Tips for Triathletes

It is important to warm up properly before you perform any exercise, especially training for a Triathlon. A proper warm-up routine should last for a minimum of 10 minutes and is the most useful cause of helping prevent injury.

  • Start with a few minutes of gentle exercise, such as walking or jogging, to get the blood flowing to your muscles.
  • Steadily increase the pace until you are running briskly.
  • Once your muscles are warm, do some gentle stretching exercises, paying particular attention to the muscle groups that you will be using. With Triathletes, focusing on your legs and back is a good start. During the running and cycling stages, these will be key to your injury prevention. Make sure you warm your legs by the above process and then make sure all hamstrings, quads and calves are stretched well. You must only begin more vigorous activity after you have warmed up and stretched thoroughly.

 

Also to recognise:

  • Always drink plenty of water when you exercise to prevent dehydration. If you become dehydrated, your physical and mental fitness will be altered.
  • Make sure you wear the proper attire for training and during the event. Lightweight breathable clothing can help prevent water retention in clothing creating more weight on the body.
  • Correct and secure footwear is also essential. Inspect the footwear before running, if worn in a particular angle, get new shoes. Continuing to run with this footwear can cause pronating or supinating of the angle. This could then lead to an ankle injury or potential ligament damage of the ankle.
  • Correct thickness and fitted socks to avoid blisters

 

When you have finished exercising, cool down properly with 5–10 minutes:

  • Light aerobic activity, such as easy running, jogging or walking for a period of time
  • A gentle cool down will help remove the waste products that have built up in your muscles, leaving you with less muscle stiffness and soreness afterwards.
  • Some gentle stretching, focusing on the muscle groups you have used during exercise.
  • If you have exercised for a while a sports massage within 5 days after a vigorous work out, will help to remove the lactic acid (waste product) and prevent muscle stiffness and prevent injury or cause scar tissue on any affected areas of the body that could be in pain after a triathlon.

Related Posts

  • Headaches – Introduction

    Headaches are one of the most common complaints. Yet despite this, the precise mechanism and cause of certain types of headache remains unclear. The three main types of headache are

    • Tension
    • Migraines
    • Cluster
    Tension headaches – are characterised by constant pressure or tightness that affects both sides of the head accompanied by contraction of the neck muscles. They are the most common type of headache. The exact cause is unclear, but tension headaches have been linked to things such as stress, poor posture, skipping meals and dehydration. Migraines – are typically characterised by a throbbing or pulsating pain. In addition you feel worse for physical activity and there often additional symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light, sound and/or smells. Cluster Headaches – are characterised by being very severe but generally lasting less than one hour. One characteristic of cluster headaches is that the pain is often centred on the eye, which may water.   They are called cluster headaches because they can occur up to eight times in one day, for a few weeks or up to two months. Their cause is unknown but there is subjective evidence to suggest the triggers may include alcohol, strong smelling substances or extreme rise in temperatures. Identifying which type of headache you have can be very difficult as tension headaches and migraines share many of the same traits. Treating and preventing headaches depends on the individual and type of headache. It is often advisable to keep a diary in order to identify which type of headache(s), they experience and if there are specific triggers that can be avoided.

  • The scientific evidence base for Sports & Deep Tissue Massage

    I would like to write a series of blog articles on the scientific evidence for massage.  I think it is important to start by stating the obvious that while massage can be studied, not many scientists are interested in studying it and not many massage therapists have scientific training.  This means that massage is woefully under researched.  In addition it is amazingly difficult to find 100 people with the same problem, who need exactly the same massage treatment, so large scale studies are very rare, which means a weakness of most studies is their size. Finally, while, most scientists are interested in how massage works, we don't have to know how something works to know if it works.  I know most of my clients are interested in scientific evidence but equally important is anecdotal evidence, their own opinion and experience of the treatment. What it crystal clear from scientific data and widely agreed upon by massage therapist researchers is that massage

    1. Reduces anxiety
    2. Reduces depression
    3. Reduces stress
    4. Reduces high BP
    Given that in the Labour Force Survey in 2013 - 2014 it stated the total number of cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety account for 39% of all work-related illnesses, this makes massage highly beneficial for anyone working in a high pressure corporate environment. Related Blog Posts http://vitalitytherapy.co.uk/blog/anxiety-reduction-massage http://vitalitytherapy.co.uk/blog/hypertension-part-4-massage References Moyer CA. Affective massage therapy.  Int J Ther Massage Bodywork 2008; 1(2): 3-5 Shulman KR, Jones GE. The effectiveness of massage therapy intervention on reducing anxiety in the work place. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 1996;32:160–173. Cady SH, Jones GE. Massage therapy as a work place intervention for reduction of stress. Perceptual & Motor Skills. 1997;84:157–158. Hernandez-Reif M, Field T. High blood pressure and associated symptoms were reduced by massage therapy.Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies. 1999;4:31–38.

  • What is Acupressure Massage?

    What is Acupressure? Acupressure has its roots in traditional Chinese and Japanese cultures through Shiatsu and Anma. How does Acupressure Work? Acupressure points are places on the body that are especially sensitive to bioelectrical impulses and conduct these impulses readily.  In Chinese medicine terms acupressure points are junctions on the meridians that carry human energy, which the Chinese call Chi and the Japanese call Ki.  Western scientists have also mapped out and proven the existing of this system of acupressure points by using sensitive electrical devices.  Stimulating these acupressure points with pressure, acupressure massage triggers the release of endorphins which are the neurochemicals that relieve pain. Tension tends to concentrate around the acupressure points.  When a muscle is chronically tense or in spams, the muscle fibres contract due to the secretion of lactic acid caused by fatigue, trauma, stress, chemical imbalances or poor circulation.  When acupressure points are pressed, the muscle tension yields to the pressure, enabling the muscle fibres to elongate and relax. Seated Acupressure Massage incorporates the pressing of a number of acupressure points, depending upon the length of treatment up to 100 points may be stimulated.  Below are the some of the points that may be incorporated into a Seated Acupressure Massage for someone who is experience neck pain or stiffness:

      GV16 Wind Mansion – which aids the release of headaches, stiff necks and neck pain.
    GB20 Gates of Consciousness – which aid the release of neck pain and headaches.
    TW16 Window of heaven – aids the release of stiff necks, shoulder & neck pain and headaches.
    B10 Heavenly Pillar – which helps relieves stress and stiff necks.
    GB21  Shoulder Well – which as the name suggests helps relieve tension and pain in the shoulders.
      What is the difference between Acupressure and Acupuncture? With acupressure the acupressure points are stimulated with pressure, with acupuncture the same acupressure points are stimulated with needles. What is the difference between Acupressure and Seated Acupressure Massage? Seated Acupressure Massage is very modern; it was created in 1984 by David Palmer who used traditional Acupressure techniques to give 15 minute treatments on the neck & shoulders of clothed employees at Apple Computers in the USA to relieve neck & shoulder pain. You can think of Seated Acupressure Massage as utilising the ancient wisdom and healing art of acupressure to address the modern office woes of stiffness due to muscular tension and pain in the upper back, neck and shoulders.