As you know I’m pretty keen that triathletes follow a strength & conditioning programme year round.
But, I also know how difficult it is to find time for it in your schedule especially in race season.
So in the next few weeks I’m going to bring you a series of exercises that will give you a full body workout in LESS THAN 6 MINUTES!
That’s right LESS THAN 6 MINUTES
How is that possible you’re probably asking? Well I’ve combined 3 moves into one so that you work push, pull and leg muscles all at the same time. This is known as a compound or complex movement.
1 set of 20 reps should take you no longer than 40s PLUS 30s rest. That’s 1 minute 10s so far!
Perform 5 sets of 20 reps
Thats 5 x 1minute 10 seconds which gives total of 5 minutes and 50 seconds
Give it a go and tell me how you get along
Please post your comments to the blog below and if you’ve got any suggestions for other exercises I’d love to hear them.
OK, that’s it for this week. Tomorrow I’ll be taking part in my first triathlon since my operation. Its the Ripon tri so if you are there please give me a shout.
Stay healthy & have fun
PS, If you’ve entered for an Ironman in 2012 did you that we have programmes for every long distance event in the world
Check them out here http://www.thetriathloncoach.com/20-week-triathlon-training-schedules/long-distance/
12 Comments
3:45 pm
gail edmans
Are you wearing foundation and eye make-up?
Apart from that, very useful.
10:16 am
TTC
Sorry, no make up. Glad you found it helpful
12:39 pm
Gary T.
Can you record a web video while you’re sitting in the bath tub talking about your drawings (ala the old Saturday Night Live skit)?
Seriously, love the video blog! Thx for the training tips!
11:09 am
TTC
Hi Gary
You’ve lost me on the Saturday Night Live skit but I’m glad you like the videos
1:02 pm
Tim Matthews
Nice tip. I think kettle bells are another similiar routine. You think the ball with the handles makes a difference? Or just a medicine ball?
11:11 am
TTC
Hey Tim, Glad you liked the workout. Yes you could easily substitute a Kettle Bell. In fact I’ll use them in some future workouts. The med ball with handles works well for this type of workout, especially if your hands are sweaty as it provides a better grip. Check out todays workout!
3:48 pm
Sven-Erik Olsson
I do a similar w/o but combine it with a circular movement of the weight (at times). I use a kettlebell & gloves. Balls with grips are hard to come by. My experience is that it is very effective. At times to effective on my body that has been conditioned by years of strength lifting/acrobatics. Anyway, good tip and excellent illustration.
10:25 am
TTC
Hi Sven-Erik, I agree that there should be some rotational movements in the workout and in future postings I’ll show how I include that. I too use a kettlebell regularly and its a great conditioning tool.
5:36 pm
Brian Whitehead
Hi Simon
I enjoy receiving your posts – they are really useful and I can’t believe you give all this great info for free!
Whilst I’m in the mood for scrounging, you’ve said that we should do, as a minimum, 2 x 6 min workouts for strength & conditioning each week. What would you recommend as the ideal amount of weekly strength & conditioning training for triathletes? Particularly for a 40 year old who manages to train 8-10 hours per week i.e. me?
Thanks,
Brian
10:28 am
TTC
Hi Brian
I’m glad that you are enjoying the posts. Ideally you should aim to do 2 x 30 minutes of S&C work per week, year round. In the winter you’d probably want to do 3 sessions per week and in the summer you could reduce that to the minimum mentioned above. If you are clever and use the workouts as warms ups for your run or bike sessions it shoudnt be that disruptive to your schedule. I’m morew than convinced though, that you’ll see a great return on your investment
7:30 am
James Moon
Hi Simon
What weight is the ball?
James
9:12 am
TTC
Hi James, I think that the ball in that video is either 6 or 8kg. You can use a kettlebell or dumbbell if you dont have a medicine ball with handles