Let’s face it, not everyone has the luxury of stepping outside twelve months of the year to train in seventy degree, sun filled conditions. Also true is the fact that lots of individuals don’t have the liberty to train during a lunch break from work, or even find time during daylight to fit in their workouts. This is where training indoors becomes essential. Triathlon, with its three disciplines, provides flexibility and variance in training, which can allow those with busy work schedules or tough weather conditions to fit sessions in.
Swim training for the bulk of triathletes is completed in a pool. Whether swimming on your own, or joining a Masters group, training in a pool allows you to focus a great deal on technique and pacing. Since swimming is so technique based compared to biking and running, spending time in a pool where someone can evaluate your stroke can be beneficial in your progression and improvement, especially if you are new to the sport. Through perfecting your stroke in the pool and fine tuning your movements for efficiency, you will notice that you’ll be swimming faster and conserving energy that you’ll need come race day for the bike and run. Swimming outdoors, in open water, most closely simulates what you will experience in a triathlon race. However, open water swimming can be resembled in the pool by swimming continuously for twenty to thirty minutes at a time or incorporating open water swim drills such as sighting (raising your head above the water to see in front of you). Lastly, if you race triathlon wearing a wetsuit, you can swim in your wetsuit in the pool to get your body used to the feeling. Swimming outdoors in open water will help you most closely replicate the swim in a triathlon race, but there are several alternatives in the pool that will get you ready to make the plunge.
Many triathletes argue that bicycle training indoors is tedious. However, cycling indoors is safer, can be social in the form of spin classes, and gets you strong with the lack of coasting- something that you constantly experience while riding outside. Perhaps even better is that riding indoors can be done at anytime of the day. If you have a bike trainer, is it easy to set up and you can ride your own bike while watching a movie or hanging out with the family. Also, spin classes are popular for early risers and provide a great workout on stationary spin bikes with upbeat music and a motivating instructor. Riding outside is important for development of bike handling skills and experience of varying terrains from flat roads to challenging climbs. However, in the thick of the cold winter or in battling a hectic schedule, cycling indoors can be easier logistically, safer, and will give you strength and conditioning to succeed in triathlon.
Running is perhaps the easiest of the three disciplines to train outdoors for. If you can stand drastic weather conditions, and have a window of thirty to sixty minutes in your day, it is simple to strap on a pair of running shoes and get out the door. It doesn’t take long for your heart rate to increase and for the endorphins to kick in, leaving you satisfied for the rest of the day. Training indoors for running can be beneficial for a few reasons. Running on a treadmill is great for trying to build strength endurance. For example, if you are working towards a goal of running eight minutes per mile, you can easily set the treadmill and work to stay at that pace, while pace fluctuates more regularly running outdoors. Treadmills are great for speed work as well, and you can simulate short and fast intervals while focusing on turnover and form. Often times, there are mirrors around training equipment in gyms, which provides you with a vehicle to evaluate your form while running. Lastly, the treadmill can be a successful outlet to running when dealing with some pain or an injury, as it provides a flat surface, different from the steeped roads or uneven trails.
Not only does triathlon have three disciplines, but also many variations of ways to train for each. Indoors or out, the blend of swimming, biking and running will be sure to keep you fit and challenge you in news ways each day.
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