“Laying Down the Foundation”

Now that 10 weeks have passed since the Busselton Half Ironman weekend, some of you are probably thinking about getting back into some sort of training regime and you are wondering what to do?

Here are a few ideas for you to consider.

Pre season training, General Preparatory work, whatever you like to call it, is dependent on a number of determining factors. Firstly, your training age (refer previous article). Depending on what you did in your training and racing in the previous season/racing/training will largely determine what you do in the next. Subsequently, using the benefit of hindsight and analysis, this should give some tips on what to try and improve in your Preparatory training over Winter.

For example, swimming is so heavily reliant on technical efficiency. Do you have a problem with swimming in a straight line between marker buoys? Do you seem to take 10-15 more strokes for 50m than everyone else in the pool? Regularly experience pain in your shoulder joints? If so, over the winter break I would recommend that you source a swim coach who specializes in improving your swim stroke. (N.B. Paul Newsome at Stadium Tri Club offers video analysis. This service would be most useful, as the critique/feedback you get is personalised and specific to you)

Cycling?

There seems to be a general school of thought that cycling is a fairly straightforward action of pushing one crank over after the other. As a result, in my experience, triathletes are notoriously poor cyclists in terms of technical efficiency. Poor bike set up is a basic pre cursor here. Unfortunately a lot of positioning is more suited to a road racing position with the aerobars clipped on as an after thought.

Couple this with training/riding in a too big a gear (cadence too low), bilateral strength difference and poor technical efficiency (in terms of applying power in a small portion of the total pedaling action) and the athlete is not getting the best out of their cycle training and racing.

In regards to what you should do in terms of training, I would suggest that you focus mainly on developing your aerobic base. That is, the intensity that you train at is 70-80%. Include plenty of drill work that is specific to your individual technical faults. Organise all your equipment. Get your set-up sorted out well before you start quality work. If you apply intensity to a poor position or faulty equipment you could have problems, injuries etc. (And winter is a good time to purchase new bike equipment as you can haggle a bit, business is usually slow!)

The volume of training you perform over winter should be a bit more than last season but no more than a 10% increase in total volume. Adhere to a periodised program allowing for a gradual build in volume on a week to week basis (for two to three weeks) allowing for adequate recovery as well. Depending on the length of the race you are focusing on, your base preparation phase (emphasizing the aforementioned) should last anywhere from 6-12 weeks.

Just a word of warning here about starting a program. I have found that a lot of athletes with all good intentions start their preparation way too early, and as a result are tired and have had enough by the time their goal race comes about. Don’t do too much work too soon. If you are planning on peaking for Busselton at the end of the year, give due consideration to the fact that it is the best part of 4 months away and time your run accordingly. The most important block of training is that performed in the 12 weeks prior to the race, so make sure you have plenty of motivation and energy for this time.

Running training?

Did you have any injuries last season? Have you done anything about it? Why did you get these injuries? Technique problems? Biomechanical problems? Structured/Balanced program? It is important to make sure that you can cover all these questions, as running is the only discipline that is weight bearing and thus is the one activity where you are likely to get injured if the aforementioned is not in order. I strongly recommend that before embarking on a running program that you get your running action assessed and more specifically the bio-mechanical action (especially for athletes considering doing a ½ or full IM distance). There are a number of podiatrists in Perth who can do this.

Promoting technical efficiency and running economy would be a prime focus over the winter period. This will not only help you to run better but also to enjoy your running more.
The general preparation phase or winter base part of your program is a good opportunity to include supplementary training in your regime. Strength training (gym), flexibility training (yoga, structured stretching program), core stability (Pilates, Abdominal & Lower Back Program), psychological practices/counseling (positive thinking, affirmations, meditation etc), relaxation techniques, nutritional guidance (weight loss etc) are all examples of supplementary activities that will help improve the overall self management of the athlete.

In regards to strength training, I think it is well worth doing. Two reasons here. Firstly, it improves the general dynamic strength of the “prime movers”, that is, the muscles and tendons used to propel the athlete. Secondly, weight training acts as an “insurance policy” of sorts, against injury. Just a word of caution here. Make sure that the exercise regime you perform is specific:

1. In terms of the exercises you do and

2. Aims to improve your strength specifically for the muscles used in triathlon in a range of movement that is the same or similar to that in the three disciplines.

Also, if you have a body type that lends itself to increasing muscle mass easily, avoid doing hypertrophy (to increase muscle mass) exercises in your training. There isn’t much point in having the muscle mass of “Arnie” if you have to lug it around a 10km or longer run! Make sure the weight training program you get is sport specific!
Early season training should have plenty of variety in it, and I have given plenty of examples.

If you subscribe to some of these recommendations, you should be in better shape when you come to your specific or pre competitive phase of training closer to the racing season.

By Andrew Budge
www.trysport.com.au