I received an email yesterday from a new triathlete asking whether or not the athlete should weight train, in addition to a fairly heavy swim/bike/run schedule. I think this is very common and useful Q. My response, which I believe applies broadly, was this: This is an area of opinion more so than proven training […]
Fast, expensive, new top notch gear will not make you better. So, you want to raise your game and you’re willing to spend a little cash to help you do that? Well, there are a lot of ways to do so, maybe too many choices. Most triathletes who have done a race, or a […]
Is something out of whack? A nagging injury that won’t heal and is really too easily irritated? You know, the ones that resurface at just the wrong time.. Low back, shoulder, or hip pain? You know what I mean, it’s those issues that you manage all through a tough series of training blocks for perhaps […]
I grew up a basketball player and a runner. My favorite coach of all time was John Wooden, and I attended his Summer Basketball Camps four years in a row as a teenager. He is one of the greatest in college basketball history, winning ten NCAA Basketball Titles in the 60’s and 70’s at UCLA. […]
The sooner you get to T1, the sooner you’ll get to T2. Obviously, right? Well, what if I said that you could get to T1 at the exact same time as the athlete next to you, but if you’re a better swimmer, you have a big jump on them to T2? If you consider yourself […]
All of this commentary on training with specificity makes one big assumption: you have already achieved a general level of fitness, (aerobic fitness, strength, flexibility, weight management, and some skill work) prior to training with specificity. You do this, of course, by training/cross-training more generally. Two factors determine what your target intensity level should be […]
One of the most important principles of triathlon training, and really all athletic training, is the principle of specificity. If you want to become really good at jumping rope, don’t bother with a lot of push-ups and long runs. Jump rope. A lot. This is not to say that a long run won’t improve your […]
So, what are the most effective ways to achieve the best recovery? Well, first what is ultimately the point? The point is to be ready to train again: 1- as hard or harder than before, 2- as soon as possible, 3- in a more fit state than before the first training stress was applied. Recovery, […]
Recovery is essential to progress in your training. Without recovery, you won’t really go faster when you want to. Recovery implies some sort of damage, breakdown, trauma or exhaustion. You’re recovering from something caused by hard training. It sounds good. But what does it really mean “to recover”?? I like to break recovery into three […]
