This subject really goes hand in hand with the recent guest post on my site from Dave Cameron entitled “Looking Fast vs. Being Fast”. Dave talked about how being fast doesn’t always look fast and showed a before and after video of Shinji. 

I want to dive into this subject a little deeper and from a slightly different angle and talk about how much you should focus on improving your efficiency or form and how much you should focus on increasing your power output.

So, what IS more important? When you are training for a sprint triathlon, an Olympic distance triathlon, a half ironman, an ironman, a 5K, a marathon, a hilly bike race, or any other event, should you concentrate more of your training on form and efficiency or on building strength and increasing power?

This is an interesting question because you will likely get different answers from different people. In fact, I have written blogs about how using P90X can increase your triathlon performance (strength training) but, I also emphasize the importance of form and efficiency…especially in swimming.

I recently sat in a seminar and listened to a Level III USAT, highly respected triathlon coach say that the number one focus of triathletes in their swim training should be to build upper body strength and power. I also heard a Level II USAT coach say that power and technique should be equal focuses in your swim training. Then, the very next day, in the same seminar I heard another highly respected Level III USAT coach and highly educated health professional speak of the importance of neuromuscular activation exercises and warm up drills that focus on form. Confused? How could there be such different opinions on the subject?

Being a certified Total Immersion Teaching Professional, I was quite honestly appalled by the notion that your number one focus in swim training should be developing upper body strength and power. I find that to be ridiculous and unfounded. Most of my swim training has been focused on streamlining and balance with only a little on power production. In the last few years, I have cut my ½ mile open water time from 23 minutes (before Total Immersion) to 10:45. I consider that significant. However, I have noticed significant increases in my running speed and performance from doing P90X and other strength building exercises. That is one of the reasons that I built my free 5K plan around certain portions of the P90X program. So, strength training has worked for me for my running, but will it work for everyone? Does this mean that I believe that you should focus on strength for running and form for swimming? Not exactly.

Here is my take on the subject:

 Read on HERE