While the swim is the shortest component of a triathlon, it can be the make or break of your race.

Whether you are a natural swimmer or feel like you’re swimming in a washing machine, we can all benefit from improving our technique.

Ex-national swimmer turned swim coach, Brenton Ford of Effortless Swimming, helps everyday athletes like you and me become faster, more efficient swimmers.

He recently joined me on the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast where he answered all the questions I know you’d want asked and gave his very practical tips around becoming a confident, faster, more efficient swimmer and improving your race time in the swim.

What are the biggest mistakes triathletes makes when it comes to swim technique (and how do we fix them)?

When assessing someone’s swimming technique I’ll follow a structured order: Body, head, kick, rotation, arms, extremities and timing.

Often one of the biggest mistakes triathletes makes when it comes to their swim technique is body posi...

Dairy has got such a bad rep. Put your hand up if you avoid dairy.

It’s common for me to hear of athletes who avoid dairy.

There may be a clinical reason why you don’t tolerate dairy – a milk protein intolerance for example, which typically is diagnosed when you’re a baby. But unless you have an intolerance to dairy, you shouldn’t avoid it - it’s actually a really nutritious food.

• Milk is a great source of protein, carbohydrate and there is no added sugar in milk - unless you’re drinking chocolate milk!
• Milk is also a great source of calcium and other micro nutrients

Problems occur when you avoid dairy and use substitute milk alternatives – they are heavily processed, often don’t contain much protein, have added sugar, and no calcium unless fortified. Basically, expensive water.

So ask the question – are you actually intolerant to dairy, or are you avoiding it for the wrong reasons?

You might actually be lactose intolerant – undiagnosed – don’t tolerate normal milk.

60-70% ...

The question being asked today is “Is a low carbohydrate, high fat diet the future of endurance sport?” 

And to answer that I asked one of the sports nutrition greats, Professor Louise Burke OAM, to weigh in.

Louise Burke is an Australian Sports Dietitian with 40 years of experience. She worked at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) for thirty years, first as Head of Sports Nutrition and then as Chief of Nutrition Strategy and I was very fortunate to work under her during my fellowship at the AIS.

She has contributed over 350 papers in peer reviewed journals & book chapters and was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2009 for her contribution to sports nutrition. 

She is the Chair of Sports Nutrition in the Mary MacKillop Institute of Health Research at Australian Catholic University in Melbourne and leads their Supernova Project - high level research that produces quality answers to some of the critical questions in sports nutrition. Working with and studying enduranc...

Want to stay abreast of the trends in sports nutrition? 

Here are the 6 sports nutrition trends I’m seeing and my sports dietitian assessment of each.

TREND 1 - Blood Glucose Monitoring

You will have seen the pros wearing Blood Glucose Monitors in Kona last year. What are they? How do they work? And do you, as an age grouper triathlete need to monitor your blood glucose to improve your performance?

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices typically consist of a small pager-like monitoring device that receives a signal from a sensor inserted into the subcutaneous layer. With their 1 - 5 minute measurement interval, they allow blood glucose concentration (BG) dynamics to be captured.

These devices are primarily designed for the use in type 1 and type 2 diabetic individuals to aid Blood Glucose regulation and are well studied in this cohort.

In particular, there is ongoing research to improve carbohydrate delivery and oxidation, resulting in less accumulation of carbohydrate i...

What is the supercharged zone? The supercharged zone is that sweet spot where training and nutrition intersect.

So many athletes smash themselves at training with no regard for how they're fuelling or recovering.

But we only adapt (i.e. get fitter and faster) from the sessions we recover from.

Indicators you haven’t unlocked your Supercharged Zone

• You struggle to get off the couch after big weekend sessions
• You crave sweet in the afternoons to get through the afternoon slump
• You fade towards the back end of tough sessions. Bonk long rides, fear of getting dropped
• By Friday you're exhausted and don't know how you're going to get through a big weekend of training
• You're tired and fatigued all the time but you're not sure how to fix it

If you resonate with any of these, chances are your nutrition is not right.

How to unlock your Supercharged Zone

1. You need to train
2. You need to eat to support that training

Key pillars to your success. In essence it’s simple ...

Ever wondered what you can achieve in just 12 short months to improve your overall health and performance?

Introducing our first Triathlon Nutrition Academy Alumni!

• Jill Gaudio
• Luis Franco Marin, and
• Jason Currie.

All have just finished 12 months of working on their triathlon nutrition. Here's what they achieved having gone through the Academy program:

JILL GAUDIO

As a result of understanding fuelling for swim, bike and run, Jill improved her 5km run time by 8 minutes, her 10km run time by 7 minutes and is cycling 6km/hour faster on the bike compared to 12 months ago. She’s fuelling and recovering better and as a result has gained muscle mass and decreased fat mass - the ultimate body composition outcomes for a triathlete looking to lean up, without affecting training performance. 

LUIS FRANCO MARIN

Luis has struggled to maintain his weight for 10 years and kept getting lots of niggly injuries. Every time he increases his training volume, he drops weight, an...

Let me set the scene. You’ve over-indulged over Christmas and New Year and, just at what seems like the perfect time, you see an ad for the latest detox program, a strict calorie diet, meal replacement shakes, or your local gym sends out a 6-week New Year’s challenge!  STOP!!! Put those blinkers on and focus on what is really important.

The New Year period often brings about lots of goal setting for the year i.e. all the ways you’re going to improve your life and become the new and improved you! Diets, exercise, healthy eating, working on projects you’ve been putting off, study, work! We’ve all been there. We’ve all made that list and found out not very long afterwards that it has fallen away the roadside and it doesn’t come to fruition as we'd hoped. That ‘quick fix’ fail (the rebound) then makes you feel worse about yourself!

I want to help you create sustainable change - without having to do anything drastic – making small changes, daily. Time and consistency are what are neede...

Triathlons are a great way to challenge yourself and push your body to its limits. But if you’re looking to slim down for a triathlon, it’s important to understand the right approach to take. Here are some tips to help you slim down and get in shape for your next triathlon.

Create a Training Plan

Creating a training plan is essential for anyone looking to slim down for a triathlon. You’ll need to plan out your workouts, including the type of exercise you’ll do, the intensity, and the duration. This will help you stay on track and make sure you’re getting the most out of your workouts.

It’s also important to make sure you’re getting enough rest. Rest is essential for recovery, so make sure you’re taking at least one day off a week to rest and recover.

If you need help finding a good coach or training program to help you reach your goals, get in touch and we can provide some recommendations.

Focus on Nutrition

Nutrition is key when it comes to slimming down for a triathlon. Y...

Before I take a break for the year, I want to leave you with five tips to help you survive the silly season.

I find that most people just completely switch off and let go of their healthy lifestyle and fitness goals as soon as December hits. We overindulge in delicious food and alcohol, are way more sedentary and just accept that a 2kg weight gain is inevitable. Knowing that we’ll hit the diet or detox hard come January.

I'm not here to tell you to be strict and not enjoy all of the delicacies. I really want you to enjoy this time. But I challenge you to change your attitude this year and implement my top five tips for surviving the festive season without having a massive blowout. 

1. Aim for Balance

• Find a comfortable middle ground where you can still go out and have a great time, but try and minimise the damage by going overboard
• Make healthy choices when you can and when you can't, don’t feel guilty for it. Focus on being mindful so you get maximum pleasure out of it. N...

My Triathlon Nutrition Academy members always love when I share ideas that can save them money and time when it comes to their nutrition.

We are heading into an even more expensive time with Christmas so here are a few ideas, including several Apps, that might help you save some dollars as we hurtle towards the silly season.

APPS

1. Eat Club: eatclub.com.au

If you are blessed with the ability to go out at night (without the challenges that come with children that need to go to sleep!) check out Eat Club. Restaurants list last minute deals to fill empty tables.

2. Super Cook: www.supercook.com

One of my personal favourites as it eliminates food wastage altogether.

If you are that person that has a bunch of random things left in the fridge at the end of the week that you just don't know what to do with then this App is for you.

This App allows you to add any ingredients you have in your pantry or left over in your fridge and suggests what you can make (assuming you only hav...