conti nued from page 11


• Taking your wetsuit off (have wetsuit races)


• Mounti ng your bike (it’s own subject) • Putti ng your cycling shoes on (on the bike or off the bike)


• Running with your bike • Putti ng your running shoes on (yes, practi ce putti ng your shoes on quickly)


Being physically prepared for transiti ons


is the fi nal step. Brick workouts are great ways to practi ce transiti ons and recruit the physiological adaptati ons needed to perform the perfect transiti on. Oft en ti mes brick workouts focus on the bike-run transiti on, but we also want to consider the swim-bike transiti on, which also includes a swim-run aspect. To prepare for the bike-run transiti on one


of my preferred workouts is a multi ple bike- run workout. I have my athletes perform the workout somewhere where they are comfortable leaving the bike with a good fl at road, and running surface. Oft en ti mes a good opti on is to have your athletes take their trainer to the track and complete the workout there. The workout takes 75 minutes and


consists of:


Warm Up • 10 min Zone 1 on the bike • 10 min Zone 1 Run • 4 x 10 sec strides • 5 min Zone 2 on the bike


Main Set Repeat three ti mes: • 5 min Bike @ Race Pace Zone 4 or faster • 3 min Run @ Max Speed • 3 min Acti ve Recovery (easy jog or pedal on the bike)


Cool Down • 10 min jog cool down Z1 • 5 min Zone 1 Bike


The swim-bike transiti on is one that is not


practi ced as frequently as bike-run, but big gains can be made here. There are workouts that can be completed for swim-bike, or equally as valuable are swim-run workouts. The swim-run workouts make a world of diff erence in transiti on performance and are in fact some of my favorite.


SWIM-BIKE WORKOUT To prepare for this workout have your


athletes take their bike and trainer to a pool or safe open water area.


Warm Up • 10 min Zone 1 on the bike • 4x200 warm-up in the pool (Swim/Kick/ Pull/Swim) @ 20” rest


• 4 x 50 @ 10 sec rest; Descend to Strong Pace


• Take one-minute rest and go right into the fi rst fast swim of the main set.


Main Set Repeat three ti mes: • 500 swim @ race pace – Z4 • 7 min @ Zone 4 (Race Pace) on the bike • 3 min recovery spin on bike • 100 easy in the pool


page 12 | PERFORMANCECOACHING


Cool Down • 5 min EASY spin • 2x200 easy swim @ 20” rest


SWIM-RUN WORKOUT My favorite way to do this is to complete


it at an open water locati on and get good practi ce entering and exiti ng the water.


Warm Up • 10 min easy run • 2 x 10 sec strides • 5 min easy Z1 open water swimming • 5 min OW swim with 4x30 sec surges to race pace inserted


Main Set Repeat 3 ti mes: • 7 min OW Swim @ Race pace (if possible use a buoy to approximate distance and ti me needed to complete swim porti on)


• 1 mile @ Z4 Race pace running • 3 min walk and repeat


Cool Down • 5 min easy swim • 5 min easy jog


My fi nal advice: teach your athletes to keep it simple.


Greg Reasynich is a USA Triathlon Level II Certi fi ed Coach and a professional triathlete. He holds a BA in Exercise Science and is studying for an MS in the Psychology of Human Movement. His coaching philosophy is based on sound educati onal principles, practi cal experience, and an open mind to an ever-evolving sport.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12