How to keep fit in the off-season: 5 Rules for triathletes and runners
Health / / December 19, 2019
Welcome to the offseason. Praise yourself for another active year and meet the winter with a good plan of action.
"You may see the fear that you will never return to the same physical shape, - says Byrne Gordo (Gordo Byrn), co-author of the book Going Long and the head coach of Endurance Corner, - but you are in such a situation and earlier. If this year you have had a break in training, you need to give yourself time to recover. This does not mean that you leave your bike in the garage and spend three months on the couch eating potato chips. It is time to shift the focus on health promotion and to move away from structured training. "
Lack of a plan for the off-season - it's a common mistake. What you do in the winter, should reflect your goals for the spring.
If you are an athlete mid-level training, which is engaged in sports for fun, in the winter you can just relax and do nothing. But the athletes participating in the competition, can not afford to relax until March.
The key to successful training in the off-season - find the perfect balance between your ambitious plan of training and the usual laziness. The following guidelines will help you orchestrate and then, and more.
Rule number 1. Do not participate in the marathon
If you plan take part in a marathon to maintain their motivation, it can be bad for your health and have a negative impact on the race of the new season.
"Between seasons comes the perfect time to focus on one of the three disciplines, but it is always necessary Remember: you're doing it to get better in a triathlon, "- says the coach Matt Dixon (Matt Dixon) of Purple Patch Fitness.
While many people in the offseason decide to run a marathon to become a better runner, it rarely does affect running performance triathlon. The race for a long distance at a time when you mostly relaxing - this is a sure way to get injured or burned.
Rule number 2. Focus on short intense workouts
Trainer Endurance Nation Makkrenn Patrick (Patrick McCrann) advises to replace the long aerobic workouts a different approach: short runs and races on the bike, which will increase your lactate threshold and power output.
"This high level of fitness, deal with them is not easy, so we offer to choose such training in the off-season. Increase the amount of training you can and then, - says Makkrenn. - It is not necessary to arrange the four-hour race on the bike, instead, spend heavy intense workout and recover. "
Makkrenn calls his plan for training "Out of seasonĀ» (OutSeason), and this is one of the most important parts of the year for his athletes. This plan for the 20 weeks in which the training took only 6-8 hours per week (four training on the bike, three - run, swim at least), and Monday and Friday - the days off.
Coach says that a small amount of training allows athletes to focus on other aspects your life: work, family, friends - the areas in which it is difficult to achieve something in sports season.
The plan includes a lot of interval training to increase VO2 max (Maskimalno oxygen consumption) and training in the fourth and fifth cardio to increase the speed.
"To your body has adapted to drive at a speed of 27 kilometers per hour, you would take so much time that would have to leave work - says Makkrenn. - It's like weight lifting. If you lift 100 kilos and want to increase this figure to 150 kilograms, you will not be all winter to do the bench press with 80 kilos. "
In addition, increasing your aerobic threshold and force can strengthen your confidence in the next year. Makkren calls it "pump up mental blocks press."
In 3000 athletes Endurance Nation, passed through the off-season, check-in at 10 kilometers on average improved by two and a half minutes, while the half-marathon - 4 minutes 46 seconds, and functional performance - by 50%.
Rule number 3. gain weight
"You probably think that this is going to happen and so, but the deliberate increase in body weight by 8-12% can greatly improve your efficiency," - says an expert on nutrition and performance coach Krista Austin (Krista Austin), working with the athletes of the Olympic level of training, such as Laura Bennett (Laura Bennett) and MEB Keflezighi (Meb Keflezighi).
If you type, and then lose weight you feel quite difficult, do not worry: you can use the vest-weight material with a similar effect hypergravity.
"Triathletes prefer to keep one weight, - says Austin. - However, research has shown that you can gain extra weight and adapt to training. And at this time you can not particularly take care of their diet, which I think provides a psychological rest. "
Let's say your weight for the competition - 64 kilograms. During the winter, you adapt to training with a weight of 68 kilograms. Exercising with weights, you accustom your body to use more than motor neurons and muscle fibers - as if on an assembly line started to work more and more people.
When your body comes back to 64 kilograms, pipeline workers gets less work, so that they can do more before the tire.
Muscles work in the same way. When you lose 4 kilograms, you need less oxygen, and you can run more than kilometers.
Austin makes his athletes consume more calories than they are accustomed to, such as eat ice cream with fruit before going to bed (this is no joke). They gain weight for a couple of months, during which the reduced volume and intensity of training, and by the beginning of the season Austin simply eliminates excess calories from their diet.
Many of the sportsmen training in Austin, feel the benefits that bore the few extra kilos. Some noted an increase in output power, others begin to sleep better (according to Austin, is the best way increase productivity), and as a result of the athletes are preparing to perform at a higher competition weight.
Rule number 4. More swim
What children do when learning to swim? Swim a lot. Byrne advises athletes to allocate one week (or two, if you have a higher level of training) and swimming every day. You will be surprised how quickly will improve your performance with the frequency of training.
"Swimming is often the weak point of triathletes. It is technically complex sport that requires high frequency and high volume training to achieve real success - says Dixon. - During the racing season it is difficult to find as much time as necessary to achieve good results in swimming. "
According to Byrne, the best time to pump their swimming skills - months, not suitable for cycling.
But Makkrenn proposes to reduce winter swimming for the sake of time. Athletes with the shortcomings in the art (and those who require more than 2 minutes to swim 90 meters) to take it advises individual sessions with a trainer, 4-6 weeks to work on the fact that you have learned, and then proceed to the next session.
Rule number 5. Go to the gym
If your goal - to burn calories, you can do cardio on the elliptical trainer. Just do not expect that it will help you become a good runner. The best workouts for triathletes are always swimming, cycling and running.
What kind of training, in addition to the three main, provide more benefits for triathletes? Try power sports.
Numerous studies show that training with weights to help you better save power when running and cycling.
A recent study in Norway found that eight weeks of strength training increased the efficiency of cyclists by 1.4%. A 2009 study in Brazil found that heavy training with weights increases the efficiency of better than exercises to develop explosive power.
"In winter, you can increase the amount and intensity strength training and not worry about how it will affect your preparation, - says physiotherapist Brian Hill (Bryan Hill). - Of course, it is necessary to take into account that if you damage anything in the gym, have to pay for it at the next race. "
And how do you train in the offseason? Share your tips in the comments.