In The Triathlete’s Training Bible (www.amazon.co.uk) I describe how important it is to performance for the triathlete to have efficient swim, bike and run skills. Most triathletes could improve their performance more by working on their skills, especially for swimming and running, rather than on what is typically
called ‘fitness’.

 

I make video recordings of the athlete’s movement patterns for each sport and then we discuss them looking for areas of improvement. This can be an eye-opening experience for the athlete who may never have seen such visual feedback on technique. Some make gross movement errors; for others we’re simply refining what is already pretty good technique. Swim and run coaches can provide this service for you. For the bike the starting place for skill enhancement is a bike fit…

 

When it comes to riding a bike fast the starting place is having a bike that is not only the right size, but is also adjusted to fit the athlete’s unique body proportions and physiological demands (as discovered by the physical assessment).

 

The bike fit is done for each of my athletes every winter, even if they’ve still got the same bike from the previous year and it was properly fitted prior to that season. Things change. The athlete gets stronger or weaker, more or less flexible, leaner or fatter…

 

There may also be a change in the A-priority race distance for the coming season. The bike set-up for an Ironman is significantly different than for an Olympic-distance race. Bike shops often provide this service.

 

I always check my athletes’ equipment to make sure it isn’t slowing them down or contributing to a potential injury. This could be a poorly fitting wetsuit or worn-out running shoes.

I require each of them to have a heart rate monitor, power meter for their bike and a speed-distance device for running as I know that accurate data can improve training – if they know how to use them. Such gear is not particularly cheap – but then neither is the sport of triathlon.

 

In short, starting the triathlon season with such a thorough evaluation will do wonders for your performances in 2012.