TRIATHLON
Triathlon strength training: what to lift and how often
Lift two short, heavy, full-body sessions a week, built on a squat, a hinge, a pull and a press. This page draws on strength research in runners, cyclists and swimmers, which tested one sport at a time. Endurance training can blunt the strength you gain from lifting, more with running than with cycling, so keep the sessions short. Complete starts from your long-term goals, and your runs, rides and swims count toward your score and your training load.
What the research covers and what it leaves out
Our research set holds no strength study in triathletes, so the research we use tests runners, cyclists or swimmers, one sport at a time. The swimming review left triathletes out on purpose (Crowley and colleagues, 2017). This page joins the evidence from three sports with our judgment. No triathlon trial backs it.
The three sports share one reason to lift. Endurance performance rests on VO2max, the most oxygen your body can use, on your lactate threshold, the hardest steady effort you can hold, and on efficiency, how much energy a given pace costs (Joyner and Coyle, 2008). Lifting works on the muscles that turn the pedals, drive the stride and pull the water.
What the studies found in each sport
Each row is a different group of athletes, so no row carries over to a triathlete on its own.
| Sport | What the studies found | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Running | A review of 24 studies found that in most of them, runners who added strength training improved their running economy compared with runners who only ran. Their times over 1.5 to 10 kilometers tended to improve too. | Blagrove and colleagues, 2018 |
| Cycling | In 20 well-trained cyclists, heavy lifting twice a week for 12 weeks, with four lower-body exercises in sets of 4 to 10 reps near maximum, improved mean power in a 40-minute all-out ride and power at low lactate. | Rønnestad and colleagues, 2010 |
| Swimming | In competitive swimmers aged 16 or older on average, upper-body strength had a strong link to sprint performance, and low-volume, fast resistance work transferred best. Sprint events were the focus. | Crowley and colleagues, 2017 |
- Blagrove et al., Sports Medicine, 2018: strength training and middle- and long-distance running performance checked 19 Oct 2026
- Rønnestad et al., Eur J Appl Physiol, 2010: heavy strength training in well-trained cyclists checked 19 Oct 2026
- Crowley et al., Sports Medicine, 2017: resistance training and swimming performance, a systematic review checked 19 Oct 2026
The cost of lifting on top of three sports
Mixing lifting with endurance work has a cost. A meta-analysis of 21 studies found that endurance training can blunt the strength, size and power you gain from lifting. It blunts them more with running than with cycling, and more as the weekly volume and frequency of endurance work rise (Wilson and colleagues, 2012). A triathlete trains all three sports, so our advice is to assume the cost applies to you.
That points at short sessions. A review of strength training for running and cycling recommends heavy lifting for cycling economy, and says the most compelling evidence of a benefit to cycling performance is with heavy lifting rather than explosive lifting (Rønnestad and Mujika, 2014). Our advice is two heavy, short sessions a week, the dose the cyclist trial used.
One lead on the run. In 28 well-trained male runners, two strength sessions a week for 10 weeks, heavy lifts plus jumps, left their economy at minute 90 of a 90-minute hard run better than at the start of the trial. The running-only group’s economy was a little worse (Zanini and colleagues, 2025). That was a run on fresh legs, with no ride before it, so it is a lead for the run off the bike and no proof.
- Wilson et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2012: interference in concurrent training checked 19 Oct 2026
- Rønnestad and Mujika, Scand J Med Sci Sports, 2014: strength training for running and cycling, a review checked 19 Oct 2026
- Zanini et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2025: strength training and running economy durability checked 19 Oct 2026
What to lift
A pooled analysis of strength programs for distance runners found that heavy lifting, jump training and a mix of the two all improved running economy (Llanos-Lagos and colleagues, 2024). Choose moves that serve more than one sport. The last column is our reasoning, and the studies above did not test these exact moves.
| Move | Serves | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | Bike and run | Heavy leg lifting improved power in the cyclist trial, and runners who lifted improved their economy. |
| Hinge, such as a Romanian deadlift | Bike and run | It loads the hamstrings and hips that drive the pedal stroke and the stride. |
| Pull, such as a row or pull-up | Swim | Upper-body strength had a strong link to sprint performance in swimmers. |
| Press, such as an overhead press | Swim | A press balances the pulling work. |
| Single-leg work, such as a lunge | Run | You run on one leg at a time. |
A triathlon week with two lifting days
Keep your hard bike and run sessions hard, and lift on days that leave your legs fresh for them. This is general training advice, so move the days to fit your life. Near a race, cut the sets before you cut a session.
| Day | Session | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Easy swim or rest | Your body recovers from the weekend. |
| Tuesday | Hard bike intervals | The hard ride of the week. |
| Wednesday | Strength: the session below | The first of two lifting days. |
| Thursday | Run, easy to steady, and a swim | Aerobic work with little fatigue. |
| Friday | Strength, shorter | Cut the sets if Saturday is a long ride. |
| Saturday | Long ride, then a short easy run | Practice running on tired legs. |
| Sunday | Long run or open-water swim | Time at an easy effort builds your base. |
A full-body session from Complete’s workout library
Complete’s library holds strength sessions and no rides or swims, so this is a strength session. It is Dumbbell Only, a full-body session from one pair of dumbbells: squat, hinge, row and press, then lunges and broad jumps to close. It takes about 45 minutes. It is the Wednesday session above, and a shorter version fits Friday.
The cyclist trial used sets of 4 to 10 reps near maximum. This session’s sets of 10 sit at the top of that range, and a pair of dumbbells caps your load, so the tempo and the effort do the work.
A goblet squat holds one dumbbell at your chest. A Romanian deadlift hinges at the hips and lowers the weights down your legs with a flat back. To failure means you stop a set when another rep would not go up. The 31X1 tempo means 3 seconds down, a 1 second pause at the bottom, a fast drive up and a 1 second hold at the top. A burpee broad jump is a burpee that ends in a forward jump.
| Block | What you do |
|---|---|
| Warm-up | World’s Greatest Stretch: 1 set of 4 reps per side, to open your hips and upper back. Goblet Squat: 1 set of 8 reps with a light dumbbell, to groove the pattern. |
| Main | Goblet Squat: 2 sets of 10 reps, 120 seconds rest, 31X1 tempo, with the heaviest dumbbell you have, to failure. Romanian Deadlift: 2 sets of 10 reps, 120 seconds rest, with both dumbbells, to failure by about 10. Lower with control and keep your back flat. Dumbbell Row: 2 sets of 10 reps per side, 90 seconds rest, to failure. Pull to the hip with no torso heave. Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 2 sets of 10 reps, 90 seconds rest, to failure. Keep your ribs down and press to a full lockout. |
| Finisher | Walking Lunge: 2 sets of 10 reps per side, 90 seconds rest, with the dumbbells at your sides. Take long, controlled steps. Burpee Broad Jumps: 2 sets of 12 meters, 60 seconds rest. Land soft and reset fast. |
Scaling the session
If you are new to this, stop the first set of each lift a rep or two short and take the second set to failure. That shows you where failure is. If you have lifted for a while, do the session as written, two hard sets per lift. If you want more, slow the lowering part of every rep to a count of 4 and cut the rest to 75 seconds. The load stays limited and the tension rises.
How Complete fits a triathlete who lifts
Complete starts from your long-term goals: build muscle, lose fat, improve cardio, get stronger, general health or become an athlete. For a triathlete who lifts, get stronger and improve cardio often fit together. They steer what Complete recommends every day, and you do not need a plan to use it.
Cycling and triathlon training come in 2027. Until then, your rides and swims already count toward your score, your training load and the recommendation for each day. A ride counts toward training load from 20 minutes and a swim from 10. Cycling and swimming have no Road and no sport-specific training in Complete today. Lifts count too, whether you log them in Complete or your watch sends them through Apple Health.
If your watch records HRV and resting heart rate, Complete scores your recovery against your own baseline after about a week of data. If your recovery is red, today’s session turns into rest or an easy session.
Start with your goal. Complete is an iPhone app, free to download, and logging and sharing your workouts on it stay free.
Frequently asked questions
Should triathletes lift weights?
Our research set holds no strength study in triathletes. Studies in runners, cyclists and swimmers found benefits from adding strength work to the sport. Two short, heavy sessions a week is a sound start.
How often should a triathlete lift?
Two sessions a week is a sound start. The cyclist trial used heavy lifting twice a week for 12 weeks. Endurance training blunts your strength gains more as your weekly volume grows, so keep each session short.
Should triathletes lift heavy or light?
Heavy. A review of strength training for running and cycling recommends heavy lifting for cycling economy, and a pooled analysis of runners found heavy lifting, jump training and a mix of the two all improved running economy.
Can I lift at home with dumbbells?
Yes. The session in Complete’s library is a full-body strength session from one pair of dumbbells: a squat, a hinge, a row and a press, then lunges and broad jumps.
Does Complete plan triathlon training?
No. Cycling and triathlon training come in 2027. Until then, your rides and swims already count toward your score, your training load and the recommendation for each day.