Elite triathlete, coach and YouTuber Harry Palmer shares his insight and experience on the biggest triathlon mistakes – and how to avoid making them.
No matter how good a triathlete you become in terms of speed and performance, everyone makes mistakes that are totally avoidable yet easy to fall into. In his new video, elite triathlete and T3 Triathlon coach Harry Palmer airs his views on the biggest triathlon mistakes – both ones he’s made himself and those he sees other triathletes making all the time.
As Harry puts it, these are “rules to live by in triathlon and life” and if you stay mindful of them throughout your triathlon journey, you’ll save yourself a whole load of wasted effort, have fewer face-palm moments and improve your performance.
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Here are the key takeaways Harry shares in his video – and they’re things that we’ve all probably been guilty of at some point during our triathlon lives…
Gong too hard when the session isn’t meant to be hard
Harry labels this as the biggest mistake triathletes make and he even catches himself doing it! If sessions are planned as low intensity, then that’s what they should be. It’s a mark of training dedication to always want to give your best, but fighting that urge to up the pace means you’ll get the aerobic improvements intended from the session and be fully recovered for the workouts where you’re meant to give it your all.
Not getting enough rest
This is another one Harry admits to and how many of us can honestly say that we always prioritise bedtime over screen time? As Harry points out, rest is where you recover and your body makes adaptations to the training you’ve been doing. Simply put – you don’t get better unless you rest. Just as important, if you’re not getting enough rest it’s easy to push too far into fatigue and get ill or injured.
Looking at what others are doing and being influenced by it
Trying to emulate stars of the pro triathlon world is all well and good, but just because it works for Jan Frodeno or Anne Haug doesn’t mean it’s right for you. Both from a coaching point of view and his own experience, Harry knows every athlete is different and what works for one doesn’t work for the others. The prescription? Be your own athlete and do what’s right for you.
Forgetting about the little things
As triathletes, we naturally tend to focus on swim, bike and run, but there are times where your overall triathlon performance can benefit from reducing training time in these disciplines in favour of other activities. Strength and conditioning, physiotherapy, testing nutrition or honing your hydration plan can all reap great rewards – so don’t forget to think outside the swim, bike, run box!
Not having fun
This is another big one for Harry – and it makes perfect sense. Why spend your time training if you don’t enjoy it? You’ll miss out on all that positive energy, satisfaction from your workouts and general wellbeing. We can all take tri a bit too seriously at times and when that tips over into a lack of enjoyment it’s time to remember that this is a sport that should be fun.
