You actually have three separate points of impact when biking – the handles, the seat and the pedals. However, by far the most important is where your feet contact the pedals, as this is where all the power is generated! While a comfortable seat and good handles are also meaningful details, a miscalculation in these areas won’t cost you a race. Yet, if your shoes don’t mesh well with the pedals, for the most efficient transfer of power possible, you’ll have lost before you even begin!

Triathlon bike shoes are a small niche category of fitness wear, and they are specially made for their purpose. What is this? Comfort, style, and breathability all come in second place before the ability to grip the pedals in superior fashion. Also, you may be surprised to learn how tight they ought to be, as having your foot move with each downward motion is a waste of energy.

When you visit the store to purchase your triathlon bike shoes, you may be tempted to select too large a size. Why is this? You triathlon bike shoes are in a category all their own, and will be massively smaller than any other shoe in your collection. For example, a quality piece of running footwear will allow your foot enough room for comfortable movement. This is healthy and natural, ensuring your toes are able to spread out in an appropriate configuration. However, triathlon bike shoes are different, and movement is actually dangerous. How so? While a small cycling shoe will feel highly constrictive at first, they in fact prevent common injuries from developing.

These include blisters on your toes, as the constant friction from your foot traveling back and forth inside your shoe each time you pedal can cause these. Further, triathlon bike shoes which are too large may cause your feet to feel numb, warm at the point of impact, or even allow blackened toenails to form! If you are new to buying cycling footwear, you will probably think these are symptoms of shoes which are too small. Actually, your triathlon bike shoes are a size or two larger than optimum, and you need to select a smaller pair.

There are a few other factors to keep in mind when trying on your triathlon bike shoes as well. First, your feet are actually slightly different sizes at different times of the day. As most triathlon competitions begin in the early morning hours, your feet will typically be a bit smaller at this time than later in the day. Also, you must decide if you plan to wear socks or go with bare feet, as this will alter what size footwear you need. You need to be aware of how to try on cycling shoes as well, which is different from any other procedure you may use for other types of footwear. To give most shoes a trial run, you probably walk around in them at the store, to ensure they are a comfortable fit. Yet, triathlon bike shoes aren’t made for walking, or even standing in for that matter! They are designed only for pedaling, and you should remain seated when trying them on. Why is this the right way to go about it?

If you stand up in cycling shoes, they will be very uncomfortable. This is because they aren’t designed to hold the majority of your body weight, as your bike seat performs this function. Also, most of the pressure is focused on the toes and ball of your foot, yet standing places half of your weight onto your heel. The golden rule for perfect fitting triathlon bike shoes, is that you should not be able to move your foot at all. While your toes may have enough room to wiggle just a little, if your heel can shift even slightly, they are too big. At first this snug type of fit will feel unnatural and may be uncomfortable, but it will be more beneficial to your feet in the long run.

Also, another area you need to be aware of when it comes to triathlon bike shoes, is stiffness. A rigid shoe sole will boost your power capabilities, and you’ll notice the difference when on the bike. Yet, you don’t want to sacrifice weight for extra speed, as this will tire your legs out faster overall. Does a small amount of weight actually matter? While it may seem surprising that a few ounces can have an effect, it is a proven fact! This may seem less confusing, if you examine the reason behind this phenomenon for just a moment. In each triathlon competition, you will have miles to cover by bike. Over this considerable distance, you will need to make thousands upon thousands of pedal revolutions. Having to move even a few extra ounces this many times can truly add up, and slow down your racing time. So, it is best to pick out triathlon bike shoes which have the stiffest soles, yet are as lightweight as possible too. Carbon fiber represents a significant innovation in cycling footwear design, as it has both of these properties in spades! Therefore, if you can find a light but strong carbon fiber biking shoe, you’ll be well on your way to getting a faster time on the track.

In conclusion, the above guidelines will help you select a superior pair of triathlon bike shoes! These will fit quite snugly, to reduce any friction caused by your foot shifting within them during each pedal rotation. This will prevent injury, and leave your feet in good shape for the running portion of the competition. Further, a stiff sole which is lightweight as well, will give you added performance. If you keep these factors in mind, you are sure to pick out triathlon bike shoes which will help you to win!

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The Original Post is Located Here: Are your triathlon bike shoes too big?

triathlon watch

When training for races, especially for the major races like triathlons, it is important to have a triathlon watch.

This watch helps you to keep track of your progress, as well as record your previous time and speeds to help you keep a close watch at your improvements, as well as knowing how far you have gone in distance. A triathlon watch provides a gauge for you to use to compare yourself with competition too. So, how do you choose the best triathlon watch for you?

Choosing the right triathlon watch

To start with, you should go for a brand that you can trust. There are many triathlon watches available in the market, and from different companies. Going for the companies that have appropriately branded themselves as a sign of quality gives you the confidence that what you buy is a quality product too. Such companies will back their products with good warranties and guarantees. Therefore, you, the user of the watch, will have no worry when buying the watch. You are assured that the watch will function as indicated, and if anything is not so, you can easily get a replacement by returning the faulty watch.

The cost of the watch is also a consideration. Triathlon watches range in price from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. Depending on how much you wish to spend, you can go for the most appropriate watch in that cost bracket. Simply put, you should go for the watch that you can afford, without compromising so much on the quality.

The features of the triathlon watch that you will need for your training and progress monitoring also come in to play. The watch that you buy should incorporate all those features that you feel you will need for adequate recordings, and effective training. Besides this it should be water resistant, taking in to consideration that one sweats a lot during training and the race itself. You also have a swimming event within the triathlon race, which means that the need for water resistance is important. If not well resistant to water, it may end up malfunctioning when sweat and water drips in to it. On top of this, it should be shock proof. During exercise, sudden movements and pounding on the ground during a race results in significant shock waves. If the watch cannot withstand this, then it may not be well effective. More so, during exercise the watch can unfasten and fall off. It should be able to withstand such a fall.

Where cost allows, go for a watch with several functions. These functions include timing, a stop watch, alarms, heart rate monitors and cool displays that allow ease of reading of the watch in all conditions. Some watches will also have speed measurements, including your real time speed, your average speed, and your maximum speed. Some also measure your best, average and current pace, with some having GPS functionality that allows you real time tracking of your location, the distance and time to target. With such features and functionality, the triathlon watch allows you to even predict an estimate finish time, elapsed time, and countdown timing, as well as recalling your previous training sessions.

Your choice triathlon watch should be light enough not to add a drag on you when racing. A heavy watch works to distract a person when racing in a triathlon. It also makes one very uncomfortable and unsettled. Having multiple functions in the watch does not necessarily translate in to a heavy one. Technological improvements have brought about a revolution in the size and weight of electronic circuits, making wonderful functionality easy to incorporate within very light and small circuits. You should therefore, shop around for a watch with most of the features you need, but also one that has an ideal weight for you.

The straps of your triathlon watch should be adjustable. This is because as one engages in exercise, the blood vessels dilate increasing the muscle size and arm diameter quite a bit. You therefore, might need to adjust these straps during the training or racing exercise. Make sure that they are easily adjustable so that you do not loose your speed when adjusting the watch during a race.

Where to buy a triathlon watch

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When you identify the kind of features you want for your triathlon watch, as well as the budget you have, its time to buy. There are many online stores, as well as offline ones that you can get your watch from. However, care should be taken to only use the best. A simple search online, for instance, will give you thousands of results of shops near you as well as those that sell the watches online. You only need to narrow down this list to get the best store to use.

To help with this narrowing down, start by asking your fellow trainees where they bought their watches from. Word of mouth is by far, the best source of genuine information. Ask for details on the kind of service received when they were buying, the kind of customer support they got, as well as how well the watches are performing. Besides this, you can also go through online reviews of the various stores and watches that they sell. This will give you a feel of the suitability of your choice triathlon watch as well as the store you want to buy it from.

Again, go for stores that will extend the manufacturer’s guarantee to you. This gives you the confidence of buying the watch, as well as the comfort of using it. You are also assured of getting a quality and genuine watch and not an imitation. Since such a store would want to protect its name, they are also most likely to have very good customer support before, during, and after the purchase of the watch. This is very important because some of these watches are quite complex to operate and may need some expert advise and assistance.

Good training on how to use the triathlon watch features should also be provided during the buying process.

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The Original Post is Located Here: Triathlon Watch – Choosing The Right One

triathlon suit

Triathlon, in its most basic form, is a three sport event that revolves around swimming, running and cycling sports and one of the first requirements to properly participate is a triathlon suit.

As with every sport there are protective gear and other safe and health equipment but the triathlon suit is the most basic requirement needed. Just one of the events can already take out a persons endurance and strength but since a triathlon involves all three, it is important to have the right triathlon suit that will help a person endure all three without suffering from skin problems, perspiration conditions and other causes of complications.

One of the first things to consider when choosing the best triathlon suit for your event needs always consider that the main complication you will face is skin chafing. While you could choose to use cycling shorts and basic event attires, a triathlon suit is designed for all three events so it will ensure your skin will not develop rashes and breaks or wrinkles due to the constant movement, rubbing and heat you will experience over the course of the three events. Cycling shorts and others may be great for one event but a triathlon suit is great for all three.

When it comes to the material used, it is preferred to use polyester since these are materials that allow your body to move freely and your skin to breathe. It offers strong physical support and the material keeps you dry whether you are swimming or sweating on a run. Another great thing about a polyester triathlon suit is that it clings to your body without choking it; you are able to move flexibly and without constraint and this can be the key factor in winning the race. A triathlon suit that does not give you full freedom of movement could hinder your full potential in running or swimming and it would eventually slow you down and get you tired as you try to make up for the lack of movement.

Design is another factor to consider when you are looking for the best triathlon suit. Many triathlon suits will cut off right before the elbows and right above the knee. This design is to save your skin from tears and rashes that could be caused by skin rubbing continuously on the fabric. You can find a triathlon suit that extends below these regions but always test them out first to make sure they do not rub and contract on your skin since that could cause skin and muscle damage over the course of a triathlon event. Another important thing about design is that you must always put looks behind function. A lot of people get carried away by the way a specific suit looks, especially with the colors, but the suites color will not help you in the run. The shape and form are what really matters and these are the two things to look into when buying your event suit.

Since a triathlon mostly includes swimming it is also important to consider the supplementary aspects of the suit. One of the most important things to look for is neoprene material. This material actually helps a swimmer stay afloat since it is very buoyant and with the natural lubricant nature it also prevents skin irritation and unnecessary rubbing. These features, which enable a swimmer to go faster and without hindrance, are the beneficial sides of a good triathlon suit. Another important thing to consider for a triathlon suit is its tightness; a recommendable triathlon suit is about one size under a persons standard clothing size. A very tight suit will help the wearer move fluidly and without the water causing an opposing drift that would drag them backwards. As much as possible, avoid getting a triathlon suit that is loose and bigger than intended.

Lastly one should also remember to find a suit that is built and designed specifically for their body type. Of course one should only get a suit designed for their gender but there are suits that are specifically designed as according to a persons muscle build, skeletal structure and basic BMI data. All of these come into play for a person to fit into their suit and to obtain optimal benefits. Women’s suits, especially wetsuits, must be taken into careful consideration since there are more to a woman’s shape than that of a man and each different curve or change in muscle angle and the way the suit handles these could make or break a woman’s efficacy in the triathlon event.

Quality comes first before anything else and it is always important to find the best suit regardless of any other issue, especially when it comes to the price. There are many famous brands available but even the best brand and manufacturer may not have the right suit for your body standards and needs. It is important to look into and regard each suit as an individual item and not as a marketed product for you to dismiss the glamor and pretty looks; instead look into the design, size, material and structure. You can still find a reasonably priced suit that delivers all of the aforementioned qualities. These are all the factors that will play into how effective the suit will be as you wear it in the triathlon event.

With the right suit you are a good deal safer from experiencing skin irritations such as rashes and skin breakages. With the right suit you are able to keep yourself dry whether you are in the first lap of swimming or if you are already knee deep in sweat as you are on the last leg of the run or cycling course. With the right suit you will be able to move freely without a tear in the material rubbing against your knee or elbows that might constrict your movement and eventually slow you down.

Price is the last thing to consider when choosing the right suit and with this guide you will be able to pinpoint the best triathlon suit for you and your needs to excel in any triathlon event.

The Original Post is Located Here: Guide to Buying the Best Triathlon Suit

Triathlon Shoes

Having the most suitable triathlon shoes is an added advantage to help you race competitively.

These shoes help protect your feet, give you a good grip on the ground and on the bicycle pedals, as well as keep you balanced for the uneven terrain during a race. The best shoes are loose fitting to allow blood circulation, but firm enough not to get off the feet during the race. Above all, triathlon shoes should be comfortable for you, and of the correct size and shape.

It is important to note that our feet are created with good adaptations for walking and running. Therefore, aim to get shoes that won’t inhibit this function of the feet. The shoes you buy should match your feet, and should not be so thick and overprotective. Actually, the best triathlon shoes are the barefoot style running shoes. These place minimal support on the foot and beside the foot, thus leaving the foot clear to function freely. Running shoes, like the orthotics, which offer the most support are usually more expensive and do not really protect you from injury and strain, including shin splints and dysfunction of the hips. This goes along to suggest that the feet need to be set free to function the way they were made and designed to function. In other words, you should go for shoes that mimic the barefoot, because they give you better grip, adaptability and functionality.

Your experience level

When choosing the right shoes for a triathlon event, it is important to go for the most appropriate one, depending on your level of experience. There are beginners shoes that are designed to shield the person who is going in to the event the first time. Such a person is more prone to injuring himself / herself, and therefore needs more protection than a more experienced triathlete. Being among the first races for this beginner, they are more likely to make many false steps when running, slipping on pedals when cycling, or simply being uncomfortable on the uneven track surface. The beginner shoes take this in to consideration and provide better fitting, more protection, and more shock absorbing properties.

Diversity

Triathlon shoes should also take in to account the three activities that are in this event. They should handle all events effectively. For instance, the same shoe should be useful and ideal for the track racing, on top of being good enough for bicycle racing. This ensures that you are able to race effectively, without shaving on your time while changing shoes. Inappropriate shoes require that you keep changing them for the different event phases, meaning that you waste time after each consecutive stage. A competitor that uses one shoe for all the events will therefore easily beat you with a good time margin. Avoid this by choosing the most appropriate shoes for all the events in this game.

Ease of cleaning

The material used to make the triathlon shoes should be comfortable and easy to clean. Since a lot of feet sweating is expected during a triathlon exercise, it is important to have an easy to clean shoe. The foot paths used will also, most likely, have dust or mud, and this combined with sweat, would easily form dirt in your shoes. For good hygiene purposes, make sure to clean your shoes regularly. This can only be achieved if they are easy to clean, making cleaning an easy and enjoyable task. A tough to clean shoe may not get a thorough clean even with regular cleaning. This kind of a shoe easily starts producing odor, while also increasing the possibility of infecting your feet with diseases. These shoes should also be quick driers when cleaned.

Durability

Durability of the triathlon shoes is an obvious consideration. A triathlon event is quite tasking. It therefore, requires shoes that can handle the heat. Durable shoes can easily handle friction during bicycle racing as well as the foot pounding on the foot racing event. They are also cost saving because you do not keep buying shoes all the time for the different events. Above all, you can use them both for training exercises as well as for the competition event because they can easily last the entire exercise period.

Aeration

Triathlon shoes should allow easy air circulation around the foot and sole. This works to help cool the feet during the exercise or race. Good ventilation also helps to keep your feet healthy by reducing the possibility of infection by anaerobic bacteria forms. A good aerated shoe also helps the foot to dry off the sweat fast, reducing the slipping effect that sweat may cause.

Cost

The triathlon shoes that you choose will determine the cost that you will have to meet. However, make a budget before starting the choice considerations. This is because with a decided budget, you eliminate a lot of the options that would otherwise confuse you. Your budget should be big enough to afford a decent and quality shoe, but narrow enough to avoid the exaggerated triathlon shoes costs. Most branded sports shoes will have higher costs attached to them. However, this does not necessarily mean quality. Therefore, make sure to do a bit of research before purchasing that expensive pair of triathlon shoes.

Brand

Trustworthy brands are best to go with when buying your triathlon shoes for triathlon training and racing activities. This is because such brands put in extensive research towards developing the most ideal shoes for such an activity. You will therefore, be assured of quality, and protection. These top brands also offer guarantees, including money back guarantees. With such, you will be confident to use the shoes, and reassuringly for that matter.

Type of foot

Bottom line; go for a shoe that matches your foot. The size and shape of the triathlon shoes should match your feet appropriately. This not only provides comfort, but also peak performance and protection. You are able to avoid injury to your body, on top of training and racing at your best.

That is what the best pair of triathlon shoes should do for you.

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The Original Post is Located Here: Triathlon Shoes

Triathlon Wetsuit

For those that participate in triathlons, the triathlon wetsuit is one of their most critical pieces of equipment.

The triathlon wetsuit is critical for the swimming portion of the competition. Triathlons are comprised of three separate stages, running, bicycling, and swimming. The proper wetsuit can make a huge difference during the swimming portion. There are several different kinds of triathlon wetsuit. They are designed differently for different types of swimmers; there are different designs for men and women athletes. There are models that are sleeveless, knee length, and full body. As you can see, someone that competes has a lot to think about when choosing his or her wetsuit. Most athletes will try more than on type in the off-season until they find the type that gives them the fastest times.

A triathlon wetsuit is made of foamed neoprene rubber. Other than those that participate in triathlons, you will also find these wetsuits being used by divers, surfers, windsurfers, and others who participate in water sports. These wetsuits offer warmth, buoyancy, and protection from abrasions. The buoyancy of the suit is obtained by gas bubbles being inserted into the suit as it is made. The gas bubbles are also a large part of the reason that wetsuits are warm.

A standard wetsuit is designed to help a swimmer stay afloat and swim over longer distances. A triathlon wetsuit is designed to outperform a standard wetsuit in every aspect. They will help the athlete swim further and faster than their competition. Another thing that is designed into the triathlon wetsuit is greater flexibility. A wetsuit designed for the triathlon athlete will have much greater flexibility than a standard wetsuit. Those that typically use a standard wetsuit are not in a race, they are not very concerned with flexibility. The triathlon is a race and the athletes need all the speed they can achieve, so flexibility in their wetsuit is crucial. A triathlon wetsuit is specially designed to fit the shape of either a man or woman. Other than the shape, the suits are made the same. Both types are designed for the least possible resistance in the water, they are designed for maximum flexibility and buoyancy, and they are designed to keep the athlete warm.

There is a full body triathlon wetsuit that is best for use in cold temperatures. Full body wetsuits protect the entire body from the elements and it also offers great hydrodynamics. Hydrodynamics relates to the suits ability to slide through the water with the least resistance. An athlete can also choose a sleeveless wetsuit. There is no difference in these two wetsuits other than the fact that one has no sleeves. Usually those that are confident in their abilities to withstand the cold will choose sleeveless wetsuits. If your triathlon is being held during warm weather, you may want to choose a knee length wetsuit. Knee length wetsuits offer the greatest flexibility, but they are not as buoyant or as warm.

Over the years, new materials and technologies have changed the triathlon wetsuit. One of the newest technologies used for a triathlon wetsuit is a new lightweight material that allows for faster drying. This allows the athlete to move from one portion of the race to the next without the need to stop and dry their wetsuit. The modern triathlon wetsuit is built different; it is now made with overlaying gluing and blind stitching methods that make it even more waterproof. These methods of making a wetsuit also allow the manufactures to make the wetsuits fit the athlete better and give them more flexibility. Another innovation for the triathlon wetsuit is that it has a specialized coating that allows it to slide through the water with less friction. There are many companies that make triathlon wetsuits and they all vary a little in the way they are made. Some will add extra buoyancy to the wetsuit thorough the use of buoyancy panels. This could be a good option in a triathlon wetsuit for someone that is not the best swimmer. The drawback of these panels is that you lose a little of your flexibility.

Another thing to consider when purchasing a triathlon wetsuit is the cost. They can vary greatly in price. A beginner model could be around $200 up to a professional model that could cost $700 or more. If you compete for fun then a less expensive wetsuit will be the best choice, but if you compete professionally, then you want the best wetsuit you can purchase. Realize that price is not always the best determination if a wetsuit is a good wetsuit. Some athletes prefer the feel and options that they find on mid-range wetsuits. Personal preference and your abilities in each section of the race will have much to do with the wetsuit you choose. If you wear your suit for the entire race, or change for each portion of the race, will also play a part in what type and style of triathlon wetsuit is best for you.

If you are a beginner to the sport, you may want to look into some other options for purchasing your triathlon wetsuit. You may want to rent a different suit each time you compete until you find the one that fits your needs the best. You could also purchase a model that is a year old from one of the many discount sites on the internet. If you type ‘triathlon wetsuit’ into a search engine, you will find that there are many online stores that sell these wetsuits. You will see that older models can be purchased for a discount price. This is also a great way to try out wetsuits until you find the brand and type that fits your needs the best. The internet will also allow you to look at many different wetsuits all at one time. The more information you have about wetsuits the more likely you are to choose the right one. These sites can also give you needed information on other accessories you may need for competition.

Another thing for the beginner to remember is to ensure that you are getting a triathlon wetsuit and not a standard wetsuit; there are many differences in the two.

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The Original Post is Located Here: Triathlon Wetsuit – One Of The Most Critical Pieces Of Equipment

But can you keep that amazing body and still do endurance sports…like triathlon? After all, it’s pretty typical among the triathlon crowd to have tiny arms, a thin neck, a stick-like midsection, a weak body frame and even a “skinny-fat” look, with a little bit of weight in the belly and waist.

Let’s face it, folks – that ain’t sexy. Even though triathlon is the fastest growing sport on the planet, and races sell out thousands of slots in just a few minutes, it can still be a bit depressing when you realize that traditional triathlon training doesn’t really give you a nice body – and just makes you either really skinny or skinny-fat.

And the fear of having that emaciated, marathoner-like appearance is a legitimate concern if having a nice body is important to you. I know that it was a big concern for me when I got into the sport of triathlon – I didn’t want to watch in the mirror as my lean, hard muscle wasted away and I ended up looking like a skinny weakling.

But the truth is, when you train for triathlon, you don’t have to lose precious muscle, get extremely skinny, or become a scrawny endurance athlete. You can actually train for triathlon while still adding incredibly functional muscle and athleticism. You can swim, bike and run fast – and still have an amazing body.

Here’s how, in five easy steps:

1. Lift Right

There are two styles of weight lifting that most triathletes do: 1) high-repetition, low-resistance endurance style lifting, such as a circuit of 20 reps of several different exercises; 2) heavy, slow, football-style lifting, like deadlifts, squats or benchpress. In reality, there is a third style of lifting that is neglected among endurance athletes, but a long-kept tradition of the bodybuilding industry: “hypertrophy” style training: multiple sets of 8-12 repetitions.

With hypertrophy training, you can add and define lean muscle very quickly. But the problem is that it is very easy with this bodybuilder-style training to build non-functional muscle that actually slows you down when you’re competing in a sport such as triathlon.

The solution to this issue is to still do the hypertrophy-style training, but to avoid single-joint exercises like biceps curls, and instead to choose full body, functional exercises while scattering in just enough explosive and heavy weightlifting to keep your muscles extremely functional and fast.

2. Eat right

This may be a bit of a news flash for you, but fat doesn’t make you fat. Instead, fat – the healthy variety, like olives, almonds, walnuts, fish and avocadoes – is a hormonal precursor and gives your body the building blocks it needs to develop lean, hard muscle, as well as competitive drive, mental energy, libido, and every other advantage that comes from adequate hormones.

On the flipside, carbohydrates, especially the type that are really favored by endurance athletes, like bagels, sports drinks, and cereal, give you that soft, pudgy look in the mid-section, accompanied by a complete inability to build impressive, defined arms and legs.

So here’s what to do about this: if you’re trying to be fast at triathlon and also have an amazing body, you should eat a diet comprised of a high amount of healthy fats (40-50% fat), add in moderate helpings of natural protein to keep amino acids elevated for your muscles and brain, and top it off with strategically timed carbohydrate doses when they really matter, such as before or after your exercise sessions.

3. Train right

For years, sports scientists have know that short, hard and intense intervals give you just as much fitness and performance benefit as long, slow, aerobic exercise. But like a mouse on a wheel, it is tempting and even addictive for an endurance athlete to continue plugging away hours pounding the pavement, turning the pedals, or swimming back and forth.

Not only does this long, slow aerobic training completely nullify any attempts to add lean muscle or get a nice, defined body, but it also depletes hormones, causes overtraining syndrome, and takes away precious time from family, career and other hobbies.

Instead, for the triathlete who wants to avoid the skinny-fat look and get an amazing, muscular body, the training plan should incorporate strategically targeted high-intensity bursts of energy, a moderate amount of slightly longer “tempo” work, and finally, a low amount of long aerobic training – saving long rides, runs or swims for times when they are completely necessary and crucial to the program.

4. Supplement right

Inadequate hormones are a big issue for both men and women, and especially physically active men and women. “Andropause”, the decline or imbalance in male hormones and “Menopause”, the decline or imbalance in female hormones can begin to occur when you’re as young as 27 years old – and only gets worse as you age. Although hormonal deficits are the biggest problem among endurance athletes, there is also a prevalence of nutrition deficiencies, mineral loss, and very low fatty acid and amino acid levels – all of which keep you from both getting fast and having an amazing body.

These deficits and imbalances can occur because the body simply needs extra help if you’re lifting, swimming, cycling, running and cross-training on a regular basis. This level of activity is just more than the human body can naturally handle! The extra help comes in the form of completely legal sports nutrition supplementation like digestive enzymes, fish oil, vitamin D, greens supplements, magnesium and Chinese adaptogenic herbs. While there are countless supplement ads in magazines and on websites, you really only need a few of these key supplements to have your body ready to both go fast and maintain muscle.

And yes, if you are pushing your body beyond it’s natural tendencies, then even in a situation where your diet is perfect, supplementation is a must if you want to be fast and also have an amazing body.

5. Live right

There are little hacks or tweaks you can make to your lifestyle to simplify this whole process of performing fantastic and looking good.

For example, you can sleep more deeply by using magnesium, melatonin and keeping your bedroom completely dark. You can de-stress at the beginning of the day with a very simple 5-10 minute yoga routine. You can keep bouncing back from your workouts day-after-day by using a ice, compression and foam roller. You can detoxify your body by making sure you aren’t using body-damaging chemicals to clean your house or cook your food.

These are just a few of the little lifestyle tweaks that you can make, but they’re incredibly important if you want to add muscle and athleticism while getting the body of your dreams and still being fast for triathlon.

If you want to learn more about how to swim, bike and run lightning fast, but also have a nice body that looks good, (and get access to the other 6 articles in this series) then head over to Tri-Ripped for a brand new approach to training for the ultimate triathlon body.

The Original Post is Located Here: Five Ways To Swim, Bike & Run Fast, And Also Have An Amazing Body

But it originally evolved from 19th century underwear.

So if you’re going to be walking around wearing your underwear, then you’d better know how to look good in a t-shirt. Using the five steps in this article, you’re guaranteed to look good in a t-shirt, cut an impressive figure and wear your wardrobe with confidence.

Step 1: Remember Your Back

Back when I was a bodybuilder, it was tempting to simply pay attention the front of the body: the shoulders, the chest, the abs, and the front of the arms. But I quickly learned that to look good, you also need to pay attention to your backside.

When you’re wearing a t-shirt, the most important part of your back to target is the part that makes those sleeves look good: the back of your arms (your triceps). Three of my favorite exercises for the back of your arms, which you can include each week, are:

1) Narrow Grip Pushups: Do a pushup in the regular or knee push-up position, but keep your hands closer together and make sure your elbows brush your ribcage as you lower yourself down and push yourself back up.

2) Tricep Pushdowns: At most gyms, you’ll find a cable apparatus with a rope or bar attached to it. This is perfect for triceps pushdowns, in which you start with your arms bent at 90 degrees and then extend them until they’re completely straight.

3) Dips: Begin by holding onto two bars and suspending your body in the air. You then lower yourself as far as you can–or until your elbows are at about 90 degrees–then push yourself back up.

Step 2: Work On Your “V”

Even if your chest, shoulders and arms are t-shirt ready, you simply won’t look good in a t-shirt if you are sporting muffin tops or a beer belly, or aren’t working your full spectrum of stomach muscles.

If you really want a tighter tummy, you need to incorporate exercises that create a belt of muscle around your entire mid-section. This belt serves to draw in the waist, keep the stomach flat, and keep your abs looking good in a t-shirt.

To work on all the stomach muscles, you need to include the following four movements:

1) Abdominal flexion, which will tighten the “rectus abdomonis”, or sheet of muscle tissue that is directly on the front of your stomach.

2) Rotation, which will work the internal and external oblique muscles that are on the sides of your stomach

3) Waist extension, which will incorporate the low back muscles to improve posture and allow you to keep your stomach sucked in

4) A planking exercise, which will allow you to tone each of the muscles listed above in one all-encompassing exercise.

Try to put together exercises from each category as a circuit, which you repeat 3-4x through with minimal rest.

Step 3: Target Your Traps

It can be unflattering if you have a skinny neck that sticks up out of your t-shirt, even if the rest of your body looks good. If you have a skinny neck, the trick is not to work the neck muscles, but rather to target your trapezius, or “traps” – since working these muscles will naturally give you a more muscular and defined neck.

The traps are primarily responsible for “shrugging the shoulders”, so you’ll want to include exercises such as dumbbell shoulder shrugs, dumbbell or barbell deadlifts, farmer’s walks, or walking lunges.

When you perform these exercises, make sure that you are allowing your shoulders to drop, but instead imagine the tops of your shoulders touching the bottom of your ear lobes, which will help you to keep your traps contracted.

Step 4: Squeeze Your Shoulders

If your shoulders are slouched or slumped forward, you might look just fine from the front, but a side shot of you in your t-shirt may look more like a hunchback. If you sit at your computer for long periods of time, ride a bicycle in a hunched over position, swim frequently, or have a combination of tight chest muscles and weak shoulder muscles, then you probably do have at least a slight upper back hump.

To address this issue, you need to include exercises that make you squeeze your shoulders back, such as seated rows, standing rows, pull-ups, pull-downs, and super-slow pushups (drop down for a 1-2-3 count, then push-up for a 1-2-3 count).

When you perform these exercises focus on keeping the shoulder blades aligned and the shoulder blade muscles contracted, the abs tight and “sucked in”, and the back straight. You can also improve posture by breathing in as you do the weight lifting portion of the exercise and then breathing out as you return the weight to the starting position.

Step 5: Get The Right T-Shirt

The final key to looking good in a t-shirt is to choose a style of shirt that actually looks good on you. Most people wear t-shirts that are either too large, or made of material such as polyester, a cotton/polyester blend, or synthetic nylon, which usually doesn’t hug the body in a way that brings out the figure you’re working so hard to develop.

First, you need to look for the word “fitted” or “muscle-fit” when you get your t-shirt. This is the best indication that it will form-fit your body in a way that flatters you. Even if the shirt is made of a cotton-polyester blend, this will still ensure that it fits you well.

If you can’t find a fit like that, at least try to choose a shirt that is a high quality cotton, such as 100% combed ringspun cotton or knitted fine cotton. This type of material is less likely to have a “pleated” appearance and more likely to form-fit your body.

That’s it!

Remember your back, work on your V, target your traps, squeeze your shoulders and choose the right shirt, and you’re guaranteed to look good in a t-shirt!

If you want to learn more about how to swim, bike and run lightning fast, but also have a nice body that looks good, (and get access to the other 6 articles in this series) then head over to Tri-Ripped for a brand new approach to training for the ultimate triathlon body.

The Original Post is Located Here: Five Steps To Look Good In A T-Shirt

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Whether you’re a guy or a girl, a better chest is something that can help you look better in a swimsuit or business suit. But getting a better chest goes far beyond simply looking good or having nice pecs.

This is because the chest muscles are responsible for flexing your upper arm bone (as you’d do when swimming), moving the arm inwards (as you’d do when holding bike handlebars) rotating the arm bone towards the body (as you’d do when running), and breathing deeply (as you’d do during intense exertion).

Because of those actions, getting a better chest is crucial to both aesthetics and performance – whether you’re a power lifter or an endurance athlete.

So here are three ways to take your pecs to the next level and get a better chest:

1) Press From All Angles.

Don’t just bench-press or do push-ups. Instead, include exercises on a decline or incline bench, or with your feet or hands elevated to work all angles of your chest. On a weekly basis, you should include incline, decline, and flat chest pressing or push-ups so that you attack your chest muscles from all angles. For variety, do exercises like decline pushups, incline bench press, and dumbbell chest press.

2) Fly.

Flies help develop the inner pec muscles that presses have a hard time targeting, and there are many variations of the fly that you can use, including machine chest flies, decline dumbbell flies, flat dumbbell flies, seated cable flies, and standing cable flies. When you do flies, don’t go outside your comfortable range of motion, as it can be easy to hurt your shoulders if you don’t do flies properly.

3) Work Your Postural Muscles.

Slouched shoulders can make your chest look droopy, so when you’re working your chest, you also need to include shoulder posture exercises like seated rows, single arm cable or dumbbell rows, pull-downs and pull-ups. When you’re at your computer, reading a book, or sitting in a car, bus or airplane, always make sure you’re not letting your neck or shoulders roll forward, as this can lead to a sagging chest.

No discussion of how to get a better chest would be complete without addressing “man boobs”, which are medically referred to as gynecomastia – or abnormally large mammary glands. This condition is not physically harmful, but can be embarrassing and an indicator of more serious underlying hormonal conditions. If you’re a guy, and you find that no matter how much you work your chest, you can’t get rid of the extra tissue, you should:

1) See an endocrinologist or a naturopathic physician. Sex hormone imbalances and a reaction to pharmaceutical drugs are commons causes of man boobs.

2) Wear compression garments. Compression sports-wear, such as supportive t-shirts, can help with both appearance and comfort as you work on getting rid of man boobs.

3) Watch your diet. Some folks simply store more fat in certain areas – and any caloric excess is going to go straight to your trouble spot, especially if that’s mammary tissue! For getting rid of man boobs, pay special attention to limiting alcohol, sugars, and processed fats such as baked goods and vegetable oils.

If you want to learn more about how to swim, bike and run lightning fast, but also have a nice body, (and get access to the other 6 articles in this series) then head over to Tri-Ripped for a brand new approach to training for the ultimate triathlon body.

The Original Post is Located Here: 3 Moves To Get A Better Chest

By splitting the legs into three basic muscle groups, the quadriceps, the hamstrings and the calves, you can create a strategy for targeting each section. Here is how:

1) Quadriceps

There are two reasons that the legs of a marathoner look skinny or stringy compared to a cyclist: 1) the leg muscles must contract with a greater amount of force to pedal a bicycle compared to taking a step while running; 2) jarring, impact-based running is far more catabolic and able to significantly tear down muscle fibers compared to cycling.

Based on these two reasons, a strategy for building impressive quads should involve choosing activities that 1) require high force production, such as lifting weights or uphill bike riding, and 2) avoid excessive catabolic activities like running or long easy cardio sessions.

Since the quadriceps (which run along the front of the thigh) are primarily responsible for extending the lower leg at the knee joint and flexing the upper leg at the hip joint, any program designed to build the quads should focus on these motions.

A perfect exercise for combining both these movements is the “kick-forward”. For this exercise, simply attach a cable or elastic band to the ankle or lower leg, stand on the opposite leg, and kick forward while keeping the leg relatively straight and the quad muscles contracted. Move in a slow, controlled fashion for this exercise.

2) Hamstrings

In many exercise books or magazines, you may have read about a bad quad:hamstring ratio, which basically means that the hamstrings (which run along the back of the leg from the hips to the upper calves) are dis-proportionally stronger than the quads. While this can sometimes be the case in elite athletes, in the average individual the problem is not that the hamstrings are too strong, but rather that they are too tight. In either case, the result is poor performance and low back pain, as well as an inability to properly develop the muscles in the hamstrings.

For this reason, it is important to choose hamstrings exercises that focus on both mobility and range-of-motion in the hamstrings as well as strength in the hamstrings. Since the hamstrings are responsible for extending the leg at the hip joint and flexing the leg the knee joint, a perfect exercise for this objective is the “Romanian deadlift”.
For this movement, which can be done standing on one leg or two, you simply hold a weight and hinge forward at the waist while sticking your butt out behind you. If you keep your back straight and look forward, you’ll reach a point where the hamstrings feel very tight and you simply can’t go any further without bending your back. At that point, simply stand back up to the starting position. During the entire Romanian deadlift, keep your knees just slightly bent.

This exercise will address both tight and weak hamstrings, and allow you develop the backs of your legs without having to worry about a strength imbalance between your quads and hamstrings. Once the hamstrings and back of your legs are strong, you’ll have impressive muscle development from the upper calves all the way up to the butt.

3) Calves

It may seem intuitive that to get nice calf muscles (which run along the back of your lower leg) you should do lots of toe raises, since the calf muscles are responsible for extending the toes. While this can certainly help, it is a very slow and inefficient way to get strong, powerful and toned calves, and doesn’t take advantage of the fact that the calf muscles are also partially responsible for flexing the leg at the knee joint.

Instead, a good calf program should focus on movements that require flexing the knee and high amounts of strength and power, while shifting some of the weight onto the mid or front of the foot so that the calf muscles are forced to contract.

Two such movements are squat jumps and incline sprinting. For squat jumps, simple get down into a squat position, swing your arms and jump as high as possible, then land in a controlled fashion with the knees slightly bent. Once you’re good at these type of body weight squat jumps, you can progress to doing squat jumps with a barbell on your back, or holding a medicine ball to your chest.

For incline sprinting, I recommend using a treadmill. My favorite incline sprinting workout on the treadmill is a 10×30. To do this, just put the treadmill at as high an incline as possible, then set it at what would be considered a fast running speed for you even if the treadmill were not on an incline. Get on, run for 30 seconds, then, while the treadmill belt is still moving, hop off and recover for 30-60 seconds (if you want, you can do crunches or push-ups while you recover). Once you’re rested, hop back on for another 30 second bout, for a total of 10 rounds.

By combing the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves exercises above with a few cycling workouts a week, you can easily develop legs like Lance without having to ride a bicycle as much as him!

If you want to learn more about how to swim, bike and run lightning fast, but also have a nice body, (and get access to the other 6 articles in this series) then head over to Tri-Ripped for a brand new approach to training for the ultimate triathlon body.

The Original Post is Located Here: How to Build Legs Like Lance Armstrong

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Whether it’s a sign of health, beauty, virility, or movie star status, a flat stomach is something that many people all over the world crave. This is because a flat stomach is so hard to get, it can indicate full-body power or virility, and it is essential to powerful performance. In this article, you’ll learn how to get a flat stomach safely, effectively, and with zero liposuction involved.

How To Get A Flat Stomach

Despite what many folks appear to believe, six-pack abs are not six soda-can shaped muscles that sit under the skin of your stomach, somehow magically filling and emptying as you become more or less fit.

Instead, your stomach muscles are made up of four basic groups that, like most muscles, appear to be named by ancient Latin monks:

1) The rectus abdominis: The rectus abdominis is one big sheet of muscle tissue that runs from your breastbone down to your pelvis.

2) The external obliques: The external obliques run from your ribs to your hips in a forward direction.

3) The internal obliques: Theinternal obliques run from your ribs to your hips in a backwards direction

4) The transverses abdominis: The transverses abdominis is located deep in your abs, underneath the obliques.

The key to better abs, which most people neglect when trying to get a flat stomach, is a training program that targets each of these muscles, and not just one of them. You simply can’t train just one single muscle group of the stomach in isolation and expect for your abs to look fit, trim, toned, ripped or flat. Instead, you need to train all the stomach muscles in a functional, multi-muscle manner.

This is same reason why people who want nice arms can’t just do bicep curls, but also need to do pull-ups and deadlifts, and why people who want a better butt can’t just do lying hamstring curls, but also need to exercises do squats and lunges. The body responds best when we train entire muscle groups that surround our “trouble spot,” and not just the isolated trouble spot. So people who want a flat stomach can’t only do crunches.

So if this type of multi-muscle training is a goal, what would a flat stomach workout look like?

Flat Stomach Exercises

You should work your stomach muscles every 2-3 days, including abdominal exercise as part of a scheduled cardio workout or weight training workout. For your flat stomach training, you should include one exercise for each of the abdominal muscle groups, and also one exercise for your lower back. Here is a guide to choosing the proper exercises:

• Rectus abdominis: For your rectus abdominis, exercise choices include flexing motions of the spine, such as crunches and crunch variations, V-ups, sit-ups and sit-up variations, hanging leg raises, or knee-ups. Front planks are also quite good for this muscle group.

• External and internal obliques: Twisting and rotating motions are good exercises because they work both the external and internal oblique muscles. That is because if you rotate to your left, your left external oblique and your right internal oblique are doing the work, and vice versa. Twisting motions include Russian Twists, Cable Torso Twists, and the WoodChopper.

• Transverses abdominis: The transverses abdominis is an interesting muscle group, because it doesn’t really move you through a range of motion as much as support the stomach and the gut. So when you suck in your stomach, that’s the transverses abdominis muscles working. Although you can work this muscle group anywhere, such as sucking in your stomach while you’re driving in your car, sitting on an airplane, or standing in line at the grocery store, you can also make it work pretty hard with an exercise like front planks.

• Low back muscles: Finally, the low back muscles can be worked with a simple contraption at the gym that allows you to do low back extensions or, if you’re not at a gym, you can do back extensions on a stability ball, or from the floor by lying on your stomach and lifting all four limbs off the ground.

So during a typical flat stomach workout, you would include several sets of a flexing exercise, a twisting exercise, a planking exercise and an extending exercise.

Get Rid of Stomach Fat

No matter how well you’ve developed your stomach muscles, you need to get rid of layers of stomach fat that can cover up your abs. Here are three tips to get rid of that last little bit of flab around your waistline:

1) Be sure you’re using a well-rounded workout routine, which includes what I call the “3 Pillars of Exercise”:

Pillar 1: Weight Training

Pillar 2: High-Intensity Cardio Intervals

Pillar 3: Aerobic Fat-Burning Sessions

Weight training alone or cardio alone is often not enough to erase that last bit of storage fat, so use of the modes above in your training routine.

2) Control stress and get adequate sleep. Often, bloating and inflammation are a primary cause of a puffy stomach, or a little extra padding on the waistline. Use stress-reduction techniques, and try to sleep 7 to 8 hours each night whenever possible.

3) Eliminate or significantly moderate the big three belly fat triggers: high-sugar, starchy foods (yes, that includes wheat); processed, packaged foods; and alcohol. I’ve witnessed these simple changes produce visible stomach fat reduction in just 2 to 4 weeks.

Using the tips in this article, you can get the perfect musculature for a flat stomach, develop a functional core that gives you powerful physical performance, and lose belly fat.

If you want to learn more about how to swim, bike and run lightning fast, but also have a nice body, (and get access to the other 6 articles in this series) then head over to Tri-Ripped for a brand new approach to training for the ultimate triathlon body.

The Original Post is Located Here: How To Get A Flat Stomach… FAST