As many of our race seasons come to a close, we look forward to a break in the heavy training.
We begin to think of the upcoming off season and what we can work on to race even better next season.
Strength training can be a welcomed break from our usual routine of Swim, Bike, and Run.
Think about adding these exercises, shared by Mark Allen , to help with run leg speed and power on the bike.
Showing posts with label Training Triathlon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Training Triathlon. Show all posts
Stop Running Long on Sunday.
Stop Running Long on Sunday
by Rich Strauss of Endurance Nation
Many Ironman athletes, training plans, and coaches schedule the weekly long run on Sunday after a long bike on Saturday. The reason is often given as “you need to practice running on tired legs.”
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This is NOT a good idea and here’s why:
A long run on tired legs is just another opportunity to practice running slowly on tired legs vs running more quickly on fresher legs. The best way to become a faster runner is to create opportunities in your training week for you to…run faster, not slog through a run on wooden legs!
The recovery cost of a long run done on Sunday, for example, after a long Saturday bike is much greater than that same run done mid-week. The net is that Monday, often Tuesday, and sometimes Wednesday’s workouts begin to become compromised, especially as that weekend volume gets up to a 4-6hrs long bike on Saturday and 2.5-3hr long run.
Any long run in training will have at least an hour or more where your legs feel Ok. That is, they feel like you’re starting a long run after a long bike the day before. Contrast this to Ironman race day, where you’re coming right off a 112 mi bike after a 2.4mi swim. After you get your legs back a bit, by about mile 6 or 7, your legs will now feel like, at best, about mile 15 of your best long run…then it just gets harder. My point is that your tired legs on Sunday long run isn’t even close to what it’s going to feel like on race day…so why bother?
By separating the long bike from the long run:
The long run can now accommodate some get-faster work.
We can separate the long run from the long bike with a no-legs day on Friday.
We weight the cycling to the weekend. A 3hr semi-long ride on Sunday has a MUCH lower recovery cost than a hard 2.5hr Sunday run = much lower chance that it, and it’s combination with the Saturday ride, will affect your early week workouts the following week.
Finally, it may create a social opportunity for you on the bike on Sunday — a Sunday ride with friends. Riding with other athletes, especially those stronger than you, is a very, very valuable opportunity that we encourage our athletes to seek out.
EN provides training plans and articles on triathlon and the endurance lifestyle.
Visit EN at Endurance Nation.
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by Rich Strauss of Endurance Nation
Many Ironman athletes, training plans, and coaches schedule the weekly long run on Sunday after a long bike on Saturday. The reason is often given as “you need to practice running on tired legs.”
A long run on tired legs is just another opportunity to practice running slowly on tired legs vs running more quickly on fresher legs. The best way to become a faster runner is to create opportunities in your training week for you to…run faster, not slog through a run on wooden legs!
The recovery cost of a long run done on Sunday, for example, after a long Saturday bike is much greater than that same run done mid-week. The net is that Monday, often Tuesday, and sometimes Wednesday’s workouts begin to become compromised, especially as that weekend volume gets up to a 4-6hrs long bike on Saturday and 2.5-3hr long run.
Any long run in training will have at least an hour or more where your legs feel Ok. That is, they feel like you’re starting a long run after a long bike the day before. Contrast this to Ironman race day, where you’re coming right off a 112 mi bike after a 2.4mi swim. After you get your legs back a bit, by about mile 6 or 7, your legs will now feel like, at best, about mile 15 of your best long run…then it just gets harder. My point is that your tired legs on Sunday long run isn’t even close to what it’s going to feel like on race day…so why bother?
By separating the long bike from the long run:
The long run can now accommodate some get-faster work.
We can separate the long run from the long bike with a no-legs day on Friday.
We weight the cycling to the weekend. A 3hr semi-long ride on Sunday has a MUCH lower recovery cost than a hard 2.5hr Sunday run = much lower chance that it, and it’s combination with the Saturday ride, will affect your early week workouts the following week.
Finally, it may create a social opportunity for you on the bike on Sunday — a Sunday ride with friends. Riding with other athletes, especially those stronger than you, is a very, very valuable opportunity that we encourage our athletes to seek out.
EN provides training plans and articles on triathlon and the endurance lifestyle.
Visit EN at Endurance Nation.
Coach's Corner - with Todd Parker
Hydration and Supplementation of Key Electrolytes
for the Endurance Athlete
by Coach Todd Parker, M.A., M.S.
Countless times each season, athletes inform me
“I had a great race until I cramped up”, or
“I was racing phenomenally until I “bonked"!”
![]()
These experiences occur with elite level athletes as well as the beginner.
What areas of hydration and supplementation could be derailing your potential breakthrough racing performances?
Hydration during training and racing.
The typical endurance athlete (assuming they are beginning in an adequately hydrated state) has a sweat rate (or loses water) of approximately 50 ounces (1.5 liters) per hour. An athlete performing at a moderate to high intensity, may be losing somewhere between 32 – 64 ounces (2-4lbs.) an hour.
The 165lb. (75kg) athlete, can easily loose 2% of their bodyweight per hour.
![]()
Without adequately replacing a sizeable portion of this loss, significant performance decline will begin to occur.
If your hydration rate is just barely enough to stave off a noticeable performance decline, then you’ll likely experience muscular contraction, cramping, or even dizziness issues late in the race.
If you’ve ever experienced any of these symptoms during training or racing, then you need to take a hard look at what your nutritional and hydration intake was over the previous 24 hours, especially the few hours leading up to the event.
Electrolyte loss.
You’ll often hear people comment, “it was probably an electrolyte deficiency”. Generally, that normally means one or more of what I call “the big four” are imbalanced.
The four key electrolytes that most often contribute to muscular spasms, cramping, and even locking up from a failure of the contract-relax cycle are; sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
Once an imbalance or deficiency surfaces by the symptoms just mentioned, other minerals and chemical bonds are broken away and diverted to rectify the imbalance. Subsequently, all of these series of “rescue attempts” result in diminishing returns of muscular contractile functions. Until adequate replenishment of water and these key minerals are back to a homeostatic or normal stable state, normal muscular contractions will be erratic or even nonexistent in the worst cases.
So what should the athlete do at the onset of calf cramping on the bike or run?
Hit the fluids hard and consistent for the following hour in hopes of getting things under control. Hard and consistent means a few good gulps of your beverage every 10 to 15 minutes - totaling a 16-20 ounce bottle within the hour.
Whether or not the cramping continues beyond that, continue this consistency until the training or racing is over.
“I got so caught up in the race, I forgot to drink Coach.”
I recommend having an alarm on your watch or heart rate monitor set to beep every 10 minutes. If this consistency doesn’t fix the problem, then we have to revamp our hydration and nutrition regimen leading up to and including race day.
Until you can eliminate these symptoms, you will have to continue to experiment with the volume and “strength” of your fluids during training. The best time to do this is during training that is at race intensity and distance, or "race simulation".
Once you find a product and intake level that works for you, stick with it, don’t alter things (i.e. mix concentrations beyond recommendations), and never ever try new products on race day!
Bottom line, if you’re experiencing symptoms of electrolyte imbalance(s), experiment with other products that have higher mineral content, as well as your intake volume and intervals - until you fix the problem. Otherwise, you’ll continue to fall short of your optimal performance potential until you do.
Train and race smart, and Hydrate that Body in order to meet your goals and expectations.
Good luck!
Coach Parker
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(Next Coach's Corner -Tips on amounts of these electrolytes you should be looking for in products out on the market, and how intake changes as the endurance event gets longer and longer!)
for the Endurance Athlete
by Coach Todd Parker, M.A., M.S.
Countless times each season, athletes inform me
“I had a great race until I cramped up”, or
“I was racing phenomenally until I “bonked"!”
These experiences occur with elite level athletes as well as the beginner.
What areas of hydration and supplementation could be derailing your potential breakthrough racing performances?
Hydration during training and racing.
The typical endurance athlete (assuming they are beginning in an adequately hydrated state) has a sweat rate (or loses water) of approximately 50 ounces (1.5 liters) per hour. An athlete performing at a moderate to high intensity, may be losing somewhere between 32 – 64 ounces (2-4lbs.) an hour.
The 165lb. (75kg) athlete, can easily loose 2% of their bodyweight per hour.
Without adequately replacing a sizeable portion of this loss, significant performance decline will begin to occur.
If your hydration rate is just barely enough to stave off a noticeable performance decline, then you’ll likely experience muscular contraction, cramping, or even dizziness issues late in the race.
If you’ve ever experienced any of these symptoms during training or racing, then you need to take a hard look at what your nutritional and hydration intake was over the previous 24 hours, especially the few hours leading up to the event.
Electrolyte loss.
You’ll often hear people comment, “it was probably an electrolyte deficiency”. Generally, that normally means one or more of what I call “the big four” are imbalanced.
The four key electrolytes that most often contribute to muscular spasms, cramping, and even locking up from a failure of the contract-relax cycle are; sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
Once an imbalance or deficiency surfaces by the symptoms just mentioned, other minerals and chemical bonds are broken away and diverted to rectify the imbalance. Subsequently, all of these series of “rescue attempts” result in diminishing returns of muscular contractile functions. Until adequate replenishment of water and these key minerals are back to a homeostatic or normal stable state, normal muscular contractions will be erratic or even nonexistent in the worst cases.
So what should the athlete do at the onset of calf cramping on the bike or run?
Hit the fluids hard and consistent for the following hour in hopes of getting things under control. Hard and consistent means a few good gulps of your beverage every 10 to 15 minutes - totaling a 16-20 ounce bottle within the hour.
Whether or not the cramping continues beyond that, continue this consistency until the training or racing is over.
“I got so caught up in the race, I forgot to drink Coach.”
I recommend having an alarm on your watch or heart rate monitor set to beep every 10 minutes. If this consistency doesn’t fix the problem, then we have to revamp our hydration and nutrition regimen leading up to and including race day.
Until you can eliminate these symptoms, you will have to continue to experiment with the volume and “strength” of your fluids during training. The best time to do this is during training that is at race intensity and distance, or "race simulation".
Once you find a product and intake level that works for you, stick with it, don’t alter things (i.e. mix concentrations beyond recommendations), and never ever try new products on race day!
Bottom line, if you’re experiencing symptoms of electrolyte imbalance(s), experiment with other products that have higher mineral content, as well as your intake volume and intervals - until you fix the problem. Otherwise, you’ll continue to fall short of your optimal performance potential until you do.
Train and race smart, and Hydrate that Body in order to meet your goals and expectations.
Good luck!
Coach Parker
(Next Coach's Corner -Tips on amounts of these electrolytes you should be looking for in products out on the market, and how intake changes as the endurance event gets longer and longer!)
Monday Motivation - "Dare to..."
"Yesterday I dared to struggle.
Today I dare to win!"
Today I dare to win!"
Bernadette Devlin
Whether it's racing or in training, dare to struggle
and you'll be the Winner for it.
and you'll be the Winner for it.
Monday Motivation - "Cause I want more!"
For all endurance athletes out there...
Here are some lyrics, by Young The Giant, to pump you up during those
tough training sessions or nearing the end of your race!
Here are some lyrics, by Young The Giant, to pump you up during those
tough training sessions or nearing the end of your race!
"My body tells me no
but I won't quit
cause I want more
cause I want more!"
but I won't quit
cause I want more
cause I want more!"
Have a listen, if you dare, and see if it doesn't get stuck in you head and make your playlist!
Comment with your favorite song(s) that gets you pumped for training or racing!
Open Water Swimming - New magazine launch
If you enjoy (or even only do open water swimming as leg one) OWS you might want to add this new, UK based, Open Water Swimming magazine to you reading list.
H20pen open water swimming
In next month’s issue -
* Keri-Anne Payne’s open water swimming tips
* Five ways to swim faster without training harder
* How to train now to race well this summer
* Plus classic swim series, the country’s best lidos, race listings and gear reviews
Subscriptions @ H2Open
Ironman Winter Training - Get Psyched!
Here's why it might be good to practice your T1 !
"Train Hard, Have Fun!
Your Race is Just Around the Corner."
"Train Hard, Have Fun!
Your Race is Just Around the Corner."
Strengthen and Stretch your Calves
If you are an active athlete, multisport or single sport, you more than likely have experienced soreness or tightness in your calves at some point in training or racing.
Anoop T. Balachandran, of Exercise Biology - The Science of Exercise, helps explain the calf muscle and
"How to Build and Stretch your Calf Muscle"
What are the different calf muscles?
Gastrocnemius: Gastroc is the muscle which has two heads and is visible from outside as two diamond heads. Gatsroc has 2 functions: Bending the knee and raising your heel.
Soleus: Soleus lies beneath the gastroc and is not really visible.
The soleus performs just one function of raising the heel as in calf raises.
How to build your soleus and gastroc muscles?
You can emphasize the soleus or the gastroc with different exercises and stretches.
Here we use the concept of active and passive insufficiency.
Seated Calf Raises: Seated calf raises target the soleus more than the gastroc since gastroc is almost inactive during bent knee exercises.
The gatsroc is already used when the knee is bent and hence it cannot work to raise the heels. This is called the principle of active insufficiency.
Standing Calf Raises: On the other hand, standing calf raises emphasizes both the gastroc and soleus equally well.
How to stretch your soleus and gastroc muscle?
Straight Knee: Straight knee primarily stretches the gastroc.
Bent Knee: Bent Knee stretches target more of the soleus since the gastroc muscle is contracted.
Practical Applications
Straight leg exercises target both the soleus and gastroc muscles. Seated calf raises only target the soleus muscle.
Straight knee stretches target the gastroc muscle while bent knee stretches target the soleus
Anoop T. Balachandran, of Exercise Biology - The Science of Exercise, helps explain the calf muscle and
"How to Build and Stretch your Calf Muscle"
What are the different calf muscles?
Gastrocnemius: Gastroc is the muscle which has two heads and is visible from outside as two diamond heads. Gatsroc has 2 functions: Bending the knee and raising your heel.
Soleus: Soleus lies beneath the gastroc and is not really visible.
The soleus performs just one function of raising the heel as in calf raises.
How to build your soleus and gastroc muscles?
You can emphasize the soleus or the gastroc with different exercises and stretches.
Here we use the concept of active and passive insufficiency.
Seated Calf Raises: Seated calf raises target the soleus more than the gastroc since gastroc is almost inactive during bent knee exercises.
The gatsroc is already used when the knee is bent and hence it cannot work to raise the heels. This is called the principle of active insufficiency.
Standing Calf Raises: On the other hand, standing calf raises emphasizes both the gastroc and soleus equally well.
How to stretch your soleus and gastroc muscle?
Straight Knee: Straight knee primarily stretches the gastroc.
Bent Knee: Bent Knee stretches target more of the soleus since the gastroc muscle is contracted.
Practical Applications
Straight leg exercises target both the soleus and gastroc muscles. Seated calf raises only target the soleus muscle.
Straight knee stretches target the gastroc muscle while bent knee stretches target the soleus
Foam Roller Exercises - If you RUN you need to read this!
It's often said
"A picture is worth a thousand words"
If running is part of your training, the following exercises shared by Victor Matt Frazier should become part of your training regimen.
You can see more of Matt's great articles at his site NoMeatAthlete
Foam Roll Exercises -
For foam roll exercises, roll back and forth for 30 seconds to a minute. For tennis ball exercises, find pressure points and keep as much weight as possible on the ball for one minute.
If you've never done foam rolling before, you may find it painful at first. You should ease into it, doing only as much as is reasonably comfortable. It should become much less painful after a few sessions.
Quads - Cross your legs so that most of the weight is on one leg. After rolling on one leg, switch to the other. If this is too painful at first, roll on both legs simultaneously.
IT band - Lie on your side and place the tennis ball in a sensitive spot on the outside of your leg near your hip joint. After the desired time, move the ball farther down your leg. Switch legs and repeat.
Hamstrings - Cross your legs so that most of the weight is on one leg. After rolling on one leg, switch to the other.
Calves - Cross your legs so that most of the weight is on one leg. After rolling on one leg, switch to the other.
Glutes – Find a sensitive spot and put as much weight as possible on the ball. After the desired time, move to a new sensitive spot. Switch to the other side and repeat.
Arch - Place the ball under your foot and, with as much weight as possible, move the ball back and forth 50 times. Repeat on other foot.
Front of Shins – Keep as much weight as possible on the roll, not on your hands, while you roll back and forth.
Side of shins - Roll by alternately bringing your knees to your chest and extending your legs. Repeat on other side.
TFL (tensor fasciae latae muscle) – Extend one leg out to side for support. On the other leg, target the very top of your quadriceps near your hip, just outside the center of your leg. Don't skip this one; improper firing of the TFL muscle can cause IT band sydrome and knee pain!
Knee – Lie on the floor and place the ball just above your knee on the inside of your leg. Roll it around to find a sensitive spot and hold.
Adductor – Lie mostly flat and place the roll under your thigh. To roll back and forth, you may need to lift yourself up with your arms a bit.
"A picture is worth a thousand words"
If running is part of your training, the following exercises shared by Victor Matt Frazier should become part of your training regimen.
You can see more of Matt's great articles at his site NoMeatAthlete
Foam Roll Exercises -
For foam roll exercises, roll back and forth for 30 seconds to a minute. For tennis ball exercises, find pressure points and keep as much weight as possible on the ball for one minute.
If you've never done foam rolling before, you may find it painful at first. You should ease into it, doing only as much as is reasonably comfortable. It should become much less painful after a few sessions.
Quads - Cross your legs so that most of the weight is on one leg. After rolling on one leg, switch to the other. If this is too painful at first, roll on both legs simultaneously.
IT band - Lie on your side and place the tennis ball in a sensitive spot on the outside of your leg near your hip joint. After the desired time, move the ball farther down your leg. Switch legs and repeat.
Hamstrings - Cross your legs so that most of the weight is on one leg. After rolling on one leg, switch to the other.
Calves - Cross your legs so that most of the weight is on one leg. After rolling on one leg, switch to the other.
Glutes – Find a sensitive spot and put as much weight as possible on the ball. After the desired time, move to a new sensitive spot. Switch to the other side and repeat.
Arch - Place the ball under your foot and, with as much weight as possible, move the ball back and forth 50 times. Repeat on other foot.
Front of Shins – Keep as much weight as possible on the roll, not on your hands, while you roll back and forth.
Side of shins - Roll by alternately bringing your knees to your chest and extending your legs. Repeat on other side.
TFL (tensor fasciae latae muscle) – Extend one leg out to side for support. On the other leg, target the very top of your quadriceps near your hip, just outside the center of your leg. Don't skip this one; improper firing of the TFL muscle can cause IT band sydrome and knee pain!
Knee – Lie on the floor and place the ball just above your knee on the inside of your leg. Roll it around to find a sensitive spot and hold.
Adductor – Lie mostly flat and place the roll under your thigh. To roll back and forth, you may need to lift yourself up with your arms a bit.
Happy Rolling!
Happy Holidays from Pearl Izumi!
Pearl Izumi sharing the passion of the
Single and Multisport Enthusiast.
Single and Multisport Enthusiast.
Monday Motivation - Victors' shared words "I train for me".
"I train...not for the podium. Not for the medals. Not for the status.
I train for me.
For the passion. For the desire. For the knowledge that I will:
Learn from yesterday. Live for today.... Never give up."
Victor Anna Mittermann, of Milwaukee WI
I train for me.
For the passion. For the desire. For the knowledge that I will:
Learn from yesterday. Live for today.... Never give up."
Victor Anna Mittermann, of Milwaukee WI
Broken Brick Workout...You want me to do it again!
The Broken Brick Workout?
Most triathletes are familiar with the traditional brick workout - a bike ride followed immediately by a run. This simulates racing conditions and helps your body adapt to the transition of switching quickly from cycling to running.
Sprint and Olympic-distance focused triathletes can keep the distances on the shorter side, riding 10 to 20 miles and then running anywhere from 1 to 3 miles. 70.3 and Ironman distance athletes tend to go longer - riding anywhere from 2 to 5 hours and then running anywhere from 10 minutes to a couple of hours. Brick workouts like these, used appropriately and at the right times, are crucial to triathlon success.
The Broken Brick -
A more involved type of brick workout is what we call the broken brick. This starts out like a traditional brick but the cycle is repeated 2 or 3 times. For example, an Olympic distance racer might add a broken brick of 3 x 10 mile bike / 2 mile run into their training schedule three or four weeks out from their key race.
The effort should increase during each round so the last round is at or faster than goal race pace. These workouts are challenging and should be considered "key" workouts, both in terms of rest going in and recovery afterwards. You don't want to do this type of brick every weekend!
A few differences between Broken Bricks and Traditional Bricks:
More frequent transitioning adaptation from cycling to running (and back, for duathletes) helps athletes train self-monitoring and pacing abilities - if you go too hard on the first round you will know it on the last round. During Ironman training broken bricks (3 x 30/3 miles) the body does not sustain quite as much breakdown because the run is not continuous (allowing a bit of recovery between each 3 mile run section) Broken bricks enable "mental toughness" - it is challenging to go back out on the bike after that first round
I plan broken bricks for most of my athletes, from sprint to expert level, about once a month leading into the season and occasionally as time / racing permits during the race season.
If you currently do not include these, definitely consider it!
USA Triathlon coach Marty Gaal, CSCS,
offers multisport coaching at One Step Beyond.
Sprint and Olympic-distance focused triathletes can keep the distances on the shorter side, riding 10 to 20 miles and then running anywhere from 1 to 3 miles. 70.3 and Ironman distance athletes tend to go longer - riding anywhere from 2 to 5 hours and then running anywhere from 10 minutes to a couple of hours. Brick workouts like these, used appropriately and at the right times, are crucial to triathlon success.
The Broken Brick -
A more involved type of brick workout is what we call the broken brick. This starts out like a traditional brick but the cycle is repeated 2 or 3 times. For example, an Olympic distance racer might add a broken brick of 3 x 10 mile bike / 2 mile run into their training schedule three or four weeks out from their key race.
The effort should increase during each round so the last round is at or faster than goal race pace. These workouts are challenging and should be considered "key" workouts, both in terms of rest going in and recovery afterwards. You don't want to do this type of brick every weekend!
A few differences between Broken Bricks and Traditional Bricks:
More frequent transitioning adaptation from cycling to running (and back, for duathletes) helps athletes train self-monitoring and pacing abilities - if you go too hard on the first round you will know it on the last round. During Ironman training broken bricks (3 x 30/3 miles) the body does not sustain quite as much breakdown because the run is not continuous (allowing a bit of recovery between each 3 mile run section) Broken bricks enable "mental toughness" - it is challenging to go back out on the bike after that first round
I plan broken bricks for most of my athletes, from sprint to expert level, about once a month leading into the season and occasionally as time / racing permits during the race season.
If you currently do not include these, definitely consider it!
USA Triathlon coach Marty Gaal, CSCS,
offers multisport coaching at One Step Beyond.
6 Tips for Coaching Youth Triathletes
6 Tips for Coaching Youth Triathletes
By Alan Ley
USA Triathlon
Do you have a youngster interested in pursuing the sport of triathlon? Alan Ley of USA Triathlon Life magazine offers these six tips for coaching youth triathletes. Be sure to check out Active.com’s kids triathlon directory to find a race near you!
1. Seven- to 15-year-olds are not adults. Always put their best interests, healthy, safety and long-term personal development first!
2. Teach technique and neuromuscular pattering before anything else.
*Use visuals, demonstrations, video or pictures. Young athletes are very visual and need to "see" what you want done first.
*Keep the technique sessions short.
*Use slow-motion movements and ask the athletes to "feel" the movement.
*Have them shut their eyes and visualize the movements.
*Teach the young athletes one movement at a time and repeat it until they get it right.
3. When teaching any new changes in movement (swimming, cycling or running), break the change into small sections. Make one small change at a time. Youth and adults become overwhelmed with too many changes or corrections are all happening at once.
4. Coach one thing at a time and have them perform it right before moving on to something new.
5. Not always, but many times a movement done silently or as quietly as possible makes for a more efficient movement pattern. Try asking your young athlete to swim silently or run quietly, and you will be amazed at how the athlete can change their movements based on sound. It works!
6. Last and most importantly: give them plenty of rest when teaching technique and new patterns of movement. This is not the time to work on endurance. Teach technique at the beginning of a session. Revisit it in the middle of a workout and reinforce it at the end with slow short repeats with lots of rest between.
Alan Ley formerly served as the USAT coaching education manager and is now the ITU sport development manager. His passion is developing the sport of triathlon and working with young triathletes around the world.
This article originally was published in the spring edition of USA Triathlon Life magazine. USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the national governing body for triathlon--the fastest growing sport in the world - as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. Visit usatriathlon.org.
USA Triathlon
Do you have a youngster interested in pursuing the sport of triathlon? Alan Ley of USA Triathlon Life magazine offers these six tips for coaching youth triathletes. Be sure to check out Active.com’s kids triathlon directory to find a race near you!
1. Seven- to 15-year-olds are not adults. Always put their best interests, healthy, safety and long-term personal development first!
2. Teach technique and neuromuscular pattering before anything else.
*Use visuals, demonstrations, video or pictures. Young athletes are very visual and need to "see" what you want done first.
*Keep the technique sessions short.
*Use slow-motion movements and ask the athletes to "feel" the movement.
*Have them shut their eyes and visualize the movements.
*Teach the young athletes one movement at a time and repeat it until they get it right.
3. When teaching any new changes in movement (swimming, cycling or running), break the change into small sections. Make one small change at a time. Youth and adults become overwhelmed with too many changes or corrections are all happening at once.
4. Coach one thing at a time and have them perform it right before moving on to something new.
5. Not always, but many times a movement done silently or as quietly as possible makes for a more efficient movement pattern. Try asking your young athlete to swim silently or run quietly, and you will be amazed at how the athlete can change their movements based on sound. It works!
6. Last and most importantly: give them plenty of rest when teaching technique and new patterns of movement. This is not the time to work on endurance. Teach technique at the beginning of a session. Revisit it in the middle of a workout and reinforce it at the end with slow short repeats with lots of rest between.
Alan Ley formerly served as the USAT coaching education manager and is now the ITU sport development manager. His passion is developing the sport of triathlon and working with young triathletes around the world.
This article originally was published in the spring edition of USA Triathlon Life magazine. USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the national governing body for triathlon--the fastest growing sport in the world - as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. Visit usatriathlon.org.
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