Cycling and triathlon have an increasing number of followers and a popular impact as it has never been lived in our country. However, that enormous diffusion among sports fans who want to practice them makes, unfortunately, both sometimes show their dark side in the form of ailments and injuries.
They are the consequence of common errors that for different reasons continue to occur.
Therefore, in Tuvalum we wanted to consult two cycling and triathlon coaches to explain what mistakes are usually more often repeated and how to anticipate them to avoid them:
Gerardo Verdú, high -performance specialist in triathlon and running, and
Antonio Valenzuela, expert in functional and preventive nutrition of injuries.
Four types of errors in cycling
When defining what are the most frequent carelessness among those who give their first pedaling in cycling or in triathlon, Valenzuela explains that “we must distinguish between four types. They can occur in the field of training, in terms of biomechanics, nutrition or what we know as invisible training. ”
In the case of training, the expert comments that
“The most common error that usually occurs is not calculating the training load. For example, start with a high volume and make many kilometers without controlling the intensity. The more Afronic kilometers, the longer you must pass on the bicycle, and if you do not make a progressive adaptation, fatigue will be caused in the nervous system, and a recovery of 2 or 3 days is needed. ”
To avoid this, Valenzuela recommends starting with low volumes of intensity and kilometers: “There must be an adaptation process, both physiological and locomotive, which is usually about 2 months.
If not performed, overloads, tendonitis and other injuries appear, which forces to go to the physiotherapist or the doctor. ”
The importance of biomechanics
As for biomechanics, Valenzuela includes between what is done wrong "
The choice of bicycle, that you do not usually choose well because it is not clear what you want to do.
Depending on what is sought, you have to buy one size or another, or otherwise, back pain, cervical pain, trapeze pain, etc. are generated. We can find ourselves even at risk of injury due to discals, sciatic and nerve pinching. ”
The expert recalls that “something that also usually becomes bad is not to adjust the coves of the pedals; When we walk, our foot can go more to the outside or inside, and the knee the same, and if the natural way of walking is not respected, with the angle that the leg has when pedaling, tendonitis, pain and muscle imbalances can arise "This coach points out.
Besides, "
Sometimes the cove incorrectly is placed on the metatarsal axis, that is, more towards the fingers of the foot or more towards the heel. In this way the performance decreases and the injuries are given. "
Even hitting with the proper bicycle size, the expert recommends "always assess the athlete. You have to know it, know what situation you have, etc. even if you have the bike tight,
If you have little stability of hamstrings and muscle imbalances, in the long term you will notice many discomfort. If the athlete has no flexibility, he would have to perform a flexibility program to improve the joint mobility range and thus avoid long -term pain. ”
Invisible training
The known as invisible training is key to Valenzuela, who points out that, “in addition to training, depending on the objective, the athlete is doing a training of which he is not aware, but that he can involve improvements or worsening. A rebalancing program, to detect force and compensation imbalances, etc. ”must be followed.
As for the break, he believes that
“The athlete who begins does not calculate the rest he needs, and that translates into overloads and injuries. One of the most important invisible training tricks is to know how to place himself on the bicycle depending on how the land is: later on climb, a little further back when you are down. ”
Gerardo Verdú, specialized in triathlon and running, underlines
The importance of real and attainable objectives. “In this way you can plan the season, competitions and rest, which is also very important. I have known cases of some triathlete who, without a good swimming base, points to a Sprint triathlon race when, maybe it is not able to swim 800 or more than 1,000 meters in a row. You always have to organize everything well, but it is about objectives that can be achieved. ”
Another bad habit that is usual is to “start training and raising the rhythm, when they must think, first, in the technique. In triathlon training, as in other resistance modalities, strength training should not be forgotten either. It is essential, both to prevent injuries and to optimize sports performance. ”
Valenzuela agrees that
In triathlon it is important to make a diagnosis of what is the sport of the three in which the most falters. “Then, depending on the results that are pursued, the training has to be periodized. The volume and intensity must be planned, so that the ultimate goal is for the training to be increasingly resembling the competition to which the athlete wants to be presented. In the previous months there will always be more volume and less intensity and then little by little the charge of training is increased depending on where the athlete falters to make them more specific, ”he emphasizes.
