Are you signed up for a triathlon camp? Perhaps you’re mulling over the concept of getting away for a few days to train. Whether you’re a first-timer or a triathlon camp veteran, these five quick tips from
http://www.rockstartriathleteacademy.com/triathloncamp will help you be more mentally prepared and physically capable to handle everything that gets thrown at you during a typical triathlon camp.

No 10% Rule: When you show up at triathlon camp, take a deep breath, then step forward and prepare to completely break the triathlon training rule about gradually increasing weekly volume by no more than 10%. In most triathlon camps, you’ll experience up to 2-3x greater volume than you may have performed in your training. Yes, that means that you 8-hour-per-week athletes may find yourself engaging in some form of exercise for 24 hours during a week long triathlon camp. Amazingly, this is one of the reasons that camps actually *work* to make you better. Not only does this huge volume mentally prepare you for the psychological rigors of a long race day, but if you recover and repair properly after triathlon camp, you’ll find a
magically enormous boost in fitness as your body bounces back. Quick Tip: schedule an easy week in after triathlon camp, where all you do are some aerobic swims, aerobic bikes, and couple easy, soft-surface runs.

Foreign Foods: You don’t need to expect Sushi or Greek rolls on the long bike day, but you do need to prepared to be out of your element from a nutritional standpoint, especially if your triathlon camp provides food. This means that many of your stand-by staples may not be readily available, especially if you’re traveling out of the region for your triathlon camp. With a few ziplock bags and plastic containers, you can easily pack your protein powders, recovery supplements or vitamins, but be mentally prepared for apples instead of mangoes, peanut butter instead of almond butter, brown rice instead of white noodles, and a host of other nutritional change-ups that take you out of your element. Quick Tip: Before you go, Google maps the nearest grocery store to your place of lodging.

Psyche-Out Tactics: Your fellow campers will be sure to tell you about their nightly ice baths, their secret mushroom recovery extracts from the mountains of Fuji, their 6 hour indoor trainer rides while sitting on a bed
of nails and their special running shoes made from endangered baboon wool. When it comes to the “sage advice” from fellow campers, don’t make it a habit to question your own training, your own gear and your techniques – instead listen to everyone, and make a mental note that when it comes to finishing a triathlon, there is more than one way to skin a cat. What works for one person at triathlon camp may not work for you. Be diligent, train smart, and don’t let the gear geeks fool you into thinking that you need to drop everything and go shopping for new shoes that night. Quick Tip: Ultimately, in the words of Lance, “It’s Not About The Bike”.

Quiet Time: Many first time triathlon campers show up ready to party and engage in robust social life after the day’s activities have ended. Truthfully, at most triathlon camps, you’ll gather with great camaraderie
for a breakfast with your campmates, chat it up all during your training sessions, have a quick lunch on the go and meet again for a fun, social dinner. But after that point, expect to experience a great deal of quiet
time as everyone retires to their respective rooms, calls their family or significant others, checks e-mail, curls up with a good book, or goes lights out early to be prepared for another productive training day at camp.
Triathlon camp may not be your best choice if you’re planning to party, although most camps will always have at least one opportunity “go out on the town” or engage in celebratory activities. Quick Tip: Go lights out early at triathlon camp – your delicate, hormonal testosterone:cortisol ratio will thank you the next day.

Change: This is perhaps the most important element that you need to be ready for at a triathlon camp. Aren’t you attending to get better, faster, stronger, and more knowledgeable? To reap the dividends you expect, you must show up at triathlon camp as an open and coachable person. Even if the tips you hear from the triathlon camp instructors are different from what your Master’s swim or run coach or cycling instructor might tell you, have an open mind and experiment with every change of form or technique that is suggested to you. By constantly tweaking your triathlon skills during triathlon camp, you’ll leave knowing more about your body, your mind, and what type of changes actually result in better speed and comfort. Quick Tip: Go into triathlon camp with the mantra that “Everything Is An Experiment”.

Even if you can’t make it to a triathlon camp, you can always get a “virtual” triathlon camp every day over at the Rock Star Triathlete Academy, which is full of even more quick tips and tactics to make you a stronger
triathlete. Check it out today at http://www.rockstartriathleteacademy.com/triathloncamp

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So, are you ready for the ultimate tip to skyrocket your triathlon coaching business?The coaches at the Rock Star Triathlete Academy have been helping dozens of coaches discover triathlon coaching business success, and have found one system that is incredibly effective in skyrocketing you to your goals. Here it is:.

#1: Find a sport on the calendar and reserve an entire weekend to sit down to write a triathlon plan for a sprint distance race. Make it 12-20 weeks long. Use Word document, Excel, TrainingPeaks, or whatever is your preferred method of designing training plans.

#2: The next weekend, do it again, this time for an Olympic distance.

#3: The next weekend, do it again, this time for a Half-Ironman.

#4: The next weekend, do it again, this time for an Ironman.

Don’t cut any corners. Make these plans good. Pour your heart and mind and knowledge into them. Make them YOURS with your unique approach and passion for triathlon coaching.

Once you’re finished, find a calendar of all the local races in you area. Preferably this should be a branded circuit or highly recognizable series of race. Which races do you know well? Which do you need to research? Call the race directors and find out as much as possible about the race, the conditions, and the topography.

Now, go back to the plans that you wrote, and customize them for each race. It won’t take as long as you think. Do some need track intervals for practicing turnover for a flat course? Hill repeats for rolling terrain? Practice swimming in choppy water for traditionally inclement water conditions?

As you customize each plan, save it in branded format for each race. “16 Week Tinman Sprint Triathlon Plan”. “22 Week Green Lake Olympic Triathlon Plan”. You get the idea.

Once all the plans are ready, put them up on a webpage and list them for sale. You can use your own page, a page on TrainingPeaks, or even an Amazon or Ebay store. Preferably, make sure you choose a sales method that allows you to use “coupons” or “promo codes”.

Finally, find a local race directory and take out an ad. It might cost you about 500-600 dollars. If you’re selling your plans for 50-100 dollars, this strategy will pay for itself fairly quickly, and you can consider it a wise investment in your triathlon coaching business. List your race plans, and (ideally) a promo code for each plan that the reader can use.

Now sit back and watch the sales come in. If you have the time and ability to take on more clients, one dynamite strategy is to offer a discount on personalized coaching with each plan.

Why does this tip for your triathlon coaching business work so well? Because it delivers value to a wide range of athletes (customized training plans for races in your area), exposure for you as a coach, and, perhaps most importantly, allows you to profit whenever someone purchases a plan – something we refer to as automated income for your triathlon coaching business.

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Not every thing come race day for an Ironman is as planned. Here are 3 tips for your Ironman Triathlon to help you have the best race possible.

1) Your Special Needs Bag Isn’t Always At The HalfWay Point. Did you plan on an exact 50/50 split with your gels, electrolytes fuel or water for halfway through the bike or halfway through the run of the Ironman triathlon? In reality, especially for the bike course, many races do not have your special needs bag exactly at the 56 mile mark or the 13 mile mark. So be sure to study the course and carry enough fuel and water to get you to the actual special needs location.

2) Wetsuit Strippers Aren’t Necessarily The Fastest Way to Go. Unless you have slipped out of your wetsuit, removed your arms from the sleeves, have pulled the suit down to your waist, sighted to make sure there’s not a line of swimmers waiting for wetsuit removal, and are prepared to do a baseball-style slide into the wetsuit stripping area, it may actually be faster to simply remove your wetsuit yourself in the Ironman triathlon changing tent.

3) Don’t Plan on Seeing Your Expensive Tubular Again. Anything you put into your special needs bags is at risk of not being found after the race, including your change of tire, CO2 cartridges, energy bars, lucky rabbit’s foot, or your favorite inspirational picture of dear Uncle Clyde. So don’t put extremely valuable items that you don’t want to lose into your Ironman triathlon special needs bag.

OK, that about covers it for now! For more practical Ironman triathlon tips just like this, from Rock Star Triathlete Academy coaches who have spent time in the trenches, just visit http://www.rockstartriathleteacademy.com/Ironman

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No matter how prepared you are on race day for your Ironman triathlon, there are a few important issues you should know about that will help you have a smoother race. So in no particular order, straight from the Rock Star Triathlete Academy at http://www.rockstartriathleteacademy.com/Ironman, here are six things you may not know about Ironman triathlon.

1) The Volunteers Don’t Have Built-In Auto-Banana Releasing Switches. When you zoom past on your bike, with your hand extended for a water bottle, gel, banana or any other aid station item, the Ironman triathlon volunteers don’t necessarily KNOW to release their death grip on that item as you grab it. This especially holds true if you’re a fast swimmer and one of the first cyclists to reach an aid station. So be prepared to “miss” a few hand-offs, don’t get angry with any volunteers, and don’t wait until the end of the aid station to go for your fuel, or you may be disappointed.

2) For The First 5 Miles of the Bike, Drafting Rules Don’t Really Count. If you swim anywhere from 55 minutes up to around an hour and 20 minutes, you’re going to be in a “sea of bikes” for the first few miles of the Ironman triathlon, as the majority of swimmers are going to exit the water around this time. Plan for this cycling cluster, and don’t let it upset you or ruin your day when you glance around and see a half dozen riders who appear to be drafting off your wheel. It takes a little while for everyone to get spread out.

3) All Your Pacing Rules Get Broken In Transition. You know your tidy little heart rate graph or specified zones that you plan on following during your Ironman triathlon? Be warned that as you rush into transition from the swim, and go from a horizontal to upright position, and also as you leap from your bike and power it into the transition area, your heart rate is going to go sky-high. Don’t let this bother you. As a matter of fact, it will likely be a good 10-20 minutes into the bike before you really achieve the heart rate that you want to follow. It also typically takes about 5-10 minutes into the run for your heart rate to “settle in”.

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Here are 5 tips that every triathlon coach should live buy in order to have success.

1) Race. If you’re not racing, or not staying in triathlon shape, then your triathlon coaching career is not going to be fruitful. Athletes need to be able to see you at events, and also recognize that you know your stuff and practice what you preach. Remember – you can write of race expenses from your taxes if you’re doing business at races.

2) Network. There are a bevy of triathlon industry experts, athletes, race directors, authors, and other coaches who would love to help you help your athletes, since it helps your triathlon coaching career but also helps these other individuals in their business. Don’t “hole up” and ignore the triathlon industry. Take part in conversations, events, forums, magazines, conferences, seminars and as many other possible networking opportunities you can for your triathlon coaching career.

3) Be Open Minded. Stay on top of the latest research in sports science, and always be ready to change your approach if it is found to be inferior to a new training method. Don’t bad mouth other training protocols, although it is fine to respectfully disagree. Always be listening, watching and learning, and your triathlon coaching career will blossom.

4) Follow the Golden Rule. Treat your athletes the same way that you would want to be treated by your coach. If they’re injured, help walk them through ways that can help them heal faster. If they’re overweight, help them develop better nutrition habits. If they’re depressed about a race, help them develop a plan to have a better experience the next time. Don’t just write them a plan. Remember their other needs.

5) Use triathlon coaching software to automate the coaching process and allow you to gather as much information as possible from your athletes in a quick and efficient way. TrainingPeaks is one great example of triathlon training software that works very well, and will significantly help your triathlon coaching career efficiency.

If you want more triathlon coaching career tips just like this, along with an exclusive Coach Member forum and monthly “Business of Coaching” calls with Ben Greenfield, author of “How To Become A Triathlon Coach”, and Kerry Sullivan, creator of “The Triathlon Summit”, then check out the Rock Star Triathlete Academy, at http://www.rockstartriathlete.com.

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5. Bend Your Elbows. Many triathletes put on a wetsuit and feel “stiff” in
the arms. In reality, the changes in panel thickness in a triathlon wetsuit
will allow you to comfortably bend your arms, and you should have a “high
elbow” recovery while swimming in your wetsuit in the same way you do while
swimming without one. And the stroke under your body should also have a high
elbow bend, not a straight arm.

4. Swim Hard. Many triathletes go for long and easy open water swims in
their triathlon wetsuit, without actually pushing themselves to “race pace”
intensity. The expansion of the lungs, body heat, and increase in blood
vessel size that occurs once you start swimming hard can make a wetsuit feel
tight and uncomfortable. If you’re not ready for that feeling during the
race, you’re more likely to panic.

3. Practice the Exit. Don’t finish a practice swim in your wetsuit and then
ho-hum your way to the beach, shore or car, then take your time exiting your
wetsuit. Anytime that I take my wetsuit off, I am hurriedly fumbling the
same way that I do during a race, beginning the exit process as soon as my
feet hit bottom and I start running upright from the water. I guarantee that
practicing the triathlon wetsuit exit will vastly improve your transition
times.

2. Vaseline, Body Glide, Pam Cooking Spray or Crisco. You certainly do want
to lubricate your extremities with one of these options, so that you can
slip in and out of your wetsuit without it “sticking” on your hands and
feet, but you’ll also want to put some of that lubricant on the back of your
neck, to avoid the annoying neck chafing that can occur with as little as 10
minutes of swimming.

1. Read the Instructions. Nearly all wetsuits come with specific care
instructions. If you bought a used triathlon wetsuit, then you can easily
find the care instructions on the internet. These instructions are not meant
to be glanced at and then discarded. Rinse, clean, dry and properly fold
your wetsuit after training and races, and you’ll vastly improve the life of
your wetsuit!

Ready to start swimming? Grab your wetsuit and get going! And remember to
visit the Rock Star Triathlete Academy at http://www.rockstartriathlete.com
for even more highly practical quick tips.

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A triathlon coaching career can be highly rewarding. You get to help
triathletes achieve their dream, while at the same time being immersed in
the sport you love. But no matter how much you love triathlon and helping
triathletes, you do have to make money, or else your triathlon coaching
career won’t last long! Here’s 10 Tips to help you, from the Coach Section
of the Rock Star Triathlete Academy at http://www.rockstartriathlete.com.

1) Don’t just get one certification. Carve out a niche for yourself by
becoming a certified bike fitter, USA swim coach, ISSN Sports Nutritionist,
or Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach. While the USAT Coaching
Certification is a very good place to start your triathlon coaching career,
you’ll find that athletes will respect your coaching skills even more if you
can become an expert in very targeted areas.

2) You’re not a plan writing monkey. The purpose of a triathlon coaching
career is not to sit and write “triathlon plans” all day long. You need to
be prepared to give customized advice to the athletes you coach. If you
write a good training plan, for example, for an Ironman, don’t re-write the
plan for every athlete you coach. Instead, use the plan skeleton, then
customize it for each athlete, and be available to your athletes for more
specific advice.

3) Get a website. No triathlon coaching career can really be highly fruitful
without some type of online method of managing athletes, sharing workouts,
or even accepting payments. With a website, you’ll be able to handle more
athletes and also generate other revenue streams, such as e-books or audio
products.

4) Brand yourself. You need a highly recognizable logo and a name. Do not
just be “coach John Doe”. Instead name your business, and in most cases,
form it as a sole proprietorship or LLC. By having an image, you’ll also be
able to make jerseys, shirts, cycling kits, etc.

5) Do everything once. If you write a fantastic workout, save it so that you
can copy and paste it to other athlete’s programs, rather than remembering
and re-writing the workout every time you need it. If necessary, create a
“swipe file” on your computer so you can copy and paste workouts quickly.

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Let’s face it – the task of choosing a triathlon wetsuit can be difficult enough, but once it arrives at your doorstep in all it’s rubbery glory, how should you actually begin using it? What are some changes that will be necessary to your swim stroke or pre-swim and post-swim rituals?

These 10 quick tips from the Rock Star Triathlete Academy will get help you prepare for using your triathlon wetsuit.

10. Don’t panic. When you first put on a triathlon wetsuit, especially if it’s a new one, you might feel a little claustrophobic and short of breath. Don’t worry…that’s completely normal. After the first few uses, it will loosen up a little bit. Excessive tightness will also be helped with the tip below.

9. Pull the sleeves and wetsuit legs far enough up your arms and legs. Too many triathletes wear a wetsuit like their sweatshirts or pants – pulled all the way down to the bottom of their wrists and the ankles. To allow for adequate freedom of rotation, pull your triathlon wetsuit about an inch or two higher than you would normal clothing, then pull that extra slack that this creates up into the shoulders and the hips.

8. Shave. Yes, this is for you guys, and maybe some of you ladies too. You’ll slide in and out of your triathlon wetsuit much easier if you don’t have all that hairy friction holding you back. Not only does this free up time for more swimming during practice and training, but your race transitions will of course be faster as well.

7. Kick Gently. Some triathletes kick too much in their triathlon wetsuits, while others drive their legs just as forcefully as if they were swimming without a wetsuit. The buoyancy of a wetsuit means that your legs float
closer to the surface of the water, and a light flutter kick will propel you just fine. Don’t completely stop kicking, just give yourself a bit of gentle propulsion (from the hips, not the knees!).

6. Wear It. This triathlon wetsuit tip should go without saying, but so many triathletes still wait until the day of the race or even the race itself to actually don the mighty wetsuit, then panic or swim slowly because they just aren’t used to the feeling of the wetsuit. Instead, for at least the final 6 weeks leading up to your race, try and swim at least once a week in your wetsuit. You can wear it in the pool, but just make sure you thoroughly rinse it in fresh water afterwards.

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Choosing the best triathlon club can be confusing. Here is some advice on choosing the optimal one for you.

1. Gear: Your triathlon club definitely needs to be branded. With options to put a logo on everything from cycling jerseys to hats to towels to hoodies to bumper stickers to racing equipment, there’s no excuse not to have a way for triathlon club members to wear a brand with pride! This is also a great way to recognize other fellow triathlon club competitors at the races.

2. Clinics: It is important for you to be able to learn about the sport of triathlon outside of the regular triathlon club meetings. Your club should be able to organize tire-changing clinics at a local bike shop, swim clinics at a club member’s pool, or run clinics at the track. Continuing education is another good way to socialize and interact with fellow club members while
also enhancing your triathlon abilities.

There are a variety of websites such as TriMapper that will allow you to search for local triathlon clubs in your area. Be sure to look for these 2 crucial elements in your search for a triathlon club and you’ll be sure to wind up a part of a successful organization!

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If you are in the market for a triathlon wetsuit, but you don’t have a clue about the difference between one triathlon wetsuit and another, here’s a few helpful tips about finding the right one for you.

Triathlon wetsuits offer many advantages, but they can also create some limitations. You’ll need to figure out which model will work best for you.

Triathlon wetsuits come in different forms. There is the full-body triathlon wetsuit, which is designed to cover the full length of your arms and legs, all the way to the wrists and ankles. Another form of triathlon wetsuit is called the “full John.” This model is similar to a vest on top, leaving the arms free, and covering the full length of the legs. Then there is the, “half John” Which is sleeveless and is much like a pair of knee-length shorts on the bottom.

Many people looking for a triathlon wetsuit sometimes confuse them with “skin suits.” Olympic swimmers often use skin suits. They can also be used for triathlon races. They are designed in such a way that the water slips around the body faster and gains slightly more buoyancy.

A triathlon wetsuit is legally allowed when the water temperature is below 78 degrees. Skin suits are designed for water temperatures above that level. Whether you use a triathlon wetsuit or a skin suit really depends on the temperature of the water.

Some people, those who naturally feel hot, will probably find a triathlon wetsuit or skin suit to be rather uncomfortable in waters that aren’t really cold. This is one of the disadvantages of a triathlon wetsuit or skin suit. They can make you heat up, especially if you are in a long triathlon race like the Iron Man. But if you are a person who naturally feels cold, or if you are swimming in water that is in the 50’s ferinheight or 10-13 celsius, a triathlon wetsuit will serve you well.

One of the other factors to consider when shopping for a triathlon wetsuit is how much flexibility it has, especially in the shoulder area. Most triathlon wetsuit brands are thicker in the torso region (the material is about 5 mm thick) and thinner in the shoulder area (about 1.5 mm thick). The fact that most triathlon wetsuit brands, are thinner the shoulders, means that it won’t limit your movement as much when swimming. So be sure to buy a triathlon wetsuit that is made to provide you with free mobility.

Many people also wonder which brand of triathlon wetsuit is best. Frankly, there are many great brands out there. The key is to find the wetsuit that best fits you. So you’ll need to try them on. A good-fitting triathlon wetsuit will be very tight everywhere on your body, but especially in the armpit and groin area. If a triathlon wetsuit is loose in these areas two things will happen. First, the loose material will rub on your skin and cause chafing. Second, the loose areas will fill up with water and slow you down as you swim.
So keep these factors in mind as you shop for a good triathlon wetsuit, and ROCK ON!

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