Swiss-ball Hamstring Curl Today we are looking at the swiss-ball hamstring curl; a great exercise which can be done at home with very little equipment. It is an effective exercise helping to strengthen your hamstring, glute and core muscles whilst improving your stability & balance. How to perform the swiss-ball hamstring curl Lie down on your back with your arms on the ground beside you. Place both your heels on the ball. Lift your hips Read more…
Elbow Plank Fundamental to your success as a triathlete is building a strong core. Your core is the foundation of movement and includes the muscles that control and stabilise your pelvis, spine and kinetic chain; these comprise of shoulders, abdominals, pelvic floor, hip girdle & gluteal muscles. The elbow plank is a great exercise to help strengthen the core and build body stability for running, cycling and swimming. This exercise can be used throughout your Read more…
Looking for a useful Christmas stocking filler for the athlete in your life? How about a set of personalised decals for a bike or helmet? Name Decals have added our logo to their list of custom designs. You can now spread the Amp Tri love by visiting Name Decals and selecting our logo from the drop down menu titled ‘flag’. Then design how you want your name to look. They cost £5.99 for 2 with Read more…
Mountain biking is a great way to build and increase your bike handling skills. The ever changing and sometimes technical nature of the trails help to improve & develop fast reflexes and pedalling skills. These skills transfer directly to the road and can make you a better descender. Of course, you can change your rides on the road bike, but during the off season there is nothing better than getting away from the traffic. Having Read more…
Should I be doing Strength & Conditioning? The simple answer is yes! In fact everyone, not just athletes, should be including strength & conditioning sessions in their weekly routines. Strong muscles help people remain independent, active & healthy throughout life. After the age of 30 we begin to lose as much as 3% to 8% of muscle mass per decade. After the age of 60 this decline can be even faster! As S&C is a Read more…
To celebrate the return to racing over the coming months we’ve put together a bag of goodies to help with your training! Following on from our series on performance nutrition you may know about what you should be eating after a hard session or race, but now is your chance to be honest and tell us what your go to post race food is! You can do this via our facebook page or email us Read more…
In the previous article we explored what foods an athlete may eat in a typical training day and will now look a little more closely at what meals are made up of. Once you have a rough idea of how many carbs, proteins and fats are in everyday foods it becomes easier to build a healthy diet which suits you as an individual and not just for the ‘average’ person. The meal plan below works Read more…
Nutrition Tips for Training In the previous article about current thinking [1] on the composition & quantities of macronutrients needed by athletes we learnt that macros are made up of carbohydrates, proteins and fats and we need to eat these in large amounts to fuel, maintain and repair our bodies. We also need micronutrients, these are vitamins and minerals which are needed in smaller amounts to enable the body to function properly. If you fill Read more…
Eat Well, Train Better For many of us eating is a joy, a pleasurable activity to explore tastes and textures, as well as a way of socialising with friends and family. It can also be the source of frustration when too much of a good thing means we end up putting on weight. We live in a society where people are perpetually on a diet in an endless quest for health and happiness. It seems Read more…
Author: Joanna Pike, First Tri Physio Sunlight. A rare sighting for many of us within the UK at this time of year. However, have you ever thought about how the lack of sunlight may be affecting your bones and muscles? Commonly known as the sunshine vitamin, lack of sun exposure during autumn and winter can leave us susceptible to low levels of vitamin D. But how would a low level of vitamin D affect your Read more…
