Transferring Strength From The Gym To The Road

Published June 9, 2016 03:53PM

What triathletes can do in the swim, bike, and run to make the strength gained from the weight room effective where it really counts.

So you started to incorporate strength training and began spending part of your valuable weekly training volume strength training. You start seeing results immediately. You are able to squat more and can now do 10 pull-ups! Strength in the weight room, however, is meaningless if it does not transfer into race day performance. In this article, we are going to explain what triathletes can do in the swim, bike, and run to make the strength gained from the weight room effective where it really counts.

Off-season training begins with simple base training. This creates the foundation for what we build upon on the road or in the pool. Likewise, the same goes for the weight room. Starting simple and gradually increasing training intensity is integral to each aspect of training.

The Next Step

Upon completing this foundational phase of training, the goal is to push new boundaries and embark on new levels of success. At this point, time spent in the weight room can have a great impact on triathlon training if coordinated properly.

Once you reach this point in training, each workout serves a purpose pertaining to proficiency in triathlon. In the weight room, the goal is to remove yourself from simple training methods that do not create a challenge and begin to implement aspects that intensify each training session. This can be done through increasing the weight to enhance strength.

Your triathlon training follows a similar theme. Maintaining simplified training methods will not push you further. Incorporating hill training, fartleks, and big gear work are common methods of producing results at this point in the season. These forms of training require an increase in force output and correlate perfectly with strength training in the gym. By combining these different training styles, force output can be improved dramatically. Increased force output will aid endurance capabilities through improved economy. Maintaining pace on hills can do wonders for race times.

Strength training should mirror triathlon training. Since hills, fartleks, and big gear work require high force, it is important for strength work to require high force as well. Rep schemes should decrease and weight lifted should increase.

Rate of Force Development

As training progresses, your triathlon training will begin to more closely resemble race day scenarios. Strength training will become less focused on strength and more on power. Rate of Force Development, or RFD is a term that is commonly used as a means of quantifying power development. So, why is power development important for a triathlete? This question is the topic for another article, but the short answer is that improving RFD decreases injury risk, improves economy, and directly improves force capability and efficiency of each step, stroke, or cycle. Higher force capability when generated at a high rate of development means that you can improve your stride length while maintaining frequency, thus improving your race times.

RFD is an aspect of performance that can best be improved by incorporating strength training and plyometrics. This brings us back to how changing the training approach after improving maximum force capability can be an integral component. As triathlon training mimics race day, strength training should progress into more power development. This can be accomplished by implementing plyometric training such as box jumps.

By coordinating a proper weight training program with triathlon training through these phases, force output and the rate at which that force can be developed can be greatly improved. This will lead to drastic improvements in your race day performance as well as aid in the prevention of injuries.

Building Race Specific Strength

While working on strength development in the weight room, strength can be gained through a swimming, biking and running program. Utilizing swim tools can assist in gaining strength in the pool. Stretch cords can be used as a dynamic warm up before beginning a swimming session. Stretch cords simulate the swim stroke while increasing strength in many of the connector muscles. Swimming with a band around your ankles promotes upper body engagement while the ankles are bound together. Swimming with a buoy eliminates the use of legs all together, which will isolate the core and upper body. Paddles increase resistance while helping to develop an effective pull. Kicking while holding a board increases lower body strength and power. Fins increase the workload on the lower body.

On the bike, strength can be gained with a focus on adding resistance through hilly routes, hill climbs, headwinds, and big gear work. Just like on the bike, to gain strength running, find some hills! Running hills helps increase power output and enhances running economy. Hill training greatly increases the force load, so be sure to progress properly.

Below are two example weeks that will help guide your strength building workouts.

Example Week 1:

Monday

Swim: 2400 yards working on combined upper/lower/core strength

Stretch Cords 2 x 10 focusing on a quick catch
600 warm up focusing on establishing a rhythmic stroke: 30
12 x 25 kick with fins/board, odds easy, evens all out focused on quality form: 10
4 x 50 band/buoy with connected body rotation: 10
4 x 50 band only focused on a quick tempo: 10
3 x 200 paddles/buoy moderate focusing on a perfect catch: 10 seconds rest
2 x 150 paddles/buoy fast focusing on a perfect pull: 15 seconds rest
1 x 100 all out holding your speed throughout: 20 seconds rest
100 cool down

Tuesday

Bike: 90 minutes

After an easy aerobic warm up, find a gradual climb. Build your effort to zone 2 while keeping cadence under 60 RPM. Hold this effort for 30 minutes of continuous riding. Finish with 20 minutes at zone 3 effort alternating between 5 minutes at 60 RPM, 5 minutes at 70 RPM, 5 minutes at 80 RPM, 5 minutes at 90 RPM. Spin easy for cool down.

Wednesday

Run: 40 to 60 minutes working on combining upper/lower/core strength

After an easy warm up, find a moderate uphill and run 4 to 5 x 3 minutes building to zone 5. Good form on each repeat. Recover easy down the hill. Then head to a flat terrain and do 5 x 30 seconds hard mile race pace, 60 seconds easy. Focus on quick and powerful strides. Finish with an easy cool down.

Thursday

Swim: 2500 yards

Stretch Cords 6 x 10 focusing on a high elbow catch
200 easy swim: 10 seconds rest
4 x 50 kick easy: 5 seconds rest
20 Tricep Dips on pool deck
4 x 50 band/buoy: 10 seconds rest
Single Arm Stretch Cords 4 x 10 focusing on a good pull
200 moderate swim: 20 seconds rest
4 x 75 kick, build each 25: 10 seconds rest
15 Tricep Dips on pool deck
4 x 75 band only: 10 30 seconds rest
Stretch Cords 2 x 10 focusing on a high elbow catch
200 fast swim: 30 seconds rest
4 x 100 kick as best efforts: 15 seconds rest
10 Tricep Dips on pool deck
4 x 100 band/buoy: 10 seconds rest
100 easy cool down

Bike: 60 to 90 minutes

After an easy aerobic warm up, find a 6-8 percent grade hill and do 4 to 6 x 3 minutes building to zone 5. Stay seated on each climb. Recover easy down the hill.

Friday

Off, enjoy a rest day!

Saturday

Brick: Aerobic brick workout gaining as much elevation as you can.

Sunday

Run: 75 to 100 minutes

Head to the hilliest trails you can find for your long run. Start easy and progressively build your effort.

Example Week 2:

Monday

Swim: 2500 yards working on combined upper/lower/core strength

Stretch Cords 3 x 10
600 easy warm up: 30
4 x 50 as 25 tarzan/head up, 25 free: 10
2x (4 x 25 band only: 10, 4 x 150 pull only as 50 easy, 50 hard, 50 easy: 20, 4 x 25 all out with fins: 20)
100 easy cool down

Tuesday

Bike: 70 to 90 minutes

After an easy warm up:

2-3 x (10 minutes big gear at 60-75 RPM at moderate effort, 10 minutes at zone 3 effort at 90 rpm, 5 minutes easy) Spin easy for cool down.

Wednesday

Run: 30 to 60 minutes

After an easy warm up, find a steep hill for hill bounds. 3-5 x 20 seconds bounding up the hill, pushing off your toes. Easy jog recovery down the hill and repeat. Finish with an easy cool down.

Strength: Combo upper/lower/core

Thursday

Swim: 3000 yards

Stretch Cords 3 x 10
400 warm up, stroke focus: 30 seconds rest
16×50 kick with fins, odds easy, evens fast: 10 seconds rest
4 x 50 band with buoy focusing on stroke rate: 10v seconds rest
4 x 50 band only focusing on your catch: 10 seconds rest
6×200 paddle/buoy build 1-3, repeat build: 15 seconds rest
200 easy swimming

Bike: 50 to 90 minutes

After an easy aerobic warm up, find a hill that is 5 percent or steeper and perform 5 x 2 minutes hill climb. At 30, 60, and 90 seconds attack HARD for 10 pedal strokes. Recover easy down the hill.

Friday

Off-enjoy a day off!

Saturday

Brick: Aerobic Brick over hilly terrain

Sunday

Run: 60 to 90 minutes

After a 30 minute warm up, perform a ladder fartlek over a moderately hilly terrain. Aim for 1 minute on, 1 minute off, 2 minutes on, 1 minute off, 3 minutes on, 1 minute off, 4 minutes on, 1 minute off, 3 minutes on, 1 minute off, 2 minutes on, 1 minute off, 1 minute on, 1 minute off. Descend the bottom half of the ladder to finish faster! Finish with an easy cool down.

It is important to incorporate strength training into your training program in order to improve on different areas that affect triathlon performance. To take full advantage of the adaptations created by swimming, biking, and running, strength training must reflect any changes that happen in your triathlon training. Combining high force output strength training with hill runs and fartleks is a great combination.

Moving on to more race specific training should elicit a change in the weight room from strength training to increased power training utilizing plyometrics and other explosive movements. An important thing to consider is that your main focus is performance on the road and strength training is strictly a compliment to your triathlon training. If you ever feel like your strength training is negatively affecting your swimming, biking, and running; you should take a step back and reevaluate your strength training program. The weight room is an important tool that can take your performance to new heights, but it must be coordinated properly with your triathlon training. So get out there, push your boundaries, and reach for new milestones!

This article originally appeared at Trainingpeaks.com.

Kelly Fillnow is a former college tennis player turned triathlete. She is a former Duathlon Age Group World Champion and a two-time age group podium finisher at the Ironman World Championships. Now competing as a professional triathlete, she loves inspiring athletes of all abilities to reach their goals through her coaching business, Fillnow Coaching.