Awhile back there was a post about the best peice of first timer IM advice. Over the last year there have been tons of ITBS issues/injuries - myself included.
So the #1 peice of advice for IM training (arguable of course… ) is to get your body alignment /muscle imbalances checked before you start ramping into the long distances. The effects of the problems do not seem to show until well into the game when it is too late to correct - ones that may not show up when only training for sprints/olys.
How do they check your body alignment and for muscle imbalances.
sounds like a plug for chiropractic
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With all due respect to the physical therapy practitioners out there – I don’t buy it.
If we start our ramp-up carefully, and place a premium on frequency over volume during that ramp-up, so-called imbalances will work themselves out. Some situps, a little of this and that…but basically running, biking and swimming create a pretty decent balance already.
I must admit that I am a skeptic about stretching and core work and a lot of that stuff. I see guys in the gym spending an entire lunch hour farting around with a big inflatable ball. One such guy looks as fit as anybody in Kona. I overhear him going on and on about balance and flexibility and how it makes you faster and stronger. He does the “Abs Class”; I do the spin class. He spends his time stretching and doing core work; I spend my time running. I’m no runner, but I passed this guy like a freight train in two triathlons last fall.
I cannot for the life of me understand why anybody would desire a muscle group to be able to extend beyond its useful or required range of motion. Core work is supposed to help our balance. Is there some epidemic of runners falling down that I’m not aware of? Core work is supposed to help us maintain our form deep into a race. Ok – but running a lot does that, too, only better.
Stretching and core work surely don’t hurt anybody, but I just don’t think they help either unless there is a specific problem that needs attention.
When an age group triathlete has exhausted his/her ability to do more running and biking and swimming, and still has training hours left in the week, then I suppose core work and exotic stretching routines can stave off boredom and keep them out of the ice cream shop.
OK – rant over. I’ve gotta go swim. But, I’m not warming up and I’m not stretching first. Then I might do some situps so I look good at the beach.
I like the way you think. You have a finite number of minutes in a week when you can train and you should maximize those minutes. if you’re otherwise healthy and not prone to chronic injuries, you’re wasting those valuable minutes pissing around in yoga, pilates and crunch classes.
I am neither, but prefer PT over Chiro - they are both good depending on your issue. Plus we needed a good debate here 
I did plenty of core and came to find out that my pelvis was tilted - now how would you know that and issues like that do not work themselves out.
I did plenty of core and came to find out that my pelvis was tilted - now how would you know that and issues like that do not work themselves out.
But – I might ask, “Tilted relative to what?” And, I might also ask, “So what?” Plenty of people run wickedly fast with pelvises tilted in all sorts of odd ways. And with their feet splayed out (ever watch Dave Scott or Lori Bowden?) and with one shoulder higher than the other and with their hands too high and their hands too low and a zillion other quirks that make a physical therapist crazy.
I went through a spell where my low back would start to cramp up on long runs. Why? Because I had started running with my pelvis tilted foward (ie, with my butt sticking out). While running along, I found that the back would feel better if I just focused on keeping my hips under me. A few runs like this and muscle memory took over. Problem solved. Just the other day, my knee cap started hurting all of a sudden. So I gently altered my stride a little bit this way and that and the knee pain vanished during the run. I guess that I had, for some unknown reason, begun to slightly overstride with that leg. Rather than panic and run off to a PT, I just made an adjustment and kept running.
IOW – these “imbalances” were cured by running more and by being body-aware while I was running: Making little adjustments until something that didn’t feel right began to feel right again.
NOTE: I’m not suggesting that everybody with an ache or a pain can cure themselves – I am suggesting that all this core work and muscle balance stuff can get a little overhyped.
A right-handed tennis player whose right arm is stronger than his left? Horrors!!! C’mon people…get real.
I looked up the word “practical” in the dictionary. Right beside the definition, they had a picture of Ashburn ;-D
But – I might ask, “Tilted relative to what?” And, I might also ask, “So what?” Tilted with the left side being higher than the right - caused ITB issues on the right. Maybe tilted was not the right way to describe the issue - how about out of natural alignment Rather than panic and run off to a PT, I just made an adjustment and kept running.
I think trying to over correct by changing stride is the wrong way to fix a problem, but it is an option. Still think it is worth checking into your bodies’ mechanical alignment and potential deficiencies. Not that these issues are always the cause of injuries, but if addressed, they could alleviate a lot of them (injuries).
A right-handed tennis player whose right arm is stronger than his left? Horrors!!! C’mon people…get real. LOL - I competed in tennis as a junior and my right arm was bigger than the left. However, that is not a good comparison to running.