Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a
seasoned pro, the off season is the perfect time to improve efficiency and technique in
all three disciplines.
During the in season, making major “over-hauls” to your technique can
cause disastrous results. This is because you
often have to take significant steps backward to undo bad habits before starting from
scratch to reconstruct your technique. As a
result you often get slower temporarily before you see the major gains in
efficiency…they say it takes 12 weeks to form a habit and taking the time to create
new habits doesn’t usually fit in to our seasonal
plans. As such we should be limiting our
technique adjustments to refining small efficiency issues as opposed to major changes
during the in season.
This is why it is important to focus on creating new habits with regard to
technique and efficiency during the off season. For
all three disciplines this usually means cruising at an aerobic level to maintain base
level fitness while focusing on DRILLS, DRILLS, and more DRILLS during workouts. Remember, however, we all have different habits to
correct with regard to efficiency; as a result, what may be the best drill for your buddy
may not be all that helpful to you. Knowing
what drills to chose takes some self reflection.
The easiest way to assess your self and realize where your weaknesses lie is to
have someone video tape you while running, biking and swimming (usually video of yourself
on the bike riding in different gears on your indoor trainer will give you the information
you need.) Then sit down with a coach or
buddy who knows more about each of the disciplines to help you assess the areas you need
to work on. Then it is a matter of choosing
the right drill.
Finding drills can be as easy as reading swim, bike and run books or triathlon
magazines. There is also plenty of resources on the internet and sometimes talking to
different training partners to see what works for them is an effective way to learn new
drills. The secret is to know what the goal
of the drill is (ie what is it trying to fix).
Immersing
yourself in this process will undoubtedly improve your self awareness leading to increased
comfort and improved technique in all three disciplines.
Good
Luck and Happy Training!
Andrea
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