MAKE THE MOST OF THE OFF-SEASON
Hoping to improve your tri performance for 2023? Here are five tips to lay the groundwork
1) PLAN AHEAD
If you do just one thing in the off-season, this should be it. Planning is essential and should be split into a number of component parts:
• Plan each week. Liaise with your coach, if you have one, to schedule your training to suit you and your lifestyle. Look at the key swim, bike and run sets you need to complete, and make sure that you’ll hit these sessions as fresh as possible.
• Plan your gym, conditioning and injury- prevention work into your week so that it becomes part of your normal training regime.
• Plan training in blocks throughout the year – focusing on swim, bike, a specific run speed and so on. While you’re in a focused block of training adjust sessions for the other disciplines to avoid becoming overtrained and feeling flat.
• Finally, plan your race schedule. It’s important to know what you’re training for and when a peak in performance is required.
2) INVEST IN S&C
This is the ideal time for strength and conditioning (S&C) activities. Unfortunately, it’s all too often overlooked because we simply don’t have the time or energy to dedicate to it. Change that for good by implementing an S&C plan that focuses on improving your core stability/ movement efficiency. By doing so, you’ll reap the benefits when race season begins.
3) CHECK YOUR NUTRITION
The off-season provides a good opportunity to work with a sports dietitian, to ensure that once training begins to ramp up, your workload can be matched with adequate fuelling. This can not only help reduce injury, but also optimise performance. And, as there’s no racing for a few months, it’s the perfect time to experiment so you can get things right without having any mishaps on race day.
4) ANALYSE YOUR TECHNIQUE
The off-season represents an ideal time to take a look at yourself and analyse your performances from this year. Think about any weaknesses you may have and be brutally honest! You can then consider improving your technique through a professional swim and/or run analysis. No matter how good a triathlete you are, there’s always room for improvement and addressing any issues with technique will help prevent future injury and could result in you achieving a PB next year. Consider the below:
• Swimming: Book a lesson or speak to a swim coach for more detailed stroke analysis. It may be helpful to swim regularly in order to practise drills and technique.
• Cycling: Spinning classes provide a good way of keeping some bike focus in your programme and are more sociable in the off-season than a lonely turbo session.
• Running: You might want to reduce training load to minimise injury risks, but running drills are a great way to work on any technique issues.
5) FINE-TUNE YOUR BIKE SET-UP
Being the longest leg in a triathlon, the bike is one of the most logical places for you to make performance gains as you strive for a new PB. And the best place to start? Well, that’s a bike fit, as it’ll ensure you not only have a bike that fits, but also one that’s adjusted to fit your body’s unique body proportions and physiological demands.
The start of the off-season is a great time to undertake a bike fit, so you can rehearse your refined riding position through late autumn, winter and early spring. A company like London-based Cyclefit has bike fits starting from £250. “We’ll assess the rider’s position on our jig via four cameras,” explains Cyclefit’s Julian Wall. “We’ll then adjust the bike set-up – saddle height, fore-and-aft, potential adjustments to feet… and follow up within three months to check all is on track.”