with two or three days of light exercise or even complete rest, and it's a major problem for triathletes. Scott Molina, winner of over 100 professional triathlons and the Ironman World Champion in 1988, has long believed that some triathletes overtrain. "I

Hands up if you've never been injured. If your hand is in the air, you're in the lucky minority of triathletes who have never had to take time off training to recover from a sore calf, aching shoulder or throbbing knee.Triathlon is a great sport

be smart and do both.Elite triathlete Stuart Hayes (stuarthayes.com) says, "Training smart is the best way to improve performance. Only you can decide if it is best for you to be outside or not."The majority of triathletes juggle family life with stressful

should you join the crowd?Many triathletes are runners looking for something new to do. Once they try triathlon or triathlon-style cross-training, they often have an unexpected result: they become better runners. Heidi Wilson, 30, from London believes

Hands up if you've never been injured. If your hand is in the air, you're in the lucky minority of triathletes who have never had to take time off training to recover from a sore calf, aching shoulder or throbbing knee.Triathlon is a great sport

Sooner or later, all triathletes hit the deck, and the result, more often than not, is road rash. Thankfully, such abrasions usually require only basic care, but it must be the right care. Dr Helen Iams has worked as Medical Director for races

.What this also means is that where many beginner triathletes can make huge strides by finessing their technique, I have to face facts: if I want more speed, I'll have to work for it.Not only that, I've got work to do on my fitness in general. After running

Q I like to use an elliptical trainer for cross-training when I’m injured. How do I best use it to maintain aerobic fitness and fast leg turnover?A Among all cross-training machines, elliptical trainers provide the closest approximation to running

, too often, you will wind up sick, injured or overtrained. Too little intensity and you will not achieve your potential in races. If you get the intensity wrong it doesn't matter if you are doing everything else right - you will not reach your full

'm always looking for athletes to say, 'I'll give it a go' rather than 'I can't do that'," says Bright.9. Know your body to overcome injuryIt's simple: if you're a triathlete you can expect to suffer injuries. "Most athletes have been or will be injured