One of the biggest things I love about triathlon, is that there is always an opportunity to learn.  Among the best ways to increase knowledge, is to try and learn from the best.  I have a lot to learn as a coach, so I am doing a lot of listening right now.

Dan Lorang is the Performance Coach and Head of Innovation for the Bora Hansgrohe professional cycling team.  He also happens to be the coach for both current Ironman World Champions – Jan Frodeno and Anne Haug.  I guess it is fair to assume that he is an excellent long course triathlon coach.

Today, I listened to a podcast where Dan went over his coaching principles for long course triathlon.  His approach is similar to many others, and follows the familiar theme that all athletes are different. Athletes need training programs tailored to their own needs, if they want to maximize their potential.

His core philosophy in centered on a training plan that provides maximum adaptation, not maximum training.  Identifying the kind of training that provides the best results is key, and it is different for every athlete.  

One thing that I found very interesting was the emphasis he places on technique for all three disciplines.  He has his athletes perform a lot of technique drills during their base phase of training.  He even calls this phase the “Technique Phase”.

There were so many little nuggets of information in this podcast.  It really got me thinking and challenging myself to become a better coach.  It is so fascinating to try and learn from the best.