Strength Workout For Triathletes Using Free Weights

I'm very conscious of the time restraints of age group athletes but I recommend adding 30 mins to an hour of strength training once or twice a week. Especially beneficial for older and long distance athletes.

Among the arguments for adding a strength component to your endurance training are injury prevention, weight control and neuromuscular advantages. There's also evidence of psychological benefits.

In the absence of a trainer who can provide you with specific exercises for your physiology and weaknesses, this series of exercises can be used as a starting point to hit the prime movers and supporting muscles used for triathlon and is designed with minimum equipment resources. You'll need a pair of dumbbells and ideally a bench.

Exercises

Squats: 2-3 sets of 6-10

Bench Press: 2-3 sets of 8-12

Reverse Lunges: 2 sets of 6-10 (great for hill running)

Plank: 2 times to exhaustion max (~1 min)

Crunches: 2-3 sets of 20+.

Calf Raises: 2-3 sets of 20 (best to do on a small step)

Dumbbell Bent Over Row: 2-3 sets of 8-12

Bicep Curl to Shoulder Press: 2-3 sets of 8-12

Tricep Extensions: 2-3 sets of 8-12