Fierce Twist Interval - Yoga for Triathletes

So this is a yoga interval that is designed to build strength in the legs while relieving tension in trouble spots like the low back and piriformis. This is a pretty intense interval so modify where needed by using a yoga block. One time through is plenty, but if you feel motivated you can go for two passes. Enjoy.

Yoga Interval For Triathletes, Cyclists And Runners

Here is a short yoga video (or yoga interval) I shot for triathletes, cyclist and runners. The cool part is it really works the psoas, quads, hamstrings, and glutes. It is meant to be a restorative interval but it can also be used to strengthen the legs in a balanced way. And the best part is it only takes about 5 or 6 minutes to go through 2 or 3 times. Although in truth this simple interval is pretty challenging so one time through may be plenty. Restorative, strengthening yoga in 6 minutes or less? How's that for effective time management?

Yoga, Stretching, and Athletes

So when you think of yoga, you might normally think of people with stick figure bodies who are able to take themselves into shapes that would injure a pretzel. Or quite possibly you think it would be great to be more flexible, that the additional flexibility may help prevent injury and improve both training and recovery. And you could have come to the conclusion that incorporating yoga into your training routine would be way to accomplish that. Quite honestly though, aside from the extreme, bendy postures, you may not see much difference between yoga and some of the more common stretches you've seen or read about. As a triathlete I know I didn't until I'd done yoga for a few weeks. That's when I got a taste of just how deep the rabbit hole that is yoga really goes. Let me explain.

The most notable difference between yoga and simple static stretches is the sequencing. Most good yoga classes follow a well thought out progression moving the body deeper and deeper into similar but more challenging positions. In fact many of the common poses you may be familiar with such as Downward Dog, Crow Pose, or even a simple Forward Fold are actually "preparations" for deeper yoga poses. The same is also true of many static stretches many of us have come to know and use regularly. Most common stretches are variations or simplified Yoga poses. Often what is going on in these variations or modifications is the pose is made more accessible by taking several dimensional components out of it so that they become available for someone new to using their bodies in an unfamiliar way. Static stretches (and most weight machines) often remove the coordinated muscle recruitment that relates to stability. The removal of this component, while making the stretch simple, has the undesirable side affect of doing less to actually strengthen the body.

One pose which illustrates this clearly is Uttanasana or Standing Forward Fold. When commonly presented, even in yoga classes, this posture is usually referred to as a mere hamstring stretch. And to see it performed it is easy to get that impression. If you were to merely fold forward without any direction, you would notice the pull at the back of your legs as you attempt to bring your chest in toward your thighs. But there is much more going on in this forward fold than meets the eye or a casual experience. For the fold to happen properly the hips are engaged as a hinge allowing the torso to move forward as the hips shift back. The spine extends out from the tailbone through the top of the head. As the torso is brought closer to the thighs, the thighs will have an inward rotation creating space for the chest. To deepen and hold the fold, the core must be engaged. This entire process allows the hamstrings to "release". Not stretch, "release".

This act of consciously "releasing" muscles is a distinction that gets lost in discussions of yoga versus static stretching routines. In this instance the difference between a forward fold stretch and Uttanasana is Uttanasana is in reality a handstand preparation where more and more weight is removed from the legs and feet and placed into the palms until the hips are directly over the shoulders and the legs are lifted from the floor. You can watch this same process outside a yoga studio in Olympic platform divers as they move into handstands prior to an inverted dive. The purpose isn't to stretch the hamstrings but to gain the ability to release them at will.

Downward Dog works in much the same way, encouraging access through the core, releasing the hamstrings, and preparing the body for the forward folds, handstands, and "floats" to seated positions and arm balances. These are all complex, coordinated movements, much like swimming so the connection is obvious, but mastering these movements can also greatly impact running and cycling by improving strength, range of motion, and economy.

A regular yoga practice can restore the coordinated function to many of the common stretches you already know about and to the other complex muscular activities you engage in. And it will aid tremendously in your recovery between workouts. One of the primary reasons for triathletes to get massages and take ice baths is to increase blood flow and fight inflammation after tough workouts. Think of yoga as an internal massage and an inflammation fighter too. By gaining coordinated muscular access, you recruit muscles more efficiently to perform all tasks from walking up a flight of stairs to riding 112 miles on a bike.

Yoga For Triathletes Getting (and Staying) Aero on the Bike Part 2

Aside from talking to folks in my yoga classes about getting and staying aero on the bike, I've been spending a lot of time watching triathlon bike footage on the internet. This has really helped me in my thinking about what it takes to have and comfortably maintain good aero positioning on the bike.

Some components of the position are:

1. a strong and stable core.


2. open hips.


3. Length in the hamstrings.


4. Open shoulders.


5. Space in the front body/hip flexors.

This next pose we will explore in this series is a bang for your buck pose if ever there was one. The traditional pose is an forearm balance called Pincha Mayurasana. But we don't need to come into the full expression of that pose for our purposes. As is the case with most yoga poses, sometimes the preparatory pose is more beneficial (read challenging) in developing the attributes of strength, muscular integration and access we are looking for than the actual full expression of the pose itself.

Pincha Mayurasana is no exception. If you've been following along through the last couple of posts in this series we can move easily from Bakasana or Crow Pose into Pincha Mayurasana prep. Of course you can do all of this work as stand alone poses or you can put them together during a strength workout or a stretching routine to augment other work.



From Crow Pose, you would bring the feet back to the floor and come back into the original squat we started out in. From here you would come to your hands and knees with the palms under the shoulders. Then lower the elbows to the ground keeping the forearms parallel to one another. You want to make sure you keep the forearms from rotating inward to one another. They should rest flat on the floor extending out in a straight line from the elbows. Keeping this alignment will be important as we come into Pincha Mayurasana prep as the alignment is what promotes the shoulder opening we are working toward. If you have tight shoulders perfectly parallel forearms might not be possible but you want to keep the arms as close to this ideal as comfortably possible.



Once you have your forearms situated, you will keep your gaze up between your hands as you raise your hips toward the ceiling straightening your legs. At this point you will walk the feet in a few inches. The head will naturally drop but keep the eyes forward looking in between the hands. You want to use your forearms and engage them from the hands all the way back into the elbows. This will create the lift as you engage the core to facilitate the posture.



Try to hold this pose anywhere from 5 to 8 breaths. Come out of it by bending the knees and lowering back to the ground. You will want to repeat this posture 3 to 5 times. As you get better and your shoulders, hips and hamstrings open up and your core gets stronger, you can add more challenge/intensity by raising a leg in the air.



Ultimately, as you gain strength and your body opens, you will be able to use the raised leg to bring the hips over the shoulders. At this point the full expression of the pose can be explored. But if all you want to do is be more comfortable on the bike, what I've shown you here will be more than adequate for your training.

Ultimately, as you gain strength and your body opens, you will be able to use the raised leg to bring the hips over the shoulders. At this point the full expression of the pose can be explored. But if all you want to do is be more comfortable on the bike, what I've shown you here will be more than adequate for your training. If you are finding keeping your arms parallel is an issue, then you could try using a yoga block. Most men may need two due to the width of their shoulders. If a yoga block isn't available I've used books if I could find one the correct width. The thing to keep in mind is just try to keep the arms a little straighter than they would be if you let them do what they wanted. In time you should see improvement both in the practice and in your position on the bike.

Endurance Yoga - Getting and Staying Aero on the Bike Part 1: Bakasana (Crow Pose)

Recently, I was asked by one of my students if there was anything they could do to help them get ready for staying in aero position on the bike for long races like 70.3 and the Ironman distance. I smiled and told him, "Yes."

I don't think he knew what he was asking for when he asked if we could spend a couple of classes working on being comfortable for long periods of time in aero position. Last month I wrote about a pose called Malasana, or Garland Pose, which is essentially a deep squat. At any rate, we were using Malasana in order to both open the hips and experience a greater connection to our feet which can be useful in running for moving with greater ease (especially after a hard bike leg) and generating more power resulting from greater range of motion.

Like many yoga poses Malasana can be a preparation for or a segue into other more challenging but very useful poses. And as it turns out it can also be a great beginning to an exploration of getting and staying aero on the bike. So what we are going to do over the next few posts is move from Malasana into a few more poses that can be added in sequence to promote the necessary bodily transformations that can make long bike legs less difficult from a positioning standpoint which in turn, ultimately, can lead to more efficient runs.

The next pose we explore in our sequence of aerodynamic building yoga poses is a pose called Bakasana or Crow Pose. The reason this pose is so important in our quest for aerodynamics is that it can promote the necessary core integration we need to support our torso out on the aerobars. Although in yoga Bakasana is an arm balance and when you first see it you might think it is a pose for strengthening the arms. Nothing could be further from the truth. By and large arm balances in yoga are core cultivators. And for our purpose of getting aero and being comfortable on the bike, Bakasana can train us to properly engage our core to provide the "lift" we need to comfortably maintain a flat back.



To come into Bakasana, we start in Malasana - a deep squat with our heels together. Place your palms on the floor out in front of you about a foot and a half away from your feet. You want your knees up even with your triceps. Shift your body forward bringing your weight fully onto your hands. Bending your elbows keep shifting more and more of your weight into your hands while keeping head up and your gaze on the floor in front of you. With your body centered over the palms, try bringing one foot off the ground. Engaging your core by bringing your navel in and up toward the spine as though you are lifting and filling the area near the kidneys with air. It is this internal movement that provides the lift in the hips and keeps the knees high up on the triceps. Technically for our purposes, you could stop at this point and work the pose by alternating between lifting your right and left feet off the ground and bringing them up toward your hips. Trust me 3 to 5 reps with each foot is a workout.



If you are comfortable with balancing on your hands and have no problem with the pose while one foot is on the ground, then try taking both feet off the ground at the same time. Again, be sure to keep your head up with your gaze out in front of you and in between your hands. If you have open hips and can get the sense of lift through your core you may find you are able to get quite a bit of height in the pose. If so try holding the pose for about 6 to 8 unhurried breaths before bringing our feet back to the ground.



If for some reason the arm balance doesn't work for you, say balance is an issue, or you have weak wrists, you can still reap the benefits of the pose by taking the balance aspect out of it and practicing Bakasana on your back. In fact almost all yoga arm balances can be practiced while on your back allowing you to strengthen the core as you work your way up toward practicing the actual arm balance.



Coming into Bakasana on your back is very similar to practicing it upright. Start with your heels together and your knees apart. Your back will be flat against the ground. First you will rotate your pelvis up toward the ceiling which will cause your knees to rotate toward your shoulders. Now, as if you were doing crunches, bring your shoulders off the floor and move the torso up toward your knees. Hook your elbows on the insides of your knees and draw your navel down and in toward your spine. This will assist in deepening the fold. Hold the position for anywhere from 4 to 8 breaths, then relax. Repeat the movement 3 to 5 times.



Working Bakasana regularly, aside from being a neat trick you can show your Tri-minded friends, will give you the core awareness and integrity that we will need for the next pose in our aero building sequence. There aren't to many issues with practicing Bakasana other than wrist issues and fear of falling so if you have any reservations, try the version where you explore the pose on your back for a while. I actually find that version more difficult. Until next time, train well....

Yoga For Triathletes - Malasana

One of the popular workouts these days for athletes of all disciplines is the "Core" workout. This type of work goes far beyond the 6 pack ab craze that came before it. There is a great benefit to be had in all endurance activities by strengthening the core. But once we've done the work and strengthened our core, our next question should become, "How can we access that strength and put it to work for us?"

To be honest, that question, the one about gaining "access" is a far deeper rabbit hole than a single post about a single pose can cover. That's because it is one thing to "tighten your core " or "keep it tight" (something that is commonly said when referring to the gross muscles comprising the mid section during activity), but accessing strength through the core to produce a desired muscular response while running, cycling, or swimming is something else. Understanding this, my goal is to simply get you started thinking about this concept of "gaining access" to the core and integrating it into the other movements that comprise your sport of choice.

To start us on our way to gaining access to the core, we need more access to our feet. And our feet need to gain a sense of being firmly engaged into the ground. Said another way we want to have a sensation of what it is like to have our feet "planted" (as in deeply rooted) into the ground. And for that we are going to explore a pose called Malasana or Garland Pose.

Essentially Garland pose is a deep squat. If you've travelled, especially in countries like India and throughout Asia, you will notice people sitting low to the ground, squatting deeply. This has several benefits, one of which is an opening of the hips. Another benefit of the pose is the opening of the ankles which can allow for a better connection to the ground by engaging through the feet for balance.

• Malasana Variation where the feet are separated and point out 45 degrees

To come into the variation of Malasana that is most accessible, we start with our feet a bit wider than hip distance apart (the toes should be pointing forward but can be rotated out to about 45 degrees to facilitate lowering into the pose if needed). Then with the arms extended out straight in front of you for balance, lower your body bending at the knees. The torso should remain upright as the hips drop below the knees. If you hadn't started with the toes rotated out at 45 degrees initially it may become necessary to rotate them out as your hips move closer to the floor. You may need to widen your stance as well once you get your hips closer to being level with your ankles. You want to hold this position for about 8 even breaths if you can. If you can't don't sweat it, hold it as long as is comfortable. You should be able to stay in the pose for longer and longer periods of time if you work the pose consistently.

Now for some housekeeping. These are some things you want to keep in mind. Throughout this movement the spine should be kept long even though the torso can have a tendency to tilt forward. You can get and keep more length in the spine once in the squat by bringing your hands together in prayer position and using the connection of the elbows to the shins for a bit of leverage to articulate the pelvis by bringing the navel in to the spine. It is possible that as you lower down even after rotating your toes out to 45 degrees and widening your stance, you cannot come into the full squat without your heels leaving the ground. If this is happening you can still work in the pose by placing a rolled up blanket or towel under the heels and then lowering down onto that. While this will change the sensation of grounding somewhat, it does not diminish the effectiveness of the pose.

• A rolled up towel or blanket can be used as a wedge if the heels don't reach the ground.

If you still find it difficult to maintain your balance in Malasana, another option is to practice it inside a doorway. I use this when I want to experience the squat with my feet and shins together holding on to the door frame as I lower my hips to my heels. This allows me to get a sense of the opening in my ankles and hips necessary to access this movement now while I wait for my body to allow me to do it without assistance. To come out of the pose simply ground into the feet and straighten the legs or bring your palms to the floor and come to all fours. Lastly use good judgement when doing this pose. Save the pose for strength days at the gym or lower intensity training days. Because of the deep squat, if you have knee or ankle issues Malasana is not recommended.

Monday AM Boot Camp/PM Yoga

The day started with Boot Camp and ended with me teaching my Monday Yoga for Athletes class at Professional Cycle Works. I almost didn't make it to the class because of the 50 or so mile drive out to Liberty Hill to see my Chiropractor to have the dislocated bone in my foot worked on in the middle of my day. But the drive was totally worth it. The pain was down to about a 5 -- which is manageable. But I was still leery of running on the foot so I thought it was best to visit him one more time before giving it a try. Good thing I did. Turns out the bone was still a little out of its socket and needed to be put in a touch more. Now I don't really feel pain at all in the foot when using it. Just to be safe, I'm going to wait about a week on the running. And even though I cut it pretty close, I still made it back for yoga.

This morning's boot camp was intense. I focused the class on upper body strength and endurance work. Everything integrated the core. Here is what we did:

1. Standard pushups 30 seconds
2. Standard pullups (with bands or on bar) bands for 1min on bar for 30 seconds
3. Wide pushups 30 seconds
4. Wide grip pullups 1min or 30 seconds
5. Military pushups 30 seconds
6. Chin ups 1min or 30 seconds
7. V pushup 30 seconds
8. Overhand chin ups 30 seconds or 1 min depending on bar or band usage.

Then we did intervals in the parking garage combined with stairs and repeated the above strength workout for good measure. Not too bad for 60 minutes of work.

Yoga was focused on lower leg stability, so there were quite a few lunges and balance poses which we held for a bit. Things are looking up. Can't wait to try and run next week.

Yoga For Triathletes - Uttanasana

Uttanasana, or standing forward fold, is an asana that is good for all athletes. The pose is benificial because it releases the muscles of the low back and the hamstrings. Notice I said "releases," not stretch.

When I started thinking about what poses could benefit us as athletes, Uttanasana was one that I didn't immediately include in my list. The reason for this wasn't because it was too simple, or too well known, (all you do is bend over, who couldn't do that?). What came to mind as I thought about Uttanasana, or standing forward fold, was the risk of an athlete injuring his or herself in this pose far outweighed the benefits to be had from using it. But then I read something on Lucho's blog in the comments that caused me to rethink things.

Basically, this boiled down to two things. First, Lucho (Sorry, can't locate his original post) cautioned athletes about stretching, and yoga in particular, citing the potential for injury. And second was Lucho's saying he could put his palms on the floor without feeling any pull in his hamstrings at all. Personally, I completely agree with both of these positions. But I have a couple of caveats to add. After having practiced yoga for over 5 years, I've discovered there is actually no stretching of muscles going on in an "informed" practice whatsoever. Yoga demands the development of coordinated muscle activity. As such, a pose like Uttanasana is as much a core cultivator as it is a hamstring release. And it is that ability to learn to consciously let go of the hamstrings that allows this asana to bestow its benefits on those who chose to explore it more fully.

In life we spend a great deal of time accumulating things for a variety of reasons. Tension and the illusion of control are among these. The standing forward fold, while a good pose for releasing accumulated stress and tension in the body, also provides a framework to allow us to experience the process of releasing our unconscious hold on the hamstrings which in turn usually results in a tight lower back. Instead of "stretching" the hamstrings, what we are learning to do in this position, is to mindfully release them. By releasing the hamstrings consciously, we deepen the fold and our experience of it, but we also gain access to more direct control of the working muscles in our bodies.

This is the process I feel we go through as we progress as people and as athletes. Each workout provides us with more and more insight into the inner workings of our own bodies and how they respond to various training loads, meals/fueling, and rest patterns. In the forward fold there is a point in the body, especially when the folds are new and your limits seem set in stone, where as you reach your limit, you begin to hold on for dear life. You lock certain muscles in place so that you don't break, lose your depth or fall over. If you don't take stock of where you are at this point to see exactly what is going on, how you are using the muscles in such a manner as to actually build a very substantial (albeit mental) wall between you and your goal of moving your nose closer to your shins, you will have reached the limit of expression in the forward fold for you. But if you are able to stand at your edge, breathe, observe, and take stock as to where you are holding on, you will in time begin to notice some of the muscles you have been using in your "fight to maintain" your current depth are actually the same muscles holding you back from a deeper expression in the fold. It is when you realize this, you can begin to consciously release these muscles one by one. It is at the very point you decide to let go of these muscles that have been useful in keeping you at your current edge, you discover you can move deeper and express more fully in the pose.

The same can be said of any other aspect of our lives. Once we realize our own perceptions -- fears really -- are the only thing between us the realization of our dreams, we are then capable of remarkable things. In yoga, the act of folding forward is a physical "bowing in" to and an acknowledgement of the self.

To come into Uttanasana poperly stand with the feet together, hands on the hips. Bend forward at the hips, using them as a hinge, versus bending at the waist which strains the lower back. Bending at the hips your pelvis should articulate backwards slightly and as you fold forward there should be a small inner rotation of the upper thighs. This rotation will create space for the torso. Once you feel any pull in the back of the hamstrings, this is as far as you should fold. Explore this point either with your arms folded over head, hands cupping the elbows, or hands at the shins, or fingertips or palms on the floor. In time as you explore your individual edge, you can work on relaxing and releasing the hamstrings consciously. By focusing on the role of the core muscles once you have released the hamstrings, you will be able to find a deeper fold.

You can find a picture and more details on the pose here.

Yoga and Strength - Yoga For Triathletes

So when you think of yoga, you normally think of people with stick figure bodies who are able to take themselves into shapes that would injure a pretzel. Or you think it would be great to be more flexible and you think of yoga as a way to accomplish this. You may not see much difference in yoga and some of the stretches you've seen or read about. I know I didn't until I'd done yoga for a few weeks. I'll say it for the record. Yoga can be much more challenging than any other physical activity I've ever done.

One of the most notable differences between yoga and simple static stretches is the sequencing. Most good yoga classes follow a well thought out progression which moves the body deeper and deeper into similar but more challenging positions. In fact many of the common poses you may be familiar with such as Downward Dog, Crow Pose, or even a simple Forward Fold are actually "preparations" for deeper yoga poses. The same is also true of many static stretches people come to know and use regularly. These stretches are variations or simplified Yoga poses. Often what is going on in these variations is the pose is modified by taking several dimensional components out of it so that it becomes more accessible for someone new to using their bodies in an unfamiliar way. Static stretches (and most weight machines) often remove the coordinated muscle recruitment that relates to stability. The removal of these components, while making the stretch simple, has the undesirable side affect of doing less to actually strengthen the body. This is a very important distinction.

It is this distinction that has started me to look more closely into defining strength as it applies to what we wish to do with and get from our bodies. This is especially true for people who are requiring their bodies perform specific and highly specialized tasks. With this in mind, manifested strength for a powerlifter is going to appear very different from manifested strength for a dancer or the manifested strength for a runner. But what is similar is all of these athletes share the need for training movements that allow them greater access to integrated and coordinated muscle recruitment which will provide a more economical yet powerful response to performance related stimuli.

Recently I've spent some time watching a local core conditioning class. One of the things I noticed was how similar many of the exercises were to Yoga poses you would find in a movement based or Vinyasa class. However there was one subtle difference. When focusing only on the core as the class did there was very little, if any integration taking place involving the rest of the body as it related to the core. A simple example of this was the use of Plank Pose in the core class. While the class used several versions of Plank, they were all static which largely isolates the core from other muscles in the body by simply creating the tension necessary to remain in a flat plane. You will see Plank used a lot in Yoga classes as well. But with one difference. The pose is rarely held for long periods in static form. The Plank Pose is a transition into other dynamic movements. One such movement is to simply bring a knee up to the chest and hold it there. This movement engages the core in an active manner useful to runners and cyclists. In Yoga the movement teaches the recruitment necessary to move from Downward Dog to a Lunge (or Runner's Pose) by bringing the body forward into Plank, while hovering the knee, and "placing" the foot in between the hands. Experienced Yogis are able to perform this movement silently but if you find yourself in a Yoga class listen when this move is performed and you may be amazed at how much noise is created by people dropping their feet to the floor by simply moving into a lunge.

This all brings me to a quote one of my favorite yoga teachers here in Austin, Sanieh (she is pictured at the top of this post), said in her class once, "We aren't just strong, we are Yoga strong." Her classes reflect this deep understanding of the importance of integrating strength with balance, coordination, and awareness. What she meant with her observation was that while yogis may not possess bulging muscles, they do possess a body awareness and muscular intelligence that allows them to perform incredible acts like handstands, countless arm balances, or the ability to simply walk up a flight of stairs without being heard. It isn't that Yoga is the best or only way to achieve strength. But what Yoga does do is provide a framework for someone to discover hidden strength that can be found within the body by learning to look at an integrative, dynamic training program versus a static one.

Monday Is Just That

I didn't work out yesterday, instead deciding to honor my body and let it rest. This morning I wanted to get up and run then ride, then go to acupuncture, and end my day by teaching yoga. Well at least I got up. I was up by 9 AM. Then I went back to bed and didn't get up again until after noon sometime when the phone rang.

This meant I had to adjust my plans. So I canceled my acupuncture appointment and went for a run. I'm really liking running lately and I'm learning a great deal about my body and how it is affected by what I'm eating. For instance I'm noticing I recover much faster from the soreness that can accumulate from daily or hard runs if I have more leafy green vegetables in my diet. I don't know why that is but over the holidays I noticed a great deal of soreness from running that went away when I stopped eating holiday food and went back to my normal diet which includes lots of fresh juices and salads which are full of leafy green veggies.

Ever since I discovered this I've been more willing to run and push some limits knowing my body would recover from the physical demands of running more frequently and faster. Today started out fairly easy with about a 10 min warmup which then ramped up in intensity for two steady state 7 min sets with a moderate 5 min recovery in between. I had planned 3 of the 7 min sets but because of my late start, I had to cut it short. But I felt awesome for the whole run and finished with a lot left in the tank.

What I have been really working on is some of the same stuff I use in my Yoga practice and that is looking at the activity of running as a system of ideal muscle recruitment. So just like in Yoga poses when you come to your limits and you have to find a way to explore that edge and come to terms with it, I have been looking at my running in much the same way which is why I find I am not doing as much Long Slow Distance as I have in the past. Now I'm doing parts of my runs at easy to moderate pace and adding some speed where I can stay as relaxed and as efficient as possible. The whole time I am engaged in the act of finding spots of tension and relaxing while attempting to keep my speed as high as possible. This has added a whole new dimension to the process of my running and so far keeps each workout fresh. I plan on keeping this up for the next 6 weeks until I move into mid March when I want to start some track work.

The other workout for the days was a bike ride on the trainer. It wasn't supposed to be a trainer day, but given my "late" start, I had to just put some time on the bike when and where I could. This is one area of my training that I am going to have to spend a great deal of time addressing this year. So I think this week I will just work at getting time on the saddle in while I start to design a plan to address the black hole that has become my cycling ability. I think I'm going to start with addressing the obvious loss of leg strength. That should yield some gains in running speed as well, so I think the time will be worth it. As for the endurance side of the equation I'm going to have to make long bike rides a priority. I'm hoping once I get used to working during the day this will be less and less of an issue and I'll find both the time and energy to make it happen.

Yoga, Strength Training, Running.... (and other random stuff)

So this week I taught my third yoga class. All I can say is the difference between "doing" yoga and "teaching" yoga is not to be underestimated. The drawback to teacher training courses I would suspect is that while you will get teaching time in front of a group of students in one form or another, most of the "students" you will be teaching are already familiar with yoga, if not aspiring yoga teachers themselves. Within five minutes, I realized this was not going to be the case with the class I was teaching. I was really excited about this because it meant I was going to have to really understand the poses I was presenting and be able to communicate this understanding clearly to others who quite possibly had never been to a yoga class before. I think for this reason alone, I'm so glad to have taken this route for my teaching journey instead of the more traditional one which would have had me teach at a yoga studio. Plus correct me if I'm wrong, but there are plenty of yoga teachers for traditional yoga students with an ongoing practice. I want to be someone who serves as a fun and non-threatening introduction to yoga.

I also started my preparation for winter training after a few weeks of completely non-structured training. My runs have been really good, including a 17:00 3 mile run about a week ago. I was really encouraged by this run. It means that the weight loss and the core work and everything else I've been doing are paying off even without structured workouts. I'm getting faster by just by being good to myself. Gotta love it when that happens. Sweet. And I'm seeing the same thing on the bike. Though I haven't been on the tri bike outside in a while, the Moots is putting up some pretty fast times in my informal time trials.

One thing I'm noticing on the bike and in my running (I don't time swims at this time of year so, I'm clueless here) is I'm conscious of engaging and using my core more and more. Again I'm going to have to give the credit to both yoga and the handstand push ups I've become obsessed about doing recently. Yep, you read that correctly. I am obsessed with doing handstand pushups. Honestly I have no idea why, and aside from the core muscles necessary to pull it off for the balance and stability, it is probably a bit of a stretch to make the case for this type of work in the context of triathlon training. But what the hey, that's just the way I roll. Check this out. See if it doesn't get to you just a little.

Yoga For Triathletes - Pose Of The Week - Vajrasana

This week we are gonna show the cyclists out there some "Yoga Love" and focus on a pose that is primarily just for them. Though it isn't a bad pose for swimmers or runners either. For runners this is an excellent quad stretch, but is also a good compression for the achilles tendon providing and a good counter for the lower legs. For swimmers, the pose promotes ankle flexibilty. Personally I've found it good for developing a stronger kick.

But I've found Thunderbolt brings the most noticeable relief when I've come in from a long, hard bike ride. This pose is just so good for tired, overworked cycling legs. This is the reason Thunderbolt Pose, or Vajrasana, is one of my all time favorite poses ever. Mostly because it is easy, can be done almost anywhere, and provides instant verifiable relief for tired quads.

To get into the pose all you need to do is sit on your heels with the tops of your feet pressing into the floor. You want your knees to touch so that your legs are straight out in front of you lined up with your hips. In Yoga your hips are a key alignment point, and seated poses like Thunderbolt are no exception. You want your shoulders lined up with your hips to insure an upright posture. You can rest your hands on the tops of your thighs or on your knees. This can also help you position your torso properly. Once you have a sense of being centered, you can lean back a little and rest your hands on the floor slightly behind you to deepen the stretch. If you find your knees begin to lift off the ground position your torso more toward being upright. Your knees should always remain straight in front of you and in contact with the floor.

I also like to lean forward in this pose with my hands on the floor in front of me and gently rock my body from side to side on my shins. I find this also is very relaxing. I will point out, like most seated poses Vajrasana can be very intense for those who have sensitive knees and inflexible ankles. If you find this is an issue for you, you may want to try folding a blanket and placing it behind your knees so that you rest on that versus your heels. Here is a short video of the pose.

Yoga For Triathletes - Pose Of The Week - Ardha Chandrasana

This week I've been thinking about the moon. Not the one circling around the planet, but the one I struggle with in Yoga classes. Ardha Chandrasana, or Half Moon, is one of the most challenging, yet satisfying, poses I can think of. It requires a mixture of flexibility, balance, strength, and probably more than just a little courage to pull off properly. One of the reasons I'm fond of this pose is because it was one that I had a lot of early success with when I started taking Yoga classes. I think this is because as a cyclist and a runner, it is one of the few poses where leg strength and endurance is a plus.

Why do I feel this is a worthwhile pose for endurance athletes? Personally, I think this is a "must" pose for anyone who runs a lot. While Half Moon is an excellent pose for creating length and muscular integration of the whole body, it is also a great foot and lower leg strengthener. Because of the nature of balancing on a single foot, the muscles in the foot and around the ankles are constantly active getting an intense workout in just a few moments. From my own practice, I've come to believe this pose goes a long way toward building strong durable feet and lower legs which can help to prevent injuries such as Shin Splints, Plantar Fasciitis and Achilles Tendonosis.


So how do we come into Half Moon? There are actually several different ways to do this but to me the easiest way to get into the pose is to start from a lunge (right foot forward with the foot in between the hands). From the lunge you will come up onto your fingertips and straighten the right leg which causes the left leg to naturally lift from the floor. At this point the left leg is extending straight back behind you with the toes pointing down toward the floor.

Leaving your left hand in contact with the floor move your right hand to a point on the floor just beneath your right shoulder. Your gaze can remain on the floor. Take your left hand off the floor and place it on your left hip. Now without taking your eyes off the floor or your left hand off of your hip, rotate your left hip up toward the ceiling. This should also rotate your left toes to the point where they are now at a 90 degree angle with the right leg (they are pointing out away from the mid-line of your body).

Now you're are essentially in Half Moon. Once you have your balance, you can add more challenge to the pose by taking the left arm from the hip and extending it straight up toward the ceiling. Perhaps if you feel stable here, you can try to lift your gaze from the floor to the ceiling following the left arm. Finally, with your gaze back on the floor, you can bring your right hand from the floor to your ankle to incorporate additional balance into the pose. Remember to only rotate your head at the neck so that your left hip remains pointed up toward the ceiling allowing you to keep both your balance and the integrity of the pose. You will want to stay in the pose for at least 10 breaths. After that you can try this again on the other leg.

If you are finding balance is an issue one thing that is possible is to practice the pose with the extended (in this case left foot) against a wall for additional support.

You can find a picture of the pose and additional guidance here.

Yoga For Triathletes - Pose Of The Week - Kapotasana

This fall I'm going to start teaching Yoga. The class I'm envisioning will cater primarily to athletes -- triathletes, runners, and cyclists. Since it will be starting in the off season, it will probably focus on recovery and integration at first, then build into strength and balance as the season approaches. I don't have all of the details worked out just yet but I want to start thinking more about the poses I'll primarily incorporate into my classes.

I think all told I've been doing Yoga for about 5 years now. The first 3 were just to some DVD's I inherited. I remember the first time I did a 30 minute yoga session on one of those discs and thought "Man, this is pretty tough." But I kept at it because I liked the way I felt when I was done. In the beginning I didn't think I'd ever go to a yoga studio to take a class largely because I'm pretty highly self motivated when it comes to athletic stuff and don't really mind doing it by myself. Fortunately I have a pesky friend named K who kept at me to take a REAL yoga class. Because of K's persistence I finally gave REAL yoga a try. And I got hooked on that too. I now can honestly say for the most part they take it easy on you in those DVD's. For one thing, most of the classes in studios are an hour to an hour and a half long. For another, there are more challenging poses, more of them and the poses all seem to be held forever.

What I will point out is that Yoga is not necessarily the same as static stretching which typically involves isolating and lengthening muscles. Yoga poses are as a general rule more dynamic in nature calling for stretching, relaxing, balancing and coordinating muscle groups to achieve a desired result. Because of Yoga I've been able to find and access muscles I didn't realize I had. This has been most noticeable in my core. Enough said.

Anyway, the pose I'm studying today is called Eka Pada Kapotasana or One Legged Pigeon. Technically the pose I'll describe here is a more common variation of the pose that is more effective for the typical issues faced by endurance athletes. I've found this pose to be really helpful for accessing and releasing a notoriously tight muscle in many of the runners and cyclists I know, the piriformis. This asana is also beneficial because the piriformis crosses over the sciatic nerve. The lengthening in this area can create a great deal of relief if you are experiencing some issues with the area. Working with this asana can also be beneficial if you have lower back pain that is isolated to one side of the body just above the hips which can be sourced to a tight piriformis.

Starting in a low lunge with both hands on the floor the right foot is in between the hands, the thigh and the shin are at a right angle. Press into the floor and lift the right foot and rotate it over toward the left hand. Gently lower down on the bent right leg, using your arms for support. You may find as you lower onto the right leg you need to allow the foot to move in toward the left hip. The more open your hips are, the closer you can get your right leg to a 90 degree angle. Your left leg should shoot straight back from your left hip. The top of your left foot will be on the floor. In the this pose you don't want to just collapse. You want to keep isometric tension from both legs and radiate it up through your torso. At this point if it is available to your body you can begin to lower the torso forward over the front leg. For some simply bending forward slightly and keeping the support of the arms will be enough to engage and begin the release the piriformis. As you work with the pose you may eventually get to the point where the torso can come to rest over the front leg.

After you've found your body's point of expression in the pose, you will hold that position for about 60 seconds. To come out of the pose, you can simply plant the palms into the floor, lean forward, tuck under the toes and move back into a lunge over the right leg. You will then repeat the same sequence with the left leg.

You can find a picture and additional notes/instructions for entering the pose here.