Two areas of the body get worked more than any other during a triathlon, the legs and the shoulders. A front crawl swim has you making huge rotations with the arm, the bike is so quad dominant, and then you finish off with a run that hammers the lower leg and hip flexors. Incorporating leg and shoulder workouts into your triathlon training is, in short, mandatory.

What Is Working When?

When designing or participating in any workout program, it’s important to understand why you are choosing to do any given exercise. We have a limited amount of resources (energy, time, interest) at our disposal, and so need to make the most of our training time, especially in a sport like triathlon.

Swimming, cycling, and running takes up the majority of our time, but is it enough to keep your body balanced? The answer is no. You need supplemental strength and mobility training to weed out the imbalances commonly developed as a result of triathlon. To properly account for what’s lacking in our sport, we need to look at how the muscles are working while doing it. 

Swimming

Electromyographic analysis of the upper body while front crawl swimming shows significant activity in all three heads of the deltoid (shoulder). The rotator cuff muscles are also working hard alongside serratus anterior, latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major, and rhomboids. It is the upper body that propels you forward most prominently in the swim.

Cycling

The upper body remains largely stationary during the bike, and even parts of the lower body remain relatively fixed as a result of sitting on the saddle. Your quadriceps muscles, however, particularly rectus femoris, are working overtime to create the pedal stroke movement that moves us forward. Hip flexors, hamstrings, and calves are also playing important roles.

Running

Running provides the highest impact to the body of the three sports, and deep connective systems in the body help dissipate that shock as it enters through your feet and runs up the entire body. At slower speeds, the lower leg muscles serve as the primary propulsive mechanism, while the other leg muscles contribute to extension, flexion, pronation and supination of the lower joints.

Importance of Strength Training for Triathletes

Strength training has been shown unequivocally to improve several performance metrics for competing in triathlon. We need to perform extra strength training sessions not only for this reason, but also to help protect us against pain syndromes and muscle imbalances, while at the same time constantly assessing the body for weak points and vulnerabilities.

Dynamic Triathlete is an all-inclusive, 100% online training platform designed by triathletes, for triathletes (just like you). Whether you’re a beginner, amateur, or professional in the sport, it can be helpful to have follow-along routines at the ready and professionally designed that you can access when it suits you best. This is exactly what we’ve created.

Below you’ll find a leg and shoulder workout borrowed from our strength training section here at Dynamic Triathlete. If you enjoy this routine, try signing up for a 7-day full access free trial by clicking here, and join a community of thousands of triathletes worldwide working towards pain-free competing!

Leg and Shoulder Workout for Triathlon

Below you’ll find a table outlining the workout, followed by pictures and a detailed list of instructions on how to perform each exercise. This is a circuit workout, so all six exercises are to be done consecutively. Take as little time as possible between exercises. You can rest once all exercises have been completed for the allotted time, and then repeat the sequence.

Circuit:

• Pick a time between 30-60 seconds depending on your fitness level. 
• Complete all exercises for the allotted time (for bi-lateral exercises, perform for 30 seconds/side). 
• Rest for 60 seconds after completing all exercises. 
• Repeat the circuit a total of 3-5 times depending on your fitness level.

Rotational Shoulder Press

Equipment:

• Optional: Dumbbells or kettlebells

Instructions:

• Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart
• Hold two weights in your hands and bring them up to your shoulders
• Twist to one side, pivoting on the opposite foot (for example, if you twist left, pivot on the right foot, like in picture 1)
• At the same time, press the weight over your head on the same sided hand as your pivoting foot (picture 1, right foot pivots and right hand presses)
• Return to the start position facing forward (picture 2)
• Pivot the other way and press the other hand (picture 3)
• Repeat this sequence for 30-60 seconds

Y Lunge

Equipment:

• Optional: Dumbbells or kettlebells

Instructions:

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart
• Bring your arms up into a Y position
• Keeping your arms in this position, proceed to lunge forward with one leg
• Lower until your back knee is just slightly above the ground
• Press yourself back up to the start position
• Lunge forward with the opposite leg
• You can hold weights in your hands to make this exercise more difficult
• Repeat for 30-60 seconds

Staggered Push Up

Equipment:

• N/A

Instructions:

• Start in a push up position either on your feet or on your knees (modified version)
• Stagger your hands so one is slightly out in front
• Perform push ups from this position
• Keep the elbows at 45 degrees and lower until your chest touches or is just slightly above the ground
• Press back up to the start position, and repeat in the staggered position for 30 seconds
• Switch your hands to the opposite staggered position
• Repeat for another 30 seconds for one minute of total work

Squats

Equipment:

• Optional: Dumbbell or kettlebell

Instructions:

• Start with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart
• Toes should be facing forward or slightly turned out
• Squat down by pushing your hips back and keeping your chest tall
• You can hold your hands out in front as a counterbalance (picture 2)
• Squat down until your hips reach parallel with the ground, or, as low as your strength and mobility will allow
• Press yourself back up to the starting position, contracting the glutes
• Repeat for 30-60 seconds

Lateral Raise

Equipment:

• Dumbbells

Instructions:

• Stand tall with a weight in each hand, feet shoulder width apart
• Tuck your tail under by squeezing the glutes and engaging your core, draw the belly button in
• Lift the weights laterally out to your sides until they reach shoulder height
• Lower under control back to the start position
• Repeat for 30-60 seconds

Single-Leg Deadlift

Equipment:

• Dumbbell or kettlebell

Instructions:

• Stand with a weight in the hand opposite of the leg you’re starting on
• Balancing on that opposite leg, while keeping a flat back, bend down towards the ground, hinging at the hip
• Raise your free leg up behind you as a counterbalance, contracting the glutes
• Go until you’re torso is parallel with the ground, or as far as your strength, balance and mobility allows
• Return up to standing, and try to stay balanced on the one leg the whole time
• Repeat for 30 seconds
• Switch legs, and repeat for another 30 seconds for a total time of 1 minute

Written by Eric Lister – Certified Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist