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Przemysław Szymanowski and Maria Pytel are Triathletes, Polish Championships multi-medalist, national representatives, PRO athletes, and coaches and founders of the Szymanowski Triathlon Team . We asked them to share their experiences with us regarding supplementation in endurance sports.
We have been triathletes for over 15 years and represent a typical endurance discipline (Przemek used to do cycling, Maria used to do swimming). Triathlon consists of 3 consecutive disciplines: swimming, cycling, running. The effort during the competition is long-lasting: sprint distance (750m swimming-20km cycling-5km running) approx. 1 hour, Olympic distance (1500m swimming-40km cycling-10km running) approx. 2 hours, ½ IRONMAN distance (1.9km swimming-90km cycling-21km running), IRONMAN distance (3.5km swimming-180km cycling-42km running). Currently, we are both starting and preparing for sprint and "Olympic" distances, but in the future we want to try our hand at longer distances, in which Przemek has already started and triumphed many times. We prepare our protégés for each of these distances in the Szymanowski Triathlon Team we founded.
Training and participating in triathlon competitions is a big challenge for the body, not only in terms of fitness, but also in terms of energy.
Therefore, when preparing for a triathlon, it is necessary to take into account aspects of physical training and a proper diet, as well as supplementation. In long distances, well-chosen supplementation is a key element of good starts, because energy preparation is as important as physical preparation.
We have noticed that endurance athletes focus on hard, long-term training, downplaying the role of supplementation in triathlon preparation. This is due to beliefs and myths circulating on the subject. Supplements are mainly associated with heavily muscled strength athletes who work out in the gym and large cans, the intake of which significantly increases muscle mass, which is not beneficial in endurance sports. Supplements, on the other hand, are associated with people who need to supplement vitamin or mineral deficiencies because they are sick. We ourselves have had such beliefs for many years, which was caused by a lack of knowledge.
The triathlon season lasts quite long and is intense in starts (over 20 starts). In Poland it starts in May and ends in September (5 months). After the starting season there is about 1 month of detraining and the next 6 months are devoted to preparations for the next starting season.
We had come across supplements and nutrients earlier when we were in the national team, and we had also become somewhat interested in the subject ourselves. However, our knowledge on the subject was limited. We had tried and experimented with supplements a bit, asking the “man from the store” for advice, but our knowledge of how to do it and what supplements to choose left much to be desired. In our careers, we also had a period when we were staunch opponents of supplements, which resulted from the myths circulating about it and our contemporary beliefs.
In April 2018, we came across someone who explained to us how important supplementation is in endurance sports, and what supplements to choose and how to use them. We used this knowledge throughout the 2018 competition season and the effects were surprising and visible. In the previous season, 2017, when we did not use supplements, we had frequent energy drops, and as a result, a lack of motivation for further training. However, in the 2018 season, regeneration after starts and training was incomparably better, which positively surprised us and thus confirmed the correctness of our decision to introduce regular supplementation to our training and nutrition cycle. In addition, energy drops occurred very rarely and lasted for a short time, not disturbing our starts and training between starts. We also noticed a decrease in body weight compared to the previous season and a lack of injuries.
After the 2018 racing season, we can say that nutrients and supplementation are an essential element in endurance sports.
In November we started the preparation period for the next season 2019, this time with supplementation and we are waiting for even better results.
Przemysław Szymanowski and Maria Pytel
Triathletes, Polish Championships multiple medalists (Przemek 46 Polish Championship medals, Maria 26 Polish Championship medals), national representatives, PRO athletes, coaches and founders of the Szymanowski Triathlon Team.
szymanowskitriathlonteam.pl
facebook.com/Szymanowski-Triathlon-Team-170188479816174
