Training - TriDot

Preseason Training: The Optimal Time for Performance Enhancement

Training in the race season is largely dictated by the logistics and demands of an athlete’s upcoming races, but the preseason presents several opportunities for significant improvement and great results in the race season to come. When athletes are not required to train specifically for their next race, they are able to make measurable gains and address areas of weakness and opportunity. So while many athletes are “taking some time off” before the next race season, others are making substantial advancements in their technique and performance level that will give them a competitive edge. Consider these five areas for possible progress: “Fast before far, strong before long” This principle describes one of TriDot’s core training and preseason objectives—maximizing an athlete’s…

Preseason / Training

Kathy Hudson

The Importance of Strength Training During Off Season

During off season one of our top priorities should be to increase muscular strength. Incorporating strength training will improve your performance in all three disciplines, improve recovery, and reduce the frequency and severity of injuries. Strength training sessions will look different during off season. You can push your body a little harder. For example, I would have an athlete doing some plyometrics (if they are ready for that). In addition, add more strength building (heavier weights) with less reps exercises. This builds strength and muscle mass. The more muscle we have the more mitochondria we have. Mitochondria aids in oxygenating our muscles and that’s a good thing. When an athlete is off season, their volume is lower which allows them…

Training

Jared Milam

What's the Perfect Triathlon Racing Weight?

Throughout my years in triathlon I’ve heard a lot of athletes ask about a particular physiological subject of which I’ve never placed much stock in myself. A simple topic that we as a nation are obsessed with: body weight. Macca’s Story The general consensus among endurance athletes, many of which are triathletes, is that “the lighter I am, the faster I will go.” Chris McCormack (affectionately known at Macca) directly challenged this line of thinking in an article for Triathlete from June 2015. Chris began by noting, “I’d say 99 percent of people I talk to in this sport believe weight’s relationship to performance is as simple as ‘less is better.’ This is a half-truth – the weight puzzle…

Body Weight / Race Strategy / Training

Jeff Booher

Episode 101: Data-Driven Triathlon Training

In this episode, we examine the very foundation of your triathlon training. What is your training based on? What are you trusting in for results? We explore data-driven training and how you can have complete confidence that you’re getting the most possible out of your training. Data-driven triathlon training uses predictive analytics and other big-data technologies to design and optimize an athlete's training. To be defined as "data-driven", BOTH an athlete's individual data AND training and race data from a large population (big data) of similar athletes are required in the training design process to produce an optimal and individualized outcome for each athlete. In this approach, data is the basis of the training and drives decision-making and…

Advanced Analytics / Training / Triathlon

Jared Milam

5 Goal-Setting Tips for Triathletes

A shot in the dark gets you one of two things: Either a very happy-to-be-alive deer or a very upset neighbor with a newly flattened truck tire. You need a light to shine the way. In triathlon, that light is a goal. A finish line you can run toward. Triathlon goals are different for every triathlete. For some it’s beating their PR. For others it’s placing top 5 in their age group. Maybe you want to qualify for Kona. Or maybe you just want to finish your first triathlon. The goal-setting possibilities are endless! But if you have yet to set a goal or are having trouble deciding what it should be, consider these five tips for triathletes to ensure…

Training / Triathlon

Jared Milam

The Mind of a Triathlete: How to Clear It and Exercise It

It’s been said that triathlon is a mental sport. But truth be told, well… actually, yeah, it is. Far too often we “data-buffs” find ourselves deep in the nitty-gritty of the science of triathlon training, nutrition, and gear optimization that we forget to mention how our brains are going to handle all of it. To state the obvious, triathlon takes focus and lots of it. This is something most of us struggle with. Fear and distractions are what take athletes with great potential and limit them to mediocrity. How do we exercise our minds to keep them focused? And how do we clear them to avoid fears and distractions? Tempered Expectations One of the best ways to focus your mind…

Psychology / Training / Triathlon

Jared Milam

How is the Diaphragm and Breathing Relevant to Triathlon?

I think I can say with confidence that in 2014 I was the only pro triathlete on the IRONMAN circuit with slats of cardboard taped under his aero pads. “Cardboard?” you wonder? “Under where?” you ask. Yeah, I thought it was silly too. Why did I cut up pieces of cardboard and perform an arts and craft project on my triathlon bike? Because I was desperate to breathe. The wheezing was something I can only describe as borderline bronchitis. My position on my old triathlon bike was such that every ride would end in a persistent nagging cough. My breathing was hindered and surely my performance was as well. I was convinced that my diaphragm was resting in an unnatural…

Race Strategy / Training / Triathlon

Jared Milam

The Top 3 Points to Consider in Your Triathlon Race Strategy: Nutrition

Part 3 in a 3-part series. While pacing is the foundation of triathlon race strategy and swim strategy the starting point, let’s now move on to the final strategy that keeps everything in check: race nutrition. Nutrition Race nutrition as a triathlon race strategy means planning for the following: what you’re going to use as fuel, when to consume it, and how you’re going to consume it amidst constant movement. We won’t get into product specifics because nutrition is so highly dependent on the individual. However, there are a few takeaways for your triathlon race strategy, which apply to nearly everyone. First, what you consume needs to work for you based on how many calories you need per hour, what…

Nutrition / Race / Race Strategy / Training / Triathlon

Jared Milam

The Top 3 Points to Consider in Your Triathlon Race Strategy: Swim Strategy

Part 2 in a 3-part series. In the first entry of this blog series, we introduced the topic of pacing. While pacing, especially on the bike and run in long course triathlon, is hugely important, its application is minimized if your day is already over in the swim. You need a solid swim strategy to complement your overall triathlon race performance. While the swim is always the shortest portion of a triathlon, its importance is well warranted. You can’t win in the swim alone, but you can certainly lose in it. How you train for and execute in the swim leg can affect the rest of your race. By utilizing the best swim strategy for YOU, exiting the lake ramp…

Race Strategy / Swim / Training / Triathlon

Jared Milam

The Top 3 Points to Consider in Your Triathlon Race Strategy: Pacing

Part 1 in a 3-part series. Toughness is a quality required in all endurance sports, but triathlon necessitates a little something extra. And that something extra is gumption. To be a triathlete you need to be shrewd, resourceful, and strategic. A laundry list of tactics is available in the bank of triathlon knowledge to maximize your triathlon race. What are the top three points to consider in triathlon race strategy? Let’s narrow it down to these invaluable topics of interest: Pacing Swim Strategy Nutrition. In today’s blog, we’ll look at pacing. Pacing in a triathlon, regardless of distance, is perhaps the single most important aspect of triathlon race strategy. Much like weekly training, your level of intensity exerted during the…

Race / Race Strategy / Training / Triathlon

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