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If you’re an athlete like myself, then you hate to take a break. Stopping training is normally well out of the question. However, as Courtney Johnson writes, taking a break over the winter months can be the best training for the mind and body. The leaves are turning a blazing red and rich gold. A chilly air greets you in the morning and evening. Looking at the race calendar, you find your weekends blank. This must mean that autumn is returning and the off-season is upon you.
Maybe you accomplished all your goals this season; maybe a few weren’t achieved because of life’s commitments. No matter how great or ugly the season turned out, it’s time to let your bike collect a little dust, to put the wetsuit away and to finally drink something else on weekends other than electrolytes.
While juggling work, family, and maybe even school on top of triathlon training, one major component that gets overlooked is true rest. Now that tri-racing is winding down, you should take at least two to three weeks of pure rest. This is also the time to start healing those nagging injuries you’ve been ignoring all season.
Attend that rugby match you’ve been putting off, visit an orchard or vineyard as they harvest for the autumn, or go on a hike to observe the leaves changing. The mind should be on anything but swimming, biking or running at this time while you refresh your engine. “An off-season is all about letting the central nervous system recover,” says recent 70.3 Ironman St. Croix winner Terenzo Bozzone. “If you can keep a certain amount of fitness without using any mental energy, that’s ideal. It is really important to have an off-season and get away from the sport for a short time to refresh your mind and reboot your engine.”
If after two-to-three weeks of solid rest you are itching to be active again, then choose low impact activities or try something totally new like surfing, ultimate frisbee or hitting the links in the first part of our down time. “One of the most important factors is that cross training ensures general fitness is maintained throughout the off-season and allows the athlete to have a solid aerobic base to build on come the start of the next season,” says Jason Pilgrim, accredited exercise physiologist and managing director of In2 Motion Physiotherapy and Exercise Physiology. “Without this base, too many athletes start training the house down to develop this base and they are more susceptible to injuries early season. An early season injury due to a poor off season can ruin a whole racing season.”
Any form of cross training will give you much-needed variety and help the burnout that often comes from a full triathlon season. “Training should not be just about punishing your body,” Pilgrim says. “Keep in mind that cross training during the off-season should be fun. Utilise this time to experience new things. Do some mountain biking, try paddling/canoeing, join a gym, learn to surf, maybe play some touch football in a local comp with friends – whatever it is, try to keep it fun. By getting away from triathlon specific training early in the off season, your motivation to return and get back into it will increase and make your triathlon training and racing later, much more enjoyable.”
Seven-time Ironman New Zealand winner Jo Lawn spends time doing gym work and walking. “It is super important to cross train,” she says. “As a full time athlete, it is still important in the off-season to keep exercising. Our bodies are so used to sport that when we completely stop, our body doesn’t understand what is happening, our muscles and tendons all tighten up. Often, getting back into shape we would be more at risk of injuring something. So by going walking and doing gym work, it is for sure giving my mind a break, but still working my muscles.”
There is no set formula for cross training or the off-season, which means you can be as structured or unstructured as you want to be. However, you do want to have a purpose for each workout in order to get the most out of it, whether it is to help rehabilitate an injury, give your mind a break or to build confidence.
As you get closer to a new race season, more specific workouts working on building back up the cardiovascular system and endurance should be built in. A focus on technique, especially swimming, through drills should also be emphasised.
If you have a nine-to-five, children that need be run back and forth to practices, and less time to train then some of your competitors, consider cross training activities that work the same muscle groups as triathlon. If you have one area of weakness, focus on ways to improve that discipline without having to actually swim, bike or run.
You may also want to consider what distance triathlete you are and base your cross training on that. If you are a short distance triathlete, speed is important (anaerobic and upper aerobic) so you might consider joining a soccer league where you use bursts of quick energy and speed, and raise your blood lactate levels.
For longer endurance athletes, cross-country skiing is a low impact choice that provides great aerobic exercise in a short amount of time. Half Ironman and Olympic distance triathletes use a combination of anaerobic and aerobic. Sports like tennis, squash and martial arts use both systems.
The off-season is a good time to hit the gym, which often gets overlooked during the race season. “Don’t neglect the importance of strength training,” Pilgrim says. “Weight-based exercises, such as functional strength exercises, assist in gaining more muscular strength. Early in a season, athletes will try to develop their triathlon training programs towards ‘strength’ weeks on the ride and run, but how can your body develop strength if it had nothing to build on to start with? That’s why doing functional cross training weight sessions involving exercises like squats, lunges etc help your body develop overall muscular strength.”
Core strength, which is essential to all three triathlon disciplines, and muscle imbalances, should be a central focus while in the weight room. “I do a lot of gym work, and core work during this time,” Lawn says. “I work the large muscles in the off season as this is the best time to do these exercises because it sets you up for upcoming training.” Plyometrics, jumping rope and other explosive exercises will help build power.
Go to the gym with a purpose. “An important thing here is that your exercise sessions are structured,” Pilgrim says. ”Put simply, if you do really heavy weights in small sets of reps, you will build muscular size. But carrying additional kilograms around each triathlon might not be your goal. Rather, doing moderate weights for sets of 20 or 30 is a great way to develop strength, endurance and for getting muscles used to working hard for extending periods of time.”
While you’re at the gym, one of the most underused but beneficial pieces of equipment is the rowing machine. This non-impact exercise works the lower body, upper body and with proper technique the core as well, with benefits in as little as 10 minutes. Also, don’t overlook the benefits of the elliptical, stair and versa climbers either. These machines are easy on the body, great for recovery and offer an alternative where interval and speed workouts can still be fit in.
Yoga and Pilates will both strengthen overall flexibility and efficiency. Performing moves that stretch the same muscles you continually use will help with compensation, imbalances and muscle rigidity.
For swimming, climbing and bouldering are great alternatives that work the same muscle groups. Indoor climbing and bouldering are both mental and physical activities that mimic race day. It helps strengthen the muscles needed to pull in the water efficiently and also helps build leg strength for both kicking and pushing off the wall.
Sports such as skiing especially telemark and touring, help both cycling and running by building core and leg strength. Cross-country skiing works the whole body while raising the VO2 max to new heights. Since Nordic is so technique driven, taking a lesson is a good idea to make sure you are working smarter and not harder.If you want to improve your bike handling skills, hitting the trails on a mountain bike or doing some cyclocross racing will help you build your confidence while allowing you to get a break from the white and yellow lines on the road, not to mention that unpleasant car exhaust. Skill and workout specific spin class keeps you away from solo rides on the trainer while riding with others keeps you motivated while stuck indoors.TMSM |
