Tips for avoiding common triathlon injuries
Swimming
- Warm up before jumping into the water. Athletes who skipped this step ended up with more injuries than those who warmed up before entering the water.
- Use proper technique. Ideally, you have already talked to your coach/trainer about how to properly swim. Incorrect technique can result in overworking a muscle and cause cramps or tears.
- Outside of the water, you need to workout all of your muscle groups. Since you use your entire body when swimming, it's important to make sure you aren't neglecting any muscles.
- Be aware of your surroundings and others. Stay in your lane. If you loose track of where you are, you could end up seriously hurting yourself or others.
- Build up to longer distances and allow rest in between.
- Hydrate to avoid dehydration and heat exhaustion.
- Often your bike will need adjustments. For example, if the handlebars are too low or far away, it can cause a strain on your lower back and cause injuries in the long run. By making changes to the saddle height, handlebars, and pedals, you should feel improvements right away.
- The jury is still out on whether or not stretching helps you avoid injuries before cycling. Yoga and Pilates can help you build core strength, which in turn can improve your posture and give your legs more power.
- Like cycling, you want to make sure that you stay hydrated. Without proper water intake, you can quickly become dizzy and feel ill.
- Add strength training to your routine. It reduces muscle fatigue and ensures you can run longer without injuries.
- Warm up and cool down before each run. This will prevent any soreness you might feel post-run by getting rid of built-up lactic acid.
- Wear the correct type of shoes. You need shoes that fit your running style and foot type. If not, you increase your chances of injury.