Fitness vs injury

[FrankDay]

An elite athlete of mine recently got injured running intervals on the track in a build up for a major race. This got me to thinking. Nothing hurts performance more than an injury yet training hard is one key to getting better.

Athletes when healthy always think they can push themselves harder. If they change coaches it may be for a coach who they think will push them harder than their current coach does. But, I have never seen a coach post any information regarding how many of their clients were injured in the previous year or what those injuries were. It seems to me that this would be useful information to have when comparing coaches. Which coach would you choose, one where 90% of his athletes get injured every year but in the 10% who are not injured there is a world champ? Or, one where 10% get injured but in the 90% remaining there are 3 top ten finishers?

Anyhow, does anyone know any data regarding injury rates in cyclists/triathletes compared to different training protocols?

I suspect if we are ever going to see this information it will only come about if the athletes demand to see it before signing up with a coach.

Comments?

 

[Aapjes]

Cycling is not load bearing, so injuries mostly seem to come from accidents or bad fit/saddle problems/etc. Those aren't really things that a coach can influence. So your question is a bit silly on this forum IMO.

As for medium-distance runners, I've heard that some can make do with a very low mileage, which dramatically cuts the injury rate. Most likely they can only get away with this after heavy training early in their career, though.

 

[FrankDay]

Cycling is not load bearing, so injuries mostly seem to come from accidents or bad fit/saddle problems/etc. Those aren't really things that a coach can influence. So your question is a bit silly on this forum IMO.

As for medium-distance runners, I've heard that some can make do with a very low mileage, which dramatically cuts the injury rate. Most likely they can only get away with this after heavy training early in their career, though.

So, because a lot of cycling injuries occur as a result of crashes you think it silly to discuss the issue of over training injuries? Or, illness as a result of over training? Or, what if a crash occurs because the athlete is too tired to concentrate or think straight?

And, I suspect, a lot of the triathletes who come here are a little more than "medium-distance" runners since they run a marathon after riding their bike 112 miles.

Anyhow, it does seem like a reasonable question to ask that, I think, most athletes ignore when choosing a coach.

 

[JamesCun]

Way too many variables to come up with anything other than individual case studies. Even with the same coach, you will get different training protocols. Some athletes always do more than the plan and some always do less. Some have robust bodies and recover quickly, others break down quickly. The best anyone can do is look out for the coaches with a bad rep and see if it is justified.

And, are you talking about the true elites, Olympic level athletes?? Elite athletes want results and will work with coaches who have a proven history of results. Someone like Joel Filliol has a steady roster of medallists...that is what attracts other elites.

 

[FrankDay]

Way too many variables to come up with anything other than individual case studies. Even with the same coach, you will get different training protocols. Some athletes always do more than the plan and some always do less. Some have robust bodies and recover quickly, others break down quickly. The best anyone can do is look out for the coaches with a bad rep and see if it is justified.

And, are you talking about the true elites, Olympic level athletes?? Elite athletes want results and will work with coaches who have a proven history of results. Someone like Joel Filliol has a steady roster of medallists...that is what attracts other elites.

Perhaps. Then there is Brett Sutton who seems to break down many more athletes than the many world champs he has trained.