Essential Athlete

Further Reading and Good Sources
Hills on paved roads in New Jersey
Very Steep Climbs in New York

Andy Potts Swim Technique

Total Immersion Swimming Freestyle Demo by Shinji Takeuchi – TI coach Shinji Takeuchi’s viral YouTube video. Ranked as No.2 worldwide among famous swimmers.

Comparison of Freestyle (Jones, Phelps and TI coach)

TI Head Coach Terry Laughlin’s Open Water Swim

Graceful TI Freestyle

9 Stroke Freestyle Technique

Underwater Finish for Faster Freestyle

I do tons of research about what gear is best and what will work for myself or Kyla. The best place to look is the pros. You may think they have access to things that we do not, this is only kinda true. They may be able to get some custom components and frame geometry but with enough money anyone can have these amenities. To the contrary, I do see on the pros use good amounts of duct tape and zip ties. So they are necessities for everyone.

The links, if you click on the pro’s name, will bring you to where I found the information, mostly on triathlete-europe.competitor.com. Let me know if you think I am missing something that should be included.

Pro Triathlete Bike - Chrissie Wellington

Chrissie Wellington – Cannondale Slice (2011)

• Dura-Ace Components with Electronic Shifting
• One drink behind the seat, with extra tire.
• One drink on the down tube.

Pro Triathlete Bike - Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong – Trek Speed Concept

• No Electronic Shifting Here. Instead You See the Same Setup as Chris Lieto – Sram Red Components with Zipp VukaR2C Shifters.
• A Shallow Aero Fairing on the Front Wheel with a Full Disc on the Rear
• Lance’s take on hydration is that the water on the bars reduces the handling of the bike so even with a aerodynamic penalty he goes with standard water bottles on the downtubes.

Frederik Van Lierde – Cervelo P4 (2012)

• Sram Components with Microshift
• Unique “O Symetric” Chainring
• Bento Box on Stem
• Standard Water Bottle on Aerobars
• Two Standard Water Bottles Behind the Seat
• Custom Hydration Built Into the Frame

Pro Triathlete Bike - Frederik Van Lierde

Pro Triathlete Bike - Chris Lieto

Chris Lieto – Trek Speed Concept (2012)

Zipp VukaR2C Shifters – These things are incredible!
Standard Sram Red Components
Bontrager Aero Water Bottle Custom Fitted for the Aerobars
Bontrager Aero Water Bottle on Seat Tube
Goo Container Mounted to the Stem
One Water Bottle on the Seat

Pro Triathlete Bike - Jodie Swallow

Jodie Swallow – Storck Aero2 (2012)

Dura Ace Components with Electronic Shifting
Two Standard Water Bottles on the Downtubes

Pro Triathlete Bike - Craig "Crowie" Alexander

Craig "Crowie" Alexander – Specialized Shiv (2012)

Dura-Ace Components with Electronic Shifting
Custom in Frame Hydration
Standard Water Bottle on the Aerobars
Two Standard Water Bottles Behind the Seat

Winning is not a sometime thing, this is an all the time thing. You must put your heart in everything that you do, and you will attain your goals. You must put your heart in your training every single session. Whether on the bike, in the gym or on the road, if you have an hour, make sure you get 70 minutes worth. Is there a better way to do what you are doing now? Change! Why are you settling for less? Today you will win for yourself and every day that you win for yourself will be on the path to the podium.

Fear of failure can keep you from striving to win but past failures will not bring you down. Past failure will be the foundation of everything going forward. Although it is not likely to win your first IRONMAN and chances are that someone 25 years older than you will even be waiting at the finish line. They have done this before, maybe 10 times and each time better than the time preceding it. This will boil down to tons of practice, every time with all of your heart. If you want to win, deep down you must appreciate the grind, the discipline and the perseverance that it will take to ignore the pain, stick to your plan and never let up. You only have a few opportunities to practice before you will be called to perform. What you will reap is what you have sown.

Believe in your nature to be competitive, believe in God for giving you the ability and at your finest hour, during the greatest fulfillment of your training, you will behold the moment when all of your hard work will pay off. Today will be a day of victory, yet still only a stepping stone for tomorrow.

Ever find your legs are tired, in need of recovery but your stubborn internal athlete will not hold back? Or have you had a recent injury and you need to lay off your lower body for the time being? Below you will find options to give you the necessary conditioning that will take the place of any missed “cardio training.”

These have been put together for James, who is having some problematic cartilage removed from his meniscus and surrounding areas next week. He could certainly take off from the gym between now and the conclusion of his rehabilitation but instead we created these circuits to keep him going.

* to do a plank-up, you start in a plank and then transition to a push-up position and back again.

Help us raise the funds for entry fee to this historic inaugural event. The registration opens and closes tomorrow at noon and we are looking to our friends and family to sponsor our entry to become a part of NYC IRONMAN. More info here

Do you want to boost your body’s fat burning potential?

Kyla and Billy want to share some of the supplements they are using this spring to aid in the development of the “super summer body”. The attack is with polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats, amino acids and antioxidants. Check these out:

1. Sesame Oil (Sesamin) – both an excellent source of omega fatty acids as well as antioxidants. Just one of the gelcaps of “Sesamin” will boost your heart health, increase your blood vessel elasticity, decrease your body weight, assist your immune system and help your body to regulate blood sugar. Ever heard of leptin? It is a hormone that regulates body fat, consume more sesame oil and you will have more leptin.
2. Super Cod Liver Oil (Carlson) – this contains large amounts of Vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is essential for proper utilization of calcium in the body. Surely you have heard that Essential Fatty Acids are good for you. Why? One of the many reasons is the assistance in fat storage management and fat breakdown. This is Calcium’s chief responsibility. Absorb more Calcium, burn more fat.
3. ZMA Tech (Vitamin Shoppe) – this is elemental in assisting us to sleep. Intense exercise can create deficiencies in Zinc and Magnesium, this will replenish those loses. It has this awesome side effect of boosting your natural testosterone production.
4. Tonalin CLA – another Essential Fatty Acid. This support mechanism will help your build muscle and point your body in the right direction in finding fat to burn for fuel. This has been a favorite of ours for a long time.
5. L – Tyrosine – this non-essential amino acid can create surprising effects in aiding your body’s recovery and regulating the production of dopamine. Do you have the habit of over-training? This may help.

So we cannot share all of our secrets in one place, but here a few safe boosts, to your give you an edge against your body in preparation for the summer.

Join Kyla and Billy at Uptown Lounge tomorrow night (10/28/2010) to get together and celebrate a great summer.

Even if you didn’t come out much this year, you are encouraged to join us.

Surely after a couple drinks (organic beer of course), we will forget all about it.

Uptown Lounge is on 3rd Avenue between 88th and 89th. Let me know if you plan to come.

There is always a great reason to gather and this one will bring us all together to remember what we have done and look forward to the future.

Can’t join us tomorrow for our Essential Bootcamp. Try this outdoor workout done for you using Central Park in a way that is very similar to what we will do. Grab a friend and have them join you for surely your best workout of the week.

7 Tips to Keep your Wheels Turning and Fat Burning post Summertime.

It has been hot; with vacations, eating out and special events making summertime the joy that it is. Use these post-Labor Day tips to get back in the groove.

1. Try Different Cardio Machines – Nothing is worse then waiting for a cardio machine at the gym only to get kicked off after 30 minutes. This is common in September and January, so use the time to try out some of the less popular machines. You will soon learn why we have them and how they can benefit you.
2. Pack Your Lunch and get some extra work done while you eat it. Your boss will appreciate the extra effort and your midsection will appreciate the planning and attention.
3. Walking To and From the Office – the winter is cold and windy, take advantage of what we have now by enjoying the scenic route.
4. Identify Summertime Habits – take some notes about your exercise and eating habits or even journal your food. Keep it up for a week or two in an effort to identify and destroy any midsection ruining patterns.
5. Use Central Park for Exercise – Join our Central Park Boot Camp, and sweat it out in the park with a coach guiding your every move.
6. Try an Essential Workout – doing something different will shock your body differently then it is used to, and many of these workouts use minimal equipment so you can beat the crowds.
7. The 5 second secret – this alone, could lighten 8 to 10 lbs from your body a year from now – check it out here.

We hope these help you out, if you do them, they will. We are here to help, email us with any questions.