When most people think of “Hawaii”, they think of vacation, sun, beach and relaxation. Triathletes, however, associate the island paradise with the origin of their sport. The first triathlon was held here in 1978. Endurance athletes wanted to find out whether swimmers, cyclists or runners were the better ones. Distances of 3.8 kilometers in the water, 180 kilometers by bicycle and 42.2 kilometers on foot had to be mastered. The Ironman – one of the toughest triathlon competitions – was born.
Subsequently, smaller competitions such as “Everyman Triathlon” for beginners (500m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run) and the Olympic distance (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run) developed. Whether competing or training, triathlon is fascinating. Many practice the three endurance sports to achieve not only a very high level of fitness, but also mental strength. Sports scientists agree that when swimming, cycling and running are combined, the muscles and joints are loaded in an optimal ratio.
Swimming primarily strengthens the arm and trunk muscles for power endurance, while cycling and running strengthen the legs. Since all endurance sports also get the cardiovascular system going and cycling and running in particular are very close to human movement behavior, triathlon is also made for beginners.
All beginnings are difficult
Of course, you should take it slow at first. For the first competition, the focus is not on time, but on getting to the finish line – “finishing,” as they say in triathlon. Older people or people who have not done any sport for a long time should have a sports medical examination beforehand. And severely overweight people should first replace running training with walking or hiking to protect their joints.
At 90 percent, good basic endurance is the most important part of training. The most effective way to achieve this is to “eat up miles. This means, for example, long, quiet bike rides or slow endurance runs. The remaining 10 percent of the training is taken up by strength endurance and speed training. The goal of basic endurance training is primarily to activate fat burning in the body. This is based on the heart rate, which should be as low as possible over longer distances – about 180 beats minus age.
The highest work output is achieved by the athlete when running, since in cycling the body weight is carried by the bike and in swimming largely by the water. Therefore, when cycling, the heart rate should be slightly lower than when running, and when swimming, it should be a little lower again than when cycling.
