• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

5 Lessons I’ve Learned About Triathlon Since I Began Coaching

I have learned a lot when it comes to coaching, due to both my successes and my failures.

Written by Alan Kipping-Ruane Last updated on May 16, 2014

I began triathlon in 2006, after a friend convinced me to train with him. I was a rescue swimmer stationed in Bahrain, had nothing better to do, and enjoyed a challenge. In 2009, I starting coaching the sport of triathlon to individuals. I already had experience in teaching and coaching swimming, so it seemed a natural progression.

Fast forward to now: I have learned a lot when it comes to coaching, due to both my successes and my failures. Here are some of the things I have learned, though it is not and will never be a comprehensive list. Just as others before me would agree, you can never stop learning.

Strength on the Bike Carries Over to the Run (and Vice Versa)

This doesn’t mean that if you only bike train that you will be a great runner. What I am saying is that when you do a lot of strength-type work on the bike, it builds you up mentally and can carry over to the run. I actually prefer to say the opposite works better: doing aerobic or lower-intensity style training with a focus on strength (hills or fartlek) helps build bike strength and endurance.

I learned this firsthand while I was on deployment since I never had access to a bike. I ran, and ran, and ran some more, because that is all I had available. I was training for a half-Ironman and once I got off deployment, I discovered I was in the best bike shape I had ever been in. While aerobic and speed workouts are great, it was the strength building workouts I added in while running that made the difference.

The Ethical and Scientific Dilemma of Helmets

I am ethically and scientifically torn when it comes to recommending helmets for athletes. Data proves that aero helmets are faster. This is great for all athletes. But when we look at the safety data and the reduction of body temperature, we see that regular road helmets are safer.

Aero helmets have been shown to possibly result in snapping the neck and causing severe paralysis in a crash. This scenario is something you don’t see in road helmets. Regular road helmet wouldn’t snap your neck in the way an aero helmet will. This is where my ethical dilemma exists. I want my athletes to go as fast as possible, but I also want them to be as safe as possible. To this day I tell my athletes to wear road helmets and that’s what I advise you to do, as well.

The Rules of Some Races Make Me Question Racing Organizations

Really, this comes down to Ironman. I have done race officiating for USA Triathlon and Ironman and have had my share of complaints and disagreements with the rules that I am bound to enforce. But the one rule I struggle with the most is why they don’t allow participants of events to run across the finish line with their kids. I think every athlete should be able to celebrate a race such as a Ironman with their family, due to the struggles and commitment they all faced to get there.

My suggestion? Don’t race an event where they limit you on silly small things, because in the end, you may just end up inspiring your son or daughter toward a healthier lifestyle because he or she saw your struggles and triumphs and was able to experience that final accomplishment with you.

The Ever-Changing Nature of Sports Nutrition

I love sports nutrition, and while I may not always follow the best nutrition myself, I certainly do try. I also try to help others when questions arise, but the sports nutrition guidelines seem to always be changing. That makes it frustrating for coaches, but also pushes us to get the best available information to give to our athletes.

What have I found to work the best for athletes? Periodization of nutrition should follow phases of training. Periodization of nutrition means that you focus more on veggies and whole foods in the off-season, but when your racing season and training starts to ramp up, you can then introduce more pasta and grains. But most important of all is generally sticking to the healthier options at all meals and eating when you’re hungry – not when you think you’re hungry.

Longer Fins Are Better

Longer fins focus on leg strength. While everyone will argue with me until the sun goes down about why smaller fins are better, I have to disagree, and mainly because of being a rescue swimmer. I grew up swimming and have a terrible kick. My coach would give me shorter fins to help me with my kick, and guess what? They didn’t help!

When I became a rescue swimmer, we were forced to use longer and more rigid fins because you need more force production to be able to carry or drag people in the ocean – and the longer and more rigid fins help. Because of this I took that philosophy to the swimming world and only recommend long fins to athletes. Yes, it slows them down at first, but over time they develop a stronger kick that will help them in open water during a triathlon race.

These are some of the things I have learned so far as an athlete and a coach. No doubt this list will evolve over time. I am a human and want what is best for my athletes, but things will change and new data will develop better techniques and philosophies that we can choose to adapt or ignore.

Photos 1 & 2 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 3 courtesy of Karl Buchholtz Photography.

About Alan Kipping-Ruane

Alan Kipping-Ruane is a high-performance triathlon coach, exercise physiologist, and micro-entrepreneur. He’s the founder of TriGuy Multisport Coaching, which offers personal triathlon coaching services, triathlon training plans, and Ironman training camps for triathletes looking to reach their triathlon and Ironman potential. Created in the Navy in mid-2009 and officially launched in 2011, TriGuy Coaching trains athletes around the country and continues to grow.


Alan Kipping-Ruane is a high-performance triathlon coach, exercise physiologist, and micro-entrepreneur. He’s the founder of TriGuy Multisport Coaching, which offers personal triathlon coaching services, triathlon training plans, and Ironman training camps for triathletes looking to reach their triathlon and Ironman potential. Created in the Navy in mid-2009 and officially launched in 2011, TriGuy Coaching trains athletes around the country and continues to grow.

Before following his micro-entrepreneurial drive, Alan started out as a swimming coach and lifeguard. He was also training supervisor of a helicopter combat squadron looking after enlisted rescue swimmer development, physical conditioning, and tactical operations. He’s held other roles in coaching, customer service, and consulting companies, and regularly helps athletes understand the role of training (exercise physiology, kinesiology, anatomy, nutrition, biomechanics, and sports psychology) through his USA Triathlon and Multisport University.

Familiar with training and racing, Alan has an inimitable, deep knowledge of exercise physiology, triathlon, and endurance sports. As a first-generation college graduate, he holds a Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania State University in Kinesiology and is both a Certified USA Triathlon Level 1 Coach and Certified Youth & Junior Triathlon Coach.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

swimmer
Triathlon Training: Find Your Breath in the Water
butterflyheader|butterfly stroke
Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Butterfly
swimmingheader|breaststroke
7 Essential Swimming Tips for Even the Strongest Athletes
swimmingheader|breaststroke
Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Breaststroke

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

2023 World’s Strongest Man Events Revealed

Actor Jonathan Majors Ate 6,100 Calories a Day to Become a Bodybuilder in “Magazine Dreams”

Eddie Hall Preps for Bodybuilding Debut by Training His Back With a Pro

How to Do the Dumbbell Split Squat for Single-Leg Size and Strength

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About