Hi, I'm in high school right now and am getting interested in training for a triathlon. I run and swim, and I want to start biking soon. What sort of indoor exercises (not sure about the correct terminology for this, but I do know that in swimming terms it would be called "dryland") do I want to do to supplement me along? I know core workouts are pretty essential, but what else?
James
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I do yoga, to help improve flexibility and tone muscles a bit. I also do balance work, as poor balance in running means large energy exertion, and in swimming means extra drag. In cycling, this means you swerve all over the road, and cover more distance.
I also use an indoor bike trainer. There are 2 types-turbo trainer, (or simply, turbo) and rollers. Rollers are more expensive, and hold your bike on 3 rolling tubes-2 for the back wheel, one for the front. You pedal, but youre not fixed, so you can use essential biking skills such as balance. With a turbo, the back wheel is fixed in place, and held on a roller. Most usually wear tyres down very quickly, but new ones are less like this. New ones can also be connected to a computer, apparently, so you can race with others around the world.
Dryland work involves weights work in a gym, and circuit training. A good swim circuit revolves around 4 exercises-burpees (press up position, then pull your legs in, and shoot them ack out for 1 rep), tricep dips (sitting down with a knee height ledge behind you. Place hands on the ledge, push your body up to rest position, then down to almost sitting, then up for one rep), pull ups (pull your body up with the arms with a bar above your height) and press ups (you should know that). Its a 15 minute circuit, so spend around 3 mins 45 seconds on each exercise. Remember to swap around as your muscles fatigue. Dont follow tricep dips with press ups, or vice versa-but the other exercises in between.
Remember, these workouts dont replace training-you should still get out there, and work on all the skills needed for the disciplines. Good luck!
Karen
Sprints, generally, for average athletes are less than three hours. Some places have Super Sprints (even shorter than a regular sprint), but for a first time event, you're good going with the sprint triathlon, which typically are around a 1/4-mile swim, 10-15 mile bike ride and up to 5k (3.2 mile) run. First thing to convey to your class is that it takes guts just to enter and commit to the race, so how it ends doesn't even matter. It's about the comradrie that ironically comes with this uniquely individual sport. And, it's about living a healthy lifestyle (losing those few extra pounds we all seem to carry). Train together as a group. If you know what the route of the race is, use that on occassion to gauge your progress as race day approaches. To train, for instance, the bike ride, you don't always need to go the full distance. Instead, first get used to riding 1/2 the distance. A good way to improve endurance (for cycling, running and swimming) is interval training. For the beginners, warm up 20-30 minutes. Then, sprint hard and all-out for 10 seconds, then back off and "spin" (high cadence, low power) for up to a minute to recover, then do it again and again and again. 15-20 minutes of this will wear out a beginner. As your class progresses, increas the time of the sprint without increasing the recovering time. Does your community have a cycling or running or swimming club? Give them a ring and see if you can't train with them. Some places even have an organized tri club. Once you get used to doing the events individually, combine them in what is called "brick" training. Go for a swim, then ride your bike for 30 mintes. Or, ride for 30 minutes, then run a mile and a half. Once or twice before May, put all three together in short duration, then for the full-length of the race. Good luck and congrats for bring your team into this. Sponsors? Maybe you can get the school to sponsor the entry fee, especially if you can tie-in learning points to your training: selecting proper running shoes, proper nutrition, hydration, rest and training.
cgswimbikerun
Our team does a lot of spin classes and treadmill running if it gets really cold. And the spin class to treadmill brick is good training over the winter as well. If you can get a "trainer" for your bike that tends to translate the best to actual riding.
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jump roping and excercise biking