Journey Articles
February 11, 2020
People taking part in prolonged endurance exercise, such as triathlon training, don’t need supplements to maintain normal levels of nutrition (ie. sodium in the blood) and prevent the life-threatening sodium deficiency condition known as hyponatraemia. That’s the reassuring conclusion of a study of 413 triathletes who completed the 2001 Cape Town Ironman triathlon in South Africa.
This study set out to test the preva...
January 20, 2020
Take a moment and look in the mirror. When was the last time you can say with honest certainty you have shown the magic in training?
What’s the magic you ask? Well it’s no voodoo cultural thing that you need a blood sacrifice for that’s for sure.
The magic, in my world, refers to those moments of greatness in training and racing that science, logic and evidence-based thought can’t explain.
I want and I expect magic from my athl...
December 3, 2019
An athletes daily training environment can be one of the most critical components of a comprehensive and successful training program.
Triathlon coaching has seen a trend in the development of correspondence programming/coaching in recent years. This trend has led to the establishment of individual keyboard coaches who operate without any real governance or base of operation. Their only real checks and balances come from custome...
December 13, 2018
When taken in moderate amounts, caffeine results in improvements in alertness, endurance, speed, time-trial performance, increased time to fatigue, strength, reaction times and co-ordination. Not surprising then that it has been shown to improve performance across a wide range of sporting disciplines. A 2017 study [1] even showed that individuals who consume greater amounts of daily caffeine demonstrated reduced sensitivity t...
August 30, 2018
When I recently attended La Trobe University’s ‘Running Symposium’ for health professionals, I’ll admit my motivation for leaving my long weekend getaway early to attend on a cold, wet, windy Friday night was more than professional…
Richard Willy, a physical therapist and researcher from University of Montana, presented some interesting findings in his presentation titled “The Master Runner: Maintaining Durability”.
From a biom...
August 10, 2016
Want to maximise your training benefits and race faster with no extra effort? Want to train smart?
You train for countless hours, early in the morning and late at night for your upcoming race… Surely, you want to maximise the specificity of these training hours to ensure optimal performance come race day? One sure fire way to do this is to consider the course you’re training for and plan your training accordingly. Greater train...
June 10, 2016
This is the first of a series of articles exploring some of the aspects of performance not related to physical fitness or conditioning. We’ll look at how mental, psychological and neurological pathways can be triggered to improve performance in training and more importantly, on race day.
This article has been written in consultation with Mat Tippett; a lifetime athlete, former elite swimmer, former professional Triathlete, Coac...
May 10, 2016
Teeth will not help you to win a triathlon, but they can help you to lose one. If a tooth which constantly aches disturbs your preparation, or a tooth which is acutely sensitive each time you hydrate stops you hydrating, there is a good chance you will not perform at your peak.
A recent New Zealand study of elite triathletes set out to determine their oral health. They found an above average decay rate and found that all at...
April 10, 2016
Swimming Mechanics – Reteaching the Freestyle Action
Swimming is largely a technical sport, and arguably the most technical of the three that triathletes have to master. Furthermore, when an athlete has poor stroke mechanics, the benefits of general fitness and training, strength work, wetsuits and swim squad will all be limited! When this is the case, the best results will come from reteaching the entire freestyle action, so...
March 10, 2016
Swimming Mechanics – Re-teaching the Freestyle Action
Swimming is largely a technical sport, and arguably the most technical of the three that triathletes have to master. Furthermore, when an athlete has poor stroke mechanics , the benefits of general fitness and training, strength work, wetsuits and swim squad will all be limited! When this is the case, the best results will come from reteaching the entire freestyle action,...