Become a One-Sport Beast
The offseason is a great time to get good at your weak sport. It's a fact, if you work at one sport, you will get better. "Repetition is the mother of skill," says Jim Rohn (personal growth coach). For a four- to six-week period, add four to six workouts per week of your weaker sport while you maintain fitness in the other two. This added fitness and detailed training will transition to your overall performance as you enter the main triathlon season.
Strength Train
Strength training should be implemented by 100 percent of triathletes during the offseason. Adding in strength work in the offseason will help develop strong connective tissue, strengthen your joints, tendons and muscles, and add durability to your body so when you hit the beginning of your main triathlon season, you have an added physical fitness element to assist your three sports.
Find a qualified strength and fitness coach who can set up a smart training plan specifically designed to enhance your movement efficiency and overall functional strength.
More: 6 Strength Training Exercises for the Offseason
Plan Your "A" Races
Once your final race has been completed, assess how the season went. What were your weaknesses and strengths? And what are some goals for next year? As you start constructing this game plan, it's important to start planning your race calendar as early as possible so you can fully prepare and allow adequate time to train. Time flies by fast and if you have a goal to complete a big early-season race, you have to train in the offseason to set yourself up for success.
More: The ABSs of Planning Your Race Season
Allow Mental and Physical Regeneration
All of the above strategies are great to stay focused during the triathlon offseason. But in order to reap the benefits of these great tips, you must allow full recovery after your triathlon season has been completed. Getting back into a full, structured training plan too quickly could lead to burnout, demotivation, injury and lack luster training.
If you have had a grueling triathlon season and have been training consistently the entire year, you need a good chunk of time to recover. Use this time for light, unstructured training and mental recovery. This will help build back your motivation and drive so that, once again, you can go at it with full steam for the next season.
More: 6 More Offseason Tips for Triathletes
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