In this article, Coach Alan delves deeper into what a ‘good’ CdA is for a triathlete. In the last article, we explored the relationship between aerodynamics and power. Now we apply that to the context of triathlon.
In this article, Coach Alan explores the relationship between wattage and CdA. Often understanding this relationship and its impact on speed makes for effective progression for a racer looking to improve their race speed.
In this article, Coach Alan writes about how to squeeze a little bit more from your racing in 2023.
We have all seen the disappointing news that a professional triathlete this week has been sanctioned for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. This is clearly to the sport’s detriment, but perhaps also it is a sign of progress.
As an athlete myself it is always gutting to see the value of sport undermined. The value of sport is one of challenge and reward for the individuals who take on the battle to grow and personally develop themselves. It makes me leap back to one of my favourite pieces of writing or speeches, “The Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt.
In this article Coach Alan writes a short guide on running hill reps and running technique.
Read MoreIt is that time of year when it is cold outside, and often, the focus can turn towards the gym or the pool. In this article, Coach Alan will look at some details of how you build on solid foundations to improve your swimming.
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We live in a world of ‘results’ within triathlon and what ‘results’ are can be different between individuals. As coaches, we have the privilege to see under the bonnet or behind the curtains of many athletes’ performances and it is this perspective that gives us the ability to give a logical opinion on performance. Recently and more frequently we are experiencing athletes having difficulty digesting and sharing their experience of an event with what ‘everyone’ else thinks. Here Coach Alan has written about one of his races to give a framework to help structure planning, doing and reviewing a race.
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In this second article on warm-ups Coach Alan takes you through each of these steps to give you the details on how to warm up so that you can be firing on all cylinders from the moment you cross the start line of your next race.
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How important is it to warm up? How does it make a difference? Why should you warm-up? How could you warm up for your upcoming triathlon race over any distance? Read on to find out as Coach Alan takes you through each of these steps to give you the knowledge to be firing on all cylinders from the moment you cross the start line of your next race.
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In this latest blog Coach Alan answers the question ‘Is a constant power output the best way to pace for race performance” by looking into pacing strategy using dFRC.
Read MoreAs coaches, we can focus on tracking metrics to help guide your training and performance as an athlete. It helps to see a quantitative measure of if things are on track or going as expected. One of these metrics is power or wattage, in this article Coach Alan looks at why ‘winning’ or riding with the lowest average power can result in a better performance.
Read MoreSo what does it take well to perform over the standard distance? In this article Coach Alan dives into the metrics that really matter to race fast and hard over 1.5k of swimming, 40k of biking and 10k of running.
Read MoreIn this article Coach Alan focuses on answering the simple question “what does it take to ride that potentially elusive sub-five-hour IRONMAN/Long Distance triathlon bike split.” Read on to find out some of the factors that go into that performance and how you could overcome this.
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In this article Coach Alan writes about the age group athlete journey and how a little bit of perspective can help with performance, longevity and enjoyment of the sport of triathlon.
Read MoreIn this blog, Coach Alan writes about why body composition is far more important to athletic performance than weight.
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In this article, Coach Alan rights a piece that provides a generalist approach to nutrition to help provide a spectrum based perspective on how to approach nutrition for performance and, even more importantly, health.
Read MoreIn this article, Coach Alan writes about how too little energy for athletes can lead to a negative spiral of health and performance. What is RED-s and how can it affect athletes?
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In this article Coach Alan looks at FTP – what is it, how can we use it and why may FTP might be misleading your cycling training. Once we can understand all of that, we can better understand what we can do with this information and how you can inform your training.
Read MoreIn this article Coach Alan writes about how the recovery part of your swim stroke can play a significant role in your performance. Swimming is renowned in age group triathlon for often being the difficult ‘one’, the one in which no matter how hard you try it doesn’t seem to get any better. Often this is put down to a lack of ‘correct’ technique, but was it correct technique? In this instance which is correct: a straight arm recovery or a high elbow recovery?
‘It depends’ is often the coach’s default answer but in this article, Coach Alan will try and explain ‘how’ it depends.
Read MoreIn this article Coach Alan writes about the four big ways you can run faster in your triathlon events. Often, athletes leap straight into doing more running, but the answer is slightly more nuanced than that. Learn about them here.
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