Men's Health - UK (2019-07)

02

BIKE

SMART

03

RUN

FOR IT

i_

ii_

iii_

iii_

ii_

i_

FIND YOUR
RHYTHM
“The key to riding
in a triathlon is making sure
you don’t over-bike and end
up walking for the run. Ideally,
we like to have athletes spin
at 85-90rpm,” says Jen
Rulon, a triathlon coach
based in San Antonio,
Texas. Master this rate on
a stationary bike in the gym,
then mimic it out on the road.
This even pace ensures
that your quads still have
some legs come the run.

HONE YOUR

SPEED

Since it’s the final

stretch, you can use up every

drop of energy on the run. Get

faster with at least one speed

workout per week, says

Ruggiero. A favourite: warm

up with 10 minutes of easy

jogging. Do five one-minute

sprints, with a minute of rest in

between. Beginners should do

two sets (10 sprints in total),

with five minutes of jogging

between sets; advanced

athletes can do three sets.

DOWNHILL

STRUGGLE

Rulon advises

that, in a sprint, it’s important

to keep pedalling across the

top, which means no coasting

when the hill levels out. Then,

switch into a heavier gear and

push on the decline. While

your competitors are taking

a break at the top, you’ll be

halfway down the hill.

STAND TALL

“Don’t focus

on pace. Focus

on posture,” says Mohamed

Elsaied, an International

Triathlon Union-certified

coach. Leaning a little bit

forward is good: it pushes

you ahead. But hunched

shoulders are a sign that

you’re running inefficiently.

REAL RACER’S TIP

CURB YOUR

INNER COWBOY

The running mount (leaping

onto your bike at pace) looks

sexy, but if you don’t get it

right, the penalty for failure is

a face-slide across the tarmac.

“I crashed a couple times

mounting in a race,” says

PlayTri’s Paul Wolf. “I realised

that, at my level, it won’t really

buy me extra speed.”

REAL RACER’S TIP

PUMP YOUR

ARMS

“I was behind a pro, and I saw

that she was using all of her

upper body to propel herself

forward,” says PlayTri leader

April Hince. “It makes a lot

of sense to pump your arms,

since your legs are so tired.”

DON’T PUSH TOO HARD

ON THE BIKE TO SAVE

ENERGY IN THE LONG RUN

GOOD POSTURE GIVES

YOU THE BEST CHANCE

OF A STRONG FINAL LEG

MEN’S HEALTH 39

A

20

MOVE UP

A GEAR

21

SPRINT

FINISH

19

IN AT THE

DEEP END