In this morning’s blog, we discussed two key reasons why “fast before far and strong before long” is a wiser, more productive training strategy: It emphasizes stamina over endurance and recovery over merely logging miles.
Here are two more crucial benefits:
1. Fast Before Far and Strong Before Long emphasizes proper form
Perhaps the greatest casualty in the “first far then fast” mentality is it often produces poor athletic form. As the body overstresses and is exhausted by the overreached distance, it starts to break down and lose form. The result is poor body mechanics, as the body isn’t as fresh, alert, and responsive as it should be.
TriDot Founder and four-time IRONMAN Jeff Booher cautions athletes to avoid “having too much stress on any day so that they’re recovering and not in a chronic fatigue state.” He adds, “So many of them want to push too far, thinking more is better, and when they’re in that fatigue state, they do most of their running with bad form. So they end up habituating poor form and teaching their body to run slow. Heart rate variability is an important metric in fatigue management as it relates to determining your level of recovery from the prior workout.”
2. Fast Before Far and Strong Before Long emphasizes decreased training time and injuries
One of the most obvious advantages to the “fast before far” approach versus mere mile logging is that it takes less training time, though the workouts are more intense.
It stands to reason that if you’re running shorter distances at faster speeds, you’ll spend less time working out. Most athletes will accept that tradeoff every day.
Of course, if you’re spending less time training (and remember, you’ll be stronger, too), you’ll also be less susceptible to injury – the downfall to many an athlete. And the less time you’re recovering from injury, notwithstanding the obvious prevention of added stress and strain on the body, the more time you’ll spend building additional strength and speed.
The four points demonstrated in this two-part blog outline how TriDot’s approach challenges the conventional wisdom in triathlon training.
Fast before far. Strong before long. Believe it and put it to work… before long.
TRIDOT TAKEAWAY:
“Fast before far and strong before long” not only emphasizes stamina and recovery, it also encourages proper form and reduces injury and training time.
TRIDOT TALK:
Would you be willing to incorporate this strategy if you could experience the benefits discussed?
