Common Training Mistakes that Occur in the Off-Season

Through the years of coaching there are several mistakes that I have witnessed in the fall and winter. Oftentimes it seems an athlete is not happy with their performance and continues training at 100% volume through the winter months only to find their performance not improve, or worse, diminish the following year. I feel if an athlete knows these common mistakes, he or she can then avoid them and have a better chance of improved performance year after year. The mistakes that I will list in this article are not in any rank order. One is not necessarily more common than the other. One mistake is not necessarily more harmful than the other.

Not Taking Down Time Between the Seasons

Many times an athlete will plow through training year after year without taking necessary downtime. Some athletes can train year after year without a break, but they are in the minority and even those athletes will eventually have to take some time off from structured training. Surprisingly, amateur age group athletes are more likely to skip downtime than professional athletes who earn a living by racing. In fact, many professional triathletes with a long course specialty have two downtimes, one midsummer where they take a couple of weeks off and the other in the late fall and early winter. The off-season allows the mind and body to take a break from the rigors of training. When training resumes, the workouts will be much more productive as the athlete will be “hungry” for training and racing. The period of downtime is not a time to become a coach potato, the athlete should still exercise 40 minutes a day on most days of the week; however, the mode of exercise should be activities other than swimming, biking, and running. Hiking, walking, and elliptical training are examples of what can occur during this time.

Neglecting Weight Training

After the age of 30, there is a continual, significant decrease in muscle mass that occurs. This loss of muscle mass can be attenuated by exercise, especially resistance training. Furthermore, resistance training can reduce the likelihood of a decrease in bone density. With limited time available to train, many athletes choose training in the disciplines of triathlon rather than spend time in the weight room. During the training season, I agree that this is the approach to take, especially if training time is limited. However, once the race season is complete the triathlete should spend time in the weight room. There are a number of reasons for this: 1) for the triathletes who are past the age of 30 (the majority), this will allow one to rebuild some of the muscle mass that was lost during the past year 2) strength is often a limiting factor in swimming and cycling. There is some debate as to whether strength is necessarily a limiter in cycling; however there is strong evidence that an athlete’s power reserve is a predictor of endurance performance (1). What is power reserve? Power reserve is the difference between the power output during a race and the peak crank power. Power reserve can be thought of as the relative work intensity. An example will be helpful in illustrating power reserve and how weight training can improve cycling performance. Lets say athlete A is racing at 75% threshold power, which is 230 Watts of power. Athlete A’s peak crank power is 1100 Watts. Athlete B has an identical threshold power and also races at 75% threshold, thus he is racing at 230 Watts. Athlete B has a peak crank power of 1300 Watts. Who is going to have a better triathlon performance? If both athletes have identical swim and run velocities at threshold, athlete B will win. This is because athlete B has a larger power reserve on the bike, which is a predictor of endurance performance. Both athletes will get off the bike at the same time, but athlete A will be more fatigued. How do you improve your power reserve? Weight training. Improved leg strength will lead to improved peak crank power and a corresponding increase in power reserve.

Weight training and the corresponding increased strength may not directly improve running; however, strength training can decrease muscle imbalances, which can improve efficiency and decrease injury. Furthermore, strength training that includes core strength conditioning can improve efficiency and decrease injury. An imbalance in core muscle strength is a predictor of injury, including stress fractures (2).

Weight training has not been shown to improve swim times in elite swimmers. However; in my experience, age group athletes often have a limiter in upper body strength.  Often an athlete has good stroke technique, but do not have the strength to pull their body over the hand during the stroke.

A weight training schedule should be periodized, i.e. begin with low weight-high repetition sets and the schedule should end several months later with very heavy weight and low repetition sets. Finally, it is critical that muscle failure is achieved for each exercise.

With Limited Time to Train, Focusing on Distance Rather than Speed

The vast majority of amateur athletes have limited time available for training. It should go without saying that longer races require a higher volume of training, which primarily consists of longer training sessions. This volume must be brought up gradually and total training stress must be carefully accounted for. Training stress includes both the training volume and the training intensity. With limited time to train, what should occur with most athletes is a gradual build-up in volume first and then if there is sufficient training time, intensity can be added maintain and/or increase training stress. However, most athletes don’t have the luxury of the time required to have adequate intensity in training to increase their speed. The athlete finishes long course races, such as half and full Ironman races and marathons, but do not finish them with the speed they desire. So what can and should be done? I suggest that athletes focus on shorter races in the near term, especially during the winter months, when the focus is not building up the volume for a long course race. A training error will help illustrate this point. An athlete wants to become faster at all race disciplines. This athlete has 10 hours maximum per week to train for a half Ironman, which is the minimum of what most coaches would consider necessary training hours per week, but can be done with the correct training program. However, here is where the error occurs. A marathon is scheduled for December, which is 3 months after the end of the previous race season. Another marathon is scheduled for the following April. Following the second marathon, the first half-Ironman is in June and a second half Ironman is scheduled in July. To accomplish this, the athlete must focus on building up run volume for the first marathon, and then spend one month recovering. Following recovery, the focus of training is high running volume. The second marathon is followed by several weeks of recovery. After recovery from the second marathon, time is then spent building volume for the two half-Ironman races. Again, time limits the training to building volume and there is no room for building in intensity. So what should this athlete do? One marathon is fine, if they athlete really wants to do a marathon. Many athletes wish to do a marathon for personal accomplishment or mental reasons when choosing to focus on long course races. This is perfectly fine. However, there has to be a significant portion of the season dedicated to increasing speed. In the winter months, I prefer to see athletes focus primarily on one primary discipline and choose a shorter race as a goal. Time is still spent on training the other two disciplines, however one particular discipline is the focus. For cycling, this would be a 40K time trial. In running, this would be a 5K or 10K race. In a 10K, the athlete can end the base building with an 8-mile long run and then incorporate track workouts focusing on speed and also include threshold efforts. An increase in running speed is guaranteed. Once the shorter race is accomplished, then the attention can turn to triathlon training and the training paces will be much faster. If the athlete still wishes to do long course races with restricted training hours, the payback will be faster training paces and faster races; however, overall potential speed will still be limited due to the restricted training stress due to lack of intensity that is imposed by limited training hours. The athlete may choose to continue shorter course races where speed is crucial for success. In conclusion, athletes need to understand that it is very difficult to train for speed when the necessary volume of training is high and training time is limited. The simultaneous addition of increased intensity (via speed training) and increased volume is one of the number one causes of injury.

Not Focusing on the Limiter

Between race seasons is the time to evaluate your limiter in terms of the swim, bike, and run legs of the triathlon. All too often, an athlete excels at a particular discipline, thus enjoys training in that discipline and trains almost exclusively in that discipline during the winter months. Often, the limiter is very obvious and not much time needs to be spent evaluating the limiter. However, a veteran triathlete becomes talented in all three disciplines and careful evaluation of race results is required. What I usually do for my athletes is compare their individual splits to the splits of the age group or overall leaders to see which discipline needs focus during the off-season. Furthermore, the race distance needs to be taken into consideration. A weak swim leg in an Ironman course is not nearly as disastrous (in terms of overall race performance) as a weak swim leg in an Olympic distance course. If an athlete has a bike limiter for long course triathlon racing, it is critical that this be improved, as the bike leg is by far the most important leg of a long course triathlon (3).

Not Focusing on Efficiency

The three main determinants of endurance performance are efficiency, lactate threshold, and VO2max. Athletes with some training background often focus on lactate threshold and VO2max (often times unknowingly), but rarely, if ever, work on efficiency. Efficiency is defined as the work performed divided by the energy consumed. Often times, the term economy is used in place of efficiency. The two terms are related in that economy is the velocity of movement divided by the energy consumed. If a cyclist can produce more watts for a given energy consumption, the cyclist will also go faster. Efficiency is extremely critical for endurance performance. Often athletes will focus on VO2max training, as historically that has been considered the gold standard for fitness; however, VO2max is largely genetically capped and it is difficult to change when an athlete is highly trained. Numerous research studies have shown that elite athletes have very similar VO2max numbers. Furthermore, elite athletes have very similar lactate threshold limits when expressed as a relative number compared to their VO2max numbers. What is left to separate these athletes is efficiency/economy. Running economy has been shown to explain the difference in performance of elite athletes with similar VO2max (4); furthermore, the running mechanics that separates runners with high economy to those with low running economy has been illustrated (5). Recently, the foot strike patterns of elite long distance-runners have been shown to be a possible predictor of running economy and corresponding finishing times (6). How does one improve efficiency? Practice. An athlete needs to work on technique. This is common knowledge for swimming, where technique plays a very large factor in swim speed; however, technique in running and cycling are unfortunately often ignored. To increase running efficiency I suggest a gait analysis followed by drills to improve the new run technique. The gait analysis allows a qualified coach to evaluate the running kinetics and kinematics of the athlete’s running style and suggest the necessary changes to increase running economy. It is imperative that running distance is decreased following the gait analysis and distance is gradually increased after the new running style becomes habit. Another drill that I like to incorporate in base training is zone 1 and 2 running where the focus is running as fast as possible with a low heart rate. For example if a heart rate of 140 is in zone 1, the idea is to run as fast as possible at a heart rate of 140. This draws on a lot of discipline and patience, but the payback is huge.

The fall and winter are the best times for a swim stroke analysis, as this will allow one sufficient time to get a solid grasp of the new stroke before volume is increased. For cycling, the number one tip for improving efficiency is a proper bike fit (which will simultaneously improve efficiency and economy), followed by drills (computrainer spin scan analysis and one leg pedal drills). This is a good spot to revisit the long distance training dilemma I previously mentioned earlier. If an athlete chooses to focus on multiple long course races throughout the 12-month year, it becomes extremely difficult to spend time working on technique as the training focus is consistently on volume. It is critical that time is spent each year evaluating technique when training volume is low.

Jumping Back into the Season to Early

The next mistake I will talk about is jumping back into the season too early. This can occur by various means, but the two more common means are by abbreviating the time away from structured training or by increasing volume and/or intensity before a change in technique has had a chance to become habit. I have seen many athletes decide to take a 4 week off-season in which the goal was to not swim, bike, or run for one full month, only to start training after two weeks. When they resume training after two weeks, they are excited and motivated for the impending race 10 months down the road. The unfortunate result is that before the thaw is out of the ground and the lake is unfrozen, they are burned out and don’t want to think about training. The other example I see is where athletes come to me for a gait analysis, spend the time and money to change their technique and then go out for a 10 mile run the following week. In some ways, this is part of the mindset of the triathlete, which we are all guilty of possessing. The athlete is afraid of losing fitness. Yes, fitness does disappear very rapidly when a person becomes sedentary (the first signs of detraining appear from a physiological standpoint within days); however, by focusing on technique via frequent short runs, one can focus on technique for several weeks with no signs of decreased fitness. It has been shown that cyclists can decrease training volume by 20% for 3-weeks with no change in maximum power output or VO2max (7). Although similar finding have not been confirmed for running or swimming, the results would be expected to be the same from a physiological standpoint. The main difference that would be expected is a decrement in technique. This is where short, but frequent sessions focusing on technique are critical. No loss of fitness would be expected; however, frequent training sessions would be necessary to maintain technique and more sessions are needed to improve performance. The take home message is “Do not increase volume until technique changes have had time to take effect”.

Choosing Equipment over Proper Training

This is the last topic in this article; however, it by no means diminishes the importance or frequency of occurrence. In the last 10 years, I have repeatedly witnessed athletes choose equipment over a quality training program. The triathlete will spend $6000 dollars on a lightweight race bike and lightweight aerodynamic wheels, yet be 10+ pounds overweight and be improperly fit on the bike leading to a humped back and large frontal surface area. The improper fit negates any affect the race bike and wheels provide. If the goal is to become faster, the athlete will be much further ahead by following a quality, individualized training program which will lead to a bigger engine and increased lean body mass. Yes, given the same engine, the lighter, more aero bike will lead to an immediate increase in speed. However, this will not do any good if the athlete can’t finish the course strong. Furthermore, from a long-term standpoint, quality training will bring about increased speed compared to high-end equipment. The following link shows data that supports this point.

http://www.petersenperformancelab.net/getting_faster.htm

Summary

I have touched upon several of the more common training mistakes I have witnessed in the months between race seasons. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but some of which I see more frequently and can easily be addressed to lead to more productive race seasons. It is important to periodically take some time off  (2-4 weeks) each year to allow the mind and body to rest. The frequency and duration of the downtime will vary depending on the athlete and race calendar.

Weight training is important, especially for those over the age of 30. The weight training session does not need to be time consuming. You need to reach muscle failure at each exercise to achieve maximum productiveness with the weight training.

With limited time to train, you must spend a portion of the season focusing on high intensity workouts to increase speed in each discipline. Remember running long and slow all of the time will teach you to run long and slow. However, you cannot simultaneously increase intensity and volume.

In between race seasons is the time to evaluate the race performance of the previous season and highlight the limiting discipline(s). This is the time to take swim lessons, have a gait analysis performed, etc., and spend time perfecting technique. It is critical that volume is kept relatively low until the new technique becomes habit. Then volume can be gradually increased.

The three determinants of performance are efficiency, lactate threshold, and VO2max. Most athletes will spend time working on the two former determinants, but forsake time spent working on efficiency. This is unfortunate, because this truly separates the competitive age group athletes from the elite athletes. I have seen first hand athletes come into the lab and exhibit a VO2max that rivals professional athletes yet lack the ability to even come close to the performance of an elite athlete.

One of the biggest obstacles I run into as a coach is trying to bring the volume down for an athlete when they present me with a 12-month calendar full of long course races. Training for repetitive long course races does not allow flexibility to work on technique and sufficient high intensity workouts to bring about the desired increased speed. This illustrates the importance of reducing the training volume once a year and focusing on technique.

When an athlete decides to take time away from training, it is important they stick with that plan. Furthermore, if an athlete wisely decides to work on technique and makes changes to improve efficiency, he or she needs to make sure the technique is habit before significantly increasing volume. Do not jump back into the training season too early.

Finally, an extremely common mistake I witness is choosing expensive equipment over a quality-training program. All too often athletes will spend thousands of dollars on a lightweight bike and wheels and then choose a free, generic training program (what I call a “12 weeks to a miracle training program”). Yes, the lightweight bike and aerodynamic wheels will give you an instant boost in speed, under the correct conditions (i.e. a hilly course or the athlete can already ride at 17+ miles an hour); however, further increases in speed require quality training. Furthermore, in most instances, the athlete will have a better long-term return in investment via quality training vs. expensive equipment. Of course the best option for the athlete is both lightweight, aerodynamic equipment and a quality-training program.

1. Nielsen, J. S. , Hansen, E. A., & Sjøgaard, G.  (2004) . Pedaling rate affects endurance performance during high-intensity cycling. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 92, 114-120.

2. Niemuth P. E. , Johnson, R. J. , Myers, M. J. , & Thieman, T. J. (2205) . Hip muscle weakness and overuse injuries in recreational runners. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 15, 14-21.

3. Dengel DR, Flynn MG, Costill DL, & Kirwan JP. (1989). Determinants of success during triathlon competition. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 60. 234-238.

4. Conley, D. L. , & Krahenbuhl, G. S. (1980) . Running economy and distance running performance of highly trained athletes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 12, 357-360.

5. Williams, K. R. , & Cavanagh PR. (1987) . Relationship between distance running mechanics, running economy, and performance. Journal of Applied Physiology, 63, 1236-1245.

6. Hasegawa, H. , Yamauchi, T. , & Kraemer, W. J. (2007). Foot Strike Patterns of Runners at the 15-km Point During an Elite-Level Half Marathon. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 21, 888-893.

7. Rietjens, G. J. , Keizer, H. A. , Kuipers, H. , & Saris W. H.  (2001) . A reduction in training volume and intensity for 21 days does not impair performance in cyclists. British journal of sports medicine, 35, 431-434.

www.petersenperformancelab.net