D3 TRAINING TERMINOLOGY

A triathlon coach looking over the training plan
January 24, 2017

Mike Ricci

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Terms, abbreviations and drills that you need to know:
WU: Warm up
CD: Cool down‘ = minutes“ = seconds
MS = Main Set
RPE = rate of perceived exertion
RI = rest interval 
MOP = Middle of the Pack 
FOP = Front of the Pack
Core 1-6 (use this link  - click on Core 1-6 Category)

Workout Types: 
Recovery: So easy you feel guilty for going that easy.
Aerobic Endurance: The ability to maintain a higher speed for a longer period of time while still doing it aerobically. Usually, this would be a run in Heart Rate Zone 2. 
Steady State: an even paced aerobic workout, for example, a Zone 2 ride for 3 hours could be described as "Steady State"
Tempo: Not easy enough to be 100% aerobic and certainly going so hard that you feel as though you are racing a hard 10k. 
LT = Lactate Threshold: The point in a workout where aerobic respiration (metabolism) begins to be replaced by anaerobic respiration signified by an increase in lactic acid.  Also known as 'anaerobic threshold'.  Training near LT improves the body’s ability to process lactate while also teaching the muscles to conserve glycogen and glucose fuel sources. It also helps you become more resistant to fatigue. The result of this type of training is an increase in your speed at and near LT.
VO2: The non-scientific definition follows: Training at VO2max increases the amount of oxygen your body can use. Obviously, the more oxygen you can use, the faster you can run, bike or swim. Additionally,  VO2max training can increase the efficiency and improve your form. Since VO2max workouts are much faster than normal training, they force you to run more efficiently and with better form. Training at VO2max also increases leg muscle strength and power, which improves your economy.
BT: 'Breakthrough' Workout - an important workout that is intended to cause a significant, positive, adaptive response. 
Brick:
 Doing one workout immediately after another.  Simulates race day. This could be a swim / bike, swim /run, or bike/run.   
TT: Time Trial - your best effort over the given time or distance. 

Swim Workout Definitions:
Pull Buoy (PB): A swim aid that you put between your legs to help you maintain a neutral body position while concentrating on your pull rather than trying to remember everything at once. 
Kickboard:  A buoyant board used to keep the upper body of a swimmer afloat while allowing free movement of the legs, used chiefly to improve kicking technique or develop leg strength and endurance.
Paddles: A hand paddle is a device worn by swimmers during training. It consists of a plastic plate worn over the swimmer's palm and attached over the back of the swimmer's hand with elastic cords. The plate is often perforated with a pattern of holes. ... Paddles are often used with pull buoys to build up arm strength.
PBB: paddles/buoy/band
Pads: Paddles 
Swim Band:
A rubber band (you can use an old tire tub for this)  that goes around your ankles and helps as an aide to help produce muscular endurance and a strength component.  
DPS: distance per stroke
OWS: Open water swim
T-Pace / Base Pace: Swim test time / the number of 100 you swam. If you swam 20:00 for 1,000 yards, then your T-Pace would equal 20:00/10 for a T-Pace of 2:00 per 100
Base/BI:
 The base interval is the interval you use for all send-offs’  ie: . For 100's on +10, the 1:40 lane’s sendoff is 1:50, which is the base interval, 1:40, plus 10 seconds. The correct base interval will allow you to do 6 to 10 X 100 freestyle (about 10 to 12 minutes of swimming) on that interval at 80% of maximum heart rate with a couple of seconds rest per 100. 
Negative Split:
  Negative Split means that the second half of the distance is swum/run/biked at a faster pace than the first halfLoosen (Swim) - just means easy - 'loosen up', whether it be easy free, back, breast.
Descending: Swim each repetition faster than the previous.  ( some don’t know this- really)
Build:
 Building is different from Descending in that the swimmer's goal is to increase speed within the single swim distance(s).  
Sculling: Moving your hand back and forth in the water, at your hips, your shoulder or over your head to keep your body balanced in the water while providing some propulsion. More specifically, this means to gently propel yourself through the water by moving your hands close to and just under your hips, using the figure-eight pattern. Basically, just easily push yourself through the water on your back.
IM:  Individual Medley - Fly, back, breast, free. 
Choice:  Any kicking style: free, back, breast or fly. 
FTD/FDD:
 Finger Tip Drag Drill  - With each arm recovery, drag your fingertips through the water close to your body. This helps you really rotate your torso to get your elbow high enough to keep your fingertips in the water.
SAD: Single Arm Drill - Push off the wall with both arms extended in front of you with your hands touching, one on top of the other. Rotate to your side so that you are lying on your left side with your left arm in front on you. Now, swim down the pool, using only your right arm - once you get to the other end, try the same thing, this time lying on your right side and swimming with your left arm only. Keep a strong kick going and focus on the pull portion of the stroke.
CUD: Catch Up Drill - Push off the wall with both arms extended in front of you touching each other. Start with the right arm and take a full stroke, coming to rest in the forward position, before the left arm starts its pull. Repeat this all the way to the other side of the pool. Keep a strong kick going and focus on the pull portion of the stroke.  
CFD: Closed Fist Drill - You will be swimming freestyle with your hands closed in a fist. This should get you to have a better 'feel' for the water.  Unless noted otherwise, this is usually done by swimming with your hands closed in a fist for 4 strokes and then open your hands for 4 strokes, alternating until you get to the other end. 
'Finish':  As you start to finish your stroke, think about brushing your thumb low on your thigh - toward your knee - so think about the extension of the triceps - that same exact tricep exercise you may have done in the weight room. 
Kick (Regular):
 Regular kickboard kick or kick on back with hands over head, fingers locked. 
Right Side Kick:  Kick on your right side, with right shoulder pointed to the skyHead: Relaxed, underwater, look at the side of the pool. Advanced it to look at the bottom, but be sure to maintain vertical shoulders when on your side: shoulders perpendicular to bottom of the pool.Arms: Left arm extended, right hand rests on left thigh.Toes: Toes pointed, ankles relaxed. Keep width of kick within “tube” created by your body: relatively narrow.Breath: Take a small sculling motion with right hand and roll head easily to breathe. Exhale slowly and smoothly.Notes: 1. Keep shoulders perpendicular to pool bottom. “Point belly to the side of the pool.” 2. Relatively narrow kick. 3. Smooth breath by rolling your head up to the sky. 
Left Side Kick: -Just the opposite of above with the Right Side Kick 
Stomach Kick: Push off the wall with hands by your side, pressing head and chest into water, helping the legs come up. Kick steady for the length of the pool, rotating your body to the side to get a breath when needed.  
Six Kick Change: Start with Right Side Kick. 6 kicks, then pull and roll over to Left Side Kick. 6 kicks left side, roll, repeat   
Six/Three: Start with Right Side Kick. 6 kicks, then pull three arms strokes, ending up on your left side. Kick 6 kicks on your left side, then take 3 arm pulls to rotate over to your right side. Repeat. 
Swim Golf: Add up your 50 yd/m time and the # of strokes for the 50 yd/m – for example: 50 seconds and 50 strokes for a 50 yard swim would give you a golf sore of 100

Bike Workout Definitions
RPM:
  Revolutions Per Minute or ‘cadence’
ILT : Isolated Leg Training: lets us isolate one leg at a time to find the skip in your pedal stroke. As we get more efficient the skips get less common and the pedal stroke gets smoother and the cyclist is able to apply more force to the pedal stroke
OLDS: One Leg Drills or ILT (above)
Big Gear: Riding at a cadence of 50-60 RPMs in order to generate power for sustained climbs, riding into the wind or anything with resistance.  
Spin Ups: Pushing your cadence to well over 100 RPMS, usually between 110-120. 
Max Spin Ups: Spinning as fast as you can for a few seconds. You may build to 130, 150 or even 170 RPMs. 
*More on Power Terms - please see our Power Training Terminology article.

Run Workout Definitions
Kenyan and 'Pretty' Running:
 Lean forward, roll off your big toes, keep hand above your waist, look about 6 feet in front of you with your eyes, drive your elbows back and never cross your midline with your hands.  
Strides: aka 'pick-ups' - Short repeats at a 5K pace  (not a sprint!) with a nice easy recovery in-between.
Shake out run: Super easy run to keep blood flowing and increase blood capillary development. Don't at that 'guilty pace' typically. 
Heart Rate Zones:
 



RPE/HR Zone Chart

Coach Mike Ricci is the Founder and Head Coach for D3 Multisport.  His coaching style is ‘process-focused’ vs. ‘results-focused.’ When working with an athlete, their understanding of how and why they are improving is always going to take precedence over any race result. Yes, there is an end goal, but in over 2 decades of coaching, experience has shown him that if you do the right work, and for the right reasons, the results will follow.

Coach Mike is a USAT Level III Elite Certified Coach, Ironman University Certified Coach, and Training Peaks Level II Certified Coach. He was honored as the USAT Coach of the Year.

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