Exercise Intensity during Olympic-Distance Triathlon in Well-Trained Age-Group Athletes: An Observational Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the exercise intensity during the swimming, cycling, and running legs of nondraft legal, Olympic-distance triathlons in well-trained, age-group triathletes. Seventeen male triathletes completed incremental swimming, cycling, and running tests to exhaustion. Heart rate (HR) and workload corresponding to aerobic and anaerobic thresholds, maximal workloads, and maximal HR (HRmax) in each exercise mode were analyzed. HR and workload were monitored throughout the race. The intensity distributions in three HR zones for each discipline and five workload zones in cycling and running were quantified. The subjects were then assigned to a fast or slow group based on the total race time (range, 2 h 07 min–2 h 41 min). The mean percentages of HRmax in the swimming, cycling, and running legs were 89.8% ± 3.7%, 91.1% ± 4.4%, and 90.7% ± 5.1%, respectively, for all participants. The mean percentage of HRmax and intensity distributions during the swimming and cycling legs were similar between groups. In the running leg, the faster group spent relatively more time above HR at anaerobic threshold (AnT) and between workload at AnT and maximal workload. In conclusion, well-trained male triathletes performed at very high intensity throughout a nondraft legal, Olympic-distance triathlon race, and sustaining higher intensity during running might play a role in the success of these athletes.

Transferability of Cardiopulmonary Parameters between Treadmill and Cycle Ergometer Testing in Male Triathletes—Prediction Formulae

“…Due to the differences in HR, especially at AT, in cycling and running, it is most likely optimal to use both testing modalities (and, if possible, swimming for triathletes) to prescribe specific training plans. This approach is also used in current research [9]. Testing is also usually carried out several times throughout the season to monitor training and adjust recommendations [10].…”

The Training Characteristics of Recreational-Level Triathletes: Influence on Fatigue and Health

“…Two athletes won their age-group category, and one did not finish the race due to injury. Given their age and/or the number of finishers in each of their respective age-groups, we were able to confirm that the athletes in our study would not be classified as “fast, well-trained age-group Olympic distance triathlete” (s) [ 28 ]. Rather, this study deals with recreational level age-group triathletes.…”

“…None reported training as their main occupation. The Olympic distance race times of our subjects were slower than those of well-trained male age-groupers who had similar triathlon training experience [ 28 ]. This confirms the recreational nature of the participants in the current study.…”

Does the Physiological Response of a Triathlete Change in the Use or Absence of Drafting?

“…Traditionally, individual sports have focused part of their efforts on the control and quantification of the loads that these athletes support during training or competitions, with the aim of improving and planning training [ 9 ]. This trend has spread to other sports, currently being a booming issue in recent years [ 10 ]. However, in a large part of individual sports, this process has hardly changed, and technology can help both in the evaluation and quantification of daily work to optimize performance [ 11 ].…”

“…We reviewed the literature, and there are documents that analyze the different modalities of triathlon (in a generic way) or some specific sector [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. However, there are no documents that analyze the influence of the cycling sector on the running sector and how drafting affects the triathlete’s fatigue and technique.…”