General training philosophy

Long slow aerobic training develops a basis for any athlete wanting to swim, bike and run fast. Long slow aerobic training is the key to muscle strength and endurance and builds a platform from which quality pace training can begin.

The less training an athlete has done, the more this philosophy applies. As an athlete gets stronger and develops more endurance, specifically paced training will help an athlete to improve even more.

The crucial element is to get the balance of the equation right for each individual athlete.

The long slow mileage principle is supported by the tenet that training must be based around recovery. The amount of recovery needed is based on the level of quality training an athlete does. The more training that is done, the more the recovery required.

Specific Program Tenets

Triathlon is a sport that combines multiple disciplines. Each discipline requires a certain amount of training, and this can be based on the event an athlete is training for, and the ability of that athlete in each leg when presented to a coach. I believe that coaches shouldn't teach each discipline as a stand-alone event, as they won't be addressing the specific stessors placed on the body in a multi discipline event. When looking at the run, you cannot discount that the athlete has swum and ridden at intensity before it, and the pressures that are brought to bear on the body. For this reason, the triathlon coach should see the 3disciplines as one. For example, coaching run technique is crucial, but to do so whilst not addressing cycling technique, training on the bike and the development of core stability to ensure postural integrity over time is flawed. What you do on the bike effects the run leg that follows and to lesser extent with the swim to the bike.

Support Programs

The establishing of a training base of an athlete is first a fore most. This can be done in combination with core strength development whilst rehearsing specific sports movement, and the need is assessed from athlete to athlete. The main aim of a conditioning program isn't about getting buffed, it is about harnessing muscle control and strength, which will improve race technique and ultimately lead to faster times.

FM believes that sports specific exercises will assist certain athletes to improve in a multisport event, like triathlon, and this holds truer the longer the event goes for .

Training Principles

FM believes that your best weapon is preparation. A thorough program that exposes the athlete to simulated race conditions and pressures will develop a more all rounded athlete. This includes exposing athletes to all manners of race conditions, including adverse weather in reasonable doses, to racing in packs in the open water. So when this situation arises in an event, the athlete is able to easily adapt and maintain their focus on the important things like pacing and nutrition, and successfully convert their training efforts to a race situation with success. This also applies with race tactics and specific triathlon skills, such as transition, cycle time trialing, and running fast off the bike. This supports Fluid Movements Train to Race' theory of learned specific sports skills.

As a general rule, Fluid Movements aims to promote consistency in training for its athletes. This is achieved by fostering routine via a periodised training program and set schedule adapted to the training period. Incorporating balance between the athletes training program and other aspects of the athletes life is key to a Fluid Movements program.

Every athlete is different, and brings different pressures and time restraints that directly effect they ability to train. Fluid Movements coaches recognise that all athletes are individuals, and through an extensive screening process FM develops a training program and schedule that best suits each person, with continual updating and modification to suit.