By Coach Harry

Mix it Up : : Triathletes are masters of cross-training
Swimming is a great cardiovascular sport and it is good for upper-body strength. Its non-weight-bearing nature allows knee and hip joints to have a break from pounding, while keeping both aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen) fitness at high levels. Cycling works powerful lower-body muscles. It can be done alone or in a group. It is easy to vary cycling intensity from a joy ride to a very aggressive group ride in the hills or in a blasting headwind. Running puts the majority of workload stress on slightly different leg muscles than cycling. Cycling and running is an excellent combination to work legs. Running requires the least amount of special equipment and preparation: Lace your shoes and you're out the door. Running is a weight-bearing activity, good for keeping bones strong and healthy. Look for ways to mix your training to work your entire body.
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Get Strong : : Athletes  pump iron
Strength training can help prevent injury, improve the ability to climb hills and improve the ability to generate more power, given a single level of exertion. A nice side benefit is strength training paints wonderful muscle definition to give you an athletic look.
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Monitor and Log : : Record your workout intesity
There are several methods to monitor exercise intensity, sometimes called exertion or effort. One of the oldest methods is the Borg Scale using "Rating of Perceived Exertion" or RPE: How do you feel? Is the pace easy, moderate hard or "my legs are about to burst into flames" difficult? The second oldest method of monitoring intensity is pace. Pace is easy to monitor in the pool and running on the track. Only in the past year has monitoring pace while running off of the track become possible. Now there are systems that give you current pace, like a speedometer on a car, while running on the open road. Pace or speed on the bicycle has been available technology for quite some time; however going 20 miles per hour with a tailwind or while coasting downhill requires very different energy output than keeping the same speed while pedaling up a slight hill. A more accurate measure of cycling effort is a power meter that measures the power the rider exerts to pedal the bike. Although power is becoming a more popular tool, the most widely used training tool to monitor intensity on the bike, as well as for most aerobic exercise, is a heart rate monitor. Heart rate can give us some indication of how the body is responding to exercise stress. At minimum, use an RPE scale to monitor and Log your workout.
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Vary Intensity : : Speed, workout length and rest intervals
The most common error I see in recreational athletes is use of a single speed, all the time. This single speed tends to be medium, not too fast and not too slow. The constant use of medium speed brings mediocre performance and can lead to injuries and boredom. One of the most popular methods of varying intensity is interval training. This is where speed, workout length and rest interval time is varied to bring a desired training effect. In addition to the training effect, learning to change gears makes training more fun.
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