When we started triathlon we didn’t have fancy kit, top of the range trainers or expensive tyres to race with. Training smart is the best way to make gains to your performance, However, there’s some kit that we require to get the most out of your training.
Required Kit
A heart rate monitor: Heart rate is useful metric for judging your effort and how well you are adapting to training. A chest strap is the most accurate way of measuring heart rate, however a watch or arm strap are also good.
A GPS watch: (Garmin, Wahoo etc) It doesn’t need to be a fancy triathlon watch, most watches these days support swimming, cycling and running. We use this to monitor the distance covered in training.
A Power Meter: Power meters measure the power generated by a rider; the great thing about power is it isn’t influenced by external factors (for example, heart rate is increased in the heat). Power meters come in various different types and we are happy to advise on the best one for you.
Access to a swimming pool: We provide pool sessions for you, or adapt your training plan to work around structured swim training that you may already attend, for example, a swim squad. Athletes can expect at least twice weekly swims.
A turbo trainer: Turbo trainers have progressed a long way in recent years with the rise of the smart trainer, but even a basic turbo trainer will do for building that all-important bike strength.
A basic TrainingPeaks account: We deliver our coaching and view your sessions using an app called TrainingPeaks. The app links to all your sporting accounts which allows data to automatically sync between the coach and the athlete.
Nice to have equipment
A smart trainer and a Zwift subscription: While a basic turbo will do the job, a smart trainer that can simulate hills with the distraction of Zwift makes indoor riding that much more enjoyable!
A premium TrainingPeaks account. Some athletes love data, others don’t. If you love numbers and want to analyse your sessions in depth, upgrading to a premium account will provide you with more data than you knew you needed! British Triathlon Federation (BTF) members get a discount and we can work with athletes to explain what all the numbers mean to help maximise your sessions.