Don't Let Sandy Rain on Your Training: A Core Circuit for Rainy Days

I can’t think of an athlete that doesn’t benefit from a strong core.  Let me take that one step further: I can’t think of a living human being that wouldn’t benefit from having a strong core.  Core strength affects everything from your posture to chronic back problems.  For cyclists, triathletes, and runners core strength is crucial to our training.  Many cyclists make the mistake of thinking that riding a bike is an endeavor reserved only for our lower extremities—not so. 

Ever had back, shoulder, or neck pains after a long ride or run?  It could be your core telling you you’ve got some work to do. 

So as I sit here stranded inside waiting out the behemoth that is the FrankenSandyApocolyptic Hurricane of 2012, I am not letting this day indoors ruin my training schedule.  My coach, Michael Gibbons of Walton Endurance, sent me a core workout for today that requires little or no equipment, and will provide a gut/hurricane-busting workout all without having to leave The Weather Channel’s coverage of all the carnage. 

I can't say for sure, but I don't think this is real footage of Sandy.

A perfect remedy for a state-of-emergency induced day indoors, this workout is an advanced one, but can be tempered to fit anyone’s ability level.  Doing any of these exercises without a stability ball makes them easier for beginners, so adjust as you see necessary. 

Inside Winter Training with Pro Triathlete Jack Braconnier

Despite popular belief, triathlon is not a summer sport. You may think it is, but it’s not. That is when the races are, what the events are designed for, and all of the equipment made for, but trust me when I say that triathlon is not a summer sport.  

Everyone trains hard during the summer, clocking the miles religiously, rain or shine; never missing a workout or taking a day off because they don’t feel like it. But if you really want to up your triathlon game, you need to start thinking of triathlon as more than just a summer-time sport. Winter is where the gains are to be had.

The last race of your season is not an end to the current campaign, it is the beginning of next year.  If you have found your results plateauing after a season’s worth of dedicated training, a solid off-season training program is how you step up your game. 

Now, when I write, I want to write from a point of expertise.  I don’t want to spit some half-true inkling that I may have overheard from a guy who knows a guy who’s brother knows a guy who knows something. If I am not an expert in the field I am writing about, then I seek out an expert to give me the down and dirty, so that you can trust what you read here.  Unfortunately for my own fitness and race results, I am not an expert in training or fitness. So I called in someone who is: Pro triathlete and Walton Endurance coach, Jack Braconnier.  

Why Honesty Has To Be The Only Policy

I didn’t want to do it—I really didn’t.  I’ve tried to avoid this for a while now, tried to keep my eye on the ball, as it were, writing about things I thought were more currently relevant than everyone’s favorite Texan.  It seems unavoidable though.  I had hoped that this issue would pass, like a minor sinus infection.  I wanted to just be able to move on, to get on with the sport I love, but alas I have to look this thing in the face and deal with it.  Here is my obligatory Lance post:

Yeah, we're not happy about it either Lance.  

I have never really been a “Lance guy,” if there is such a thing.  I have a propensity to root for the underdog, making the whole of the Discovery/US Postal gang a little too dominant for my liking.  I decided a long time ago that the circumstantial evidence surrounding the situation meant that it was likely that there was some kind of doping going on. 

Building Your Ideal Commuting Machine

I like building things.  More specifically, I like building bikes.  People ask me all the time, “If money were no object, and you were building your dream bike, what would you get?”  The truth of the matter is though, that I don’t think I have one end all dream bike.  If I had endless bike funds—which I don’t—I would build many bikes.  None of them would be $25,000 masterpieces.  I would build bikes that are very well suited to specific things.  I would have one of every category: road, mountain, singlespeed, city bike, retro cruiser, etc.  Each would serve its very own specific purpose, and I would choose every component to perform its job just so.  In this manner I would build the bicycle stable of my dreams. 

Somewhere near the top of that list would be a tailor made commuter bike.  Commuting is one of those areas where having just the right equipment for the situation can be the difference between arriving to work energized and ready to go, or prepared to separate head from body on the first unlucky co-worker who talks to you. 

Not all commutes are created equal, though.  So how do you decide which set-up is best for you?  Well luckily for you, you have someone like me to walk you through it. 

Kris-Kross Will Make You Dismount, Run, and Remount. Or You Can Just Jump.

Kids these days with their video games and camera phones, backwards hats and baggy pants.  They are even riding fat tire road bikes now!  Back in my day we sent telegrams and took Daguerreotypes, and all of our road bikes had 21c tires.  We certainly didn’t ride them off road, let alone with beer hand-ups, dollar grabs, and cowbells.  What is this cyclocross all the kids are doing these days?  And why do their brakes never work well?

Let’s face it.  Cyclocross is blowing up, nay, has already blown completely and is now expanding like the post big bang universe in which we ride.  People everywhere are adopting wide knobby tires and complaining about their brakes.  Racing drop-bar bikes on the grass and mud in the mucky mid-Atlantic autumn is a lesson in toughness.  Cyclocross is far from an American phenomenon, though.  Like almost everything cycling related, its roots lie in Europe. 

Wheels and Reels: Off the Rivet goes to the movies

It’s time to face facts.  I can’t ride my bike constantly.  It’s just not possible.  The human condition stipulates that I at least take some of my time to eat, sleep, and have at least some, albeit usually awkward, human interaction.  So be it.  You can’t win them all I guess. 

Whether weather, scheduling, or unabashed laziness, there are circumstances that foil our best attempts to permanently fix ourselves to our saddles.  Don’t sweat it though.  I have a way to get your cycling fix from the comfort of your couch, or loveseat, or whatever luxurious seating apparatus you have at your disposal.  Get your popcorn ready; we’re going to the movies (not literally, though, don’t ask me to go to the movies with you).  

I multitask with the best of them—just ask my wife (don’t ask her)—so even while not riding my bike I immerse myself in the wonderful world of cycling through movies—all while still getting my chores done.  I made a list.  I crafted this list not as an end all list of cycling movies, but simply my favorites. 

Winter is Coming or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Fall

I came to a realization this past week.  I dug out my warmers, after months of easy wardrobe decisions, of simply throwing bibs and a jersey.  It wasn’t easy.  As I sat, assembling my ensemble for my morning commute, I had to be honest with myself.  This season is in its last throws.  As Ned Stark aptly warned, brace yourselves. Winter is coming. 

You needn’t worry like our friends of Winterfell though.  Luckily, Philadelphia off seasons are manageable—if you have the right equipment.  Like commuting, cold season riding can be miserable or wonderful depending on your preparation.  This week I’ll give you five oft forgotten things to get you through this transition to cold weather.