Sick and tired of the same old triathlon workout? Its easy to get non creative and go with whats familiar. However it can get boring and stagnate your performance. Here are 5 triathlon workout ideas you can do to switch it up and keep it fun from the guys at Rock Star Triathlon Academy.
1. Swim/Spin Brick Another great pool and indoor-based session. This works very well for a time trial swim in which you're going to swim at maximum sustainable pace for 20-30 minutes. Schedule your swim to end just 5 minutes before the spin class at a gym. Hop in the water and go. After a quick 5 minute transition, race to the spin class and take whatever the instructor happens to throw at you. This is a great "fun" early or winter season triathlon workout for you cold birds.
2. Cartlek Run That's right, I didn't mis-spell Fartlek, that term that refers to random speed training. Cartlek is your trafficked road version. Here's how it works: Settle into an aerobic pace, at about 55-65% intensity. Every time a car passes you *from behind*, you must pick up the pace to a comfortable but fast run at about 85% for 100 steps. If a "string" of cars passes, then you begin your 85% stride after the last car goes by. If a car passes you during those 100 steps, you pick up the pace to maximum 100% for however many steps you have left. Once you're done with the 100 step stride, you can settle in until the next car approaches. This triathlon workout is basically Fartlek training with an unpredictable twist, and is good when you don't have a group to run with to do the pace-changing. Have fun (it works best on roads that aren't *too* heavily trafficked).
3. Standing Flats Here's a fun and simple triathlon workout that builds hip flexor strength and low back endurance. Go on a bike ride, but at one point during that bike ride (that's right, it only takes once), stand for as long as possible on the longest stretch of flat road you can find. If you can make it 2 minutes, you're pretty good. 5 minutes is tough. 10 minutes would qualify you as a rock star triathlete!
4. Indoor TV-Watching Fartleks Back to another fartlek workout, this time on the treadmill and indoors. Hop onto the belt and turn on your favorite sports game, movie, or TV show. Folks, this is a pretty simple one: easy aerobic run while your program is playing, following by an all-out sprint during the commercials. During the average Super Bowl style football game, you'll find yourself completely exhausted if you can make it 30 minutes in this triathlon workout.
5. Aqua Bursts This run sprint workout will allow you to truly achieve maximum running speed form with a low risk of injury. Find one of those flotation belts at the pool. If you don't have one, go to Swim Outlet or some other online source. Once you're wearing the flotation belt, hop into the pool start aqua jogging as soon as the water is too deep to touch. Lean forward and drive from the hips. For a 25m pool, about halfway down, stop. This is going to be your starting point for this run workout. Giving yourself a highly motivated "Ready, Set, Go!" and burst sprint as hard as possible to the wall 12.5 meters away (running, not swimming), then jog back to your starting point for recovery. The idea behind sprinting is that quick bursts can improve endurance just as much as the long slogs.
