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Multisports for Ordinary Mortals...

Sunday, 26 April 2015 00:10

By Steve Jonas (usatriathlon.org)

n many parts of the country we are still waiting for spring to arrive, although in certain other parts, summer seems to be here already.  But whatever part we live in, as tri/duathletes, whatever we have done or not done over the winter, we are now getting back into regular exercise. We know that to be a successful tri- or duathlete at any level, we have to train/exercise regularly throughout the season. Many years ago, toward the beginning of my 30-plus years in multisport racing and as a writer on the subject I put together what I call the "Basic Eight of Regular Exercise."  They certainly have helped me to keep on truckin', and given some thought, they might help you too.

1. The hard part of regular exercise is the regular, not the exercise. Believe me, I know, and live this principle very well. There are surely those mornings (and I work out in the morning) when man, I just don’t feel like getting out there. But I do know just how important getting out there is. While I do take a very occasional day off (like I did just this morning), most of the time I do get out there, and then guess what? Ten minutes into the workout I’m very glad that I did.

2. The best exercise routine for you is the exercise routine that is best for you. There are numerous choices. One size does not fit all. This applies to multisport racing as well as to training for it. There are so many articles that say “do it this way, and you are sure to ...” Well, maybe, and, as I have said so many times, it all depends what your goals are, and they may very well not be the goals of that particular writer.

3. There are many reasons for exercising regularly, other than for race training. Most folks who do it will tell you that the most important ones are that regular exercise makes you feel better and feel better about yourself, as well as making you look better and look better to yourself. Those are certainly my principle reasons, even though as a preventive medicine doc I know that there are plenty of health-promoting reasons to do it, too. READ MORE