USA Triathlon is pleased to announce the creation of a USAT Hall of Fame to honor elite and age group athletes and other contributors who have played a key role in the development of the sport and USAT since they both began in the early 1980s.

Nominations are now being accepted. Those wishing to make a nomination must do so by the deadline of May 31. The criteria and nomination form are available for download at the USAT site . All nominations meeting the criteria will be forwarded to a Voting Committee created by the USAT Board of Directors, which will consider the merits of each nominee and make the final designation. Inductees will receive their award and be inducted at the USAT Congress in Portland, Ore., in September.

A USAT Hall of Fame was established by the Board of Directors in 1985, however it was never activated. This past year, the Board designated a committee which reviewed the policy from 1985 as well as Hall of Fame policies from several other National Governing Bodies. What resulted was a revision to the original Hall of Fame policy and the designation of the two committees which are charged with soliciting nominations and overseeing the initial induction in September.

All nominations will be screened by a Selection Committee to insure that all of those nominated meet the criteria established in the policy.

My belief is that all athletes can get a great workout in 30 minutes using the circuit method of training.  A 5-10 minute warm-up is essential on

3.    Lunges – Starting with right foot and bar behind the head, place foot forward in lunge position. For these lunges, do not go to parallel, just slightly less than and then press back to stand.  Do right leg 8 reps, then left leg, remembering to do this quickly.
4.    Military Press – Hold bar with arms hanging in front of body, raise elbows, tightening core and shoulders pressed down as hand come up to chest, then lower more slowly than pulling up.
5.    Deadlifts w/shrugs – Keeping bar in front of body, bend forward keeping legs straight, back straight and chest up.  Bar stays close to legs as you bend toward the ground.  Only go as far as your hamstrings allow without bending back.  Come up in one move, starting with glutes.  As you come to standing, lift shoulders to ears and relax.

Rest for 1 minute and repeat until you have done 5 sets.  With this exercise, you can change the exercises but do not change the aerobic quality.  

For Customized Coaching and Workout Plan Click Here.  

Anyone following triathlon in recent years has do doubt witnessed the rapid proliferation of “swim skins” or “skin suits” (the swimsuits that tend to resemble rubberized long johns and are fast becoming near-de rigeur for non-wetsuit races).  Chris McCormack himself is frequently cited for his quote that “If you do not swim in a swim skin, you will be at a definite disadvantage to those who are.”

Among the brands leading the charge of swim skins is blueseventy, whose pointzero3 suit made its Ironman debut at the 2006 World Championships in Kona. Following that race, which featured Norman Stadler crediting his PR swim time in part to his blueseventy swim skin, the pointzero3 exploded in popularity.  Among the 50% of competitors at the 2007 Ironman World Championships who chose to use swim skins, fully 75% were wearing the pointzero3 suit.

Is the pointzero3 for real? Is it worth adding to the triathlete’s arsenal? Should you invest in buying one?  To answer these questions, we decided to take the suit out for an extended spin, trying it out over several swims over the course of several weeks to get the full measure of the pointzero3 experience and a chance to better evaluate its value.

From a purely competitive perspective, the effectiveness of the suit in improving swim times is beyond question—there’s a reason why swim skins have become more prevalent in elite swimming events. The rise of the swim skin, in fact, initially engendered some controversy over their legality. The frequent perception is that swim skins give a competitive advantage by providing additional buoyancy, which is a definite issue for professional rules. 

Muscular Endurance 4

This workout is part #4 of a 6 part series on brick workouts.

Half-Iron race simulation: Ride 2 hours on a flat to rolling course. Warm up 30 minutes and ride 5×12 minutes at Zone 3 in aero position (3- minute recovery spins).Transition to a 30-minute run in Zone 3.

• Beginners can shorten intervals to 5×6 minutes in Zone 3.
• Advanced athletes can extend run to 60-90 minutes for near race distance simulation.

• Add steeper climbs to intervals if A-race venue is hilly.

For Past Workouts Click Here .

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March 3, 2008 

This week's workout is all about endurance.  I did this one over the weekend and was surprised at how winded I got just by swimming continuously.  Enjoy it and as always, please add your own drills to it.
 
BEGINNER
Warm up 100 swim; 50 choice
Continuously swim the following:
300 swim of choice changing it up every 100 yards (for example: 50 pull, 50 catch up drill, 50 breast, 50 backstroke, 50 kick, 50 one-arm freestyle drill)
Go right into a 50 easy kick for recovery but with no stopping
200 free focusing on good form and a quick pace
50 easy kick for recovery
100 free focusing on good form and a quick pace
50 easy kick
Right into 200 cool down.
Total: 1100 yards

February 18, 2008 

Muscular Endurance 3

This workout is part #3 of a 6 part series on brick workouts.

Tempo brick: Bike 1 hour building effort with a 10K time trial near the end. After a fast transition, run 20 minutes at 10K race effort. Walk 5 minutes for cool-down.
• Good for veteran and advanced triathletes preparing for a shorter race or faster half-Iron performance.
• Better done later in base period or during actual race season.
Muscular Endurance 4
Half-Iron race simulation: Ride 2 hours on a flat to rolling course. Warm up 30 minutes and ride 5×12 minutes at Zone 3 in aero position (3- minute recovery spins).Transition to a 30-minute run in Zone 3.
• Beginners can shorten intervals to 5×6 minutes in Zone 3.
• Advanced athletes can extend run to 60-90 minutes for near race distance simulation.
• Add steeper climbs to intervals if A-race venue is hilly.

 For Past Workouts Click Here.

For Customized Coaching & Workout Plan, Click Here .

The staff at Lifesports, Inc. and Spinervals Cycling is pleased to announce our forthcoming New Jersery Regional Community Spinervals video taping to take place on Sunday, Feb. 17th in Freehold, NJ. We invite local cyclists and triathletes to join us and participate in the workouts, which will be professionally produced and mastered to DVD for international distribution. And a portion of the funds raised for the event will be donated to Team in Training and ALIVE with MISSION ME.

So, join us for the New Jersey videotaping or another future community Spinervals coming to your town in the future!  Please see more information below.
 
 Sincerely,
 Coach Troy Jacobson and your friends at Lifesports, Inc.
 www.Spinervals.com

February 11, 2008 

This workout is part #2 of a 6 part series on brick workouts. 

These workouts assume you have a working knowledge of the Friel training zones 1 through 5c. Zones 1-3 are aerobic, zones 4-5a are at or near lactate (or anaerobic) threshold, and zones 5b and c are very anaerobic. To learn more about these zones, see field tests and tables provided in the book The Perfect Distance, by Tom Rodgers (Velo Press: 2006).

Muscular Endurance 2

Pre-race brick: Bike 30 minutes plus run 15 minutes. Include three short (45–75-second), race efforts for bike and run, but without undue fatigue.
• On the racecourse, if possible; note landmarks.
• Tighten all bolts on your bike and inspect tires for cuts, cracks, or debris.
• Good preparation for most triathlon and duathlon race distances. Resist temptation to bike longer before half- and full Ironman races.
• Best done the morning of the day before the race.

For Past Workouts Click Here.

For Customized Coaching & Workout Plan, Click Here . 

February 11, 2008 

I have been writing weekly workouts for a few years now and sometimes things can get a little stale.  Please send me any workout requests you have and I'll write some new improved ones from your suggestions.  Thanks for all of your comments and suggestions to date.  I get lots of fun emails thanking me for the swim workouts and other ones with great comments, questions and suggestions.  I enjoy getting each of them.
 
BEGINNER
Warm up 200 choice of swim and drills
100 pull at a moderate pace - take 30 seconds rest
100 swim at a moderate pace - take 30 seconds rest
2 x 50 choice - no freestyle - take 10 seconds rest between them
2 x 100 kick at a moderate pace - take 30 seconds rest between them
100 easy swim
200 easy cool down
Total:  1000 yards