Category: swimming

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How To NOT SUCK at Swimming – Part 6

You work so hard, but can’t seem to find that speed you want in the water. You’re still dragging, gasping, and not seeing much return from your investments. It’s time to use the water and not let use you.

Swimming doesn’t have to be so hard. Today we break it down in the simplest terms and make the swim stroke easy. We dive into the reach/entry, catch along with early vertical forearm, a solid pull, and powerful finish. Have your mind ready when you get back in the pool!

Listen to this Full Podcast –

Summary:

  • When your hand hits the water, it needs to be preparing to work. No gliding, get the catch.
  • Reach as far as you possibly can. This is within reason. Your ability to reach long and move as much water as you can backwards is the key.
  • When you enter the water early and think about a high elbow out of the water, it forces you to shorten stroke. Finish the back end of the stroke to keep momentum.
  • Running and riding a bike come natural for most, but swimming isn’t something we do a lot. It will always be a challenge to understand your body in space while in water. More exposure (ie… more swimming) is the best solution to finding comfortability.
  • Early vertical forearm while IN the water is the key. The sooner you can turn your forearm into a water-moving-paddle, the better.
  • Swimming is simple: Swimming square and staying in your box. Stand up, reach both hands as high as you can. Now move them down (backwards) as far as you can. That is all you need to think about.
  • What your arm should look like out of the water? We believe this doesn’t matter. You don’t have to be pretty, just get a good finish to your stroke then get that hand as far as you can in front. How looks getting there doesn’t matter.
  • 3 Different parts of the box – The catch, the pull, the finish.
  • Body position and staying high in the water. Stay higher in the water with a strong catch and pull. You press down at the beginning of your stroke and this pushes you up. With a good catch it will keep you high. Also try keeping your chin down, which naturally raises the butt. Don’t “over tuck” the chin, though. just naturally.
  • Where the stroke breaks down and gives you nothing – When you enter the water, you want to get an early vertical forearm and start pulling that water backwards before you eventually continue to push it backwards. If you’re not pulling or pushing, you have a dead spot. The more you gain swim fitness, the less dead spots you will have.
  • Pressure on forearms – You want a FEEL for the water and you want most of that feeling on your forearms because they are bigger than your hands. Try swimming with your hands in a fist to understand this feeling.
  • How to build REAL swim fitness – You don’t get faster and stronger by swimming easy 2000’s. You have to work hard with 25’s and 50’s. And, of course, swim at least 3 times a week.
  • Most of us swim the “easiest way” and taking the path of easiest resistance – Challenging yourself in the pool is usually harder than on the bike or run. Push yourself with hard sets using adequate rest. Find your swim zones.
  • Pressure and fatigue means you’re working – If you get out of every session feeling fresh, you didn’t work to improve your swim. Feel the pressure of the water against your forearms and push till you feel fatigue.
  • Developing different gears in the water – Again, find your zones. Find the ability to pick up the pace for a while in case you get into a scrum. Then understand how you can get back into a cruising speed to conserve your energy.
  • How to not go anaerobic in a race – One of the simplest ways to make sure this doesn’t happen is concentrate on breathing correctly. More specifically a full exhale while your head is in the water. If you don’t empty the lungs, there is no room for more air.
  • Why your kick could be slowing you down – Kicking the wrong way makes things worse. We don’t advocate kicking other than rhythm or balance kicks. Kicking is not worth the energy you burn. Relax and let your legs chill before you grind them on the bike and run.
  • The competitor in you . . . be excited to jump in … game’s on – We want you to feel excited about the swim, not scared. Get dedicated to swim training. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations with 25s and 50s. Be ready and calm for the swim.
  • Fitness in swimming is a domino effect – If you’re not in good swim shape and get out of the water gassed, you will suffer on the bike, then suffer on the run. Or at the very least not reach your potential. The swim takes way more out of us than most people think.
  • Just because your arm is in the water doesn’t mean it’s doing anything – Sort of back to the top. Make sure you are feeling pressure on your arms and they are working in the water. It takes time to build this fitness, but don’t cheat your stroke because it’s easier.
  • You can work so hard . . . and get nowhere. Sinking… gasping… swimming slow.

If you’re interested in a Custom Swim Analysis, view how it works here or contact Coach Robbie directly: [email protected]

For more information on our Coaching, Camps, and Community, visit C26Triathlon.com

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The C26 Triathlon Camp Diaries – Day 1

By Mike Tarrolly for Crushing Iron

This is how we do it . . . it’s Wednesday night . . . Party people on the westside throw your hands in the air. Or however that song goes. . . we start camp on Wednesday night.

It’s always interesting meeting everyone at Robbie’s the first night because even though I’ve been there multiple times it is one of those new and really tricky neighborhoods that I cannot navigate on memory (which you will see later is extremely rare later in this report). There are usually about 15 or so people waiting when I walk through the door where a Facebook-meets-real-life explosion typically goes off in my head. It’s like I sorta know everyone but not really, and really do know some people but it’s been a while, so I’m not sure if I’ve said something dumb on the podcast they’ve been waiting to confront me about for months. Ahh, the perils of internet-street-level fame.

As I move deeper into Robbie and Allie’s inner sanctum, people are usually face first in what always seems to be the perfect dinner for everyone. It’s a simple, yet jazzy fare that could easily roll as a vegan delight, or be quickly hopped up with side chicken for meat eaters. The salad/meat combo does really well for gluten sensitive campers and if we’re lucky, someone will bring huge cookies or cake for dessert. Of course everyone drinks their personalized liquid direct from water bottles.

After dinner, Coach Robbie takes the stage as we sit around on every chair they can find and jam into his living room. As you can see to the left, I’ve yet to figure out a perfect angle for a group picture, but I’m getting close.

We then go around the room with simple introductions and everyone says what they’re hoping to get from camp. Robbie goes through the camp plan and potential changes with any looming weather. This is usually when Hayden gets a little unruly and wants to spend more time with daddy forcing Allie to scramble for toys or another toddler diversion, including a trip upstairs through 3 or 4 campers as she navigates the staircase.

This entire opening night takes about two hours and we’re are typically back at our lodging (home in my case) before 9.

THURSDAY

I have extreme pre-race sleep anxiety. Anytime my alarm is set with a “4” at the beginning, that pretty much means I will not be falling asleep that night; and typically the night before camp starts is no exception. The weather threatened our first morning at the lake, so we shifted gears and went to Boost Fitness for a pool session. Said session was to begin at 6 am. Said session is also 30 minutes from my house, so said alarm was set for 4:45.

Around midnight I was really regretting not pounding some type of melatonin. I “think” I dosed off for a while around 1:00 but was up at 2 and this process lasted until I heard one of my weekend roommates up making coffee around 4:15. It was over. I hit snooze once and put on my sleepless-morning-happy-face, but knew that I would not be swimming one stroke that morning. I’m not in the best swim shape and swimming without sleep could have ruined me for a couple days. Instead I focused on getting cool video of cool people swimming at 6 am.

After a couple hours in the pool and some awesome personal instruction, we went for a light breakfast at LePeep in Belle Meade, which is the old-Nashville-money part of town. We immediately snagged 5 prime tables, clearly frustrating several people in tassle loafers and shawls. Not to be distracted, the sweaty and famished triathletes went to town on their post-swim meals. I sat with Erika, Jessica and Katie, the Richmond Crew. I’ve known Erika for a while, but it was the first time to chat with the other girls and let me tell you, they are hilarious if not edgy sarcastic.

This is where I’m usually reminded of how cool the people are that come to camp. The first night is a little about nerves and meeting new people. The first workout is acclimating and getting over wearing tight clothes in front of said new people. The post breakfast is where the true triathlon athlete spirit and unabashed hunger comes out. People will plow down anything right in front of anyone (including little old ladies sipping tea) which, if you think about it, is a very personal moment. We seem to cross a threshold at this point and from there on, the guards are down.

The next session was at Percy Warner Park, easily one of the most beautiful, yet daunting running venues in Nashville. It’s nestled at the end of Belle Meade Boulevard (think Thurston Howell III and his wife Lovey) and retains a certain kind of elegance even when it’s muggy and drizzly like it was this morning. The assignment? Run for an hour and thirty minutes.

The route we take is called “The 5.8” and it’s 5.8 hilly ass miles. You start going straight up for about the first mile, before finding some relief on flats and downhills that eventually drop you into Deep Wells. It was foggy and misty and absolutely stunning in a cinematic sort of way and I was really regretting not shooting video instead of running. But, I’ve been on a little roll with the run and it’s very hard for me to pass on Percy Warner Park.

The problem with Deep Wells is “It Is Deep” ie… at the bottom, which can only mean one thing. It’s time to climb again. And we did. Mile 3 is an absolute torture device that never seems to end. Up straight, up right, up left, up right . . . and even though I’ve run this track dozens of times, for some reason I always think that’s the last hill. It never is.

There are about 5 more, in fact, most manageable, but one is kind of a bitch. By the time you get to mile 5 (these are all rough estimates so please do no put them in your Garmin and hold my feet to the fire after you run it at camp) it’s all down hill, but the first 1/2 of that mile is Quad Buster Central. Early in my running life, this was the section that gave me a not so pleasant, but firm introduction to my IT bands. The last half mile is also downhill, but at a perfect grade for running and a welcome way to bring it back to the car.

But wait . . . that was only about an hour. There’s still 30 minutes to go.

Instead of retracing the course, I opted for a few more miles on the flat-ish Belle Meade Boulevard. Aside from its pretentious nature, it is a great way to look at big houses and wonder why and the hell you didn’t end up living in a mansion like that, which I did wonder about and pin pointed the reason to the time when I had a nice mutual fun started out of college but decided to pull all the money out and travel around partying in Florida. But, anyway, that’s neither here nor there, just a point I thought I would get into the open for therapeutic benefit.

I think that, for some reason, not living in one of those mansions made me want to prove something, so as I re-entered the park, I ran directly at the stairs. As I did, I was saying strange things like, “uh oh,” and “look out!” to anyone who would listen. Instead of going back to the cars, I scaled the Roman-Ruin-Like staircase and ascended to the heavens. I felt surprisingly strong as I screamed back, “Who’s with me!” and “Let’s Do it!” I’m pretty sure no one even acknowledged me or thought I was losing my mind so I barreled up the steps alone, with no mansion to speak of, but possibly a greater reward waiting at the top.

Well, I can assure you there was no such award, and the ease of my glide turned into cement filled shoes about 100 steps from the top. But . . . I made it . . . and . . . I put my hands in the air and looked down upon those mansions like I was now in control. But I wasn’t. I was just a sweaty guy at the top of a staircase with no mansion.

Despite two tough challenges right out of the gate, spirits were high. We even had a few campers finish loop one, then turn around to run it in reverse. Let me tell you, that is no picnic. One loop is around 600 feet of elevation on its own, so logic would tell you that two loops would be around twice that, but only God and the two-loopers’-hamstrings know the real truth.

It was super humid and Coach Robbie gathered all the soaking wet runners for the next day’s instructions. “In the morning, we’ll hit the lake first, then . . . “The Lab.”

But before tomorrow, it was a short session on Strength and Mobility from our friends over at Innate Performance. Steven and Louisa have both run and coached Division I cross country. Steven ran through some great exercises to keep the hip flexors loose and said most endurance athletes aren’t over-trained, they are under-recovered. With that he went through ways to recover properly and gave us his top three: Sleep, mobility, and nutrition. That’s when Louisa gave campers some top line nutrition strategies to stay on top of this crazy game we call triathlon.

Great session, but now it’s around 3:30 and getting back to the East Side was going to be a nightmare. My roommates punched my address into Google Maps, but I calmly said, “I’ll take this one, boys,” and led them on a perfectly executed re-route that not only saved us time, it allowed for a concise exploration of the fascinating explosion we affectionately call downtown Nashville. The guys were very impressed with my navigation.

Around 5 o’clock, reminiscent of senior citizens, my house guests, Chuck, Ross, and Jason started getting cranky for food. I quickly put on my post-afternoon-nap-happy-face and we jumped in the car for a trendy little Mexican joint called RosePepper. I’d like to say we got wild and met a lot of crazy hipsters that showed us the nightlife around East Nashville, but instead we debated the reasons why Nashville is home for so many bachelorette parties why people don’t fall off the shelf more often at Top Golf.

We got home around 8:00 and I was ready to yuck it up with my new sorta college buddy roommates, but these guys were all business. After about 30 minutes of watching baseball, we all went to bed and I listened to old episodes of the Crushing Iron podcast to put me to sleep . . . but it didn’t work. In fact, I found them captivating, inspirational, and extremely motivating. I could not wait to get to the lake in the morning and shoot more video of people working their ass off!

To be continued . . . 

Attitude is King – Camp ReCap Podcast

Have you been thinking about an Ironman, half or any kind of triathlon, but don’t know how to start, please consider us for coaching. We’ve been through most every situation regarding this sport, including starting from scratch. We’ve also taken athletes from their “stuck point” and helped get them on the Ironman podium. We love working with beginners and athletes that want to push it to the next level. Check out our coaching page for more information, including philosophy and pricing.

All 170 podcast can be found on iTunes or on our podcast page.

You can always support The Crushing Iron podcast by making a small pledge here.

 

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The Swimmer’s Mindset – Thinking Right To Get Faster

In the latest of our “How To Not Suck At Swimming” video series, C26 Coach, Robbie Bruce, shares one of the most important things a swimmer can understand: How to use the water to your advantage. Coach explains how this simple shift in mindset can help you get faster and more efficient in open water. It also helps build the foundation for all improvements that follow. Swimming video is from our May Swim Camp.

If you’d like to take your swimming to the next level, check out the C26 Custom Swim Analysis. Coach Robbie will break down your stroke and explain all the ways you can get rid of wasted energy, build confidence in your stroke, and become far more efficient, which leads to less anxiety and more enjoyment.

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C26 Swim Camp in Nashville

Today was Day One at the Crushing Iron (C26) Triathlon Swim Camp in Nashville. We were greeted with a perfect morning for instruction, friendship, and good ole fashion work.

Coach Robbie starts with dry land instruction of the proper stroke technique. Then everyone swims short distances back and forth while others watch and give feedback. Everything is positive and by the end of this exercise everyone usually finds a couple things that will help them be a better swimmer.

After instruction, we hit the lake for some longer swimming and relays to implement what everyone has learned. At the end we recap and practice swim techniques while executing pack swims and cornering buoys.

All told campers spent about 4 hours and 30 minutes at the lake learning:

  • Swimming purposeful and powerful in open water
  • Staying square
  • Reducing Anxiety
  • Putting on and taking off wetsuits
  • Swimming Straight
  • Sighting
  • Cornering Buoys
  • Drafting
  • Race Contact Simulation
  • Proper breathing
  • Staying High in the water
  • Executing a Strong Catch

Camp continues tomorrow with a deeper diver into swim mechanics and practice under Coach Robbie’s supervision. We’re supplying videos of their swim stroke and on-site analysis in a positive learning environment.

Our June Triathlon Camp is sold out but we have one or two openings for August at the time of this writing. For more information, see our Camps page or email Coach Robbie at [email protected].

Check out our first Podcast on Swimming

Custom Swim Analysis – Get Faster By Video

 

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How To Swim Straight In Open Water

One of the most common questions we get about open water swimming is, “How do I swim straight?” This is not only an important for beginners, but advanced swimmers because the faster you swim, the more chance you have to get further off line.

The Crushing Iron swimming philosophy is to take out as many variables as possible. In a nutshell, swimming straight comes down to swimming square and keeping your motion inside a rectangle.

The reason people swim crooked is because they making too many East/West motions vs. North/South. Whenever you move side to side you’re negating forward motion.

Once this gets out of balance you have a tendency to overcompensate by moving side to side instead of straight back. The key is to build fitness so you can keep your stroke wide and move “still water.”

Check out this short video for to see the concept of swimming square more clearly.

For tons more information on Open Water Swimming, check out our Podcast Series: “How to Not Suck At Swimming” parts 1-4. And be sure to subscribe to the Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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How To Not Suck At Swimming – The Ultimate Guide To Open Water Swimming

Triathletes and swimming often don’t mix, but Crushing Iron Triathlon thinks that should change! Yes, swimming can seem complicated, but Crushing Iron Swim Coaching gives you ways to make it easier and more enjoyable. And let’s face it, standing in line to start a triathlon is a lot more fun if you are confident and don’t have open water swim anxiety.

Crushing Iron has now over 125 podcasts and has released a Four Part Swim Series designed to make you a more powerful and purposeful open water swimmer. We believe pool swimming and open water swimming are two different sports, so it’s important to train for race conditions so anxiety and fatigue don’t destroy your best race before you get to the bike.

Below, you’ll find four podcasts focused exclusively on being a better open water swimmer. We recommend starting with How To Not Suck At Swimming – Part 1 and work through to Part 4. Dozens of athletes have not only become better swimmers, but have begun to love swimming in general because of this podcast series. You can love the water, too!

Don’t be one of those triathletes that think the swim doesn’t matter because it’s only a small percentage of the time you’ll be racing. Having a solid swim that warms you up instead of sucking your energy is the first solution to having a great race.

We’ve kept it simple, sort of like the Rosetta Stone of swim coaching, but if you can’t seem to grasp the technique we offer an excellent personalized Swim Analysis that can save you hours of wasted practice. We also offer general triathlon coaching and will be happy to connect you with current athletes to see why they are so happy with Crushing Iron Triathlon Coaching. You can also check out our Swim Specific Camps located in Nashville, TN that are sure to up your comfort in open water, make you faster, and more confident.

As always, thank you for listening to the Crushing Iron Podcast. If you have any questions about coaching or a personalized swim analysis, feel free to contact Coach Robbie at [email protected].  Happy Swimming!

  • Are Swimming Tools like a Drag chute right for you?
  • How many days in pool to see faster times?
  • How to avoid bending at knees while kicking?
  • Need to bilateral breathe?
  • How to stop crossover arms? Drills?
  • Importance of stroke cadence… what to measure and wis it important? why? confused about speeding up stroke
  • The Truth about Total Immersion swimming?
  • Strength work outside of the pool?
  • What muscles should we target?
  • When and why to use stretch cords?
  • How to practice sighting in a pool
  • Master’s Swimming Rant?
  • Beating Drag. What to do about Sinking Legs –
  • How do you beat periods of Breathlessness in a race?
  • Fixing incorrect kick timing after years of doing it wrong
  • How much kicking is ideal to “save legs” vs. going faster
  • Is your kick actually slowing you down?
  • How to get into cold water? inch in, use ladder, jump in?
  • Benefit to using other strokes? breast, back, butterfly?
  • How to beat goggle fogging?
  • Flip turns? Beneficial?
  • What’s the ticket to speed?
  • Proper breathing – How and When
  • Body Positioning and how to get it right
  • Hand entry and exit – How and When
  • How to deprogram from bad advice, including workouts that get you there
  • How to structure a swim week of workout
  • Should you join a Master’s Team?
  • Swimming square and why you swim crooked
  • Why drills are a waste of time
  • Why building swim fitness should be powerful and purposeful
  • The bigger your mesh bag, the slower you are committed to being
  • The correct and most effective way to use paddles
  • Why pool swimming and open water swimming are two different sports
  • What an expensive wetsuit really does for your swim
  • The power of the Pull Buoy
  • The tools you need and the tools you don’t need

The Crushing Iron Podcast releases every Monday and Thursday. We have over 125 Episodes, including several that focus on the journey of our athletes. Please subscribe to the Crushing Iron Podcast on iTunes or sign up for the Crushing Iron Newsletter on this page.

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Swim Anxiety, Building Confidence, and Silencing Critics

I used to be the poster-child for swim anxiety.  Every time I got out of the water in a race, I felt like my chest would explode.  Then I’d spend the first 5 miles of the bike getting back to normal.

This went on for a few years, then I discovered the power of frequency.

Before Ironman Louisville I spent nearly 3 weeks swimming every day.  Not terribly long, but usually 1500 or so.

Two things happened:
– I got very comfortable and relaxed in the water
– I got faster

I’m a firm believer the latter is deeply connected to the former, and I think this holds true for all three disciplines in triathlon.

The more you do it, the more comfortable you are.

I swam a 1:06 that day in Louisville, by far my fastest Ironman swim.  The main thing I remember was how patient I was in the water.  I wasn’t trying to “race” but stay in my box and relax.

Frequent swimming gave me the confidence I needed to get out of the water fresh.  I still remember the feeling I had running to my bike after that swim. I had a genuine bounce to my step.

Now, what happened after that swim on a scorching hot summer day in Louisville is a different story, but that had more to do with neglecting the bike and run in training.  Hence the eternal dilemma of triathlon and why it’s so difficult to build confidence in all three sports.

On our latest podcast we take a deeper dive into swim and cycling anxiety, building overall triathlon confidence and silencing the critics who can seem threatened by your growth.

We appreciate all the email to [email protected] and the great reviews on iTunes.  Thanks for listening.

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De-Mystifying Swimming

Without question the biggest mystery for triathletes in training, is swimming.  The fact that you literally cannot breath half the time can be tricky, and the fact that drowning is a real possibility probably doesn’t help.

When our breathing gets out of control on the bike or run, we instinctively know how to slow down without fear.  But slowing down in the water isn’t as natural.

In each of my first four races I slowed to either a breast stroke or started treading water to catch my breath and slow my heart rate.  There are not many feelings worse!

That’s why I made it my mission to get that anxiety-piece out of my triathlon-puzzle.  I became obsessed with learning how to relax in the water.

The biggest breakthrough came when I committed to swimming every day for two straight weeks.  I didn’t go long (usually between 1-2,000 meters) but the repetitive nature of my practice made a huge difference.

I naturally got faster, but I really think it was because I was more relaxed. Being “tight” in the water (and land for that matter) is my biggest enemy.

After about 7 straight days of swimming I noticed a very simple thing: That first plunge into the water didn’t feel cold or weird or uncomfortable.  My body had adapted, and I really think that’s the biggest win you can have as a swimmer.

In today’s podcast we go back into the water for a follow up piece to “How To Not Suck At Swimming.” Part 2 takes a closer look at swimming technique, and more importantly ways to remove the mystery.

Coach Robbie lives and breathes open water swimming and he’s back with another round of great insight to becoming faster, stronger, and more efficient in open water.  Topics covered today are:

– Proper breathing – How and When
– Body Positioning and how to get it right
– Hand entry and exit – How and When
– How to deprogram from bad advice, including workouts that get you there
– How to structure a swim week of workouts
– Should you join a Master’s Team?
– Swimming square and why you swim crooked
– A big announcement from Coach Robbie
– Which country has the second most Crushing Iron listeners

If you feel you’re getting some good information, please subscribe and review on iTunes.

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Crushing Iron: FRIDAY FIVE | 12-9-16

Here is your first Crushing Iron FRIDAY FIVE.  Each week we will dig up enlightening reads and training strategies for Swim, Bike, Run, a Wild Card and Bonus.  We’ll also embed a motivational video.  Hopefully this helps you get through some of these long Winter training weekends.

SWIM – How To Nail Your Swim

The swim rarely gets the credit it deserves in triathlon, but it is by far the place people house the most anxiety.  I’ve been known to hold onto a few kayaks in my day, but over time that can be “cured.”  This article from Purple Patch Fitness outlines some good stuff so you can “Nail Your Swim.”

BIKE – Understanding 3 Phases of Cycling Training

So many people I know get on a trainer with their headphones and just crank out the hours.  But, like everything else in triathlon, cycling workouts should have a purpose.  Here’s a good article from Trainer Road that looks at 3 phases of cycling work, what they mean, and how you should attack them.

From the article:

Like a puzzle, there are three training phases that fit together to illustrate an image of your fitness over the entire training season. Whether you have a goal event in mind, or you’d just like to become a faster cyclist, your training plan will apply the right type of training stress at the right time to make sure you can achieve both.

RUN – The Science Of Jogging

We talked about the coaching method of Ernst Van Aaken on a recent podcast (Running Slow To Get Fast) and it is changing how I go about my runs.  Not only that, I’m really excited about running again.   Here’s a link to the article on “Science of Running.”

Ernst Van Aaken: The Pure Endurance Method

WILD CARD – Why is Kona So Tough?

In some way or another, most triathletes probably dream of Kona, and I’m no exception.  I’ve also been fascinated by the conditions and why everyone I know seems to go there and struggle.  Here’s a good story from Alan Couzens that explains exactly why racing Kona is so difficult.

From the article:

“Kona really is an incredibly tough environment to race 140.6 miles in. From the high temperatures that reflect from the lava rock to the wind that sweeps relentlessly across the barren landscape to, perhaps the toughest element of all – the saturating humidity of the place . . .”

BONUS – Free Coaching Consultation

Coach Robbie is offering a free consultation ($175 value) to one Crushing Iron fan.  To learn how to qualify, listen to our podcast 09-Break Through The Kona Ceiling.  Oh, hell, actually, just leave us a review on iTunes and we’ll randomly pick one of you.

Email us: CrushingIron@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter and Facebook.
Crushing Iron Podcasts are now on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher.  They are also under the “podcast tab” at CrushingIron.com.

Happy Training.

Video of the Week:   Ironman Chattanooga 2015

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Three Off-Season Triathlon Training Myths

Coach Robbie and I recently recorded a podcast on off-season training myths.  Here’s a taste of the discussion in outline form.

Be sure to subscribe to the Crushing Iron podcast on iTunes.  

THREE OFF SEASON TRIATHLON TRAINING MYTHS

 1 .  You Need to Do an Off-Season Marathon 

•  Marathon training during Ironman training is a surefire way to ignore swim and bike fitness.
•  A marathon is harder on your body than a 70.3 and will cause more downtime for recovery.
•  Exception:  If you do a 2016 late summer, early, or late Fall Ironman, you can carry over the fitness to your marathon.

2.  You Should Do Drills And Kicking In Every Workout

•  Most triathletes have bad ankle flexibility and/or kick from the knees which makes kicking a waste of time and energy.
•  Why spend 10-15 percent of your time reinforcing bad habits when conditioning and arm fitness isn’t there?
•  Most triathletes simply aren’t strong enough to maintain good form.

3.  You Should Cycle With Watt-Crushing Intensity

•  Take a polarized approach.  80% of training should be at level one/level two zone.  The other 20% on high intensity.
•  Find ways to keep riding enjoyable instead of over-trained and fatigued.
•  Think recovery for next workout AND long-term versus just this season.

Here’s the full podcast, which discusses everything above in more detail, plus simplifying swim workouts and post-Ironman Blues.  If you have topics or questions, email us at [email protected].