As we close out the race season and transition to the off-season, it's a great time to evaluate our strengths and weaknesses so we can work on them during this period. For many of us with limited schedules, finding time to fit everything in can be challenging. I'm here to tell you that you don't need to log more running miles, swimming yards, or time on Zwift to improve your triathlon performance. In fact, you’ll likely see better results by reducing those activities and spending more time in the weight room.
Why is this important? As we age, we don’t necessarily lose endurance—in fact, our endurance can improve. What we do lose is strength and speed, which is where we should focus our efforts. I’ve been an advocate for incorporating skills and drills year-round since I started coaching in the 1990s. For swimming, consider fast 25s and 50s for speed work. For cycling, incorporate hard 30-second to 1-minute efforts once a week, and practice pedaling at high cadences—handling 120 RPMs will make 90 RPMs feel much easier. For running, include fast 30-second repeats or hill repeats lasting 30 seconds to 2 minutes; hill work is essentially speed work in disguise. Mixing in these workouts during the off-season will undoubtedly benefit you. When you transition to interval training as you begin your build, your body will be primed to absorb the fitness gains from longer efforts.
Where Should You Spend Your Time in the Off-Season?
Hands down, it should be the weight room. This is especially important if you’re over 40. Strength training enhances balance, aids in weight management, increases bone density, and helps prevent injuries. Stronger tendons and ligaments are less susceptible to injury, contributing to overall longevity. Being stronger and more balanced gives you a significant edge as you age.
Injury Prevention:
Stronger connective tissues allow you to run, bike, and swim faster, longer, and harder while reducing your risk of injury. Through weight training, you’ll become more efficient and faster—strength equals speed! When you’re stronger, your muscles become more fatigue-resistant, making climbs on the bike or swimming through rough water feel less taxing. Additionally, overall strength accelerates recovery between workouts, helping you bounce back quicker from intense sessions. All of these factors contribute to injury resistance, faster recovery, reduced fatigue during hard workouts, and increased speed.
Key Exercises:
What are the best exercises to become a stronger triathlete? Focus on push, pull, hinge, and squat movements. Incorporating these exercises a few days a week can make a significant difference in your performance. At the bottom, I’ll include the link to our D3 FREE 4-WEEK STRENGTH PROGRAM.
Squat Exercise: Squat / Goblet Squat / Thrusters
Hing Exercises: Deadlift / Romanian Deadlift / Good Mornings
Push Exercises: Pushup / Bench Press / Dumbbell Press / MilitaryPress
Pull Exercises: Pullup / Lat pull down / Rows
What Does an Off-Season Weekly Plan Look Like:
2-3x per week of lifting – sessions can be 30-60 minutes.
Typically, one circuit will be about 10-12 minutes.
Sample warm up:
3-way lunges – 2x10 reps
SquatRows – 2x10 reps
Plank to Pushup – 2x10 reps
Main Set 1: 3x10 of all exercises
Main set 2 3x10 of all exercises:
Dead lift
DBPress
V-Ups
Main Set 3 3x10 of all exercises:
Alternate Lunges
Bench Press
What does a Progression Look Like:
3-4 weeks of 3x 10-12 reps
*Add weights as the last few reps get easier
What does a training week look like:
Monday – Easy Swim / Strength
Tuesday – Run with strides / Recovery / Bike
Wednesday - Quality Swim / Strength
Thursday – Bike with 30” efforts / Easy Run
Friday – OFF or Easy Recovery Swim
Saturday – Tempo Bike/ Run w/ Strides
Sunday – Long Run / Core work
If you want a FREE 4 Week Strength Training plan that you can download into your Training Peaks account use this link. I’m happy to answer any questions on strength training – send me an email mike at D3 Multisport dot com
This winter, Get Strong!
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.
