What are the best strength-training exercises for triathletes?

Two women and a man in a line, in a gym, doing lunges with weights in each hand — Gym-goers doing lunges with small weights

Strength training for a particular sport, such as cycling, is based upon the principle of specificity, which dictates that the exercises you do should train the movements, skills, muscle groups, and your cardiovascular system in a way that is specific to the sport or activity you are wanting to carry out.

This is opposed to cross training, which is doing something that is not related to your chosen sport or activity.

It is very true that in order to get better at a particular skill we have to practise it, repeatedly, to improve our performance. So we need to make sure that cyclists, swimmers and runners do specific exercises for their sport.

So for example, if you’re a swimmer we need to train the pull of the arm through the resistance of the water.

However, this can sometimes be taken too far in that people think they need to replicate the movement and position in its entirety to get the benefit of sports-specific training.

An example, again if we use the swimmer, is that you would need to do your weights in a prone lying position on an unstable surface in exactly the same motion as swimming.

However, research shows that we cannot build optimum muscle strength when we try to build bulk using unstable surfaces or sub-optimal positions.

How do we get the best outcome?

So we know that swimmers, cyclists and runners need strength in certain muscle groups, in certain positions and movement patterns to optimise their performance, but how do we do it to get the best outcome?

We need to be clear on the goal – again using the swimmer example – we want a stronger pull through the water, and we need to identify the muscle groups that are going to do that.

A male swimmer doing the butterfly stroke swimming toward the camera — Credit: Getty Images

This would be latissimus dorsi (lats) so we take that and use the most effective exercises we know for these muscles from full range of arm overhead to arm by side and we load it with weights.

This means that doing lat pull-downs in the gym might not look swimming-specific, but it’s loading effectively the exact muscles that the swimmer needs to be strong.

However this alone won’t make them a better swimmer because they need to integrate this with the other muscles required, and the rest of their body.

This then needs to be combined with the technique work in the water to make sure that they’re able to put their body in the right positions to utilise the strength gains they’ve made in the gym.

This is also where alternative exercises such as Pilates can come in very useful as a link between what you’re doing in the gym and what you’re doing in the water.

In Pilates, we work on movement patterning and integrating the whole body. This can then help you to use the muscle strength gained in the gym to improve your performance.

We have to transfer the strength and fitness we gain in the gym into being useful for other sports and activities. Our bodies are amazing at adapting but they’re very specific with it and it has to include all the movement patterns, neural control and whole body integration that’s required for that sport.

Having strength from the gym will improve injury prevention and performance, but only if you have a well-rounded programme of training skills, strength, technique, fitness, speed etc. It all has to come together to give the outcome you’re aiming for.

Why are dumbbell lunges great for cyclists?

Dumbbell lunges will be great for cyclists that need to increase their leg strength. They load the muscles of the legs and make them work together to control the hip, knee, and ankle as well as manage ground reaction force and gravity so working all the leg muscles.

You need good leg strength to get power on the bike to convert this to increased speed. However, if a cyclist has great leg strength but their mobility and upper body position are poor which means they struggle to translate the power through their legs, then lunges are unlikely to fix that and therefore unlikely to improve their performance.

This is where the other side of specificity comes into play – the programme needs to be specific to the individual, their needs and their goals.

What are the benefits of renegade row for cyclists?

The renegade row is an exercise where you maintain a plank position while doing a single-arm row with or without a weight.

This is essentially a core exercise as it trains the abdominals and the upper limb and some leg strength, too.

In holding this bodyweight position you’re integrating the whole body so you’re working your static stability while adding some extra upper limb and back work.

This is good for cyclists as it will work their static controlled position on the bike and transfer load through the whole body.

However, as above – if the main problem for you on the bike is not to do with this then it won’t be the best exercise for you!

Why are deadlifts important for cyclists?

Deadlifts are a fantastic strength exercise for most athletes. The particular importance for cyclists is that it works the back of the leg – the hamstrings and the glutes which are often less strong compared to the quads in cyclists. For optimum performance, it is good to be able to use the whole push/pull cycle of the pedal rotation.

This means that you don’t just want to be pushing the pedal down and not doing any of the work of the pedal coming back round. With the foot attached to the pedal in cleats, you should be working both legs through the whole rotation of the pedal.

Deadlifts help you to have the strength in these muscles to be able to do it and then you can work the techniques of doing this on the bike. It’s also a good idea to do the single-leg version of this as it helps you to have a good balance between each leg and makes sure you’re not favouring one side.

They also make you use your core and upper body to maintain the correct technique and posture of the deadlift. This is an exercise where it’s worth getting a trainer to really help you work on your technique so you get the most benefit and then the greatest transfer over into your cycling.

Other key exercises

Cycling requires good lateral and rotational stability through the trunk to be able to stay well positioned and have effective power output through the legs. So I would add something that works this, such as Russian twists, side-plank rotations or a cable-machine rotation.

Russian twist

Seated with knees bent and feet on the floor. Hold a weight (depending on your strength), roll the pelvis back and then hover the feet off the floor, and rotate the upper body from the rib cage and waist to take the weight over to one side and then the other.

Aim to keep the pelvis and the lower body fairly still.

Do 3 each side for 8 reps.

Side-plank rotation

From plank position, turn the body lifting one hand and turning the feet so that you end up in a side plank, turn to the other side going through plank.

Do 15 reps.

Cable-machine rotation

Hold a handle of the cable with both hands at shoulder height. Feet a little wide and knees slightly bent. Rotate the body away from the cable keeping the arms straight and then slowly return to the start position.

Do 3 each side for 8 reps.

Strength exercises for swimmers

Book opening

Tis is perfect for thoracic mobility and spine mobility into rotation. Exactly what you need when you’re swimming. It will help with your breathing and encourage you to twist well to both sides for recovery.

Single- and double-leg kick

This exercise will give you back strength and improved hip extension. The weightbearing element on your arms will help you against gravity and strengthen your bones as well.

Dart

Perfect for back strength and core strength.

Swimming

Challenge your shoulder range of movement as well as back endurance. Do this one for a time period to really challenge yourself and your breath.

Panther

Core stability and strength with the added bonus of weightbearing. It will help strengthen your arms and shoulders as well as your bones.

Strength exercises for runners

Single-leg bridge with rotation

This is great for leg and glute strength. Do on the balls of your feet for extra calf and ankle stability as well. Building strength in the back of your body will help with your push off!

Reverse nordics

This will improve your hip extension so help with your drive! It will also help strengthen your hip flexors.

Calf raise

We all need to use our calfs better. Doing with no shoes will help ankle strength and stability as well so good for ankle strength

Leg pull

This is great for back strength and to reverse your postural curve!

McConnell squat

This is amazing for single-leg strength and lateral hip stability. Exactly what you need when you’re running!

For more information, visit Complete Pilates.

Top image credit: Getty Images

About

Helen O’Leary is a chartered physiotherapist who graduated from Birmingham University and went straight into professional sports. Her first job was with the men’s team at London Wasps Rugby Club where she worked within a world-class multidisciplinary team and where her love of Pilates and movement was born. In 2010 she completed her Polestar Pilates Comprehensive Rehabilitation course and began to teach both mat and equipment clinical Pilates. Working with the athletes in rugby showed her the huge benefits and potential strength gains Pilates could achieve. After spending three years in elite rugby, Helen took up a position with Cirque Du Soleil. As one of only two physiotherapists on the show, she taught Pilates as part of the performer’s ongoing maintenance treatment, to prevent injuries and as part of active rehabilitation. In 2015, Helen settled back in London and started Complete Pilates. Her aim is to help people take more responsibility for their rehab and give people the confidence to move even when they're injured or ill. Complete Pilates now has three studios across London, an online rehab service and an on-demand platform.