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- We've all heard the phrase...
- "All the gear, no idea".
- And at what point is it deemed okay to have all the gear?
Let's start by saying,
if you want all the gear then get all the gear.
I mean we're not going to be judging anybody,
and after all it is your money.
So if you want a new bike or new wheels,
new shoes,
the latest sports watch,
then go for it.
But maybe you've been doing triathlon
for quite a while now
on some pretty basic kit,
and you're starting to think about
having a few upgrades here and there,
but you're not quite sure whether you're ready for it.
- Well I'm going to use myself as a bit of an example here,
because when I first got into triathlon
I was continually up against people on all the latest
and greatest gear.
It used to frustrate the heck out of me
that I wasn't on the same
and that I was potentially at a disadvantage.
But at the same time I was new to the sport.
I had a lot to learn.
My foundations and training background
were pretty limited and minimal,
so a coach at the time would always tell me,
just keep racing on the gear that you have.
And actually those fancy carbon fiber bikes
and race wheels
were just there for the extra few percentage
when you knew you had done everything possible.
And that bit of advice has stuck with me,
and actually since I've passed it on to
a lot of other athletes over the years.
But when do you know that you're at this imaginary...
checkpoint I guess you could call it?
Well I've tried to put together
a bit of a check list for you
so you know when you're at that point.
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- One is that you've been following
a good quality training plan,
you've been executing that training plan well,
you've been consistent with your training
for a good period of time,
you've also been getting plenty of sleep
and good quality sleep,
you've got loads of race experience,
you've been arriving at sessions ready to
knock them out of the park
being well fueled and well hydrated
and you've been working on your transitions.
Basically you've gone to the Nth degree
with all your training
and everything around it.
- That doesn't mean though that you need to be
a world class athlete at the end of this.
You do just need to have put in a huge amount of effort
and proven to yourself that you're determined
and you're committed.
And you'll soon get to know that,
'cause when you do actually go and purchase
some of these upgrades,
you'll really feel that reward
for all of your hard work.
And there is such a selection out there of what to get,
so we've selected a bit of a picking order
of things we think would make sense
to go and buy one at a time,
as we're presuming you're not going to go out
and get everything in one huge shopping spree.
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- Now this first one is a bit of an odd one
and you might not consider it
an upgrade to start off with.
But, the saddle.
I mean given that it is your main contact point
with the bike,
the bit that probably takes
a majority of your body's weight.
It is crazy that we overlook it so much.
I mean so many people have a poor saddle
or a saddle which just doesn't work for them
and their position.
I know some athletes that have gone through
countless saddles to find one that they're happy with,
they're confident,
comfortable with
and really feel like they can lay the power down with.
Me personally,
I actually found one really quickly
that I was really happy with.
But once I found that I never strayed away from it.
- Next up we've got clothing,
and believe it or not,
there's actually a huge amount of "free speed"
to be found through the fit and the type
of material that you're actually wearing.
Take the wetsuit for example.
Having a properly-fitting wetsuit
that's suited for your swimming ability,
say if you've got sinky legs
then it's more buoyant there,
that can have a huge benefit.
And also a wetsuit that's got full flexibility
around the shoulders
can reduce any resistance
that you might be having on every stroke.
So again, having a big knock-on effect.
And then there's the aerodynamics of a tri suit.
Even if it's something as simple as
just upgrading to a suit that fits properly
so you're no longer having fabric that's flapping around,
or you could take it to the next step
and get a tri suit with better fabric
or even having something that's going from sleeveless
down to sleeves,
as that's proven to be more aerodynamic as well.
- Now it might seem like I'm jumping up in price
a little bit here
but my next suggestion is a power meter.
It's not until you have one of these
that you truly start to understand
the benefit and the value that they can bring,
not just to your racing
but also to your training,
making your workouts far more specific.
Because a power meter can provide
instantaneous real-time feedback as to
how hard you're working as opposed to
the lag that you quite often experience
with heart rate monitors as it rises and drops slowly.
And as a result,
and to put this into some context,
you'd be pretty hard-pushed to find
a pro cyclist or a pro triathlete
that isn't using a power meter regularly.
Now that's not to say that you should become
a slave to the numbers,
but it can certainly enhance your training and racing.
- And then we have the sports watch.
I'm aware though that most of you guys
probably have some sort of sports watch already,
as they are so useful in our day-to-day training.
But at the higher end you can have a watch
that works for various sports,
but also gives you that additional data
which becomes really interesting
when you're maybe working with a coach
or you're sticking to a specific training plan
as it can help you to really get
into the depths of your training.
And also it will give you an overall view
of your health and fitness
and where you are with reaching those goals.
- All right.
And how about the turbo trainer?
I appreciate these aren't everyone's best friend
and perhaps the last thing
you'll be wanting to spend your hard-earned cash on,
but similarly to the power meter,
it is going to really enhance your training,
and subsequently your racing.
Now there's more and more people
are doing their training indoors.
It's efficient and it allows you to just crack on
with your training totally uninterrupted.
Perfect for interval sessions,
for cramming your training in around work or life,
or when the weather is less than ideal.
- But what about the bike and the wheels,
I can hear you shouting at me right now.
This is the area that people get most excited about.
But I have to admit,
it comes further down on our list of potential upgrades,
and that's not because they aren't beneficial,
it's more because they usually come
with a rather huge price tag.
I would actually suggest that you start off by
investing in some new wheels,
so go for something that's maybe a little bit deeper,
potentially even lighter,
as these can have serious improvements
on your aerodynamics and speed on the road.
- But if you're ready for what
I really want to go for that extra few percentage
then it's time to upgrade the bike.
Now hopefully getting an upgraded bike
will be better suited to the needs of triathlon
with aero bars,
integrated storage et cetera et cetera.
But also making sure that it's comfortable,
well fitted to you,
and most importantly,
FAST!
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If you'd like to see how to choose a triathlon bike
you can see a video for that just down here,
and if you'd like to find out what happens to you
when you stop training
you can see that video by clicking just down here.