I have a long history with strength training. I think back to my early years of competitive swimming when was around 12 yrs of age, in the gym (supervised by our coach), lifting weights with my swim team. Since then, I can't think of a time in my life when I wasn't strength training. In the later years of college, I interned with the Strength and Conditioning coach of the UK male and female basketball teams. I then went on to graduate school to study Exercise Physiology to become a Strength and Conditioning Coach. Although my career choice has changed since then, I still have a strong passion for Strength and Conditioning.
Although nothing beats the endorphin rush of cardio training, I love the feeling of feeling strong. You never realize how weak you are until you are forced to lift weight (or move your own body weight through specific exercise). While I have had my fair share of soft-tissue related injuries, I have never had a broken bone or stress fracture, and I'd like to think that strength training has helped with that statistic.
As an endurance athlete and triathlon coach, I could never imagine training for such an extreme cardio-sport without a structured strength training plan. From correcting imbalances and improving mobility and efficiency of movements to increasing muscle and connective tissue strength, strength training helps create a a strong, durable and resilient body.
Like any structured training plan, strength training should be periodized, structured and sport-specific. Because the same muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones that assist in movement in your sport must be conditionally strong, powerful, efficient and durable, strength training should compliment your cardio training - helping you perform better in your sport.
It's interesting how many athletes understand the importance of strength training and mobility work but don't make time for it. When the body and mind are tired, time is crunched or motivation is low, strength training is almost always the first thing to go in the athlete's daily/weekly training plan. But it isn't until an athlete gets injured or experiences a setback in training that the athlete will say "I should have kept up with strength training and mobility work."
The great thing about strength and mobility work is that you can get a lot out of a short session of just 20-40 minutes, a few times per week. However, strength training is one of those things were many athletes need guidance, accountability and direction.
To help get you excited about strength training, I want to introduce you to two experts that I have used for my own strength training and I also prescribe their services to my athletes. They are great resources and have a tremendous amount of respect for both of them as they are experts in what they do.
Back in 2014, I came across Chris Johnson's strength training videos on YouTube and I told Karel "I need Chris in my life!" I reached out to Chris when he was in Kona (getting ready for the IM World Championship) and he responded to my email. I highly suggest to check out his website and videos. Since then, Chris has played an integral role in helping us as athletes and coaches. Chris will routinely speak to our athletes about running injuries, strength training, running form and busting popular running myths. He's a fantastic resource and all around great person (and athlete). Chris and his colleagues have written a comprehensive guide on all things strength training. While a great resource for practitioners and runners, any athlete/coach will benefit from this guide.
From the guide "Each chapter covers one exercise as well as the associated progressions and regressions to meet the needs of the runner. For every exercise, we discuss the following: the benefits and rationale, the objective, criteria for success and mastery, relevant cues, and common errors/compensations. Video links are also included to provide runners with a model of performance. While we encourage readers to work through each chapter systematically, one can also quickly jump to specific chapters if they want to focus on a particular exercise. Finally, at the end of the book, three sample programs are provided to give practitioners a window into how the loads between running and resistance training are managed across different demographics."
Triathlon is a challenging, time consuming, exhausting sport as you have to train for 3 different sports. Many triathletes neglect strength training because they;
1) Don't know what exercises are "functional" for the sport
2) Don't feel they have time for it
3) Feel overwhelmed by gym equipment and strength regimes
4) Lack the accountability to perform strength
5) Strength training isn't as fun as cardio training
6) Don't know how to fit it into a cardio-focused routine
Erin comes with a great understanding of how to strength train triathletes. She gets it. Not only does she have experience training many professional triathletes but she is extremely passionate about helping triathletes. Like Chris, she is an triathlete herself. Her knowledge and passion shine through in what she does.
Erin has done something that is revolutionary in the triathlon world - She has also made it very easy for athletes to perform strength (with accountability) with a strength training app. This app is easy to use and it's affordable. I've been using one of her programs (compliments of Erin to try it out) for the past two months and find it incredibly easy to use. I also feel like it targets the areas that I find get weak/sore throughout the season when volume/intensity increase (hip region).
I loved the app/program so much that I partnered with Erin and she is now the official Trimarni strength coach for our entire team. Our athletes are currently performing a 4-week demo program (compliments to Erin) that she has set up for our team. The app provides looped videos, suggested reps and sets and each program is designed to be completed as a compliment to your cardio training. There's also a PDF to explain how to use each program. She has also great mobility (Get the connection) exercises to keep your hips/glutes/back happy with all your swim/bike/run training.
I feel so lucky that we have Erin and Chris as resources for our athletes. I encourage you to consider either (or both) as you get excited about strength training. If you have any questions or would like me to make the connection to Erin or Chris, just send me an email.
1) Don't know what exercises are "functional" for the sport
2) Don't feel they have time for it
3) Feel overwhelmed by gym equipment and strength regimes
4) Lack the accountability to perform strength
5) Strength training isn't as fun as cardio training
6) Don't know how to fit it into a cardio-focused routine
Erin comes with a great understanding of how to strength train triathletes. She gets it. Not only does she have experience training many professional triathletes but she is extremely passionate about helping triathletes. Like Chris, she is an triathlete herself. Her knowledge and passion shine through in what she does.
Erin has done something that is revolutionary in the triathlon world - She has also made it very easy for athletes to perform strength (with accountability) with a strength training app. This app is easy to use and it's affordable. I've been using one of her programs (compliments of Erin to try it out) for the past two months and find it incredibly easy to use. I also feel like it targets the areas that I find get weak/sore throughout the season when volume/intensity increase (hip region).
I loved the app/program so much that I partnered with Erin and she is now the official Trimarni strength coach for our entire team. Our athletes are currently performing a 4-week demo program (compliments to Erin) that she has set up for our team. The app provides looped videos, suggested reps and sets and each program is designed to be completed as a compliment to your cardio training. There's also a PDF to explain how to use each program. She has also great mobility (Get the connection) exercises to keep your hips/glutes/back happy with all your swim/bike/run training.
I feel so lucky that we have Erin and Chris as resources for our athletes. I encourage you to consider either (or both) as you get excited about strength training. If you have any questions or would like me to make the connection to Erin or Chris, just send me an email.
As a final note, just because you call yourself an athlete, don't expect that you can simply rush into lifting heavy weights, join a cross fit class or try out a plyometric routine. Start slow as you may be an experienced athlete but you are probably a beginner at strength training.