Rec and Sports

The Kuota Kebel combines top performance and aesthetics that turns heads.

The Kuota Kebel combines top performance and aesthetics that turns heads. All of the names for Kuota’s bikes are derived from Italian meanings, so the Kebel refers to the phrase “que bella” which simply means “beautiful.” This will give you an idea behind how important beauty is to Kuota, and despite the link to beauty, this bike is a top performer.

With a light frame made small, its surface is made of 12K weave carbon fiber. This material gives the Kebel a stiffer model than other bikes, giving it more absorbing power to handle many road conditions and thus delivering smoother handling. This frame also improves the bike’s performance, giving it over to better climbing ability and swifter movement, more so than any other of Kuota’s models. This makes the Kebel a great racing bicycle that takes off quickly, weighs very little, and handles beautifully. It maneuvers expertly, but not by sacrificing any level of comfort. Magnus Backstedt, a professional biker from Sweden, swears by the Kebel, as does Formula One biker Nigel Mansell of Britain. In June of 2011, these to cyclists took part in the tough London to Paris race, patterned after the Tour de France. This endurance race attracted amateur racers from all over. Even though this bike is designed first for the road, Kuota found that by altering both the front end and the seat, more riders could use their Kebel model in triathlons, especially due to the way it handled hard climbs in comfort.

The Kebel’s tubing utilizes progressive dimensions that optimize its performance all along the frame of the bike, giving it the rigidity it is known for. However, this frame only weighs just over 1 kilo. The main tube is larger so that it keeps the bike stable and gives it the best handling ability. The 2011 Kebel includes internal cabling, so that the frame can retain its streamlined nature and allow riders to maximize its performance. The lower bracket, the BB30, keeps the weight light by allowing a 30 mm spindle made of aluminum, removing cups that would typically keep the bearings. It also provides additional space so that a bigger down tube can be fastened, along with a seat tube and the stays for the chain, so that the Kebel’s durability could be increased when the cyclist pedals hard.

The larger than normal frame tubes and specific geometry, along with the superior quality of the carbon finish and glossy highlights give the Kuota Kebel a fanciful appearance. Because of this look, women seem more likely to ride the Kebel, but there are versions for both genders. It is often asked whether the larger tubes deter from the performance and aerodynamics, however there is no argument as to the ride offered by the Kebel. It is very slick, and the maneuvering is so second nature that riders will often not remember that their bike can handle a road race quite nicely. Cornering is not a problem with the Kebel either, even for riders on a bike for the first time who very quickly come to enjoy the handling the bike.

There are very few negative aspects of the Kuota Kebel. Proving itself time and again in its performance, even beginners are able to gain experience with ease; however, when the rider is ready to open it up, the Kebel’s power will be there.

–
Mark Belmont is a review writer for cycles and other outdoor products. For more great information visit Kuota Bikes. Here you can find reviews and buying guides for cycles such as the Kuota Kult, Kuota Kebel and others.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com
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The Kuota Kebel: Beauty and Brawn

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The Kuota Kebel combines top performance and aesthetics that turns heads. All of the names for Kuota’s bikes are derived from Italian meanings, so the Kebel refers to the phrase “que bella” which simply means “beautiful.” This will give you an idea behind how important beauty is to Kuota, and despite the link to beauty, this bike is a top performer.

The Kuota Kebel combines top performance and aesthetics that turns heads. All of the names for Kuota’s bikes are derived from Italian meanings, so the Kebel refers to the phrase “que bella” which simply means “beautiful.” This will give you an idea behind how important beauty is to Kuota, and despite the link to beauty, this bike is a top performer.

With a light frame made small, its surface is made of 12K weave carbon fiber. This material gives the Kebel a stiffer model than other bikes, giving it more absorbing power to handle many road conditions and thus delivering smoother handling. This frame also improves the bike’s performance, giving it over to better climbing ability and swifter movement, more so than any other of Kuota’s models. This makes the Kebel a great racing bicycle that takes off quickly, weighs very little, and handles beautifully. It maneuvers expertly, but not by sacrificing any level of comfort. Magnus Backstedt, a professional biker from Sweden, swears by the Kebel, as does Formula One biker Nigel Mansell of Britain. In June of 2011, these to cyclists took part in the tough London to Paris race, patterned after the Tour de France. This endurance race attracted amateur racers from all over. Even though this bike is designed first for the road, Kuota found that by altering both the front end and the seat, more riders could use their Kebel model in triathlons, especially due to the way it handled hard climbs in comfort.

The Kebel’s tubing utilizes progressive dimensions that optimize its performance all along the frame of the bike, giving it the rigidity it is known for. However, this frame only weighs just over 1 kilo. The main tube is larger so that it keeps the bike stable and gives it the best handling ability. The 2011 Kebel includes internal cabling, so that the frame can retain its streamlined nature and allow riders to maximize its performance. The lower bracket, the BB30, keeps the weight light by allowing a 30 mm spindle made of aluminum, removing cups that would typically keep the bearings. It also provides additional space so that a bigger down tube can be fastened, along with a seat tube and the stays for the chain, so that the Kebel’s durability could be increased when the cyclist pedals hard.

The larger than normal frame tubes and specific geometry, along with the superior quality of the carbon finish and glossy highlights give the Kuota Kebel a fanciful appearance. Because of this look, women seem more likely to ride the Kebel, but there are versions for both genders. It is often asked whether the larger tubes deter from the performance and aerodynamics, however there is no argument as to the ride offered by the Kebel. It is very slick, and the maneuvering is so second nature that riders will often not remember that their bike can handle a road race quite nicely. Cornering is not a problem with the Kebel either, even for riders on a bike for the first time who very quickly come to enjoy the handling the bike.

There are very few negative aspects of the Kuota Kebel. Proving itself time and again in its performance, even beginners are able to gain experience with ease; however, when the rider is ready to open it up, the Kebel’s power will be there.

–
Mark Belmont is a review writer for cycles and other outdoor products. For more great information visit Kuota Bikes. Here you can find reviews and buying guides for cycles such as the Kuota Kult, Kuota Kebel and others.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com
Go here to read the rest:
The Kuota Kebel: Beauty and Brawn

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There is plenty of learning from your errors involved if you are attempting the first triathlon. Nowadays there’s lots of advice floating around out there and it can get baffling at times. Listed below are the most notable 3 errors you need to really try and stay away from. If you steer clear of these, you will have a much better chance at reaching your Triathlon goals.

Poor Diet

It’s almost sad to see the effort some people put into their Triathlon training only to stall their strength and endurance growth with an improper diet.

Avoid unhealthy foods; follow a proper balance of carbs, protein and fat. Improve your diet with vitamins but don’t overdo it and make sure you are only consuming genuine supplements from reputable companies.

Overtraining

Almost always, the very first time you will go into the race over trained. The toughest thing to learn about your exercising is when to relax. It’s very hard to persuade some athletes that relaxation is a vital element of their Triathlon preparing. Some will insist upon exercising regardless of how tired they are or how sore they are. They still pound out the mileage for fear they’ll lose the conditioning they worked so hard to achieve.

Below are a few tips: If you start a workout, and just know it’s going to be a struggle and you just have no energy, stop the work out and go home. You obviously need more rest. When it gets really bad, take a complete week end and don’t do just about anything connected with Triathlon training. Go away for a few days. You won’t lose a thing and will resume your training rested and refreshed.

Final Week Preparation

It’s very easy to get caught up in the hype on Triathlon. Too much effort is spent in restaurants consuming food you don’t normally eat.

Far too many athletes will do the swim course several times or hammer out long bike rides or pound through ten mile runs in the blazing heat. None of this helps you. You must stay relaxed and get lots of rest that final week. Before you arrive at the venue, make sure you have a plan set out for the entire week, right up to race morning.

traithlon checklist is a site dedicated to triathlon training and preparation

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Almost every time you thumb through a triathlon magazine or wander into the health food section of your local grocery store, there are laods of new bottles that threaten you with poor performance unless you take a handful of them now.

Some of these nutritional supplements work, and some don’t. Ultimately, it’s a good bet that if you’re a triathlete, you probably do have pills that you pop. As a sports nutritionist, I get many questions about which supplements to take when, so here’s a brief primer on nutrition supplement timing to help you along.

And by the way, don’t worry: your stomach won’t explode, you won’t grow a third arm, and your wattage on the bike won’t go significantly down if you don’t follow these rules. But you might just make some expensive pee as you get less absorption from the supplements that you take.

Nutrition Supplement Timing: and Multi-Vitamins

Let’s start with one of the most common supplements among Most people. Since most multi-vitimin contain fat soluble vitamins, they should be consumed with food that contains fat. But don’t drive to buy a Wooper you can munch on with your multi instead, some whole fat yogurt, nut butter, avocados, olives or fish will do or just about any meal that has some healthy fat.

But, vitamin B12, is actually best absorbed on an empty stomach – if you are taking an energy powder or energy drink, which usually contain high doses of B12, you’ll want to use it in the mid-morning or afternoon on an empty stomach, or during training session or race.

Nutrition Supplement Timing: Fish Oils

Fish oil is shown to be beneficial for a wide range of reasons, but for the same reasons that the fats in a multi-vitamin absorb best when you eat them at a meal, this is true for fish oil too. Just be careful since fiber can “envelope” fat and decrease absorption, don’t eat your fish oil with a huge salad or some other high fiber supplement.

Iron

Iron absorbs best on an empty stomach, and that absorption can be inhibited by Vitamin E and Calcium. If you’re using iron, take at some time of day other than your multi-vitamin and fish oil, that you consume with a meal. Don’t worry about the trace amounts of iron in a multi-vitamin not being absorbed if you’re anemic or low iron there’s barely enough in there to do you much good anyways.

Nutrition Supplement Timing: Amino Acids

The main idea with using an amino acids supplement is that they’re going to help to prevent your body’s propensity to dip into it’s own muscle and protein stores for energy during a workout. Lots of athletes make the error of using an amino acid capsule for post-workout recovery, since we associate it with “post-workout protein”. For the best benefit, you should be popping these before you train or race.

Nutrition Supplement Timing: Electrolytes & Minerals

Absorption of minerals like calcium and magnesium is enhanced by taking them with meals, so something like your pre-workout meal is an ideal time for mineral intake. Both calcium and magnesium can also assist with sleep and muscle relaxation, so prior to bed or with dinner, additional magnesium supplementation can also be beneficial.

Nutrition Supplement Timing: High-Fiber Supplements

If you use some kind of “green” supplements, which can contain ingredients like psyllium husk, powdered broccoli, spirulina, kelp and inulin, use caution that high fiber in these supplements can slow gastric emptying, and may also cause gas, bloating or some seriously loose bowel movements. For this reason, using it prior to a workout or race may mean you need to be eating your pre-workout meal 1-2 hours earlier than usual, or tapering down consumption before a big workout or race.

Nutrition Supplement Timing: The Proteolytic Enzymes

Proteolytic enzymes such as bromelain, papain, trypsin and chymotrypsin are found in many recovery capsules and pills (just turn your bottle around and check the label if it’s a “recovery” supplement, one of these is most likely there). For recovery and anti-inflammation, these will work best on an empty stomach. If you eat them with a meal, they can help digest food, but will not significantly enhance muscle recovery.

Nutrition Supplement Timing: Probiotics

Probiotics are crucial for a healthy digestive system and should ideally be taken on an empty stomach, such as early in the morning, or before you go to bed at night.

Nutrition Supplement Timing: Antioxidants

Several studies have suggested that antioxidant intake prior to exercise may actually decrease insulin sensitivity and reduce activation of the body’s natural defense mechanism against oxidative damage. By shutting down the body’s need to for natural antioxidant activity that helps adapt to stress and respond to exercise, antioxidant consumption may actually blunt the workout benefit. So even though you’re technically supposed to take them before a workout, I personally recommend just using them here and there when you’re exposed to high amounts of stress, pollutants, extremely heavy exercise, or other environmentally difficult conditions, and not as a daily “pre-exercise” boost.

So hopefully that gives you a better idea of when to take what! There are certainly many cases that need to be approached on an individualized basis. Which is what we aim to help people with at the Rock Star Triathlete academy

For more of the latest information on Nutrition Supplement Timing go to Rock Star Triathlete and sign up for your free tips today

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Beginning to train for a triathlon can be as hard as it sounds. This could actually mean that there should be changes in your usual everyday routine and adding some time on your bike, in the water, and on the track. But besides those, there are other things you should consider. The possible risks that might happen before, during, and after your training are the what you should also think about.

Injuries do exist but can be prevented and this is what you need to keep in mind. And the most common are caused by over-training, wrong set of gears, and improper practices. Here are 5 ways to prevent injuries from taking away your triathlon dream:

Stretching. Before your training begins, some stretching should be done first. Doing this will release the tension of your tightened tendon and muscles. Those people that do not stretch before and after stretching are more prone to injuries and this findings are based on some studies that were conducted. There are those who argue about the necessity of stretching but leading you from disregarding this argument is taking the outmost precaution.

b) Training duration. Going from 0 to 5k in an instant is simply not possible. What you need to do is take it gradually. Injuries are often caused by over-training. Taking it one step at a time is a must and avoid taking giant leaps towards your goal. Keep your training plan realistic. In this way, give your body the time to adapt to the training.

c) Rest. Rest is what your body needs after training for several hours in one day. Again, a good rest would give your body the time to adapt to the training. Over stressing your muscles and tendons can result to injuries and this would prevent that from happening.

Footwear. There is a particular shoe for running and cycling. And this should be taken seriously. It’s important for you to have the proper footwear for your run and for your bike since the most punished part of your body during training and the actual triathlon itself are your feet. For those who wear old shoes, shoes with inadequate soles, and improper shoe fitting, it’s important to remember that friction blister is common.

e) Choosing your gear. Keeping your ankle protected with braces would b a good idea if you have the history of ankle injury. A common effect of overtraining is tendonitis and you can avoid this if you wear proper ankle braces. A nice swimwear would give you better movement on water. Because you also have your swimwear on during the entire race, it is important to have a good and well-fitted one.

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It’s early spring and I’m already feeling the need to do something other than the 3 sports that make up triathlon.

About once a week, I head out for a workout and just don’t really feel like staring at the bottom of a pool, spending hours in a bike saddle, or pounding the pavement. Especially when I walk by all the guys playing noon basketball on the way to the pool.

How about you? Are you feeling like a hamster on a wheel on some days? Maybe stuck in a rut? Yearning after a sport that involves either A) a ball or B) the ability to get involved in shoving matches?

Don’t feel bad training in a different sport is still training. You won’t be throwing away your time if you decide to pick up some cross training once or twice a week. Sports different from swimming, cycling and running allow your body to move in new directions and experience different types fitness training.

Cross training can also force you to be social!

Cross Training Sport #1 – Soccer:

Soccer involves quick, explosive efforts, but each effort is followed by easier running, rather than complete rest. As a result, muscular endurance and the ability to buffer lactic acid can be vastly improved by playing soccer. Although a similar muscular endurance effect can be achieved with cross country or skate skiing, soccer has the advantage of being biomechanically identical to a specific triathlon event running. As a result, the muscular endurance can be enhanced with higher leg turnover and greater stride length.

Also, triathletes are often weak in side-to-side motion, causing in a higher risk of injury to overtrained front-to-back motion muscles. The changes of direction and lateral movement that soccer demands, can address this weakness.

Compared to triathlon, you’ll find some sports to be relatively dirt cheap, and soccer is a perfect example, simply requiring a stable pair of shoes (cleats are optional), and possibly a ball. Check with your local sports and rec department for a soccer league, and if you have difficulty finding a soccer game to join, try an ultimate Frisbee league instead which will give you a similar cross training effect.

Cross Training Sport 2) – Basketball:

Basketball improves muscular endurance with explosive efforts followed by active recovery by easier running, and can also improve stride turnover and length. The upper body jostling and pushing, shooting and passing in basketball are good upper body training, while the frequent jumping and landing are perfect lower body plyometrics, which have been shown to improve running economy in distance runners.

Like soccer, basketball requires minimal equipment: shoes and a ball. You’ll be able to find pick-up games on the schedule of your local health club or gym. If you find yourself on a busy court, the weakness of basketball for exercise-obsessed triathletes is the requirement to stand around between games as you wait your turn to play. But by jumping rope, shooting or jogging and dribbling between games, you can turn an hour of basketball into pure fitness.

Check our local gym, especially during lunch time, to get into a cross training session of basketball.

Cross Training Sport #3 – Tennis:

As an ex-collegiate tennis player, I can say that the only sport during which I have ever puked due to an extreme effort was tennis. With frequent start-stop and lateral motions, torso, and upper body and lower body power requirements, and long time spent “on your feet”, a rigorous game of tennis can be highly effective cardiovascular and muscular training.

Tennis offers many of the same training effects soccer and basketball, but also requires a high degree of torso and shoulder rotation, stability and power, resulting in good cross-over for the core strength and stability required for distance running and swimming.

A tennis skirt or white polo is entirely optional, and for tennis, you simply need access to a public court, a tennis racquet and a can of balls and of course, somebody to play tennis with. Check your local sports and rec department, or the USA Tennis website, to find a partner.

Cross Training Sport 4 – Golf:

I gotta be kidding, right?

Surely the sport of golf is far too sedentary relative to triathlon for any possible cross training effect. But not only does the golf swing provide similar torso and core rotational power stimulation as tennis, but also similar enhanced shoulder and upper body power. In addition, the long walking required during 18 holes of non-cart golf is perfect for an injured triathlete who has been forced into low-impact aerobic cardio due to knee or foot injuries, and for that injured athlete, golf can be a welcome break from simply hiking, going on a long walk, or staring at a TV on a treadmill.

Don’t worry, there is no need to join an expensive country club – most metropolitan areas have a range of public courses that offer hitting lessons, affordable golf, and even club rentals.

There are certainly other forms of cross training other than the 4 sports mentioned here. Volleyball, water polo, Frisbee golf, badminton, cricket, rugby, and other sports that I’ve probably never heard of. As long as you’re swimming, cycling and running consistently, playing other sports occasionally will not simply suck away time that you could be getting better at triathlon, but will enhance your fitness and give you a mentally refreshing way to exercise.

Looking for more triathlon training information? Then go to Rock Star Triathlete and sign up for your free videos and other tips today

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There is a time in the life of a busy multi-sport athlete (and especially the longer, time-constrained, endurance athlete) when you must eat, it must be a complete meal, and it must be quick.

Your body can only support high volume training, proper performance, and immune system strength for a limited period of time if all your quick meals consist of microwaved meals in a box, gas station trail mix, and even “all-organic” food bars. You’ll eventually crash. So you have to make a habit of regularly eating fast healthy meals and wholesome foods without heavy amounts of preservatives, salts, sweeteners, and synthetic chemicals, and you have to figure out how to do it without huge sacrifices of time and preparation.

On that note, I’m going to give you my top ten meals that I rely on when I need good, nutritious food fast. That is, when I’ve finished a long ride and have to be at work in 10 minutes, when I’ve gotten home from the gym and need to be asleep within an hour, or when I have just a few moments to make a dish to fuel a workout.

Each meal includes a complete blend of protein and carbs for recovery and performance needs, and while none of these quick healthy meals are as tasty as filet mignon, lobster ravioli, or a loaded chopped vegetable salad, they will fulfill the physiological needs of the busy multi-sport athlete. And since many endurance athletes must consume in excess of 5000 calories per day, here is the added bonus: these are relatively cheap eats with ingredients that are budget-friendly.

Here are the top 10 meals that I personally make and have ingrained as my complete fall-back nutritional options. Some of them don’t even have a name, so I had to make up a title on the fly while writing this article. And if you want to ask me with questions about these meals, see the snippet at the end of this article, along with a bonus Paleo meal.

10. Mediterranean Surprise: use some whole wheat noodles, quinoa noodles, orzo style pasta, rice or really, whatever other whole grain you want. I grab whatever type of pasta is in the pantry for this one. Prepare the pasta. When it is finished, stir in a little handful of feta cheese, a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, a handful of raisins, a handful of almonds, and parsley/salt/pepper to taste. As a tasty bonus, you can throw some capers and garlic in. You can make a bunch of this and eat it all week, and if you’re making it right after a workout, you can take your shower while the pasta cooks.

9. Turkey/Avocado Grilled Sandwich. Quickly, fire up a pan drizzled with olive oil. Place the bread on the pan and put the turkey on the bread. While all that grills to a nice toasty texture, slice one avocado and have it ready to slap on the sandwich and pack away or eat immediately. I also like to include sliced tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and cucumbers on this sandwich.

8. Soup. I call it soup. My wife calls it heated up vegetables with water on top. Whatever. Take a handful of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and spinach into a pot. For protein, also included tofu cubes (easy to find at grocery store produce section). Add 1/2 cup water to the vegetables and tofu, and then heat for 8-10 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, a bit of chicken bullion if you desire, then eat with a spoon straight out of the pot. Or pour it in a bowl if you have loads of time.

7. Dinner Burrito. Just because everyone else calls it a breakfast burrito I will deem this a dinner burrito. Scramble 2 eggs with 2 tablespoons yogurt or cottage cheese, 1 handful spinach and 1 chopped tomato. Salt and pepper to taste, and then place onto a whole wheat tortilla. Sprinkle with jack cheese and devour.

6. Zucchini Pancakes. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 chopped zucchini, a handful of sweet onions, a handful of whole wheat pancake mix, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1 handful parmesan cheese. Pour this mixture onto a grill and make pancakes with it (duh, pour it in a pan and grill 4-5 minutes/side). Season with ketchup. Organic ketchup.

5. Tapas. Lovely little appetizers all put together make a complete meal. I slice 1 tomato and drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, and parsley. I slice one pear or apple and sprinkle with gorgonzola cheese (or any cheese, really). I cover one handful of walnuts with honey and cinnamon. I eat it all, nicely arranged on a plate, or napkin.

4. Big Chef Salad. While 1-2 eggs are boiling, mix onto a bowl or plate two handfuls mixed greens, 2 sliced vegetables of choice, 1 fist full of raisins, 1 handful walnuts, and a drizzling of olive oil and vinaigrette. Slice the eggs up and place it on top, then sea salt and pepper to taste. If you need more carbs, break up some whole grain crackers for croutons.

3. Mexican Delight. Much like the Mediterranean Surprise, but a delight is somewhat different than a surprise right? Use quick 10 minute brown rice. Just as it is finishing add black beans, salt, pepper, and any other creative items from the fridge such as olives or salsa. If I’m not showering while the rice is cooking, I throw 1 chicken breast into a pan, and sprinkle with curry or turmeric (which then makes it an Indian Delight) and add that as well. Taste Good?

2. Power Oatmeal. My favorite, bar none. To one bowl of raw oats, I put in 1 tablespoon of almond butter, 1 tablespoon coconut milk, 1 sliced banana, 1 egg and 1 cinnamon to taste. Also 1-2 scoops whey protein powder if it’s handy. Pour boiling water on top and microwave on high for 60 seconds, or just stir everything together on the stovetop. Warning: this is super calorically dense and should be consumed 2 hours prior to or immediately after a workout.

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. My signature dessert. Use a small half bowl of plain, coconut milk. Add 1 tablespoon peanut or almond butter and 1 tablespoon dark chocolate cocoa mix. Close your eyes and imagine you just took it out of that little orange wrapper. For added calories, add 1-2 scoops of protein powder (will make it a very “mousey” texture).

Disclaimer: your spouse and kids may not enjoy any of these meals.

BONUS PALEO MEAL: If you’re a caveman style Paleo eater, then try this quick Paleo meal: grab any meat you can get your hands on, like a chicken breast, slab of grass-fed beef, or fillet o’ fish, throw it onto a bed on spinach, and drench the whole mixture in olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, salt, pepper, and if desired, a bunch of chopped sweet potatoes or yams that you let cook while you were working out.

Seeking more nutrition and meal ideas for triathletes? Then go to the Rock Star Triathlete Academy and sign up for your free tips right now!

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Most triathletes take supplements. With increased energy and nutrient requirements, a desire to perform better, and a greater degree of food and exercise based inflammation, we really can get a bit of an advantage by taking supplements (legally, of course).

However, many athletes indiscriminately grab their “morning handful” of capsules, swallow them, and “check off” their nutrition supplements for the day. The fact is, this supplement shot-gunning approach can result in sub-par absorption and utilization of the nutrients, vitamins, minerals or other desirable compound in the nutrition supplement.

So here are the top 6 nutrition supplement mistakes, and how you can avoid them:

Nutrition Supplement Mistake 1: Eating Fiber With Your Fish Oil

Most people take their fish oil supplement in the morning, along with breakfast. The issue is that most breakfast foods are high fiber. Soluble fibers such as pectin, guar gum, and oat bran, and also the insoluble fiber lignin (found in plant cells) may affect fat absorption by “wrapping” fatty acids within the digestive tract and decrease their absorption. Fatty acids and cholesterol that are bound to fiber are less absorbed – and only free fatty acids allow for fat to be transported through the walls of the small intestine. Fiber-bound fatty acids will mostly pass into the large intestine.

In other words, by taking your fish oil capsules with a high-fiber morning cereal, you’re basically making expensive fish oil number two’s. So what should you do? Take your fish oil with an afternoon, fat-predomiant snack, such as a handful of nuts, almond butter on bread, or avocado with crackers.

Nutrition Supplement Mistake #2: Taking large Doses of Antioxidants Regularly

This is confusing to many, especially if you’ve been indoctrinated with the idea that all antioxidants are good, but recent research suggests that antioxidant nutrition supplements, such as high dose Vitamin C, could actually impair recovery, increase inflammation, decrease insulin sensitivity, and lead to a decreased fitness response from exercise. The basic idea is behind this is that antioxidants protect the body from the damage produced by free radicals, but if you’re always taking high dose antioxidants, your body never learns to generate it’s own antioxidant activity, and thus does not not grow strong free radical buffering capacity on it’s own.

While this is a fairly new topic in sports nutrition, and research is scant, my recommendation is to save any high dose antioxidant supplements for your harder training days (such as long training weekends) when your body probably needs a little extra help. But on recovery days and easy or short training days, hold back on the antioxidants. You probably don’t need them and they may be doing you more harm than good.

Nutrition Supplement Mistake #3: Eating Amino Acids When You’re Trying To Control Appetite

Branched Chain Amino Acids, also known as “BCAA’s”, are in many different during-exercise and post-exercise nutrition supplements. But many cancer patients who need to gain weight, BCAA’s are actually used to stimulate appetite and help people to eat more. Iif you’re trying to lose weight or control appetite, eating a handful of BCAA’s in the evening before dinner may not be such a good idea. This is only a worry for a few athletes who are focusing on appetite control and weight loss, but is certainly good to know if you regularly experience food cravings.

Nutrition Supplement Mistake #4: Taking Proteolytic Enzymes on a Full Stomach

Protelytic enzymes, like BCAA’s, are found quite regularly in recovery-based nutrition supplements. Check the nutrition label of your recovery nutrition supplement for words like “papain”, “bromelain”, “trypsin” and “chymotrypsin” – these are all proteolytic enzymes. The primary benefit of these enzymes is to enhance recovery by decreasing inflammation. But the inflammation-reducing benefit of proteolytic enzymes is significantly decreased when the enzymes are taken on a full stomach or with a meal. Therefore, popping your post-exercise proteolytic enzymes with your post-exercise meal is not the best idea.

Instead, take any supplements containing proteolytic enzymes on an empty stomach, such as in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon, or even right before you go to bed at night. If you tend to wait for 1-2 hours post-exercise to eat a meal, this would also be a good time to take proteolytic enzyme nutrition supplements.

Nutrition Supplement Mistake #5: Not Timing Fat Burning Supplements Properly

The idea behind “fat burning” supplements is that they contain elements such as insulin and blood sugar stabilizing components such as chromium, vanadium or even cinnamon. From a strategic standpoint, these compounds should be absorbed and active in your body prior to eating a meal. Swallowing a fat-burning supplement with breakfast, directly before breakfast, or directly after a meal is going to do nothing for you. The best time to take a fat-burning supplement is 30-60 minutes before consuming your 2-3 main meals of the day. I do not recommend high caffeine or ephedra based fat burning supplements, as they can be taxing on your adrenal glands and central nervous system.

Nutrition Supplement Mistake #6: Letting Fish Oil or Flax Oil Get Warm

The fragile oils in fish oil, flax seed oil, or just about any other seed or vegetable based oil becomes warm or heated, the oil can become oxidized, and develop free radicals that produce cellular damage to your body. A warm fish oil does you more harm than good. So if you drive in your car with fish oil or flax oil sitting in a gym bag on the back seat, this is a very bad idea. Traveling to a race with fat-based nutrition supplements in your backpack or race bag, when hot, It would be better not take these nutrition supplements at all if that will be the case.

Keep fish oil or flax oil type supplements in your refrigerator or freezer, and keep them as cool as possible when traveling. If they get warm, throw them out. They’re not going to do you any good at that point.

If you want more of the latest triathlon nutrition info out there then go to Rock Star Triathlete and get your free tips today

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There are creative variations on the traditional triathlon distances (such as some races that make the swim longer to appease the swimmers among us, or the races that make the bike longer to make us feel like we’re getting deserved mileage from our pimped out time trial bike, or the races that make the run longer to simply be masochistic and cruel), there are generally 4 triathlon distances: Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman and Ironman. To assist you with your triathlon race season preparation, here’s a quick peak at the up sides and down sides of each triathlon distance.

The Sprint distance

Pros Imagine a fat, sedentary individual sitting on the couch and licking Dorito residue off their fingers. Technically, it is possible for that person to be standing on the starting line of a Sprint triathlon just 12-16 weeks later. This is because since sprint triathlon distances are short, they have a low barrier to entry and don’t require extensive physical preparation. You only need to be able to swim 400-600 meters (8-12 laps in a pool), cycle 10-15 miles, and run or walk 2-4 miles, and this requires continuously exercising for about 50 minutes to 2 hours. This may be tough for some, but it is possible for most. Furthermore, if you’re in shape or experienced in triathlon, and you want to go faster in a Sprint triathlon, it will take less training than the longer distances, so it’s pretty rare for Sprint triathlon distance to be a family-wrecker.

Cons Sprint triathlons are not big name race. You may become annoyed when someone asks you how your “Mini-Triathlon” went. If you do decide to go fast or shoot for a podium spot, a sprint triathlon is going to hurt, a ton. You’ll need to be at a red hot high-intensity effort near maximum heart rate for about 2-3 times as long as a 5K run. That’s a zone that’s very challenging for most to get into, but that’s the price you have to pay if you want to win or place in a Sprint triathlon distance. Another possible con for many is that you simply don’t have much time to eat food during a Sprint triathlon, so those who compete in order to have access to a loads of gels and cookies will be disappointed.

Olympic:

Pros – As the name implies, the Olympic distance is the same triathlon distance covered in the Olympics (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run), so when someone asks you if you did a “Mini-Triathlon”, you can respond by saying, “No, I did exactly what they do in the Olympics”. This will probably make you feel awesome inside, and at the same time, you still don’t have to train as much as the Half-Ironman and Ironman triathletes, so your spouse, kids, family and friends will not find you a distant stranger. If you’re a triathlon junkie, you can do a ton of Olympic distances races in a year, and not have a high risk of overtraining or injury, since they’re relatively short and you’ll recover quickly. Plus, you actually get to eat a little bit. Bon appetit.

Cons At the same time, the intensity of your Olympic triathlon distance training will be far greater than the Half-Ironman and Ironman triathlon. So, similar to Sprint triathlon, you need to be willing to go into the pain zone way more often. If you’re not fit, it’s still possible to get roped into an Olympic distance triathlon by your buddies, who will probably say something like, “C’mon, it’s just 25% of an Ironman.” When you reach the 5K point of the run, however, you will be planning your sweet revenge on these peers. And if you do want to get on the podium for an Olympic distance race, be ready to execute flawlessly, since the tiniest mistakes can cost you precious seconds that add up very quickly for this triathlon distance.

Half-Ironman

Pros Congratulations, you know have bragging rights for having completed a triathlon distance that contains the word “Ironman”, without actually having to give up your whole day. As a matter of fact, in many Half-Ironman events, you can be done by noon, feel very good about yourself, and still have the rest of the day to make excuses not to mow the lawn (“C’mon, I just did an Ironman event!”) or to go drink lots of cock tails. If you don’t like the red-hot intensity of Sprint and Olympic distance training and racing, but don’t have the time to devote to Ironman, then this triathlon distance is a nice fit. Plus, you can travel long distances to race a Half-Ironman without the same type of race day stress as you experience in Ironman. Finally, if you make a mistake during a Half-Ironman race, such as having to go to bathroom halfway through the half-marathon, you’ll still have lots of time to make up for those lost seconds.

Cons With all the training and effort you you’ll put in for a Half-Ironman triathlon distance, you’ll sometimes find yourself questioning, “Why didn’t I just sign up for an Ironman?”. After all, you’re typically just as sore the next day after a Half-Ironman as an Ironman, and you still have to do more logistical race planning when it comes to hydration, electrolytes or food. Also, the “Half” part of “Half-Ironman” doesn’t lend itself quite as well to bragging rights (“You only did half of it? ), but you’ll sound desperate and boring trying to explain what a 70.3 is (“Well, a full Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run, which is 140.6 miles, but what I’ve done…dude, wake up.”)

The Ironman Distance:

Pros It’s Ironman, The mother load of all triathlons! This event has been elevated to tattoo-worthiness status. Thats right. You get to swim 2.4 miles, ride 112 miles, run a marathon, and then get a tattoo and your parents will still be proud of you. Your boss might be too. Unless you’re a musician, Harley fanatic or artist, in what other social situation are tattoos acceptable? Even if you skip out on the tattoo, you’ll have bragging rights for life, you’ll feel very good about yourself, and you will get to eat over 4000 calories a day and stay skinny.

Cons Ironman is a logistical nightmare. Not only do you need to squeeze 12-25 training hours into any given week, but you also need to figure out how to eat and drink while moving long distances without your gut distending like a swollen balloon or your fragile bodily sphincters crying out in distress. You will become best friends with your local sports medicine doctor and physical therapist, and this is not a good thing. During the actual race, you will go through periods that have been compared to childbirth, a death-march, and a “very dark place”. When you finish, you may experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. You may forget what your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife looks like, and you romantic times with them may involve nothing more than you lying like a sack of potatoes on the couch while they lovingly stroke their hands through your sweat-caked hair. You may have to appease them by allowing them to help you design your tattoo.

While the information above will give you a good baseline for making your triathlon distance decision, I can’t vouch for your safety or sanity if you choose to think outside box of the triathlon distances described in this article, and decide to go do a race like the American Triple T, which packs a Sprint, 2 Olympics, and a Half-Ironman triathlon all into one weekend, or a back-to-back Ironman triathlon like Ultraman. Be sure to drop me a line if you do go tackle a new triathlon distance I’d love to hear your story.

Looking for more informations ontriathlon distances ? Then go to the Rock Star Triathlete Academy and get your free tips now!

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Triathlon’s popularity has skyrocketed in recent years. From individual sport athletes looking for a brand-new challenge, to non-athletes interested in utilizing the activity as a way for life-style change, just about every race sees first timers standing up at the starting line next to experts with several years of tri experience.

I would love to share my experience by telling you what NOT to do!

1. It’s fitness not your gear

3 sports, every one with its very own complement of the latest expensive equipment. Sparkly mags full of ads trying to sell you the hottest carbon aero widget or product. For whatever reason, triathlon features a culture of purchasing speed as opposed to learning how to prepare and race more correctly. In the end, it’s about the engine (YOU), not the expensive parts hanging from your bike. Invest in yourself, your own triathlon education along with your fitness early on; Save the $$$ products for later.

2. Thinking the Swim is an Exercise in Fitness

Ask me why that twelve year old child in the outside lane swimming laps around you? Mainly because she’s been swimming 1-2 hrs per day, 5-6 days per week since she was 7. She’s got the technique and you don’t.

For you, swimming is not a fitness exercise, it’s an important ability, like learning to play a guitar. Rather than just banging on the instrument for an hour a day, with no idea what you’re doing, pay for quality swim technique instruction to maximize your time in the pool.

3: Waiting to Get Faster on the Bike

In my experience the bike is a very low risk activity: making the assumption that your bike fits you, and you also don’t wreck, you’re just not going to harm yourself by riding too hard. You don’t have to wait to get started on getting much quicker on the bike.

In order to ride faster you need to train faster and the time for you to begin is as soon as you jump on that bike. Work as hard that you can for as long as you can, next recover and do it again.

4: Bringing a Running Plan to a Triathlon

It’s quite typical for newer triathletes, particularly those coming from a running plan, to insert a run-only training plan inside their weekly triathlon training routine. If not that, then some make an effort to keep the running routine they’ve done for several years, but now stacking on cycling and swimming.

This approach is a quick way to over train and risk injury. You’re training for a triathlon, not a 5k, 10k, or marathon. Disregard the addition of cycling and swimming into your training plan at your own peril.

5: Neglecting to Have Fun!!

Three sports, 3 sets of gear, how do I fit X quantity of workouts into only 5-6 days each week?! It’s super easy to get swept up in how much there is to understand and grasp, and to get worried and quite often obsessed with your first race.

I have news for you: it’s all just a game and it’s intended to be fun.

Get your head straight, delay expensive equipment, expect you’ll make a LOT of mistakes in your first few races (you won’t be let down) and promise to have a good laugh at yourself whenever you do!

Learn more about triathlon coaching by visiting www.endurancenation.us and discover what triathlon coaching can do for you.

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