Charity Partner
Official Bike Retailer
Gears Multisport Wednesdays. Receive 10% off most items in our store when you shop on Wednesday. Download and print your discount card
Coaching
Running Races
Photographer
4 Ways To Get Faster This Winter by Richard Pady
At the end of every season I hear athletes say the same thing, “ I need to do more next year.” The “more is better in principal”. Unfortunately too often the more has nothing to do with technique and efficiency and everything to do with more time swimming, biking and running the wrong way. Everyone needs to work on form ~ why? I call it FREE SPEED. It’s free because you don’t have to work harder to get faster. For those looking to get the upper edge on their competitors next season, this is what I suggest to throw into your weekly program now, before the base season begins.
-
STRENGTH: Many athletes hit the weight room around this time of year. Make sure you spend time on your stabilizing muscles and weaker primary muscles. We are only as strong as our weakest link. Strengthening weak muscles now can prevent many injuries that sideline athletes during the competition season. Common areas that need work on most triathletes are:
-
Gluteus Medius
-
Hamstrings
-
Transverse Abdominus
-
Hip Flexors
-
and External Rotators.
-
- Swimming Technique: You know you need to work on body position, roll, hand entry…..etc. to improve your swim technique. What I want you to try is to videotape yourself for your entire race distance. Doing the entire distance will enable you to see how your form changes from start to finish. Get both front and side shots. Look to see if your technique breaks down throughout the distance. Repeat this in two to three month’s time after focusing your technique practice to your weak area.
-
Single Leg on the bike: A fantastic drill to improve your bike technique is doing single-leg workouts on an indoor trainer. Here’s how: Warm up for a while with the bike in an easy-to-spin gear. When you’re feeling warm and loose, pull one foot out of the pedal and rest it on the trainer or on a stool next to the bike. Pedal for thirty seconds to a minute trying to be as efficient as possible with your one foot. Pedal easily with both legs for one minute. Repeat the drill with the other leg. It may surprise you how little you pull up. Almost immediately it becomes easier to pedal smoothly during normal pedaling, because you are essentially teaching each leg to pedal in perfect circles. Practice the single-leg drill two to three times a week and you’ll soon have a silky smooth spin and more pedaling power when you hit the road.
-
Running Straight: A great drill to throw into every run you do is hands on head running - Alternate between normal running and hands on head running. Do this on a track or level street and see how hard it can be when you try to run faster. If you have any lateral movement in your normal running gait then it seems to become more pronounced as you run faster. This drill will help teach you to generate energy in a forward motion rather then losing it to side to side motion.
I hope these ideas help your off season training. If you have any
questions regarding any of these drills or techniques please feel free
to contact a coach at Team
HR or by email at info@healthyresults.ca