If you're looking for swim specific strength and bike specific strength you could basically do what FB says. For swimming get a set of hand paddles and do some intervals with them. 10x50m with a set of paddles and about 15 seconds between each swim works well as a start. For biking you could do hill reps or on a flat road get into a high gear so you're working pretty hard with cadence around 60-65 and do something like 10 x 2 minutes at that cadence spinning easily for 30s during your breaks.
i'm not convinced weight training helps much with swimming until your texhnique is spot on. Pull ups, pushups and core strength should be the main focus I think. Squats are probably very beneficial to cycling. If i was doing squats i'd do sets of about 20 reps with a managable weight. No point lifting as much as possible. And i'd follow up any weight training with lots of stretching.
I think having a strong core will help with both - it supports posture whilst swimming, and on the bike. Strong shoulders and triceps are good for swimming too
paddles are good for building swim strength, but unless you have good swim technique to start with, then they are likely to cause more damage than do good. focus on swimming a lot and develop your technique before moving to paddles.
there are other things you can use for swimming strength such as strech cords (fancy bungees by an other name), drag/mesh shorts (increase water resistance) etc, check out some of these on here - http://www.swimshop.co.uk/showall/true/Resistance-CSTARESISTRA/
as for building bike strength, turbo sessions over winter can be good for building leg strength, or use a mountain bike and ride off road - more trail resistance, knobbly tyres and extra bike weight will help build strength.
There will be those that say "Just swim and bike more" ... do hill reps ... use hand paddles etc
But i am not of that thought
For me if all i do is S/B/R I stagnate .. loose motivation and drop too many sessions
So
I am a big fan of introducing both variety and non sport specific strength training in the off season
When i talk about non sport specific strength training I mean a generic weights program for full body. This could be machines, free weights or just body weight resistance. BUT what I would not do is just focus on back / shoulders / legs. IMHO if you embark in a strength programme you should consider the big picture and look to maintain balance / increase strength and strength endurance across the whole body. There are plenty of them out there just find one .. adapt it to match your needs .. and change it quite often to keep the muscles guessing. I
For me, at this time of year, I do 2-3 ‘weights’ sessions per week and vary the number of reps, either for strength, or strength endurance.
In 2011 I even went as far as seeing a PT once per week to help with generic strength endurance and conditioning work … and that resulted in my best IM / season to date.
PS ... you still need to S/B/R lots
PPS … (IMHO) don’t go near Paddles and such gimmicks unless you want injuries and/or messed up balance in the water
Will - paddles are far from gimmicks, they are an important tool in swimming training, but as FB says, used incorrectly they can cause injury!
If you need to do strength work, stick to Olympic bar lifting doing major muscle group exercises such as squats, deal lifts, bench press, lunges etc. but seek advice from gym instructors to make sure you do them correctly.
I was fortunate to see many of the team gb athletes training prior to the Olympics while at Lee Valley, not a dumbell or fixed weight machine in sight!
I weight train a few times a week at the moment, i do a full body- triceps, biceps, back, shoulders, core, chest, delts lats etc. I'm not too convinced it makes much difference to my speeds on swim bike or run, but I do think that it helps prevent injuries and helps with endurance. I don't weight train my legs as I think hard running, hills etc and high gear as B_kins suggests is enough.
Doozer, interesting on the GB athletes. I have a friend who works at the velodrome in Manchester. Those guys spend a lot of time in th gym and she said they mainly seem to do Olympic bar stuff. Either short heavy reps, I guess for power or long sets with lighter weight for the muscle endurance.
The nanas at my pool have a great array of paddles, fins etc.... For them it looks like an excuse to talk more, put less effort in and put off other swimmers getting in their lanes.
3 x 15-20mins/week of core, balance and resistance/weights would certainly help. Best kept to the off season or at least 2 weeks before or 1 week after a-races.
Google cross fit endurance I am pro weights for endurance sports, not a common approach though - my coach always advocates the big five moves and he is a triathlete focussed on half iron distances.
The big five lifts are Squats, Deadlifts, Flat Bench Press, Overhead Press and Rows 3 sets of 5 - 8 reps a couple sessions a week if possible - hasn't been possible for me this year
Google cross fit endurance I am pro weights for endurance sports, not a common approach though - my coach always advocates the big five moves and he is a triathlete focussed on half iron distances.
The big five lifts are Squats, Deadlifts, Flat Bench Press, Overhead Press and Rows 3 sets of 5 - 8 reps a couple sessions a week if possible - hasn't been possible for me this year
Thank you. I will google it later and give it a try
Yes think about the motion of the exercises you are doing and muscle groups you are focusing on. I wouldnt' bother with bench or shoulder press because its not an action of use in triathlon. Dead lifts, bent over row, weighted squats (smith machine) and lunges, lat pull down (try swimming off this, awesome!), lat raise.
Best set v reps will be 1-2 x 12-15 leading to 80-90% exhaustion. Any/more harder and you'll be sore for a few days afterwards if you're working on a weaker muscle group or have imbalances. Alternate sets between upper and lower body equipment/weights so you get respite/recovery (eg lat pull down, abductor/adductor, bent over row, leg extension, lat raise/or dips, hamstring curl). Always end with bicep, tricep or ankle work. Idea is to work from the centre of the bosy out ie core and balance, larger muscle group weights, outer muscle group weights.
When you're done, then move on to the general aerobic work (treadmill, xtrainer, xbike, row, etc). If you do the other way around when tired then you risk injuring yourself.
If sore, stiff, fatigued from previous resistance/gym session but have one planned then do 1 x 20-25 reps light....a form session, perfecting techniqie.
If you are doing this to help swimimg then it is important to know about swim technque.
Which suggests the way to better swimming is through spending time on getting swim technique right first, not by trying to increase power through weights.
Of course, but remember we're talking about supplementary training on top of your bike, swim and running. And you don't have to use weights to have a good resistance programme eg press-ups, tri-dips, squats (full and one leg), lunges, squat thrusts and jumps, calf raises, etc. You can get a good 20-30mins of core, balance and resistance work done without the use of any equipment other than a mat and a wall !
Some pro's do more core/weights than others. The brit pros ive known in ironman were all on at least 2hrs core and weights in a week.....or so they said lol
Thanks for the advice Daz. I am going to try and get 2-3 sessions in per week (soon as I can get a decent plan sorted out) I can only see positives from having a bit more upper body strength.
Comments
yep - swim and bike more
If you're looking for swim specific strength and bike specific strength you could basically do what FB says. For swimming get a set of hand paddles and do some intervals with them. 10x50m with a set of paddles and about 15 seconds between each swim works well as a start. For biking you could do hill reps or on a flat road get into a high gear so you're working pretty hard with cadence around 60-65 and do something like 10 x 2 minutes at that cadence spinning easily for 30s during your breaks.
i'm not convinced weight training helps much with swimming until your texhnique is spot on. Pull ups, pushups and core strength should be the main focus I think. Squats are probably very beneficial to cycling. If i was doing squats i'd do sets of about 20 reps with a managable weight. No point lifting as much as possible. And i'd follow up any weight training with lots of stretching.
I think having a strong core will help with both - it supports posture whilst swimming, and on the bike. Strong shoulders and triceps are good for swimming too
paddles are good for building swim strength, but unless you have good swim technique to start with, then they are likely to cause more damage than do good. focus on swimming a lot and develop your technique before moving to paddles.
there are other things you can use for swimming strength such as strech cords (fancy bungees by an other name), drag/mesh shorts (increase water resistance) etc, check out some of these on here - http://www.swimshop.co.uk/showall/true/Resistance-CSTARESISTRA/
as for building bike strength, turbo sessions over winter can be good for building leg strength, or use a mountain bike and ride off road - more trail resistance, knobbly tyres and extra bike weight will help build strength.
There will be those that say "Just swim and bike more" ... do hill reps ... use hand paddles etc
But i am not of that thought
For me if all i do is S/B/R I stagnate .. loose motivation and drop too many sessions
So
I am a big fan of introducing both variety and non sport specific strength training in the off season
When i talk about non sport specific strength training I mean a generic weights program for full body. This could be machines, free weights or just body weight resistance. BUT what I would not do is just focus on back / shoulders / legs. IMHO if you embark in a strength programme you should consider the big picture and look to maintain balance / increase strength and strength endurance across the whole body. There are plenty of them out there just find one .. adapt it to match your needs .. and change it quite often to keep the muscles guessing. I
For me, at this time of year, I do 2-3 ‘weights’ sessions per week and vary the number of reps, either for strength, or strength endurance.
In 2011 I even went as far as seeing a PT once per week to help with generic strength endurance and conditioning work … and that resulted in my best IM / season to date.
PS ... you still need to S/B/R lots
PPS … (IMHO) don’t go near Paddles and such gimmicks unless you want injuries and/or messed up balance in the water
Thanks for all the replies.
I currently swim 3/4 times per week, bike 3x and run 3x was just thinking about adding some gym work as somthing different.
Will - paddles are far from gimmicks, they are an important tool in swimming training, but as FB says, used incorrectly they can cause injury!
If you need to do strength work, stick to Olympic bar lifting doing major muscle group exercises such as squats, deal lifts, bench press, lunges etc. but seek advice from gym instructors to make sure you do them correctly.
I was fortunate to see many of the team gb athletes training prior to the Olympics while at Lee Valley, not a dumbell or fixed weight machine in sight!
I weight train a few times a week at the moment, i do a full body- triceps, biceps, back, shoulders, core, chest, delts lats etc. I'm not too convinced it makes much difference to my speeds on swim bike or run, but I do think that it helps prevent injuries and helps with endurance. I don't weight train my legs as I think hard running, hills etc and high gear as B_kins suggests is enough.
Doozer, interesting on the GB athletes. I have a friend who works at the velodrome in Manchester. Those guys spend a lot of time in th gym and she said they mainly seem to do Olympic bar stuff. Either short heavy reps, I guess for power or long sets with lighter weight for the muscle endurance.
The nanas at my pool have a great array of paddles, fins etc.... For them it looks like an excuse to talk more, put less effort in and put off other swimmers getting in their lanes.
Defo in the 'shouldn't' box.
slightly surprised by the respose. i would hve thought more people would be doing weight trainning along with swimming/running/biking
I suppose to turn it around slightly, why do you think that you need to supplement with weights?
I just want to be the best I possibly can be andI feel my swimming suffers as I dont have enough upperbody strength.
3 x 15-20mins/week of core, balance and resistance/weights would certainly help. Best kept to the off season or at least 2 weeks before or 1 week after a-races.
Elite Ironman, Ultra Trail Runner
The big five lifts are Squats, Deadlifts, Flat Bench Press, Overhead Press and Rows 3 sets of 5 - 8 reps a couple sessions a week if possible - hasn't been possible for me this year
Thank you. I will google it later and give it a try
IM marathons are all about resilience and i think the above helps (in addition to run training obviously)
Shame the thread is all about biking and swim strength
Yes think about the motion of the exercises you are doing and muscle groups you are focusing on. I wouldnt' bother with bench or shoulder press because its not an action of use in triathlon. Dead lifts, bent over row, weighted squats (smith machine) and lunges, lat pull down (try swimming off this, awesome!), lat raise.
Do your core and balance (10-15mins eg : http://www.target-fitness.co.uk/core.htm) before the weights session and after a light aerobic warm-up.
Best set v reps will be 1-2 x 12-15 leading to 80-90% exhaustion. Any/more harder and you'll be sore for a few days afterwards if you're working on a weaker muscle group or have imbalances. Alternate sets between upper and lower body equipment/weights so you get respite/recovery (eg lat pull down, abductor/adductor, bent over row, leg extension, lat raise/or dips, hamstring curl). Always end with bicep, tricep or ankle work. Idea is to work from the centre of the bosy out ie core and balance, larger muscle group weights, outer muscle group weights.
When you're done, then move on to the general aerobic work (treadmill, xtrainer, xbike, row, etc). If you do the other way around when tired then you risk injuring yourself.
If sore, stiff, fatigued from previous resistance/gym session but have one planned then do 1 x 20-25 reps light....a form session, perfecting techniqie.
Elite Ironman, Ultra Trail Runner
If you are doing this to help swimimg then it is important to know about swim technque.
Which suggests the way to better swimming is through spending time on getting swim technique right first, not by trying to increase power through weights.
Rebecca Adlington did one of the Q&A threads:
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/triathlon/speedo-qanda-3-quiz-rebecca-adlington/176436-2.html
She does do gym work but not weights. She doesnt say what the gym work was but mentions core and cardio.
Of course, but remember we're talking about supplementary training on top of your bike, swim and running. And you don't have to use weights to have a good resistance programme eg press-ups, tri-dips, squats (full and one leg), lunges, squat thrusts and jumps, calf raises, etc. You can get a good 20-30mins of core, balance and resistance work done without the use of any equipment other than a mat and a wall !
Some pro's do more core/weights than others. The brit pros ive known in ironman were all on at least 2hrs core and weights in a week.....or so they said lol
Elite Ironman, Ultra Trail Runner
Thanks for the advice Daz. I am going to try and get 2-3 sessions in per week (soon as I can get a decent plan sorted out) I can only see positives from having a bit more upper body strength.
Jas, I can send you the programme (gym card) I send to my clients if you like that includes lots of juicy core and balance lol. whats your email?
Elite Ironman, Ultra Trail Runner
Thanks Daz, That would be great I have just sent you a msg with my email.