Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast · Rob Wilby

Winter IRONMAN Training - Smarter Indoor Riding & Swim Mistakes to Avoid | Ep 559

·30 min·1 clip

The raw number doesn’t matter if aero position and race-day specificity make you faster.

1. Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast Ep 559 focuses on winter triathlon training, smarter indoor riding, and swim mistakes to avoid. 2. Coach Rob Wilby from Team Oxygen Addict Triathlon Coaching hosts the episode and says the show is built to educate, motivate, and inspire Ironman 70.3 athletes. 3. The core question is how busy age-group triathletes can use winter to make better gains with limited time. 4. Rob says using the same bike indoors and outdoors is ideal when possible, especially if the athlete is chasing race-day performance. 5. He says clip-on aero bars or a TT bike should be used in training position as early as possible so the body adapts to that position. 6. Rob argues that a lower power number in aero, such as 225 watts versus 250 watts sitting up, does not automatically mean slower race speed. 7. He says testing should also be done in the aero position so the athlete learns accurate zones for the position they will race in. 8. On indoor bike hardware, Rob says a Wahoo KICKR-style trainer with the outdoor bike is his personal preference, but he sees value in Wattbike Atom or KICKR Bike setups if the fit is matched correctly. 9. He lists the practical fit points for dedicated indoor bikes as saddle height, saddle fore-and-aft, handlebar height, handlebar fore-and-aft, and aero-bar extension position. 10. Rob says many athletes should avoid adding lots of extra zone 2 rides before they have the basics of two interval rides, one longer ride, swimming, running, and strength work in place. 11. He gives a winter bike structure of two indoor interval sessions a week and one longer ride, with the longer ride typically around 90 minutes to three hours. 12. Rob says the winter block is about raising functional threshold power and making the bike engine bigger, not extending endurance first. 13. He says erg mode can be useful, but it can also stop athletes from learning how to hold power themselves. 14. Rob prefers free ride mode because athletes need to control effort on race day and learn to read the numbers on a Garmin without the trainer doing the work for them. 15. On swim training, Rob says the pool time should usually go toward technique in winter rather than endless lengths, because most working athletes do not have enough time for high-frequency volume. 16. He says over 90% of the athletes he has coached are limited more by technique than aerobic fitness, and he describes swimming as a skill-based sport more like tennis or golf. 17. Rob says common swim fixes include body position, sinky legs, elbows sliding back, and breathing that is not in sync with the stroke. 18. He recommends drill sets such as 25 meters drill and 25 meters swim, plus repeated 50s or 100s at CSS pace with short recovery, and he says buoyancy shorts are a tool rather than a permanent fix. 19. The episode is direct, practical, and question-led, with Rob moving through listener questions and giving specific training structures. 20. Busy age-group Ironman and 70.3 athletes who want winter bike and swim structure will get the most from it; very experienced swimmers or athletes seeking advanced race-day analysis may skip it.

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