Is Economy the Most Important Variable for Triathlon Performance? | #6 ft. Aaron Geiser

Welcome to the Critical Oxygen Podcast! In this episode Coach Aaron Geiser and I talk about Aaron's training/taper update, the predictors of triathlon performance and how Aaron uses them in his coaching, and what the most important variable for triathlon performance is. Enjoy! Enjoying these podcasts, subscribe to get notified when new episodes are released. If you have a question or topic you want us to address, leave a comment! Follow Phil on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/criticalo2 Follow Aaron on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/triageiser/ OUTLINE: 0:00 – Introduction 1:12 – Aaron’s training/race update 3:12 – Why you feel like garbage during a taper 4:18 – Different athletes responses to taper 5:53 – How Aaron prescribes a taper 10:47 – Race week workouts 12:42 – Why getting in the pool keeps you sharp 13:35 – How each triathlon event effects the next 15:12 – Why pool fitness is important for triathlon performance 17:23 – Inefficiency with swimming 19:15 – The importance of economy for triathlon performance 19:52 – What are the predictors of triathlon performance? 21:04 – The importance of VO2max for triathlon 26:18 – How to train based on your expected time/distance 28:09 – Don’t forget to train your weaknesses 29:26 – Think of training as a sound equalizer 31:55 – Borrowing from Peter Attia 34:06 – What is first threshold? 37:55 – Stop being obsessed with power! 42:09 – Why we like watts 43:28 – The importance of using other variables (not just watts) 46:08 – Should you guide your workouts by effort? 49:50 – Paralysis by analysis 52:13 – Efficiency revisited/Gait analysis for running 55:39 – Why efficiency is important for triathlon 57:33 – How aerodynamics effects your biking 1:01:35 – Outro