JAMES WITTS

220

running off road as much as possible, and on my treadmill – I bloody love Zwift – saves my joints and bones as well as my muscles.

On the bike I’ve worked on my position, to be super aero and comfy. I really do my homework on the race course, so I’m prepared for the specific demands of said course and can tailor my training towards that. I work on mobility and flexibility as well. Let’s hope it keeps me going all a little while yet, before I can join the age-group ranks when I’m closer to 50!

Need advice from The Don? Send an email to askthedon@220triathlon.com

SLIPSTREAMING STRENGTH

Train to the Rhythm Freelance writer and former editor James specialises in sports science and endurance.

Would you recommend specific exercises to improve my aerodynamic position in the gym or from home?

Sarah Marshall

QDefinitely. Most athletes can ease into a lower position. The difficulty comes in holding that position over a prolonged period of time. Athletes with weaker core areas will fidget, fatigue early and have to come out of the tucked position, losing their aero gains.

Strength exercises to forge greater resistance to the aero position include: glute bridge raises, dorsal raises and the plank. Interestingly, an area for strength development that’s often missed is the shoulders, triceps and upper back into the neck. These are all muscle groups that need to be static but are under tension to hold the position. You may notice that when your head’s tilted upwards to watch the road, it leads to upper-back stress. This can be improved with a simple plank plus neck extension.

Arguably, more important than increasing strength is improving flexibility

Athrough stretching. The chain of posterior muscle groups from your knees upwards all the way to your neck are vital in achieving and holding the optimal ‘flat back’ position. Great stretches include the cat stretch, back extension and sitting hamstring stretch, not forgetting that your shoulders and neck hold so much of your bodyweight. That’s why you should include neck extensions and shoulder rotations.

But arguably the number-one exercise for incorporating strength and stretching in a combined movement is the deadlift, focusing on controlled repetitions under moderate weight loads. Dermott Hayes

TRAIN TO THE RHYTHM

When the clocks go back an hour, commentators talk about circadian rhythms. I hear they impact triathlon. Is that right? Nigel Taslett

QResearch shows that all of us have a peak time of the day to train. As does Professor David Bishop, senior sport scientist at Victoria University in Australia and an authority on the subject. “There’s scientific evidence to support the idea of circadian rhythms and its impact on training,” says Bishop. “It’s because most of our bodily processes vary over an approximate 24-hour cycle, meaning we have a number of mental and physical peaks and troughs.”

Circadian rhythms have been observed in animals, fungi and plants for years, and attracted the attention of the world back in 2017 when Americans Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for their discovery of the molecular mechanisms that control circadian rhythms. Seen through a triathlon lens, these mechanisms can influence the quality of your session, albeit specific parameters of performance

“Endurance performance, like triathlon, seems to be less affected by time of day than power,” says Bishop. “In our own studies, we’ve shown that maximal cycling sprint power is greater in the afternoon than in the morning. It’s the same with strength work in the gym. This coincides with hormonal changes that raise body temperature, which then increase factors

A