Strength Training for Triathletes: Coach Chris Lee

D3 Coach Mike Ricci Interviews Chris Lee of Kinesis Integrated Performance. Chris has a long history of working with Olympic level triathletes, Ironman athletes, Ultra runners, and podium finishers of the Boston Marathon. We discuss how much and how often a triathlete should strength train along with how to train around a race, and the key exercises every triathlete should be doing!

Takeaways

• Strength training is important for endurance athletes and can help improve performance.
• The minimum effective dose for strength training is two times a week, but three times a week can be beneficial for some athletes.
• Strength tapering should start around eight weeks before a race, with a gradual decrease in volume and intensity.
• During tapering, the focus is on maintaining base strength, modifying as needed, and mitigating injuries.
• Strength training can be beneficial for recovery after a race, but the volume and intensity should be reduced to avoid muscle soreness and damage. Strength training is crucial for both long-distance and short-distance endurance athletes.
• During race season, it is important to focus on strength retention and maintain a balance between training and recovery.
• As we age, strength training becomes even more important for maintaining mobility, strength, and bone health.
• The app discussed in the conversation aims to make strength training more accessible and personalized for endurance athletes.

Sound Bites

• "I can get faster at this, right?"
• "People still don't understand how important strength training is"
• "We're playing with the endocrine system more so than anything else."
• "There is too strong. You don't need to be that strong."

Chapters

00:00
Introduction and Background

06:54
Effective Strength Training Frequency for Endurance Athletes

14:55
Tapering Strength Training for Race Preparation

30:31
Introducing an App for Personalized Strength Training

Exercises all triathletes should do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmHO9ztKu7U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GftYHNNA3ls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1BO7ynQJmI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyjf5zusMUs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE0M-t56_EE