With just over 2 months till the tri season
starts, most of you will be looking to start your training if you haven’t
already. So what sort of training should
you be doing and where should you focus your efforts? Because Triathlon is a multi-discipline event
it can get confusing and putting together a balanced training plan that
optimises your time isn't easy!
From my experience its best to start with your
weakest area, after all this is most likely to yield the biggest gains and is
probably the thing you have been avoiding! Believe me I still have to
consciously plan my swimming training in.
I will go through some ideas for each discipline, feel free to contact
me if you want to discuss further or have any tips to share.
For swimming the best thing I can advise is
to find a triathlon swimming specific coach.
Any swimming coach will be good as they will be able to help improve
your technique in what is a very technical sport. However, a triathlon specific coach will not
only improve technique but also get you swimming much more efficiently so that
when you get to T2 your legs are feeling fresh and raring to go on the bike and
subsequently the run.
For cycling if you are not already a member
of a club then I highly recommend joining one.
There are clubs all over the place and not only will they have regular
organized training rides but also be full of people who can give you advice and
help. Obviously the best kind of
sessions will vary depending upon the kind of triathlon distances you are doing,
but most clubs will cater for all needs. For example, my local club has weekly
long distance rides that would be great for building stamina on the bike. These
rides are also very sociable and a great way to meet like-minded people whilst
getting your training in. They also do a
couple of shorter higher tempo rides each week which are great for speed
training or if you are doing shorter triathlons. Outside of organised rides interval training
is a great way of improving your speed, it can be done anywhere so is easy to
build into rides that you already do such as commuting to and from work.
Running is very similar to cycling in
regards to training. Joining a local
club will help not only with training but also provide an added incentive to
actually get out running on the cold nights!
As with cycling most clubs will have a range of organized runs to help
with either speed interval training or endurance depending on the distance of
triathlon you are doing.
And finally, the area often forgotten is including some form of strength and core training into what is typically a very
aerobic based training plan. This
doesn't necessarily mean joining a gym, or getting a personal trainer, although
both can help. There are plenty of body
weight exercises, squats, push-ups etc. that can done in the comfort of your
own home but deliver huge benefits.
Equally pilates and yoga (yes yoga!) based exercises are great for
improving your core strength which will benefit you in all 3 disciplines.
I hope you find these tips useful, whether
an experienced triathlete or a new beginner.
Having recently reviewed and tweaked my own training plan, I am now seeing
the benefits of adding interval training to my running despite it being my
strongest discipline. Most importantly
though try and keep training fun, it needs to be functional but it is easier to
get the motivation to get out there and train if you enjoy it.
If anyone needs advice on clubs or finding some coaching,
give us a shout as I am always happy to recommend!
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