Train to Train – Strength & Conditioning with Turbo sessions at Nisus Fitness
Well, after 2 successful 12 week blocks with Nisus Fitness over the winter months, its time to prepare for race season with another 6 week block.
Train to Train Initiative
There is a lot of good advice, scientific research and resources out there on how to train effectively for the sport of Triathlon. These same principals are used by the pros and elite level coaches and the information is freely available out there. We are going to compile what you need to know.
Next Autumn, we are hoping to have a number of information sessions with the aim of training members on how to structure training sessions and tailoring their own training programs to prepare for their ‘A’ race of the season to follow.
This means that busy people with full time jobs, families and other commitments can focus their training and make those precious training hours as effective and efficient as possible.
This is still in the pipeline, but we will give a flavour of this in the next 6 week block with Nisus fitness. This block will be half Strength & Conditioning and half Turbo session.
The following are the Strength training phases:
Anatomical Adaptation
Max Strength
Muscle Endurance and
Strength Maintenance
As the racing season is nearly upon us, we will be concentrating on Strength Maintenance in the next 6 week block in the strength and conditioning part of the classes.
We will be training on the turbos to training zones. This is the most efficient and effective way of training. The pros and top elite coaches use these same principals. We will be sending information to attendees of the next 6 week block this weekend, on determining average and maximum heart rate and/or power and how to calculate training zones.
Ideally you should have a sports watch and heart rate monitor. If you have a power meter, better again. A bike cadence sensor would also be very beneficial, but not absolutely necessary. If you do not have any of this equipment, you can still train to zones based on the rate of perceived exertion (RPE), for which you do not need any equipment other than your bike and turbo trainer.
We will be sending information to registered attendees on how to determine these zones this weekend prior to the start of the block which commences this week.
Turbo Sessions will be facilitated by a number of Nisus Trainers including Tara Guerin.
Tara graduated with a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science from The University of Limerick in 2012. Since then she has worked with professional athletes in the UK and Australia. She as a performance specialist with The Altitude Centre in London, where she gained experience with Wattbike training and even worked with Pro Triathlete & multiple Ironman Kona World Champion, Chrissie Wellington. Sorry for the name dropping, but basically, we are in safe hands!!!
Tuesday is sold out, but there are places on Thursday.
Classes start at 8pm and will finish at 9:30. You can finish at 9pm if you are just doing strength and conditioning.
If doing turbo, you must have your own turbo trainer and bike (and an old towel).
Cost is Euro35 for six weeks + booking fee.
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE
This block will start on March 29th (Tues) or March 31st (Thurs). The cost is subsidised, so therefore available to 2016 TTC members only.
All new attendees will need to fill in a screening form. Click on the link below to download this form. Please bring this with you on the first night of classes that you attend.
Please note that all lessons in 2016 are available to Tralee Triathlon Club Members only.
Trail Running
On Saturday mornings we are doing Trail/Mountain running with former Olympian, Milosz Wojcik. Milosz is no stranger to the podium having won adventure races and is a multiple Champion of the Hardman Iron Distance Triathlon (Killarney).
Meet every Saturday at 10am at the parking area near the Equestrian Centre in Tonevane (Blennerville). Charge is Euro4 per person, payable to Milosz.
Interval Running Sessions
Wednesday evenings interval running sessions with Maria O’Keefe McCarthy. Free of charge to Tralee Tri Club Members. Maria has represented Ireland at International level and recently won Silver at the 5000m Masters in Lyon, France.
Meet at Skinny Mile – Top Part Car Park on Rock Street, opposite the side entrance to Dunnes Stores NCR
Meet usually at 6:30pm … check Facebook for any changes (be there at 6:20pm to be on the safe side)
Maria O’Keefe McCarthy, Tralee Tri Club Running Coach
Cycling
Club Spin each Sunday morning at 10am – this is weather dependant. Keep an eye on the club Facebook page for any last minute changes.
Our next monthly cycling time trial will take place on 31st January. Join the dedicated Facebook group here
Sessions are available at 6.30+7.30 on Mon & Tues night in Tralee, and 6.30,7.30,8.30 Wed nights in Killarney. Sessions start on the 2nd of November. There is a special subsidised rate for each 7 week programme of €60 for TTC members.
You will not need to bring your own turbo trainers for these sessions as iBike will provide them.
To book your slot please text Joe @ 086 6087104.
Swimming
We have Intermediate & Advanced Swimming Lessons on Friday mornings at 7:15am and Friday evenings at 8:30pm. There are beginner lessons on Friday Evenings at 7:45pm. There are two levels catered for in the beginner lessons: Non-swimmers and beginners/improvers. These levels are explained further below.
All lessons are 45mins in duration and are held in the Tralee Sports Complex. There is no additional cost for entry to the pool. Our club swimming coach is John Edwards (Wild Water Adventures, Kingdom Swimming Club coach, Safety Officer with Tralee Bay Swimming Club). John is a fully qualified swimming coach and lifeguard.
All current lessons are sold out. Contact the club if you are interested in joining future blocks of swimming lessons.
Intermediate & Advanced Swimming lessons: These lessons are for athletes who can comfortably swim multiple lengths. The lanes in these lessons are split by speed of swimmers. The aim of these lessons are to improve technique, and increase distance and speed. This is done through instruction and drills to perfect specific areas of technique and build power, endurance and speed. These classes are not for non-swimmers or for beginners/improvers.
Beginner Swimming lessons:There are two levels within this class
Beginner Improvers: These lessons are for athletes who can manage to swim a length or two.
Beginner Swimming lessons for Non Swimmers: These lessons are for athletes who cannot swim. If you can’t swim a length of a pool, can’t do the breathing, afraid of the deep end or are afraid of water. These lessons are for you.
Strength & Conditioning with Nisus Fitness
This runs on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 8pm in Nisus Fitness Tralee. Booking for the 12 week block after Christmas has now closed. Contact the club if you are interested in joining the next block of training.
Joe O’Connor of Nisus Fitness has coached All Ireland Champions and is currently the Strength & Conditioning expert on TVs Irelands Fittest Family. He has worked with international squads and is currently working with the Limerick Hurlers.
If you want to improve your times and performance in Triathlon, you should focus on your cycling….. simples!. The bike leg of a triathlon is where you will gain or lose the most time. This is because the cycle part, in any triathlon, is the longest in both time and distance. On average, across all distances, about 50% of your race is spent on the bike, with less than 20% on the swim and about 30% on the run. FACT!
Average times for swim, bike and run in each race distance
Group Cycling vs Individual Cycling
Triathlon clubs can encourage improvement in members relatively easily through effective swimming lessons and running sessions. Catering for the broad range in abilities in cycling is a different matter entirely.
Group cycling has many advantages. It is more sociable and enjoyable to cycle in a group. There is backup if you get injured, get a puncture or other mechanical issues. You are less likely to skip a group cycling session as others are counting on you to show up, and turning up for a regular group cycle scheduled at the same time and day each week is a lot easier than facing a lone cycle (especially if the weather is poor). Cycling in a group is great too for developing bike handling skills, picking up tips and advice and for hearing about upcoming events, deals, new gear, components etc. You get it… group cycling has huge advantages!
Triathlon, however, is almost entirely an individual sport. Drafting is illegal in most triathlon races, so cycling in groups is not ideal in preparing for these race situations. To train effectively and to improve performance, each cyclist should maintain the pace which keeps them in the required heart rate or power zone for each interval in a session, and not the pace at which the group is travelling.
Due to the distances to be covered, it is difficult to balance both the individual required effort to make improvements and to keep groups of cyclists together.
How do most triathletes & triathlon clubs address this?
Mostly, the serious triathletes out there train alone, sticking to strict intervals and zones so that their workout is effective. These triathletes sacrifice the social aspect and other benefits of training in groups. Leisure triathletes on the other hand, tend to do group cycling more, sacrificing rapid individual improvement in favour of a slower improvement in the groups cycling performance as a whole.
Best of both worlds
The best of both worlds is to train in small groups of similar ability, take turns on the front, thus creating ideal interval sessions. This results in little sacrifice for the individual cyclist in terms of the effectiveness of the training session, but has huge benefits otherwise. You are more likely to get the sessions done if there is a regular group counting on you to be at a certain place and time each week. It is also a lot more enjoyable, and lets face it, life is short. If you are aiming for a longer distance triathlon, you will be spending a long time on the bike each week, so it may as well be fun!!
How is Tralee Triathlon Club going to facilitate this?
We are going to run monthly Time Trials. These time trials will have a number of aims:
Individually, set time markers, so that each member can monitor their own progress over the months.
Group cyclists into groups of similar ability for club cycling sessions. If you do extra training and make rapid improvements, you won’t have to wait long for the next time trial to be assigned to a new group. This essentially will make our club cycling sessions more effective for everyone.
Encourage participation at all levels.
Maintain a leader board to encourage competition and motivate members to improve their cycling.
Reward members who displayed the biggest improvement over the year at the end of season night out/awards night.
Improve the level of cycling in the club as a whole.
Mechanism for selection of members for a club racing team.
Meet up regularly as a club, encourage comradarie, and have fun.
On one Saturday, every month, we will meet initially at the Iron Bridge (rail bridge) after the Earl of Desmond roundabout on the Tralee to Castleisland road at 1:30pm for registration with the first cyclist setting off at 2pm. As the months go on, we will introduce time trials on hilly routes.
Each member who wishes to participate in these time trials and in the club group cycling sessions will be expected to take their turn and volunteer for at least one time trial for time keeping and registration. If you are on time keeping duties, you can still complete the time trial before or after the club time trial if you wish using your Garmin or other sports watch which records distance & time. Your time will then be included in the leader table.
This initiative won’t cost anything to club members but we believe it will be hugely beneficial to all members regardless of their ability. Its success depends on as many club members taking part as possible, so join up!
How do you sign up?
We have a Facebook group for the time trials. Search for ‘Tralee Triathlon Club Cycling Time Trials’ and join, link below:
The dates for each monthly time trial will be announced on Facebook. We will also create an event for each time trial. Please indicate that you will attend each time trial by joining the event.
The October time trial event is available at the below link:
If you are not on Facebook, don’t worry, we will send an email to all club members letting them know when the next time trial is planned. You can email the club to indicate if you will be taking part or volunteering for time keeping duties.
Tralee Triathlon Club is also considering becoming affiliated through Cycling Ireland as a Cycling Club. This means that members who wish to race competitively will be able to represent the club and will be able to purchase their race licence through Tralee Triathlon Club. Feedback on this initiative was overwhelmingly positive when we surveyed members at this years AGM.
It will be interesting to see the improvements at the end of the year! And, you never know, you might win something!
We will also continue our club spins on Sundays at 10am from Lidl carpark in Tralee.
Turbo Training
Damian’s turbo sessions are booked out, however iBike winter turbo training sessions are on again and available for booking. There will be a total of 14 weeks training broken into 2 x seven week programmes. The 1st seven weeks will focus on building strength and power aswell as perfecting best position and technique. These session will also see a little speed work mixed in. The 2nd seven weeks will focus completely on high intensity drills and speed work, aiming to get the most from all the power sessions done before Christmas. Sessions are available at 6.30+7.30 on Mon & Tues night in Tralee, and 6.30,7.30,8.30 Wed nights in Killarney. Sessions start on the 2nd of November. There is a special subsidised rate for each 7 week programme of €65 for 10 or more TTC members, and €60 for 20 or more TTC members.
You will not need to bring your own turbo trainers for these sessions as iBike will provide them.
In order to subsidise at the €60 rate, we want to make sure that enough club members will benefit. Please indicate your interest and select which slot you would prefer using the link below.
Last Sunday, Dick McElligot of Kingdom CC gave a hands-on demonstation of bike cleaning as part of the Bike Maintenance Workshop.
For those who attended, you know that it’s a more involved process that you would first think. I’ve captured some notes below on the process as demonstrated by Dick. I’m working from memory so any mistakes are my own.
Bike Cleaning : Step-by-step
There are two basic parts:
Cleaning: remove all dirt and grease
Lubrication: replace any lubricants that were removed during cleaning
Effectively, you’re need to strip away all grease and lubricants to get the bike clean. This will make the bike perform better and prevent wear.
However, in removing unneeded grease and dirt you also strip away vital lubrictants that keep the bike running smoothly so they must be replaced.
