8-step guide to foam rolling
Check out Coach Kristin’s 8-Step Guide to Foam Rolling! She says: “Hit all 8 of these areas 4-5 days per week, preferably before workouts. When you foam roll regularly, less time is required for each area. Spend about 8-10 minutes total on this entire routine. Greater frequency with less intensity is much better than greater intensity less often. This is a great way to check in with your body before you exercise, and you’ll go into your session ready to perform!”
what to read / watch / listen to:
Coach Julie:
Listen to: Andrew Huberman, Huberman Labs Podcast
Science-based protocols to set and achieve your goals and debunking some old ideas
1: Writing a goal on a sticky note and taping to the mirror #noteffective
2: Posting on Social Media #noteffective.
Reinforces processed-based goal setting is the key to success.
athlete win of the month:
Coach Alison: Kim Steckling
This was a tough choice as there were SO many athletes with big wins this month (I see you Lauren S., Holly G., and Scott L.) but I had to go with Kim’s incredible performance at IM 70.3 Michigan.
Kim had a solid race from start to finish – her 2nd-fastest (non-assisted) 70.3 swim, 2nd-fastest 70.3 run, and an overall 70.3 PR of 18 minutes (!!) – but what was most exciting was her bike split. Kim has been chasing a sub-3 bike split for a while now, and she’s come so close several times, so when she came off the bike in 2:49 there’s actually a chance that I was more excited than she was.
what makes us better:
Coach Shana: Take a breath
Do you ever think about your breathing when working out? Both the rate and the “how” can make a difference.
Years ago an experienced cyclist suggested I slow down my breathing to lower my heart rate and feel better when doing a long climb. It seemed counter-intuitive, but it worked for me. Rapid breaths tend to be shallow, upper chest breathing which can mean you’re not getting rid of all the CO2 in your lungs making oxygen uptake less efficient. That is the exact opposite of what you want. To slow my breath I count pedal strokes for the bike, or steps for the run: usually I breath in for 3, then out for 3. Sometimes I mix it up using periods of 2-in/2-out (especially for speedier work) or 3-in (easy)/2-out (forceful).
Another useful tool is breathing from your diaphragm during workouts by expanding the belly and lower rib cage with each breath. Deep belly breathing is said to more fully use the capacity of the lungs which can in turn increase your oxygen uptake. It takes some getting used to, but I recommend checking it out for yourself.
did you know?
Coach Darbie: #we'reallwinning
Did you know only 28% of Americans are meeting physical activity guidelines set by the CDC? This guideline is at least 150 minutes per week doing aerobic exercise at a moderate intensity and at least two days a week doing a muscle-strengthening activity. If you need motivation to keep doing hard stuff, remember you are in the small percentage of people who are keeping themselves healthy and strong! That deserves a celebration.
random musings:
Coach Kristin: The Power of Patience
Patience is a term often associated with simplistic meekness: taking a deep breath while someone in front of you takes their sweet time, or staying calm when a child asks you something repeatedly. Successful endurance athletes challenge this idea and transform patience from virtue to superpower. Foundational qualities of discipline, commitment, focus and resilience are amalgamated to create a special type of patience that helps us endure not only individual workouts but also entire training blocks. We “endure” on both a macro and micro level. Patience is the armor that we wear when we battle an injury and, brick by brick, regain health and fitness. Likewise patience gives us the courage to race according to our ability and not beyond it, trusting that staying smart early in a race will yield a better performance later.
As a new mom with a 6 month old baby, easing back into focused training is forcing me to flex my patience muscle now more than ever. It’s humbling to do a fraction of what I did pre-pregnancy, but the bricks I’m laying stack higher week by week. I’ve come to realize that patience isn’t just a virtuous mentality; it is actually evidence of self confidence. If I know that good things are coming, I can more readily let go of unrealistic expectations and trust the training process. And I like to think that when a big hairy audacious goal starts to tempt me, I’ll have the patience to go chase it.
meet a teammate:
Teammate: Coach Shana, resides in Fallbrook, CA with Mark Frederickson and dog Bailey
- Favorite race: IM 70.3 Coeur d’Alene
- Walk-out song: I Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake
- 3 Words that family/friends would use to describe you: Adventurous, determined, calm
- Worst style choice you’ve ever made: Home permed my short hair
- If you could have an unlimited supply of 1 thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? puzzles