Trials of the Triathlete: Unconventional Methods for Unconventional Needs

From My Mad Methods

At WG-Fit, we’re fairly well known for providing no nonsense fitness training aimed at martial artists. Our own training background is in martial arts, so it’s only natural that the majority of our clients share this passion.

Pretty soon after we opened though, word got out. People started hearing that in a backstreet in Dublin city centre there was a studio that promoted a very different sort of strength and conditioning training; that this was a place where bodyweight and kettlebells were the primary training tools. A place where no one cared who you were in the outside world, only how much effort you put in on the training floor. As word got out our client base widened.

Other lunatics started to come in, at first it was still contact athletes, people who, like us in the martial arts, seem to enjoy hitting and being hit by other folks. We had rugby players, bouncers, police, and players from Ireland’s native GAA games of football and hurling.

But then an entirely different sort of client turned up, one that made us all a bit nervous.

As battle hardened as we were, no matter how many scars from heavy tackles, boot studs, or knuckles, these new guys had a look in their eye that was unnerving even to the toughest of us.

These were the triathletes.

Triathletes have a unique level of determination and drive, an ability to push beyond the limits of any normal human being. Their ability to dig down into the darkest depths of their psyche and keep pushing on is mind boggling.

Yet, they also had the same problems as the rest of us: huge imbalances between their quads and hamstrings, forward rounded shoulders, and, for many of them, terrible upper body strength.

It soon became clear that these guys’ chosen sport and its associated training was leading them towards long term problems unless we intervened.

So, what’s the best training protocol for a triathlete?

Trials of the Triathlete - 3 Essentials of the Triathlete Training Protocol

1 It’s the program that develops their entire posterior chain, in particular the glutes, hamstrings, mid and lower back.
2 It’s the program that develops both strength and endurance through the core.
3 It’s the program that counters the ravages of hour upon hour hunched over the handlebars, pounding the pavements, and lapping the pool.

In short, the time spent in the gym has to balance the time spent performing the sport, in doing so, we allow the body to become increasingly more efficient and resilient, allowing the athlete to push further and faster.

For the strength aspects of training, I’ve found two drills to be invaluable: the Bulgarian Split Squat and the Inverted Row.

The Split Squat is a single leg exercise that develops phenomenal leg power, done with a relatively long stance, Split Squats hit the hamstrings and glutes hard.

As a triathlete puts power down through one leg at a time, they need legs that are stable and strong; unilateral lower body training is the key to this. Emphasising the glutes and hamstrings will stabilize the knee, allowing the athlete to safely and efficiently put power through the pedals during the cycle and keep the strides strong and fluid during the running portion.

The inverted row helps to reset and stabilize the shoulders. This will improve the ability to power through the water and also help maintain posture during the cycling and running sections of a race. Good posture means the chest is kept open, allowing for larger breaths.

Big Breaths = More Oxygen = Less Fatigue

For everything else there’s the kettlebell. It is true, the kettlebell gets far more praise then it deserves, but in the case of the triathlete (for most endurance athletes in fact), it has been a genuine god send.

As already mentioned, in most traithletes the glutes, hamstrings, lower and middle back are generally underdeveloped or have become weakened by poor posture. Core strength and endurance also need development.

Can you think of an exercise that hits all of the above?

It’s the simplest and most quintessential of all kettlebell lifts, the Swing. Specifically, the 1-Handed Swing.

These three exercises form the backbone of our triathlete’s gym training. The weights are kept heavy and the reps are kept relatively low for the most part (they get more than enough endurance work during their sports specific preparation (SSP). The exception being the Swing which will be used over a wide variety of reps with various weights which helps develop the middle ground between low rep strength work and the endurance needed during the event.

In general, we keep the workouts relatively short and full-body in nature. Triathlon training is a lifestyle; most will already be training twice a day before adding in gym work. With the training mentality and an already full schedule, it is easy to tip them over into that dreaded state known as “overtraining.” To the right you’ll find a sample training program:

The athlete would alternate between Workout A and Workout B, training on nonconsecutive days.

Avoid training to failure, you don’t want to adversely affect your other training, but ensure that each week either the reps or the weight is increased. During the third group of exercises, the athlete should attempt to get maximum repetitions within the time period, the weights used for this portion should be kept relatively light to promote endurance.

Of course, this is merely a sample program; each athlete will have differing needs. Some benefit from more strength work, while others need higher reps. Some have injuries they need to work around, commonly in the shoulders and knees.

Knee injuries are eased by stretching the quads and hip flexors in general, unless of course there are deeper issues. Tighter athletes are put on a more in-depth mobility routine to get the hips loose.

Shoulders may respond well to the band work performed during the warm up and the use of the inverted row performed on the rings. Others may need more in depth work including stretching and light Indian Club exercises.

Time spent in the gym is vital and often overlooked for endurance athletes, not in the least because their sports training is so time consuming; but with a little planning and two or three sessions per week, each lasting no more than 45 minutes including warm up, tirathletes can and will do wonders for their performance and longevity.

Trials of the Triathlete: Warm Up

A: Jogging / Skipping (Various steps) - 1 x 3-5 min
B: Arm Circles - 1 x 15-20 each way
C: Hip Circles - 1 x 15-20 each way
D: Walking Hip Stretch - 1 x 10 steps fwd
E: Walking Hip Stretch - 1 x 10 steps backward
F: Band Pull Apart - 1 x 15-20
G: Behind Head Band Pull Downs - 1 x 15-20
H: Inchworm - 1 x 10
I: Hip Bridge - 1 x 20 (2 sec hold)

Trials of the Triathlete: Workout A

A1: Bulgarian Split Squat Left - 5 x 4-6
A2: Bulgarian Split Squat Right - 5 x 4-6
B1: Clean & Press - 3 x 8-12
B2: Inverted Row - 3 x 8-12 (Weighted)
C1: 1-Handed Swing Left - 30 sec
C2: 1 Handed Swing Right - 30 sec
C3: Hindu Push Up - 30 sec
       For ‘C’ perform one exercise after another for12–15min
D: Stretch Quads, Hip Flexors, and Chest

Trials of the Triathlete: Workout B

A1: Double Kettlebell Front Squat - 5 x 6-8
A2: Double Kettlebell Swing - 5 x 6-8
B: Turkish Get Up - 1 x 10 (Alt sides each rep)
C1: Inverted Row (Bodyweight only) - 30 sec
C2: Mountain Climbers - 30 sec
C3: 2-Handed Swing - 30 sec
       For ‘C’ perform one exercise after another for12–15min
D: Stretch Quads, Hip Flexors, and Chest