is this the most important leg exercise for triathletes?

So often when people train to strengthen their lower-body muscles, they stick with two-legged movements like the squat, box jump, and wall sit.

And while these two-legged exercises certainly will help you build strength and power, how often during a race do you have two feet firmly planted on the floor?  Yes you are correct, ALMOST NEVER!

Thats why it's so important to mix in single-sided exercises to supercharge your kick, pedal stroke, and step.

Watch the video to learn how to perform this game-changing movement. Start with the first variation and work your way to the hardest at the end of the video.

For some of you, this will be a piece of cake.  For others, it might be tough to balance or be explosive at the top of the rep.  But just because you're not cranking out rep-after-rep of the most difficult variation doesn't mean you're not working hard! Find your zone and get after it.

You can also change the challenge by slowing each rep down for a strengt-focused muscle burn, or speed it up for a heart-hammering conditioning test.  Just make sure to complete the same number of reps on each leg, we found that out the hard way during filming!

Happy training and CRUSH IT!

The Exercises We KNOW You’re Not Doing

You’ll be surprised at how effective these ultra-simple movements can be!  Triathletes are notoriously terrible with varying their movements. But it’s not actually your fault, your goal is to swim, bike, and run in one direction—forward—because that’s the most efficient way to get from the start to the finish line. 

However, if you only move in one direction to train, you’re not maximizing your body’s efficiency.

Your muscles are made to help you move in 360-degrees of directions. Think about when you were a kid: You probably ran, jumped, cut, shuffled, and juked your way around the playground without even thinking about it. (Now it’s likely that the only time you deviate from your forward trajectory is to dodge a coworker in a tight hallway at the office.)

And you didn’t know it at the time, but those unconventional motions made you stronger, more explosive, and more athletic. Why? Because you hit your muscles from different angles, forcing you to recruit other fibers to do the job. And as a result, you developed well-rounded strength and enhanced your performance.

Now, fast-forward to today and the same principle still applies. If you’re not training your muscles from different angles, you’re leaving strength, speed, and endurance potential on the table.

Use these 3 variations of the skater jump to get started. Begin with the easiest level—using your back foot to stabilize as your body re-learns how to move from side-to-side. Watch the video to learn how to do it.

Want to turn your lateral training into a high-intensity cardio challenge? Perform 20 seconds of all-out work with 10 seconds of rest. That’s 1 round. Do 8 rounds total for a fast and furious 4-minute sweat fest.

Keep training. Keep crushing!

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