The Max Performance Blog!

Spring Cycling Safety

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:16:46 GMT

Transitioning from indoors to outdoors

When we head out on the roads after a long winter, conditions often look really different! Pot holes, frost heaves, cracked pavement, missing water line covers, sand… It can be really sketchy out there! Stay safe by:

· During your first few rides, avoid doing intense interval sessions and just go do comfortable, Z2 rides. These allow you a safer shot at observing terrain and navigating safely as you get a handle on current road conditions.

· Make sure you have quality and durable tires. Early season is not the time to go out riding the lightest tires you can find. Instead, flat-resistant and durable is the name of the game, as this time of year comes with more road debris/holes, which can lead to flats. Swing in to Grace Bicycles and chat with Roy; he can hook you up with great options for New England riders. In particular, tires like the Continental Gran Prix 4 Season is a great all purpose tire. If you have a history of flat tires and don’t mind a bit less ride quality (smoothness), the Continental Gatorskin is a super durable option.

· Get a good tune-up! Getting the bike checked out and tuned up prior to the meat of the season is really valuable. This is another area where Roy at Grace Bicycles can really help out!

Have a blast on the roads, but keep it safe!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Transitioning from indoors to outdoors!

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 19:14:59 GMT

Transitioning from indoors to outdoors

With the weather rapidly improving and the roads clearing, we are coming into that period of the year where folks transition from most training done indoors to lots or most done outdoors. And after a LONG winter like this one, we have earned that pleasure! Keep these points in mind to enjoy the transition as much as possible:

· Number 1, drive around and scope out where you may normally train. Get a sense of road conditions or trail conditions, regarding things like potholes, road degradation overall, and sand accumulation, which could lead to accidents or things like flat tires. If it looks safe, GREAT!

· Number 2, remember that after being indoors a ton, some things are different. The bike moves beneath you, the ground has less give than a treadmill, and you have to anticipate what’s coming up on the road/trail and be ready to navigate it. So be willing to take the first few sessions slow. But I’d also suggest being a little cautious with run recovery. The shift in surface types can impact folks differently, but allowing a few weeks to a month to acclimate before increasing load makes sense. Consider keeping your durations about the same initially, and then starting to increase duration after 2-4 weeks, so you are more prepared for a higher percentage of time landing on pavement.

· Number 3, anticipate more time – it takes a while to gear up and remove gear after, so plan a bit of extra time for putting on the extra clothes needed for early-season training.

· Number 4, keep notes of the weather and what you wear. Especially if you don’t have a long training history in a variety of conditions. This will help you pick the right kit in the future.

· Number 5, while we all have different likes and needs to be comfortable in cooler weather outside, a few things I find are key relate to:

o Stopping wind will make even minimal layers feel warm – a good wind jacket and vest are vital pieces for endurance athletes to own.
o Gloves and caps can make a huge difference in warmth – even if wearing relatively little elsewhere.
o If you use multiple layers, aim to pick gear with zippers, so you can vent easily if you “overdress”.

· Number 6, while likely the last thing in this list, we New Englanders have had minimal sun exposure for months… So when we get those 75-degree sunny days in late March or early April (I’m hoping), don’t forget to sunscreen up really well! It’s easy to get burned early in the year due to how little sun our bodies have seen!

Most importantly, just enjoy it. It’s time to have fun with the hard work you put in over the winter – have fun!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Just Around the Corner!

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 19:11:02 GMT

race season is just around the corner

The first Max Performance races of the year are just about 2 months away. If you have been lax in your training over this cold and snowy New England winter, it’s time to get a move on so you can have fun racing this spring and summer. Keep these points in mind to get the most out of the next 2 months:

· Make sure your medical provider has cleared you as safe to vigorously exercise.

· Take the next 4 weeks, and focus on 2-3 swims/bikes/runs per week if possible, and mostly using very comfortable lower intensity workouts. Classical Zone 2 style training – which feels like “all day pace”. Aim to build over this month, from about 50-60% race segment duration for your longer workouts, to full race segment duration (cycling and running, swimming can likely be more like 100-300% race segment duration).

· During 1 workout per sport per week, do a handful (3-6) X 5-12 second efforts. Not “sprints”. But moving at a higher speed. A classic example is a spin-out on the bike – 10 seconds at the fastest cadence you can ride without bouncing in the saddle against extremely light resistance (no chain feeling), strides at the end of a run, or doing half a length with a higher stroke rate while swimming. This is about acclimating to faster movement over the next month and developing skills.

· During the last 4 weeks of racing, you can nudge up the volume a bit, aiming to reach durations which are 10-20 minutes longer than you think it will take you to cover the race course's distance on race day. At this point, doing 1 workout per sport, with intervals at about 5% below to 5% above the estimated race effort. For example, 4 X 5 minutes @ 5% under target race effort; 2 X 10 minutes @ 5% under target race effort; 4 X 3 minutes at 5% over target race effort; or 2 X12 minutes @ 100% of target race effort. Err to shorter durations for running and swimming and longer on the bike. Cycling and running, aim for about 2 minutes rest going very very easily between intervals, swimming err to 30-60 seconds between intervals (swimming erring to 50-400yd/meter intervals vs duration is ok).

· The last week before the race, cut the duration you have done the 2 weeks prior by 60% while still doing 1 session per sport with a bit of intensity, but cut the amount of time at those higher intensities in half, so you are only doing 2 X 3 minutes or 1 X 12 minutes, for example. This helps you stay in rhythm and increasingly fresh as you head into the race.

Look, that’s not a training plan. It’s a group of concepts that you can apply to get things going if you have been a bit behind over the winter. The key thing is to stay patient and not go gangbusters out of the shoot. Doing that increases injury risk and could derail the summer overall. So, ease in, get consistent, and you'll have a really fun season – even if you got a late start!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Stay Strong!

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 21:13:08 GMT

HIITing IT OUT OF THE PARK

Strength training can help triathletes perform their best throughout the year… And I’m hopeful you do strength training as part of your complete training plan for this year's triathlon season! That said, as you enter the competitive period of the year, doing full-volume strength training, as you have been during the “off season,” can be daunting. That’s partly due to the logistics of getting all your workouts into a busy life, but also because there is only so much energy to be had… And if you are doing challenging strength workouts, hitting your tri workouts well can be tough. On the other hand, if you drop strength training entirely during the “in” season, you will detrain the adaptations you spent the entire off-season building, thereby losing the benefits of that work. The trick is to view strength training, once you get into your main tri season, as a shift into maintenance mode. Luckily, you can maintain fitness on MUCH less work than it takes to build it. As you get into the last 4-8 weeks prior to racing, consider either:

· Dropping to one strength session a week, which uses challenging loads, but is low on volume. For example, one workout: 3-4 exercises and 2 sets (a warm-up set and a heavy set) of the exercise being performed.

· Shift to doing 1 or 2 strength exercises after a couple of your endurance workouts per week. For example, after a run, do 2 upper-body exercises; after a bike ride, do a lower-body exercise and a core exercise.

The goal with either of these approaches is NOT to build strength “in” season, but to maintain as much of what you built as possible through the year, and to make resuming normal strength training 2-3 days per week next fall/winter/spring EASIER, because you are not effectively starting from zero each year.

Give it a shot this year. You will be stronger, which helps performance, and next fall, you will find your strength workouts feeling better than ever, too!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

HIITing It Out of The Park

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 21:08:47 GMT

HIITing IT OUT OF THE PARK

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) has been around for at least a century. The goal is to use blocks of higher intensity and recovery to perform more work than if you tried to work at the same intensity continuously. The beauty of HIIT is that it’s almost infinitely adjustable, so you can create many workouts to accomplish specific goals, heck, you can create many workouts to accomplish the same goal! Often, athletes think of specific workouts they read about or hear about on a podcast, “Norwegian 4 X 4 minutes,” “Tabatas,” “micro intervals,” “2 X 20 minutes,” and “4 X 8 minutes” all come to mind quickly when thinking about this. All the workout incarnations in the “training media” can make HIIT seem really complicated… That said, a simpler way to think about HIIT training is this:

· Prior to 12-16 weeks before your key races for the year, focus on intervals which build sustainable power (these could be upper Z2 or Z3) and are a bit longer – think 5-20 minutes… OR about shorter intervals, which help build a specific skill. For example, 10 seconds trying to spin against minimal resistance to the highest cadence you can on the bike, without bouncing in the saddle… or short 10-15 second “strides” at the end of a run… or half lengths of faster swimming to finish a longer swim. The goals here are to build your aerobic foundation (your ability to keep going) and to improve your skill, coordination, and fluidity in each sport.

· During the final 12-16 weeks of your key races, shift your focus from less to more race-like. For example, over the first half of this period, incorporate intervals which are 30” to 6’ and Z5-6 in most training systems, with solid 2-3’ long rest intervals… gradually progress to intervals in the 6-12 minute range which are done at to 5% over goal race intensity… While still touching on work rates in excess of this 1x week to help maintain all levels of work.

· NOTE: This is an example; it’s not how training looks for everyone, as fitness, experience, and target race all will change the details. I note the above as an example to help your creative juices flow!

As you think about the coming weeks in your key races, and you think about doing some HIIT sessions, consider how those ideas may help you structure those workouts to better help you reach your goals!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Synergy Wetsuits - Official Wetsuit of the 20th Anniversary Tour!

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:39:18 GMT

INTRODUCING OUR OFFICIAL WETSUIT PARTNER: SYNERGY WETSUITS

For 20 years, Max Performance has helped athletes reach the start line confident and the finish line proud.

As we celebrate our 20th year directing endurance events, we’re excited to announce a new partnership built for speed, performance, and confidence in the water…

Introducing Our Official Wetsuit Partner: Synergy Wetsuits

Synergy designs high-performance wetsuits engineered for maximum flexibility, buoyancy, and hydrodynamics — helping athletes swim faster while conserving energy for the bike and run.

Built with premium Yamamoto neoprene and performance-driven panel construction, Synergy wetsuits are regardly highly in the multisport community. Their Hyperion Elite was Awarded the 2025 Wetsuit of the Year by Triathlete Magazine.

Whether you're racing your first sprint triathlon or chasing a podium at Season Opener or Harvest, the right wetsuit makes a difference.

EXCLUSIVE: 20% OFF for Max Athletes

All Max Performance athletes receive 20% OFF Synergy Wetsuits this season.

Train smarter

Race faster

Save 20%

Click below to access your exclusive Max athlete discount: CLICK HERE

https://synergywetsuits.com/MAX

For 20 years, you’ve trusted Max Performance to deliver organized, energized race experiences. Now we’re excited to help you upgrade your swim with a partner that shares our commitment to performance and value.

Here’s to faster swims, stronger races, and an incredible 20th season together.

See you at the start line.

~ Tim & The Max Performance Team

Celebrating 20 Years of Endurance Sports Excellence

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Intensity Discipline!

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 21:04:41 GMT

Intensity disclipline

Intensity Discipline is a simple concept: not letting the targeted intensity you aim for during a given workout drift. Think of it like this:

It’s a beautiful spring day, you are out for a “Z2” (comfortable, low intensity, all-day pace) training ride. As you cruise along, another athlete zips past you, offering a cheerful hello as they go by. Seeing them just ahead, you get a little antsy and start to creep out your effort. “I can keep them 100yds ahead up this hill!” The next thing you know, that “Z2” ride turned into a ride with 30 minutes of Z4 as you refused to let them extend the gap to you.

Letting ego take the wheel like that means that the workout you did created a very different stimulus. The stimulus likely means the next day needs to be lighter – something a lot of athletes do not do… and suddenly what seemed like one workout where you let it rip a little results in dead legs on the big weekend brick workout, and now you are dragging into the next week.

Intensity discipline in training is one of the biggest differences between folks who make the most progress and those who stall out or start to feel burned out or stagnant. So, stay disciplined, and make sure your low-intensity “easy” workouts are just that… Even if its real tempting to let it rip! You will perform better and stay fresher the whole season as a result!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Periodization – the Planned Variation Of Training Over the Year

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 21:02:50 GMT

Periodization – the Planned Variation Of Training Over the Year

One key difference between training for a sport and for fitness is that the latter can be a random mix of activities, intensities, and durations that change only based on what feels fun to the individual. Conversely, in sport training, the goal is to make progress from one point in time to another, intentionally emphasizing different aspects of how we move and how much we do. This “planned variation in training load,” as sport scientist John Kiely describes, is what you may see or hear called Periodization. There are many formal “versions” of periodization, but at the end of the day, they all come down to one simple thing: intentionally planning progression and variation into your training. As we enter spring, look at what you are doing and consider the events you hope to do this summer. Do you have a plan in mind for how to get more specifically ready for those races? Do you have a strategy for getting from where you are today to where you want to be? If not, this next weekend, take 30’ and map it out:

· My races are this distance and these dates

· I want to have “this” experience and perform like “this” at them

· Today, my fitness lets me do X Y Z, and to have the performance and experience I want this summer, I need to improve from there to A B C levels.

· To do that, I’m going to work on X, while touching on YZ from this date to that date. I’m going to work on Y while touching on X and Z from this date to that date. I’m going to work on Z while touching on XY from this date to that date. I’m going to spend several weeks touching on all three, and doing a few key workouts a week that may be 60-70% race duration, blending some race-like intensity and lower intensity work.

· Allow a bit less (50-70% less volume, and just a small amount of intensity) for about 3-7 days every 3 to 6 weeks to allow a little more recovery, and adaptation to the training you are doing – but also for a mental rest from the challenge of fitting training into a busy life!

· And finally give yourself 1-2 weeks before the races I want to do best in where I reduce training load 40-60% by cutting volume and maintaining a bit of intensity at, or slightly over goal race intensities.

· Plan 3-7 light, low intensity / low duration days after races to recover, then back to it building towards the next target.

· When the race year is done, loosen up your training structure. As the weather starts to worsen, take 2-4 weeks and really lighten up to recharge mentally as much as physically (light general cross training is fine, but no “training”) and then you can get into things for next year.

That is a very simple outline for setting up a solid “periodized” plan. If you are self-coached, check in now to see how you are doing things. If you don’t have a plan, use those ideas to create a loose plan that will help you progress towards your goal races!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Crossing It Up

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 20:59:17 GMT

crossing it up

During the winter, most endurance athletes focused on summer races are building foundational or base fitness. That likely includes some strength training and solid aerobic workouts with a big of speed skill and a little work of different higher intensities as well. This work is more general relative to your races, but still a bit specific, given much happens with workouts involving swimming, cycling and running. Given the distance from racing, you can also build that general endurance foundation with a bit creativity - it doesn’t have to be done with just tri related sports. Cross training can help you stay mentally fresh while building that aerobic foundation really well. Great examples to keep in mind:

Subbing in snow shoe hiking or just plain hiking for a longer steady endurance workout, but could be a higher intensity session if done in a hilly area, or even with a period of hill repeats within the workout.

If you know how, or could easily get lessons, doing some cross country skiing. This can be great for longer steady sessions, or for sessions including intensity, especially if you learn skate style skiing which can be very challenging.

If you own, or could rent a “fat bike”, riding on packed snowy trails is a blast, and a super way to build endurance over the winter. You can explore a variety of intensities here, though for me, a long steady ride on the fat bike in a snowy forest is just fantastic!

If you live near a good aquatics facility, see if they have a “water polo” club which you could take part in. Water polo is an amazing way to have fun swimming, learn to swim in challenging situations with contact (like many tri swims), and you wont even know you are improving your swim!

Ball sports - if you enjoy basketball or soccer, indoor leagues that perhaps play 1-2 x week can be fun ways to get to run a good deal, but not feel like you are training. While there is a higher risk of acute injury, the varied motion may help reduce over use injury risk come summer.

Dance/Aerobics classes. For a lot of folks, thinks like dance or various gym based “aerobics” classes are a LOT of fun. They offer great social time and it can be fun to learn different skills. That’s great! They also can help build some general aerobic fitness.

Look, I’m not going to tell you to do every workout all winter as cross training. That would not help you be your best come summer. BUT, incorporating a cross training session in place of a different swim bike or run workout weekly, on lower load training weeks maybe doing a few cross training sessions, that can be a great way to keep mentally and physically fresh, and keep having fun over the winter!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

The Dog Days of Winter

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 20:56:45 GMT

The dog days of winter

Many athletes find motivation strong as the seasons change and spring/summer start to seem imminent… The same can be said for the start of a new year when a fresh start is an exciting prospect. But there comes a period in late January and February, when I’ve found many athletes really struggle to stay on track. It’s that weird time, when the race season seems SOOOO far away… But the excitement of a new year has faded. That combo is tough!

A good strategy here, if you start feeling the winter doldrums sinking in, is to look at your goals, but recenter NOT on the outcomes you hope to enjoy this year, but on the steps you have to take to get there. If you want a certain min/mi pace increase, or to get into the top 10 or 5 or 3 of your age group, for examples, what steps facilitate that? Shift your focus to those steps. How do you facilitate them? How do you execute to keep working on them? While the outcomes we hope for are nebulously floating around months in the future, the steps needed to get there are a here, now, today situation. By getting your focus on the steps you need to move in the direction you hope to go, you can jump start yourself out of the winter doldrums really well!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Lift Things Up, And Putting Them Down

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 20:55:02 GMT

Lift things up and put them down!

The past 30 years, there has been a great uptick in the use of strength training among endurance athletes. But is it worth doing? YES! Strength training can help athletes on the course, but I’d argue an even better aspect, is how strength training impacts an athletes long term well being/health. Strength training helps maintain muscle mass and bone density - both of which can pay big dividends over our lifespan. That said, while there are a million exercises you could use, and styles of strength training you could employ, my suggestion is that you keep it simple. Endurance athletes are spending a lot of energy doing activity, and multisport folks have different sports they need to juggle - not to mention work, families, etc. So, while the latest insta-fluencer may have shown of 20 amazing looking exercises yesterday, the basics are often the best place to start. Here are a few keys to keep in mind when formulating solid strength training sessions for yourself this year:

Aim for 2 sessions per week.

Full workout duration should be less < 60 minutes, better would be 30-45 minutes.

The main structure for a solid workout is to do a level change (squat, step up, lunge, deadlift style of movements), a push (pushup, chest press, shoulder press, dip, style movements), a pull (rowing, pull ups, pull down, style of movements). That is only 3 exercises! Allow 1-2 minutes between sets OR do this as a circuit where you do one set of each exercise with now rest, then rest 1-2’ between circuits. This blends workout performance AND time efficiency.
If you have a history of calf injury or achillies injury, doing a seated or standing calf raise is worth doing - between the upper body pull and push.

Doing 1-2 “core” or “connector” exercises to finish the session off, like planks, crunches, medicine ball wood chops, side planks, ball rotations, etc., is great, if time allows.

The workout flow above covers your full body, and is set up so that you are reducing the impact of tired muscles on other body parts as the workout progresses.

Warm up and cool down? A warm up which I really love for athletes who can handle it, is to string together several medicine ball chops over about 5 minutes. This both warms up your full body AND helps build “core” strength. For cool down, some light stretching or even LIGHT and relaxed yoga for 5-10’ can be good.

In a perfect world, I like strength workouts to fall either on swim or run days. Why? Logistics mostly. Many athletes swim and strength train at the same space - trying to do those workouts on opposite days just adds a bunch of commute time to your life, and I like to avoid that added stress on the system. If you have more flexibility or dont lift where you swim, run days are great. That allows you to clump workouts with a high eccentric load (think lowering weight, and decelerating your weight as you hit the ground each step) sessions on specific days. That style of work can be tougher to recover from, so clumping that way helps some athletes recover a bit better over the week.

Strength training is worth doing. Keep it simple so that it doesn’t eat up tons of time, and it can help you stay healthy over the long haul, and perform well too!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

The Base Isn't All LIT

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 20:51:35 GMT

The Base isn't all lit

This year, consider including some work across the intensity and speed spectrums through out your base building period. This helps build coordination and keeps you both prepared for higher intensity training down the road AND helps keep your fitness growing, especially if you are time constrained.

What may that look like:

Rather than a steady low intensity workout, finish a steadier low intensity session with 3-6 X 8-10”, with 1-2 minutes easy between each. On the bike this could be spinning as fast as you can without bouncing in the saddle but against light resistance, running it could be moving at a speed like finishing a 5k (NOT a sprint, think easy speed), swimming it could be a fast last 12-25 yds/meters.

Include a session / sport most weeks which includes “sub threshold” work. This is “classic” zone 3, or a 7/10 effort, an intensity where you could speak 4-5 words between breaths, an effort that is work, but with just a hair of burning. For example on the bike, 3 X 8’ Z3, 2’ Z1 rest intervals. Running it could be a progression building slowly from the workout start so that the last third is Z3. Swimming it could be including a set like 300-400 X 3-4 (pending fitness/experience) Z3 withe 30-60” rest intervals.

Explore cadence during workouts while keeping intensity < Z3. This could be exploring paddles while swimming; Including some uphill and downhill specific intervals running - this could be uphill or downhill repeats, or simply running a hilly route and allowing terrain to vary your intensity; cycling you can modify the torque you produce by riding low cadence against high resistance or low resistance at high cadence. For example 5’ X 3-4 @ Z3 at 40-60rpms… And the next time you do the session, do the intervals at 95-110rpms. The aim here is building your aerobic fitness but also your ability to sustain higher torque (like climbing hills) and to have the coordination to spin at faster leg speeds like when going down hill or with a tail wind.

The aim is not to have lots of work in every workout. The aim is just to keep different stimulus at play, so you are not always doing steady lower intensity work with minimal changes in rhythm, tempo, or speed (think of this as mechanical skill here, not the speed you are moving from point A to B). That combo will have you building not just a good base of aerobic fitness, but a base of movement skills which help you perform better - whether racing, or out with your buddies!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Starting the Year On the Rocks

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 15:19:02 GMT

Starting the Year "On the rocks" - How to stay consistent

There is something amazing about how starting a new year feels. Even if most of our life looks the same, it feels refreshing and filled with new hopes. That, is awesome! I want to lay out a key point for everyone as we kick off 2026. This point applies to everything health and fitness related, and I’d bet most have heard this before… Focus on the big rocks! There is an old tale about how to fill a container with as much material as possible, when given a variety of large and small rocks, water and sand. The trick is to start with the biggest rocks, then smaller rocks, then gravel then sand and finally the water. To have the best season you can this coming year, keep these key points in mind:

The basics: Sleep, good daily diet, some downtime/social time. All the training in the world wont overcompensate for letting those areas slide…Choose to prioritize those areas.

Consistency: Your training should feel like it’s doable. Some sessions push you a bit more, but overall, you should feel like you can fit workouts into life and that the workouts you do dont make you so sore that you can not train tomorrow or the next day. Focus on a flow of workout and style of workouts, which you can do day over day with consistency.

Adaptability: life happens and you will have to miss workouts or move them around now and then. That’s reality. The athletes who stay on track when these situations happen, are those that view those challenges as chances to adapt and make the best of the situation.

Those three areas: the basics, consistency and adaptability, will set you up for an enjoyable and strong season this year. Enjoy it!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

A New Year!!

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 17:59:51 GMT

a new year! How to stay focussed?

When we hit January 1, it seems like people are always fired up to make big changes or get after new goals. That’s great! It’s a super thing to help increase motivation and focus, and that’s good. At the same time, there is a reason gyms are packed January 2 but much less so February 2 and about half as much by March 2. When you look at the year, think about using days like Jan 1 as tools to help keep motivation rolling, but also reminders to look inside. What experiences are you after with sport? What do you want from sport and your participation with it? How are THOSE things motivating to you? Write that out, and place it in a spot you will see often. This helps you keep on track, motivation sustained based on what you want from sport. THAT is going to help you stay on track, even when life would otherwise cause motivation to fade. Have a super year!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Is Training a Plan?

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 17:57:21 GMT

Is training a plan? Keep the conversation open

When you expect your training to feel like a clear and precise plan, it can end up feeling rigid and inflexible… But when you realize training is a conversation, it feels much better. What does that mean? In a conversation you may have clear objectives, but you know that you will have give and take, you will take information in and adjust, and you will flow with how things evolve with an openness, expanding into the process at hand. Stay open, and keep training in that conversational mindset this winter - you will improve more as a result!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Training is Cooperation

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 17:55:16 GMT

Training is cooperation - positive mindset

Quick point to keep in mind as you go into the meat of winter. Think of your training as cooperation NOT as a contest. Training is about listening to stress, efforts, workouts, consistency, and flowing with those things, not as a contest to validate or exploit those things. Keep that in mind this winter. Especially if you include group sessions or races like those on Zwift or a bunch or local 5k’s (or similar) with friends/team mates. Your training plan organizes things, but to get the most out of it, think of all of the plans components are cooperative pieces, and be willing to modify and adjust so you can build with that cooperative mindset.

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Getting Through the Holiday Revelry

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 17:52:21 GMT

Getting the holidays - practical tips to save your gains

Holiday parties dot the early winter, and you know what - they are great! We are creatures who often love social experiences, and seeing family or friends we may not have seen in a while definitely qualifies. Those gatherings though can feel like a big challenge for our ability to stay healthy and fit through the holidays though - given lots of delicious treats and other things to over indulge in. The challenge is that many athletes try to will power their way through, which often leaves them feeling like they fought their way through the holidays rather than enjoying it. We need to let go a bit and enjoy! That said,over the years a few basic things have helped folks I’ve coached/coach enjoy the social time, but also stay generally on track. Consider these over the next few weeks:

Hydrate well. Keep drinking water so your urine is clear to pale yellow. This helps keep you hydrated and reduces feelings of hunger when at a gathering.

While I’m generally a fan of not drinking alcohol, it’s often socially awkward at events/parties. A trick that can help is to add a bit of juice to seltzer. It looks like a fancy drink, but it’s not, so you get to feel like you are indulging with others, without the negatives of alcohol.

If a party is late, have a light meal prior to going – a salad with some chicken or similar, for example. This puts a bit of protein and fiber in the tank, which can help you feel fuller at the party and reduce the tendency to overindulge on treats or snacks at an event.

Focus on fiber-rich and protein-rich hors d'oeuvres at any parties. These are all filling, nutritious, and tasty… and focusing on those reduces how much you may eat of higher sugar/fat treats.

If you are up late for a party/event, try to get back on your normal sleep schedule the next day.

If events make it hard to work out, try and see if you can get at least some of the session in for that day (or one if it’s a double day) in the AM or at lunch. Getting in some training is better than none; it’s so worth it, and it’s going to help keep you healthy overall.

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

To Spin or Smash, That is the Question

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 15:58:31 GMT

Should you spin or smash those pedals? Coach Will shares practical advice

When it comes to cycling cadence, athletes often wonder whether there is a specific best number. Frankly, there is, but that number is based on a host of factors related to individual fitness, genetics, and intent (short- and long-term). So what the “ideal” cadence is for each of us is going to be a bit different – not just in general, but during specific cycling efforts/situations.

When you train the bike this winter, during both low- and high-intensity sessions, explore the upper and lower ends of leg speed. One example, late in a steady low intensity ride, do 4-8 X 10-second long spin outs – trying to create the highest cadence you can for 10 seconds without bouncing in the saddle. Another example could be during a Z3 interval workout, either alternate time during each interval, or alternate interval to interval, so that one is high cadence and one is low. Working at both will help you handle situations that you encounter during training and racing outdoors better, as different terrain, intensity targets, etc, will benefit from your selecting a different cadence. For example, in a triathlon with many turns, like the MaxPerformance Sharon Triathlon, you will need to accelerate repeatedly, which creates frequent changes in cadence. Using a higher cadence into/out of those turns lets you accelerate back up to speed very smoothly, at which point you can settle back to your freely chosen cadence. A tri with a lot of hills, like the Hopkinton Triathlon, will likely force you to ride lower cadences with higher torque (pushing hard, lower leg speed) than your freely chosen cadence to manage intensity as you climb the hills.

By exploring various cadence ranges and working at them during training, you become a much more adaptable athlete, able to handle unique course-based challenges with skill and efficiency!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Stronger Cycling in 2026!

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 15:55:54 GMT

How to become a stronger cyclist this winter

When thinking of your winter training on the bike, make sure to include some solid weekly work below threshold/FTP (Functional Threshold Power). What do I mean specifically? Including intervals in what many 5+ zone systems term Zone 3, or about 85-95% of FTP if you have done a test effort on one of the many indoor trainer apps. Just as effective, this is the intensity where there is very slight burning in your legs – you notice it, but barely; where your breathing is faster but entirely under control – you could still talk to a friend if they were riding next to you; and where you need to focus, because if you don’t, you would slow down to an easier effort. This work is really helpful for folks who are tight on time to train, and can help you aerobically push up your ability to sustain higher work rates while riding really well, and have you ready for higher-intensity training later in the year.

A simple workout example here would be something similar to:

5 minutes building to Z2 to warm up.
5 minutes @ Z2
Alternate 8 minutes Z3 and 4 minutes Z1 X 3-4 intervals
During intervals, alternate 2 minutes @ 50-60rpm’s and 2’ @ 100-110rpm’s
This helps improve pedaling coordination, and helps you to avoid becoming fixed on one cadence range – helping you adapt to a wide range of cycling situations you may encounter on the road (or trail).

5 minutes Z1 to cool down

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Where should I focus?

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 15:48:41 GMT

Where should I focus off season training?

What area should you focus your training on during the winter? That’s a great question. First, the bad news – there is no correct answer! There are concepts I’d suggest most athletes could benefit from. But what about you? Should you focus on strong areas or weak ones, for example?

Most athletes are time-limited. As a result, if we put too much focus on a weakness, our strong areas can degrade, leaving us unable to perform as well overall, even though we may have improved a weakness.

So, as you work through this winter, if you have an area you are really weak in, a little extra work there early in the “off season” can help, but don’t let your best area fall away as a result. A good strategy here is to consider frequency vs. individual session volume.

For example, for a weak swimmer who cycles well, could you dovetail 1-2 extra SHORT swims (10-20 minutes duration) per week onto a short run at the gym or your strength workout, thus saving solid time on other days to keep your cycling up? Or for a weak runner, could you do a 10-15 minute run after every bike workout, even if that means shortening your bike workouts by 10 minutes to fit your life? That sort of frequency-based approach can really help improve weak areas, while maintaining your strengths!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Should you strength train this off season?

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 15:38:39 GMT

A Strong off season

Should you strength train this off-season? YES! Strength training can improve performance, but more importantly, it helps you maintain muscle as you age and keep your bones strong. You don’t need to do a ton; 2 strength workouts targeting major muscle groups per week can do the trick. Focus those workouts on multi-joint movements like squats, deadlifts, lunges, pushups, chest press, shoulder press, dumbbell/barbell/cable rowing etc., you can limit workouts to 3-4 main exercises, done for 2-4 sets of 5-10 reps with 1-2 minute rest between sets, to build a very solid strength foundation this winter. Keep these points in mind as you consider adding strength to your off-season training:

Verify with your medical provider that it’s safe for you to participate in strength training.

As with any exercise style, ease in! Start light —do less than you think you should —and see how it goes. Use this time to learn movements and how to execute them. Once you have done a few workouts, try to nudge up the number of sets done for a few weeks. For example, start with two sets, and then in week 3-4 do three sets. Now either increase the weight used or try to go up one more set. Think about increasing volume before increasing intensity – within reason.

The number of reps noted should be viewed as a range. The goal would be to use a weight until you can do the high end of the range +1 or 2 reps. Now increase weight so you are at the low end of the rep range. Repeat with each new weight used. This helps you progress the challenge, but only after you have proven ready to progress.

Note the comment above about being able to do 1-2 reps more than you do. IE, if you are aiming for six repetitions, use a weight you could lift 7-8 times. This mindset helps you stimulate strength changes without creating excess fatigue and reduces injury risk a bit.

For most athletes, strength and swim days dovetail nicely, as many folks swim and lift in the same facility. Managing logistical stress by doing those together is a big positive. If you do those in different locations, I err on the side of clumping strength and running, since both use a lot of “eccentric” muscle work (lengthening under tension—think decelerating when your foot hits the ground while running or lowering a weight). This approach helps increase your ability to recover and varies training load nicely over the course of each week, month, and season.

If you are unsure, hire a personal trainer or coach to help you ease into things and learn to do the motions.

This winter, take the time to strength train. You will feel good and be ready to enjoy sports even more next year!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Extension First

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:43:14 GMT

extension first - How to gradually expand intensity

Over the off-season, as you start to incorporate more structure in your training, perhaps even workout classes or group sessions, it’s really rewarding to hit it hard. You see gains happen fast, and it’s really rewarding, initially. The challenge is that we want to build capacity to do work first, then improve our ability to utilize what we build. So, my challenge to you is to take your time here. When you do higher-intensity training, start out erring on the lighter end of the range you are using, and repeat workouts. Gradually expand the duration you spend at a given intensity, allowing 2-4 weeks to pass before increasing intensity. This strategy helps increase your capacity for work and then builds upon that improved ability to utilize it. It will also help reduce the odds of overcooking yourself too early in the off-season!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Feel it!

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 10:40:35 GMT

Feel it

Today we have more data than we can really imagine when it comes to training. We can be training and seeing power, pace, speed, elevation, VAM (speed of ascent), cadence and what feels like a million other stats we can review while seeking better understanding of our training. This sounds great, but can often lead us to losing our ability to read effort – which is a big challenge given racing and training ultimately require triangulation between pace and perception of effort. During the off season, especially the first few months of the off season, pick 2-3 workouts over a given week, and execute the session, but block the data from being seen until after. How’d you do? Were you able to come pretty close? Do you get closer after a few workouts? Working on this is fun, but also helps you better understand how “feel” impacts performance in workouts and races down the road!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Intervals Don't Have to Be Hard

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:36:28 GMT

Intervals don't have to be hard!

Often, when people hear about using interval training, they envision vomit-inducing, metal-tasting, leg and lung-searing workouts that require enormous effort. That certainly can be how some interval workouts feel. The good news, as you begin your training for 26, is that intervals can also be shorter and much easier to experience than those done at higher intensities. For example, riding on the indoor bike, which focuses on low Z2, but includes intervals of various lengths at the top of Z2. This style of session is a great way to do solid Z2 work, while also breaking up an indoor ride to make it feel more enjoyable than a steady Z2 ride. You can even do those intervals with intentionally different cadence ranges, which helps improve cycling skills. This could happen while running, swimming, or cycling, and at intensities at the top of Z2 and throughout Z3 – all intensities that are not going to feel like those classic leg-searing sessions noted earlier. These sessions are great for building endurance in all disciplines, while also being fun and entertaining to perform. For example, 4’ (minutes), 6’, 8’, 6’, 4’ all Z3 with 2’ Z2 between intervals. You are increasing your sustainable power/pace, and not experiencing the mental/physical fatigue of trying to maintain the same intensity continuously over time. Note that this is an example. If you are just getting back to training for the coming season or are new to consistent endurance training, shorter/lighter is the way to go. Then, as you acclimate, extend time at intensity over the next few months, before intensifying training. This helps build a solid base of fitness and gets you off to the right start for 26.

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Fall For Fun!

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 10:29:46 GMT

Fall for fun!

Hi everyone – I hope the season was fantastic for you, and you exited the 2025 season fired up to grow and have a blast with the 2026 triathlon season! Hopefully, when you read this, you are either in a period of unstructured but active time or have just started doing some light exercise again. A thoughtful and systematic approach to your training during the off-season can really help you make 26 awesome… But for the next few months – mix it up! Do fun rides with friends, which may include stops at a local orchard for a treat. Go for a few fun hikes in new-to-you areas – hiking is an excellent form of cross-training. Get consistent with strength training. Exploring these different activities helps lay the foundation for your fitness next season, and it feels so different physically and mentally that it enables you to stay fresh and ready to build as we head into the new year!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

That’s a wrap! R&R

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 20:36:21 GMT

That's a wrap!

The Max Performance series has a few more races on the calendar. Then, for some reading this, there may be as many as a couple of events, either triathlons or other events, which they wrap the season up with, for other Max racers, after Buzzards Bay, that’s a wrap on the year. When you hit the end of your season, it’s time for some R and R. In a nutshell, a brief period with a little intentional de-training. A good rule of thumb is to take one week off and then a second week for recreational activities – maybe a hike, a bike ride with friends, or a stop at a local orchard for a cider. No devices or deep planning, just enjoying the outside, ideally with buddies. From there, some folks need a little more low-focus time, while others need less – it depends on a lot of things. So my hope here is to remind you all that when your season wraps, taking some time to recover and step away will make you stronger next year! If you would like to delve deeper into the value of a post-season rest, this “old” article I wrote years ago offers good insight into the whys. Let's make your 26 even better than your 25… And that starts by taking a rest!

https://www.tri-hard.com/blog/2015/9/30/hitting-the-re-boot-button-why-stepping-back-allows-you-to-jump-forward

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Race day (or big workout days) breakfast

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 20:33:34 GMT

Race day (or big workout days) breakfast

Mom/Dad always used to say “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”… And for a triathlete about to toe the start of a race OR big workout day, that’s got legs! The summary is that I have historically recommended using a pre-big workout/event breakfast, which is eaten about 3 hours out from starting, and which is essentially carbohydrate-based and a smidge of protein/fat, with a smaller snack about an hour pre-session/event. That works, but let's dive into the science that has led me to this general approach and explains why it’s been effective over the past 2.5+ decades. Broadly, over the 1-4 hours before you do a big workout or event, the ideal breakfast would be focused on mostly carbohydrates and aiming for 1-4g of carbs (1g carb = 4 calories) per kilo of body weight. That’s a big range. Here are a few examples:

A 120# athlete is 54.5 kg. So that athlete would be looking at 54-218 g/kg or about 216-872 calories.
A 180# athlete is 82 kg. So that athlete would be looking at 82-328 g/kg or about 328-1312 calories.

The range there is wild! And you can imagine that that 120-pound athlete eating, say, 870 calories of carbs 1 hour before a big workout, is VERY different from, say, eating 230 calories 1 hour prior. A great strategy is to view the 1-4 grams/kilo strategy as graded by the hours before exercise that the meal occurs. This means roughly:

4 hours before a workout/event, 4g/kg carbs for the meal.
3 hours before a workout/event, 3g/kg carbs for the meal.
2 hours before a workout/event, 2g/kg carbs for the meal.
1 hour before a workout/event, 1g/kg carbs for the meal.

As a reminder, there are 2.2 pounds in a kilogram. So you can modify your pre-event/workout meal to fit your body weight and the time frame before the workout.

Note, in a perfect world, I’d love to see folks have a meal at the 3-4 hours out point, then a 150-250 calorie snack about an hour before the event to be sure you are very well topped off. This second snack could be a smaller version of what you had for breakfast, or something like a cereal bar, fig newton, 3-5 pitted dates, a banana or two, a sports bar (Cliff, PowerBar, etc.), or similar chewable food-based item. Again, though, this is a topper. The breakfast you eat is the primary thing that tops off your carbohydrate stores for the day.

Great examples of good breakfasts which are generally easy to digest and which I consistently see work well before events and big workouts are like these:

Minute oats made with water and some maple syrup.
Jelly or honey sandwiches (a light smear of nut butter for flavor is ok)
Plain pasta with a few pinches of Parmesan cheese.
Boiled or baked potatoes
Rice made in chicken broth
Smoothie made with juice and fruit with some oats added in and a scoop of whey protein.
Bagel with fat-free cream cheese or fat-free Greek yogurt (weirdly good).

What about fats and proteins? A little protein with the event/big workout day breakfast is fine. This could be some Greek yogurt on minute oats or on a bagel, or a smoothie you make with fruit, fruit juice, oats, and a scoop of whey protein. Fat and protein are generally harder to digest, so in the meal before a big session, I’d err on the side of less and focus on the carb end too.

Similarly, in our daily diet, high fiber foods are the best options. A high fiber diet is strongly associated with lower odds of cardiovascular disease and cancer, offering significant benefits to our health. So we want to eat a lot of fiber daily! The challenge is that lots of fiber is also associated with GI distress during workouts/races. The pre-event or big workout meal is the exception. We want plenty of energy while NOT increasing the risk of GI issues during the workout/event, so the pre event/big workout breakfast is better off being lower fiber.

The idea is to have a solid breakfast before a big workout or event, one that provides plenty of carbs, low fiber, fat, and protein, and is easy to digest for you . I’ve found lately that an athlete's favorite is PBJ (light on the peanut butter) sandwiches. They give many of us a feeling of being a little kid again, or eating something fun… They are very easy to carry and are temperature stable. Great option for sure. Another option that’s sneaky great is a honey and raisin wrap. Almost like eating candy, but it fits the pre-big session fueling targets great.

Key thing, despite all this… And why I note it here… TRY IT IN PRACTICE. What I mean is this: On your longer workouts, those are days to try a few breakfasts. Try an option, see how it feels; then, in the next session, try another. Exploration is fantastic, because not only do you find one thing that works, you also find other things – and that’s a big win. Having more options makes you more adaptable, which in turn makes you better able to perform well.

So in the coming weeks, as you wrap up the season, fuel up!

Reference:

Jeukendrup, A., Gleeson, M. (2025). Sport Nutrition: 4 ^th Edition. Human Kinetics, Champaign Il.

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Pre-race run-through sessions

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 20:29:26 GMT

pre-race run-through sessions

Experienced athletes often like to do a shakeout session a day or two pre-race, where they do a short, generally light session, which includes a small amount of training time within the session at close to race intensity for the event they are doing. Ideally, these sessions are bike à run workouts so you get to do both workouts, but again, are very short – think 30-45’ on the bike and 5-10’ running. If you are a newer athlete, though, a different version of this workout can be great. In that case, set up a swim-bike transition and bike-run transition area in your yard or at your car. Put on the gear you will swim with on race day, now execute a T1, ride 10’ moderately, execute a T2, run 5’, then walk 2-3’ to settle down, and repeat. You don’t have to use a wetsuit every time, but consider starting with one if you plan to race in it. This lets you practice T1 and T2 a few times pre-race, and keep familiar with the sports heading into race day. If you have a place to swim, rather than just “pretend”, an estimated 100-200 long swim can become the first part of the session.

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Feeling a bit flat?

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 20:26:34 GMT

Feeling a bit flat?!

If you have trained all summer, worked hard to increase your paces, and find yourself staring down the tail end of the season feeling fit, but like you are not as fast or snappy as you were at the start of the year, here is an idea. At the end of up to 2 sessions per week, in different sports – vary them week to week – try doing a little bit of speed. What do I mean? 8-15 seconds or so, where you move fast. For running, this can be a “pickup” or “stride” where you run fast for a short period, then recover for up to a few minutes, and repeat. Cycling can be similar, with a sprint that involves high leg speed (easy gear on the bike), and swimming can be one length of the pool with fast intervals. Note that longer is not the goal; it’s about moving fluidly and fast. This little shift in stimulus can help snap the body out of the “steady” slumber that lots of longer or steadier endurance training can sometimes generate. Note, small doses (just 3-5 intervals) per workout are plenty here. The aim is to feel yourself moving fast, fluidly, and strong – without straining the system and making recovery hard.

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Lose the Data! Just for a minute

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 14:07:41 GMT

Lose the data! Just for a minute

Yes, I’m a coach. Yes, I love using data to better understand how an athlete performed a workout/race and to look for ways they have or can improve more. But you know what is incredibly under rated? Ditching the data for some of your training. There is a huge value in just learning how it feels to move, and in just enjoying it for it’s own sake. It really helps us better understand the feedback our body provides, and lets us just take in the environment we are in. It also reminds us just how fun all this stuff is, and helps reduce the sense of “having” to hit a number or session which can be really frustrating over the long haul. So, every now and then, give yourself a shot, and go data free for a session. Just enjoy it!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Get Race Ready!

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 14:06:01 GMT

Get race ready!

While training is about growing, often in today's sea of sensors and monitors and data driven tools, we can forget a key point - ultimately training is about preparing for a specific challenge! When that challenge is a race, you can really help yourself, by progressing your training so that your final build periods are focused on doing wor which helps prepare you for the specific race you are keyed in on. Hilly course? Get your key workouts done on hills or in ways which may help prepare you for hills. For example, use over gear (lower cadence) during intervals which are similar duration to the hills on a course. But also, look at using intensity targets at, to 10% over race goal pace during interval workouts or pace/intensity progression workouts you do. This strategy can really help prepare you for the specific demands of the race you are doing, and helps you narrow down your race planning as well! Cap your training with race like work, and you will work your best on race day!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

How to Balance Your Training: Things Fitting for YOU

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 14:01:57 GMT

How to balance your training: Make things fit for you!

“Triathlon is complicated, how can I fit it into my life?” That’s a great question! The first thing is to set a starting point and to be adaptable. The next, is to invest a few minutes per week to adjusting/and tuning your planning for the week ahead. Finally, stay as adaptable as possible, ready to adjust on the fly. Those key points help us overcome challenges that come up, and most important, help us keep training load fitting into our life soundly. Here are a few key’s to keep in mind to fit tri into life, without losing your life:

Pick a weekend day/time, and every week at that time, look at the training you hope to do and the life activities (work and family/friends) on tap for the week, now compare how those relate. Adjust training so that workouts fit, WITH a little slack! Dont fill every second with life and training, build in a little down time.

Workouts you should protect as much as possible: the longer, most race like workouts. If they need to move around the week, that’s fine, but try not to lose those.

Workouts that are easier to move, shorten, modify to fit life - intensity sessions. Think intervals, track workouts, hill repeats. Things like that. Those are important high value workouts, but they come with a stout recovery cost, and offer a big stimulus. Shortening those workouts if logistics are tough, is super valuable to keeping you healthy and able to recover and keep happy and well.

Very easy workouts to move, and sometimes drop are any shorter steady “Z2” style workouts. Those are important, but if life is tossing curve balls, these are the best sessions to drop, or dramatically shorten if needed.

If you are strength training (good idea), and life is busy, drop to 1 sessions per week. If even that is super tight, just try to maintain a bit by doing a few sets of body weight squats or lunges after one endurance workout, maybe some pushups after another and maybe band rows after another. This takes less than 5 minutes after 3 workouts per week, so can really save you a lot of time over the week!

Those strategies can be used to help marry your training and life ina way that sets you up to enjoy both, and perform really well!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Recovery Blocks: How to reset & recharge!

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 19:12:07 GMT

RECOVERY BLOCKS: HOW TO RESET AND RECHARGE!

Training is characterized by intentionally progressing towards a target, while using planned periods of work and rest to help your body grow. The planned rest periods are often called rest weeks/blocks, or adaptation weeks/blocks. These periods allow you to grow stronger from all the training you have been doing! That said, while sometimes just reducing volume 50-70% with a small amount of intensity can be great to allow recovery to happen during these blocks, there is another option. Take a week, and open things up. Only rules:

1 workout/day 4-6x over the week
Base those workouts on what feels fun on that day
No data collection devices like GPS/HR/power etc.
Finish every workout you do, feeling better than when you started.

This approach to some rest weeks (frankly it can be used for as many as you like) really helps re–set and recharge your mind. It truly gives you a break, while allowing you to do enough work to maintain fitness. Give it a shot on your next “recovery/adaptation” week!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Race Pacing: How to make the most of the whole day

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 19:50:39 GMT

Race Pacing: how to make the most of your day!

Remember the biggest factor in triathlon pacing… Triathlons are ONE activity!!! So often, folks will think, “I have been a swimmer (or cyclist or runner), so I’m just going to go full gas in that segment and I'll be fine.” Rarely does this workout. Why? Because our body views a triathlon as a single energy output, just like a single sport event of the same/similar duration. As the season progresses, when planning how to pace a race, always remember that you are distributing work so that you can handle the highest intensity and effort over the final quarter of the race. This mindset may seem like a minor adjustment, but functionally, it’s a significant difference. To achieve your best results at races this year, don't forget that you are not pacing a swim, a bike, and a run… You are pacing out a triathlon as one single output of energy.

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Spring Time Training Reminders! Week 3 - What Gear Do You Need?

Sat, 05 Apr 2025 20:15:30 GMT

Spring Time Training Reminders!

Every year, as we enter spring, triathletes find themselves fired up to get outdoors and enjoy training in the fresh air again. Often, small things can become big challenges during this time of transition. Over the next few weeks, we will review a few key areas to keep in mind so your return to outdoor training goes as well as possible!

Week 3: What gear do you need?

I used to hear something from my dad when I’d be training during the winter: "Look out for the drivers; they are not used to seeing cyclists/runners out this time of year.” At the time, this felt like an awesome dad, being fabulous and expressing his concern for my safety, but maybe a little over the top. Now, I agree with his sentiment. Today, not only may early spring drivers not be used to seeing athletes on the road, but they are also distracted by cars with more electronics on board and cell phones to boot. Not to mention the high number of vehicles that pass me while training today that smell like a Cheech and Chong movie, if you follow me… So, keep these points in mind as you start to train outdoors:

Road conditions (or trail) are generally iffy in the spring. Potholes open up, new cracks in the pavement occur, and various bumps or dips may develop in the road. Make sure you pay attention so you do not risk a fall due to those issues appearing where the road may have been excellent last fall.

Train defensively - assume EVERY driver does not see you unless there is clear and 100% certain eye contact AND an action by the driver showing they are changing behavior in your presence. Without those things occurring, always assume they have no idea you are there. Maybe the law says they should stop or not pull out ahead of you… but if they do, their car is dented, and you may be severely injured - YOU LOSE. So slow down a bit and adjust if you have even the slightest bit of doubt about a driver's behavior!

Consider investing in a rear-facing radar system for cycling. These devices help show you how fast cars are coming up behind you, and they can help you adjust and shift your position on the road to stay safer.

Wear colors drivers will see. I know you may have a super cool new olive green, brown, black, or navy blue jersey/vest/coat… But you know what? Those disappear. Consider investing in some kit that is very bright, such as a neon yellow helmet or a neon orange/pink/yellow vest/jersey. This can go a long way to helping drivers see you and help you stay safe.

I’m risking enemies… But skip the earbuds. If you cannot hear traffic coming up behind you, it’s more startling when it appears next to your shoulder, and it’s harder for you to adjust to its presence. Save the tunes/podcasts for the drive or while making dinner after safely getting home.

Follow the rules of the roads for pedestrians and cyclists!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Spring Time Training Reminders! Week 2 - Watch out for Autos!

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 21:16:14 GMT

Spring Time Training Reminders!

Week 1: watch out for autos!

Road conditions (or trail) are generally iffy in the spring. Potholes open up, new cracks in the pavement occur, and various bumps or dips may develop in the road. Make sure you pay attention so you do not risk a fall due to those issues appearing where the road may have been excellent last fall.

Train defensively - assume EVERY driver does not see you unless there is clear and 100% certain eye contact AND an action by the driver showing they are changing behavior in your presence. Without those things occurring, always assume they have no idea you are there. Maybe the law says they should stop or not pull out ahead of you… but if they do, their car is dented, and you may be severely injured - YOU LOSE. So slow down a bit and adjust if you have even the slightest bit of doubt about a driver's behavior!

Consider investing in a rear-facing radar system for cycling. These devices help show you how fast cars are coming up behind you, and they can help you adjust and shift your position on the road to stay safer.

Wear colors drivers will see. I know you may have a super cool new olive green, brown, black, or navy blue jersey/vest/coat… But you know what? Those disappear. Consider investing in some kit that is very bright, such as a neon yellow helmet or a neon orange/pink/yellow vest/jersey. This can go a long way to helping drivers see you and help you stay safe.

I’m risking enemies… But skip the earbuds. If you cannot hear traffic coming up behind you, it’s more startling when it appears next to your shoulder, and it’s harder for you to adjust to its presence. Save the tunes/podcasts for the drive or while making dinner after safely getting home.

Follow the rules of the roads for pedestrians and cyclists!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Spring Time Training Reminders! Week 1

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 23:17:15 GMT

Spring Time Training Reminders!

Week 1: Return to outdoors!

The first two sports you can do outdoors are cycling and running—unless you are a consistent polar bear swim club member! I hope you are not the latter, so let's look at the first things to check out for cycling and running as we head into the outdoor season.

Number one is about safety and gear readiness for outdoor training. What does that mean? It means ensuring your gear is mechanically sound/ready to support your workouts safely.

On the bike, that means that after months of indoor training, you want to get things cleaned and tuned up for spring. Check cables for rust (if your bike still uses them), charge shifter batteries, swap out brake lever batteries, check brake pads and tires. If you do not do your own work, get your bike in the shop sooner rather than later, as bike shops fill fast this time of year, meaning slower bike return times. This process ensures your bike will work well and be safe to ride!

On the run, check your shoes for wear and replace them if needed. Also, check your socks—they can get really beat up over the year, and often, adding a new set to the quiver in the spring is a good move.

For both activities, check your clothes. Make sure the items you may not have used much, like lighter gloves and caps, vests, shorts, knee warmers, arm warmers, and lightweight tights, are all ready to go. If something needs replacing, now's the time.

Consider lighting. While the days are growing fast, having a flashing light on your bike can help cars see you. For another month or so, the mornings are darker, potentially meaning morning runs could benefit from having a lightweight headlamp. This helps reduce the risk of falling and helps keep you safe.

Those steps ensure your gear is ready for action as you hit the roads outdoors!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Muscle Cramping: Is it hydration or race pacing?

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 23:52:05 GMT

Muscle cramping: Is it hydration or race pacing?

Watch a triathlon or any endurance event; you will likely see someone having a rough day due to muscle cramping. Maybe that someone - is you. It’s a really unsettling and uncomfortable experience, for sure! While tradition leads us to believe that exercise-associated muscle cramping (EAMC) is related mostly to hydration and electrolytes, the evolving research on this area points out a different trigger.

The paper described HERE is one of those! So, what did the study examine, and what can we take away?

The study looked at:

210 IronMan distance triathletes were used in the study. The athletes were assessed prior for cramping history and electrolyte levels. Post-race repeat assessments/tests were performed.

There were no differences in serum electrolyte levels or body weight between the 43 athletes who suffered EAMC, or the 166 athletes who did not!

What are the things most associated with athletes suffering from EAMC or not based on this paper? They have faster total times, faster bike time, and a history of having cramped at some point during their past 10 races.

How can we apply that to ourselves?

Realistic race planning. If you want to minimize risk of cramping, make sure you are laying out your race planning (strategy) on your current fitness. What does that mean? What kind of speeds/power/HR/effort are you using when doing workouts of similar intensity to the races you are doing? How about during your long workouts? If your race plan targets a finish time much faster than you can use in similar workouts, adjust the plan so that it’s based on your actual fitness and not solely on what you HOPE you can do on the course.

Smart race pacing. It’s fun to go fast. It’s fun to hammer. Races are exciting and lure us into going for it from the gun. But as you can see from this paper - cooking yourself with an overspeed bike or trying to meet an aggressive goal is a great way to have your day end with EAMC. To avoid that, base pacing on current fitness and aim to negatively split the day. This means that while you may be able to go a bit faster or tolerate more exertion early in a race, holding back a hair can pay off as you increase your odds of finishing strong and fast.

Other considerations:

There is some evidence that increasing your tolerance for “eccentric” loading can help reduce cramping during races/tough workouts. Eccentric is the term that describes your muscles lengthening under tension - think deceleration when your foot hits the ground with each step or while going downstairs. Sensible strength training as part of your training program and modest use of downhill-specific training are both solid options to consider in your broader training plan – if it is safe for you to do.

Incorporating training that includes extensive use of race-pace-like work and race-like durations can help reduce EAMC risk. This is best done infrequently and is a better tool for more advanced athletes. If you are new to endurance training, this is one to file away for next year!

By focusing on sound pacing and race planning and performing a well-rounded training plan, you can significantly reduce the risk of cramping on race day!

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

How much fuel do you need for big races? Gut Training?!

trichmond@maxperformanceonline.com (Tim Richmond) — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 23:57:01 GMT

How much fuel do you need for your events? And how much should you train the gut?

Over the past few years it’s increasingly clear that fueling races and big workouts opens the door to your best performance. Aggressive fueling however, can come with the risk of GI upset which acutely leads to reduced performance – due to the, well, side effects of a very upset stomach! The best way to mitigate those negatives with feeding aggressively during sport, is to practice, literally training your GI system to handle higher fuel / fluid volumes while you work. This study looked at how using either carbohydrate as a food, or a gel, over a two week period, can help improve performance vs not fueling while performing.

So what happened:

Athletes performed an extensive duration test (2hr) while taking in fuel, then two weeks later after working to acclimate to fueling, repeated the tests after being split into groups – food for carbs, gel for carbs and no fuel.
The fuel groups had a solid improvement in performance over the no fuel group of 4-5~ %
The fuel groups also had a solid reduction in GI symptoms over the two week acclimation period.

So, how does this help you?

If you plan to fuel your races – and you should, especially races beyond sprint distance – you should practice that fueling for at least 2 weeks before the race.
By practicing your fueling strategy, you solidly reduce risk of GI upset on race day, AND set yourself up to perform your best.
For races in the sprint and Olympic duration range, aiming for 30g (120 calories)/hour up to 90g (360 calories)/hour of carbohydrate is reasonable – the longer you suspect you will be out there, the higher end of the range you should acclimate too. This can be from drinks, gels, solids, foods, sports foods, etc.
For best results, work backward: In the last two weeks before the race, use your goal-fueling strategy. If you are not used to that volume, aim to work from about 30-40g of carbs per hour, increasing a bit every two weeks up to that final two-week period where you practice your race fuel strategy.

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Stress: How does it impact performance?

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 23:50:19 GMT

stress: how does it impact performance?

Ask anyone who has coached endurance athletes for even a short period of time how much life stress impacts performance, and you will consistently hear that this sometimes hard-to-describe and define concept can have a really big impact on how we perform. This study from 2014 is a great one, showing just how impactful stress is on physical performance. The paper looked at how psychological stress in college students impacted their ability to perform and their perception of fatigue:

In the study, high levels of stress were related to several days longer return to baseline sensations of fatigue, soreness and readiness to perform.

The study also showed that perceived energy, and isometric force output were also reduced during periods of high stress.

During periods of the highest stress, some of these negatives persisted up to 4 days longer than periods of normal stress.

So how does this help you?

During periods of higher life stress, if you can reduce training stress – or adjust training by allowing more recovery between your most challenging workouts, you can reduce the odds of overreaching and keep on track to your goals.

If you have a planned big training period, work to build that training phase into points of the year that you anticipate lower life stress.

Stay adaptable—if you feel stress building, look for ways to mitigate that/reduce it, allowing you to get more out of your training and less fatigue overall. This is a time to remember that LESS IS MORE!

-Will

Reference: Chronic psychological stress impairs recovery of muscular function and somatic sensations over a 96-hour period

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Peak Organic Named Beer Garden Sponsor - Sharon Triathlon

trichmond@maxperformanceonline.com (Tim Richmond) — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 14:01:04 GMT

PEAK ORGANIC - OFFICIAL BEER GARDEN SPONSOR - SHARON TRIATHLON

Max Performance is excited to announce that Peak Organic Brewing, Portland, Maine is now the Official Beer Garden Sponsor of the 2024 Sharon Triathlon. Peak's mission is to source the finest ingredients to brew the best beer. They work with amazing farmers around the Northeast who are truly growing some of the most fantastic hops, barley, and wheat in the United States. Sourcing directly from farms, they're able to help drive an amazing resurgence in sustainable agriculture in the Northeast, farming practices that put quality and flavor first and foremost.

This year will mark the first Beer Garden at the Sharon Triathlon with direct coordination from Sharon Recreation Department and town officials. Join us on Sunday August 11, 2024 where registered athletes will be treated to some delicious post race BBQ and Brews from our latest Sponsor - Peak Organic Brewing - LEARN MORE HERE

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

THE BEST INGREDIENTS IN BEER

Always Fresh

organic

Sourced from locally grown farms

Your headphones should always look amazing! Pick your preferred color.

Colorful

truly delicious

Amazing flavor

Why Aerobic Work?

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 15:52:02 GMT

Why Aerobic Work?

The title of this is misleading. In reality, when you are racing a sprint tri and have been at it for an hour and are pushing as hard as you can towards the finish line – that’s been a VERY aerobic event. What I mean here is why lower-intensity training should be a keystone in your training. Lower-intensity training helps push up your performance floor and broaden your foundation by allowing you to go faster with less stress on the system, sustain paces without fatigue for longer, and recover faster during and after workouts/races. The key, though, when doing this work, is not to overdo it. You should feel able to speak sentences with a training buddy while doing the low-intensity training, which should form the majority of your training volume. This is work that should be below 80% of your “FTP” and below about 75% of your “threshold heart rate”. Again, this work should be comfortable and at a level you can sustain for hours!

-Will

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

What is the foundation for performance?

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 13:19:39 GMT

what is the foundation for performance?

A foundation is the underlying base of a principle or structure. When we think of buildings, the foundation is the base that supports all ensuing parts – a weak or off-kilter foundation and the whole building could crumble. In the case of sports, the term foundation has a similar meaning. The foundation is made of the base skills and abilities that support our ability to perform increasingly specific work as we approach target events. That said, I prefer a simpler view – our foundation is what allows us to do what we want/hope to do well. As endurance athletes, we often think of the foundation as solely a broad-base “aerobic” fitness built upon hours of lower-intensity work. That’s a part, for sure. Keep in mind, though, that a base of general strength (think work in the gym/home gym), sound nutrition/sleep/lifestyle, and broader physical health are the components of your foundation. If you have to train a little less in order to eat a little better, sleep a little more, and have better relationships in your life, please do! Ultimately, your foundation will be deeper for having considered all of those factors!

-Will

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

January Free Race Entry Winners

trichmond@maxperformanceonline.com (Tim Richmond) — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 14:54:12 GMT

Congratulations to our January Winner!

Max continues to reward our early bird registrants in 2024! Every registrant from January was entered into our free race entry contest. Let's hear it for Heidi Benson who registered early and won a free race entry. Her Season Opener entry was credited back. Pretty cool right?! Do you want a free entry? Register by February 29th for our next contest winner. It's that simple!

And don't forget about our Referral Rewards! The more you refer friends the more cash back $$$ Use your registration email confirmation and forward to friends to receive your credits.

Have a great 2024 Race Season!

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

The Importance Of Taking A Break

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 18:44:46 GMT

KNOWING WHEN TO STEP BACK

For any endurance athlete, taking a break at the end of the season is super valuable for improving performance the following year and, more importantly, keeping physically and mentally healthy. I know it’s hard to hear that. Most athletes like you are fired up to get better, be that finishing a race for the first time, improving your speed, or using sport as a way to build your health and wellness through fun physical activity and time with cool people… That drive can make taking a break hard. Especially if someone is worried about losing all the fitness they have built!

Here is the thing, though: with everything that goes on in our lives and training, that’s a LOT of energy out, focus, and discipline. It’s impossible to maintain that for years on end without a break. Likewise, our body needs some space to recover from all the work we have done leading to that point. If we do not take a break intentionally, it’s very likely one will either be taken for us via injury or burnout… OR we will see a slow decrease in performance over the following season. None of those are what we want as athletes.

So – when do you take a rest? Classically that came right after the last target race of the year, and for some folks, that works. For folks whose last race may be in September, I suggest a period of lower-focus training after the race – enjoying time with friends and doing enjoyable sessions and maybe even some cross-training like hiking. Pick a point, likely in November, December, or both if things are really intense in life for you, where you step back.

Aim for one week totally off, then a week which includes some light nonspecific activity. Take walks, try a fitness class at the gym with a friend, go to a yoga class, and consider starting to ease back into strength training 2 times per week. If you are NOT itching to work out after that, repeat that second week until you are. This will maintain some of the fitness you have built, but let your body and mind recharge – allowing you to perform even better in 2024, having fun along the way!

-Will

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Cross Training

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 18:42:15 GMT

Cross training, by its nature, is what triathletes do.

What do I mean? Well, cross-training is just training in different sports/activities to become a well-rounded athlete. So, if you already cross-train as a triathlete, why think of doing more of it during the off-season? Because intention and perception matter. When we feel we are doing the same thing, it can become monotonous. And that sets us up to burn out or become stale as an athlete.

Taking some time away from focused training during the off-season to do other things you enjoy or want to explore helps build general fitness and keeps you fresh for the training and racing to come.

For example, going hiking is a great cross-training tool for triathletes. The time on feet helps build durability for running, and the general aerobic fitness built helps start expanding next year's fitness foundation – hiking does all of that and more! Maybe rent a fat bike to ride snowy trails on a weekend trip or try XC skiing. Heck, the Weston Ski Track right off 128 in Weston MA is a super place for folks in eastern MA – XC skiing on groomed trails, including a lighted loop for night skiing. What a great way to have fun learning a new skill and building an aerobic foundation for next summer's triathlon. Even trail running, similar to road running – yet feels so different – can be a great cross-training option.

The key here is that you get to work out, build foundation and general fitness, but in a way that feels very different from the focused work that is ultimately the bread and butter of training you need to do for your best triathlon performances. Give it a shot!

-Will

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

General Health

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 18:43:35 GMT

Take Some Time to Take Care of Yourself!

The “off-season” is a great time to keep up on your health while you recover from the past year. This would be a super time to have your physical; maybe see if your dental cleaning can be set up for one this time of year, any preventative screens you need to do, like a dermatology skin check (good annual thing for folks spending a lot of time outside) or colonoscopy if that’s needed (your PCP can tell you this).

It’s hard to hear, but even as health-conscious folks, athletes can have some funky medical conditions pop up that need to be addressed, so staying on top of preventative care helps. If that sounds unfun to you, consider that over the 2.5+ decades I’ve been coached endurance athletes, I’ve seen “healthy” athletes discover heart health issues requiring stenting and other interventions, cancers like colo-rectal and skin cancer, and funky infections that floored folks for over a month due to a tooth issue which was pushed off. It’s hard to think of “regular healthcare” as part of performing your best athletically… But it is just that.

Consider using some of the time that would have been invested in training during other parts of the year to follow up on your health care – YOU are worth it!

-Will

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

Goals

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:17:06 GMT

Goal setting for next year is a broad subject, so I’m going to hit a few key points here in hopes of spurring you into finding a system that works best for you.

Goals need to be clear and based on YOUR wants. They are not about what your buddy thinks you should accomplish or shoot for. They are based on YOU first. Coaches and training buddies can help orient those, but the key stone is that YOU are excited about the goal. My suggestion is to think of setting goals this way:

What is my guiding philosophy behind my participation in sport?
What is my north start for this year? (What is the theme, or experience I want from this year most?)
What actions or activities will act as the gas pedal, helping me live, operate and grow towards my north star this year?
What actions or activities will act as brakes, hindering my ability to live, operate and grow towards my north star this year?
Are there any reasonable steps I can take to alleviate or mitigate the brakes?
Are there specific things which I can do that help enhance the gas pedals action?

With those questions/concepts thought through and worked on, focus on the north star, and the gas pedal. From that orientation, if you think of specific outcomes, performances and tasks that help you work towards the north star and broader philosophy, those are areas to consider focusing on. This approach reduces the risk of competing ideas, creating frustration. For example, if you think: I want to win the Harvest Triathlon Olympic Distance version in 2024, but you just started triathlon and your philosophy for sport is “to have fun and be social”… This may get frustrating as the tasks required could bind up when blended with the things needed for that outcome/performance.

Working through a series of questions like those above, helps orient your thinking, so that any goals you do try to set, make sense with YOU, who YOU are and the experiences you are looking for!

I do think considering outcomes you want (think race finish times, specific health marker changes etc), performance you want (how do races or specific test workouts go?) and most valuable, tasks/processes which help things go is a great step, having worked through the questions above. Place emphasis on the last, the process/task goals. Everything else is a dream, without you understanding the steps required to get there – and that’s the task/process end of things. For example, if you think you want to go from mid pack to top 10 in your age group, sort things into steps you think that takes. Not a thing like “I need to run X pace off the bike”… But, what things day over day help you run X pace off the bike. For example: “I will work at sleeping 7.5 hours per night 6 days a week”, “I will make sure to have healthy protein, starch and veggies at each meal”, “I will ride an extra 15’ per ride every second week”, “I will apply intensity discipline during workouts to keep fresher through the year”. Tasks, like those sorts of things, make a huge difference in how close to any outcomes or performances you have this year… And best of all, they are driving you towards your broader philosophy of sport!

-Will

Will Kirousis, MS, CSCS, CISSN
Tri-Hard | Director
USA Cycling Certified Coach

USA Triathlon Certified Coach
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Certified Sports Nutritionist

508.633.2708 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com | @willkirousis

Max Performance organizes multi-sport events throughout New England with an emphasis on organization, communication, energy, and enthusiasm!

The Max Performance Blog!

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Synergy Wetsuits - Official Wetsuit of the 20th Anniversary Tour!

INTRODUCING OUR OFFICIAL WETSUIT PARTNER: SYNERGY WETSUITS

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Recovery Blocks: How to reset & recharge!

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