Training Archives • Page 3 of 13 • Senior Triathletes

Should Senior Triathletes Track Heart Rate Variability?

Terry VanderWert on April 23, 2022

We know that recovery is critical for older triathletes. If heart rate variability can measure how well we have recovered, can it also help senior triathletes recover more completely?

My First Experience With Heart Rate Variability

Joy and I started using a new Sleep Number bed recently. While reviewing our sleep scores from the Sleep IQ app, it surprised me to see Heart Rate Variability, or HRV for short, as a metric for sleep quality.

I had previously come across articles about HRV in relation to triathlon training. However, I had paid little attention since there seemed to be a fair amount of controversy about HRV measurement and its usefulness for training.

In this post, I share what I have learned about the current state of heart rate variability for triathlon training and how it may be useful for senior triathletes.

What Is Heart Rate Variability (HRV)?

According to Sleep Number’s Sleep IQ app, “Heart rate variability (HRV) is the measure of different time durations between each heartbeat.”

For example, a heart rate of 60 beats per minute suggests that the heart beats an average of once each second. However, the actual time between beats varies, sometimes more and sometimes less, around the average time.

The variation between heartbeats comes from our autonomic nervous system’s (ANS) effort to fine tune our bodily functions in response to various sources of stress.

The ANS helps us maintain balance through its two branches:

sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which manages our ‘fight or flight’ stress response needed for short-term survival.
parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), which handles our ‘rest and digest’ responses required for long-term survival.

The commonly reported value for HRV is the standard deviation of the variations in the time between heartbeats. Another name for this is the standard deviation of normal-to-normal inter-beat intervals (SDNN) measured in milliseconds. (Don’t worry if your memory of statistics is rusty.)

What Can Senior Triathletes Learn From Heart Rate Variability?

The SleepIQ app adds, “A high HRV is good. High HRV means high energy, good recovery, enhanced cognitive performance, and balance of heart and mind. Monitor stress and well-being by monitoring your heart rate variability.”

Under most conditions, high HRV shows that your body can adapt to many types of changes. Conversely, lower HRV suggests a less flexible body, one currently experiencing or on the verge of health problems.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, low HRV is “also more common in people who have higher resting heart rates. That’s because when your heart is beating faster, there’s less time between beats, reducing the opportunity for variability.”

However, there are some exceptions, which complicate use of this metric. High HRV can also occur when the stress from training has exceeded our ability to recover, at the onset of illness, and because of changes in sleep and exercise patterns.

Can We Influence Our HRV?

If a high HRV is generally better, what can we do to increase it?

As illustrated in the table below, there are many factors that affect HRV. Some, like diet and exercise, we can control. Others, such as age and gender, we cannot.

Lifestyle	Training	Biological	Mental Health	Environmental
Sleep	Volume	Age	Stress	Chemical Exposure
Nutrition	Intensity	Gender	Depression	Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposure
Exercise	Overall Fitness	Ethnicity	Anxiety	Air Quality
Alcohol Consumption	Unfamiliar Stimuli	Genetics	Emotions	Work Schedule
Tobacco & Drug Use		Illness	Meditation	Use of Vibrating Tools

Table 1: Some factors that affect HRV by category (Source: Elite HRV)

Getting good sleep, eating a heart-healthy diet, avoiding unhealthy environments whenever possible, and training at a level appropriate for our level of fitness are actions we can take to increase our HRV.

In addition, alternative medicine approaches, including biofeedback training, may be helpful. Biofeedback is a method mentioned by Cleveland Clinic for improving heart rate variability for those who suffer from stress, emotional disorders, physical issues such as hypertension, and addictions.

The numerous factors affecting HRV explain why it is best to track HRV during sleep, that is when many of the factors will not affect the measurement. If manual measurement is required, then measure HRV immediately upon waking.

HRV For Triathlon Training

HRV is already recognized as a tool for assessing the risk of sudden cardiac death. Meanwhile, measurement of HRV for applications like endurance training is still emerging, albeit quickly.

For example, in the past few years, HRV measurement has advanced from requiring ECG sensors to using a cell phone camera. Its use has expanded to include guiding day-to-day triathlon training.

Earlier Research Demonstrated the Potential for HRV as a Training Metric

In principle, because HRV measures the effects of mental and physical stress, it should be an indicator of training stress.

A 2016 report titled “Detailed heart rate variability analysis in athletes” documented the higher HRV for elite and masters triathletes compared to “healthy, but not athletic” adults. The author’s conclusions included: “Further investigations are needed to determine its [HRV’s] role in risk stratification, optimization of training, or identifying overtraining”.

In another 2016 report titled “The role of heart rate variability in sports physiology“, the author noted that studies in which HRV was used to monitor exercise training “suggested that monitoring indices of HRV may be useful for tracking the time course of training adaptation/maladaptation in order to set optimal training loads that lead to improved performances”. In other words, HRV could be used to optimize training load and recovery.

Triathlete and triathlon coach Dr. Dan Plews describes himself as “a big proponent of using daily, resting measures of heart rate variability (HRV) to help guide day-to-day training decisions”.

Plews completed his PhD on heart rate variability in 2017. In an interview with Mikael Eriksson on the Scientific Triathlon podcast during the same year, Dr. Plews shared some results of his research.

He stated that our resting HRV, that measured first thing after waking, can tell a lot about how well we have recovered. However, since many factors affect this single measurement, it is better to look at the trend in HRV, typically over seven days.

HRV Measurement for the Amateur Athlete

Over the last five years, HRV has grown from a research topic to a metric used by amateur athletes and fitness enthusiasts to plan their training schedules.

HRV measurement is more accessible. Today, you can measure your HRV with a smart bed, such as Sleep Number. You can also measure HRV with your smartphone or a host of wearable devices, like smart watches and finger rings.

Smartphone apps are also more capable of interpreting and summarizing the measurements.

For example, the following is from a post on the EdureIQ blog. “HRV, which can be measured reliably and with validity using a smartphone application, gives us insight into the functioning of our autonomic nervous system, and trends in our daily, resting HRV give us insight into the balance between stress and recovery; downward trends in HRV, or big daily fluctuations in HRV, tell us that stress and fatigue is accumulating”.

One word of caution. There is significant disagreement about the accuracy of devices that use light, rather than electrical impulses, to measure heart rate through the skin. It is not clear whether this is based on fact or marketing tactics.

However, the consensus is that the day-to-day trend in HRV is more useful than an isolated HRV measurement, even if made during sleep or immediately after waking.

Some Suppliers of Sensors and Software for HRV

If you are interested in exploring heart rate variability for your training, look at these suppliers of devices and software for measuring and reporting it.

I would also like to hear (in the Comments below) what you learn and/or decide.

Elite HRV

This company supplies a free cell phone app for use with a select list of heart rate chest strap which they have qualified for HRV measurement.

Garmin

Garmin supplies sports watches, including heart rate monitoring devices and apps for measuring and tracking HRV.

HRV4Training

This business provides a paid smartphone app described to provide “Heart Rate Variability (HRV) insights to help you quantify stress, better balance training and lifestyle, and improve performance”.

ithlete

According to the ithlete website, “A convenient one minute daily measurement with ithlete will provide you with all the information you need to tailor your training and recovery ensuring maximum performance.”

Polar

This leader in heart rate measurement offers the Polar Flow app for use with one of their heart rate straps to measure HRV.

Whoop

Whoop uses a wearable device to measure heart rate, heart rate variability, breath rate, and other factors (e.g. skin temperature) to calculate a degree of recovery.

Is Tracking Heart Rate Variability Helpful for Senior Triathletes?

There is growing evidence that heart rate variability is useful for tracking training stress and recovery. Measuring HRV is no longer an issue. However, interpreting the results may still be a challenge because of the many factors that affect day-to-day and even longer trends in HRV.

What do you think about using HRV as a metric for monitoring your triathlon training and recovery?

How To Train For A Faster Triathlon Run

Terry VanderWert on January 17, 2022

“How can I, a 70-year-old triathlete, run 10-minute (or better!) miles?”

I received this question in an email from a visitor to SeniorTriathletes.com. His question was the inspiration for this post. It has also become the nudge I needed to train for faster triathlon runs this season.

Click here to jump directly to the Update at the end of this post. There you will find my experience and results with the training plan described in this post, originally published on January 17, 2022.

Getting Back to a Faster Triathlon Run

While I have never been a fast runner, I ran 10-min and even faster miles in sprint triathlons while in my early 60s. For various reasons, mostly related to inconsistent training, I now run 11-12 minute miles in a sprint triathlon. However, as I approach age 70, I want to get back to running 10-minute (or better) miles in a sprint triathlon.

So, after reading the question in the opening sentence, I dusted off several books on training for running and triathlon. I also listened to videos and podcasts from Phil Maffetone and trainers at Coach Parry (“Faster After 50”).

In the end, I decided to not only share what I learned, but to make myself accountable to you while training for a faster triathlon run.

I hope you will share your questions and experience by posting in the Comments section at the end of this post.

Let’s get started.

Three Pillars of Becoming a Faster Triathlete

Years of reading about triathlon training for the older athlete have convinced me of three pillars to becoming a faster triathlete – purpose, consistency, and preparation.

Purposeful Training Is Key

In their book Peak: Secrets From The New Science of Expertise, researchers Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool share what they have learned about what makes people achieve more than previously imaginable. The book documents stories of many everyday people who strove to become experts in a particular activity. These covered a wide range, from memorization, chess and music to mathematics, golf and karate. They even cite accomplishments of 100-year old athletes in running.

With the realization that age is not the limitation it was once thought to be, more and more older adults are training harder and harder. Indeed, during the last few decades, the performance of master athletes has improved at a much higher rate than that of younger athletes.
Anders Ericcson, Robert Pool, “Peak: Secrets From The New Science of Expertise”, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, p. 195

Did you read that? During the last few decades, performance of master athletes – that includes us – has improved at a much higher rate than that of younger athletes.

Their research has shown that practicing the same skills over and over leads to a stagnation of improvement. In my experience, this means running the same distance at the same pace day-in, day-out without a plan leads to becoming slower with age.

On the other hand, the researchers document how consistent, structured training designed to improve the key factors affecting performance will, with time, improve one’s performance.

Consistency Is A Must

As much as I have tried to make up for missed workouts by running harder the next time, this has not worked for me. I am not sure it works for anyone.

In fact, I am more likely to be injured, even if mildly, by going too hard. This then leads to shortened or more missed workouts, starting to a death spiral for my training plan.

For the older runner, avoiding injury serious enough to cause missed workouts is one of the top strategies for maintaining consistency. The approach to building aerobic fitness described in the next section is good for avoiding injury.

You are better off training more consistent, and by that I mean a day less, and then also training at the right intensity so you can recover better before your next session. By training consistently, I can guarantee you are still building on your aerobic fitness which is what’s going to help you more than anything else.
Markus van Niekerk on “Running After 50: Tips To Run Faster As You Get Older” podcast

Come Prepared For Training

Running puts significant stress on our body. This includes stress on muscles, joints, connective tissue. It also requires a base level of heart and circulatory system health.

To avoid injury or burnout, we need to make certain that our bodies are ready to begin a consistent, structured training program.

Before training to run faster, we must be able to run the distances required in the training plan.

Minimizing Injury Is Key To A Faster Triathlon Run

A common message throughout the run training plans I have read is to (1) set reasonable, achievable goals and (2) follow the plan, especially when it seems too easy.

It is far too common for runners, especially new runners, to set goals based on what they would like to achieve rather than on what they can achieve. Patient perseverance is a virtue in most endeavors. It certainly is for running.

Training to run faster as a senior goes hand-in-hand with preventing injuries. Injuries, from which we recover more slowly with age, can easily interrupt a training plan aimed at making you faster in the run.

People think because I’m getting slower I need to run fast in training so I can run fast in a race. It’s not the case. By slowing down your body is also able to recover after sessions.
Markus van Niekerk on “Running After 50: Tips To Run Faster As You Get Older” podcast

Start By Building Base-Level Fitness

As mentioned above, it is important to prepare oneself for a structured training program. First, it creates a base level of fitness that will, hopefully, support your body as you train to become faster.

I like the approach to building aerobic base fitness described in Training to Train – Building Aerobic Fitness for Senior Triathletes. Results in the post came from following the MAF-180 method.

This approach is easy enough that I could train using it five or more days per week without injury.

This method is also effective. I have repeated the results included in the post three more times with the same results – steadily faster times per mile while maintaining my heart rate within a relatively low range. On top of this, I lost some weight, even though weight loss was not a goal.

A little over a month ago, I added one 5k run per week, ignoring my heart rate monitor. The ability to run a 5k without walking showed me that my fitness was improving. It was also a prerequisite for the training program described later in this post.

part of plan for a faster triathlon run. Aerobic fitness using MAF-180 method — MAF-180 test results for run/walk on the same 3.5 mile course while maintaining my heart rate in the prescribed range.

Next – Add Structured Training to Increase Speed

Consistent with the evidence from Peak: Secrets From The New Science of Expertise cited above, I feel ready to move to the next phase of my run training.

[T]here are some changes that need to be made to a training regimen as the body ages. The first changes in run training involve focus and frequency. . . . It is no longer quantity that is required for the masters runner, but quality. Every workout should be a quality workout, pre-planned with session goals and targets.
Ian Stokell, “Triathlon For Masters and Beyond”, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2013, p.140

A structured run training program I have used in the past is FIRST (Furman Institute Running Scientific Training). This method is the subject of Runners World Run Less, Run Faster by Furman University’s Bill Pierce, Scott Muir, and Ray Moss.

Email discussions with co-author Bill Pierce over the past ten years have shown me that the authors promote a conservative approach to increasing speed. Success of the plan requires each training session to be done at the prescribed speeds. They also know that success requires avoiding injury.

Fundamentals of FIRST

The FIRST run training program includes three runs per week based on conservative goals. Aerobic cross-training activities, such as swimming, biking, and kayaking, supplement the three runs per week.

The goal of the three runs is to improve what the authors consider the three key factors affecting running performance. According to the authors, the goals of each of the three runs are:

#1 – Improve VO2max, running speed, and running economy.
#2 – Improve endurance by raising lactate threshold.
#3 – Improve endurance by raising aerobic metabolism.

With only three runs per week, one can train harder for greater effect plus recover longer between sessions to prevent injury.

Also Useful for Beginners

Another reason I like this book is that includes plenty of advice for new runners. It includes a ‘5k novice training plan’ that initially combines running with walking.

My Plan To Train For A Faster Triathlon Run

I have completed the base-building phase of the run training through four months with the MAF-180 plan. The next phase is to follow the FIRST run training method based on details in the 3^rd edition of Runners World Run Less Run Faster.

Run Training

The twelve week plan will use times for the three runs prescribed in the FIRST method. The basis for these will be a 35:40 min 5k time recorded about one month ago.

With a sizeable gap between my current 5k time and the goal of a 10-min 5k in an upcoming triathlon, I realize I may need to repeat the program after the first twelve weeks. Of course, I expect the second time through the plan to be based on a faster 5k time.

By the time I complete the first cycle, I will know how well the plan is working for me. I will also know how well I have been applying it. I am confident that I will have a faster run in my next triathlon.

Cross Training

The FIRST plan also requires a minimum of two cross training sessions per week. For these, I plan to complete one session each of biking and swimming.

For the days when the biking is through a cycling class at my local gym, I will continue to perform a series of core exercises and weight strength training before the cycling class.

We all know that triathlon differs from a running race because it requires running after biking for a significant distance. Therefore, I will add a short run after completing a cycling class or bike ride.

My weekly swim will, at least initially, involve swimming 1,500 to 2,000 yards in a lap pool near my home.

Updates On My Journey To A Faster Triathlon Run

I have reserved this section for updates on my progress with the plan. These will show my experience with the sessions, what is working, what is not working, and new 5k times.

I will keep you informed through Senior Triathletes Highlights, our monthly newsletter, when I have updates.

Update #1 – After eight weeks of the 12-week 5k plan

Here is what I had learned through the first eight weeks of the 12-week 5k plan:

I realized early on that I benefit from accountability to you. Knowing that I would provide this and at least one more update has made me stick to the plan.
In pursuing a faster triathlon run, I have tracked results of three weekly runs from the FIRST training plan and cross-training (swimming, biking, strength training) on a Google sheet. I included a calculator for the paces of the various runs. This will make it simple to use the sheet for future repeats of the plan.
It is important to base the paces for the plan on the time to complete a run of the distance for which you are training. I had started on the FIRST plan a few years ago. However, because I based it on my 5k goal rather than a recent 5k, the paces for the various runs were too high for me to complete. I eventually stopped before completing the plan. This time, I used an actual 5k race time and have been able to complete the runs.
It has been surprising that the interval runs (Run#1) have been the easiest of the three runs, while the slower, longer runs (5 to 8 miles) have been the most difficult. I suspect – and the results seem to support this – that this difficulty comes from one hip being weaker than the other. Therefore, I have added strength training to the plan, something prescribed by most running coaches.
Despite my best efforts to follow the schedule, visits from family and friends took priority. I will finish the plan about two weeks later than the plan.

Update #2 – After completing the first iteration of the 12-week 5k plan

I finished the 12-week plan, which ended with a 5k run to measure the results. The results were positive, with a 5k time that was reduced by 8%, from 35:40 to 32:48.

While I have not reached my goal, the improvement is significant.

I have already started to repeat the 12-week plan. This time, I will use the new, faster 5k time as the basis for each of the runs. By the end of this second iteration, I expect to be at my goal.

Stay tuned for additional updates

Share Your Questions and Comments

There are many triathletes age 50 and over reading this post with more experience in triathlon training than me. Some of you have hired coaches or subscribed to virtual training programs. Many have also completed various distances, from sprint to Ironman.

No matter where you consider yourself – beginner or experienced triathlete – you probably have questions, comments on my plan, or experience to share. Please include these in the Comments below.

Affiliate disclosure

Become a More Flexible Senior Triathlete By Foam Rolling

Terry VanderWert on December 14, 2021

foam rolling is a tool for recovery from injury for older athletes

Foam rolling is a great tool for increasing flexibility and improving recovery.

I was reminded of this while at the health club a few days ago. I was halfway through the stretching routine used after running or cycling. It includes stretching and foam rolling to loosen the muscles and tendons.

The lady next to me was also using a foam roller. After finishing this portion of her routine, she asked me “Is it possible to use the foam roller too much?”

I answered with my experience, that my body tells me when I had rolled enough. My muscles either felt loose or one or more of them hurt when I continued to use the foam roller.

She told me that near the end of one of her sessions with a personal trainer a few years ago, she asked the trainer if he ever used a foam roller. He had replied “I foam roll after every one of my workouts.”

Of course, she wondered why he had never introduced her to the foam roller.

Now, she was using foam rolling without the benefit of knowing how to get the best results.

What is a Foam Roller?

Foam rollers are cylinders of solid foam like those pictured below. They come in various lengths. They also come in various densities (hardness) of foam. Some foam rollers are smooth, while others have ridges. The ridges concentrate weight to apply greater pressure during use.

foam rolling for flexibility for senior triathletes — Two medium length foam rollers. The gray one is less dense (hard) compared to the blue roller with a hard core surrounded by a softer outer shell.

The foam roller is a convenient, at-home alternative to a massage for loosening muscles, tendons, and the myofascial tissue surrounding them before and/or after a workout to prevent injury or eliminate soreness and stiffness.

My introduction to foam rolling came when treating an IT (iliotibial) band tightness that was creating pain in my left knee while running. After some painful sessions with the foam roller, both IT bands became loose, and the pain disappeared. I have not had a recurrence of this pain since continuing foam rolling.

What Type of Foam Roller is Best for Flexibility?

If you are new to foam rolling, I suggest you begin with a medium hard roller (like the gray one pictured above). This length covers the width of the body. You will be able to roll the upper back and the hamstrings and quadriceps of both legs.

As flexibility improves, you can use the same roller on one leg at a time to get a deeper massage.

How Can You Improve Flexibility by Foam Rolling?

The internet is full of routines for improving flexibility using foam rollers. Here are two – How to Use a Foam Roller and Foam Rolling – The Basics.

My routine includes rolling the full length of the quadriceps, hamstrings, IT bands of both legs individually, and glutes individually. You may also choose to roll your upper or lower back, though I stretch these in other ways.

As you are rolling, try various positions searching for any areas that are sensitive and therefore need stretching. When I find a sensitive area, I typically hold the position until the sensitivity goes away or tears form in my eyes. I don’t really wait until tears form, but almost, to get a deep massage.

I then try to remember to go back to that area the next time I am stretching.

Final Thoughts About Foam Rolling For Flexibility

There are two main reasons I continue with triathlon training. The first reason is to maintain a healthy heart, maintaining a reasonable aerobic fitness so I can move around easily and maintain acceptable blood pressure. The three sports of triathlon provide a whole body workout and whole body fitness.

The second reason is to maintain and even improve my flexibility. I love to move about without pain. And, as I have learned recently, this flexibility is also good for the golf game I have been reintroduced to since moving to The Villages, Florida.

Be patient but consistent and, within a few weeks, the improvement in both fitness and flexibility will amaze you.

What Has Been Your Experience?

Do you use a foam roller as part of a post-workout stretching routine? Why?

What has been your experience with foam rolling?

How to Improve Triathlon Training Results

Terry VanderWert on October 21, 2021

Adaptation is the process by which we improve through triathlon training

You have followed your triathlon training plan to the last detail. Still, you wonder if there are other things you can do to improve the results of your training and, therefore, help you be more competitive or at least better prepared for your first or next triathlon.?

The quick answer is ‘Yes’. There are factors outside training that can help you improve your triathlon training results. There are others that can negate some improvements in training. And, there are others whose effect simply ‘depends’.

Background

In Six Principles of Triathlon Training for Seniors, we identified the need to consider the unique needs of seniors, especially those involved in endurance sports like triathlon. That post specifically highlighted the need to consider the physiological changes that come with aging and how we rest, eat, hydrate, and stretch after training.

The goal of this post is to help you identify other changes in your triathlon training that can make you a higher performing senior triathlete.

Natural Processes

The human body becomes stronger by repeating a process involving overload, followed by rest and recovery. Adaptation is another name for this process.

For adaptation to produce the results we want, we must manage both the overload and the rest and recovery portions. Too much or too rapid of an increase in overload can cause injury and an extended time away from the activity (e.g. swimming, biking, running). On the other hand, incomplete recovery prevents the complete benefit of the overload from being realized.

To balance progressive overload while avoiding injury, the ideal training plan will involve sessions in which the total stress increases in a controlled manner. Each session is followed by a period of recovery that allows for healing from the effects of this stress (e.g. micro tears of muscle fibers). It is during the recovery period when gains from training become cast into our body.

With time at the same level of stress, progress will slow and even stop. This explains why repeating a routine may initially result in muscle soreness but later produce no soreness and actually feel too easy.

It also explains the need to increase the stress over time or vary it regularly (called periodization) for strength and endurance to increase.

Ways To Boost Training Results

According to Steve Magness in The Science of Running [Affiliate disclosure], there are actions we can take to increase the benefits of our training.

“Amplifiers of adaptation are anything that may boost our subsequent adaptation either by acting early and increasing the stimulus or by increasing the conversion of that stimulus to an adaption by bolstering recovery from the workout.”

Given the overload-recovery process mentioned above, we can look at two areas for improvement. The first is increasing the efficiency of the workout. The second is to recover more completely using the body’s God-given processes.

Increasing Efficiency

One strategy for increasing the benefit of workouts is to train our body to be more efficient. We can implement this by pushing it to use muscle fibers not normally used in a particular training session. One approach is to repeat a training session within the same day. The second routine will be done with the body in a fatigued condition.

A second way to make our training more efficient is by creating situations that require our body to use fuel sources not normally called upon. For this, we can use longer bike rides and runs. However, if your training involves relatively short distances, as those of sprint triathlon, then another way to approach this is by training in a fasted condition.

Faster, More Complete Recovery

During recovery, the body repairs itself. For example, while we rest after intense exercise, micro-tears in muscle fibers heal. With the correct amount of overload followed by complete recovery, which includes sleep, the result is a stronger muscle than before the exercise.

Post exercise nutrition, especially involving protein, and hydration also contribute to faster, more complete healing and recovery of our body.

In addition, the masters athlete should consume an additional 40 grams of protein after hard exercise for muscle repair and recovery as soon as possible after finishing the session.
What Masters Athletes Need To Know About Nutrition

There is also news my wife, Joy will whole-heartedly embrace. Research has shown that post exercise massage can also improve recovery.

According to research led by Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada), massage after hard exercise increased mitochondria formation. Additional mitochondria produced faster healing of the muscle. In one study, massage after hard exercise also reduced indicators of cellular stress and inflammation.

Actions That Limit Training Results

The inflammatory cycle arising from exercise involves repair of micro tears and strengthening of the previous damaged tissue. Interfering with this natural cycle of overload and recovery reduces the benefits that come from training.

Speeding Up Recovery

One of the most common mistakes in executing a training plan is to accelerate recovery. Artificially speeding up recovery dampens the response to training and, therefore, reduces the benefits of the hard work.

The adage ‘No pain, no gain’ takes on new meaning when we take anti-inflammatory drugs to dampen pain after exercise. Doing so actually interrupts the natural recovery process. The result is to reduce the gains that would have been realized had nature been allowed to take its course.

We can say the same about taking synthetic anti-oxidants after hard exercise.

Oxidation that comes from exercise is one of the main triggers for mitochondria production. This is good in that mitochondria convert the energy we take from food into energy required for operation of our trillions of cells.

Synthetic anti-oxidants trick the body into minimizing the negative effects of oxidation. The result is a blunting of what would have been the production of good mitochondria.

Interestingly, research has also shown that these negative effects do not accompany naturally occurring antioxidants, such as those coming from tart cherries and berries. Apparently, our bodies know what to do with real food so incorporate it into the recovery process.

Interfering With Recovery

Sleep is arguably the most important part of recovery. Therefore, environmental factors (temperature, light level, noise) and behaviors that interfere with sleep will hinder recovery.

However, as noted in Rest and Recovery: Why It’s Important for Senior Triathletes, “rest doesn’t have to mean retiring to the sofa”. Cross training is an excellent way to train during recovery while deriving the benefits of exercise.

Approaches With Mixed Triathlon Training Results

Other factors to consider in training include:

Caffeine consumption
Mental and emotional stress
Carbohydrate intake before and during training
Strength training in combination with endurance training
Heat and humidity
Altitude

Several of these have mixed results based on their contribution to total stress. If the additional stress from one or more of these takes the total stress of a routine into an unhealthy zone, results can be negative. Caffeine consumption, mental and emotional stress, heat and humidity, and altitude contribute to the total stress of a workout.

Results of others, such as strength training, depend on the timing of the exercise within a routine. For example, strength gains from weight training will be greater when running before the strength workout than in the reverse order.

Strength training along with endurance training can improve triathlon training results. — Strength training before a run will have different results than when done after a run.

Caution: Be Careful When Trying to Improve Your Triathlon Training

Training is most consistent when training stimulus or stress increases gradually. The commonly held rule of thumb is to avoid increasing stress over 10% per session. This rule of thumb has plenty of critics. However, it has proven effective for me.

This means, for example, that the weight included in an exercise not increase over 10% from one session to the next. Or, it means not increasing the distance run by over 10% from one run to the next.

Share Your Questions and Experience in the Comments Below

What is your experience related to the comments in this post?