Archive for August 2009
Cycling World Masters
28/08/2009 by admin.
Hi folks
I thought I would update you on what has been happening here in hot hot hot Austria. Apart from the high temperatures and a couple of crazy thunderstorms, there has been a fair bit of cycling going on.
On Wednesday I did the 20 km time trial. It was so hot, I had a hell of a job squeezing into my SIS long sleeved skinsuit after a sweaty warm up. I can imagine my SIS team mates laughing away as they visualise that. Anyhow, the event was won by the impressive GB rider, Sarah Storey. I came in in 10th place. I always find that a tough event, never sure if it is the course, road surface or the heat that makes it that way. My good friend, Avril Swan, took silver in her category which was awesome.
Yesterday was the road race and what a race that was. Two riders attacked from the gun, even before we had left the neutralised zone. We were soon into the longest climb of the race and, once again, Sarah Storey took control. I managed to get in with the leading bunch of 6 which included 2 Italians, 1 American, 2 GB and one other nationality. It was through and off all the way, the pace was frantic.
Sarah was very encouraging and was checking on how I was doing, not that I had much energy for a chat. We reached the 2nd climb and I wasn´t sure I would make it up with the leaders but somehow I did, then it was more through and off with one final short climb. When we got to the final 2 kms there were plenty of attacks going in, I wanted to keep my powder dry until closer to the finish as I don´t have the raw time trial power of the bigger riders but can put in a reasonable sprint on my day, so I just made sure I stayed in contention. More attacks came and into the final few hundred metres my legs called it a day, I had run out of steam, the tank was empty, not helped by the fact that I pulled my rear wheel out but to be fair, there was nothing left.
So I was placed 6th, an Italian one and Sarah got 2nd with the American third. I was chuffed with my race, my average heart rate for the entire race was 92%, the average pace for the race was just shy 25 mph, much faster than I am used to racing at home.
One more race to go….a 2 lap road race on Sunday. This will be just as hard as yesterday. My tactcis will be similar to Sunday, aim to get in the break and work my butt off to stay with the leaders for as long as possible.
See you all soon.
High salt diets can seriously damage your health
22/08/2009 by admin.
The ‘maximum’ recommended daily allowance “RDA” is 6 grams per day. However, most of the British population consume twice this amount risking cardiovascular disease and increasing the chances of having a stroke. Other risks of high salt intake include osteoporosis and stomach cancer. These are serious health issues so it is worth looking at your salt intake. Here are some details on how to reduce your salt content. w Don’t add table salt to food
- Don’t add table salt to food
- Check sodium content of food by reading food labels (remember to account for serving size)
- Eat fresh food so you have control
- Eat processed meats and ready-made meals infrequently – these can be very high in salt
- Avoid salted crisps/nuts
There is always an exception to the rule and that is if you sweat a lot, perhaps you have a very physical job or play lots of sport. The body’s cooling process is to sweat. When we sweat we lose salt and need to replace what we have lost. We can consume specific sports drinks which contain a good balance of electrolytes such as sodium, magnesium and potassium to replace those lost.
Winter Boot Camp
20/08/2009 by admin.
From October Tuesday boot camps will be held at Vale Douzaine at 7.45 pm on Tuesdays, please bring a mat. There will be a focus on both core strength and cardio/strength. Saturday boot camps will continue to be run outdoors at various venues commencing at 10 am.
Until then boot camp will continue in it’s current format.
Saturday’s Boot Camp
20/08/2009 by admin.
Hi Folk
Saturday’s boot camp will be at Fort Houmet at 10.00 am. After that the next boot camp will be Saturday 5 September.
There are a few meeting at Jerbourg on Tuesday at 6 pm for a run so if you are missing boot camp you could go along.
See you soon.
Benefits of a warm up
20/08/2009 by admin.
I was asked yesterday, by one of my clients, what the benefits of warming up were. As you will see from the list below, warming up is essential if you are going to both protect your body from injury and achieve maximum benefit from your exercise session. So, here are the benefits:-
- Mental preparation - warming up allows you to focus on your training session without putting your body under too much stress, you can get ‘in the zone’
- Increased body and muscle temperature - this improves the elasticity of muscle tissue and so helps to prevent straining and pulling muscles
- Increased blood temperature - allowing more oxygen to be produced….again improving performance
- Reduces the stress on your heart because your blood vessels dilate and therefore reduces blood flow resistance
- Improved range of motion - thereby improving your performance and again reducing injury risk
- Hormone changes - this event prepares your body for exercises and helps you utilise your body’s energy stores effectively
- Sweating - this is the body’s way of cooling itself down, by commencing this process during the warm up helps to prevent overheating during the early stages of your exercise routine
- Lactic acid clearance - when adults exercise we get lactic acid (the burning feeling in the muscles when we exercise hard), by warming up properly we begin this clearnce process so again are more effective when training
More on warming up soon.
Can you recognise the signs of emotional eating?
18/08/2009 by admin.
Your hunger or eating habits could well be linked with emotional eating. Here are some methods of recognising if this is the case:
- If you crave certain unhealthy foods, usually sweet or savoury but unlikely to be healthy snacks such as fruit or vegetables.
- You often don’t realise you have eaten so much. Before you know it you have consumed a large chocolate bar and/or large packet of crisps/tub of icecream etc.
- You keep eating even if you feel full.
- You feel guilty having eaten, this is because you know you are not eating to satisfy energy requirements but more to satisfy emotional needs
- Your hunger is focussed on tastes or textures of food rather than the quality and energy value for the upcoming hours
Tuesday’s Boot Camp
16/08/2009 by admin.
As usual we will be at Jerbourg on Tuesday for boot camp. Starting at 6 pm. If you are new to boot camp you will need to complete a registration form.
Foods to boost your immunity
16/08/2009 by admin.
With all this swine flu about, we are extra conscious about our immunity.
There are a number of foods which you can incorporate into your diet to boost your immunity. Not only this but by consuming a diet rich in these foods you fight the ageing process and keep yourself looking young. Here are examples of the foods you should frequently consume in your diet.
Apples
Citrus
Fruits
Berries
Dates
Figs
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Carrots
Sea Vegetables, eg nori, laver, kelp, alaria, dulse, algar
Squashes
Dark Leafy Greens
Garlic
Olives
Mushrooms
Flaxseed
Legumes, eg beans, peanuts, lentils
Herbs & spices
Potatoes
Soy products
Nuts Seeds
Whole Grains
Oats
Yogurt
Boot camp starts on 15 August
11/08/2009 by admin.
Boot camp participants have certainly been getting fitter. Our Tuesday sessions at Jerbourg have been going great and the venue variety on Saturdays has kept things interesting.
The next block of boot camp sessions starts on Saturday 15 August at 10 am on Lihou Island headland. Next Tuesday’s session will be at 6 pm at Jerbourg Point.
Unfortunately there will be no sessions on the following dates:
25 August, 29 August, 1 September.
Any feedback from participants would be great. Let me know what you like about boot camp and what you dislike, although I am sure you love it all.
If you are new to boot camp you will need to complete a Registration Form
Jerbourg Steps Times from Tonight
11/08/2009 by admin.
Well done to tonight’s boot camp participants for their efforts up Jerbourg steps.
Here are the times, some of which are quite interesting.
GS 2:08
GT 2:17
GI 2:40
AP 2:51
JT 3:23
PI 3:28
BC 3:45
ME 3:54
Don’t worry if you missed it, there will be an opportunity to have another go up the steps. We don’t want you missing out now.
