with high intensity intervals, Vic and I have really broken down the skills for cycling and the classes are really focused on drills.  Again, like the swim class, these athletes are truly learning how to improve their cycling technique.  In the winter classes we will move away from the technique work and focus on a curriculum of VO2 work, LT intervals and strength work.  I have taught indoor cycling classes for over 8 years now, and I feel really confident that this year the participants will reap the benefits of the fall classes and transition very well into the demands of the build phase.

by Ali Winslow

Week 5 started with a bang on Monday morning at 6:30am.  BPC athletes started in the pool, began their workouts and one at a time moved to a separate lane to learn how to flip turn.  Remarkably, I didn't get any resistance from any athletes.  No one told me that they didn't have to learn a flip turn or didn't need to learn how to do a flip turn.  I couldn't believe it.  Last year when I instructed all my privately coached athletes to learn how to flip turn, I was met with so much resistance.  Hmm, are these athletes realizing the importance of learning this technique?  Perhaps it was because I did warn them the week before.  Flip turns are so important to learn.  For 1 thing, once an athlete masters this simple technique, their swim times will automatically decrease-isn't that nice?  The second point (and 3rd, 4th...) is that we are swimmers now, shouldn't we swim like swimmers?  That means learning lane etiquette, learning to flip turn, perfecting balance and increasing lung volume.  I don't think people realize how much extra breathe and wall time they get with open turns (regardless of how fast they are).  If you aren't convinced, come try our workouts, learn how to flip turn.  I am happy to say that after 1 hour of swim practice all 17 athletes were able to flip at each 50.  We will continue to focus on learning this technique.  4 more weeks to go!

The cycling class saw their first VO2 intervals in the workouts this week.  I am sure that came as a surprise, especially since we are in the base period of our sessions.  However, even during the base period it is a good idea to pepper in a small amount of intensity, with plenty of recovery.  Athletes like to think that this is the time to do only low intensity work, however, at the same time, you lose it if you don't use it.  Most of the participants came into class with a fairly solid base in cycling or fitness.  We are looking to maintain that fitness while focusing on technique and form at the same time.  

The strength class continues to improve each week.  The workouts are increasing in intensity and will continue to focus on building overall body conditioning.  The biggest weakness in a triathlete is their strength.  I hear from athletes that they are doing "strength" work while on the bike or out on a run or in the pool with paddles.  However, there's NO substitute for purely picking up heavy items, moving them and putting them back down.  Strength work increases not only your muscle strength, but also the integrity of your tendons and ligaments.  I don't think athletes are aware that with every foot fall in running they are placing 2x times their body weight on one leg, the joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles all work together to support.  Coach Vic has written several articles (check them out on the website) about how strength work has improved his athletes speed and power.  Take a look and come try out a class!

Overall, our coached athletes are following their programs, and enjoying this base period.  3 more weeks to go in the base period, then a few short weeks off for a mental and physical break before the build period begins!

Ali

1. Swim- in the pool right now we are focusing ONLY on drill work.  It may seem tedious, but this is why our athletes come to swim practice.  They get to train with other athletes of equal ability, but they also get a chance to work on their weak aspects of the sport without the fear of competition.  This week we really focused on breathing and the proper way to breathe underwater.  Have you tried to work on breathing out your nose and emptying your lungs while you swim?  Try it next time you are in the pool.  Next week, we will begin to teach flip turns-breathing properly will be crucial!

2. Bike Classes- this was definitely a week of stepping it up.  The challenge in class this week was the focus of cadence, pedaling efficiency and strength.  I taught the morning class (which was a great group!) and we really focused hard on staying below the hard efforts on the heart rate zones, and instead played with different cadence drills, spin ups, and most importantly, muscle tension drills.  In the past 4 weeks these athletes have learned a new way to pedal and we look forward to 4 more weeks of technique work!

3. Strength Class- the athletes really are learning about core conditioning, overall strength and endurance.  Coach Vic has written a well rounded program to touch on all the tight areas, weak areas and help athletes learn more about how to strength train.  

4. Run Class- Coach Vic is working closely with the small group of athletes on form, body positioning and pace.  It is difficult to force yourself to truly work on technique when you run alone.  Vic spends time with each athlete watching them run and guiding them towards better running efficiency.

In all, the first 4 weeks have been really fun and a test of patience, endurance, overall strength and technique.  The next 4 weeks of base will continue to build upon what we have done thus far and start to truly challenge the athletes!

1. Swim:  This week we worked with fins as well as trying to learn how to kick on our backs.  The most common problem I see as a coach with triathletes who are weak swimmers is that they don't know how to kick.  By using fins we are helping these athletes learn to use their legs properly-from the hips and not from the knees.  I saw a HUGE improvement this week from all the athletes, which is always very encouraging!  Next week we will begin to work on flip turns!

2. Bike Class:  Can we say single leg drill?  Alot of them?  Yes, this was the week of the single leg drills for the class.  In fact, 16 minutes of single leg work.  Why is this so important?  Well, mainly, we are looking to teach athletes the importance of a smooth pedal stroke, the importance of evenness between the two legs as well as overall strength and coordination.  We also had over 20 minutes of muscle tension work, to focus on building hamstring strength and the "pull" part of the stroke.  Next week we will continue to focus on the technique of cadence, single leg work and muscle tension drills.  It's great to see so many new people this year and I hope that we can continue to build upon a new (and old) community of cyclists and triathletes in the Boston area.  I also have to say, Landry's has been over the top fantastic in helping us set up and break down the classes each week-so a big thankyou to Mark, Grady, Bob, Scott and Sean!

3. Running and Strength Workouts: Vic has been leading these workouts and I am looking forward to hearing more about how the athletes are progressing at the gym and out on the road.  It's nice to see some new faces at these training events as well.  Look for some great information about strength training in our next newsletter!

Ali