Snow, ice, lack of light: at times, winter conditions can chill – in every sense of the word – even the most motivated triathlete.
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The #TEAMSTIMIUM experts offer you some advice that will help you make this period a key moment in your preparation, rather than a chore.
5 tips for triathlete winter training
Establish your program
Too many triathletes still train by feeling and select their races during the season, based on how they feel at the moment. Winter is the ideal time to implement a structured approach.
Choose your priority race of the season, as well as the secondary events that you will use to prepare for this objective and complete your calendar.
Once you have your running plan established, take some time to research and put together a training program. You will find plenty of them on the Internet. Make sure you select one that matches your level, goals and pace.
Fix the sores
After an intensive season of racing and training, it's time to take stock of your physical health.
Take a step back and remember the small (and big) ailments you've encountered in recent months. Were they avoidable? If yes, how ? Thanks to more prevention? Thanks to better technology? Have certain pains come back recurrently? If this is the case, do not hesitate to consult a specialist who will help you define the exact cause of your problem.
Speaking of ailments, also focus on those that can handicap your best ally on the road: your bike. Offer him a complete check-up at a good mechanic: he will thank you for it as soon as you return to the asphalt, with performance.
While you're at it, check all of your equipment. If it's time to change shoes, take advantage of this period of lower intensity to get used to your new shoes, to test out a new swimming suit or to review your position on the bike.
Swim. Swim. Swim
“Swimming is often the weak point of triathletes,” observes Matt Dixon, coach at Purple Patch Fitness . It is also the most technical sport. To make significant progress, large volumes and frequencies of work are necessary. But in peak season, it's often impossible to dedicate enough time and effort to make significant progress. »
As soon as the weather conditions prevent you from taking out the bike, replace your outing with a few lengths of the swimming pool.
Gordon Byrn, coach at Endurancecorner.com and co-author of Going Long , even suggests choosing a week (or even two for the most motivated) and scheduling a daily swimming session there: "You'll be surprised to see how much this sudden increase in frequency will help you progress.”
Work on your strength and flexibility
To optimize your triathlon training during the winter, incorporate exercises different from those specific to your usual three disciplines.
Work on muscle strengthening by doing a few HIIT or CrossFit sessions. Don't focus on gaining muscle mass but rather on exercises that allow you to work on your explosiveness and resistance.
Also intensify your stretching sessions , to improve the lengthening of your muscles and thus your range of motion. 1
Also think about yoga: a discipline which has the merit of making you work on strength, flexibility, but also concentration!
Write yourself a letter
Yes, you read correctly… ?
The idea here is to take advantage of this pivotal period that is winter to work on your goals.
In addition to your flagship race and your program, which we talked about above, consider an initial progression goal at 3 months. And rather than displaying it in capital letters on the entrance mirror (although it can also be an excellent means of daily motivation), describe this objective in detail in a letter. Develop the reasons that push you, at the moment, to set this goal. Detail how you plan to achieve it. Mention the pitfalls you hope to avoid.
Then give this letter to your spouse, a parent, a friend, a training partner, with the mission of returning it to you in 90 days.
By rereading this letter in 3 months, you will be able to very precisely assess your progress. Did you achieve your goal? Was he too ambitious? Or not enough? Have you let yourself be distracted by certain temptations or dulled by the daily grind?
It often happens that we completely forget that we wrote this letter. Which makes reading it, after 90 days, even more informative and emotional!
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Your turn…
And you, what are your tips for training well in winter when doing triathlons?
Don’t hesitate to share your tips on our social networks!
1 http://www.ffs.fr/pdf/dss/FFSdtninfo-techno-etirementsski.pdf (Stretching: interests and limits in the context of competitive and leisure skiing | Nicolas Coumly | Published by the Department Sportsman and Scientist of the FFS | MAY 2008)
