TRX

nigelfranklyn

Has anyone included TRX into your OS training plan? I would like to include strength training this off season and I am looking for some guidance to successfully do so. For example, when can the works be done, and what focus area. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

bkcomiskey

Nigel: I have been using TRX as part of a strength training plan in the OS. For me, it works best on M-W-F. I focus on core strength and stability. What are your goals for strength training?

GMAN 19030

Gotta ask...

What's your reasoning for wanting to do strength training?  Overall fitness or because you think it will help you become a better triathlete.  Yes, I'm putting you on the spot.  

Edit - looks like Brian and I are going in the same direction. 

Brenda Ross

Coach P did TRX last year. Maybe he will pipe in. I lift weights on a regular basis, because I have some muscle imbalances that need to be kept in check. I lift only 2 days a week. I lift on Tuesday. I do my bike ride first thing in the morning and then I do a 30min drill work set in the pool followed by strength training in the early evening. I do the same for Thursdays. Seems to work for me, however, if I am tired and feel I need to rest, I dump the strength training.

Jess Withrow

Hey Nigel! Last year I spent over two months (Sept - Nov) working 1:1 with a TRX certified trainer, with high hopes that it would increase my core strength and, like B said, help me address muscular imbalances. It was a great workout, but the end result (my n=1 experience, anyway) was that it wasn't the focus I needed for my body. I have really decent core strength, but my limiter was upper body strength. I simply didn't have what it took to support my weight in a way that I could give muscles like my lats an effective workout. I was disappointed that it wasn't the amazing solution that I was looking for, because so many people LOVE it! I ended up having a gait analysis with the guys at PAP and have a great core program that really addresses my specific needs.

I'll add that the TRX trainer I worked with had me doing high intensity stuff that I really don't think I could've been doing on top of the OS work. I wasn't in the OS at the time (heck, I wasn't even *gasp!* with EN at the time), but had I been, I think it would've been necessary to alter the TRX workouts so as not to affect downstream OS workouts.

Bob and Brian have already asked the real question - what are your goals for adding strength training? IMHO, core strength and addressing imbalances are both good reasons, but if the goal is to increase overall strength/endurance for swimming/biking/running.... Well... see Coach R's post if you haven't already: http://tinyurl.com/acvl98o

[Deleted User]

 

I second reading Rich's post on strength training before starting.

 

The TRX is a great tool to have in your strength training toolbox:

• fun
• safe
• can do it anywhere: home, gym, outside
• travels well, easily fits in a suitcase
• total body workout
• emphasis on core strength
• time-efficient

 

I have been doing 2 strength workouts per week during the OS.

Workout #1: Monday night OR Tuesday night

Workout #2: Thursday night OR Friday morning

 

Here's a good total body workout to get you started: http://youtu.be/9mjkrTIsOq4

 

Keep it simple, focus on good technique and have fun!

coop6

Nigel, I did TRX one winter, before EN membership. It was a class at a YMCA, and I absolutely loved the core stuff. I ran a marathon after that class, and it was the first time ever that I had run a marathon with a solid core, and it made a huge difference in how well I ran and how I felt after. X2 what Jess said though about the high intensity stuff. The class included a ton of leg and upper body work that I just didn't feel like I needed, and overall I know it compromised the quality of my run and bike workouts. I think it's a great core workout if you can do the exercises you need to do and avoid scorching yourself with jump squats and the like.

Sue Chapman

Hi Nigel - I did TRX 2 years ago in prep for IMWI - starting in the middle of the OS - and going through to the week before IM - 2x week. I'm actually starting a TRX bootcamp tomorrow - 6 weeks, 2 x week - to get back into it. Admittedly, my core strength isn't what it was two years ago so time to get back into it. The class, while hard work, isn't high intensity. It made a huge difference in my running (like Sarah) and more importantly, I was able to ride the full bike without an aching back (which used to get so bad I could hardly stand up). For me, it also really helped my swimming - not just the core strength but the trainer was a NCAA and US National team swimmer, so we have lots of good upper back/arm workouts as well. It seems like the OS is the best time (for me) to really build core with TRX and then carry it through the heavy training.

[Deleted User]

I have a TRX set at home and I feel that it not only helps with core strength, it also helps me get in some great stretches.

nigelfranklyn

Thanks for the responses. Overall strength training, core and some muscular imbalances. I am pretty big guy with a bunch of injuries from my previous life running track, playing soccer and basketball. Over the years my strength training has become more functional and aimed at my core and knees. I followed coach rich's approach last year because the os stress was new and I was always on the brink - first year with EN - of some injury or sickness. That said the approach was somewhat contrary to everything I have learned, in general, over the years. This is the first program - I am new to triathlon so I may be speaking out of turn - where strength training was not a part of the macro cycle. It would be interesting to hear coach p's thoughts on this. Why he would do it and we would be advised not to? Does he have a different view than that of coach rich. I know there is a strength training section of the wicki but this subjectmatter isn't pushed front and center in the haus!

Thanks again everyone!

[Deleted User]

Posted By Nigel Franklyn on 19 Jan 2013 11:47 PM

This is the first program - I am new to triathlon so I may be speaking out of turn - where strength training was not a part of the macro cycle.

Agreed. I am still trying to wrap my head around strength training periodization alongside the EN macrocyles (OS, Focus Block, GetFaster, etc.). Wondering if it's even worth spending time managing those details, and if so, how.

 

russG

Hi all,

I am interested in TRX - will get to that...

I have not used TRX, but I do functional strength and core exercises recommended by a PT, and I think that functional strength training should be part of everyone's daily plan.

Goals are to prevent injury, bring my strength imbalances into balanced, maintain some flexibility, maintain core strength - all goals that are in line with EN philosophy. It is different from using weights to build the ability to generate more force.

My understanding - the EN philosophy on weight training is that return on investment, defined as "increase in speed per unit of time spent on training," is higher from specific activities: running and biking first, then swimming. Weight training to develop the ability to deliver more force is see as less efficient for developing speed than spending the same amount of time doing high-intensity intervals on the trainer or at the track.

That said, it is our responsibility as self-trained (and in many cases aging) athletes to make sure that we have a plan that builds us sustainably over the long term without breakdowns. Hence I believe in year-round functional strength training to address muscle imbalances, range of motion and flexibility limitations. I believe this theme could be played more loudly at EN.

The easier exercises and stretching (dynamic warm-up, clam-shells, rolling, single-leg dead-lifts, calf and ham stretches) I do every other night.

The tougher exercises (planks, side planks, squat jumps, backstep lunges, push-ups, pull-ups) I try to do 2x/week, on Th PM and Sun PM, which minimizes impact on my main sets.

As far as periodization goes.. a carefully integrated functional strength program is a year-round exercise that improves your workouts.

If you're considering building a strength-training phase into your macro-cycle with the goal of building force capacity, then you're taking those weeks from somewhere. Those weeks will come from your post-race down-time, from your OS, from your get-faster, from your distance build - and the EN philosophy is that the ROI is higher from race-specific activities.

That said, we are all self-trained. There are members who swim through the OS. There are members who weight train. There are members who skip the "run second" in the OS to allow for more recovery time. We all take the EN plan and adapt it, with or without input from the coaches, to ourselves. We are, at the end of the day, self-trained, and we become experts in what works for our own physical aspects.

@Brent - "is it even worth spending time managing those details, and if so, how..." I think it's worth thinking these aspects of training through. The better your year and your week work for you, the better your results will be. Personally, I believe that specific training will increase your speed, that weight training will increase your muscle mass but not your speed, and that year-round functional strength training can make you more injury resistant and therefore increase your speed indirectly by enabling consistant training over the course of months and years. YMMV (of course).

@Larry - how much space do you need for the TRX set - when you are using it and when it is packed away? How long did it take before you had a routine that works for you, and did you take classes or just work with the materials they gave you? Is it that much better than push-ups, pull-ups, planks, etc.,?

Best!

Kori Martini

Russell - Excellent feedback, and I agree. The point of EN (IMO) is to make us better TRIATHLETES. But, it can't be specified for each individual. We have to adapt it to ourselves and our lives at some point. I had ACL repair in 2001. I don't have (m)any lingering issues from it, but I have to take care of my core/legs....or I will. I can't expect RnP to add amendments to each plan that say:
-If you have had a surgery, do X...
-If you have a history of PF, do Y...
-If you tend to drop your left hip when you run, do Z...
-If you always have to pee at mile 12 and seem to be allergic to chlorine, do A.....
We all make mods to our "routine" based on what works for us as individuals. I think the EN Koolaid is the foundation of the house. What type of shingles you put on the house may be up to you.
:-)