The 5 Basic Strength Moves Every Triathlete Needs

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We’re not telling you anything new when we say that the sport of triathlon is extremely demanding and rigorous—you likely already know that. Putting together three sports that are each incredibly demanding in their own right is no simple task for the human body, and then trying to do that stronger, longer, or faster truly takes some solid training and athleticism. Many athletes can get drawn into the routine of simply going for swims, bikes, or runs most days for most weeks within a year. And while this is certainly a massive requirement for the sport, it won’t necessarily lead to you moving better or more efficiently, which is really where the greatest gains can be made. The way you move through everyday life is a snapshot of how you will move through your races—and nearly every human out there has the opportunity to improve their movement patterns and their potential. Not only can mastering your movements make you a more efficient swim-bike-runner by utilizing the correct sequences and activations of the big, strong muscles, but it can also help you avoid potentially hazardous patterns that might lead to overuse injuries during a year of training and racing.

There are a few all-encompassing patterns that are truly beneficial for all athletes to train over the course of a season. These motions teach you to move from the center of your body, which is the most powerful and efficient way to move, and also how to stabilize or mobilize the correct joints for each discipline. These movement patterns should be the bedrock of any strength and conditioning program for triathletes, and they can move up or down in intensity just like your sport-specific training. Let’s dig into the five major movement patterns that all triathletes should use with some example exercises for each one.