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Team Robertson / Education (Page 2)

Fat for Fuel

There is a lot of talk today in the fitness community and medical world of utilizing fat as fuel. If you do a quick google search you will come up with tons of research on this topic. Obviously the number one thing to include in this approach is individuality. It is paramount you consider everyone's unique needs and genetic makeup, but there are several concepts that apply to all of us. I have chosen 5 of my favorite's that you can use in your daily life that will not only make you feel better, but will also lead to a healthier life longterm. Having a high percentage of body fat is a risk factor for almost every disease, so maintaining a healthy percent is optimal. ...

Periodization

When it comes to endurance sports you have to take into account each athletes individual needs. I would rank this as the number 1 thing when you are designing a race strategy. Number 2 in this plan is periodization and this article will explain just what that is, as well as how to lay out this concept. Periodization is defined as a systemic plan for an athlete to reach their best performance possible in their biggest event of the year. A long story short it basically means "peaking" at the right time and doing all the necessary things to reach that peak.There are three different cycles in periodization- macro, meso and micro. Macro would be your calendar year, meso would be a certain number of weeks, and micro would be your...

Top 10 Triathlon Training Mistakes

Most triathletes live busy live's outside of training for races. Family, kids, work, life stress, etc. No matter how you want to categorize them all, to succeed in triathlon you have to find a balance with your personal life and the most efficient training you can do to have a great race. After many years in the sport, I see the same mistakes being made and want to share with the masses the top training mistakes I see most frequently being executed. Not resting enough on recovery weeks- If your schedule calls for a rest week, then the goal for that week is...

MyPlate Pyramid and Individuality

MyPlate is a nutrition guide provided by the USDA that replaced the MyPyramid in 2013. It is a basic guide on what percentage of your diet should come from carbohydrates and protein.  Many of us can remember the food guide pyramid that started in 1992 that was very misguiding in its later years. The MyPlate is a more current, up to date guide that is based on current research, and provides an easier understanding of how to eat healthy, but overlooks the importance of fat in one's diet. MyPlate is divided into sections of 30 percent grains, 40 percent vegetables, 10 percent fruits and 20 percent protein, accompanied by a smaller group that includes dairy. The old Food Guide Pyramid from years ago consisted of a diet...

Eating Disorder vs. Disordered Eating

Most of us have heard the terms disordered eating and eating disorder. Are they related? What do they mean? Are they preventable? This blog tackles both of these topics and how to keep yourself on track for healthy eating habits. First, let's start with disordered eating. Disordered eating is just what it sounds like. If you are guilty of this, these are some of the categories you might fit into- emotional eaters (stress/boredom/fatigue), depressed about food, social anxiety about food, yo-yo dieting, guilt from eating bad, guilt from lack of exercise, orthorexia (obsession with eating healthy), low self-esteem, weight fluctuations. Some of you are probably thinking "I have all of these!" but before you become a hypochondriac, l can assure you we all have had...

Leadville 100 Run

This past Saturday, I accompanied my good friend David over the pass from Aspen, Colorado to the town of Leadville for the Leadville 100 trail running race. David did this race 2 years ago, and I was there that year to help crew for him between aid stations. This year my goal was to help pace him the last 24 miles to the finish. In 2013, he finished in 23 hours and he was hoping to beat his time this year. Unfortunately David hurt his knee early on and had to DNF, but this blog will focus on the race itself and how he trains for it. Anyone that runs trail races knows about the Leadville running race. I have participated in numerous endurance events...

Heat vs. Altitude

There has been much debate through the years whether the heat or the altitude is tougher for training and racing. Obviously there are A LOT of factors that go into this- where you live, background, genetics, sweat rate, body size, terrain, etc. I thought this blog would be fitting considering I will be spending the next 8 weeks living at 9000 feet, and it was just last month I was back in Texas sweating in 100 degree heat and humidity. After having spent many years training in altitude and heat, I thought I would use myself as the guinea pig for this article and try and put together some valuable information for those of you reading this. Keep in mind, my body always races well in...

Buffalo Springs Half Ironman

The wife and I arrived in Lubbock, Texas on Friday with 48 hours to spare until the race. The drive from Houston is pretty easy and we finished it in just over 7 hours. I did all the driving, and my wife did her usual "auto-narcoleptic strategy." A few hours from Lubbock I got this strange feeling that I had left my bike shoes at home. This strange feeling was correct and that meant Saturday was going to be spent finding the same brand I use (Sidi.) When you have done as many races as I have you start to accumulate a list of "things that can go wrong in a race." This was a new one for me amongst the list of flat tires,...

Injury Crisis?

Anyone that exercises or lives an active life knows that the absolute worst thing that can happen to you is an injury to sideline you from being able to do any kind of physical activity. Most of you reading this blog have been there yourself whether it was from an accident, illness, or human error you caused yourself. Sometimes when an injury occurs it can become a long-term positive asset, but you might not know this yet! I have seen many people come back from an injury with a new found energy that was lacking beforehand. This blog discusses the top ways to deal with an injury and the positive benefits that can come from such a thing.   Rest- Most of us don't have the...

Pacing a Half Ironman

  For triathletes that have been racing a long time or are new to the sport and are thinking about doing a longer triathlon then the half ironman distance can be the perfect distance! Beginners tend to think all about ironman, but the half ironman can be the perfect solution for those looking to go longer. It can be just long enough where PACING has to be taken into consideration, but not so long like an ironman distance where more can wrong and nutrition has to be as close to perfect as possible. The half ironman distance won't take up as much training time as an ironman, so your significant other will love this distance also! If you have trained properly most also find they are...