Natural Running Form Clinic at Fit2Run

Saturday, October 15th

8AM

Fit2Run- University Park

8123 Cooper Creek Blvd

Sarasota, FL 34201

Congrats to our Athletes!

We had plenty of first timers at the Ironman Augusta 70.3 race.  The hard work paid off in each performance but more importantly, everyone had a ton of fun.  Congrats guys and enjoy thrill of completing a Half-Ironman race!

Finishers:

Eric Bock

Dana Clark

George Kruse

Susan Farhat

 Melissa Hirstein 

Congrats Guys!!

Summer Heat- Know Your Sweat Rate.

As summer rolls around and the days start to heat up, you need to have a better understanding of how to fuel and hydrate.  Staying hydrated is a key component and will make or break your training or race, and it all starts during your training and developing a customized hydration gameplan.

Understanding your sweat rate or fluid loss will take out the guess work when you are out in the heat for an extended period of time. What happens if you do not stay hydrated?  Losing just 2% of your body weight (can easily be done in the heat) can have a detrimental effect on your performance. Your body will start to limit the amount of blood flow to the muscles.  However, your heart is working harder to pump blood to get the oxygen your muscles so desperately need.  You have probably experienced on a long hot run your heart rate rockets up and fatigue settles in.  Chalk it up to a bad day or it was just plain hot.  Well, chances are your performance was hindered by extremely low hydration levels.  A simple fix could be your hydration level.

First, you must know your sweat rate.  Below is a simple way to find your specific sweat rate, which will then allow you to plan accordingly.

Sweat Test:

To perform the sweat test follow these steps:

• Obtain your weight without any clothes on.  Record the weight to the nearest half pound if possible.
• Complete an exercise bout typical for you, lasting about 30-45 minutes.  During the bout record the amount of fluids ingested (if any fluids are ingested).  Try to avoid the consumption of solid food during this bout.
• Post exercise remove clothes, towel sweat off, and then reweigh to nearest half pound if possible.
• Calculate fluid loss per hour.

Example:
Beginning weight:
160 pounds (45 minutes of running, 8 ounces fluid consumed)

Ending weight:
158 pounds

Fluid loss: 
160 pounds MINUS 158 pounds PLUS a half pound (fluid consumed) EQUALS 2.5 pound weight loss, or 40 ounces of fluid lost in 45 minutes.

Convert to a per hour value:
40 ounces/45 min =  53 ounces/60 min,  = 53.3 ounce sweat rate per hour
(13oz per 15 minutes x 4 ~ 53oz)

To learn more about fueling and hydration, check out one of our upcoming clinics at Ryder Bikes.

- Tuesday, June 21st @ 6PM  Ryder Bikes | Bradenton

- Saturday, June 25th @ 10AM  Ryder Bikes | Sarasota

Fun Weekend for Clark Endurance Athletes!

Thanks for a great weekend guys!  We were extremely impressed with everyones 5K run and 11 mile bike time trials.  These tests will help you see measurable results and will help us progress your training  appropriately.  Again, thanks for the effort!

Also, thanks to all of those who came out and enjoyed the beach with us!  Kayaking and paddleboarding was awesome!  We might just have to add this into the schedule as a recurring cross-training day!

Great job tonight guys!

Love Martin's green CEPs!

Speed & Core Session tonight!

The goal of this class is to decrease risk of injury and increase performance.  The class adds specific core, balance and reactive exercises designed to improve stability and strength.  The additional speed, agility and quickness drills will be the deciding factor for increased performance.  If you want to become a faster, stronger and more efficient endurance athlete, then this class is a weekly must!

When: 6PM

Where: Fitness Together

Find us on Meet Up! (more details)

Core & SAQ Class tonight!

Location:

Lakewood Ranch High School

(Plan for a track or field workout)

Cost: 

FREE for all Clark Endurance athletes

$15 for walk-ons

Questions? Call us at (941)739-3682

This class is designed to challenge all skill levels.

Join us tomorrow night at Polo Grill!

Beyond the Spectrum Charity Bar Night! 6:30PM - 9:30PM

Join us as we raise our glasses and fill the tip jars for Beyond the Spectrum! Come dressed in your Halloween costume and enjoy your favorite cocktail mixed up by "celeb" bartenders!

THREE REASONS TRIATHLETES SHOULD STRENGTH TRAIN IN THE OFFSEASON

If you reflect on your year of triathlon training and competition, you will probably agree that you put in a ton of volume and intensity.  Your body is thanking you for taking a few months off before you break it down again.  This brings up a great opportunity to understand the importance of how to handle your offseason.  Of course, you will continue to swim, bike and run, only with a lighter intensity and possibly with less volume.  You and your coach will come up with a customized gameplan in order to keep your fitness at the appropriate level.  

One major component triathletes forget about during the offseason is strength training.  Strength training is the key to your next years performance.  This doesn’t mean hitting the weight room and hammering out some bench press and bicep curls.  Your strength sessions should be focused on preparing your body for next years volume, preventing injuries and increasing your performance from the previous year.  

Prepare

Triathlon is taxing on the body, and if you don’t take the proper steps to prepare your body for the next season of triathlons- you will be disappointed in the outcome.  Think of your body like it’s a machine.  The most highly sophisticated machine.  This machine requires specific preparation in order to perform at it’s optimal level.  Strength training being an extremely important part that will keep this machine’s components healthy and strong.  The components being bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles and joints.  All of which need to work together to create a, ‘well-oiled machine.’  Without strength training, you will be less efficient, more prone to injury and less of an athlete.  Prepare your body to manage pain and to give yourself the best possible chance for a healthy and fun triathlon season.  

Prevention

As you know, triathlon is a sport that demands a great deal of volume.  Most injuries develop from the continuos stress placed on the joints.  Running and biking require the same joint actions over-and-over again.  This can create an altered length-tension relationship between certain muscle groups, which then leads to dysfunction in the joint.  Strength training will help develop (strengthen) under-active or weak muscle groups, which will develop optimal joint movements throughout the body.  

You see it everyday when you are training.  The girl who, while running, is hunched over and her knees dive in at each foot strike.  Or, the guy on the bike whose knees dart out every pedal stroke.  These examples are common muscle imbalances that can be corrected through a proper strength training and flexibility program.  The more you can limit or prevent muscle imbalances, the greater chance you have of being healthy year round.  

Performance

You are an endurance athlete.  Just because you are an endurance athlete doesn’t mean you will not benefit from strength training.  Improving stabilization, strength endurance, core, balance and power will all improve your swim, bike and run ability.  A proper strength training program will increase lean muscle tissue and decrease body fat.  Added lean muscle tissue provides foundation, power, increased neuromuscular efficiency, increased metabolic efficiency and a decreased risk for injury.  Decreasing your body fat has shown to increase your VO2Max.  This allows you to process oxygen faster and provide the working muscles more of it.  

Triathlon is an addictive sport.  An addiction that will break you if you don’t train properly.    Use this offseason to reflect on your previous performances.  Analyze each one and figure out where you could have improved.  You probably have pulled your hair out over five seconds here and ten seconds there.  You have to ask yourself, “Did my performance program put me in the best position possible?”  Challenge yourself to focus on adding strength training to your offseason performance program and you will reap the benefits at your future races.  Enjoy the offseason!

Clark Brothers take on Boise 70.3

Link to high quality video

Boise 70.3

Coming soon... Sprint to an Olympic Group Training Program

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Four for your core that will help your swim, bike and run.

All three disciplines of triathlon require core stabilization and strength.  Strong core musculature allows you as an athlete to keep your body streamline in the water, maintain a comfortable bike position and complete an efficient run.  Core strength will also assist with generating, absorbing and stabilizing forces which occur during your bike and run. Moreover, increasing your core strength will decrease your risk for an overuse injury, such as low-back pain and IT band syndrome.  Your core is your foundation, and without it, your form will collapse and suffer.  If your form collapses, your chance for injury increases.

Unfortunately, most athletes avoid or limit core exercises during their performance training.  After a long workout, resistance training or core work is the last thing on your mind.  The great thing about core exercises is they can be done in your home, at the gym or in your office.  The following exercises are designed to increase deep abdominal and back strength and stabilization.  These muscles are key for proper hip and spine alignment. Perform these exercises at least two days per week.  They can be added to your off day and your other light training day during the week.  Again, a healthy core musculature will pay huge dividends during your long season of swimming, biking and running.



#1. Plank with Repetitions

photos courtesy of Health and Fitness Provider Network

As you perform this exercise, make sure you keep your elbows at ninety degrees and looking down.  As you lift your hips up, pull your belly button in to activate your deep abdominal muscles (touch your belly-button to your spine).  Focus on keeping a straight line from your ears through your shoulders, hips, knee and ankle.  The biggest mistake made here is allowing your hips to sink or raise.  This will cause pain in the low back and place pressure on the spine, so maintain proper spine alignment. After lifting your hips and extending your legs, pause for two to three seconds and then slowly return to the starting position.  Perform 12 to 20 repetitions without sacrificing form. And breathe...


#2. Side Plank with Repetitions

This exercise is perform exactly like the plank only on your side.  Again, maintain proper alignment of your head, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. Activate your core as you raise your hips and pause for two to three seconds, breathing throughout the movement. The side plank will emphasize the obliques more so than the front plank.  Perform 12 to 20 repetitions on each side without sacrificing form.



#3. Ball Cobra

This exercise emphasizes the deep and superficial back musculature.  Start prone on the ball in a relaxed position.  As you lift your chest off the ball slowly, externally rotate your shoulders and retract your shoulder blades (squeeze shoulder blades together). Hold your finish position for two to three seconds and then lower yourself slowly back to the start. To advance this exercise, simply add small dumbbells for added resistance. Perform 12 to 20 repetitions without sacrificing form.  


#4. Cable Chop

The cable chop is adding resistance, therefore is more focused on strengthening key core muscles (opposed to pure stabilization).  This exercise will also involve the chest and lats.  Start in a relaxed position with your feet shoulder to hip width apart and your toes and knees straight ahead.  Pull the weight across the body from your shoulder to your opposing hip.  Rotate your hips and and upper-body as you perform the exercise.  Return to the starting position slowly.  If you do not have access to a cable machine, simply use an exercise band in its place.  Perform 10-20 on each side.  

Remember, as a triathlete, great form and technique start with a solid foundation.  The foundation is your core strength.  Without it, you are limiting your potential.  When you find yourself long into an international distance or half ironman triathlon, you need your running form and posture to be second nature.  If your running form starts to go, chances are you let your core strength program go.  Focus on your core and find yourself finishing strong at your next race.   

Article written by Nick Clark, MS, PES.

Nick has been in the fitness industry since 2000, working as a personal trainer, fitness manager and an owner of private studios. He has a Bachelors degree in Fitness Leadership from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a Masters degree in Exercise Science with an emphasis on Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention from California University of Pennsylvania. Along with personal training and teaching, he and his wife also have a coaching service called Clark Endurance Training. They provide customized coaching programs for athletes who are looking to train for specific running events, triathlons or duathlons. Nick actively trains and competes year round in the sport of triathlon. He and his wife Nicole will travel all over the country competing in races from half marathons to half ironmans. Nick and Nicole own and operate Fitness Together in Lakewood Ranch, FL and live in University Park, FL with their two chocolate labs. Contact Nick at clarkendurance@gmail.com.

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