Triathlon science

664 Pages·2013·24.261 MB·English

by  Friel, Joe;Vance, Jim

Triathlon
Science
Joe Friel
Jim Vance
Editors
Human Kinetics
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Triathlon science / Joe Friel, Jim Vance, editors.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Triathlon. 2. Sports sciences. I. Friel, Joe. II. Vance, Jim.
GV1060.73.T77 2013
796.42'57--dc23
2012036423
ISBN-10: 1-4504-2380-9 (print)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4504-2380-9 (print)
Copyright © 2013 by Human Kinetics, Inc.
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Contents
Introduction: The Tri-Knowledge Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Joe Friel
Part I Physical Attributes of Triathletes 1
Chapter 1 Physiology and the Multisport Athlete . . . . . . . . . . 3
Randall L. Wilber
Chapter 2 Genetics and Inheritance in Triathlon
Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Ildus I. Ahmetov and Malcolm Collins
Chapter 3 Gender and Age Considerations in Triathlon . . . . . 39
Romuald Lepers
Part II Technical Execution and Effi ciency
in Each Event 55
Chapter 4 Swimming Biomechanics for Triathlon . . . . . . . . . 57
David Pease
Chapter 5 Cycling Biomechanics for Triathlon . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Jeff Broker and Sean Langlais
Chapter 6 Running Biomechanics for Triathlon . . . . . . . . . . . 87
George M. Dallam
Part III Environmental Factors and Equipment
Options 99
Chapter 7 In the Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Bruce R. Mason and Gina Sacilotto
iii
}
iv Contents
Chapter 8 On the Bike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Jeff Broker and Sean Langlais
Chapter 9 For the Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
George M. Dallam
Chapter 10 Triathlon Training Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Hunter Allen
Part IV Physiological Function in Triathlon
Training 159
Chapter 11 Aerobic Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Ross Tucker
Chapter 12 Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Ross Tucker
Chapter 13 Anaerobic Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Ross Tucker
Chapter 14 Muscle Types and Triathlon Performance . . . . . . . 191
Ross Tucker
Chapter 15 Fatigue Resistance and Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Ross Tucker
Part V Training Modes and Methods for
Triathletes 209
Chapter 16 Warm-Up and Cool-Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
David Warden
Chapter 17 Flexibility and Core Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
David Warden
Chapter 18 Strength Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
David Warden
|
Contents v
Chapter 19 General and Specific Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
David Warden
Chapter 20 Interval Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
David Warden
Part VI Training Strategies in Triathlon 297
Chapter 21 Duration, Frequency, and Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Stephen J. McGregor
Chapter 22 Periodization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Stephen J. McGregor
Chapter 23 Tapering and Peaking for Races . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Stephen J. McGregor
Chapter 24 Physiology of Overtraining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Matt Fitzgerald
Part VII Training Base Building for Triathlon 351
Chapter 25 Swim Base Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Jim Vance
Chapter 26 Bike Base Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Neal Henderson
Chapter 27 Run Base Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
George M. Dallam
Part VIII Multisport Event-Specific Training
and Racing Tactics 385
Chapter 28 Sprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Gale Bernhardt
Chapter 29 Olympic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Gale Bernhardt
}
vi Contents
Chapter 30 Half-Ironman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Gale Bernhardt
Chapter 31 Ironman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Gale Bernhardt
Chapter 32 Duathlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Gale Bernhardt
Chapter 33 Combination Workout Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Gale Bernhardt
Part IX Sports Medicine for Triathletes 449
Chapter 34 Triathlete Body Maintenance and Medical Care . . . 451
John Post
Chapter 35 Triathlon Injuries and Preventive Measures . . . . . . 461
Nathan Koch
Chapter 36 Triathlon Injury Recovery Techniques . . . . . . . . . 497
Nathan Koch
Part X Nutrition for Triathletes 513
Chapter 37 Energy Needs, Sources, and Utilization . . . . . . . . 515
Bob Seebohar
Chapter 38 Nutrition Periodization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Bob Seebohar
Chapter 39 Nutrient Timing for Triathlon Training
and Racing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
Bob Seebohar
Chapter 40 Supplements for Triathletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543
Bob Seebohar
|
Contents vii
Part XI Psychology of Multisport 553
Chapter 41 Mental Toughness for Triathlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
JoAnn Dahlkoetter
Chapter 42 Psychology of Triathlon Training . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
JoAnn Dahlkoetter
Chapter 43 Mental Skills for Peak Triathlon Performance . . . . 573
JoAnn Dahlkoetter
Epilogue: The Application of Science in Triathlon . . . . . . . . 583
Joe Friel
References 585
Index 621
About the Editors 639
About the Contributors 641
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Introduction
The Tri-Knowledge Advantage
—Joe Friel, MSc
Whether you are a triathlete, coach, sport scientist, or student of the
sport, if you are passionate about the science of triathlon, you are in
for a treat. Human Kinetics, Jim Vance, and I have brought together some of
the most knowledgeable people in the many fi elds related to sport science
to contribute to this book. Here you will fi nd the scientifi c underpinnings
of a wide range of triathlon topics from physiology, gender, and genetics to
biomechanics, training methods, and psychology—and more. The book is
a treasure trove of information that will help you understand what it takes
to succeed in this complex sport.
No project like this has ever been done for triathlon. I promise that you
will learn a lot. I know I did, having read each of the chapters before publi-
cation. And I’ve been around the sport for a long time.
I came to triathlon in 1983 when I did my fi rst race in Longmont, Colo-
rado, a race just short of what we now call the Olympic distance. It was a
pool swim. After many years of only running before trying this new sport,
my stroke mechanics were pathetic. In those days we didn’t believe that
technique was important. It was all about building fi tness in the pool with
endless intervals. The bike I rode was decent for the early 1980s—a Fuji
road bike that probably weighed 25 pounds (11 kg). In those days there was
no such thing as a triathlon bike. It would be 6 more years until the fi rst
of those appeared in bike shops. I came from a running background, but
my ego was defl ated on that race day by how slowly I ran after an hour of
pushing my limits on the bike. Of course, power meters, GPS devices, and
accelerometers were unheard of. I would get my fi rst heart rate monitor later
that summer. Racing back then was only about going as hard as you could
for as long as you could.
In those early days we had no reason to think that triathlon would be
anything other than a fun way for swimmers, cyclists, and runners to com-
pete with each other. We never dreamed that it would one day become the
fastest growing sport in the world or that in less than 20 years it would be
an event in the Olympic Games. Triathlon was just something we all did as
a break from our “real” sports.
In the 1970s I had gone back to school to work on a master’s degree in
exercise science, in part so I could become a better runner. I had high aspira-
tions as an athlete and had always been curious about how to train to run
ix
}
x Introduction
faster. I figured the answers to all my training questions could be found
within those ivy-covered walls. After 3 years of study I came away with
few answers, but with much better questions. And along the way I learned
of the role of research in seeking answers to such questions. Ever since then
I have been a student of the science of training for sport. To this day I read
research studies the way most people read novels—just for fun. So when
I was asked to be a part of this book project, I jumped at the opportunity.
I knew I would need help with such a huge project, so I asked Jim Vance
to come onboard to assist. Jim has been a coaching associate with me for
4 years. He also comes from a running background, having competed in
track and field at the University of Nebraska. After graduation, he took up
mountain bike racing, which eventually led him to triathlon. He soon turned
pro and moved up to the Ironman distance. Jim was a public school teacher
before becoming a coach, so he understands how to help athletes become
more fit and faster by learning as well as doing. I was Jim’s coach before he
retired from professional racing to become a full-time coach. So I knew that
we could work well together on this book.
We started on the project in the spring of 2011 by deciding what should be
included, and we then made a list of people we would like to have onboard
as contributors. The list was impressive—and we got them all. They each
fall into one of three categories: academics with advanced degrees, coaches
with high levels of certification and unparalleled experience, and medical
practitioners known for their treatment of endurance athletes. Several of
the contributors fit in two of these categories. All are athletes, and many
have competed or continue to compete at remarkably high levels given
their busy lives. They come from five countries—Australia, France, Russia,
South Africa, and the United States—on four continents. You can read brief
biographies about each of them in the About the Contributors section. Their
accomplishments are remarkable. In the sport of triathlon, never has such a
high-powered group with so much cutting-edge information been brought
together with a single mission: to help you understand better what it takes
to excel as a triathlete.
Here’s a brief overview to what you can expect from the contributors to
Triathlon Science:
In part I you will learn about the physiology of triathlon from Randy
Wilber, PhD; about genetics from Ildus Ahmetov, PhD, and Malcolm
Collins, PhD; and about the training needs of special populations from
Romuald Lepers, PhD.
Part II takes an in-depth look at the movement skills of each of the three
disciplines. Chapters are written by David Pease, PhD, from the Aus-
tralian Institute of Sport; Jeff Broker, PhD; and George Dallam, PhD.
Part III examines the effect of environmental conditions and equipment,
including computer software, on performance. Contributors are Bruce