You do not need to be in the gym for any longer than 20-30 minutes, 2-3 times per week. Provided you’re not spending your time on unnecessary exercises, you can achieve a lot in 20-30 minutes.

It goes without saying that triathlons are not completed in the gym with dumbbells, pilates balls or foam rollers. Focus the majority of your efforts on what matters most; swimming, cycling and running. You’re probably managing a full-time job, family and social commitments before even considering doing your triathlon training, let alone going to the gym.

Usually about now, people say, “but what about the injury prevention benefits of doing a gym program?”

Correct. There are some injury reduction benefits to be had by following a triathlon gym training program. But most triathlon injuries occur due to ‘overuse’ – too much, too hard, too soon. (ref.) The fact remains that while a gym program has its place, your ultimate injury prevention tool is setting and following a sensible swim, bike, run program that progressively increases, relative to what your body is capable of.

If you've ever been injured as a triathlete, there's a good chance it's been from running. Maybe you've had a niggling Achilles, the dreaded plantar fasciitis, or even a stress fracture?

More than half of triathlon injuries are related to running and a significant percentage of these occur in the lower leg, foot and ankle. (ref.) (ref.)

So how can I reduce my injury risk for running?

Build strong calves. Quick anatomy lesson; we have 2 primary calf muscles. The deeper of these is the soleus, responsible for a lot of the endurance and propulsion that the calf provides during running. The soleus is often neglected and can be a dark horse when it comes to determining contributing factors to running injuries. In fact, soleus muscle forces are 6-9 times your body weight when running! (ref.) Training your soleus will go a long way to ensuring that the lower leg is playing it's part in your running training.

How can I strengthen my soleus?

A good way to get started is by doing seated calf raises. Most gyms have a seated calf raise machine. Otherwise you’ll have to put some weights over your knees or use the Smith Machine (sliding barbell which hooks on at different levels). As a general guide, choose a moderate weight and start with 3-4 sets of 10 reps, taking a minute or two between each set. Not too heavy as excessive soreness will affect your running on subsequent days. Progressively increase the weight over the following weeks.

Plyometrics are a great addition to your triathlon gym training program. They can be extremely effective in improving speed, power, balance and coordination. Through rapid jumping, hopping and skipping movements, muscles stretch and shorten quickly. This helps increase your force production when running and reduces the time you spend in contact with the ground. Less ground contact time = faster running.

Less is more when it comes to plyometrics and so they will fit nicely into your 20-30 minute gym session. Power is the aim of the game; too many and you will fatigue. Rather than increase the total sets/reps of plyometrics you do, look to jump/hop/skip a little further or higher as you progress. Some great plyometric exercises to include in your program are:

• Skipping – double leg or alternating between left and right. If you are new to skipping, you can start with small hops on one or two legs on the spot before adding in the skipping rope.
• Box jumps – jumping up onto a box/platform roughly 30cm high.
• Lateral hops – hopping sideways with the same leg. You can either hop for distance or hop up onto a box.
• Depth Jumps – stepping off a box/platform roughly 30cm high, as soon as you hit the ground, spring back up in the air as quickly as you can.

You can supplement your swim training by including some mobility exercises (not foam roller, see final point) as part of your triathlon gym training program. Being mobile and flexible through your shoulder and torso (thoracic spine) is essential, as this allows you to get yourself in the best position to lengthen your stroke and catch as much water as possible.  Two of my favorite mobility exercises that I recommend as part of a triathlon gym training program are:

• Thoracic rotations – laying on you side with your knees bent, reach out in front with both arms straight. Lifting the top arm, rotate your torso to the opposite side without moving your hips. Breathe out towards the end of the movement. You should feel a gentle stretch through the middle of your back and torso.
• Wall slides – Stand with your back against a wall. Lift your shoulders and elbows to 90 degrees and keep your shoulder blades flat against the wall. Slide your arms up and down the wall in an arc. Maintain contact of your shoulder blades against the wall throughout the movement.

Whether you are an amateur or high-level swimmer, strength training exercises for the upper body don’t seem to help swimming performance the same way they do for running and cycling performance. (ref.) Your best bet is to focus on completing resistance exercises in the water using paddles and bands. However, in saying that, if you have any shoulder injuries from swimming, then inclusion of some land-based strength exercises would be beneficial.

I’ll finish with a controversial one. Foam rolling isn't a necessary part of a triathlon gym training program for the time-poor athlete. This is due to one primary reason; the time cost does not equal the benefit. I’ve met lots of people who find using a foam roller beneficial for recovery. I’ve also used one myself over the past few years. But if you’re looking to maximize the time available for your triathlon gym training program, you will get more bang for your buck by focusing on other exercises.

Discussing the science and physiology of foam rolling is beyond the scope of this article. However, evidence is questionable as to the exact benefits of foam rolling, and for the most part is contradictory. At this stage, clear benefits of foam rolling are yet to be proven and any benefits appear to be short lived. (ref.)

Ok, let’s plan a session for you. You’ve got 20 minutes in the gym. You spend 5 minutes doing some shoulder mobility work, 5-10 minutes doing your calf strength exercises, and 5-10 minutes of plyometrics. Given most foam rolling protocols suggest that you roll each muscle group at least a minute at a time, before you know it, you will have been in the gym far longer than anticipated. Remember how you told you partner you’d be home to cook dinner for that special date night? “Sorry I’m late, I was on the foam roller” just isn’t going to cut it. Ditch the roller and keep it short and sweet.