- Strength and conditioning exercises are a great
addition to your swimming, cycling, and running training.
And it's certainly becoming more popular amongst the pros.
But I can hear you shouting at me, time.
How on earth do I fit anything else
into an already jampacked schedule?
Well I'm afraid I don't have the magic answer.
But I do have some very good reasons
as to why you might want to start
making regular trips to your gym.
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A little fierce, you will get stronger.
Which translates to being more powerful.
And therefore faster.
And it'll also make you more efficient.
But you can see your gym as prehab.
So you can work on your weaker areas.
Preventing yourself from getting injured.
And therefore, saving a bit of time in the long run.
But you might be worried that going
to the gym will make you too big and muscly
to be a triathlete, and it's purely for cyclists.
But it's not actually.
You'll see professional swimmers
and runners in the gym just as much as you will cyclists.
So, if you are new to strength and conditioning,
we've put together a basic plan to help get you started.
That you can adapt to suit yourself.
A simple exercise to start with is the back squat.
So the bar will be across your shoulders.
But, before you get to the bar, you just check you've
got the right movement for the squat.
So, start with your feet a little
bit wider than your shoulders.
Just slightly.
Either facing forwards, or slightly facing outwards.
And then from there, you're going
to bend at the hips and the knees.
Squatting down as far as you can comfortably go.
And then back up again.
Trying to keep your back nice and straight.
It'll be really important when you've got the bar on.
If you've got a mirror, just check your form in the mirror.
Do a few of these to make sure you're nice and warmed up.
And then when you are warmed up,
it's time to get to the bar.
And if you're new to it, then start
with the lightest bar you can find.
Without any weights on.
And you're just gonna do a few simple squats with that.
So, make sure it's the right height.
That you can duck under it
and take the weight on your shoulders.
Also then, you can get rid of the bar
quickly if you find it too heavy.
And just walk back into these.
So, this is already setup with the right height for me.
I'm gonna duck under.
And I take the weight just across the top of my shoulders.
Find a nice comfortable hand position.
So your hands are gonna support
the weight for your shoulders, take most of it.
And then stand up.
Step backwards away from the rack.
And find the right position.
So once you're comfortable in that position,
you're just gonna repeat the movement you did earlier.
Squatting down.
Facing forwards.
And driving back up 'til your legs
are fully straight and extended.
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If you're finding this easy, or you're happy
with it, go to a heavier bar.
And then you can start to add on some weights.
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This is an upper-body exercise.
It's the lat pulldown.
So, as it sounds, it's gonna
work your lat muscles down here.
And it's perfect for swimming.
So you wanna find a bar similar to this.
And if you've got one that's on cables,
make sure you've got the weight the same on either side.
And to start with, have a really light weight.
'Cause you're gonna use it to
warmup and go through the motion.
You want to have your hands just wider than your shoulders.
From this position you want to have your
arms fully extended above your head.
And if you need to, you can have very slight lean back.
'Cause the bar is gonna come down in front of your face.
And you don't want to be catching your nose or your chin.
So from here, engage the core.
Set your shoulders.
And then you're going to pull downwards.
And imagine you're pulling you shoulder blades back and in.
And then back up to full extension for each movement.
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Well this one's as it says, on the tin.
It's basically a backwards lunge.
So, it can be working your quads and your gluts.
But you might find if you've got really tight hip flexes
you'll get a bit of a stretch as well.
So, to start with, we're gonna do it without any weights.
Concentrating on good forms.
The start, facing forwards.
Taking a step back on your right leg.
Leaving your hips level as you do.
So into that lunge position.
Down.
Back up to the front.
And then down with the other side.
Making sure these hips stay level.
Don't want any dropping or twisting.
So all facing forwards.
And then, once you've got the right motion,
it's time to pick up some dumbbells.
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Well, the the dumbbell bench press is as it sounds.
You're lying on a bench using dumbbells.
And I personally prefer dumbbells over a bar.
As it just gets a lot more of your shoulder muscles engaged.
And firing.
Which is perfect for swimming.
So, find a weight that you think you'll be comfortable with.
Sitting on the end of the bench.
You're then going to roll back.
So you're lying down.
And getting your hands above your shoulders.
Starting with your hands up high.
You want them above your shoulders.
Not right in front of your face.
So, with these dumbbells, I can't actually
bring them too close together anyway.
Once you've got this position
try and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
As that really engages everything.
And makes your shoulders nice and stable.
So, from here, you're gonna bend the elbows.
Bringing the dumbbells down towards your pecks.
And then pushing straight back up.
The ideas is to keep the movement as smooth as you can.
And I don't wanna see any banging.
The dumbbells don't need to bang together at the top.
It's purely about a motion of going up and down.
Keeping those shoulder blades squeezed.
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This exercise is actually a bit harder than it looks.
And that is, a slight disclaimer on my part.
'Cause I do find it a little bit difficult.
But it will work your hamstrings and your gluts.
But it also really get your core firing.
'Cause anything using this Swiss ball
just gets those muscles really working.
So, you're gonna start by lying on your back on the ground.
With your heels on top of the ball.
And from that position, you're gonna lift your hips up.
So it's just your shoulders and your upper back
that's resting on the ground.
So hips nice and stable.
And from there, you're gonna use your heels
to pull the ball towards you by bending your knees.
Keeping your hips off the ground.
And then extending your legs
again so you push the ball away.
If you do find it easy or you're ready to progress it
to the next level, if you've had your hands on the ground
next to you, you can take your hands off
and pop them across your chest.
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These are some basic exercises to get you started.
But remember to adapt them to suit what your body needs.
And don't get hung up on the numbers.
Form is the most important part.
So once you're doing the exercises properly,
you can then start to add in the weight.
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And if you want to learn more about
how to train with power on the bike,
then watch this video here.
And after doing these exercises
you might be feeling a little bit sore.
So ideas on how to use a foam roller, watch this video here.