Most sporting activities are based on the application of strength. Many such as running, cycling and swimming are based on movements that are repeated thousands of times over. Others such as sprinting and weight training may be based on far fewer movements. However in both cases strength is an essential component in allowing the movements to be made without strain. More strength will always lead to better performances as long as there is not too much weight gain associated with it.

Gaining strength isn’t always about bulging muscles. Those involved in long duration training and events such as road cycling, 10k runs and marathons use mostly type I muscle fibres that do not expand much as they become stronger. For those involved in shorter more powerful exercises and events such as weightlifting and sprinting then the types of muscle fibre they use (type II) may well grow as strength increases.

To maximise strength gains it is important to eat the right nutrients at the right time. You need to do two things. 1) Avoid your muscles breaking down, and 2) Give your body the best nutrients to help it to build muscle strength.

1) Muscle breakdown. Known as catabolism, when you exercise hard, muscle proteins are degraded. At the same time you create an energy deficit. Your body tries to rectify the energy deficit and will use any available energy source, including muscle proteins, which it breaks down using the hormone cortisol. To avoid this you need to ensure that your body has enough energy available in the form of fats and carbohydrates. There are two ways of achieving this. Either be well rested before exercise or consume enough carbohydrates during and immediately after your exercise.

Advice to avoid muscle breakdown: So if you have exercised hard or for a long time then eat carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, potato and sweet items within the first 45 minutes after completing your exercise. If exercise duration is longer than about 90 minutes it is advisable to consume carbohydrates during exercise as well. Also try to sleep for at least 8 hours per night when exercising hard. These measures will reduce levels of cortisol and subsequent muscle breakdown.

2) Muscle building. Known as anabolism, this is dependent on the body using its own hormones, growth hormone and insulin, to stimulate the release of insulin-like growth factors (IGF). IGF directly stimulates muscle growth using amino acids from proteins in our diet. During exercise we break the muscle down in the hope that the body will overcompensate, and build us up further using these hormones. The hormones are most abundant during rest, specifically when we first go to sleep. At this time there is a burst of hormones released that help to build muscle.

Advice to build muscle: As a general rule it is best to eat most protein late in the day. This exploits the fact that your muscle hormones peak shortly after you go to bed. The proteins provide the raw materials (amino acids) for muscle building. Good sources of protein include meat, fish, cheese and eggs. However from a health perspective it is normally best to limit the amount of saturated fat in your protein. To do this limit the amount of beef, duck, lamb and cheese, preferring organic chicken, turkey, fish and eggs instead.

Next time DrDobbin looks further into the subject of building strength, examining whether supplements of specific nutrients such as the amino acid glutamine can help reduce muscle breakdown and assist you to gain strength.

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Robin Dowswell (aka. DrDobbin) is a Milton Keynes based Nutritional Therapist who specialises in sports nutrition and eating with respect for the environment. He can provide one to one consultations that help clients towards greater health and improve their performance levels. For more information please see his website www.drdobbin.co.uk.

Many triathletes do not place a lot of value on flexibility. In some respects, it’s understandable.  Time is a precious commodity, and stretching is often the first thing to go.

When you are accumulating lengths in the pool, or churning out mileage on the bike, or running intervals, it feels like you are doing something worthwhile in your training. All that effort and sweat feels like work. Comparatively, stretching and flexibility drills seem quite melodramatic.

However, achieving greater flexibility is critical and should make a vital part of your training regime year round.  This articles explores the benefits of Pilates for triathletes and how building this ito your plan might help you grow stronger and retain injury free.

Runners do Pilates most of all because it builds long, strong muscles, improves their flexibility and lessens their risk of injury. The way that Pilates opens up the vertebrae in the lower back, in particular, helps prevent the sort of back injuries which can result from the constant impact involved in running.

Running and Pilates, however, also complement each perfectly at a deeper, philosophical level.

Good runners run tall. They don't hunch, lean, push with their hips or tighten through the neck and shoulders. They avoid pounding the ground with every stride. Their movement is smooth and light. There is both an economy and an integrity to their form.

Good runners pay attention. Instead of seeing a run as an excuse to zone out with the iPod, they see it as a chance to develop their kinaesthetic awareness - for example, to explore the feel of their feet on the ground, how balanced their head is on the neck and spine, whether a mild ache in their leg has caused them to run more heavily than they would wish, whether their ankles and knees are releasing in sequence, how their breathing patterns have changed as the workload becomes more demanding. This approach makes running as much a mental activity as a physical one - very much like Pilates.

Cycling may be great cardio-vascular exercise but the modern bike is not a masterpiece of efficient design - or a promoter of healthy posture. Indeed, quite the opposite, which is the main reason that many cyclists do Pilates and even more should.

Old-fashioned 'sit-up-and-beg' cycles were far better suited to a comfortable riding position, with the upper body held still and the spine lengthened. Modern bikes require a more hunched posture with the head placed low over the front wheel. This causes excessive bending of the lumbar spine, a forward rotation of the hips and pelvis, and shortening of the back of the neck due to the need to look forward and see where you're going. Many committed cyclists also suffer from a shortening of the hamstrings.

Just as runners can use Pilates to enhance their body awareness and condition efficient patterns of movement, so many cyclists use it to restore postural alignment, shift the spine back into position, open up the chest, ease and prevent back pain and relieve the tension caused by sitting for long periods in a mechanically unsound position.

Swimming, Pilates exercises are performed at a deliberate pace, employing appropriate breathing patterns and attention to detail. This approach translates well to the pool, where many swimmers need to 'slow down', forget how many lengths they intended to swim and focus instead on breathing, body orientation and balance.

Particularly important is the need to release the neck in order to lengthen the spine, eliminating the muscular tension that affects the whole body when the head is pulled back. The head position adopted by most poor swimmers, particularly when performing the breast-stroke, would be impossible to hold for long periods out of the water. The challenge, therefore, is to 'remember to remember' the superior postural alignment and sense of lightness gained through Pilates and apply it in the pool.

Swimming, meanwhile, has the image of being a sport for which the prime requirements are strength and determination, and success is measured in terms of 'how far' and 'how fast'. The skill of learning to swim well is overlooked, with little attention paid to grace, elegance and economy of movement.

As a result, it is rare to find recreational or fitness swimmers demonstrating effortless, efficient strokes that cause barely a ripple on the surface. Instead, too many of them view swimming as a battle against a relentless opponent - the water; hence the number of head-out-of-the-water thrashers, expending energy but getting nowhere, both literally and metaphorically.

Swimmers who also do Pilates, however, find it easier to focus on breathing, grace, flow and maintaining a steady pace.