Strength Training For Triathlon
Article by Rob Aitken
Matt Roberts Chelsea
November 2011
When discussing the topic of strength training for endurance sports like triathlon, many may see it as time better spent on the road or in the pool. Athletes and coaches may also be put off under the belief that performance will be negatively affected by extra weight from building muscle mass.
Although it is important to prepare properly in the pool and on the road it could be argued that the need to prepare in the gym is just as imperative. It is well documented that in the domain of physical sports great gains can be made when an appropriate strength training program is prescribed. It is the aim of this article to describe in relation to triathlon, how these gains are made and why the effects will only be positive on performance.
The term ‘strength training’ can be interpreted in many different ways. Depending on the goal of a training program, variables such as volume (sets and repetitions) and intensity (load) will vary drastically as will the choice of exercises and training frequency.
Some may believe that for endurance sports like triathlon strength training should use a high volume and low intensity (high reps and low weights) approach to be more sport specific. There is evidence that shows this approach can have a small, but significant increase in VO2max which could contribute to enhanced endurance. However, this could be countered by the argument that any increases in VO2max or other cardio respiratory measures should occur through the training athletes do in the pool or on the road and that strength training should be used to improve performance through other mechanisms.
For triathlon therefore, it could be argued that the goal of a strength training program should be to improve the ability to express strength quickly, otherwise known as power. If we use running as an example, each foot contact lasts only a fraction of a second making it difficult to generate a lot of force. It is therefore important to increase the rate at which force is produced so that stronger muscle contractions can occur more quickly and translate to faster running. Gaining strength in this way can also have profound effects on motor control attributes that may lead to increased economy of movement. In other words an athlete would use less energy for the same distance travelled, compared to a less movement-efficient athlete. It is easy to see how this translates to the other disciplines as someone pushing faster and more forcefully on a pedal or pulling themselves powerfully through the water while at the same time using energy in an efficient way will undoubtedly be at an advantage.
There are many ways in which strength training is used to improve how powerful an athlete is. Ultimately it requires an athlete to improve their maximum strength and the speed at which this strength can be applied.
One of the major muscular properties that affect strength is neuromuscular efficiency. This is a broad concept that refers to contribution of brain-muscle communications to strength performance. The fact that gains in neuromuscular efficiency happen independently of muscle growth make it especially important for triathletes i.e. with the right kind of training strength gains can be made without adding extra muscle mass which many athletes fear can decrease performance.
Physical training in any form brings about changes in the neuromuscular system. These changes can enable you to contract your muscles faster, more forcefully and more efficiently. The key is to train in such a way that you maximise these neuromuscular adaptations. In brief, the best way to do this is to use a very high intensity (load) with very few repetitions. In other words to maximise your muscular strength you must use your maximal muscle strength, in training. In general this type of training should focus on improving the performance of a few key compound movements that test multiple muscle groups e.g. squats, deadlifts and pull ups. This way the whole body can be challenged with fewer exercises making the training session more time efficient.
Making strength gains in this way will allow you to exert more force but you also need to have a speed element so that the force can be exerted quickly allowing you to become more powerful. This can be achieved with the use of plyometric exercises or explosive ballistic movements like broad jumps and vertical jumps.
One key principle to remember when embarking on a strength training program of this type is that the execution of an exercise should never be compromised by the load. If an athlete cannot perform an exercise with good form and a full range of movement then the load should be reduced until they can.
Constructing a well balanced strength program that ties in all these elements and circumvents the incompatibility between strength and endurance training is a very complex task. Factors ranging from the choice of exercise to the timing of a weights session with regards to rest of an athlete’s training all need to be considered. In addition the training age of an athlete and their experience with resistance training should not be overlooked. However if an athlete has increased their training volume and intensity as much as they can, or if they cannot handle the physical stress of anymore miles then working with heavy weights and plyometric exercises may be the next step in their training program.
