WhittleFit Blog

.......and sleep!

51371058

Todays blog post is from coach Henry, who's talking about something we all love and something we'd all like more of..........yes, sleep!

Most of what we know about sleep has only been discovered in the last 25 years and it’s an area of study which continues to excite scientists. The average humanbeing will sleep for a third of their lives – that’s a whopping 25 years given an average life expectancy. Most healthy adults require 7-9 hours of shut eye per night, but this varies significantly between individuals. Whilst the quantity of sleep is important, the quality is also crucial (just like your training). There are 6 recognised sleeping positions, with 41% of Brits adopting the foetal position. Others include (and you can exercise your imagination as to what each looks like): the starfish, log, yearner, soldier and free-faller.

For athletes, sleep should be considered one of the cornerstones of the recovery process, alongside diet. Here are some of the benefits:

Boosts your immune system and wards off diseases
Enhances mental wellbeing and keeps us alert
Slow wave (or deep sleep) is said to be the driving force behind human growth hormone (HGH) – secreted by the pituitary gland – HGH is associated with tissue repair
Sleep increases fertility and sex drive
It lowers stress levels and the inflammation response in the body
Improves our memories and helps us live longer

WhittleFit Athlete Spotlight: Jon Turtle

15590533 10154831348033518 5952770796702984374 n 2

For the month of February we have the Jon Turtle as our WhittleFit Athlete Spotlight athlete. Jon is coached by coach Lawrence, raced Ironman Wales in 2016 and is currently doing his own running challenge where he's running 30 half marathons in 30 days; lets here what Jon has to say:

What got you started in endurance/ multisport?
- I watched my brother-in-law race in the Ironman Wales in 2014 and I couldn't get over the extent of the journey he had been on. The race was insane and the support was fantastic in Tenby. The camaraderie of the whole town was electric. A year or so later I was catching up with a friend and we both wanted a challenge. Something to push us beyond where we had ever been before and we joked about a triathlon. Bearing in mind I couldn’t swim…. at all, I didn’t even have a road bike and I could just about run a 10k race! Things just escalated from there!!
How long have you been with WhittleFit?
- I joined Whittlefit about 15 months ago with the goal in mind to complete Ironman Wales in 2016. I had trained myself for a Ironman 70.3 in Austria in 2015 and I knew I would need guidance and a lot of help to complete the full Ironman distance. It was the best decision I made and I know deep down I would never have finished the race otherwise.
Tell us about your home and work life?
- I am a professional wedding photographer and my partner Rachel owns the Bridal Boutique in Penarth. Being self employed was a real bonus because it meant I could juggle work commitments and training, however the busy season for me is spring and summer, the same time when training ramped up so it was tough!!!
What was your first race?
- My first running race was a Bupa 10k run around Cardiff Bay, it took months of training and gym sessions! My first ever Tri was the Cardiff Triathlon in 2015. I was just so shocked I survived the swim, the rest of the race was just a blur!!
How many races have you done?
- I have only ever completed 4 Triathlons and quite a few running races. Running is my strongest element of the three.
What advice would you give someone starting out in triathlon?
- 4 Key points spring to mind:
  - Get a coach, this is one decision you will never ever regret. A coach will get the best from you in the most efficient way possible. The cost of a coach will easily out weigh any gains you will get with upgrading kit. Near the end of the training you will feel totally exhausted but with the taper you will peak at the right time. I couldn’t believe how my body was coping during Ironman Wales, it made the process enjoyable and dare I say it - fun??!!
  - Nutrition, Nutrition, Nutrition!! I didn’t understand how important nutrition was, in terms of during the activity but also recovery. “ You can’t out train a bad diet “ - Mark Whittle. This kept going through my mind when I was tempted to eat cake!! - The whole cake!
  - Make sure you have the complete support from your loved ones and family. The journey is tough and when those hard times hit that could be the make or break to whether you quit or keep going. Rachel was my absolute rock through the 9 months of training, she believed in me when sometimes I didn’t.
  - Push your boundaries. I never thought I could go from dog paddling to swimming 2.4 miles in the sea, let alone becoming an Ironman! Never let anyone tell you cant do something. I am a firm believer in - "Live begins on the edge of your comfort zone"
What is the most rewarding part of your journey racing in endurance or multisport?
- The best feeling in the world was running down the red finishers carpet to the finish line of Ironman Wales. When I crossed that finish line a wave of emotion hit me, I actually did it! 9 months of hard training was completely worth it!
What is your biggest accomplishment so far?
- Completing Ironman Wales and being told “ You are an Ironman”, and also proving to myself that I am stronger than I ever thought I could be.

Thank you Jon for your comments and good luck on your 30 half marathons in 30 days running challenge!

Team WhittleFit racing roundup - 4th & 5th February 2017

It's early season but we had a few WhittleFit athletes out racing this weekend:

New Orleans Marathon: Craig Patterson travelled out to the USA for the Rock and Roll New Orleans Marathon this weekend. Craig had a very solid day at the office and even managed to negative split the marathon! Nice work Craig!
Portland Coastal Marathon: this weekend Tom and Leonie took part in the Portland Coastal Marathon in preparation for their Marathon des Sables race in April. This was an ideal 'prep' race as the event is very, very tough with large elevation changes, in addition to the lovely British weather which made it very soft underfoot. Well done guys, great effort, now time for the final push towards the iconic Marathon des Sables!

Well done everyone, great racing for such an early period in the season!

Fuel to perform and the rest will take care of itself!

fast fuel pizza 0

Here's a another great blog post from coach Lawrence, this time we're focusinig on fuelling for performace, I hope you enjoy it!

Recently I was chatting to guy I met out riding. He told me he had raced Cat. 2 in his day and was cycling at a decent pace despite being in his fifties. It was about two o’clock and he was ten miles from finishing a seventy mile loop. Shortly after we started chatting he said ‘I’m doing a bonk ride, I haven’t eaten today, I need to lose this belly.’ My first thought was that is a terrible idea! Then my second thought was I’m going to have to wait to pull out my MASSIVE cherry bakewell flapjack as that would be really rubbing it in! Instead of lecturing the poor hungry guy on how he could lose weight by just eating regularly and probably improve his cycling at the same time I bit my tongue and saved it for my February article.

Thy 10 Commandments of Turbo Training!

004 tacx virtual cycling trainer

Todays blog post is from our British Cycling Level 3 Cycling Coach Chris Tasker, who's talking about turbo training sessions and why you should learn to love them!

Turbo trainers, love them or loathe them, there's no denying that they are a great tool to use to bring about some big improvements in power and efficiency during the darker months. No-one will deny that they can be terminally boring to sit on for prolonged periods but when used with a little forethought and planning (or under the direction of a good coach) they will could put you ahead of the competition when the racing season begins.

Page 33 of 67