Pro Triathlete Matty Reed Shares His Coaching Philosophy & Tips
Marc Pro Athlete Spotlight: Matty Reed – Part I
Matty Reed became a household name in the Pro Triathlete world after stunning, back-to-back years that saw many victories and event top honors. In 2008, the native New Zealander won the USA Triathlon National Championship, competed in the Beijing Olympic Games and won several other 70.3 races. He also placed 5th in the ITU World Champsionships in Vancouver, BC. Matty’s accomplishments were recognized with a USA Triathlon Athlete of the Year award.
He followed up in 2009 by winning seven triathlons, the Toyota Cup Series and the Ironman California 70.3 , as well as a repeat victory at the Miami International Triathlon. However, he admits that some of his proudest moments in recent years have come in his role as father to three active children.
So what’s Matty up to these days?
He’s Still Going Strong with Triathlon Training: Past successes haven’t slowed Matty down with his approach to training for upcoming events; in many ways, victories push him to become more competitive.
A typical ‘Day in the Life’ of Matty Reed includes:
o A morning swim, usually about 6,000 meters. But we’re not just talking about a few power laps in the pool. Matty starts with a 400 meter warm up, then adds freestyle, simulated pace racing, and sprints and paddles. His last 300 meters are a cool down with back stroke to wrap up the swim workout.
o Around 3-4 hours on the bike, aiming for between 85-95 miles. Matty warms up for about 20 minutes before hitting the big gears, again with lower cadence periods in between the high intensity periods. He cools things down with a 15 minute coast.
o A one hour run, with alternating intervals of 20 minutes steady and 20 minutes high intensity.
Matty also makes time for core and strength training after completing a typical S-R-B (swim-run-bike) day. He incorporates single leg squats, hamstring curls with a medicine ball, sit ups and planks to accompany his daily endurance training.
Matty’s Coaching Philosophy
Matty also has a new role to add to his resume: triathlete coach. More than 20 years of experience has certainly prepared him to share his training knowledge and event experience. When competing in his own events, he’s been able to adapt his skills to perform at high levels, whether he’s swimming, biking or running. Now, he’s bringing his unique vision and solid training approach to all athletes, in every sport. What is his philosophy?
o The foundation of his approach to coaching is to first set fitness goals and then develop a training program intended to achieve results. However, Matty recognizes the importance of lifestyle in establishing a regimen: With a family and a busy racing career, he recognizes that training must work around all aspects of an athlete’s life.
Matty said he focuses on adaptability in the training programs he develops for clients, as flexibility is just as important when competing in athletic events as it is in life. Therefore, his philosophy balances:
o Healthy eating
o Endurance in fitness sessions
o Body weight exercises to keep the core strong
A Coach’s Tip: Never underestimate the importance of recovery after a workout.
According to Matty, the benefit of recovery is that it keeps muscles loose, enabling an athlete to work muscles harder on a daily basis.
Active recovery is intended to get muscle and other tissue back to normal, first by dilating blood vessels to increase flow. This enables the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles that have been torn down by a workout. It also helps the tissue get rid of the waste by activating the lymphatic system..
Matty points out that for him, active recovery is essential to staying injury-free.
Check out Matty’s website and connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.