The winter months are the perfect time for triathletes to integrate circuit training into their off-season regimes. You should design a circuit program to meet your individual needs. By selecting proper exercise loads tailored to meet sport-specific demands, nearly all triathletes can benefit from some form of circuit training.
Swim
Medicine ball training is effective to develop rotation speed and trunk stability. One exercise recommended by USA Swimming is to stand with your back against a wall, hold a medicine ball in front with arms extended, and rotate side to side. As you turn right, rotate your left hand on top of the ball. Do the opposite to the left side.
Bike
Use circuit training to improve your efficiency on the bike. Many people struggle to maintain an aerodynamic bike position because they lack mobility in the hips, thoracic spine and ankles. Improve mobility with medicine ball squat throws. Stand in an athletic position with a ball held in front. Squat down and then use the momentum from your upward movement to throw the ball into the air.
Run
Circuit training is an ideal format to incorporate running drills. Among those recommended by Running Times are high knee drills and bounding. Perform high knee drills by exaggerating your knee lift. Bounding is simply a running stride in which you exaggerate either your stride height or distance. Begin on flat ground and then do these exercises on hills in later weeks. Start with five seconds for each exercise and progress to 30.
Putting it all together: Repetitions
Select your repetition counts carefully. Resist the temptation to mindlessly perform exercise. Do an appropriate number of repetitions for your fitness and skill level. If you can only do four perfect repetitions at a time, start with four reps and gradually increase that number as your fitness and skill improve.
Putting it all together: Recovery Intervals
Provide ample time in between each exercise. As your fitness improves, you can reduce the rest between exercises but never do so at the expense of good form. During your competitive season, reduce the volume of exercises and increase the rest so you recover adequately for your primary swim, bike, and run workouts. Aim for quality movements with perfect form rather than trying to cram as much as possible into your circuit sessions.
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