The 7 movements you should be using in your strength program as a triathlete

One of the most common questions I get when it comes to strength training is “What exercises should I do??”.

Athletes will get stuck on finding the perfect exercise.

But miss the most important part.

Having a simple program that you repeat each week.

Exercise selection doesn’t matter nearly as much as it seems.

If you’re sticking to the 7 main movement patterns.

The 7 movement patterns you should use

Here are the 7 patterns

1. push (vertical/horizontal)
2. pull (vertical/horizontal)
3. squat
4. hinge
5. lunge
6. twist
7. jump

And here are some examples of what exercises fit in each pattern.

A few extra principles with exercise selection that are important for triathletes

The movement pattern approach will get you most of the way there to a solid exercise plan. But in working with triathletes I think there are a few other important principles to consider.

1. Single-leg focused work: As an endurance athlete all of your training is generally done on 1 leg. So it’s important to train that ability. This checks for side-side differences, and prepares you will for running and cycling. Dual leg training is still important but I like a little extra single leg work.
2. Plyometrics/Jump training: This is under-rated as a triathlete. Learning how to jump and quickly generate power will improve your running ability. The best part is you don’t need that big of a dose to be effective. 2 x 25 hops is a good starting point.
3. Core stability + rotation: When it comes to core strength we need to balance both stability (for the bike) and the ability to rotate (for swimming). Make sure you have a little bit of both when looking at your core exercises.
4. Full shoulder ROM: When swimming it’s important to have full overhead shoulder mobility. One way to train an improve that is with exercises that work in that position. Overhead press, shoulder raises, and straight arm pull downs will all work on that.
5. The Little Stabilizers: Depending on your injury history (or current rehab struggles) it can also be important to add a little accessory work into the mix. Banded drills and exercises can challenge the stabilizer muscles specifically. You will still be training them in other exercises but sometimes a little extra is helpful.

That’s all for today.

Hopefully that simplifies the idea of exercise selection.

Next week I’m going to walk you through my exact template I use with triathletes. So you will be able to build your own.

Chandler

Ps. Don’t hesitate to reply with any questions about strength training. I’ll cover them in the final email in this series.

​How did I do today on a scale of 1-10?​