Winter is coming. Endurance athletes who live in areas where the weather turns cold and/or wet usually retreat to indoor training. But this presents its own challenges and questions – how do you maintain (and even gain) fitness? Is it possible to keep things mentally and physically engaging? Let’s explore some basic ideas and strategies for effective indoor triathlon training this winter.
Focus on Structured Indoor Cycling
Indoor cycling is a cornerstone of triathlon training during the winter. Thanks to advances in indoor bike trainers and smart technology, athletes can simulate outdoor rides with accuracy and execute high-quality structured training sessions.
Lucy Charles-Barcley did a surprising amount of training on a Wahoo Kickr leading up to her win at the 2023 Ironman World Championship. With an effective training plan and the right indoor riding equipment, you can see significant gains this winter.
Use Smart Trainers: A smart trainer paired with apps like Zwift, TrainerRoad, or FulGaz allows you to simulate real-world rides, monitor your power output, and follow guided sessions based on your current fitness level. This controlled environment is perfect for performing interval sessions, hill climbs, or long endurance rides without worrying about weather conditions.
Virtual Group Rides: Many platforms offer virtual group rides and races, which provide motivation and a sense of community during what could otherwise be a lonely training period. These rides can keep you engaged and push you harder than you might alone.
Zwift Racing League: Zwift hosts several rounds of racing “seasons” during the off-season. This can be an effective motivation to add some high-intensity riding into your winter – which will surely lead to more power in the coming weeks and months!
Workout Idea: Try a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session on your indoor trainer, such as 4 x 5 minutes at 90% of your maximum effort, followed by 5 minutes of recovery. HIIT improves both aerobic and anaerobic capacity, making it ideal for triathletes.
Embrace Treadmill Running for Precision
Running on a treadmill during winter can be a game-changer, particularly for those who live in areas with icy conditions that make outdoor runs unsafe.
Intervals and Tempo Runs: The treadmill is perfect for interval and tempo work because you can control the pace with precision. It also allows you to practice steady pacing, which can set you up for race-day success.
Hill Simulations: Most treadmills come with incline settings, allowing you to simulate hilly terrain. Including incline runs in your winter routine can improve your strength and endurance.
Avoid Monotony: There’s a reason many athletes call it the “dreadmill.” Treadmill running can be very mentally challenging because of the monotony. Varying your workouts—like adding intervals and progressive runs can help keep things fresh.
Workout Idea: A treadmill hill workout, such as 6 x 3 minutes at a 5% incline, followed by 2 minutes of flat recovery, will challenge your legs and cardio without the need to brave the elements.
Incorporate Swim-Specific Dryland Workouts
Winter is an excellent time to develop a dryland training routine, which can improve your strength, flexibility, and swim technique.
Swim Cords: Resistance bands or swim cords are a great investment. Use them to break down your swim stroke into each phase (entry, pull, finish, and recovery). Use a mirror to watch your stroke and focus on things like keeping your elbow high during the pull. Even 10 to 15 minutes a few times per week can be a great time investment this off-season. Check out YouTube for dryland swim cord drills and workouts if you’d like more structured sessions.
Core and Mobility Work: Core stability and flexibility are critical for efficient swimming technique. Adding a variety of core exercises, such as planks, Russian twists, and leg raises, as well as shoulder mobility exercises, will pay dividends next season.
Workout Idea: Combine resistance band swim stroke drills with a core circuit. For example, alternate 2 minutes of resistance band swim pulls with 30 seconds of planks, side planks, and leg raises for three rounds. This is an excellent workout if you’re traveling for the holidays and want to get a quick workout in.
Strength Training
Winter is the perfect time to focus on building strength, which often takes a backseat when you’re in season. A well-rounded strength training program can improve power and endurance and reduce the risk of injury, especially as your training volume increases next season.
Focus on Functional Movements: Squats, lunges, deadlifts, and plyometric exercises like box jumps can improve your cycling and running power. Exercises that target the posterior chain—like Romanian deadlifts and kettlebell swings—are beneficial for triathletes, helping to counteract muscle imbalances from cycling and running.
Strengthen Your Core and Hips: The core and hip muscles are essential for stabilizing your body during all three triathlon disciplines. Adding exercises like clamshells, hip bridges, and side planks will help develop a strong core.
Move in All Directions: As triathletes, we are used to moving forward and in a fairly limited range of motion. Don’t be afraid to add lateral movements to your plyometric work. Side-to-side jumps, lateral lunges, and other movements that get you working in a variety of directions will help you build all-around strength.
Workout Idea: A total-body strength circuit that includes exercises such as goblet squats, kettlebell swings, lunges, and push-ups. Aim for three sets of 12-15 repetitions of each exercise.
If you are looking for a structured strength-training program, the Valere app has triathlon, running, cycling, and swimming-specific strength training programs for athletes of all fitness levels.
Build Mental Toughness
The long winter months can take a toll on motivation. Training indoors lacks the variety and stimulation of outdoor workouts, and your next race can seem like an eternity away. It’s important to maintain mental toughness.
Meditation and Mindfulness: Incorporating mindfulness practices like meditation can help you stay focused, reduce stress, and improve mental endurance. Apps like Headspace and Calm offer guided meditations tailored to athletes.
Visualization Techniques: Many elite athletes use visualization to mentally prepare for races. Spend time visualizing your next race—picturing yourself swimming smoothly, riding strong, and running with confidence. Visualization can keep you motivated and focused on your goals as winter drags on.
Remember that indoor training IS mental training. Professional triathlete Lionel Sanders is known for his extreme training practices. It’s said he once put his bike trainer in a small room with blank walls to train for hours without any music or visual distractions. Why? To develop mental toughness. Just acknowledging that indoor training, when done right, can bring incredible mental toughness in addition to physical conditioning.
You don’t need to go full “Lionel Sanders” here. One (less crazy) strategy could be to choose key bike or run sessions to challenge your mental toughness by turning off the music and other distractions for one or two intervals during the workout. Practice working hard without the pump-up music or triathlon motivation YouTube videos. Small actions like that can help you develop greater mental endurance.
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