This month Vortex Fullsuit wetsuits are 55% off for the athletes of sponsored coaches. Check out all the February deals here! Don’t forget to use Coach Valerie’s discount code: ”CO-VICTRY”.

Swimming Masters not necessarily good for a triathlete? Whoa! Hang on a second! Where does one get off coming to that conclusion? Well, having swum, and coached, in and out of Masters groups, I can say with certainty that in getting ready for your big event, it’s best to do what you need to do. But in general, while Masters Swimming can be a useful tool, in the interest of preparing specifically for the longer durations you’ll face in triathlon racing, it’s best to branch outside the box and focus on specificity.

Read the whole article here!

It may have been a resolution, a significant birthday milestone or perhaps urging from a friend; in any case, you’ve decided to do your first triathlon this season. As you shop the event selections from your comfy chair or couch, you may begin to wonder if you can do more than one. Maybe you should capitalize on that great fitness you’ll be earning. The question is, how many can—or should—you do?

Read the whole article here!

Mastering the Top Five Challenges to Breathing in Freestyle

by Valerie Ellsworth Gattis

The most common question I hear in the triathlon world about the mysteries of swimming efficiently usually involves something with breathing. In freestyle, it is the first step to get your body position right. Then, for many, you throw in breathing and everything goes haywire! This has to do with lack of balance, using your head instead of your core to breath, and a few other factors.

The top five challenges and their remedies are:

1. Not Getting Enough Air

There are two reasons why this typically happens when swimming freestyle. First, make sure you breathe out all of your air before you rotate to take a breath. When learning, some people try to exhale and inhale while they are rolling to the side for air. There simply is not enough time for this! Your exhalations should only be in the water in the form of bubbles. Initially the timing may seem difficult, but eventually you will get used to it. Second, you may be sinking as you breathe. Make sure you are rolling to the side to breathe, and not rotating your head and looking straight up. Practicing the side kicking drills.

2. Extended arm sinks while taking a breath

This is mainly a balance issue. While you breathe to one side, your other arm should be extending. For many swimmers, this extended arm pushes down into the water (elbow drops) and they are sinking while trying to inhale. The side kicking will also help to improve this. Another drill which will help with this challenge, is the fist drill, which forces you not to use your hands, therefore improves your balance in the water.

3. Speed is sacrificed because of a “pause” while breathing

A typical scenario is that you feel like you are cruising along just fine and then you take a breath and it feels like you havejust lost all your momentum. To remedy this, when you breathe, concentrate first on breathing to the side (as in #1), then on having your mouth parallel to the water, instead of over the water. The latter will take a while to master, but once you do, it will take care of the pause, and improve your speed overall.

4. Difficulty breathing while navigating in a race

You need to look up to see where you are going, and at the same time grab a breath. How can you do both? Start with bilateral breathing (breathing on both sides every three strokes). This will help you to see where you are without lifting your head up as much. When you need to lift your head up to sight, try not to look straight ahead ‐ this will make your hips sink and throw you off balance. Instead, take a quick peek at your target, roll to the side to breath, and bring your head right back down into position.

5. Sucking in water while taking a breath

In practice, this will sometimes occur because of #1 and #2 above. In a race, the waves may cause the inhalation of water instead of air (bilateral breathing will help here as well). The drills to practice to improve balance and avoid this unpleasant occurrence are the side kicking and shark fin drills, as well as the one‐arm drill. To perform the one‐arm drill, swim a full stroke with one arm while your other arm rests at your side. Breathe on the opposite side of the stroking arm. This is a difficult drill and takes some practice, but it will pay off!

For more information about triathlon swimming, visit www.victorysedge.com.

Congratulations to our partner, Alive with MissionMe! and TriColumbia as it integrates the AMM in-school curriculum with the aim of standardizing activities in theHoward County Public School System in Maryland. Read the full press release here!

Active.com has a great deal right now – if you register for a race by the end of January you can get $15 off with the code ACTVOFFER011912. 

by Duston Morris; this article is adapted from Active.com

There’s a great disparity between the way coaches advise triathletes to train on the bike in columns such as this one and the way most triathletes actually train on the bike. The majority of articles on bike training for triathletes focus on higher-intensity workouts such as threshold rides, VO2 max intervals and hill repetitions. The authors of these articles are well aware of the fact that, as endurance athletes, triathletes should spend most of their time training at a steady aerobic pace. But this type of training is not quite as interesting to write about as the higher-intensity stuff, so we overemphasize the higher-intensity stuff.

The average age-grouper does few or none of these workouts mentioned below. Indeed, the variable of intensity is not really a variable at all in the training of the average age grouper. Every ride is done at more or less the same effort level. The only factor that distinguishes one workout from the next is duration. “Let’s see: Should I do my 45-minute loop, my one-hour loop or my 90-minute loop today?” Oh yes, I’m on to you!

We triathlon coaches must not fool ourselves. The average age-grouper’s willful avoidance of intensity manipulation in bike training is not the result of lack of information. You folks read our articles. It’s really a matter of sheer stubbornness. These fancy high-intensity workouts seem to require that you do all kinds of logistical preparation, find the perfect training environment (your favorite one-hour loop surely will not do) and control and monitor your power output, heart rate, speed, cadence, interval distances and split times with scientific precision. You figure you get 90 percent as much fitness benefit from noodling through your favorite one-hour loop at a steady, moderate effort level time and time again as you would get from throwing some fancy high-intensity workouts into the mix. You reckon that the hassle you spare yourself by not doing these workouts is worth more to you than 10 percent greater fitness. So you keep doing your loops.

Here is a compromise. Your bike training does not have to be all or nothing—your way or the coaches’ way. With just a little mental effort you can easily incorporate some valuable high-intensity training into the same old routes you ride two or three times per week.

Read the whole article here!

by Duston Morris

A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association looked at the effects of eating breakfast on weight loss. The researchers divided the study subjects into three groups: Those who didn’t eat breakfast, those who ate breakfast, and those who ate ready-to-eat cereal for breakfast. Here are the results!

Those who ate high fiber cereal had the lowest Body Mass Index (BMI), and those who skipped breakfast had the highest. This study was just one more demonstration of the fact that eating breakfast can aid in weight loss. One reason for this is that eating breakfast tends to minimize impulsive snacking and overeating at other meals throughout the day.

The healthiest breakfasts are a combination of food groups. For example, whole grains high in fiber, lean protein or low-fat dairy, and fruit. This combination provides complex carbohydrates, protein, and minimal fat — a combination that delays hunger symptoms for hours and can result in less caloric intake by the end of the day.

Read the whole article here!

by Duston Morris

Many people don’t realize what a personal trainer does. I hope that this article helps answer some of your questions. A few popular questions for trainers sometimes include:

1. What weight should I start with?
2. What exercise will help me reach my goal?
3. Should I eat before or after my workout?

By having a personal trainer, you have the confidence of knowing that you are doing the best workout for you and maximizing your time in the gym or during your training sessions.

People think having a personal trainer is expensive. Depending on the area you live and the program you choose, personal trainers can actually be less expensive than paying those advance fees at the gym and then never going to use it. With a personal trainer, the program is designed especially for you. Your program is made to fit your goals and ability. Your strength, cardiovascular, and flexibility programs are tailored specifically for you. The personal trainer should demonstrate each exercise and refresh your memory each time. Your form, reps and weights are monitored and increased as your strength and ability allows. There is no guess work on your part.

Working with a personal trainer also means no waiting on machines. Being able to move from one exercise to the next, without a long break waiting for others to finish, gives you an aerobic workout right along with your lifting program. Having a scheduled appointment with a personal trainer can help you stay committed and accountable for your own health. At some fitness clubs an instructor, not a certified trainer, may show you how to use the equipment the first time but then you are on your own. The next time you go, it is hoped you will remember how to use the machines. You may not be sure when it is time to increase and if you push yourself too fast, that’s when injuries occur.

If you’ve been thinking about starting an exercise program, remember the benefits a personal trainer can add. Some of these benefits can include:

1. A personalized program just for you
2. Guidance for proper form to prevent injury
3. Confidence of knowing your progression is monitored and advanced properly
4. Support for questions
5. A scheduled appointment for motivational and current fitness assessment
6. Personal attention for your needs and other benefits you can only get by working with a trainer

Many of my clients tell me they wouldn’t stick to it without the appointment and how much better they feel after their workout, both mentally as well as physically. Let a personal trainer guide you to better health for yourself and your family. Give us a call and let’s get started on your healthier future.

For more information about the benefits of a personal trainer, feel free to contact Victory’s Edge.

Do you love your body? I can hear you saying, “Well, I like my arms but my thighs are too big and I have this spare tire and…” No, that isn’t loving your body. Having a healthy body image means you feel good inside your own skin, despite any flaws you may have. Sounds good, but how do you make that happen? Start by understanding what body image is and how you can change it.

What is Body Image?

Body image is influenced more by self-esteem than how we actually look and includes:

• How you feel about how you look
• How you see yourself
• How you think others see you
• How you feel in your body

Are You Punishing Yourself?

Talk to people around you and you’ll find that most are unhappy with their bodies. Even worse, they may punish themselves for not having the perfect body by:

• Denying themselves food
• Obsessing about eating or not eating and never enjoying a meal
• Obsessing about exercising or not exercising instead of enjoying being active
• Following diets that never work
• Worrying about how they look rather than their health and quality of life

Wouldn’t it be nice to love your body so much that you want to take care of it? To exercise and eat right, just because it feels good? Wouldn’t it be amazing if you were comfortable in your own skin and didn’t give a hoot about what other people think? It sounds impossible, but it isn’t and you don’t even need a perfect pair of jeans to do it. Check out these tips!

Read the full article here!