EverymanTri.com

Skins Compression Clothing A200 Men's Compression Half Tights review

Athletic wear has made serious advancements in the past few years. Why, back in the day, if you wanted to run or workout, all you had were your tighty-whities (for the guys) and grandma undies (for the ladies) and those short shorts and a cotton t-shirt. Talk about groin chafing and nipple bleeding.

Well, times have changed. Under Armour came along and introduced us to the world of spandex sports underwear. It was breathable. It was functional. And it was fashionable. Heck, some triathletes will even just wear under armour spandex shorts to swim triathlons in (as if there was anything worse than a guy in a speedo).

Anne Haug wins hometown race in World Tour Series in Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany (July 20, 2013) - Anne Haug gave her home crowd something to cheer about as she powered her way to victory in a thrilling World Tour Series race in Hamburg.
 
The WTS leader exited the swim 40 seconds behind the lead but worked her way through the field on the 20km bike and then broke away from the pack in the last kilometre of the 5km run to maintain her place at the top of the rankings. Haug finished in 57 minutes and 21 seconds, ahead of second-place Non Stanford (GBR) in 57:35, who was one second ahead of compatriot Jodie Stimpson in third.

The Brownlee Bothers battle it out in Germany at the World Tour Series

Hamburg, Germany (July 20, 2013) - Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) produced a thrilling finish to pip brother Alistair Brownlee (GBR) to claim victory in the World Tour Series in Hamburg.
I thought it was going to be Alistair's day - I thought I'd never beat him. He's gone into this pretty unprepared but I knew I had to give everything," Jonny said.
 
He was hanging on through the whole run. Alistair doesn't like to run behind people, he likes to run upfront. I got to the last bit and he got past me. I was pretty feeling comfortable. I was thinking the whole way round I couldn't remember if I was meant to finish on the right hand side or the left hand side but it was all good."

Are all calories created equal?

In a blog post on my website earlier this week, I taught how to count your calories and log your diet the right way. But it’s important to realize that especially for triathletes, it’s the nutrient density and quality of your food that truly matters – not the calorie content.

But wait – a calorie is a calorie, right? 

Not really.

In the most recent such study to date, two groups were compared (O’Connor). One group ate slow sugar release, low glycemic index foods (think raw nuts or beef jerky) and another group ate faster release, high glycemic index foods (think white rice or wheat bread).

But both groups ate identical amounts of calories.

Researchers then monitored blood sugar levels and appetite of the subjects, and found that those consuming the high glycemic index foods had a blood sugar level crash just a few hours after eating, and were hungrier sooner compared to the group that ate the slower release foods.

Jodie Stimpson (GBR) wins the grueling ITU Triathlon in Kitzbuehel

Kitzbuehel, Austria (July 6, 2013) -  Jodie Stimpson (GBR) followed compatriot Alistair Brownlee to win the grueling World Triathlon Series event in Kitzbuehel in one hour, three minutes and twenty two seconds, with it earning her first WTS title.
 
After finishing third in the last two WTS events (Yokohama and Madrid) and sitting third in the overall rankings, Stimpson made the step up to win the race billed as one the world's toughest triathlons. Stimpson finished ahead of Emma Jackson (AUS) in 1:04:21 and Anne Haug (GER) in 1:04:34.

Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee dominates ITU World Triathlon Kitzbuehel

Kitzbuehel, Austria (July 6, 2013) -  Great Britain's Alistair Brownlee proved yet again why he is one of the greatest triathletes of all time with another breath-taking performance to win ITU World Triathlon Kitzbuehel.

Brownlee hadn't raced since winning in San Diego in April because of an ankle injury but blew away the field with an incredible display of endurance, winning in 55 minutes, 23 seconds on the new dynamic course that consisted of a 750m swim, followed by a 11.5km bike and a 2.5km run up the Kitzbuehel horn.
 
The highlight of Brownlee's performance was on that tough bike. After coming out of the water in eighth place, he hit the front of the pack as a short downhill section turned into a gruelling 867m climb. Initially Javier Gomez (ESP) broke away with Brownlee but couldn't keep up as Brownlee started pulling away, creating an astonishing 1km lead as the as the climb started to take its toll on the rest of the field.

Review: Top shelf ingredients let you rest assured that your nutrition is covered

Triathletes are bombarded daily with suggestions, directives and advertisements for nutritional supplements to use in addition to their regular diet to account for the extra stress of training and racing and to enhance the effects of the caloric burn.

Want to bike harder, run faster? Take this super duper supplement that increases your this-and-that level to give you the added endurance. Want to lose that last 10 pounds to bring out those muscles or get to that race weight? Take this super natural supplement to boost your metabolism and burn it off.

Some of it’s hokey, and some of it is real. What’s real is the lack of protein in the everyday person’s diet, not just triathletes. If you are training for Olympic distance or further, then you are probably susceptible to protein deficiencies if you are not paying attention to your diet. Sadly with today’s ample supply of fast food and instance meal options, nutritional density has been lost in the translation, making supplementation almost a necessity for anyone, not just triathletes.