Ross @ The European Triathlon 2021

Sat 25th Sept 2021 - Valencia

Intro

After 6 months of focused training I went to the European Triathlon in Valencia. It was an amazing experience, and as a lot of you kind people have asked me about it I thought I would do a quick report from my race.

This is the first time I’ve qualified for Great Britain as an age group athlete and I was competing in the 35-39 age group. The event was made even more special as my mother-in-law Jane also qualified for her age group too, so we made a family holiday out of the event.

Swim

It was an early start and the sun was rising in the marina for the start of the race. The water temperature was so warm that wetsuits were banned so it was my first non-wetsuit swim. I knew this was likely to be the case so I had been practicing trying to get my ‘sinking legs’ higher!

The other difference for this race was that it was an optional dive start (like at the Olympics). All of the athletes in my wave decided to dive so I got stuck in too!

It was a beautiful place to swim and I settled in to a pace I could maintain. I was never going to be fast without a wetsuit but it felt controlled and strong.

Distance 750m, Time 14:14, Pace 1:54m/100m

Bike

This was a strange looking course around the Marina and into the City. It was full of sharp turns, chicanes and U-Turns which made it very technical. There was also some water on the road from some rain the night before so it had to be ridden well. There were some serious crashes and luckily I was not involved with any.

I was going well on the 1st lap when all of a sudden I saw the end of the bike course! - somehow I had missed the sign for the 2nd lap!! I quickly turned around and saw a couple of others had done the same. Luckily we got back on track and didn’t lose too much time.

With the slight detour and all the corners I was still very close to hitting my target speed of 38kph average.

Distance 20k, Time 32:16, Speed 37.2kph

Run

My main target here was to go sub 20. The heat was building up and I knew going under 4 mins every km would be a good challenge after the bike.

I settled in to a good pace early and keep focusing on increasing my cadence. I knew if I turned my legs fast enough and kept a good form I would run well as I was always going to give 100%

I had a perfectly paced run and even finished with 3:38 on the last 1km!

Distance 5k, Time 19:33, Pace 3:55/km

Summary

My overall time was 1:08:22 and this put me 18th out of 27 in my age group. As I have never competed at this level before I am really pleased with that, and I have to say that it felt very good to don the GB Tri Suit!

This was my last event of the year and my next big event is having our 2nd baby! So over the winter months i’ll keep the training ticking over when I can, and just train because I love it.

Finally, I am happy to say that next year I have qualified for the World Triathlon! There are 2 separate events - one is Montreal and one in Abu Dhabi.

Decisions, Decisions ….

12 Days of Christmas Workout (Intro)

Sweet Crusted Baked Salmon

One of my favourite ways (and simplest!) to cook salmon is to bake it. Here’s a delicious recipe for a quick, high-protein dish. If you feel confident in the kitchen, use the base of this recipe (salmon in tin foil in the oven) and then go wild! While I’ve provided an easy dressing here, I also am known to dress the salmon with whatever’s in my fridge- sometimes fresh squeezed lemon and grated garlic, tomatoes and basil from the garden with balsamic vinegar, or even just a glug of sweet chilli sauce and into the oven it goes!

This particular version is particularly special because the brown sugar crystalizes into a lovely crust atop the mustard marinade which gives lovely texture and helps cut through the dijon really well. It also lends itself well to a multitude of side dishes, but we love roasting broccoli and potatoes on the same tray with a little olive oil and garlic- cooks at the same temperature and in the same amount of time. Easy dinner in under 30 minutes with little prep. (Pictured here with caraway carrot kale slaw & roasted broccoli). 

Ingredients:

salmon fillets

2 tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp olive oil

2 sprigs fresh coriander, chopped

1 clove garlic, grated

Juice of 1/2 lime (and keep the empty rinds)

2 tsp brown sugar

course Sea Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. 

2. Line a baking tray with tin foil (parchment will also work), gently roll up the edges so no liquid can escape. Place the salmon fillets onto the centre of the foil, skin side down.

3. In a small bowl, use a fork or small whisk to combine the dijon mustard, olive oil, coriander, grated garlic, and lime juice.

4. Using the fork, a pastry brush, or even your fingers, evenly slather the dressing across the fillets.

5. Sprinkle the brown sugar across the fillets (this is what will ‘crust’ the salmon). Sprinkle sea salt. Place the empty lime rinds and even some extra coriander if you like near the fish.

6. Create a parcel by using another piece of tin foil or parchment and scrunching the sides together so that a little ‘steam room’ is created for your fish. Leave a small gap so that a little air can escape, but no juices.

7. Bake for 20 minutes (or until the inside of the fish is cooked through).

8. Enjoy your deliciously moist and flavourful dinner with your side dishes of choice! 

Extra Green Cucumber Salad

Serves up to 10 (depends on if a side or a ‘main’), but makes a lot!

Keeps for 2 days if stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

75ml apple cyder vinegar

Juice of 1 lime (about 1tbsp)

1 tsp soy sauce (or tamari if gluten free)

1 tsp maple syrup

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp white sugar

Salad:

2 large cucumbers, quartered and sliced

1 head romaine lettuce, julienned

½ bunch coriander, fined chopped

½ tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp Zaatar (optional)

41g pistachios, chopped small

32g toasted sunflower seeds

Method:

1. Make the dressing: in a small bowl combine the vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, maple syrup, olive oil, and white sugar. Whisk until emulsified.

2. In a large bowl, place diced cucumbers, julienned lettuce, & coriander mixing well with a wooden spoon to combine.

3. Sprinkle the sea salt & zaatar on top and mix again. 

4. Whisk and then pour the dressing over top and again mix with a wooden spoon to combine. 

5. Add the pistachios and sunflower seeds and give a final mix so all ingredients are evenly distributed. 

6. Serve with any protein of choice (we went for a lemon roasted chicken! YUM!).

PullUp out of Lockdown!

WEEK 1

Team Dynamic:

Hi, my name is Steph and I'm your PT who can't do a pull up. Don't get me wrong, I used to be able to do them - loads as well, and a mere 6 years ago. The thing is, you stop doing pull ups, even for a week let alone 6 years, you lose it. (An aside: the reason I stopped doing pull ups is I could no longer keep up with lifting the weight gain of my pregnancy!).

So I'm challenging myself this lockdown: 30 days to 1 full pull-up. Can it be done? Eh, I may be pushing it a bit, but that won't stop me trying (and progressing!) and it definitely won't stop YOU all from holding me accountable! I'll post my home workouts here- simple ones that pack a punch. Since I am working from home, it'll be a bigger challenge to use my body weight for progression (no cable machines for those lat pulldowns, for example!).

Want to join me? What's the one exercise you've always wanted to be able to accomplish? Is it a full press up? A low squat? A headstand? 1km run? A centre split? Let's take these 30 days and dedicate 5 minutes a day towards that goal. Reach out to your PT for guidance if you need.

It's just 30 days. Let's raise (to) the bar! We got this.

WEEK 2

Week 1 under my belt, and my set-up is working... I think? Pull ups are a funny one because you can't do one until you can. Because I don't have resistance bands to change (green to orange in the studio, for example), I'm relying on how 'hard' it feels. Which, dependent on the time of day I'm doing these pull-ups, definitely varies.

Biggest surprise for me this week is... I don't feel stronger. Logically, I know pull-ups take their sweet time to build up to, but it's another mental push to continue with something so hard when I don't feel any different today than I did yesterday. The slow build will be worth it, but sometimes it's hard to remind myself of that. Thanks for keeping me in check, Team Dynamic!

WEEK 3

Another week down, and 140 more pull-ups done! Below is the routine I followed, taking out my initial cardio plan (which I've been getting via walks with the dog since my knee gave up early on in lockdown for much more).

Here are some things I've noticed:

1) I'm still nowhere near doing an unassisted pull-up

2) I can connect to the lower half of the pull-up exponentially better than I ever have been able to with a band assist. I'm fairly confident that I'll have the bottom half of a pull-up nailed before the upper 50% with this method, which is awesome because that's always been the harder part for me as my brain couldn't seem to make the right muscles work at the right time.

3) It's REALLY EASY to abuse my power and just smash through 20 pull-ups with a heavy assist from my legs, but it's also SUPER rewarding to feel that connection mentioned in no. 2. I've started using the first 10 to max capacity and then doing 2 sets x 5 reps to finish off at whatever speed I want.

These negative pull-ups in the tabata are also a bit laughable after doing 20 assisted. I don't think I've yet to make it past 5s- which does indicate I'm giving a pretty good level to my assists!

One more week (and a bit) to go! I'll check in with you guys again next week!

WEEK 4

Things I LOVED about using the chair assisted pull up method this month:

1) I mentioned before, but it's so much easier to feel that lower half back connection and transition

2) My posture has improved. I think stretching myself lengthways every day has benefits.

3) I could just KEEP GOING. If I had wanted to do a set of 20 (or even 50) I could have, I just transferred more power into my legs.

Things I didn't like:

1) I felt like I was always doing pull ups.

2) I had too much opportunity to cheat and use my legs to lift.

3) I have blisters on my hands, and it's from being on that bar for 5 minutes a day every day this month!

Overall, I reckon it would take me 3-4 months using this method to get to a pull-up, but since I'll be back in the gym, I think I'll be more likely to incorporate a banded or TRX technique to continue working back up to the pull up!

Have you all tried this method? Let me know what you think!
steph@getdynamic.co.uk

Butternut Squash Falafels

INGREDIENTS:

450g butternut squash (peeled and diced into 1-inch blocks)

½ tsp olive oil

½ tsp coriander seeds

400g can chickpeas, drained

1 clove garlic, grated 

1 ¼ tsp smoked sea salt

1 ½ tsp ground coriander

1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Juice of ½ lemon

2 Tbsp plain flour (or a gluten-free flour of choice if you’d prefer)

4-8 Tbsp sesame seeds

METHOD:

1. Roast the Squash: pre-heat oven to 180C. Toss the blocks of squash with ½ tsp olive oil, a pinch of smoked sea salt, & the coriander seeds and lay out evenly across a non-stick baking tray. Roast for about 20 minutes (until the squash is soft all the way through).

2. In a large bowl (or a food processor if you have one), mash together the drained chickpeas, grated garlic, smoked sea salt, ground coriander, smoked paprika, and lemon zest & juice. You should be able to get this pretty smooth with a potato masher, but don’t worry about some lumps. We’ll mash again in a bit. Set aside.

3. Once squash is cooked, pour the squash & cumin seeds into the bowl with the chickpea mixture. Use your masher to evenly mash through. Add flour. You’ll have quite a wet mix, but that’s OK. You just need to be able to roll the mix into balls that hold together.

4. Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls about 1.5 inches diameter. If you find it’s too wet, add another Tbsp of flour at a time until consistency is right. I ended up with 18 balls. Gently lay the balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. 

5. Place into the fridge to firm up- about 2 hours.

6. When ready to bake: Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Pour sesame seeds into a small bowl. Drop each squash ball into the bowl to coat. Place back onto the lined baking tray. Bake for 10minutes, flip the balls over and cook again for 10 minutes.

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1-2-1 Nutritional Advice

1-2-1 Nutritional sessions at Dynamic Fitness, with Chelsea Lea

My coaching looks at all areas of your health – nutrition, sleep, stress, hydration, exercise, confidence, mindset and self reflection.

I chose not to give out diet plans, instead I like to help you create a food plan that is personalised to you, your lifestyle & taste preferences.

I aim to improve your relationship with food, seeing nothing as good or bad, but creating balance whilst still enjoying life.

I want to help you diminish feelings of guilt and instead gain an understanding of food and how to control it, instead of it controlling you.

I will help you to not only reach your goals but also give you the tools and knowledge to better understand nutrition, enabling you to feel empowered to independently manage your diet in the future. 

My Offer to Dynamic clients only 

- Book a consultation for £10 and use that against any programme

- Book a 1 off 1 hour coaching session ( Not currently an option for any other clients) 

- Recommend a friend and receive a further £10 off of your programme. 

Book in below:

Weekly Lockdown Challenge (Week 8) - MAX Plank

The last one in our lockdown series is the Max Plank

Get down and give it a go!