Pool Workouts for Triathletes
Dear Friend,
Recently, Yahoo news posted an article about the health risks of doing a triathlon. Being the typically alarmist mainstream media, I immediately was suspicious. Two days later I saw an article by Dr. John Martinez, who works with a lot of triathletes here locally in San Diego, which gave a more detailed analysis of just what the Yahoo article was referring to.
I think it’s always a good idea to take all the necessary precautions, but it’s also important to get the facts right!
You can check out the article here.
Enjoy,
Kevin
“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.”
-Leo F. Buscaglia
How Can You Avoid Chlorine’s Side Effects?
Chlorine was first added to a community water system in 1908 in Chicago and was instrumental in eliminating many types of waterborne diseases, such as cholera and typhoid fever. However, chlorine is a poison to our bodies and in by consistent exposure can damage hair and skin.
When I was a kid growing up I swam every day, sometimes twice a day, and got used to the dry, brittle hair (even green at times!), and dry, cracked skin.
As an adult, these issues affect me even more- and I enjoy them much less!
Ideally, we could all swim in the ocean, where the water is actually good for your skin, even healing.
However, this isn’t a practical option for many swimmers who live no where near the coast. Even for me, I’m very close to the ocean, but in the winter the water hovers at around 55 degrees- much too cold for my bones!
So since we will always have to deal with pools and chlorine, I felt the need to find an anti-chlorine product that works. I tested out several products including shampoos, body wash, and lotion. Here is what I found:
Ultra-Swim Shampoo (found in most drug stores)
Odor: Below Average
Effectiveness: After 2 weeks of usage, I noticed no difference in dried out brittle hair or cracked skin
that smells like cholorine even 2 days after swimming.
Overall Rating: 1/5
Barracuda Anti-Chlorine Lotion (found in most swim shops) Odor: Above average. A bit chemically, but also a nice lemon scent mixed in. Effectiveness: Average. It seems to work for a while after swimming and takes out the chlorine odor, but dryness came back to my skin by the next day. Overall Rating: 3/5
Tri-Swim (no relation) Anti-Chlorine Shampoo, Body Wash, Lotion Odor: Excellent (citrus)
Effectiveness: Wonderful. These products worked the best for me. From the Tri- Swim website:
“TRISWIM is for people who love to swim but dislike negative effects that chlorine can have on hair and skin. Our innovative products are formulated to gently remove chlorine and chlorine odor while cleansing and moisturizing.”
Overall Rating: 5/5
By using the Tri-Swim products, I have been able to kill the chlorine smell from my skin and replace it with a pleasant citrus smell. What sold me on Tri-Swim (besides the name) was waking up the next day after swimming and not smelling chlorine on myself! If I use the body wash and then the lotion immediately afterward, my dry skin is completely minimized. The chlorine fighting shampoo has also allowed my hair to grow normally again instead of breaking off. I highly recommend these products if you are swimming in typical highly chlorinated pools.
Click here for Tri-Swim shampoo and other anti-chlorine products!
Tip of the Month- Avoid Crossing Over
Keep your arm from crossing over. One of the most common bad habits I see in swimmers is the arm crossing over to the opposite side on the pull. Breathing on your left side results in your right arm crossing over, breathing on your left side results in your right arm crossing. Often times this happens
when one goes to breath, but sometimes it’s caused just from over-rotating. To avoid this, make sure your head isn’t moving with the rest of your body, and try to pull more in a straight line (still bending the elbow) and ending the pull on the same side you started (i.e. right hand slices into the water, pulls back and hand ends up near right hip).
Click here for more tips, drills, and The Triathlon Swimming Essentials!
Coming this Friday: Waterproof Drill & Workout Cards– Set to arrive at the shipping facility tomorrow!