triathlons Archives - Breaking Muscle

Crush This Triathlon Season with TriStrong

Shawn Gerber — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 07:39:24 +0000

Few sports can challenge and develop total body strength and endurance like triathlon, especially if you are intentional about keeping strength training in the mix. The rub for most folks with triathlon is the time component: you are juggling three sports instead of one, which is definitely challenging if you don’t have much wiggle room in your schedule. Thankfully, there are ways to make the most of limited time, enjoy the sport, and still be able to conquer land and water at the end of the day.

Below are three workouts (one for each sport) that will help you get the most out of your fitness and save you valuable time. These workouts come from the 16-week TriStrong Premium Training Plan, which is a great way to dip your toes into triathlon and work on building your total-body fitness. Each of these workouts should easily fit into an hour or less of your time, and will boost your fitness while honing the skills you need out on the course.

Before jumping into the workouts, it is helpful to have an understanding of how to gauge your efforts. “RPE” refers to rate of perceived effort, which works on a scale of 1-10. 1 is essentially lying on the couch, 4-5 is an all-day, conversational pace, 7-8 is an intensity you can only hold for about an hour at best, and 9-10 is close to all-out over shorter efforts (think 3 minutes or less).

3 TriStrong Workouts

Ready to get started? We’ll go in the typical order of events here:

Swim: Fartleks

This quick little swim workout is an excellent way to get in some speed work while also practicing elements you will see in open water swimming.

Goal: Improve the skill of dealing with changes of pace, or having to recover under pressure from something unexpected in open water conditions.

Workout:

400m warm up (swim with a pull buoy if possible)
8x50m fast (RPE 6-8), 50m recover.
4x100m fast (RPE 6-8), 100m recover

Do not rest between the fast and the recovery sections. For example, you should swim continuously through 50m fast, right into 50m recovery. You can recover after that, or string them together. Your choice.

Bike: Over-Unders

This tough bike workout will challenge you to the core, while helping you build power and speed. It is also great for getting you more accustomed to dealing with changes in pace.

Goal: To help you better maintain efforts at and above threshold for extended times.

Workout:

10min warm up
3min zone 4/RPE 8
3min recovery

Then 5x:

1min just above lactic threshold/FTP
1min just below lactic threshold/FTP

Note: If you don’t know your lactic threshold heart rate or your FTP, alternate between RPE 6 and RPE 8.

Recover 5min, then repeat the over-unders. Cool down for 5min.

Run: 400s and 800s

This workout is tough, but does a really great job of building speed, power, and the higher leg turnover you need to kill the run on race day. Do this workout on a track or a course measured out with a GPS device. Either is fine, as long as you nail the distances.

Goal: To work on quick leg turnover and increasing running speed at threshold.

Workout:

Warm up:

1 mile. Include several 30 second bursts in the second half to get your heart rate up.

Then 3x:

400m best effort, 200m recovery
800m best effort, 400m recovery

Cool down:

Easy 800m and stretch.

The post Crush This Triathlon Season with TriStrong appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Training Slow Won’t Make You Faster

Mischele Stevens — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 13:28:59 +0000

The old-school way of triathlon training is lots and lots of long, slow distance (LSD). But you aren’t doing yourself any favors with LSD if you want to be a better (read: faster) triathlete. I will agree that all newbies and those coming back after an extended break need to do to the necessary base training, and not exceed the 70% effort that LSD requires. But once you have established that base, you will never get better than that 70% if you continue exclusively with LSD training. That includes athletes at the Ironman level.

All my athletes train with decreased training time and increased work capacity. I have had many athletes go to world championships at all three distances using this method. In other words, it is quality that matters more than quantity. Garbage mileage will not produce an improved athlete. Today I will share the science I use for my programming.

To Go Faster, You Must Train Faster

Aerobic training is at low power and lasts in excess of several minutes. This would be your 1-3 kilometer runs. Aerobic training benefits cardiovascular function and decreases body fat. It allows us to engage in low-power, extended efforts efficiently.

However, athletes that spend the bulk of their training time engaged in aerobic efforts will see a decrease in muscle mass, strength, speed, and power. Surprisingly, excess aerobic activity has a pronounced tendency to decrease anaerobic capacity. It is also at this low-power work effort that most repetitive injuries occur.

Anaerobic training is at high power and lasts less than several minutes. Think sprints of 100, 200, 400, and 800 meters. Anaerobic activity also benefits cardiovascular function and decreases body fat. Studies show that anaerobic exercise is superior to aerobic exercise for fat loss. Additionally, anaerobic exercise can dramatically improve power, speed, strength, and muscle mass.

This type of conditioning allows us to exert tremendous forces over brief time intervals and will not affect aerobic capacity. Properly structured anaerobic activity can be used to develop a very high level of aerobic fitness without the muscle-wasting seen in high-volume aerobic exercise. Why spend time lifting weights in the gym to blow it all doing your aerobic training workouts at the 70% LSD?

Work, Rest, Improve

The best method to use anaerobic efforts to develop aerobic conditioning is interval training. The bulk of metabolic training should be done this way. Interval training mixes bouts of hard work and rest in timed intervals. These can be for a set period of time or distance, and don’t need to be tightly structured or formal.

This type of training targets the upper limits of our work capacity; the leftover 30% that LSD training ignores. Interval work is done at 75-100% of maximum effort. It’s in this area that we become fitter, faster, and stronger. As a bonus, it also works our mental game, as it is often not easy or fun to do. As I explain to my athletes, when you work that upper limit (85-95%) you will find race day easier. In longer distance races, we generally don’t go “all out,” so when we are used to working at our upper limits and we dial it back for race day, then we are in a magical place that exceeds our goals. The end result is that we are racing easier but still going faster.

How to Manage Intensity

There are several methods I use to ensure my athletes get some balance and time for the body to adapt to the changes. One is to program a deload week every month, in which I dial back the workouts a bit and give an extra day or two off.

Another method is adding in some time trial work. These are longer efforts, but meant to be above 70%. Time trials are useful to track the increase in speed and ease within a training cycle. An example would be a 10k time trial effort for half and full ironman athletes. Each time we test the 10k TT, it determines the next block of training. If the athlete gets faster, then I can increase the training load and distance sets. If the athlete is slower, then I decrease the training load. Additionally, it helps boost the athlete mentally to continue to work hard when they see the time drop and the effort become easier. The time trial effort distance varies depending on what mesocycle we are working in.

Endurance tests come in the last six weeks or so before the race taper starts. All long efforts are done at race pace. This is the pace of the three disciplines that we wish to race in. Usually by this time, it’s a new pace that was modified during training after finding how much faster we became. Not only does it show how hard and successful the training was, but it allows for peace of mind to be able to tackle the long-distance race.

Try It For Yourself

If you are not sure if you are ready to give up old-school LSD training, I challenge you to try my method for 2-3 months. It requires a full commitment during that time with no cheating.

Start my program at week 1, and follow along until at least week 8. Then reach out and tell me about your success. Have fun!

If you’re going to do intervals, do them right:

Tabata Training and the Myth of the 4-Minute Workout

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Lightning Fast Transitions

Shawn Gerber — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 08:00:00 +0000

The transition. It’s one of the most unique aspects of triathlon that you just don’t get with other sports. Although for some it’s simply a chance to take a short break before moving on to the next leg, for others it is more important and doing it well could decide the outcome of a race. Regardless which camp you fall into, having a transition built upon solid fundamentals will help reduce race-day stress and set you up for overall success out on the course. We’ll take a quick stroll through a “lightning fast” transition so you can get a feel for what blazing fast transitions (90 seconds or less) look like.

Preparing for your race transitions is key. [Photo courtesy of Pixabay]

You Have to Do Your Homework

Because every race is different, doing your homework in the days before a race is crucial. Some triathlons are point-to-point, meaning you have to prepare for two separate transition areas. Iron-distance races typically have transition bags, special needs bags and changing tents. Often these long-course races don’t even allow you to setup gear by your bike. The point is: you need to do your research and know what you are getting into, as it will affect how you setup race morning. Here, we’ll keep it simple and look at the most common scenario of just one transition area. Let’s talk about setting up.

Setting Up and Going Through The First Transition

It’s zero dark thirty, you’re unsure whether or not you are happy to be awake yet, and it’s time to set up your area. Simple is the name of the game for quality transitions. This thinking may be a bit Spartan for some, but the less you have to go wrong and fret about the better. As you set up for race day and are working towards simplicity, keep these two ideas in mind:

Do as much as you possibly can while moving.
Bend over as little as possible.

These two concepts provide a really clear lens through which you view your setup. Let’s jump in and apply the concepts to your first transition. Only one to two things absolutely must happen inside of the transition area as you come out of the water. That’s it. All else is extraneous. First, if you have a wetsuit on, it needs to come off. Second, you have to put your helmet on. Everything else can, theoretically (depending on equipment), be taken care of as you move, assuming you setup correctly.

What does a good setup tend to look like? Here are some ideas:

Put a towel down if permitted. This will help dry your feet and serve as a visual cue for your area.
Place closest to you anything you need to touch right away. For example, extra gear you may bend over to grab for the bike leg (like a tool kit, nutrition, tubular sealant). If you bend over it needs to be super easy to grab. Often times you can simply tape these items to the bike and avoid this altogether. Rubber banding items together is not a bad idea if you are stuck with this option, though.
If you want to avoid blisters by wearing socks, put these up front and have them as ready to go on your feet as possible (i.e. for longer socks roll the mouth back a bit so you can just slip your feet in).
Put your run shoes in the back. If you’re doing shorter races, I highly recommend some sort of elastic quick laces (such as Lock Laces) so you can just slide the shoes on and go without tying them.
If you plan to run with a hat or visor, place that either on top of your shoes or right beside them so you can put it on quickly either right before or after you get your shoes on.
If you are required to run with a race number, use a number belt and put it on while you’re running.
Attach the helmet to your handlebars in some way so you can quickly grab it and put it on without bending over.
If you have clip-in shoes and pedals, clip the shoes into the pedals in advance and use rubber bands to keep the shoes horizontal so you can slide your feet in them as you pedal.
Attach your sunglasses to your frame so you can grab them once you are going and put them on.
Attach your nutrition to your frame and, if possible, arrange it in the order you plan to use it.
If the weather will be extra challenging (super hot, chilly), plan to put extra fluids, salt capsules or clothes in your area so you can adapt as necessary for the conditions. I will often pack an extra bottle of sport drink with ice on really hot days just in case I botch my hydration on the bike by a little bit.

And You’re Off: Walking Through The Race

So now you’re all set up and your transition area is ready to roll. Let’s do a quick visualization of how it all looks as the race progresses. First, before you even begin the race, have this thought in your mind: you need to be prepared for anything. You can have the most perfect setup in the world, but you are in the midst of hundreds of athletes. Your stuff may get knocked over or bumped off your bike, so be ready to adjust. Starting with this mindset will build mental toughness and save you some panic in the heat of the moment.

As soon as you are up and running out of the swim, peel your wetsuit (if you have one) down to your waist and remove your cap and goggles. When you get to your transition area, peel your suit down to your feet, step on it with one foot and pull the opposite leg out. Repeat on the other side. If done well, this will go super quickly. Using some sort of lubrication (like TriSlide or BodyGlide) on your ankles is super helpful here, too.

Having a solid understanding of and strategy for transitions is critical. [Photo courtesy of Pixabay]

Next, grab any extra gear you may have that is not on the bike and stow it in your jersey pockets. After that, grab your helmet, snap it on and get going!

After you mount the bike and begin pedaling, you can get into your shoes and tighten the straps. This is also when you can put on sunglasses or pull stuff off your frame and put it in your pockets. If you can time this all so it happens on a downhill it will be even more efficient and you will lose less time getting situated.

After you crush the bike leg and are nearly back, it’s time to turn your mind to preparing for your transition. Much like the first time around, only two things really need to happen inside of transition: you need to rack your bike and get your run shoes on – all else is extra.

As you approach the transition, you need to loosen the straps on your shoes, pull your feet out (I put mine on the tops of my shoes) and get ready to dismount. You can do a flying dismount if you want, or you can stop and do it under more control. The difference is a few seconds – do what feels most comfortable to you. From there, look for your towel or other landmarks, rack the bike and slide your shoes on. If you have things to grab for the run (hat, salt capsules, number belt) grab that and go. This transition should be even faster than the first.

And that’s it. All your transitioning is done. Let your mind relax. You just have to race your race and have fun from here on out.

Transitions seem straighforward. But in the heat of the moment, things can quickly go sideways. So, preparation is key. And if seconds mean a lot to you, having a solid understanding of and strategy for transitions is critical. If you have any other go-to tips for transitioning, please leave them in the comments below. We’d love to hear them!

More on triathlon preparedness:

Triathletes: Own the Transition With Brick Workouts

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Getting Ready for Race Day: Triathlon Training

Mischele Stevens — Thu, 28 May 2015 18:36:44 +0000