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Muscular Imbalances and Triathilates
Endurance athletes spend copious hours training every week. Triathletes in particular spend hours in the pool swimming thousands of meters, perpetually turning the crank on the bike and pounding the pavement running numerous miles. Because swimming, biking and running require athletes to use large muscle groups primarily in the Saggital Plane of motion repeatedly; Triathletes naturally develop muscular imbalances. Triathletes generally become very strong in the larger muscle groups such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, shoulders and sometimes the upper back muscles. While these muscles may have a tendency to become over developed, the smaller stabilizing muscles such as the low back, core, adductors and abductors, are often rather weak.
In looking at an example of a swimmer, one will see a swimmer with a well developed Latissimus Dorsi, upper back, shoulders and triceps. However, swimmers may not have strong chest and pectoral muscles. Runners on the other hand usually have strong quads due to their constant forward propulsion, yet they likely have weak abductors and adductors since these muscles are rarely engaged in forward motion. Conversely, a tennis player will have strong adductors and adductors due to their regular lateral movement. Runners alternatively, do very little lateral movement and therefore, if these muscles are not specifically strengthened, runners will be more susceptible to injuries when trying to catch their balance when running over uneven terrain or slippery surfaces.
If endurance athletes are experiencing overdeveloped muscles such as quadriceps and underdeveloped muscles such as abductors and adductors, this will create imbalances that may lead to injury, biomechanical inefficiencies and wasted effort. Fortunately, if the right attention is brought to these areas, performance can be enhanced and the chance of injury can be lessened.
Triathilates™ is a new workout created by Coach Kelly Wissolik of Energy Fitness Coaching, LLC that utilizes several basic mat Pilates exercises, various core conditioning and balance movements along with stretches to create an effective way to improve muscular imbalances in triathletes and endurance athletes, all while sharpening mental focus. Triathilates™ positions stretch and strengthen the muscles of the body that often become imbalanced by triathletes.
With Triathilates™, athletes will quickly be able to use the body’s entire core strength to generate real power! Power from the core will enable an athlete to snap the hips and pull through the water much more powerfully in the swim. Triathilates™ will improve power and enable athletes to turn the pedal cranks with fluid, complete circles consistently around the entire pedal stroke on the bike. A strong powerful core will aid in achieving a more aerodynamic position on the bike while allowing the athlete to run successfully with a forward lean off the bike. Triathilates™ will help the glutes to fire effectively and improve running form and power.
The core is the catalyst to higher levels of performance and reduced potential of injury. Achieving core stability will propel athletes toward more fluid, efficient movements in every swim, ride and run, because the core is at the center of all we do!
The core consists of the muscles of the abdominals, Torso and lower back. It is the vital link between hip and shoulder stability and it includes such muscle groups as the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, the erector spinae and many small stabilizer muscles between the vertebrae of the spine. With the right types of recruitment and targeted exercises athletes can help the core work together creating a framework of efficiency, leading to higher performance!
Triathilates™ is designed to recruit and target the right muscles and build that framework of efficiency! Triathilates™ will lengthen the body increasing flexibility and alleviating tight muscles that can be a detriment to top performance. Triathilates™ works to elongate the quadriceps as well as the hamstrings and calves. These major muscle groups in the lower body are often tight and lead to low back pain, decreased stride length, decreased hip extension and mobility and this will increase the risk of injuries in runners and triathletes if not properly stretched and addressed.
Triathilates™ also opens the shoulder and the chest muscles. Being hunched over on the bike and the repetitious free-style swim stroke causes the chest and shoulders to become tight and rounded leading to poor posture, neck pain, shortened reach and increased risk of injury. Again, Triathilates™ can help eliminate these common issues.
Triathilates™ will improve shoulder stability by strengthening the muscles of the upper back, rotator cuff and the rest of the shoulders all while lengthening the chest. This improves the body’s posture, bringing shoulders back and in line with the body.
Triathilates™ will improve hip stability by enabling the glutes to fire effectively and stabilize the hips. The reason so many running related injuries occur is because of hip mobility, stability and control issues. Runners have to be able to effectively balance on a single leg and move from the hips. If the hips do not stabilize, the force created by the pounding of running is stored in the body. That energy is absorbed and stored in the muscles, tendons and joints, increasing tissue load and leading to frustrating overuse injuries. Using your glutes effectively will help transfer load more efficiently.
Triathilates™ will improve core stability because every moment from Triathilates™ is generated from the core allowing our bodies to develop a solid, stable and powerful core leading us to higher performance.
Doing Triathilates™ just one to two times a week for 30 to 60 minutes will greatly reduce the risk of injury and make athletes muscularly balanced, strong and flexible. It’s time to give Triathilates™ a try and even out your muscular imbalances!
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