Tired of bunkering down under house arrest in 2020? Triathlon is the complete opposite – a pure outdoor endeavour for 2021 that might even improve your investing results!
Traders and athletes have a shared goal of achieving their full potential – one is for wealth – the other for fitness. But many are using one to achieve the other.
-jpg.jpeg)
Last spring you couldn’t find a bike for sale for love nor money. Pandemic lockdowns left few options for exercise. Running, cycling and to a lesser extent swimming reached new levels of popularity. No wonder online exercise service Peloton was one of the top performing stocks as a ‘stay home’ investment winner last year.
The Financial Times made the point when discussing cycling that the days of networking at the golf course are on the wane. Sharing the cycle race experience is great for relationship building and training for an event in the gym is the “new going to the pub” for socialising and making connections.
“I prefer Sunday football thanks!”
Why on earth would we want to put ourselves through what sounds like such misery? Well let’s consider the qualities of triathletes and whether these are things you aspire to in your investing and life in general.
Commitment
To compete with some of the fittest people on earth, triathletes must set themselves some challenging goals and commit to them. If you can commit to that 10k run, you can commit to studying investment opportunities.
Concentration
To even finish a race, triathletes must learn to enter the zone. Silly mistakes can cost triathletes valuable minutes and traders money.
Overcoming difficulties
Triathletes have to overcome huge adversity and the associated stress to achieve success in such a physical challenge. If you can push your fitness for physical growth, don’t you think you can push your mental and emotional strength for investing?
Discipline
Navigating a race of large distances and different disciplines requires a strategy and the adherence to that strategy. To win, triathletes must apply the same discipline as professional traders need to make a profitable trade.
Winning spirit
Triathletes compete to win and trading is a zero sum game, you get nothing for just taking part.
Passion
You cannot become a successful investor overnight, and it takes months if not years of training to become a successful triathletes. The passion to be the best is what can carry you through.
What is Triathlon?
Triathlon as the name implies is a race that involves three races in one: running, cycling and swimming.
The distances vary according to the age and experience of the attendees but there are also several variations on the event including the ironman. British Triathlon categorise triathlon events as follows:
Super sprint distance: 400m (swim), 10km (bike), 2.5km (run)
Sprint distance: 750m (swim), 20km (bike), 5km (run)
Standard (Olympic) distance: 1500m (swim), 40km (bike), 10km (run)
70.3/middle/half-Ironman distance: 1.9km (swim), 90km (bike), 21km (run)
Full/long/Ironman distance: 3.8km (swim), 180km (bike), 42km (run)
How to start Triathlon training
Like most things these days the first step can often involve an app. Where exactly you start the journey depends on your current level of activity. If it’s just that Sunday footie match, then a bit more regular exercise will be needed. Herein lies a huge benefit of triathlon training that will tick off some classic New Year’s resolutions – it is a specific goal to help you justify why to exercise. If you are already exercising regularly, you can skip to step 3.
Step 1: Make some time
The first step is to decide you will put some time into this. To get into shape Active.com recommends setting aside 2 ½ to 4 hours per week. That can mean around 30 minutes 4 days a week and a bit longer at the weekend. Decide if the morning, lunchtime or the evening would work best for you.
Step 2: Getting off the couch
Couch to 5k is program that takes you from watching the Olympics on TV to being able to run 5 kilometres without stopping though a series of steps that mix in walking and running. The app c25k has been downloaded by millions
Step 3: Get the gear
- A tri-suit can be worn for the entire race but a wet suit is best for swimming in cold water.
- A bicycle (ideally road or hybrid) with water bottle
- Cycle Helmut
- Cycling shorts for training
- Running shoes
- Smartwatch to track times [optional]
Step 4: Get an app
Health website healthline.com has made a list of its best triathlon apps for 2020. Out of this list we would recommend Strava for tracking your activity and TrainingPeaks for customized workouts.
Step 5: Sign up for a race
In the pandemic era, joining a club is easier said than done, but exercising outside in groups is not prohibited in most countries (yet). If you join a group, you can meet new people to train with and sign up for races through the club, which will often help organise transportation and lodgings.
If you’re in Switzerland, here are some options to find a triathlon club near you
https://swisstriathlon.ch/clubs/
Convinced?
If you decide to give triathlon a go, good luck and we think you’ll be pleased with the positive effect it has on your investing.
