Stop It! - 16 Things You Likely Do and Need to Stop

1. Stop ignoring recovery. What you eat, how much you sleep, the beers, it all affects you. The intensity you go on easy workouts is also vital.

2. Stop doing everyone else's workouts, and start focusing on what workouts YOU need. Sometimes, (in fact many times), that means you need to train alone. Peer pressure is no way to train effectively. If you train with a lot of egos, let them go. Limit group workouts to those which are in line with your goals and specific needs. This especially includes recovery workouts. (See #1).

3. Stop sabotaging your training. When life gets stressful, skipping workouts because you're not in the mood only brings about more stress and frustration with training and lack of results. Training is your escape, keep it that way. Skipping that transition run because you think you're too tired, is a missed opportunity to build confidence with a great run, or to learn to better pace your bike.

4. Stop ignoring your weight. If you aren't thin, you aren't as fast as you can be. I'm not saying you should look anorexic, but to think those 10 lbs you could lose aren't affecting your performance, is ignoring the obvious. If you're 20+lbs over an ideal race weight, there is no training plan or lightweight bike that can overcome that handicap. The weight also means higher risk for injuries, which can sabotage your training. (See #3).

5. Stop ignoring your diet. (See #1 and #4).

6. Stop obsessing about volume. If it really mattered, the athlete who did the most volume would win every race. Ultraman competitors would be the best Ironman and sprint racers. It's about the quality of training you can do. You're not training for the Tour de France.

7. Stop ignoring the swim. The higher your goals, the more it matters.

8. Stop ignoring your warm-ups for your workouts and races. The older you are, and the higher your goals, the more it matters. It's like sabotage. (See #3)

9. Stop ignoring your cool-down sets, they are vital to proper recovery. (See #1) Poor recovery sabotages training and racing. (See #3).

10. Stop ignoring technology in your training. You use technology in every aspect of your life, from your iPhone/Android to your laptop and software at your job or at home. Why is it so hard to believe power and pace data can help your training and racing on a daily basis? (See #3).

11. Stop thinking you need a faster/newer/better bike. You need to get training right. (See #1 thru #10).

12. Stop paying a coach if you're not going to do the training as they write it. (See #3)

13. Stop being negative with yourself. There is nothing anyone or any coach can tell you that will supersede what you say to yourself. If you don't believe in yourself when you toe that start line, the result is pretty much already determined.

14. Stop focusing on the competition, and start focusing on yourself, and how to execute your training and racing better. (See #1 thru #13)

15. Stop doing the same thing over and over. The body responds best to variance in training. If you've been doing the same things over and over for years, and aren't happy with the results, or notice a plateau, it's time to address the real issue.

16. Stop thinking salt and electrolyte losses cause cramps, there's no scientific proof of this. The people who promote this are the ones trying to sell it to you. Get fitter, and you'll cramp less. Get training right, you'll get fitter. Stop shoving so much salt into your gut during races, and you'll likely get rid of all that GI distress you've been bothered by in races.

Bonus tip...
17. Stop thinking Ironman is the only important race in triathlon. It's far from it.

Coach Vance

Timing of Weight Loss with Training and Racing

One of the topics I'm finding popular with my athletes at this point of the season is their weight. A few are not happy with their weight, wanting to squeeze out another kilogram or two. Here's the problem though, for these athletes that want to do this, right now we are in the specificity part of the training year. We are preparing specifically for the demands of race day, and that means intensity, and a good portion of the total training volume is at that intensity.

For these athletes to be able to handle the load of intensity to prepare adequately, and recover quickly to make the next race-specific workout a success, they can't be actively trying to lose weight now. It must happen passively, without cutting calories and meals.

In my time as an athlete for Bob Seebohar and Joe Friel, I learned a lot about nutrition, but probably most importantly was not necessarily the nutrition, but the timing of the nutrition. I will spare all the details for you, but in general, if you're eating to support training, then eat what you need and want. When you're not eating to support training, such as during a rest day or recovery period, eat only what you need, and make it fruit, vegetable and lean-protein based.

Ask yourself, "Why am I eating right now?" If the answer is you're hungry, or need to pre-fuel or refuel from hard training sessions, then eat without worry or concern, but make sure it's just what you need. If the answer is you're bored, or just because everyone else is eating around you, then adjust it to only what you need, (perhaps not eating at all), and what will support your training and goals, (not junk food, or sugary items).

Another tip most people don't realize, is that for every gram of carbohydrate, (CHO), the body stores, it stores 4 grams of water. If you eat a very starchy-based diet most of the time, the body will horde more carbs, and thus retain more water. Stick with a clean diet of less CHO or processed items when not training, (fruits, veggies, lean protein), and you'll be amazed at how the body can drop weight quickly when it sheds the carbohydrate it doesn't need and loses water weight.

Again, if you're in the high-intensity, race-specific phase of training, now is NOT the time to actively pursue weight loss. Get in what you need and focus on getting the recovery and intensity right. Weight will take care of itself.

Coach Vance

Routine Race Week

This week I have a number of high school cross country athletes getting ready for the state meet, and a number of athletes competing at Ironman Cozumel this week. It's interesting how much similarity there is in the race week approach for high school cross country runners and Ironman triathletes.

This week is especially challenging, due to the holiday. Kids are out of school for the week, which means they tempted to change their sleep patterns, staying up late or sleeping in, and sitting around on the couch, munching on snacks they don't normally get to eat. Changes in sleep and diet patterns during a race week is NOT a formula for success, no matter what you're preparing to race. I hear athletes starting to carbo load, which is simply changing your diet, unnecessarily.

Try to keep things as routine as possible. Might be difficult with the holiday, and the normal diet change that happens with Thanksgiving dinner, as well as travel to your big race. But try to resist changing your diet dramatically, and keep the sleep patterns at night the same. Napping during the day is fine, and I encourage that, but stick to what the body is used to, as much as possible.

Good luck to all those competing this weekend!

Coach Vance

Coach Vance Talks Now Downloadable!

One of the really rewarding things about doing my monthly talks at the bike shop, (B+L for many years, now Nytro), has been the growth in the number of attendees, and the learning which has occurred. I have seen my numbers really grow over the past year, and I think I'm only going to see that happen more and more.

The biggest email I get nowadays about these talks is from people who are bummed they can't attend, because they are either too far away to be able to attend, or have other conflicts. I understand, but I love teaching, and want to help as many people as I can.

So I am VERY EXCITED to announce that my talks are now downloadable! You can purchase the talks as an mp3 and PowerPoint in PDF, so athletes can learn from the comfort of their own homes, from anywhere in the world!

You can purchase the talk from last night, "Solving the 70.3 and Ironman Nutrition Mystery", at the button below, for $9.99. All talks will be available in the coming months, and even some past talks. Why for sale? Because the incentive is the talk is free if an athlete attends, but a small fee for later download.

Purchase "Solving the 70.3 and Ironman Nutrition Mystery" here:

Once purchased, the mp3 and presentation will be sent via email. Look for more from me in the coming weeks!

Coach Vance

Competitors Radio Interview with Matt Hoover

As many of you know, I am coaching Matt Hoover, who won Season 2 of The Biggest Loser, the NBC hit reality weight-loss show. Here is a great interview of him when he was here in San Diego, with the Competitors Radio Show...

http://www.competitorradio.com/details.php?show=332

It was Cam Brown, superstar of Ironman, and myself with Matt in studio. Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle are the famous hosts of the show, and we had a great time with them. You can't hear me, because they only had 4 microphones, but you can hear me in the background say that Matt will finish a few minutes behind Cam! :-)

Matt is competing at his first half-ironman in a few weeks, at Lake Stevens 70.3, so we're looking forward to his first big "hit-out".

Kona is coming, and it's been great to see his progression so far. Looking forward to see him run down Alii Drive!

Coach Vance

Tips for losing those last few pounds

As an athlete I knew my weight had a big influence on my performance, and so I was always monitoring it, and looking for ways to keep it down. This article I wrote for Active.com are some of the tricks and tips I learned from my experience. Enjoy!

5 Ways to Shed Those Last Few Pounds

By Jim Vance
For Active.com

If you're a serious athlete, or just one who monitors their weight consistently, a few pounds here or there can mean a big difference in confidence, attitude and especially performance.

Many athletes can go to the extreme by cutting out meals entirely or making a dramatic change in diet, which can actually have a detrimental affect on performance and, in some cases, even cause weight gain. If the body feels it is deficient in some nutritional areas it can horde and hold onto the things it feels it needs to conserve.

Read the rest at Active.com.