Interview with Lesley Paterson

We had a chance to ask current Xterra World Champion - Lesley Paterson - how her Rehab United (RU) stretching and strength program has improved her performance  . . .

-Stretching is critical to my performance as it has helped maximize my efficiency, strength and power.  It has also been integral in in jury prevention. This largely has to do with maintaining range of motion - as when you're training as hard and as long as I am, muscles get overused and seize up; with that comes restricted range of motion which means that compensation patterns occur.  As soon as you start compensating by using tendons, ligaments and muscles not meant for that job, you lose efficiency and increase your chances for injury.

-Strength training in the off season is my golden ticket to speed maintenance during the season.  Triathlon is all about efficiency and strength, so by working specific exercises for each sport that enhance those, my chances of maintaining speed/power output across long periods of time goes up dramatically.  Not only that, by doing dynamic, functional strength work like we do at RU, I'm strengthening up all of the supporting tissues that often get injured when you start laying on the intensity.

Les - Congrats on an extremely successful 2011 race season and good luck in 2012!

Lesley Paterson with Rehab United CEO and Performance Coach, Bryan Hill.

Periodization/Progression - Strength Training

Resistance training is a vital compliment to any endurance sport training program (triathlon, swimming, cycling, and/or running).  "Resistance training" is the blanket term for what most people refer to as weight training or strength training and includes working out with any form of resistance including body weight, free weights (dumbbells, barbells), machines and/or rubber tubing/bands with the intent to increase muscular strength, hypertrophy (size), power or endurance.  A well-designed resistance training program can:

• Increase lean body mass
• Increase muscular strength and endurance
• Increase running efficiency & economy
• Increase bone density
• Increase joint strength (stronger tendons/ligaments)
• Decrease injury risk
• Improve ability to recovery from difficult workouts.

Just like a triathlon or marathon training program – progressive resistance training must include planned periods of rest and active recovery.  Consider this . . . if you gradually increase your mileage or pace each week, does your body also have the capacity to increase resistance training volume and intensity?  If you are an elite athlete, the answer may be “yes” - however, if you are a recreational runner, the answer is likely “no.”  This means you must plan to incorporate low-intensity or low-volume workouts over the duration of your training program.  We refer to this planning as "periodization," which is essentially planning ahead and adding variety to your workouts to decrease injury and increase performance.

The charts below represent a long-term (annual) and a relatively short-term (19-week marathon) resistance training program.  Both include three primary phases: General Conditioning, Strength/Power and Muscular Endurance. The repetitions, sets, amount of weight, total number of exercises and speed of movement will vary during these phases.  Early in the off-season, it is beneficial to spend about 80% of your time (strength training-wise) focusing on general conditioning to prepare the body for the eventual increase in physical demands.  As a race or event approaches, strength, power and endurance become more important, thus, you may spend equal amounts of time on each.  In all phases, perform primarily multi-joint movements (pushing, pulling, squatting, lunging) and limit single-joint exercises (curls, crunches), which are not sport-specific.

Overall, these charts look similar; however, the marathon training program is a snippet of the annual program (somewhere between pre-season and in-season).  Even though you may be in a "strength/power" phase based on your annual training plan, it is appropriate to vary the volume and intensity week by week (this is referred to as non-linear periodization).

Now is always a great time to build your strength base. As a compliment to your swimming, biking, or running, resistance training can increase your joint, bone, and muscular strength and prepare you for longer runs and harder workouts.  Most importantly, planning ahead to incorporate active rest & recovery can save you an injury and make training and racing seem easier.

Visit our website for details on our training and conditioning programs: www.RehabUnited.com.

Justin Robinson, MA,RD,CSSD,CSCS,FAFS
Director of Sports Performance

Raceday Preparation for Runners

Recover: Training for any event can drain the mind, body and spirit.  The weeks and days prior to raceday are meant for tapering, not cramming; you can not get in shape in one or two weeks, but you can get hurt.  You have likely spent the last 12-18 weeks in “perma-soreness,” so you deserve to run with fresh legs on raceday!  Proper recovery includes decreased duration and intensity of exercise, one or two extra days of rest, increased mobility exercises and increased hydration.  All of this (as apposes to a week of complete rest) will allow the healing and refreshing needed to make raceday enjoyable.

Prepare: Make a checklist before packing your raceday bag – include even the obvious items such as shoes, socks, race bib and timing chip/strap.  Raceday is already hectic enough: finding parking (or riding a shuttle that takes forever), checking in your bag (which can be a half mile from the start), waiting in line for the port-o-potty (maybe even twice), wading your way through the crowd to your starting corral . . . after all of this, you have very little energy to focus on anything else.  Do all you can in advance to limit raceday anxiety.

Fuel: With a wake-up call sometime around 4:30, travel to the race, and the aforementioned “hectic” events on raceday, it is easy to neglect proper fueling.  The only “perfect” raceday breakfast is the one your body is used to consuming.  Eat a larger meal (300-500 Calories) about two hours before the start of the race and then a “jumpstart” snack 15-30 minutes before the start (50-100 Calories, mostly carbohydrate).  It is okay to have some caffeine on raceday – but once again, make sure you know how your body responds.

Hydrate: Similarly to fueling, it is easy to start your race under-hydrated.  Between breakfast and your warm-up, drink at least 20 ounces of fluid (a standard water bottle).  Between your warm-up and the start of your race, drink at least another 12 ounces (half of another water bottle).  Since your body needs a combination of water, carbohydrate and electrolytes – have a sports drink OR water along with carbs and sodium.  The body can load (store) muscles with both energy and water – so your fueling and hydration program begins days before your race, not in the morning.

Warm-up: The #1 way to prevent injury is a proper warm-up – the #1 task people skip on raceday is the warm-up (a few stretches while waiting for the port-o-potty do not count).  As with your nutrition and hydration, you should complete a warm-up routine you have done before.  The ideal warm-up includes exercises that: increase heart rate, increase muscle temperature, take your joints through a greater-than-normal range of motion and involve dynamic movements (as running is dynamic, not static).  Equally important, the warm-up preps the mind for the upcoming 3.1 to 26.2 miles.  Always finish your warm-up with a smile, applause, and/or high-5’s – your friends can use the encouragement as much as you!

Mantra: Never try anything new on raceday!

Relax This Off-Season?

Whether you are blowing off a few workouts here and there, hitting up some cycle-cross races, or tweaking your fantasy football lineup . . . the OFF-SEASON has arrived. This time of year most endurance athletes have completed their goal races and are left wondering . . . what’s next? For some San Diegans, a true “off-season” is a distant thought since our beautiful weather allows for an offering of multiple events each month.  Abandoning your off-season for intense workouts (or conversely complete relaxation), though, can lead to an abundance of overtraining injuries for us “mere mortals” who workout for pure enjoyment, to keep weight off, or to escape the stresses of work. 

Rehab United (RU) believes athletes are made in the off-season – to enter next race season, or your next training program, healthy and strong - begin with the “The Four R’s”:  Restoration, Recovery, Reflection, and Readiness.

Restoration. “REST” can be one of the hardest things for an athlete to do, but this is the time of the year you must force the issue. It is difficult to let another biker or runner on the trail pass you, when you are thinking “I could take ‘em” – however, it is essential to keep your heart rate relatively low, take it easy, and enjoy exercise for a change. Implement functional strength training into your off-season routine to rebuild the muscle mass you may have lost throughout the year and restore joint and tissue strength to allow for pre-season training intensity. RU offers complete off-season training programs for these specific purposes.

Recovery. Every athlete experiences some discomforts or physical issues, but just because you can make it through a season does not mean you should ignore the issues that may keep you from taking your racing to the next level. I recommend scheduling a full-body injury screen with one of RU’s physical therapists (after all, it’s FREE). This allows you to address your ailments and allow time to treat the cause of your injuries rather than just symptoms. This is the foundation of health you need for your 2011.

Reflection. This is a solid time to review your 2011. Did you meet your goals? Stay healthy? Stay happy? What would you like to change? We review these critical questions with every one of our athletes to determine a benchmark for the future. We learn from each and every experience that we encounter, so you must look over your training log to find out what worked and what did not. This may also be a convenient time to find a coach – Catalyst Endurance Coaching (CEC) has multiple coaches who are ready to help you achieve your fitness goals for the 2012 season.

Readiness. Preparation precedes success. Now is the opportune time to look ahead to determine what is next and establish a plan to encourage that reality. Rehab United Sports Performance Center offers camps and training programs for athletes of all ability levels; these “semi-relaxed” early-season events help athletes prepare for their upcoming multiple-sport season.

Best of luck!

Bryan Hill, PT, FAFS
Cycling/Running/Triathlon Coach