By Marc Evans (www.evanscoaching.com) – Exclusively for TriSports.com
Putting it Together
The influence of technique (functional technique) upon athletic performance is vitally important. And to be sure, an effective means to achieving this is through coupling the practice of technique with functional movement and core stability training.
In triathlon and especially for the IRONMAN the run is frequently the determining factor in race success. And the run, unlike the bike, has a narrow pathway for accomplishment. You cannot pay for efficient running – it is by itself and much like swimming subject to the economy of movement. Movements built upon the foundation of stability.
Over the years, a constant characteristic observed in the world’s best triathletes are the coupling of symmetry and stability principally during the run segment. There are exceptions, like IRONMAN champion Faris Al Sultan’s unconventional technique (bike and run) but for the most part IRONMAN Champion triathletes like Scott Tinley who I coached, Mark Allen, Craig
Alexander, Greg Welch, Chrissie Wellington, Dave Scott (perhaps, exemplifies coupling better than anyone), Peter Reid and Erin Baker all were exceptionally balanced along the core and powerfully stable with each stride.
In the 2009 IRONMAN world championships, Mirinda Carfrae broke the women’s marathon run course record on way to finishing second to Wellington. Nothing short of an amazing first effort at that distance, but her run is a textbook demonstration of coupled technique, movement and stability as her running style was unwavering and powerfully stable.
The Process of Coupling Technique & Training
As a coach, I see my role as teaching elemental body lines – those movements in technique which are known to be practical and efficient. From the head, shoulders, arms, torso, legs and
feet an athlete functions through a complex system of movements – and some of these are