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Triathlon Strength Training and Why It's Important
Triathlon strength training should not be taken for granted, nor should it be overlooked, by the training triathlete. It's important that you have powerful muscles on the day of the big multifaceted race. Triathlon strength training is about more than just making yourself able to "grip" the water more during your swim, push the pedals to the max during heartbreaking uphill climbs, and being able to give a great kick at the end of the arduous distance run. Your strength training is just as much about preventing injury.
Triathletes want to be strong, sure. But they are equally concerned about not becoming too bulky. Triathletes need to possess a fine balance between a wide array of athletic abilities including power, speed, agility, and endurance in addition to the specialized skill sets of the respective individual sporting events contained within the triathlon: the special hand-eye-leg coordination of the swim, the mechanics and aerodynamics management of the cycling, the mental drive and "perfect" breathing needed for the run.
In the midst of all these concerns and specialized training, specified triathlon strength training often gets lost in the shuffle. Why, doesn't that part of it all just happen "naturally"? Yes it does--but only to a limited extent. Triathletes need to give themselves more added strength than just what the specific skill sets training will give them.
Yet, the concern over not becoming too weighty with muscle and bulk is a legitimate one. So, the triathlete in training needs to know the different methods of strength training.
Specifically speaking, the different methods of strength training are machines, free weights, body weight resistance, and plyometrics.
Resistance machines probably need no intro for the triathlete in training. They are found in every gym across the land and sold all over the Internet and television. Systems of pulleys, gears, and cords are used to help manage the weight so that just about anyone, including the most out of shape people, can hop on or into the machines and start toning up their muscles. And these machines work. But there's one problem: they don't work as typically advertised. See that super-ripped guy, see that gal with the super-toned muscles, the perfect proportions, the big, round athletic butt? They did NOT get that way from the machines. They got that way through other methods...then they just use the machines to keep themselves at their current level of fitness while minimizing the risk of injury. That's what machines are great for. But they don't build strength if you're beyond the total beginner stage of athletic training.
What about free weights? These are what really build serious muscle. You can overload your muscles, stimulate those muscle fibers to grow during your rest periods. But the triathlete faces two problems with free weights: they require too much time/energy, and they will eventually lead to the dreaded bulkiness.
But with body weight resistance training and plyometrics, the triathlete can build significantly more explosive power while remaining desirably lean and mobile. Make these methods the core of your triathlon strength training. Use the others mentioned just as supplements.
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Discover the Ultimate Triathlon Training Guide.
- Comprehensive Triathlon Training Program
- Heart Rate Zone Workouts.
- Specific Triathlon Training Secrets
- Injury Prevention Techniques.
- Comprehensive Triathlon Nutrition Guide.
- Essential Tips to Stop you Hitting “The Wall”.
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