Ironman Lifestyle or Semi-Pro?

I had a triathlete ask me what I thought about doing some popular workout videos with his wife and daughter as his weight training work in preparation for a fall Ironman.

I had a two part response.

Part One: You are a talented triathlete. If you want to fully realize your potential at your next Ironman, you don’t need to be doing additional fitness tape workouts. You just finished an ultra run and now you have an ultrarunner’s body. You are lean and light. To excel at triathlon we need to be strong and lean. Putting on muscle requires you to do two things that are uncomfortable; lift heavy things and eat more.

OR

Part Two: You have had a great year. You are competing in multiple sports you love. You want to join your wife and daughter on their fitness journey (which is very cool). Why not embrace your current lifestyle and have fun picking races you enjoy, training with your family and enjoying your life.

The semi-pro triathlete’s life is about saying no. No to late nights, no to fun racing or training events, no to lots of things most people don’t understand. The lifestyle triathlete is able to say yes to almost everything.

Which one are you? Almost all of us are lifestyle triathletes. Embrace it and enjoy the journey. You are training for a lifetime of health.