6 Exercises for a Balanced Body | Page 3 | Active.com

Here is a great article that I cam across! I have to admit that I thought it was funny that some of the best exercises recommended for triathletes are some of the same exercises that I have done with my wife's Stroller Strides class. Now I think that I won't feel so silly doing them at the next Daddy's invited class.

6 Exercises for a Balanced Body Page 3 Active.com

Count Down to my next race!!!

I can't wait 40+ pounds lighter, new fast bike, 4 minuets a mile faster, and ready for a swim. Still time to come join me in Perris CA. The Big Rock Triathlon is a great race for a beginner I should know. Can't make it? I understand, I am looking to plan my races for next year. If you have a good race in mind let me know.

One race I would like to get a group together to run is the Lake Tahoe Triathlon in August 2012. Send me an email if you have any amount of interest an I will get you information as things develop. Who knows maybe I can run the Marin Triathlon next year. So many choices I wish I had more time and money.

Get started today.
Good Luck!!!

Jump in the water is fine!

As I talk to people who would like to run a multisport race I have noticed a reoccurring theme. Most everybody is afraid of the swim. I have to say this is completely understandable. Most of us can imagine ourselves getting on a bike flying and down the street because we unbolted the training wheels from our bikes at five.  As for running, we all have run at some point. Be it with a junior high school teacher screaming at us to go faster or playing tag with our friends in the front yard. It is not beyond our imaginations to us that we can overcome either of these two disciplines with enough time or practice. With the water there seems to be more fear and worry. This was one of the biggest obstacles for me to overcome as well.

Let’s face it there is an instinctual desire in us not to drown! That is a good thing. I say use that feeling. I did. So afraid of the swim portion of the race I trained harder on the swim than any other part of the race.  That work paid off. It was my best split and I found that it was the easiest to squeeze time in to train for. You can get a great swim workout that hits your whole body including your core in thirty minuets or less. And to remind you I was not a swimmer. When I started I swam just well enough to keep my nose above the water. I turned to Youtube to gain some knowledge on how to stroke. If you are just starting check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a0Q-IAqO8U. Or you could look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3McvmvTiQg&feature=related. Lastly, I would watch the other people swimming around you. Can you pick up on what makes them look like they are moving through the water with out effort? Can you see the people who are struggling? Pay attention to what they are doing that is causing there struggles. Then make sure you are not doing that.

Like with cycling and running you have to put in the time. You can’t run a marathon your first time out don’t expect to keep up with Michael Phelps either. I promise that if you put in the time all of a sudden you will notice that you are gliding through the water as though you are flying. It happened for me and if this horse can swim so can you.

Good Luck!  

Where To Start?

 Have you bought in to this idea of becoming a Triathlete? Or, you are one of the many that just want to see if you can do it? Do you have no idea where to begin? Well let me see if I can help. Here are a few important things that I leaned last year on my journey and maybe they will give you a head start over me.

1. Start running- Don’t go for speed or distance at first just stick to running by time. Your body needs time to adjust to the change. Start with ten minuets and if you can go farther do it but if you can’t that is okay. After you have mastered ten minuets push it up to twenty. Then once you feel like you can do that a couple of times a week then start pushing speed and distance. When I started I thought my knees were going to buckle under the pressure of my 300 pound frame but as my muscles and ligaments got stronger that feeling and fear went away.
2. Go ride a bike- Nothing is more important than time on the saddle (your bike seat). I only had a mountain bike with big ol’ nobby tires. It was hard work to keep up with people on road bikes. But as my wife likes to remind me “Just think about how much better a work out you’re getting.” And she is right. More weight, more wind resistance, and more ground contact means I worked it hard. Don’t have a bike? That’s okay Craig’s list has tons of road bikes on it and you can get decent older bikes to get you riding for as little as $100.
3. Get swimming- Start one lap at a time. Then see if you can go two laps with out stopping. I found the more I was just in the water the better I became naturally. You would be surprised on how quick that you can progress in the pool when you put in the time. I found it best to go to my local 24 hour gym at ten or eleven o’clock at night. That way I didn’t have to feel self conscious about the people around me and I could look like a drowning seal for a while and no would have to be subjected to that sight.
4. Absorb as much information as you can- For equipment and technical advice I turned to http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/. The site is a little overwhelming and hard to navigate at first but the information stored there is priceless. For inspiration I listened to the Competitor Radio Pod cast www.competitorradio.competitor.com/. It is a great show in which professional athletes and endurance enthusiasts talk about there experiences and training. Surprisingly the Pros face the same setbacks as the rest of us just on a bigger scale. Lastly, to keep it interesting I tried every kind of work out I was offered to go to. You can find me at all most every Daddy Stroller Strides class that I was allowed to go to with my wife. And let me tell you they kick those Mommies buts and mine too!!!

Okay, so now you have a few places to start. Why are you still sitting there? Get up and get going.

Good Luck!!!

Overweight to Endurance Athlete | Active.com

Overweight to Endurance Athlete Active.com

For all of those out there that think that Triathlon is impossible because your too big, too busy, and too what ever your excuse is. GET OUT AND GET GOING!

2 Brick Workouts to Add to Your Training | Active.com

2 Brick Workouts to Add to Your Training Active.com

Getting Started

Sitting on my couch one night watching The Biggest Loser I was listening to a few of the past contestants say that they were training for a Triathlon. Shoveling a last bite of ice cream I said to myself "I can do that". That was the beginning. I was a football player in high school and college but beyond that I was not an endurance athlete and I had no idea where to start. I decided that I had better learn to swim. Now, I could swim well enough to stay alive but beyond that I was more of a rock than a fish.

I was embarrassed, because I was barely able to swim across the length of the pool when I stated. So, I turned to YouTube videos to teach me to swim. I got on my mountain bike because that was all I had. And I hit the road running and unfortunately I was about as fast as walking when I started. But I was going to finish. I was consumed by a single idea for a year “Just Finnish”.

That is what I did.

I finished.

This is a blog for the big guys and gals who are now saying “I would like to” and get them to “I Finished”.  Because if I could do it. You can too. The Triathlon community is super supportive and encouraging and there is a race near you if you are willing to look for it. What other sport can a regular person run with elite and professional athletes? What other sport can you learn three different sports and put them together in to one crazy race?

I do have a warring for you if you start you might just get hooked. I did, but 30 pounds of wait loss, knees that no longer feel like they could give way at any moment, and more energy than I have had in a long time. It may just be worth the trade off.

Now, put down that ice cream and pick the sport that sounds the like the most fun and get started. Because it is not where you start that matters, it is that you’ve started.

Good Luck