A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO CONQUERING ENDURANCE SPORT

Although training for Ironman is difficult, it is possible. Alex shares her top tips.

 I applied for the Army to become a nurse. I realized that I had to be able to run 1.5 miles without becoming a wheezing mess. My application was denied, but it motivated me to finish an Ironman triathlon. Ironman 140.3 is a 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike ride. I’ll be running the 26.2-mile race on September 9th in Tenby. It’s safe to say that I am more than capable of running 1.5 miles right now.

Over the last seven months, I’ve learned many things about endurance sports training, my mental attitude, and my body. To help you achieve your endurance sports goals, I will share some of the most important lessons I learned as an Ironman competitor.

Slowly

Your body is still adapting to the intensity and duration you are putting it through, so the initial stages of training can be difficult. It is important not to rush into training at this stage. You should take your time and increase the intensity of the training gradually. You’ll feel tired and sore, so rest well and eat the right foods to support your body’s effort.

You can gradually increase your exercise intensity to strengthen your muscles, ligaments, tendons, and ligaments. This will allow you to better withstand the challenge of the triathlon. You can reduce your injury risk by strengthening your body over time. Your body will also adapt to your challenge, making you feel less tired.

Listen to your body.

Listening to my body is one of the most difficult, but also the most important, things I’ve learned while training.

It is important to reduce the intensity of training sessions or quit if you feel fatigued or in pain. Your body is a computer that uses nerves and receptors to constantly detect injury and inflammation. If you feel pain while training or fatigue, it is likely that your body is telling you to stop.

You don’t have to miss a session. However, training through pain can cause more damage and lead to more serious injuries. Do not let your hard work be undone by being stubborn. Listen to your body.

Do not worry about what others are doing.

Social media can even impact our training in this digital age. It’s easy to go home from a training session, look through Strava and find that Ironman Jane has done twice as far as you have and even stole your QoM.

You forget she has completed two Ironman events before and is trying to race in under 12 hours. While you are much less experienced and want to finish the event without getting tired,

Even though you both are preparing for the same event, you have different goals. This will impact the training that you do. Each person’s preparation for Ironman depends on their goals, time constraints, and fitness level.

Treatment of Injury

An injury can be very draining for athletes. It is crucial to immediately take the right steps to ensure your recovery.

Find out what exercises you can do to stay healthy and motivated while injured. Next, set short, medium, and long-term goals. Setting goals can help you stay motivated and positive, but it will depend on how severe your injury is. Also, you don’t want to rush the recovery process. You could cause more damage that could impact your ability to perform in your sport.

You can surround yourself with supportive friends, family members, and positive people who will help you forget about your lack of training or seemingly endless time. Enjoy this time off and spend it with the people you love and doing things you enjoy.

Keep It Social

Training with others is one of the best ways to progress. You can challenge, encourage, and support each other while pushing yourself to the limits while being battered in British weather.

Having a good relationship with your training buddies is crucial. They can understand how hard you work. You will have lots of laughs and support. If you are lucky, you might even get a wind block to help you sleep when you get tired.

Believe in Yourself

Success in endurance sports is greatly affected by mental attitude and the belief that you can complete the task. Your chances of success will rise if you improve your self-belief. This will improve your self-image and eliminate negative emotions. It will also improve your motivation to train. These are some ways to increase self-belief, confidence, and effectiveness.

• Encourage and support others by surrounding yourself with positive people.
• Positive self-talk can motivate you by saying, ” I can…“.
• Relaxation techniques like meditation and listening to music can help you control negative emotions such as anxiety.
• Visualize yourself reaching your goal. Visualize yourself crossing the finish line or beating your opponent. Keep this in mind as you try to replicate it.

Get it Out

Flexibility is a key component of fitness. To achieve optimal performance, you must have good muscle flexibility. Muscle flexibility is a key component of fitness. If it’s not maintained, your muscles can become stiffer and more rigid. This can lead to poor muscle action and even injury.

How do you reduce muscle pain and DOMS after the gym?

A stretching program is necessary to recover properly from a training session. This should include stretching all significant muscles. If you feel sore in one area, you can spend more time stretching those muscles. This improves blood circulation, which aids in removing lactic acids and delivering oxygenated blood into the muscles. It also helps to heal micro tears in the fibers that result from exercise. You can train more the next day because you are less likely to feel delayed onset muscle soreness.

Go to the Gym

It is tempting to focus all your attention on your chosen sports activity. However, strength and conditioning training will help you maintain and improve your physical performance. Here are some benefits of weight training that should be accompanied by aerobic exercise.

• Strengthens: weight training builds strength. By strengthening muscles directly related to your sport, you can exert more force and become a stronger athlete.
• Lowers Injury Risk: Another benefit of strength training is decreased injury rates due to stronger connective tissues like tendons and ligaments. This is because more weight is placed on the ligaments and tendons as your muscles grow and you exercise. This increases the chance of them tearing or straining.
• Increases and Maintains Bone Strength: The pulling action of muscles, tendons, and muscles causes bones to adapt to become denser. This reduces the chance of stress fractures.

Getting it all in

A typical week of training for Ironman can consist of anywhere from 12-18 hours of running, swimming, and cycling. This seems impossible to manage with a job, family, and social life.

To manage your time effectively, create a weekly schedule and follow it. You can schedule sessions for the morning before work or during lunch breaks. By planning, you will be more likely to do them. Plan for social activities and training. This will make it easier to organize your week to reduce the “dead” time.

Making a training program and sticking to it

You can apply the principle of “quality over quantity” to your weekly training program by including higher-intensity sessions that take less time but offer the same or more benefits as junk mileage but at a lower intensity. This will allow you to squeeze more training into your week while still getting the most out of the time you train.

Time

You must give your body enough time to recover from training sessions to get the best out of them. You should consume carbohydrates after each session as well as protein.

The Best Post-Workout Snacks

Carbohydrates can replenish glycogen stores. This is a form of glucose stored in the muscles. By replacing it, you’ll be able to perform better during your next session. You will also have more energy which you can use for training.

Post-workout protein intake will aid in protein synthesis and repair muscular tears that can occur due to stress. This will help your muscles grow stronger and excel in your chosen sport.

Your body can adapt and change when you take time off from your sport. For example, the heart strengthens and can pump more blood per beat. This increases stroke volume and allows for more blood to reach the muscles. Additionally, more capillaries are developed, allowing more blood flow to the muscles. This will allow you to perform at a higher level and create a body better suited to your chosen sport. The most important lesson is to have fun, enjoy what you do, and look after your body, mind, and soul.