Flexibility - For Triathletes and Triathlons by Paul Scott

It may not be clear exactly how much we can actually alter our flexibility, and it does appear to be genetic. However, repeated training can make our muscles tight or prone to injury, so how much flexibility does a triathlete need?

What do you need to do?

Each sport dictates you move your body in a certain pattern of movement. You don't need to be as flexible as a gymnast but poor flexibility makes you move inefficiently, wasting energy and slowing yourself down. Worse still, tight muscles may initiate a vicious cycle, leading to more tightness and so on. Watch a fast athlete: their muscles may be working hard but they are fluid and without compromise.

As a multisport person, you need your muscles to be supple and able to adapt to differing demands. For example, poor shoulder flexibility could affect your swim stroke, especially the recovery action. Similarly, poor lower back flexibility or an injury can make a tucked cycle position hard to hold. Running is the hardest sport on the body and many people run with tight hamstrings, poor hip flexibility or upper body tightness. None of this makes for a fluid runner, especially after a swim and bike.

Improving flexibility

There are several ways in which you can assess and improve your flexibility. Try the following: 1) Get a sports massage, which includes flexibility exercises. The practitioner should be advised that you are a triathlete and they can then seek out muscles that need massage and flexibility work.

2) Soon after training, stretch lightly, holding your muscles for 30 seconds, without pain, and having been shown the correct stretch. Research suggests this may help to maximize your flexibility potential.

3) Relaxing after training or in the evening by doing some light limbering exercises is great for relaxation and muscle recovery. You should perform short stretches of about 6-10 seconds duration within a comfortable range of movement.

Top Tip

Your flexibility potential and level of muscle development are both genetically determined. However, your flexibility and muscle size can be developed; the former in easy relaxing processes, and the latter by very hard resistance training. As a triathlete you will need flexibility, not super-sized muscles.