How Do you Warm-up Before a Triathlon?

HOW DO YOU WARM-UP FOR TRIATHLON?

With race season back on in full swing, many triathletes are racing at all distances again. As a coach, I have seen many a triathlete go from standing on the beach at the start line of a race to 110% without a warm up of any kind. This may be ok for Ironman but for a sprint or super sprint, you don't want to spend the whole swim warming up for the bike and run. 

The shorter the race, the longer and more intense the warm-up. 

How exactly do you warm up for a triathlon?

1. If permitted, ride your bike on the course for about 10 mins. The bike warm-up will give you the opportunity to make sure your bike is working properly, to check out the bike course, find the mount/dismount line, look for any hazards on the road, check the wind direction on the course and make sure that when you rack your bike that the bike is in the right gear.
   
2. After you rack your bike, it's time to check out the run course, memorize your rack spot in the transition zone and where the runout is. During your run warm up take a few accelerations to get the heart rate up and wake up your legs.
   
3. Off to the lake you go...now it's time to warm up in the water. Due to Covid restrictions so far no races have permitted a warm-up in the water. What do you do instead? As you can see we prepared our team at our latest Mock Meech Lake Triathlon with some push-ups to warm up the shoulders and triceps, jump squats to get the heart rate up and fill your heart with joy, and then some planks to get the core activated! 
   
   After a good warm-up, you'll feel activated and ready to hit the water like Katie Ledecki!
   
   Happy Racing Everyone!

Julia Aimers is the Founder and Head Coach of Team Triumph Triathlon Club and Online Store. She is a Clinical Exercise Physiologist, High-Performance Specialist, Accredited Training Peaks Coach and Certified Triathlon Coach.