FEATURES
Wishing She Was Here...
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Monday, 17 April 2017 23:10
Not long ago we posted about a couple of homegrown athletes--Chris Leiferman and Matt Hanson--who emerged as first-tier pros after they moved out-of-state. They had yet to establish themselves as elite performers before their relocation....
"He Can Have Mine."...
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Sunday, 16 April 2017 05:10
ED. Though most of us know this story, this post retells it in a beautiful way.
By Nicole Leatherman (blogs.davita.com)
From his school days to his adult years, Chris Zitur hardly ever got sick. He filled his 20s with friends, work and sports. He played kickball two days a week in the summer and hockey two days a week in the winter, and went skiing and hiking on the weekends.
But last year at age 29, the Denver resident started to feel off. He was chronically tired, his stomach was upset and he was frequently sick, so he went to the doctor. He learned through blood and urine tests that his glomerular filtration rate (GFR)—the overall index of kidney function—was high and he had protein in his urine. His kidneys were failing.
“After I was referred to kidney specialist, they suggested right away that I should get my name on the wait list for a kidney transplant,” said Chris, who works in the construction industry....
Understanding the Human Energy System...
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Saturday, 15 April 2017 23:10
By Mark Turner (teamusa.org)
ATP, ATP-PC, ADP, Krebs, glycolysis, phosphorylation, ATPase, lactic acid, lactate, pyruvate. All of these and more are important biological and scientific terms and descriptions that underlie endurance training protocols. However, they and the processes they describe can make the average age-group athlete's head spin. So what is actually necessary for endurance athletes to understand about how the human energy system works?
Very few of the athletes I coach want me to get so detailed in my discussions with them about their training that I start to sound like their high school biology teacher more than their coach. That being said, a basic understanding of the human energy system, or more accurately, the three energy pathways of the human body does help in explaining such simple ideas as: Why easy days should be easy or why low heart rate aerobic sessions are just as important as key higher intensity workouts....
Ten Things Your Coach Wants You to Stop...
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Saturday, 15 April 2017 00:10
By Carrie Barrett (active.com)
As triathletes, we do a lot of things right. We’re disciplined, driven and extremely passionate. We’re also rule followers and, for the most part, do as we’re told. Coaches love this about triathletes. However, sometimes that zest for the sport can lead us to do things in training and racing we shouldn’t, and we get a little overzealous in our quest for progress....
"Fit " & "Healthy" Are Not the Same Thing...
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Friday, 14 April 2017 23:10
By Paul Laursen (triathlete.com)
We often use the words “fit” and “healthy” in our everyday language to mean the same thing. If you’re fit, then surely you must be healthy. The two terms go together in commonplace language. But in actual fact, as I’ve written recently with legendary coach and clinician Dr. Phil Maffetone, the terms have entirely separate meanings. Allow me to explain.
We can define fitness as simply the ability to perform a given exercise task. For example, an elite cyclist or triathlete might possess a maximal mean cycling power output of 5.5 W/kg over five minutes, which is indicative of a high VO2max power output. We can say that this athlete has incredible fitness. But that number actually doesn’t tells us much about the athlete’s health.
Health is defined distinctly as a person’s state of well-being, where physiological systems are working together in harmony to achieve a level of balance. While we typically view athletes as fit and healthy, more often than you think, they may not be....
