Weight Training For Triathletes

Weight Training For Triathletes

Building The You Base Fitness - For Triathletes And Triathlons

Depending on your goal and training history, the length of your endurance sessions can vary. A runner turned triathlete can do a long run that a novice to endurance sports could not safely complete without fear of injury. Personalizing your sessions to your circumstances is vital to progress and injury prevention.

Specific stamina

Your bread and butter is Endurance Training - not weight training, back-to-back interval sessions or core stability sessions. You need to swim, bike and then run for around one hour minimum - up to 12 or more hours if you get the bug and enter an Ironman event. Your muscles need to learn to be efficient and cope with extended periods of effort. The so-called sprint distance triathlon (7,5K, 20k, 5k) is wrongly named as even the best athletes take 50-60 minutes. Know your goal distance, and over several months you can build up slowly to be able to do 100-150 per cent of race distance. This prevents a need for sudden jumps in training, and you feel in control of what you're doing. If you have never done endurance training, even 10 minutes' running is a strain on your body, while a 30-minute bike ride feels like a lifetime. So, despite the long sessions talked about by other athletes, start small.

Increments

Build up slowly rather than assuming that in every session or every week you must make progress. Any running mileage increases - both the longest and the total per week - should be very cautious. Swimming can place strains on the shoulders, especially if poor technique is combined with big hikes in swim volume. Cycling is easier on the body and coasting allows respites that swim and run do not possess. You can 'float' your legs around without actively pressing the pedals. Getting used to pressure and comfort in the feet, backside and hands is the most important feedback as to how far you can ride. Once this is mastered, one hour can become two with a small amount of extra drinking or eating.

Less is more

Not only beginners but also experienced athletes, rarely do swim, bike and run sessions each day. If extending your endurance one day in, say, running, the next day recover by focusing on technique at the pool. Don't get hung up on hitting a set number of hours per week. If you're tired, take an easy or rest day; if you feel good, you can train productively.

Did you know

The location or terrain of an endurance session can vary the training effect - from pool to lake, flat run to cross- country, indoor ride to hilly windswept cycle. They may be similar durations but the skill level and variety of muscle usage means the devil is in the detail. A training diary is very important to track these important factors.

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How to climb better as a big guy?

Now that I have been out in a group, I see the little guys take the climbs and us bigger guys sprint their little behinds away. Then if a big climb comes up they might catch us by the top of the climb. Maybe even pass us. I want to be able to climb better. I hate them, but it's part of the sport and I live in a part of GA that has more hill than flat. The good news is that since I have gotten into the sport I am down like 15 pounds to 225. I think I can reach my goal of 210. That was my weight at 18, am I am now almost 32. Please toss any training methods out to me so I can enter a event maybe by fall.

Lastly, I was out with a few triathletes today. They complemented my ability for being so new to the sport. That kind of gave me a smile until I reached the next big hill climb. I think it carries over from the mountain biking and the bmx way back in the day. LOL!

I know how you feel, the little guys leave me behind when it turns upwards, just hang on their wheel as long as you can, I've been doing this & trying to get better at climbing for over 25 years, they have to get less mass up the hill than you do.
Get out on a Mtb & practice going downhill fast, I'm a sprinter so I know I can burn then off in the last 500 metres but you have to be there to do it, I bought a XC bike, did lots of training, even went racing so I could watch the better guys, managed to do the world cup round in Sydney in '99, get real good on descending & you just catch back up when you go down, the great things about climbs is that there is usually a downhill section that comes with it.

Yes technique does help some, using high cadence instead of trying to power up does help, but as I've said use your advantage (mass) when it is advantageous to you, try to stay with them on the up & burn them on the down.

Keep at it, some courses won't suit this but there is usually more that do.

Triathlon Strength Training

 

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Weight Training For Triathletes

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