Heather: The off-season is the perfect opportunity for eating lots, for chilling out, and generally
relaxing, oh, and also, for getting stronger. It's strength that we're focusing on today, but I'm not
limiting it to purely work in the gym. I'm going to be covering all aspects that are required to
become a stronger athlete. [music]
Strong might sound a little bit scary. You might have images of having to eat
five eggs a day, of spending hours in the gym or maybe watching your quads get so big
that they won't fit in your jeans, but when it comes to triathlon,
we're talking about a different type of strong. It's about being strong, robust,
and resilient so your body can actually take that training load of three sports when it comes
to it. You need to address those weaknesses as well. Reflect on how last season went, and maybe
you're struggling to hold your arrow position on the bike for long periods. Are your shoulders
getting really tired at the end of a swim? Is it your overall endurance, or maybe you were
having certain niggles and injuries last year. Think about what it is you need to focus on,
and then you can work at sorting out these areas before you start to build into preseason.
Strength in triathlon is your body and your mind's ability to endure whatever it is we throw at it.
Usually, the goal is to complete a triathlon in the quickest time possible. As you can see,
I've come to the gym for this first bit. It makes sense that we start by looking at
what strength exercises can actually help to make you an overall stronger triathlete.
The squat. It is time to start adding some weight to this wonderful exercise, and
it will engage your quads, your glutes, your hamstrings, and all of those major muscles. Yes,
there are alternatives and you could potentially even do a leg press, but
the full action of a proper weighted squat is brilliant and very relevant to your running and
your cycling strength. Don't be afraid to up the weight here, you'll see a greater return.
Technique is an important part when lifting weights, even more so when it comes to free
weights. Always start with a strong hip width stance and an engaged core.
Rest the barbell across your shoulders and support it lightly with your hands.
If you are new to lifting in the gym, then make sure you get someone to check your technique
to start with. As soon as you start to up weights, it's a good idea to have somebody
there to help support you. When it comes to the technique of the squat, you want to try and get
as low as possible, the biggest range possible while still keeping that perfect technique,
the focus being on your lower back. You want to still have that very slight natural
curve. As soon as you start to get any rounding, it means you've gone too far.
The lat pull-down is perfect exercise for swimming. It doesn't need that much introduction.
It is going to be focusing on those swimming muscles, most significantly the latissimus dorsi,
that large wing-like muscle that goes across your back and round under your shoulders.
The main point for this exercise is to make sure that you're engaging those. You're pulling your
shoulder blades down and back as you pull the bar down, and you make sure that you bring the
bar down in front of you, definitely not behind your neck, please. Let's put the spotlight onto
the glutes now, the powerhouses for running and cycling. We're going to add some weight
onto the traditional hip bridge. If you've got a barbell, you want to simply roll it up.
It's resting on your hips, you might want a cushion or something to pad it out slightly,
and you can add on weights later on, but you're going to be lying on your back in that normal hip
bridge position, supporting the barbell across your hips. Before you do any of this exercise,
you want to think about squeezing those glutes before you drive your hips up towards the sky.
The shoulder press is another important one. Believe it or not, your shoulders are actually
required for all three sports. Yes, swimming might be the obvious one, but this exercise will help
all aspects of your triathlon. Grab a couple of dumbbells and either take a seat or stand.
Standing will be a little bit harder as you'll be requiring more core engagement.
Think about control as you extend your arms up above your head, and then you bring them
back down slowly, making sure your shoulder blades track down your back nice and smoothly.
Triathlon is an endurance sport. Therefore, in order to become a strong triathlete, you do need
to develop this aspect of your fitness. This will naturally be addressed as you head more towards
your preseason training, where you're going to be doing plenty of aerobic work in your zone two.
We're going to be focusing now on those few weeks before that, before the real structure comes in
on your swim bike and run workouts. You need to think about how you can actually make your body
more resilient and prepared for that work that it is about to face. I'm sure you know by now
that your core is key to enabling your body to efficiently do those large movements.
When it comes to triathlon, your core is essential for helping you to hold your body position
in the water, also to hold your position when it comes to riding in that aero position on the
bike and overall just making you more efficient in your running. There are so many options out
there for working on this area. You could mix things up with pilates or yoga classes,
have fun with a medicine ball or keep things simple with a plank.
We've actually got a video looking exclusively at strengthening your core. Go check it out.
On top of your core, it is worth addressing some of the smaller muscles that we didn't
address earlier with the pure strength work, especially there are muscles and tendons
around your shoulders and your ankles. The smaller muscles and tendons around your shoulders will be
under a lot of strain with swimming. If you've had niggles, then dial in a routine you can easily do
every couple of days. The same goes for the ankle. Maybe you've had shin splints in the past.
Strengthening those small muscles that help control the movement of your foot will make
a difference. For both of these, the Theraband can be your friend, whether it's rotator cuff
resistance movements or moving your ankle in and out against the band, they only require some
elastic and something to fix it to. I am actually admitting detail here, but it's intentional as
it depends what the areas of your weaknesses are as to where you need to focus your work.
This time of year, it's important to give your mind and your body a rest,
allowing it to fully recover from the stresses that you threw at it last season.
Then, you want to make sure that you've addressed your sleep and your diet. Try for a few days,
maybe even a couple of weeks stepping completely away from triathlon. I don't just mean physically,
but mentally, too, because your mind does need that rest. You want to address your immune system
now more than ever with the pandemic going on. Make sure that you're eliminating any stresses
that you can't control in your life, getting that quality sleep. Try to address your diet as well,
and then you'll be best prepared to approach the new exciting season.
It's really common to choose to work on something that we enjoy, and it's often because we're good
at it, but now is the time to be honest to yourself and address those weaknesses. Break
down the three sports of triathlon and choose just one that needs a bit more focus. Whether that's
swimming, cycling, or running, turn all your attention to that. You can complement it with a
little bit of the other two. It might not be that enjoyable to start with, but you will certainly
feel the satisfaction afterwards when you see that improvement. Try to focus on some technique
and some strength work before you incorporate the other three ahead of your preseason.
No excuses now, it is time to go and get strong and be honest with yourself.
This is very personal, only you know your weaknesses, but still, don't forget to enjoy it
and relax in this offseason. Hopefully, you'll give us a thumbs up if you've enjoyed this video.
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