Sleep better! Something that I have been reading up a lot on recently is the importance of sleep, sleep cycles and sleep ‘hygiene’. It is something that I have been trying to implement in my programme more after my first big race this season in Abu Dhabi. I had one of the best weeks of sleep and rest (mixed with training) of my career and subsequently had one of the best performances I’ve had after a very short pre-season and having shown no real form in training. I attributed the performance down to how well rested I was going into the race. Going onto the run you can often feel a bit lethargic and your body can be screaming at you to give yourself a rest, but on this occasion I felt so alert, strong and fresh! And remember this was a World Triathlon Series race, where I was racing at the top level there is in triathlon. Unfortunately we live in a culture that does not value sleep enough. In everyday life sleep is seen as something that you kind of need but is not that important. If you go without sleep you can be seen as ‘tougher’ or being ‘more productive’. But actually it has proven that you are less productive without good sleep. When it comes to being an athlete, and especially one training and a high level or training a lot of hours it is imperative that your body is performing at a high level. So after coming home from Abu Dhabi I started looking into this more and decided I was going to make sleep a high priority in my training schedule. While reading up on it I came across a really good podcast recently which can be found on YouTube here. It is a video by a body building outfit who are interviewing ‘sleep doctor’ Kirk Parsley. He makes some very interesting points about how much of an impact sleep can have on your performance not just in training, but in overall life. But the training effects can be immense if you get it right. The main point of the show is how sleep can increase natural testosterone levels in the body – something that some people illegally try to increase by taking supplements/creams etc., which are banned by WADA. This is at great cost to them both financially and legally, when they could just look to sleep more and sleep better. Very little research has actually been done on sleep and the beneficial effects of it and why we need to do it at all. Even Dr. Parsley himself admits early in the video about how little he knew about sleep, even as a doctor, before he started studying it specifically. If you want to hear some really in depth information I would highly recommend listening to the show all the way through. Dr Parsley talk through a lot of the scientific processes in the body that help/hinder your sleep patterns. But to sum up the podcast I have taken some of the more impactful points that come from the show: - There is a direct positive correlation between increasing natural testosterone in the body and increased sleep time. - If your testosterone levels go up you sleep more, and of you sleep more your testosterone goes up. - All anabolic activity happens in deep sleep. So any improvement in your physical make up as an athlete happens when you are sleeping, in the deep phase of sleep. - If you are injured, it is when you are sleeping that the body is working on repairing the damaged part the most. - The optimum amount of sleep is 7.5-9 hours per night. BUT the more hours of hard training you do, them more hours of sleep you need – this is where naps come in handy! - Deep sleep cycles are between 90-120 minutes and this is where the physical repair happens. So if you want to have a nap in the day and want to actually improve yourself physically then you should take a 1 /12 hour to 2 hour nap. - Cognitive repair, muscle memory and anything creative is done in the lighter sleep cycles. So if you are looking to have a nap and need to concentrate well on something then a 20-45min nap will do the trick. This will make you feel more alert and make it easier to think clearly. - Sleep medication may make you feel as though you are sleeping but it actually does nothing for you physical and mental recovery and repair functions. With sleeping medication your body effectively passes out. You get none of the anabolic activity that helps you to recover. So sleep medication, ironically, inhibits the exact functions that you are trying to maximise by sleeping. - After some sleep intervention studies Dr Parsley found a 300% increase in ‘free testosterone’ levels in Navy SEALS with previously very bad sleep problems and who were taking medication to be able to sleep. Steps you can take to increase you QUALITY sleep levels are numerous. But for me some of the most effective ones have proved to be the most simple. There a three main things you should be doing: Black-out your bedroom The one I would say that makes the most difference is to make light levels in your bedroom as low as possible. This has made the biggest difference to the quality of sleep I have been getting recently. This can be in the form of blackout curtains, but simple things like switching off all electronics that my illuminate while you are sleeping can make a big difference. Put your iPhone or other smart phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode overnight and you will not be disturbed by any calls or messages you may get overnight but can still pick them up in the morning. The best method for me recently has been to wear an eye mask in bed. These are great because even with the curtains wide open and the sun blazing into your room you can sleep as if you are in the darkest of places. Have a sleep routine Having a routine for sleeping helps your body fall asleep more easily when it is time to do so. We all set an alarm to get up in the morning but try setting an alarm for yourself to start your going-to-bed-routine. It sounds stupid but this gets you putting more importance in sleep and makes you take it more seriously. I have personally always struggled with getting enough sleep as I am a real night owl, staying up doing things that could really wait until the morning when I am more functional and useful! But getting into bed about 30min before you want to get to sleep will help you to get the amount you need. Chill before bed! Try not to do anything too stressful before bed. I always found myself booking expensive flights for long, complicated training and racing trips at the end of the day, just before bed. Stringing all the places together with the flights, accommodation, transfers, parking etc. etc. can make you brain work overtime. This is something you need to minimise just before you sleep. Try to get all your admin jobs done at least an hour before you are due to sleep. If you need to get to bed soon and find yourself thinking about all the things you have to do, an effective solution is to write every task or job down – either in your phone or on a piece of paper. This will help clear your head and you can get on with the list when you have a good sleep under your belt! So go ahead and try it. We all spend thousands of dollars/pounds on things that are going to make us better athletes and supplements that are going to make miracle improvements to our training and racing! But have you ever tried the completely free method of getting more quality sleep? It is scientifically and anecdotally tried and tested but still overlooked. Tonight, instead of spending an extra hour watching the latest episode of “Keeping up with the Game of Thrones” get your eye-mask on and get to bed of you want to smash that session in the morning!
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Coping with, and how to avoid injuries I am writing this blog in a pretty positive mood compared to how I have been for the past few weeks - since my crash-out in Cape Town and my development of a knee problem, which started before that crash. I’m not going to lie I have been a bit of a misery at times, as some of my nearest and dearest would be able to tell you! But I have done all I could to make the best of the situation and so I thought I would share what I have learned from the (ongoing) experience and hopefully you can take something from it too. I just found out today that I will be racing the London World Triathlon Series event at the weekend, hence the positive mood! This was a nice reward for a few weeks of frustration and ambiguity of when /where I would be racing. Crashing… Before crashing in Cape Town I was actually carrying a bit of knee pain that had started the week before the race. I went to the race anyway and hoped that a few days off running would allow it to settle down and I could race fine on it. Whatever would have happened with the knee in the race didn’t, as I ended up being taken out on the bike by another athlete and hit the ground pretty hard (video of it can be seen on this blog). I went home with lots of road rash, a shoulder that I could barely move and a destroyed Zipp 303 and pretty much forgot about the knee! This was just 3 weeks after I had slid out on some mud in training too, so some just-healed cut had been re-opened! The worst thing about these smaller crashes is always the frustration of knowing the time off you are most likely going to have to take to recover. The pain is not something that bothers me, it’s more the feeling of weeks and months of training going to waste. I decided to take a few days off because of deep cuts, an arm I couldn’t move and bruising and road rash all over my body. I was also hoping that a bit of forced rest would clear the knee up. My head went down after a few days of not really feeling any better and the rest turned into 1 week. Rehab I started training again after the week off and soon realised that the knee problem had not left me. I was ok riding and swimming but running was aggravating it. So I stopped running for a few days. This is something I believe in: that you are better having a few days off and doing what you can without pain then over-doing it and making things worse. But then after a few more days it started hurting when cycling too. This is when things started to get very frustrating. I was now down to swimming and gym! At this point I was treating the problem with ice and anti-inflammatories but it obviously wasn’t working. So I decided to get some advice and some treatment on it from physios. I am lucky enough to have a girlfriend who is a great Physio and she helped me a lot with the treatments – needling, kinesio-taping, massage and strengthening exercises. It turned out to be an issue with the dreaded ITB, which was rubbing over the bones in the knee – a common problem in running and cycling. Living at the pool/gym! While I was sorting the knee out I was swimming twice a day and doing gym 5 times per week as I had read-up on and agreed on exercises to help the problem. I figured that I might as well use the time to hammer the swimming and get myself closer to being a real WTS front-pack swimmer! I could have aqua-jogged but I think that working on my swimming was better for my overall performance and more functional in triathlon terms. It would also serve as a good replacement for the lost volume from not being able to bike or run. But I have to say – swimming twice a day is BORING! I don’t know how swimmers do it. But I knew it was the best thing to be doing so I just sucked it up and got on with it. I did the odd short run/bike here and there to test the knee but for two weeks I felt like I was living at the pool! During a time of injury I think everyone goes through the thoughts of: ‘What is the point?’, ‘Should I just quit?’ and ‘I don’t even feel like and athlete right now!’ It is very hard to stay positive but at the same time so important. Positivity will make the whole process of recovery easier and I believe it also helps you to recover more quickly. I did this by taking myself out of my normal training environment for a few days and heading to Bath to see friends. It helps take my mind off the injury and gives some perspective to a relatively small problem. Since then my recovery has been much quicker and after delving a bit deeper into what to do about the problem, I was told that it was ok to bike and run on it up to the point of pain. With the interventions I have added it is much more manageable now and hopefully on the mend. One of the more unusual therapies I have had for it was “Cupping”. A really weird, unpleasant treatment that seems like something from medieval times – but I found it to be very effective for this particular problem. The pictures with this blog show you the aftermath of the treatment! Also my swimming is going great at the moment and my run and bike have not suffered too much due to the work I had already done at the start of the year. Plus the swim volume helped to keep my cardiovascular system working hard. Tips to avoid/cope with injury So in summary and at a point where I feel like I am on the mend, here a 6 things I learned from this bout of problems: 1. Always keep your gym work up - During the few weeks before I very first felt the knee pain I had neglected my basic gym work (core, glutes and balance) and I strongly believe this is the biggest factor in me developing the problem. This is vital when you are training for triathlon and can save you weeks of frustration down the line. 2. Rest sooner rather than later if you get an injury during training. Try to save yourself weeks of frustration further down the line. A few days off from the sport that is giving you issues may save weeks of rehabbing if you make it worse. 3. Go to see a physiotherapist ASAP if you get an unusual problem that will not leave. It took me a bit too long to seek advice and I would have had more peace of mind during my recovery had I seen a physio earlier in the process. Even if it did not solve the problem any quicker, it would have given me more focus and positivity during my rehab. I found after getting an answer about what the issue was that I was happier and knew what I was doing and why I was doing it when in the gym. 4. Try to take your mind off the problem. Do this by getting out of your normal training environment and doing something different that will still help you physically but also mentally. This will inevitably shorten your rehab in my opinion. And if not then you might as well be happy then miserable! 5. Work hard on the discipline(s) you can still do. Luckily as a triathlete we have the benefit when injured in one sport to work on the others and improve more quickly on those disciplines. I am swimming great now after just 2 weeks of double swimming and that will hopefully set me up well for the swim in up-coming races. Also I am going to the gym more and it has forced me to make sure gym, stretching and massage are integral parts of my training. 6. Keep training consistent. Consistent training will enable you to more easily solve problems should they arise. It will enable you to see more easily what has changed following a problem. For me there was a slight change in my Saturday training schedule, which was instructed by my coach and I think this may have set off the tightness that caused the pain. This point also ties in a bit with point 2. A few days off may keep your training more consistent in the long run, which is always much more important than just a few big days of training. 4 weeks of consistent training always beats 1 week of smashing yourself to pieces! After a good swim and transition, which put me at the front of the second pack I jumped on my bike and my seat just gave way! After a smooth recovery and banging it back down (watch the highlight show) I jumped back on and resumed my race not losing very much time and still in a good position. But then after another minute I sat at the back of my saddle to balance the weight of it as it was still loose... and it just came off in between my legs! It was then a decision to stop or keep going. I hate stopping in a race. Stopping always feels a lot worse than having a bad race. So I just carried on and linked up with a guy who had dropped off the pack. Plus there were still guys behind me- they ended up being lapped out. I used the rest of the race as a good hit out. I wanted to get onto the run and get a good session out of the race and practice for the upcoming Asian champs. After people started realising what had happened the support from family, friends and random people in the crowd was amazing and kept me going even more! 58th was probably my worst result in a WTS but the experience ended up being incredible! I received a standing ovation from the crowd as I crossed the finish line. It definitely took some of the disappointment away from an overall bad result. London WTS really is the best atmosphere I have ever raced in! Triathlon is a tough sport for various reasons. There are the obvious things like the length of a race; the amount of training needed; the different types of conditions you can face and their variability; and the mass start aspect of the swim, which very often can make or break your race from the beginning depending on how it goes. But I think one of the hardest parts of all is getting the right blend in training so that come a race you can put all the aspects together to reflect the training performances you have been showing. Very often you see people who are very strong in training in a certain discipline but come a race they do not show the potential they have shown in training. This is usually due to being so tired from their weaker discipline or the previous one that they cannot perform when it comes to the part that they are strongest in. Even in the swim you see athletes who are awesome swimmers and the best in the pool but in a triathlon they are nowhere to be seen at the front of the swim. This is where what I like to call getting the right ‘blend’ in training become so important. I have learned very much over the years to see triathlon as a completely separate sport to the singular aspects of swim, bike and run. I try to see it as another single discipline, with many aspects within it to get right and to produce the right ‘blend’ of those aspects to produce the best triathlon performance. Carry on working on everything NOT just your weaker discipline The most common mistake people make when trying to train for triathlon is completely concentrating on their weakest discipline to improve on it as much as possible. In turn this ends up causing them to lose the strengths they have as they start to just float along in the other 2 sports. It is so important to make sure that even when concentrating on your weaker discipline that you keep a decent level of training up in your stronger disciplines. After all, you are still trying to improve in those too and do not want to turn what used to be a strength into a relative weakness. This is what is so hard about triathlon, keeping a mind on the overall picture while training in each of the three disciplines. Working on the skills What is also often missed in training that can make such a big difference to a race is the skill aspects of triathlon, such as open water skills, transition skills, bike handling skills and tactical awareness in a competitive situation. These are things that can be just a few minutes at the end of a session that will make a huge difference to your overall time in a race. These are also essential things that go into perfecting the ‘blend’ of training to get the best out of your races. Examples of things that can be done in training are: · Group swimming – do swim sets where you swim right on the feet of the person in front and swap the person on the front every 100m or so. This will help your ability to hold onto someone ahead of you and also get used to swimming in a pack of people. · Group sprints at the end of a session – do short sprints (up to 25m) lined up in 3s across a lane in the pool and sprint the required distance. This ensure that you get used to swimming hard with people around you and restricts the space you have in the water just like it would be in a race. · Transition practice – if you find that you are being left behind in the transition then it is so important to make sure you practice jumping on and off your bike so that this becomes a part of the race that is second nature, and not a separate discipline. If you struggle to jump on your bike then find the very fastest way to get on and off your bike without injuring yourself. But if you can learn the jump then this is by far the fastest way to get on and off your bike. Also practice putting your helmet on and how to put your feet into your bike shoes with them on the bike. And putting your shoes on as fast as possible. All these things take minimal physical effort but can make big differences come a race. · Race scenario training – try to make some of your training sessions similar to a race scenario. For example, if you are a drafting triathlon racer then try to do more rides with others and practice through-and-off riding and attacking each other, just like it would be in a race. Similarly if you are a non-drafting athlete then still go out with others on the bike but do your session with the 10 or 12 metre gap between you that you would have to adhere to in a race. This is very important as even in non-drafting letting the gap go to 13-14 metres will mean you are giving time away for no reason, you may as well be at the required distance to maximise your performance. Racing more This is something I learned back in the 2013 season – there is no better specific session than a race. I ended up racing 22 times in the season – a little too much in the end but it really did help me to hone my racing skills and I was finding that I was less nervous and putting out good performances more often. So even if you are a long distance racer and only have 3 or 4 big races in a year try to get down to some of your local races. This will give you a proper race scenario training session done every so often so that when it comes to the big day the racing experience is not totally alien to you and you eliminate that ‘rusty’ feeling one can get when having not raced much. Another way to get the blend right in your big races and maximise your performance is to time a smaller race so that it fits in nicely with your schedule before the bigger race. This will help you to iron out anything that you need to work on for the big one and, again, this will give you that race feel that is so hard to get from normal training sessions. In summary Try to see triathlon as a single sport rather than it being made up of lots of completely separate parts. Your swim will affect the bike leg and your bike leg will affect your run leg and transitions can enhance all three if you get them right, or ruin a race if you get them wrong. Always keep a part of your mind on the other disciplines even when working on your weaknesses. Don’t worry too much in training if the individual sports are not quite where you want them to be because when it comes to putting it together in a race it is the final result that counts. If you have the right blend in training then you will see the great results pouring in. By Lawrence Fanous I was prompted to start thinking about this topic and decide to look up a few numbers during my Christmas trip to the USA for my girlfriend’s family Christmas. I was at a Boxing day BBQ (I’m in Florida so it’s a warm Christmas for me) watching some Boxing Day American Football friendly matches and I got into a conversation about the salaries of the players of the top-3 American sports – Football, Basketball and Baseball. I was basically trying to get my head around how these sports afforded to pay each player so much. My flight to Florida pretty much broke the bank! Professional sport salaries are well-discussed and readily available here in the US. Just a quick internet search reveals the average pay for each of the big-3 - $1.9million NFL, $3.2million MLB and $5.15million NBA in 2013. This seems so normal over here and people even talk about the ‘low’ salaries of some of the lower paid players – the lowest in NBA in 2013 was $373,041, not bad! So then I decided to have a look at a next-level paid sport, which still has decent pay in the grand scheme of life and especially compared to triathlon. I came across an article on Forbes.com named “how the 92nd Ranked Tennis player in the world earns a comfortable living.” It introduces a player called Michael Russell and his ATP ranking and pay compared to that of the top few players such as Federer, Nadal and Sharapova. As a summary the article paints a very similar picture to that of a top-100 ranked ITU Triathlon pro, with very high expenses and low income. And how breaking even and scraping by becomes normal at lower-levels of the pro ranks. The story he tells of making it in tennis sounds very close to some of my own, only with larger sums of money involved! He talks about the importance of competing in the smaller competitions to be able to get into the higher echelons of the sport, but how this often requires you to operate at a loss for most of these lower paying events – even when you win. This then allows you to compete at the top events (WTS in triathlon and Grand Slams in tennis) giving you a chance to really further your career. Russell also describes some of the ways that tennis professionals have to make smart financial decisions to keep going in the face of such high costs of competition. These include locating his home base in an economically-friendly town or city (Loughborough for me – very good for rent), finding the best hotel deals even if they are 10km or so away from the race venue (often having to share with other competitors for me), working with frequent flyer miles to get the best deals and sharing on-site masseuse with other players. His examples still seem like nice problems to have for triathletes as most triathlons do not provide free massage and a lot of pros can’t afford the flights in the first place, never mind collect enough frequent flyer miles to actually use them. The ATP have also developed a kind of pension scheme for the top-125 players so that their pros can go on to earn after they retire from the sport so that they are no just left by the wayside without any future prospects. Triathlon is a couple of tiers below tennis but I think with the ever-present tag it has of “one of the fastest growing sport in the world” and how it attracts a high percentage of high earners, I think the ITU and WTC can start to look to tennis and beyond as examples of how their pro athletes should be paid. We are still a long way behind even the tennis players (Russell can clear $200,000 pa) but I think triathlon has the potential to be paying its pros as much tennis players in the future. It will take a change of mentality within the sport, however. The problem at the moment is that triathlon is not seen as a well-paid sport but I think with the ever-growing number of big corporations and high-earning participants I think that it won’t be long before triathlon starts to catch up sports like tennis in terms of pay for its pro athletes – both in sponsorship and prize money. Catching Football, American Football, Basketball and Baseball pay, however… I’m not sure it will ever happen. I might have to change sports! Read the article here for a good insight into being a pro sportsman. Reduce the £/$/€ accordingly for triathlon! http://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelmorales/2013/08/26/aces-into-assets-how-michael-russell-has-made-a-profitable-career-in-the-demanding-world-of-pro-tennis/ If you didn't catch the blog article written by Brett Sutton last week, he explained the usefulness of producing strength during training, opposed to during gym sessions http://trisutto.com/strength-training-for-triathlon-2/. Today I stumbled across the following article suggesting five gym sessions per week http://www.t-nation.com/workouts/weight-training-for-endurance-addicts. Both methods can be used to gain strength, but the question is which is more functional for swim, bike, and run and essentially, race performance.
Although some athletes do need specific gym work, especially if they are injury prone, I do think triathlon specific strength sessions are essential, regardless of the athlete and can be more beneficial than gym based work. As Brett importantly points out, a lot of AG and youth athletes have limited time to train so training strength during regular triathlon sessions are very time efficient Here are examples of how this can be done for each specific sport. Swim - using equipment combinations such as paddles, band, pull, drag suits, during aerobic swim sets. The duration should be based on your capabilities. We would usually do up to 4km main set for the strongest swimmerS. E.g. 10*400 pull+paddle+band at an easy/steady intensity. Bike - using a big gear or low cadence on the road or turbo trainer. Cadence (rpm), duration, and intensity can all be manipulated to form a good set or you can simply add seated hills into a ride AT a specific cadence. A good example would be 3-6 *10 minute seated hill reps at a cadence that doesn't disrupt your form with easy spin between. Shorter reps can be left for the turbo so you can focus 100% on each peddle stroke. I recommend 40-60rpm for stronger athletes but no less than 70rpm for youth athletes who should focus mostly on higher cadences. Run - the easiest and safest way to do this is hill running. It's better to choose a moderate gradient whereby you can still run with good form to reduce injury risk. I also like hiking and stair walking during winter with some athletes using a weighted vest. A good example would be 3-6* 5 min reps @ low- moderate intensity. Using a treadmill set at a gradient is an easy way to control the environment. One of the biggest considerations before doing this type of work is how strong the athlete is before starting, and their training history. Especially weaker athletes will benefit from doing gym based work before doing specific swim/bike/run strength work. It is essential to be as strong as possible, prior to moving on to race specific training so make sure you use one or both methods early in your season. Frequency of these sessions should not surpass 2-3 sessions per week for each sport, the same goes for gym. By Andrew Wright Week 1-6/8 Speed Development. Mobility and Flexibility work. Core stability work. The first 4 weeks is about firstly getting back into a routine and getting my mind used to training being the main focus of each day. Then it is about making sure that my body is ok to get going again and building foundation blocks to go on and do the big hours closer to my main goals for the year. This would include specific speed development sessions in the pool and on the track/road for running, while on the bike there is little structure and a few sprints are thrown in here and there on some of the rides with hills for strength. There would also be an emphasis on core strength and stability in the lower half of the body. This year I have also started to see a physio who has assessed my flexibility and mobility in various parts of the body and has prescribed me a number of exercises to improve this to maximise my performance in other training. The first week would be very light and probably not more than 2 disciplines per day just so that I do not over-do things. Then from week 2 I start to put in all the sessions that I would be doing when I am at full training. So at this point the frequency of my training sessions is almost normal but the volume of them is low. The general pattern of when each session is within the training week probably won’t really change through the whole year from now on. However the volume and intensity of each session obviously will and there will probably be a rest day in there to keep my body in good condition for the higher quality sessions. During this first ‘block’ the volumes would increase slightly week to week until I was doing around 25 hours once I really get going and start getting ready to move on to bigger hours and longer sessions. So an example of the specific sessions I would do would be my Tuesday run session. This would be a session designed to develop my leg speed and power without taking too much out of me as a more normal run session would. After a 20-25min warm up with strides and body mobility work I would do a main set of: 2x(6x200 straight into 200 jog recovery) 3min rest in between each set. The effort of the 200s would be at a pace that was not all-out but comfortably fast – maybe around 3km race pace depending on ability- and fitness-level. So for me I would be looking at around 33-35sec per 200. The important part of this session, however is the recovery. It is done at a jog and not a standstill, so that the recovery is still having an impact on overall fitness. The fact that you are still jogging (and not walking) means that you are teaching your body to work aerobically even in rest and giving the session an aerobic element as well as working on your speed during the actual reps. As I move through this training block the recovery will become more and more important and it will end up becoming more specific in the speed that I will run it – probably building to running at 15km/h (4min/km or 48sec per 200). Mobility and flexibility work will be done around sessions. So just 10min (mob) before and 10min after (flex/mob) sessions is all I will be doing but this will end up being a lot when you take into account all the sessions that will be done in a week. There may be one or two specific core sessions per week – e.g. one pilates session and one short circuits session. Study -Sleep-Train-Repeat. Part 2
Getting it done. By Andrew Wright In my last article I outlined the importance of competitive sports programmes for youth athletes and how they build employable, disciplined, leaders. It is easy to point out these positive traits and its evident, that highly motivated individuals, can perform at the highest level both in and out of the arena. However, it has been frequently documented that schools in many Asian cities, including Hong Kong, boast longer hours and higher academic standards, than many of those in the West. With this in mind, it seems impossible that athletes residing in these cities could possibly focus on sport and school, at any reasonable standard. They do! The question is how? To answer this I spoke with two of Hong Kong’s up and coming sports stars Miles Williams and Reiny Brown, on how they manage their time on a daily basis. I also spoke with the head of secondary at a competitive academic school, to get the opinion of an educator, and to gauge their understanding of what these athletes endure. Miles Williams is a 16-year-old swimmer/triathlete who holds the 1500m freestyle junior record and is the 2013 Asian youth triathlon champion. He is currently taking his GCSE exams, before going into his final two years of IB (International Baccalaureate), at West Island School. Currently training 19-20 hours per week and averaging 12 hours of travel “Makes you very tired” says Williams. “I try and study on the bus, if I don’t fall asleep, and no doubt the training takes its toll on my grades but, I have never missed a session for school work. During exam time I have more time to train and revise and there is no need to reduce training hours. I am aspiring to get into university here in Hong Kong or the United States. I would love to continue training through university to see how far sport takes me”. Reiny Brown, who trains along side Miles, is 15 years old and focuses on triathlon. The straight-A, German Swiss International School student, was recently fourth at the Australian youth triathlon champs and won the Hong Kong X-Country champs last year. His training averages 18-20 hours with an additional 8 hours of travel. Brown suggests his training positively affects his school grades. “I do need to work at lunch times though and we employ private tutors for tough subjects, such as Mandarin. As long as I stay disciplined and have my training schedule for the week, everything is planned around that. Family is extremely important and we work everything out like a team, this also happens with my coaches and schoolteachers. Social life is the main thing that suffers, but training has become my social life. My bicycle is like a girlfriend to me. I still have three years of school left but I dream of competing for Hong Kong in the World Champs and Olympics”. Justin Alexander has been the head of secondary at Chinese International School, for the past 5 years. “As a teacher and as a school, you certainly do take into consideration the extra hours that student athletes put into their sport and recognize that they have unique challenges to face when trying to manage a training, competition and school schedule. The most critical advice that I can give to both the students and their parents is to include and involve the school in discussions about the sport and the likely commitments that are needed at the start of the school year. We generally find that ‘student athletes’ need to be very organised with their schoolwork and their training schedules and be efficient with their time in order to stay on top of both areas. As always, if athletes or their parents can anticipate a problem with schoolwork, it is much better to contact teachers ahead of time rather than wait until the crisis hits. Some athletes may wish to consider spreading their final years of schooling out by an extra year to help their workload and give them a better opportunity for success in individual subjects. The IB Diploma programme which many schools in Hong Kong offer, does allow the opportunity to spread the final 2 years of High School over a three year period. We celebrate and acknowledge the successes of our elite athletes and as a school it is important we recognise that we want to develop a balanced student population, that includes high level academic students, musicians, athletes, artists, and performers”. These are strong examples of what athletes are capable of and how they approach their student and sporting life. It also gives some insight into the professionalism of certain schoolteachers and their understanding of the athlete’s situation. There are many other examples just like these. Make sure you, as an athlete, are one of them and fulfill your full potential in both the classroom and in your chosen sport. Below are some pointers to help you on your way. Key messages to ‘student athletes’ 1. Ask for help - Speak with teachers, parents, coaches and let them know your schedule and how they can help. Schools are proud to have good athletes and will welcome that extra help maybe needed. 2. Set goals – If you don’t know your sporting and academic goals you will not know how to allot your time affectively. Use a yearly planner to plot exam and competition dates as well as intense training and study periods. 3. Prioritize – Something has to give. Being the best at sport and school will mean sacrificing social activities. Educate your friends on what you are doing and they should respect that you do not have free time after school and on weekends. 4. Make a “To do list” – When something is written down it is guaranteed to be remembered and done. On your weekly training plan add a column where you can write down this list. 5. Don’t waste time – Interruptions like Facebook, Instant Messengers and TV can be seriously disruptive to studying. Plan time blocks where disruptions are not a factor and get your work done. 6. Build a support network – A good coach, teachers, and parents on board are essential. Advice from them on nutrition, medical and psychological support is paramount. 7. Sleep – Without 8+ hours sleep per night recovery is compromised and results will suffer. This should be a number one priority and goal each week. Early morning training = early to sleep. 8. Think like a champion – The sooner you get your priorities right and start thinking positively the quicker this will translate into victories. Study-Sleep-Train-Repeat. Can young athletes do it all and why they should!
By Andrew Wright Throughout the world many young athletes are pushing themselves to the limit with high training volumes on a weekly basis, whilst trying to juggle school, homework, social pressures, and other extra curricular activities. In Asia especially, the pressure to maintain the highest possible school grades, as well as being competitive in every other aspect of life, including sport, is faced by youngsters on a daily basis. It seems that sport is also the first to blame when school grades are not close to perfect, with parents questioning how long training hours can be of any benefit, when the chances of success are unlikely and never guaranteed in the sporting arena. We all know the proven benefits of moderate exercise, of about 60 minutes per day, and how it has a positive effect on the brain and bodily functions. In this instance however we are talking about those involved in competitive endurance sport, kids from 7-17 years now training up to 25 hours per week, most of the year round. These long hours cause fatigue and obviously take up study time, but they are essential in becoming a competitive athlete. We should not hide the fact that to be competitive in many sports on a national or international level, long hours training are needed at a young age. When athletes reach maturity, they will then have a sufficient base to permit even harder training, without injury or excessive fatigue. Using Hong Kong as an example, where schools start early and finish late, the emphasis on good grades is of paramount importance, and travel cuts big chunks out of a students day, it’s not surprising why sport takes a hit. High pollution levels, and disorganized sports federations are also to blame for Hong Kong's lack of top results in endurance sports. Parents are right to ask the question “What's the point of my child devoting all these hours to sport when they could be spent studying?”. As a coach, I see many talented youngsters drop out or consider dropping out of competitive sport. This is usually because of the reasons mentioned above. It is hard to predict exactly, however, several young athletes I know could probably have made it to the top, but were prevented from doing so by parents who did not see the point, or in some cases due to them not receiving good advice that would have shown them why they should have pursued their sporting ambitions. My goal as a coach, is to keep athletes in a long term development programme and inform their parents on how training hours are extremely beneficial in the long run, whether that athlete makes it to the top internationally, or not. I always advise parents to keep their kids in competitive sport programmes until they have finished school and can make key decisions, as to whether or not they want to take a shot at going full time. I should add, that a lot of athletes only start showing their true potential in endurance sports once they reach the age of 17-18 years anyway. Competitive sports programmes educate young athletes in many lessons about life and develop various attractive personal traits such as; - Teamwork and leadership skills - Competitiveness and hard work ethic - Time management - Loyalty, trust, and self discipline - The ability to deal with high pressure situations - How to adapt to specific situations - Goal Oriented - To act outside their comfort zone - To understand their own limits All of the above are exactly what schools, universities and prospective employers are looking for in any applicant and therefore will give athletes a competitive advantage over everybody else. When talking with several high level industry professionals, it is quite evident that they see these benefits when dealing with the thousands of applications they receive every year. This is also true for university administrators. Fred Clatworthy, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Institutional Equities at Morgan Stanley Asia is one such employer, managing the Graduate Programs for his division. As an ex-amateur Triathlon World Champion and Cambridge University Swimming Blue he has personally benefitted from pursuing sports. When seeking young talent his team look beyond grades, for well-rounded individuals with diverse interests and passions. Fred explains “Good grades are simply part of the equation. We receive thousands of applications every year from academically gifted individuals, so we need to look beyond grades. Key is finding individuals who have set goals and achieved excellence in their chosen pursuits whether sports or perhaps music or the arts. For me personally this was sport and I’ve found the discipline and commitment learnt at a young age have served me well in life.” Few roles exist in isolation, so people skills are just as important as knowledge. Sports are great for developing confidence, camaraderie and team skills and these are precisely the interpersonal skill set that employers seek. Fred clarifies “We see a significant number of talented individuals applying each year but many have focused solely on schooling to the detriment of developing other skill sets or interests. Those with diverse interests are the ones that stand out”. There are certainly many demands on young adults today but Fred offers some words of wisdom to aspiring athletes “It can be hard to combine both sport and academics but it is not impossible. It simply requires making sacrifices to get ahead, drive, ambition and of course parental support is essential”. As Fred mentions, it is of course important to keep school work up as well. In fact, if parents notify me of falling grades we try and find a way around this. I have spoken to school teachers and students alike to maintain both training and studying to continue at a high level; it is possible. The key to this, is to have the athlete, coach, parents, and teachers all on the “same page”, and aiming for the same goal. Take swimming or triathlon as a sporting example, you will find a very high percentage of an elite start list have either graduated or are currently studying at university. One of the saddest concepts I have come across in Hong Kong, is coaches who suggest students pull out of school to train full time, especially if the athlete displays limited potential. Other key fundamentals of coaching, are honesty and integrity when it comes to their athletes, and not leading anyone to think they are better than they are, coaches must aim to produce well rounded individuals, of course academic achievement is part of this. Adrian J Halkes, a Barrister-at-Law with a history of athletic competition puts it this way, "when I'm putting a team together I find that people who have a history of competing in the athletic arena usually have a better grasp of the fact that without proper preparation and hard work, winning is unlikely to follow" he adds "competitive sport also results in people who are more self-aware and therefore much less likely to over-reach their own abilities, something that is absolutely essential in a professional environment". My message to all aspiring athletes is to both study hard and train hard. This can be done to the highest level and both will supplement each other extremely well. If you make it as a professional athlete you will need to be smart when managing your career and ensure that you have something to fall back on when you're not as fast as you once were. If you don’t make it, or decide against taking that pathway, then you will still have all the attributes employers are looking for, with the qualifications to match and a good fitness base. Put yourself in the driver’s seat and give yourselves the best possible chance of succeeding in your choice of profession by taking your sporting career as seriously as your academic one. Andrew Wright, Bsc Sports Science (Hons), Msc Sports Science, Elite triathlon coach, ex ITU athlete. |