Discomfort Zone Winter Triathlon Clinic
Guelph, Ontario

Winter Triathlon & Stroke Improvement Clinic
University of Guelph Gold Pool

Triathlon fitness, skills, and professional coaching!
January 19 through March 22 (Excluding February 9)
Sundays 9:00am-12:30pm – Clinic Fees: $299
Special rates for Tri Ontario & DZM members – Drop-ins welcome
DZ Triathlon Clinics on Facebook – DZ Clinics Page – Register Online

Winter Training Now for a Winning Season Later

It’s easy to train in the summer. Summer weather is great for training, club workouts are running, and there are plenty of local races. But triathletes who improve their performances year-over-year, every year, all have one thing in common: they train consistently during the off-season.

In fact, off-season training is in many ways more important and more effective than training during the triathlon season.

DZ Winter Triathlon Clinic is designed to provide athletes with consistent base training, technique improvement, and skills development during the off season. With indoor training venues and expert coaching, athletes approach the next race season with a more efficient swim, stronger bike, and faster run than the previous year – you simply supply the hard work.

About Winter Triathlon Clinic

Winter is the perfect time to train with a group. A regular weekly workout is not only a motivating training session – it’s also fun with friends. Every triathlete deserves a morning a week just for training.

Train Indoors

DZ Winter Triathlon Clinic features fully-coached, triathlon-specific training at the new competition-level indoor training facilities at the University of Guelph.

Head Coach Mike Coughlin and his team of NCCP trained coaches take full advantage of a long pool slot to work with each athlete individually, working to improve swim technique, endurance, and speed.

Athletes benefit from individual coaching on stationary trainer bike workouts, and on indoor track runs with extensive drill, technique, and transition instruction. Start your year off right!

Triathlon Training For Everyone

Athletes often ask if clinic will be too intense, too long, or too hard for them. The answer is that once you’ve attended a DZ Winter Triathlon Clinic, you won’t worry.

Discomfort Zone triathletes are a fun and helpful group who enjoy helping each other improve. Coaches and athletes make everyone welcome, and new athletes will enjoy training in a positive, motivating environment.

Both beginner and veteran triathletes tell us that they value training with a varied group, and that’s what you’ll find at our clinics. Join us and see!

Consistent Training is Key

Sunday mornings are great for a weekly brick training session. For most athletes, Sunday morning clinic will be one of their biggest weekly workouts, with coaching at clinic providing plenty of tips, techniques, and skills to practice on their own through the week.

The once-a-week format allows busy athletes to fit in a consistent workout and weekly coaching within a reasonable time commitment.

Consistent training and expert coaching in the off-season lead to improved fitness and better performance in race season. Join our Winter Triathlon Clinic and see improvement your next race season!

The Training

Winter clinic participants can expect challenging triathlon training run by experienced triathlon coaches. Training takes place in a fun, social group setting and is designed to meet the specific needs of triathletes.

Training is is focused on building base fitness, improving swim stroke, and increasing strength, with the goal of preparing athletes for more specific training in upcoming spring and summer clinics.

Workouts & activities you might see at DZ Winter Triathlon Clinic

Swim Stroke Improvement
– One of the primary goals of the clinic is to accurately assess every athlete’s stroke. Plenty of pool time, intensive drills, and individual attention from trained triathlon coaches help athletes improve swim efficiency, endurance, and speed.

Swim Flexibility
– Flexibility is a great advantage in swimming. Exercises and stretches before every swim promote the flexibility to go faster while reducing the chance of injury.

Dryland Drills
– There’s a great deal of swim stroke improvement that can be done better on dry land. Each week we perform a variety of dryland exercises designed to improve weaknesses in the swim stroke common to triathletes.

Technique Swim Workouts
– DZ winter clinics continue the focus on swim technique improvement. For most athletes, winter is a good time of year to make and perfect any changes in the freestyle swim stroke, well in advance of serious preparation for race season. We perfect any stroke changes made during previous clinics, work on any specific weaknesses in each athlete’s stroke, and begin to increase strength and endurance.

Open Water Skills
– Winter clinic is a good time to reintroduce and practice open water skills such as sighting, drafting, and pack swimming, in preparation for open water later in the year. There are a variety of drills and workouts to do this in a pool, including our traditional last-day-of-clinic swim: full pool, no lane ropes, pack swimming around a buoy course.

Transition Skills
– Even experienced triathletes can gain time with a smooth, fast transition. We take advantage of the indoor track to practice T2 transitions and running with the bike. We even have a fun competition which involves fast helmet changes, and a cone course to simulate navigating a tight transition.

Bike & Run Intervals
– Intervals are a great way to build both fitness and speed, especially when the right distance and pace are assigned by a coach. Athletes practice several interval-based workouts with coaches to adjust the intensity for maximum results.

Bike Trainer Sets
– Though athletes generally prefer to bike outdoors, it’s actually true that in many ways cycling on a stationary trainer is better for fitness development. Well-planned and well-coached trainer workouts allow for precise control of power, cadence, and effort for an optimum workout. DZ group trainer sessions are first and foremost great fitness workouts, but we take care to make them fun as well.

Multi-Brick Workouts
– With access to an appropriate indoor venue, it becomes practical to ride, transition, and run several times in one workout. Not only does this train for fast transitions, it’s also great aerobic and skill training.

Run Drills
– Winter is a good time to concentrate on running form, building an efficient stride in the off season in order to secure speed and endurance gains for competition. With an indoor track, athletes can take the time to warm up and cool down properly, stretch, and practice running drills to improve running form.

Winter Triathlon Clinic Details

Clinic runs 9:00am-12:30pm Sundays at the University of Guelph Athletic Centre. Be sure to register online prior to clinic, as space is limited.

Athletes are welcome to join us for the entire clinic or just the swim or bike+run sections.

Most clinic sessions start with a long swim slot at the University’s Gold Pool, where athletes will work with coaches to assess and improve their triathlon-specific swimming.

Coaches will lead group drills to improve technique, run timed fitness swims, and work with athletes individually to improve efficiency, endurance, and speed.

Bike training will take place indoors using stationary trainers. One of the best things about indoor training during the off-season is that properly coached training on a stationary trainer can be even better for building fitness than cycling outdoors.

Run workouts take advantage of the 200m indoor track at the Gryphons Fieldhouse to provide accurate time and distance for running form, pace control, and speed work. Workouts are progressive from week to week, building on the skills of the previous week to increase running fitness and performance.

In addition, you can expect very triathlon-specific workouts, including repeated bike/run bricks and transition practice.

Registered participants will receive an email prior to the start of clinic with maps and directions, as well as contact info for the coaches just in case.

Participants also receive a midweek email about each upcoming workout, with any last-minute updates, where to meet, and what to bring.

You can also check out the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for more info, or Contact us and we’ll be happy to answer any questions!

Directions

Winter triathlon clinic takes advantage of the great training venue offered at the University of Guelph.

With a great competition pool and an indoor 200m track, athletes can train regardless of weather.

Google Map to DZ University of Guelph clinic venues.

Equipment for Winter Triathlon Clinic

Winter clinic takes place entirely indoors, so all the equipment you need to participate is swimsuit, goggles, bicycle, stationary trainer, helmet, and running shoes.

A swimsuit and goggles are all you need to swim in the pool. Kickboards and pull buoys are available at the pool. You won’t need any other gear, though you’re welcome to bring anything you’d like to use in the warm-up. Remember to bring a towel. If you forget goggles, we always have spare sets we can loan.

While a road bicycle is recommended, a cyclocross, mountain, or hybrid bicycle is perfectly usable at all DZ clinics. Athletes often borrow a bicycle for the first part of clinic while they get some advice and shop for a new bike.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a stationary trainer: we can rent you one for $5. Athletes often rent a trainer until they’re ready to buy their own.

You will need a smooth rear tire for your bicycle – the trainer will damage a knobby tire. If you’re riding knobby tires, we can generally loan you a trainer tire. Normal road tires are perfectly fine on a trainer.

Winter clinic is designed to alternate workouts so that it’s not necessary for athletes to bring a bicycle to every clinic.

For running, all you need is indoor run clothing and a clean pair of running shoes for the indoor track. The venue asks that we do not wear wet outdoor shoes directly from outdoors on the track.

For specifics, athletes should check our Clinics Gear List. Coaches (and other athletes) are always happy to help with gear choices.

Sports Nutrition Supported

Thanks to our longtime partnership with Infinit Nutrition Canada, Discomfort Zone Winter Triathlon Clinic includes Infinit fueling and recovery products for athletes’ use during clinic training.

Athletes can try Infinit DZ CLINIC FORMULA, a professional-level sports drink formulated specifically for DZ clinic training.

For recovery, Infinit REPAIR supplies needed nutrition after a challenging clinic workout.

Pricing

DZ Winter Triathlon Clinic
2020 pricing:

10 Weeks
9 Sessions
Sundays 9:00am – 12:30pm

Non Members: $299
Triathlon Ontario Members: $289
DZM Members: $269
Swim only: $167
Bike+Run only: $167
Individual session: $40

How to Register

It’s easy to register! Simply click the link below to register online.

We use the same online registration system as Triathlon Ontario and the Ontario Cycling Association. If you need a Triathlon Ontario membership, you can easily join or renew at the same time.

Consider joining DZ Multisport Triathlon Club: $99 includes Tri Ontario, discounts on all DZ events and team gear, newsletter, and a swag bag.

Winter Clinic Registration

More Info about Winter Triathlon Clinic

For more information or questions about winter clinic, Contact us and we’ll be happy to answer any questions.

You can also find lots of answers in our Clinics FAQ.

Check out our Clinics Gear List for detailed info about equipment.

Connect with us on social media:
DZ Winter Triathlon Clinic on Facebook

Discomfort Zone Triathlon Coaching

Discomfort Zone Winter Triathlon Clinic
Guelph, Ontario

Winter Training Now for a Winning Season Later

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