Techniques and Tips

One of the great parts of triathlon is always having something else to work on. Training and racing well isn't just based on fitness, technique and doing many little things correctly can have a big impact on performance

The Swim

No doubt a large component of fast swimming is technique. Browse through some of the drill and techniques and I prescribe to my athletes, and don't forget to stop by my youtube channel for more.

Streamline Kick on Stomach - A great drill for not only building fitness and breathe control but also for keeping your hips close to the surface. This is not a lazy drill, kick hard to keep your momentum going and tighten the stomach to keep your body in a streamlined position. This is also great to work in with a warm-up set, such as 10x50 with odd as streamlined kick on stomach and evens freestyle swim.

Sighting - Train like you race! Take special note of how Tina lifts her head to sight only as much as she needs to given the environment she's in. In addition, notice how she seemlessly combines the sighting with the breath motion.

4 step Flip progression - This does not take into account the finer points of turning, but is a great introduction for triathletes trying to learn their first flip turns.

1. Stand upright and jump to flip forward. Make sure to flip straight over and flip quickly.
2. Same as number 1, but instead of flipping all the way over, stop on your back and come into streamline position on the back.
3. This time swim towards the wall and once your head is at the T, flip straight over into a streamline position on the back.
4. Repeat step 3 but move closer the the wall until you can push off on your back, roll over on your stomach and begin to swim.Flip turning will make you a better open water swimmer. The notion that there are no

walls in open water is ridiculous and allows swimmers to instead take a break every 25 in the pool. Flip turning takes away those mini breaks of open turns and forces the athlete to learn better breathe control and pacing and increases swim fitness over the long term. The hardest part of learning to flip is the realization that you'll have to swim slower between the walls as you build the necessary fitness to handle constant turns.

Commit to flipping for the first turn of every interval for a couple of weeks and increase from there. Example, 5x100. Flip after the first 25 of each 100 and then allow yourself to open turn. Build to flipping after the first 25, and then again at the end of the 50, then giving yourself one open turn at the 75 marker. Slowly build up until you're comfortable flipping all the time. Consistency and commitment is key.

The Bike

The Bottle Hand Up - It's important to plan and practice every aspect every part of the race. Don't let dropped nutrition ruin your day.