Weights vs Run/Swim Problems

snack_ie

Hey,

Right looking for some advice here...
I have moved to Australia for the year and have been away from home for two weeks now... Back at home I used to be a very keen triathlete and had my goals set and what I wanted to achieve... However now that I am over here they have been slightly knocked out of place - basically I wont be buying a bike over here/and triathlon etc is very expensive over here so that sort of stuff is out of question...

Now I have joined the Uni gym/pool (really top notch) for the year and I really am not sure what I am looking to achieve.
I have decided to start doing weights as I would like to start improving my strength/size (As you can guess all the running I do keeps me quite lean). My plan was to stick with this for 7-9 weeks and see how I get on from there... I have no intention on stopping running or swimming as well and would expect to spend roughly on average 3hrs a week running and 5hrs a week in the pool...
Has anyone ever tried something like this before? Or even still have you any thoughts on the matter?
Any Advice is Appreciated!

BossArky

Use this time to work on your Squats, Dead Lift and Bench Pressing. Approx 8 weeks should give you time to bulk up a bit if you eat well. Gym 3 times per week, focusing on one of the above each day.

ceidefields

I absolutely encourage you to try Spinning and doing the stationary bike at the gym. It will at least work the biking muscles so you won't be completely out of cycling shape when you get home.

justsomebloke

snack_ie wrote:

Hey,

Right looking for some advice here...
I have moved to Australia for the year and have been away from home for two weeks now... Back at home I used to be a very keen triathlete and had my goals set and what I wanted to achieve... However now that I am over here they have been slightly knocked out of place - basically I wont be buying a bike over here/and triathlon etc is very expensive over here so that sort of stuff is out of question...

Now I have joined the Uni gym/pool (really top notch) for the year and I really am not sure what I am looking to achieve.
I have decided to start doing weights as I would like to start improving my strength/size (As you can guess all the running I do keeps me quite lean). My plan was to stick with this for 7-9 weeks and see how I get on from there... I have no intention on stopping running or swimming as well and would expect to spend roughly on average 3hrs a week running and 5hrs a week in the pool...
Has anyone ever tried something like this before? Or even still have you any thoughts on the matter?
Any Advice is Appreciated!

actually I had wanted to do a tri when I was over there aswell, however I also found that it was just too expensive to do. It was great for me training wise though as I had a 20m pool, and small gym in my apartment complex (man I miss living in oz)

However I would also do weight training as well so it is quite easy to do both, eating is going to be the key though so make sure you have plenty of protein in your diet

clem

why is it so expensive in oz? is it the cost of the bike? I done one in Adelaide last March and thought the roads and lakes etc. were ideal for training.

hunnymonster

Triathlon is an expensive sport anywhere. I guess if you're only staying somewhere temporarily it doesn't make much snese to make that investment. For example if someone wanted to to an ironman on the lowest possible budget they are still facing roughly the following costs

entry fee 350
bike 600
wetsuit 200
travel 200
bike shoes, trainers, trisuit, helmet, food, goggles, lube, hrm, 400

snack_ie

Hey,

As far as my first post goes I havnt really achieved what I wanted to do over the last couple of weeks due to the socialising/traveling/running into a railing (yep!) etc but the next four weeks my ass will be in gear again.
Im knocking out the metres in the pool, but not doing anywhere near as much running as I would like to and have only been to the gym once but that will change! Hard to fit it all in.

As far as triathlon goes here, yeah its bigger and better but it does cost a lot more to enter triathlons and it awkward travelling around the place... there are all over the place, plus I need to keep my money for travelling.

I thought about IM Oz as its on 6th April and I have a whole summer here to train for it... but that is a mighty commitment and is probaly not the best thing for my own developement in terms of speed/university etc...
But I would love to know others opinions on that
Think Ill travel back through US on the way home and maybe pick up a nice bike for cheaper but that is ages away...

Anyway like to hear others opinions...

hunnymonster

Not that I would encourage you to do smuggle but yes bikes can work out about half the price in the US compared to Ireland.


As for IM OZ, I'd say go for it (but I would). Ironman is an expensive race to enter but it's worth every cent imo. They have a validating scheme this year where you need to complete a hlaf IM before you can enter. I would be very surprised if other races were as expensive to enter. Here a olympic race costs bout 50 euro, a half ironman 100 euro.

THere is a new triathlon forum in the sports section if you want to go and ask questions there. There is also a new swimming forum.

tunney

Gah - why do people always push IM on people.

Races in Oz are alot more expensive than here and there is alot more travel involved over there. (And a lot more drafting)

Snack_ie - you're young and not a bad swim/biker but you're running is what lets you down. There are some great running races over there - could be worth thinking about doing a fair whack of running?

hunnymonster

tunney wrote:

Gah - why do people always push IM on people.

I can only speak for myself but I'm not built for speed. I do pretty well at IM (and ok at half IM) but I'm a mid packer in Oly's and shorter, not least because of the relative importance of the swim in the shorter races. IM allows every finisher to feel a little special which is why I pimp them so much.

snack_ie

Ahh ye I know that it is a bit of a crazy idea... but just thought about it for a while cause I was looking for some races to do so I could have a bit of focus rather than training without any real purpose.

My running aint too shabby in general though (improving is the word)... but yeah I think ill just stick with the swimming and running for the moment.

I did meet Mitch Anderson earlier today while swimming - Pro-Ironman/Doctor/Superman (finished 2nd in IMWA last year!) who was real sound which was cool. I knew he trained around here so its cool to meet him!

Ohh yea... Tunney I know you spent a bit of time down in these parts... have you any races which you might recommend or know of which are good???

Ciao