From Powerlifting to Triathlons and I Did It All with Kettlebells and Plain
Old-Fashioned Strength Training
By
Susan J.F. Bartley
In the beginning
I’ve taught kettlebell classes at our gym (South Carolina Barbell) for almost
three years now. During that time, I’ve worked with various athletes looking to
improve their performance with kettlebells. In our community, we have a very
strong, competitive, triathlon group, and I have had the opportunity to work
with several athletes. I did my homework to find out what type of training
regimens these sports contained. I was surprised to find out that most of the
paid professionals who geared their businesses toward working with these
athletes promoted—over everything else—only the three movements—cycling,
running, and swimming. Little to no attention was paid to strength training.
At South Carolina Barbell, we believe that a foundational strength training
basis, including kettlebells, is a better option. What better than a strength
program that can increase endurance and reduce the need to log quite as
many miles on the bike or run? Kettlebells provide upper body strength, which
allows more power on the swim, and increased leg development for a more powerful
cyclist and runner. Unfortunately, most endurance athletes (that I have met),
although they agree with my hypothesis, are unwilling to break out of the mold
and give up the familiar training to try a hypothesis that they fear may not
make them better.
Who better to try it on than myself?
When Marc (Marc “Spud” Bartley) proposed to me, I was at an all-time high
weight of 164 lbs. While he had been dieting for the past year, I had not and
you could tell. Of course, the impending wedding pushed me to get the extra
weight off, and I lost 22 lbs over the next few months. One of the ways I did
this was to start adding in a ton of cardio. On Mondays and Fridays, I ran on
the treadmill. I quickly was able to run three miles and progressed to four
miles and then five miles. Never before had I been able to run any distance with
ease, and I liked the way it felt. I still kept up with my kettlebell training
and my strength training with “Spud.” I wasn’t just becoming more athletic, but
I was staying strong as well. That was when the idea to do a triathlon was
born.
In February of 2009, I signed up for my first triathlon. It consisted of a
500-meter swim, a 14.3-mile bike ride, and a 3.2-mile run. Prior to the moment I
signed up, I had never cycled nor swam but had the faith that my overall
strength and endurance would pull me through if I also paid sufficient attention
to training in the three events.
The three reasons I decided to do a triathlon
Reason one starts with Marc and his powerlifting goals. For years, he pursued
and attained some amazing results in his career. We were lucky that many of the
members of our gym supported him in his endeavors and worked hard to understand
what he was doing and why the majority of the population had no clue. They
couldn’t put any sort of tangible value on squatting over 1,000 lbs. They were
not able to translate this feat into something that would be good for them.
After his accident when Marc spent a year losing 100 lbs to compete in a
bodybuilding show, suddenly this was something the average person could
understand. He got praise from everyone, and I heard over and over again what a
huge accomplishment it was. And, yes, it was. But attempting to squat 1200 lbs
was to me a much bigger accomplishment, and somehow it didn’t engender the same
response.
I must admit that this frustrated me. When one trains for strength, it is
easy for people to dismiss it. They don’t understand the importance and seem not
to be willing to see how it could be of value to them. Like Marc, I wanted to do
something that would let people see that my training could be the backbone for
any competitive arena. They might also see that over the years I had put my body
into a position to do anything I wanted to accomplish. I want those people out
there who question our way of training to say, “Wow, look at her! What she does
must really work.”
Reason two is that the best way to test a hypothesis is to do it. My
hypothesis was that kettlebell training and real strength training were the
building blocks to any program if structured correctly. I wanted to prove that I
could still train my way and add in event training to be able to compete in a
triathlon.
Reason three came from an article I read by Alwyn Cosgrove. It was about the
top ten things he has learned in his profession (the article actually cited over
30 things). One of them was that he had never known anyone to significantly lose
strength by adding in some cardio. I wanted to do that. I wanted to train hard,
remain strong, and build a great endurance foundation.
My three-month training schedule
My training officially started on March 1, 2009, for a race scheduled on June
20, 2009. I had three and a half months to prepare.
Sunday: I took this day off until late in the game when I did my long run
outside to get some time in on the road.
Monday: I ran four to five miles on the treadmill. On each run, I did a
different combination of speed skills to push through. I also did strength
training with Marc.
Tuesday: I swam in the morning (1200 meters) and took a cardio kettlebell
class in the evening.
Wednesday: I did strength training with Marc in the morning and biked ten
miles in the afternoon.
Thursday: I took a strength/cardio kettlebell class in the evening.
Friday: I did sprint runs (I worked to get two miles in less than 20 minutes)
and then strength training with Marc.
Saturday: I did a 10–14-mile bike ride and took a strength-based kettlebell
class.
Learning to cycle
Prior to signing up for the race, I had no experience swimming or cycling. A
friend of mine loaned me a bike and started training with me. I was concerned
about cycling because it scared me, although I didn’t find it difficult.
The 10-mile track we rode had rolling hills with one slow climb and several
steep, short ones. I’m sure it was very funny to watch us because on the
downhill my friend would yell, “No brakes” so that I wouldn’t put on the brakes
to slow down (I told you I was scared). On the way up the hill, she would yell,
“Pedal, pedal, pedal.” She was on the road bike so everything seemed super easy
for her while I was pedaling like a mad woman and getting nowhere. Slowly,
though I got more confident and though I knew that the mountain bike would be
much slower in the race than a road bike, I decided to stick with it. My legs
were certainly strong enough to endure.
Learning to swim
I had committed to swimming one day a week with a masters swim program. The
first day I warned the coach that I had no idea how to swim freestyle. I knew I
could breaststroke all day long, but freestyle had never been a strong suit. She
asked me to swim a few laps so she could find where my problem areas were. I
think I went about 15 yards before having to cling to the wall like a frog and
pant for air. My coach smiled and said, “No problem. We just have to teach you
how to breathe.” And so for a few weeks we worked on breathing. I swam 25 or 50
yards at a time and focused on going slowly and steadily and breathing.
As I got better, I realized that my upper body was strong enough to pull me
through the water without using my legs very much. Making this simple change
made the difference for me. Taking my legs out of the equation kept me from
getting so exhausted that I had to stop every 50 yards. When I put this together
for the first time, I swam 500 yards without stopping.
My other training
All the while my kettlebell training was progressing. I was keeping up my
strength—even attempting the 1000 rep challenge with the 16 Kg and getting 700
out of the 1000 reps with that weight. My training with “Spud” consisted of
basic power moves (bench, squat, deadlift) as well as some high rep endurance
training, plyometrics, and intensive cardio bouts with chains, the Prowler, and
the sled. I was getting a massage every two weeks to stay loose, and I was
taking a powerful recovery supplement by H2O Minerals called Quick Recovery to
boost my recovery time and keep from getting sick. I was doing everything I
could do to get to my goal of completing my first triathalon.
The day arrives
I had decided to sign up in the open category. I wasn’t sure if I qualified
as a novice because I technically had much more going for me in the training
department than an actual novice. Marc always signs up for the open in
powerlifting, so I figured that was where I belonged.
The day before the race I picked up my packet and received my race number
(two—the early bird), my swim cap (never even tried to wear one of those
before), a super cool competitors T-shirt, and my lunch ticket for the next day.
I was ready to go! With “Spud” as my transition helper, I felt confident and
still wasn’t nervous.
We were supposed to be at the race site by 6:45 a. m. to be marked with our
number and to get everything set up. It was all new to me, so Marc, my friend
Rosemary, and I just sort of bumbled our way around trying to figure it out. The
best news was that since my number was two, my bike was positioned by the start
gate and was easy to find coming out of the water.
My first moment of panic came when we met my friend Rhea, and I told her I
signed up in the open category. She told me that typically that category was
only for the elite athletes. Oops! All my friends had singular looks of horror
and/or humor when they heard that I was in the open category. The next
catastrophe came as I tried to put the stupid swim cap on and it broke! It just
snapped in half, and we had to run around trying to find another one.
The swim started from a dock, but the open athletes were the only ones
allowed to dive off the dock for their start. The other classes had to get into
the water and tread water until the buzzer went off. Score one for me! However,
there were only 20 athletes plus me as well as two other ladies who had made the
same mistake I had. The “real” athletes lined up along the dock while the
announcer went on and on about how this group of athletes was the fastest in the
state (um, not me I wanted to shout).
The gun sounded, and they were off. Thirty seconds later with a small
cannonball into the water, I was off. I started with freestyle and went about
150 meters, but my heart was racing so badly with the adrenalin that I couldn’t
get my breathing under control. I felt the panic creeping in so I switched to
breast stroke with some creative sidestrokes thrown in. It was a long way, but I
kept repeating in my head “slow and steady” and “just keep moving.” When I
finally reached the other shore, I got out and tossed my goggles and cap to Marc
and ran to start the bike. I was very happy that the swim was over.
The transition from swim to bike was a little slow, but with Marc’s help, I
got geared up and off I went. Because I was the only one on a mountain bike,
people passed me right and left, but they were all very nice, and I was clipping
along. The ride was flat for the first seven miles so it allowed me to get some
rest and just mindlessly peddle. Then the hills started. The last seven miles
were rolling hills with one slow climb where I almost thought I was standing
still. Then there was an intense short climb that I was able to power up like I
never had before.
At one point, a lady passed me and said, “You must have some really strong
legs to get that mountain bike up these hills.” I had to stop myself from
saying, “Why yes, I do have really strong legs. Thank you for noticing.” The
bike took me about an hour and eight minutes. My time would have been better had
I been on a road bike but no worries.
With the bike over, I knew I only had the run to accomplish, and the run was
the easiest for me. In my head, I allotted 40 minutes for the 3.2 mile run
because it came at the end of the race. The course we ran was—and I’m not
kidding—uphill both ways. We ran down into a valley and then out up the other
side. I got to about 1.5 miles halfway up the big hill before I had to stop and
walk. I set a pace of walk 50 steps, run 100 steps over and over again with the
mantra of just keep moving. I made my way though to the last half mile, which
was a straight away. I made a friend there, and he and I ran to victory. As I
approached the finish line, I heard Marc scream, “Pick it up to get in under two
hours.” I looked at the clock, and it said 1:59:22. I sprinted the last 50 yards
to cross in under two hours just as I had planned it.
The wrap-up
When I look at my times on paper, what I accomplished doesn’t look so hot,
but I’m incredibly happy. I know that I did the absolute best that I could on
that day and left nothing on the table. That being said, it also was never
terribly difficult for me because I had a plan for my very first triathlon, and
I stuck to the plan. I had fun on every event and looked forward to the next
one. I was very prepared, even though I had just a little bit of event training
for a scant three-month period. I believe that I proved my hypothesis that a
strength training background is an incredible backdrop for any sport—even
endurance sports.
With my background in strength training, my muscles were able to carry the
intensity of each exercise. I never cramped or felt any overt muscle fatigue.
The one issue I need to work on is regulating my breathing, but I will focus on
that during my kettlebell classes. Although it was incredibly hot on the day of
the race, I did not suffer any adverse effects of heat exhaustion because much
of my training takes place outside.
The skills that I will need to work on before the next race are the technical
aspects of each event. I will need to get a different bike, work on my
breathing, and plan my transitions much better. I will not change anything about
the way I train. My foundation in strength training set me up to be successful
at powerlifting, kettlebell challenges, and now triathlons.
Susan Finley is the manager of South Carolina Barbell. She is a small time
powerlifter who has just recently hit a bench goal of 185 lbs. She is a level I
and level II certified kettlebell instructor through Dragon Door. Not only does
she train for powerlifting, but she teaches three kettlebell classes a week and
attempts at least two yoga classes a week as well. Currently, Susan is working
on an article on why you need to do Yin Yoga and another one on the role self
esteem plays in any training program. To get in touch with Susan, visit
www.southcarolinabarbell.com.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
