“Drugs” that can help your triathlon
by Chris Hague
Unlike other sports like cycling, baseball, and track (at least the sprint events), triathlons, marathons, and swimming, for now, have escaped the
taint of illicit, sports enhancing drugs. However, if we really look into these sports, illicit “drugs” run rampant. I doubt that any successful triathlete, distance runner, or swimmer has not taken some drug to boost their performance. Even Chrissie Wellington, who led the initiative to publish all drug tests, is guilty. I am of course not referring to the drugs that we see in the media such as EPO, steroids, über caffeine pills, beta blockers, and the like; I am talking about the much more potent, mind-altering “substances” that usually go unseen in sports.
Last year, I was looking for a boost in my training. My workouts had become flat; my body always seemed to be tired; I could not recover from workouts; and, my times had hit a plateau. With the race season approaching, I was desperate and needed change quickly, so I turned to drugs. Having come from a neuropsychology and chemistry background, I went into my basement, set up some stills, and began concocting some really powerful substances. I finally created the perfect cocktail of “pills:”
My first discovery, I called TripleZ, which is also known on the streets as 40 winks, the sandman, and shutter-I; chemically, it is called sleep, and would be classified as a depressant meaning that it lowers the heart rate. TripleZ is one of the best performance enhancing drugs out there. It allows the body to recover quickly from hard workouts, repairs muscles, keeps us motivated, alert, and focused. It does have some bad side effects though. Without it, we feel sluggish, irritable, inert, and clumsy.
Moreover, you have to be careful with this stuff since you can overdose, which can be almost as bad as taking too little. You have to try to limit yourself to 7.5-9 hours a night depending on your weight and activity level. Like other drugs though you have to make sure you get the highest quality. Many dealers will try to give you some cheap product that only lasts 20 minutes or 4 hours, which are quick fixes but will make you crash pretty quickly. Moreover, there are a lot of knockoffs like alcohol, power naps, Tylenol PM, Ambian, and Lunesta that swear it will take you to that same place. Unfortunately, they are not the same and will not give you the best “high.” To get the best, you really have to go into deep, dark underground of the “black” market where all lights, cell phones, email access, and cameras are banned. Many think that it is fairly expensive, but, in actuality, it is fairly cheap and definitely worth the investment.
Next, I experimented with hallucinogens and discovered a really potent mixture that I called PCP (chemically known as Pride, Competition, and Perception). Individually, these substances are pretty strong but when mixed together they get your body going! Pride gives you a feeling of success and “owning” your workouts, while competition motivates you to succeed. These two are pretty powerful stuff when taken alone, but can be really, really deadly if taken in excess. If you only take Pride and Competition then you will have illusions of grandeur and walk around with a swagger and your m-dot tattoo in full view. That is why I mixed it with a good healthy dose of perception to taper the effects of the other two. Without this last component, you truly go off on a “bad trip” also known as an “ego trip.” The purest form of perception helps keep you grounded, focused on the journey instead of just the result, mindful of both your strengths and weakness, but at the same time, realistic and eager for more. Since PCP is so dangerous when the proportions are off, I recommend my own patented formula with a 15:15:70 ratio of the three.
Lastly, I needed a stimulant—something that would really take my training and racing to the next level, so I began popping M&Ms (Memory and Motivation) like they were candy. Like PCP, these two must be taken together. Memory, if used alone, will leave you felling regretful or nostalgic so that you loose sight of the present. I discovered however, that when taken with Motivation, it could actually be used to your advantage. Chemically, Memories has a synergistic effect with Motivation. Memory provides the fuel that Motivation needs to make you aware of past successes and failures, while motivation makes you want to change them and improve—a very powerful combo.
These drugs are available all over, but choose your dealer carefully since there are a lot of sketchy suppliers out there. I find that the best and purest dealer is yourself. Fortunately, they do not come up on a urine test and are relatively cheap compared to steroids or blood doping.
These three maybe the gateway drug to your next PR.
Chris Hague is the assistant coach for triswimcoach.com and competitive triathlete in both the half and full Ironman distances. For more, check out http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/about/
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“If I could be like Chrissie…”
by Chris Hague
This past week, Chrissie Wellington, one of the greatest triathletes if not athletes of all time, announced 
that she is taking a break from Ironman so that she can focus on other priorities in her life like her upcoming
book and her work with charities. While Wellington thankfully is by no means gone forever,
her “retirement” is a huge loss for the sport.
In my opinion, Wellington represented the true spirit of triathlons and a mindset that many athletes—both pro and age groupers alike—would be well to learn from.
For one, she always had a smile on her face. Whether she was being interviewed before a race, photographed during a race, or crossing the finish line (usually in first but regardless of place), she smiled. In one of my favorite ads for Brooks running shoes, she is shown training but always smiling; underneath these pictures, the ad reads “train happy.” This is an important message for athletes to receive and try to follow.
Even on the hardest of training days or the most draining of workouts, we should train happy and smile. Yes, the work is hard, but we are fortunate enough to be able to do it and thus, like Wellington, should smile. Even if we do not hit our splits or do not perform as well as we think we should have, there is much to be thankful for and to smile about like being injury free, having the time to be able to train, and living in an environment that allows us to train. So, when you feel like crud, be like Chrissie and just smile.
Wellington also embodied a selflessness that many ego centric, alpha personality, podium focused athletes lack. For one, she did not just focus on herself but rejoiced in the success of others. Two years ago, when she withdrew from the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona because of illness, she nevertheless cheered on and rejoiced at the performances of Mirinda Carfrae and everyone else down to the last, just under 17-hour finisher. She acknowledged that Ironman is a tough event for everyone no matter what time you finish and therefore everyone should be commended.
A few years ago I “raced” against Wellington at the Columbia triathlon in Columbia, Maryland. When she finished in a respectable 5th place
overall, she did not go immediately to cool down or back to her trailer like some of the other elites but stuck around the finish line to present finishers with their medals including me (one of my best memories ever).
Moreover, she made sure that she thanked every single volunteer she met. Apparently, she did this at almost every race. This type of selflessness is important in sports and is often neglected. ALL athletes occasionally get too focused on themselves and on their own performances while neglecting the fact that this is a sport and should be enjoyed. Even if we do not perform well, others do and their victories should be celebrated even if it is just a high five or a pat on the ass. Furthermore, a lot of work goes into orchestrating a triathlon including
legions of volunteers, without whom racing would be impossible. Thanking them is the least we can and should do.
Underneath her smiling face and her thankful personality though was an unmatched grit, determination, and drive, qualities that truly set her apart from other athletes. In every single race, you could tell that she was giving all she had. This past year she competed at Kona having crashed on a bike ride just weeks before. Nevertheless, she stepped up to the starting line and raced—she also won. Many athletes would
have given up, gone back to their hotels, and sulked, but Wellington was able to put her accident behind her and race even though she knew she may not win. She challenged and raced against herself overcoming those mental demons.
While Wellington may have left the sport (hopefully not forever), I at least hope that her athletic and Ironman spirit lives on and triathletes continue to look to her as a model of the mentality that they should adopt during their own racing and training. I know I will.
Chris Hague is the assistant coach for triswimcoach.com and competitive triathlete in both the half and full Ironman distances. For more, check out http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/about/
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3 Steps to Get Nice Shoulders- as a Triathlete
This is another article in the Tri-Ripped series by Ben Greenfield. I tend to sit a lot for work, and I know how important it is to work shoulders when I’m in the gym. But I learned some new, more efficient ways to get nice shoulders AND improve posture in this article! Read on if you need this as much as I do… 
Compared to their running and cycling brethren, triathletes certainly tend to have slightly more muscular shoulders. But when you actually look at a triathlon junkie from the side view, you’ll see a rather unsightly phenomenon: a hunched back, slouched shoulders, and ugly curvature in the upper spine.
These slumping triathlon shoulders (which can turn into a permanent fixture on your body) come from a combination of spending long hours hunched over the saddle of a bike, working the internal shoulder rotators during swimming, while neglecting the external rotators in the weight room, and often a job spent sitting at a desk or computer.
So how can you get nice shoulders and still be fast at triathlon? Here’s what to do:
How To Get Nice Shoulders Step #1: Stretch your chest muscles.
Tight chest muscles can come from sitting a desk for several hours with your hands on a keyboard, from riding a bike in the aero position, and from swimming. Once tight, and especially in the presence of weak external rotators, these muscles pull your forward into a slouch.
To stretch tight chest muscles, try a doorframe stretch, in which you reach for the top of a door frame, place your hands on it and lean forward as far as you can. If you can’t reach the top of a door frame, just place one hand over the other hand, and lean into a wall.
How To Get Nice Shoulders Step #2: Strengthen your external rotators.
Although the most popular exercise for “strengthening” the external rotators is to grab an elastic band and do dozens of repetitions of rotation for the shoulders, most of us don’t have time to stand around doing that. Bigger, multi-joint exercises like pull-ups and rows work far better, and have the added advantage of burning more calories and working your arm muscles.
I’ve personally installed a pull-up bar in the door of my office (it cost me about $25), and I try to do at least 25 pull-ups each day (usually one set of 5 whenever I walk under the bar). You can also include regular or assisted pull-ups as a weekly part of your gym routine. Also include lat pull-downs, seated rows, cable rows, and single arm dumbbell rows – focusing on squeezing your shoulder blades back and maintaining a tall, proud posture as you do each exercise.
How To Get Nice Shoulders Step #3: Work the core.
Blah, blah, blah, work the core. Sure, you’ve heard this before. But think about it this way: when you’re riding a bike, swimming, or sitting at your desk, there is one thing that has to happen before you begin to slouch: your core has to get tired first.
But if your core is strong, it takes a massive load off your shoulders, and allows you to maintain much better posture. I personally recommend planks as the best way to strengthen your core and shoulders at the same time.
Try this: get into a front plank position, hold for 3 deep breaths, then switch to a side plank position left side, hold for 3 more breaths, then side plank right side for 3 breaths, and finish by holding a full push-up position for 3 breaths. Do that entire sequence without your knees touching the ground. See how many rounds you can do before you core collapses. If you can get to 10 round (about 7-9 minutes of planking), you’ve got a solid core. Otherwise, do this routine once or twice per week until you can get to 10 rounds.
Now that you’ve learned the 3 easy steps to get nice shoulders, you can be one of those triathletes who swims fast, but also cuts an impressive figure, and doesn’t have that notorious slouch, especially when people look at you from the side.
If you want to learn more about how to swim, bike and run lightning fast, but also have a nice body, (and get access to the other 6 articles in this series) then head over to http://triswimcoach.com/ripped for a brand new approach to training for the ultimate triathlon body.
How to put on a wetsuit for triathlon
Get Tri-Ripped with Ben Greenfield – Podcast #50
On this podcast, I interview triathlon, fitness, and nutrition expert Ben Greenfield on his new training system, “Tri-Ripped”, how to build muscle, escape the skinny-fat or fit-fat look, and get the body you want as a triathlete. 
References:
To get Tri-Ripped with the bonuses mentioned on this podcast, just visit http://triswimcoach.com/ripped
If you’re wanting to purchase after 1/11/12, make sure to email support@tri-ripped.com and include ‘triswimcoach’ in the subject line to get the bonuses.
The trailer video for Tri-Ripped:
Email me with your comments: kevin at triswimcoach.com
Please comment on this podcast!
Tri Swim Coach podcast comments: Click here to open up itunes and add a rating/comment!
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5 Ways To Swim, Bike & Run Fast, And Also Have An Amazing Body
This is another article from the series by Ben Greenfield and how to be fit, look fit, and compete in triathlon. Strength training plays an important role in triathlon training if you are trying to get faster. But often times, the programs out there do not take into consideration
looking good while you are doing it! This is where Ben’s ideas come in to play. Read on to find out how to make this happen for you! Pay special attention to the nutrition tip. 
So if you read some of the earlier articles in this series, then you’ve learned some tips on how to get yourself in top shape, inside and out.
But can you keep that amazing body and still do endurance sports…like triathlon? After all, it’s pretty typical among the triathlon crowd to have tiny arms, a thin neck, a stick-like midsection, a weak body frame and even a “skinny-fat” look, with a little bit of weight in the belly and waist.
Let’s face it, folks – that ain’t sexy. Even though triathlon is the fastest growing sport on the planet, and races sell out thousands of slots in just a few minutes, it can still be a bit depressing when you realize that traditional triathlon training doesn’t really give you a nice body – and just makes you either really skinny or skinny-fat.
And the fear of having that emaciated, marathoner-like appearance is a legitimate concern if having a nice body is important to you. I know that it was a big concern for me when I got into the sport of triathlon – I didn’t want to watch in the mirror as my lean, hard muscle wasted away and I ended up looking like a skinny weakling.
But the truth is, when you train for triathlon, you don’t have to lose precious muscle, get extremely skinny, or become a scrawny endurance athlete. You can actually train for triathlon while still adding incredibly functional muscle and athleticism. You can swim, bike and run fast – and still have an amazing body.
Here’s how, in five easy steps:
1. Lift Right
There are two styles of weight lifting that most triathletes do: 1) high-repetition, low-resistance endurance style lifting, such as a circuit of 20 reps of several different exercises; 2) heavy, slow, football-style lifting, like deadlifts, squats or benchpress. In reality, there is a third style of lifting that is neglected among endurance athletes, but a long-kept tradition of the bodybuilding industry: “hypertrophy” style training: multiple sets of 8-12 repetitions.
With hypertrophy training, you can add and define lean muscle very quickly. But the problem is that it is very easy with this bodybuilder-style training to build non-functional muscle that actually slows you down when you’re competing in a sport such as triathlon.
The solution to this issue is to still do the hypertrophy-style training, but to avoid single-joint exercises like biceps curls, and instead to choose full body, functional exercises while scattering in just enough explosive and heavy weightlifting to keep your muscles extremely functional and fast.
2. Eat right
This may be a bit of a news flash for you, but fat doesn’t make you fat. Instead, fat – the healthy variety, like olives, almonds, walnuts, fish and avocados – is a hormonal precursor and gives your body the building blocks it needs to develop lean, hard muscle, as well as competitive drive, mental energy, libido, and every other advantage that comes from adequate hormones.
On the flip side, carbohydrates, especially the type that are really favored by endurance athletes, like bagels, sports drinks, and cereal, give you that soft, pudgy look in the mid-section, accompanied by a complete inability to build impressive, defined arms and legs.
So here’s what to do about this: if you’re trying to be fast at triathlon and also have an amazing body, you should eat a diet comprised of a high amount of healthy fats (40-50% fat), add in moderate helpings of natural protein to keep amino acids elevated for your muscles and brain, and top it off with strategically timed carbohydrate doses when they really matter, such as before or after your exercise sessions.
3. Train right
For years, sports scientists have know that short, hard and intense intervals give you just as much fitness and performance benefit as long, slow, aerobic exercise. But like a mouse on a wheel, it is tempting and even addictive for an endurance athlete to continue plugging away hours pounding the pavement, turning the pedals, or swimming back and forth.
Not only does this long, slow aerobic training completely nullify any attempts to add lean muscle or get a nice, defined body, but it also depletes hormones, causes overtraining syndrome, and takes away precious time from family, career and other hobbies.
Instead, for the triathlete who wants to avoid the skinny-fat look and get an amazing, muscular body, the training plan should incorporate strategically targeted high-intensity bursts of energy, a moderate amount of slightly longer “tempo” work, and finally, a low amount of long aerobic training – saving long rides, runs or swims for times when they are completely necessary and crucial to the program.
4. Supplement right
Inadequate hormones are a big issue for both men and women, and especially physically active men and women. “Andropause”, the decline or imbalance in male hormones and “Menopause”, the decline or imbalance in female hormones can begin to occur when you’re as young as 27 years old – and only gets worse as you age. Although hormonal deficits are the biggest problem among endurance athletes, there is also a prevalence of nutrition deficiencies, mineral loss, and very low fatty acid and amino acid levels – all of which keep you from both getting fast and having an amazing body.
These deficits and imbalances can occur because the body simply needs extra help if you’re lifting, swimming, cycling, running and cross-training on a regular basis. This level of activity is just more than the human body can naturally handle! The extra help comes in the form of completely legal sports nutrition supplementation like digestive enzymes, fish oil, vitamin D, greens supplements, magnesium and Chinese adaptogenic herbs. While there are countless supplement ads in magazines and on websites, you really only need a few of these key supplements to have your body ready to both go fast and maintain muscle.
And yes, if you are pushing your body beyond it’s natural tendencies, then even in a situation where your diet is perfect, supplementation is a must if you want to be fast and also have an amazing body.
5. Live right
There are little hacks or tweaks you can make to your lifestyle to simplify this whole process of performing fantastic and looking good.
For example, you can sleep more deeply by using magnesium, melatonin and keeping your bedroom completely dark. You can de-stress at the beginning of the day with a very simple 5-10 minute yoga routine. You can keep bouncing back from your workouts day-after-day by using a ice, compression and foam roller. You can detoxify your body by making sure you aren’t using body-damaging chemicals to clean your house or cook your food.
These are just a few of the little lifestyle tweaks that you can make, but they’re incredibly important if you want to add muscle and athleticism while getting the body of your dreams and still being fast for triathlon.
If you want to learn more about how to swim, bike and run lightning fast, but also have a nice body that looks good, (and get access to the other 6 articles in this series) then head over to tri-ripped.com for a brand new approach to training for the ultimate triathlon body.
5 Ways To Look Good In A T-Shirt
Continuing on the series from Ben Greenfield on not only getting fit, but looking fit. I have a hellava time buying t-shirts that fit my right! Many of them make my arms look skinny. This is a great run down of how to get that attractive look and fill out your clothes- the right way! 
The t-shirt became popularized by sailors and Marines, and eventually found it’s way into pop culture during the 1950’s.
But it originally evolved from 19th century underwear.
So if you’re going to be walking around wearing your underwear, then you’d better know how to look good in a t-shirt. Using the five steps in this article, you’re guaranteed to look good in a t-shirt, cut an impressive figure and wear your wardrobe with confidence.
Step 1: Remember Your Back
Back when I was a bodybuilder, it was tempting to simply pay attention the front of the body: the shoulders, the chest, the abs, and the front of the arms. But I quickly learned that to look good, you also need to pay attention to your backside.
When you’re wearing a t-shirt, the most important part of your back to target is the part that makes those sleeves look good: the back of your arms (your triceps). Three of my favorite exercises for the back of your arms, which you can include each week, are:
1) Narrow Grip Pushups: Do a pushup in the regular or knee push-up position, but keep your hands closer together and make sure your elbows brush your ribcage as you lower yourself down and push yourself back up.
2) Tricep Pushdowns: At most gyms, you’ll find a cable apparatus with a rope or bar attached to it. This is perfect for triceps pushdowns, in which you start with your arms bent at 90 degrees and then extend them until they’re completely straight.
3) Dips: Begin by holding onto two bars and suspending your body in the air. You then lower yourself as far as you can–or until your elbows are at about 90 degrees–then push yourself back up.
Step 2: Work On Your “V”
Even if your chest, shoulders and arms are t-shirt ready, you simply won’t look good in a t-shirt if you are sporting muffin tops or a beer belly, or aren’t working your full spectrum of stomach muscles.
If you really want a tighter tummy, you need to incorporate exercises that create a belt of muscle around your entire mid-section. This belt serves to draw in the waist, keep the stomach flat, and keep your abs looking good in a t-shirt.
To work on all the stomach muscles, you need to include the following four movements:
1) Abdominal flexion, which will tighten the “rectus abdomonis”, or sheet of muscle tissue that is directly on the front of your stomach.
2) Rotation, which will work the internal and external oblique muscles that are on the sides of your stomach
3) Waist extension, which will incorporate the low back muscles to improve posture and allow you to keep your stomach sucked in
4) A planking exercise, which will allow you to tone each of the muscles listed above in one all-encompassing exercise.
Try to put together exercises from each category as a circuit, which you repeat 3-4x through with minimal rest.
Step 3: Target Your Traps
It can be unflattering if you have a skinny neck that sticks up out of your t-shirt, even if the rest of your body looks good. If you have a skinny neck, the trick is not to work the neck muscles, but rather to target your trapezius, or “traps” – since working these muscles will naturally give you a more muscular and defined neck.
The traps are primarily responsible for “shrugging the shoulders”, so you’ll want to include exercises such as dumbbell shoulder shrugs, dumbbell or barbell deadlifts, farmer’s walks, or walking lunges.
When you perform these exercises, make sure that you are allowing your shoulders to drop, but instead imagine the tops of your shoulders touching the bottom of your ear lobes, which will help you to keep your traps contracted.
Step 4: Squeeze Your Shoulders
If your shoulders are slouched or slumped forward, you might look just fine from the front, but a side shot of you in your t-shirt may look more like a hunchback. If you sit at your computer for long periods of time, ride a bicycle in a hunched over position, swim frequently, or have a combination of tight chest muscles and weak shoulder muscles, then you probably do have at least a slight upper back hump.
To address this issue, you need to include exercises that make you squeeze your shoulders back, such as seated rows, standing rows, pull-ups, pull-downs, and super-slow pushups (drop down for a 1-2-3 count, then push-up for a 1-2-3 count).
When you perform these exercises focus on keeping the shoulder blades aligned and the shoulder blade muscles contracted, the abs tight and “sucked in”, and the back straight. You can also improve posture by breathing in as you do the weight lifting portion of the exercise and then breathing out as you return the weight to the starting position.
Step 5: Get The Right T-Shirt
The final key to looking good in a t-shirt is to choose a style of shirt that actually looks good on you. Most people wear t-shirts that are either too large, or made of material such as polyester, a cotton/polyester blend, or synthetic nylon, which usually doesn’t hug the body in a way that brings out the figure you’re working so hard to develop.
First, you need to look for the word “fitted” or “muscle-fit” when you get your t-shirt. This is the best indication that it will form-fit your body in a way that flatters you. Even if the shirt is made of a cotton-polyester blend, this will still ensure that it fits you well.
If you can’t find a fit like that, at least try to choose a shirt that is a high quality cotton, such as 100% combed ringspun cotton or knitted fine cotton. This type of material is less likely to have a “pleated” appearance and more likely to form-fit your body.
That’s it!
Remember your back, work on your V, target your traps, squeeze your shoulders and choose the right shirt, and you’re guaranteed to look good in a t-shirt!
If you want to learn more about how to swim, bike and run lightning fast, but also have a nice body that looks good, (and get access to the other 6 articles in this series) then head over to www.tri-ripped.com for a brand new approach to training for the ultimate triathlon body.
Sticking to Your Triathlon and Fitness Goals
by Chris Hague 
We are officially one week into 2012! Congratulations! Have you all been “good” and stuck to your
resolutions?
If you are like the people who showed up at my gym on January 1st to clog up all the exercise
machines, dally around the pool, and chit chat in the weight room and whom I have yet to see since, you might
be getting off to a slow start.
Fear not!
In today’s blog, I am going to give you my 20.12 tips to help you get back on track and/or stick to those goals that you so fervently wanted to keep for the past week.
1) If you have already fallen off get back on: There are 365 days in a year (366 days since it is a leap
year). So you have plenty of time to get back on track to achieve your goals for the year. Just because
you had one slice of cake (or half a cake) does not mean that your resolution is a complete failure.
Realize your error, realize why it happened, and then make the necessary changes to prevent it for
happening again.
2) Reevaluate: Now that you have experienced a whole week of trying to change and all the difficulties
that arise when you start the process of long lasting change, you may realize that your goal was a
bit too lofty. While a goal should come with a good amount of challenge, make sure that it is still
achievable. If your goal was to qualify for 200 IM at this summer’s 2012 in London (I fantasized about
it) , but have not swum in over 3 months, you may have to scale down your short term ambitions.
Olympics 2016 is a different matter…
3) Write it down or, if you have already done so, reread it: Keep your goals fresh in your mind and
reread them often. This will help you make your goal a priority and remind what you specifically need
to do.
4) Remind yourself why you are doing it! Whether is be for your kids, because your Doctor told you so,
or because you want a healthier, faster, stronger you, knowing why you made your goals will refresh
your motivation especially during those hard days and workout sets.
5) Start small- It is only the beginning of the year, so keep in mind that success usually does not happen
over night but requires time, patience, vigilance, and diligence.
6) Surround yourself with positives: To keep your goal fresh in your mind and thus lessen your
likelihood of slipping surround yourself with reminders and positive affirmations. Whether it be a
computer desktop background with a motivational quote or picture, sticky notes on the fridge, or a
daily email, refresh your motivation daily. I personally have a picture of Craig Alexander winning
Kona on my computer in addition to daily motivational quotes from our own TSC, Kevin’s twitter
feed.
7) Enlist support: We cannot do everything on our own, so surround yourself with people and
communities like family, online forums, clubs, teams, and coaches, whom you know will support you
in your efforts and hold you accountable, giving you positive yet honest feed back
8) Focus on yourself: Your neighbor and you may have the same goal but focus on the achievements
that you have made. If he loses 5 lbs while you have only lost one, your own accomplishment is just
as important as his. Rejoice in your own small victories and forget if others are progressing at a faster
pace.
9) Rejoice in victories: Each small gain is important so do not belittle them as they come.
10) Look to the past: Is this a goal that you have made and failed at before? If so, look to your past
attempts and learn from them. Your past holds an abundance of information that can be revealing as to
why you did not succeed. Once you have found those reasons, work to change them.
11) Figure out your limiters: What is preventing your from accomplishing your goal? Is it that last 5lbs
that are preventing you from hitting a personal best? Or maybe it is your flexibility? Pinpoint what is
preventing you from being your best and then…
12) Make a plan: Make a plan about how you are going to overcome it and then…
13) Work it, baby!: Once you know your weaknesses and have a plan. you can work to fix them; trust me,
they will not go away on their own. Spend some extra time working on them each day or workout and
eventually they will not be your weakness but your strength.
14) Set a baseline: To figure out where you want to go, you have to figure out where you are now. If you
want to lose weight for example, step on the scale, take a picture, or figure out your waist size. If you
are trying to get faster in the pool, do a time trial to figure out your current speed. However, make sure
that you accept your starting point. Rejecting your current status will only set yourself for failure.
15) Record it, track it, measure it!: “What cannot be measured, cannot be improved.” Whether
daily, weekly, or monthly, make sure you track yourself. Keeping a record of your gains (and, yes,
occasional failures) will help you see in what direction you are going and make the appropriate
changes. If your goal is to swim 1600m in under 20 minutes, log your workouts on an online workout
log like TrainingPeaks, which can also be used to track weight, calorie intake blood pressure—
pretty much whatever you want to track you can. If you want to lose weight, track your weight either
daily or weekly. Studies show that people who weigh themselves at least once a week (no need to be
completely obsessive) to keep themselves accountable.
16) Realize that there are going to be bumps in the road: Not all progress is smooth and there will
be set backs. You may gain back a pound or have a workout where you get slower, but do not beat
yourself up. Accept it and move on.
17) Invest in your goal: Studies show that if you spend a little money on your goal like a gym
membership, a master’s swim class, or a new scale, you are more likely to succeed in your goals
because you are now financially invested in it.
18) Make small changes everyday: Change does not happen unless you, yourself, change, so make an
effort to change at least one thing everyday. When you (re)read or remind yourself of your goal in the
morning, figure out what you are going to change that day. It might be as small as doing 2 extra laps in
the pool, not having that diet soda, or cutting out desserts.
19) Make it a habit: Once you have made that small change, you know you can repeat it, so make it a
habit. If you want to make your goal like not smoking, eating healthier, or getting faster in the pool
permanent, you have to ingrain those actions in your mind and repeat them over and over and (third
time is a charm) over again.
20) Think small plan big: Instead of focusing on the large, overall goal, which can be overwhelming
and discouraging, focus on those smaller, micro goals that will get you there like that next pound or
clothing size, 2 seconds faster per lap, or the next race in the lead up to the final, “A” race.
.21) Get in the pool and do a 200 :O] Now that you have set your goal, here is that extra .12 that will get
you through the year: hop in the pool or get on the track and sprint 200m (.12 of a mile). It will clear
your mind and make you feel that you can conquer whatever goal you set even qualifying for the 2016
Olympics.
Good luck with those goals!
Chris Hague is the assistant coach for triswimcoach.com and competitive triathlete in both the half and full Ironman distances. For more, check out http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/about/
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Ever wondered how to get a flat stomach?
My friend Ben Greenfield is working on a system to help triathletes gain muscle the right way, which will help them to get “ripped”, without
being bulky, get rid of the “skinny-fat” syndrome that plagues many of us, and even to slim down with the right weight training and diet. Here is an article he wrote on getting a flat stomach. Towards the end, he mentions the diet aspects to this, and I say this can’t be emphasized enough. You could have the perfect workout, but if you are still eating the wrong foods, you will never see those muscles shine through!
How to Get A Flat Stomach
by Ben Greenfield
Whether it’s a sign of health, beauty, virility, or movie star status, a flat stomach is something that many people all over the world crave. This is because a flat stomach is so hard to get, it can indicate full-body power or virility, and it is essential to powerful performance. In this article, you’ll learn how to get a flat stomach safely, effectively, and with zero liposuction involved.
How To Get A Flat Stomach
Despite what many folks appear to believe, six-pack abs are not six soda-can shaped muscles that sit under the skin of your stomach, somehow magically filling and emptying as you become more or less fit.
Instead, your stomach muscles are made up of four basic groups that, like most muscles, appear to be named by ancient Latin monks:
1) The rectus abdominis: The rectus abdominis is one big sheet of muscle tissue that runs from your breastbone down to your pelvis.
2) The external obliques: The external obliques run from your ribs to your hips in a forward direction.
3) The internal obliques: Theinternal obliques run from your ribs to your hips in a backwards direction
4) The transverses abdominis: The transverses abdominis is located deep in your abs, underneath the obliques.
The key to better abs, which most people neglect when trying to get a flat stomach, is a training program that targets each of these muscles, and not just one of them. You simply can’t train just one single muscle group of the stomach in isolation and expect for your abs to look fit, trim, toned, ripped or flat. Instead, you need to train all the stomach muscles in a functional, multi-muscle manner.
This is same reason why people who want nice arms can’t just do bicep curls, but also need to do pull-ups and deadlifts, and why people who want a better butt can’t just do lying hamstring curls, but also need to exercises do squats and lunges. The body responds best when we train entire muscle groups that surround our “trouble spot,” and not just the isolated trouble spot. So people who want a flat stomach can’t only do crunches.
So if this type of multi-muscle training is a goal, what would a flat stomach workout look like?
Flat Stomach Exercises
You should work your stomach muscles every 2-3 days, including abdominal exercise as part of a scheduled cardio workout or weight training workout. For your flat stomach training, you should include one exercise for each of the abdominal muscle groups, and also one exercise for your lower back. Here is a guide to choosing the proper exercises:
-Rectus abdominis: For your rectus abdominis, exercise choices include flexing motions of the spine, such as crunches and crunch variations, V-ups, sit-ups and sit-up variations, hanging leg raises, or knee-ups. Front planks are also quite good for this muscle group.
-External and internal obliques: Twisting and rotating motions are good exercises because they work both the external and internal oblique muscles. That is because if you rotate to your left, your left external oblique and your right internal oblique are doing the work, and vice versa. Twisting motions include Russian Twists, Cable Torso Twists, and the WoodChopper.
-Transverses abdominis: The transverses abdominis is an interesting muscle group, because it doesn’t really move you through a range of motion as much as support the stomach and the gut. So when you suck in your stomach, that’s the transverses abdominis muscles working. Although you can work this muscle group anywhere, such as sucking in your stomach while you’re driving in your car, sitting on an airplane, or standing in line at the grocery store, you can also make it work pretty hard with an exercise like front planks.
-Low back muscles: Finally, the low back muscles can be worked with a simple contraption at the gym that allows you to do low back extensions or, if you’re not at a gym, you can do back extensions on a stability ball, or from the floor by lying on your stomach and lifting all four limbs off the ground.
So during a typical flat stomach workout, you would include several sets of a flexing exercise, a twisting exercise, a planking exercise and an extending exercise.
Get Rid of Stomach Fat
No matter how well you’ve developed your stomach muscles, you need to get rid of layers of stomach fat that can cover up your abs. Here are three tips to get rid of that last little bit of flab around your waistline:
1) Be sure you’re using a well-rounded workout routine, which includes what I call the “3 Pillars of Exercise”:
Pillar 1: Weight Training
Pillar 2: High-Intensity Cardio Intervals
Pillar 3: Aerobic Fat-Burning Sessions
Weight training alone or cardio alone is often not enough to erase that last bit of storage fat, so use of the modes above in your training routine.
2) Control stress and get adequate sleep. Often, bloating and inflammation are a primary cause of a puffy stomach, or a little extra padding on the waistline. Use stress-reduction techniques, and try to sleep 7 to 8 hours each night whenever possible.
3) Eliminate or significantly moderate the big three belly fat triggers: high-sugar, starchy foods (yes, that includes wheat); processed, packaged foods; and alcohol. I’ve witnessed these simple changes produce visible stomach fat reduction in just 2 to 4 weeks.
Using the tips in this article, you can get the perfect musculature for a flat stomach, develop a functional core that gives you powerful physical performance, and lose belly fat.
If you want to learn more about how to swim, bike and run lightning fast, but also have a nice body, (and get access to the other 6 articles in this series) then head over to www.tri-ripped.com for a brand new approach to training for the ultimate triathlon body.
Goals, plans, and habits in the new year
by Chris Hague
“He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; he who makes one is a fool. ~F.M. Knowles” 
I am going to be honest, I hate New Years. It is one of the more annoying holidays, ranking between
Valentine’s day and national “Talk like a Pirate Day.” To me, New Years is extremely overrated and that is
partially why I do not celebrate it. My plans this year include doing a local, 4-mile road race (finish the year
with PR), make myself some dinner (I may have an extra, celebratory cocktail), snuggle up in bed with a good
book, and then fall asleep at my usual hour maybe a bit earlier because I have a morning workout. I know
what you are saying “How boring! Where is your holiday and New Year’s spirit?”
Yes, it is exciting and inspiring at New Years to feel like we are getting a clean slate. We like the
feeling that we can start over. At the stroke of midnight, our old selves with all our failures, vain attempts,
and tries, magically become buried in the past, and our new—the sexier, faster, leaner, and healthier—selves
suddenly become achievable.
I hate to break it to you though: there is nothing special or magical about New
Years; it is just like every other day with all the trials and tribulations. The obstacles that prevented you from
quitting smoking or losing weight are still going to be there in 2012 just like they were in 2011. All is not lost
however! Moreover, this is really good news. Although New Years may be just an ordinary day, this means
that the magical power to bury the past and start anew is present everyday of the year. We do not have to set
resolutions only on New Years but we can make them everyday.
Many people who fail in their resolutions to “stop smoking,” “lose weight,” or “eat better” do not realize this crucial fact. Ironically, they also fail because they make these resolutions.
Resolutions, as we know them, are inherently flawed: they are vague, unplanned, immeasurable, and
things that we do not truly want to do. That is why I do not make them this time of year either. Instead I set
goals, which are fundamentally different since they are 1) a challenge 2) has a set date 3) is measurable 4)
come with a plan 5) and most importantly is something that you want. Let me give you an example:
1. My resolution goal for 2012 is not only to qualify for Kona but to place in the top 10 in my age
group. Yes, that is a lofty goal but a good goal needs to be somewhat of a challenge. Without a
challenge, you would already be doing it. Make sure though that it your goal is not completely
out of reach. How can you tell difference? Look at your past, what others recommend, and
what others have done. For my goal, my past results and times are pretty competitive, so yes I
feel that I have the potential and the ability. My coach also recommended that this would be a
pretty good goal to have and one that she thinks would be healthy, achievable and one that we
can work towards. Moreover, others have achieved similar goals, so I believe that I can too. So
far, my goal seems like a good one.
2. Does it this have a set completion date? You bet: October 13th, 2012, a date that I have
ingrained in my mind, written down on my bulletin board and have a countdown clock going
on my iPod. With a date, you know how much time you have to get there and feel “pressured”
to remain in pursuit.
3. Is it measurable? Overall, no, but each individual component that I need to get me
there is measurable. Thus, when your goal is something semi-vague like mine or like “I want
to lose weight,” you need to break it down into measurable parts. In my example, To qualify,
I have set smaller goals that will help get me to Kona: swim an average pace of 1:20 100/yard,
bike an average pace of 23-22mph, and still have enough energy to hold a 6:45 marathon pace.
Each of those micro goals are measurable, which leads me to the next part of goal setting,
planning.
4. Unlike resolutions, which you just come out and say that you want to do something, when you
set goals, you make plans to follow up on them. For my goal, I am working with my coach on
a detailed (when it comes to goals, the more detailed the better) workout, nutrition, and race
schedule to get me there. Now that I have a plan I know exactly how to get to Kona and the
benchmarks I have to hit along the way.
5. My goal is looking pretty good but is it something that I want and can get excited about?
Hell Yeah! I say that this point is the most important part of goal setting because if you are
not motivated to achieve it, then you are setting your set up for failure. Most resolutions fail
because people do not want to attain them; they do not want change. The point of goals is
feeling the want and need for change and acting upon those urges.
So what are your goals? Spend some time now to think about what you would like to change, then start
making a plan. Once you have everything all set, written down, planned, and you are excited, go out and tell
the world! By telling others, you feel like you will have some accountability. People are going to want to
know how your goal is going. Remember though, if you fall off your plan to get that goal, all is not lost, every
day is a “New Years;” you only fail when you give up hope and resolve that change will never occur. Have a
good New Year!
Note from Kevin: Try chunking down goals. Instead of 1 year goals, think of adopting a new habit for 30 days. After that, it will likely become a lifetime habit! Over the course of a year, you could develop 12 new habits and really change your life. Happy swimming!
Chris Hague is the assistant coach for triswimcoach.com and competitive triathlete in both the half and full Ironman distances. For more, check out http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/about/
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