Does Leg Strength Training Help for Triathlon?
When training for triathlon, you don’t just sign up for a gym membership and start training, thinking you’ll be ready the next day. Training for triathlon is planned extensively. Every step you take is assessed and your training will be planned accordingly. Everything will be by the book and everything will be routine. Strength training is one type of physical training which is beneficial for the triathlete. By strength training, that means training the muscles intensively to build mass and hence, strength. Strength training benefits the triathlete in different aspects depending upon the activity.
Let’s start with running. Strength training and building the leg muscles could surely help in the running event. Building the leg muscles means the runner could run long distance without feeling tired. Building the muscles means the runner is able to use his legs more efficiently, resulting in optimal performance. Other than that, the legs being subject to training means they’re more resistant to injuries. This is due to the fact that building leg muscles could improve your leg’s springing abilities.
On to swimming. Leg strength is definitely needed when doing turns and pushing off the wall. The push could be the reason you sink or swim (no pun intended), as it the propelling could help you reach the finish line faster. Building the leg muscles ensures you do optimum kicking. On the other hand, leg training has no bearing for the cycling part of the race. Those who exceed on the cycling part of the triathlon, on the other hand, might not benefit at all from the leg strength training. This is due to the fact that cycling would have already toned their muscles to a T. In a nutshell, leg strength training is big help to triathletes and should be included in their training regimen.
