November and December have traditionally been difficult months for people to maintain training consistency. I’ve always believed that unless you have a key race early in the year that this is the time of year to let go a little. Spend time with your family, enjoy the holidays and mentally let go of the “I have to train” mentality. Recharge the mental and physical batteries. If you only have time to get in a limited amount of workouts then select your limiters (too often I have found that athletes work their strengths not their weaknesses).

When you do workout, this is the time of the year to work on becoming more efficient in each discipline. Following are some key focus areas for the off season.

Swimming:

Think about becoming more efficient in the water (get a video analysis from a knowledgeable swim coach). When working on your stroke, work on fixing one thing at a time. Following is a list of the most common errors I see from the group I coach at night.

1. Head position too high: This drops the tail and you are essentially dragging your body through the water. Focus on the tiles (bottom of the pool) or looking straight down or keep your gaze slightly ahead.
2. Hand entry: Finger tips lead with a flat palm. Avoid pinky or thumb entries. Think wide. Most people are coming in at 12 o’clock when they should be entering at 10 and 2. (This is a simple one to fix, have someone watch you on deck and ask them to tell you where your hands are entering the water). Swim down the center of the pool if possible and place your hands on the outside of the black lines.
3. Dropped elbow: Never let your elbow drop below your finger tips. Most people I see, do this is because they put their hand in by their head and then push out towards the opposite wall while rotating with the shoulders. (Try placing your hand into the water further from your head, rotate from the hips not from the shoulders. I realize that most coaches will tell you to rotate with both hips and shoulders. I have found swimming with a flatter upper back and concentrating on rotating through the hips makes me faster and
4. Lead Hand pulls to early. Bottom line is the lead hand should not begin the pull phase of the stroke until the recovery hand is at the head. There should be a slight pause as the lead hand enters the water and anchors. Remember to keep the elbow up and finger tips down.

Work on strength by putting time in the weight room and spend time spinning high cadence and doing Isolated Leg Drills. Cycling drills are boring but I’ve found that most cyclists don’t give drills a second thought during the season so now is the time. Think of maintaining a decent base and becoming more efficient (eliminating dead spots). Spinveral DVD’s and spin classes help eliminate the boredom associated with riding indoors. If you go to spin classes be careful of over zealous teachers. Make sure you are warmed up as this time of year is not for zone 4/5 efforts. Remember, no one is holding a gun to your head telling you to gear up and try to rip the lungs out of the person sitting next to you. Work on pedaling in circles and improving strength in your legs with hill climbs at a reasonable pace. It is also crucial that you stretch those hamstrings and hips. A lot of athletes have ITB issues early in the season due to increased intensity too soon and inflexibility.

Running:

During the off season I have two goals for my athletes. Maintain a decent base by running long and slow and think about and work on your form. Most athletes just run giving no second thought about how they are running. A proper running technique is one in which the body leans slightly forward from the ankles. Arm swing is such that your elbow drives straight back creating a triangle (hand waist line, elbow back) if you were to see yourself run from the side. The lead knee drives forward with heal coming up to the buttocks not out and back. Shoulders relaxed. Everyone should be doing some drills at the beginning of their runs (strides are a great opportunity to work on form). The current edition of Triathlon Magazine (December 06) has an example of three great drills you can do that will improve your running stride and form. For those of you looking for more information in this area please contact me and we can set up something specific.

Strength:

I’ve yet to meet an athlete that has told me that they worked on strength in the off season and got slower. There is a lot of debate out there of just what type of strength routine provides the greatest benefit. My belief based on personal experience is that your focus should be on total body strength with core work and flexibility a key component. Remember, your goal is not to enter a weight lifting competition. When you go to the weight room and you see the “meat heads” you need to tell yourself that your reasons for being there are different. Remember to start slowly with lighter weight until your ligaments and muscles are ready to progress. Two to three times a week consistently in the off season will build a great off season strength base which will carry well into racing season.

Cross train:

If you have the opportunity to XC ski, snow shoe, get on a rowing machine, take a spin class, Yoga, Pilates etc… PLEASE do so. Each year I pick something that isn’t swimming, biking (with the exception of the spin class) or running and participate. Through this I’ve found that I like Yoga, snow shoeing, Pilates and am not a big fan of spin classes. Each has provided me a different benefit that has aided me during the next triathlon season.

Weight Loss:

Bottom line is now is the time of year to focus on losing weight, not during the season. Since I’m not a dietician I believe you should contact an individual who is an expert in the field if you want to lose weight. My advice to you would be to eat a sensible diet complete with raw vegetables, fresh fruit and lean meats. If you drink, always do so in moderation.

During this time of year we take a break from the typical routine. Begin thinking about become more efficient in all 3 disciplines. What type of dedication do you want to have next year? What are your goals? Consistency yields positive results.

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