IN THIS EDITION…
- How to safely unlock more run speed
- Triathlete’s guide to strength training
- Improve swim technique, even when fatigued
- Joe Friel’s tips on training zones
SWIM TIRED
Triathlon swimmers have two competing objectives: We need exceptional speed endurance, but we also must maintain excellent technique when we’re tired.
Improving skills requires precise mechanics in the absence of fatigue; but enhancing endurance requires fatigue to stimulate the desired adaptations.
How do we train for both?
Coach Andrew Sheaff offers a 3-step process that integrates skill development with endurance work. Most notably the main set is occasionally interrupted by short segments of drills that reinforce proper technique, even when tired.
Use this workout structure to address your own weaknesses, and watch your swimming dramatically improve.
ZONE CLARITY
We all want to get the most from our workouts. Using training zones to dictate the intensities of our efforts is one of the best ways to maximize the ROI from every session.
However it can be complicated to understand, calculate and apply zones to your training program.
Fortunately master coach Joe Friel cuts through the confusion in his comprehensive guide to setting up your training zones. He offers various options for benchmarking your lactate threshold for swimming, cycling and running.
Use his easy-to-follow instructions and soon you’ll be fitter and faster in all three disciplines.
SWIM TEMPO
A major problem of many triathlon swimmers is overthinking their freestyle stroke. By trying to focus on too many cues for improving technique, their stroke rate drops and they develop deadspots that kill their speed.
One way to avoid this is to increase your stroke rate by training with the FINIS Tempo Trainer Pro. With this unobtrusive underwater metronome, you can aim to raise your turnover to 35 strokes per minute (or higher). Doing so will smooth out your power curve and increase your efficiency.
Additionally a higher turnover is more conducive for success in the open water where other swimmers, waves and chop frequently disrupt your forward momentum.
Best of all, TriathlonWire readers get a 20% discount on Tempo Trainers and other innovative FINIS products by using the coupon code TRIWIRE at checkout. Get on it!
LET’S GO FAST
By this time of year, your aerobic endurance should be well established. Now’s the time to build upon that solid base and improve your speed and strength.
For coach Alun Woodward, “speed” does not mean “all-out sprinting”… it means introducing segments of precisely controlled faster pacing.
Experiment by adding small sets of higher intensity, like these examples of bike and run workouts, and you’ll unlock advances in your economy and speed.
HOW MUCH & WHEN?
Triathletes need strength training, but many truly don’t know how to fit it in.
According to strength & conditioning coach Kriss Hendy, you need 2 to 3 sessions per week for meaningful benefits. Check out his suggestions for various ways to integrate bodywork into your busy schedule.
He also addresses whether you should strength train before or after your swim, bike and run workouts, and if you should continue strength train during race season.
By adopting his advice, you’ll enhance your triathlon performance by strength training the right way.
QUICK HIITS:
- Above Average
If you have a half-distance triathlon scheduled for the second half of the year, then you’ll appreciate this analysis of average times for the IRONMAN 70.3. Compare how you stack up to the mean performances in your age group for overall race time and in each discipline.
- 12-Minute Truth
The Cooper Run Test has stood the test of time as a straightforward way to measure aerobic fitness. After a generous warmup, run as far as you can in 12 minutes. Enter your results into this calculator and instantly get your estimated VO2 max.
- Bigger, Stronger & Faster
The optimal weight of an athlete is largely based on certain fixed metrics, like bone and organ mass. Lighter weight is not always faster. Lose too much weight and you’ll risk diminished VO2 max and power output.
