Man on a mission – Kimmo Tuunanen pushes his limits
Triathlete Kimmo Tuunanen is currently in the shape of his life and highly motivated to be even better condition in the near future. Years of hard training is producing astonishingly fine results.
In the last year and a half he has won first the Finnish Championship and then the European Championship in Ironman’s age group 45–49. The highlight of this year was the World Championships in Hawaii where he took the third place.
On the way to the next level
Like for every ironman, Tuunanen’s goal for years was to earn a place for Kona – World Championships in Hawaii. He had been so close many times and understood that in order to achieve his goal he needed to push more limits with the help of the professional coach.
So just before the Finnish Championship in August 2021, Tuunanen started collaborate with Koa Sport’s Tim Ballintine.
Training harder, longer and with more speed
The coach brought a systematic approach to the training and increased the trainings with competition pace. New coaching has increased also the training hours.
Gymrail visited Tuunanen´s ”pain cave” in December 2022 and calculated year 2022 total training amounts:
Swimming 164 h / 593 km
Cycling 623 h / 19 241 km
Running 215 h / 2 671 km
Training amount has increased by 150 hours compared to the previous year.
Kimmo Tuunanen in front of his pain cave after 3 hours cycling training.
Momentum X1 is game changer in indoor cycling training
Previously, Tuunanen was cycling to workplace and back, but coach Ballintine stopped that habit. Now Tuunanen wakes up on weekdays at five in the morning to cycle indoors. It used to be a little bit tiring but he has found a new way to not only make indoor cycling feel better, but also to increase the effectiveness of the training.
After Hawaii as the number of indoor cycling excercises increased, Tuunanen was introduced to Momentum X1. Tuunanen immediately noticed what are the benefits of the 4D rocker plate system.
Better riding position equals longer training periods and less pain
In Triathlon cycling it’s important to keep the cycling position aerodynamic and ”package” together as long as possible. Momentum X1 gives Tuunanen better opportunity to ease the position from time to time, just like when riding outdoors.
Kimmo Tuunanen is able to keep his cycling position longer when he uses Momentum X1.
Better riding position means also that the lower back pains are gone. When cycling is painless it means also that Tuunanen is able to train longer and with higher intensity.
Tuunanen thinks that movement with Momentum X1 is so natural, that it feels just like when cycling outdoors. Comparing to fixed trainer, Momentum X1 helps you also to use all the muscle groups better in pedaling.
Kimmo Tuunanen cycling upright position with Momentum X1.
Momentum X1 has helped to improve the pedaling technique
It´s important to eliminate all the extra body movements from the triathlon cycling position and use all the power to spin the cranks.
When Tuunanen started to use Momentum X1 there was first some movements in the rocker plate while he was cycling. Tuunanen has used this movement to improve his pedaling technique.
Now with better technique Tuunanen notices movement in the rocker plate only when he is starting to get tired and is not able to spin the cranks with the full power.
Tuunanen is indoor cycling specialist
Winter hazards. After cycling training outdoors Tuunanen´s sweaty jacket was frozen.
So it could be said that Tuunanen is very familiar with the indoor cycling training. Tuunanen says that indoor cycling saves lot of time when you can do it at home. It’s also convenient when you have all the drinks and extra energy easily available in front of you.
One important advantage in indoor cycling is that you can practise in higher temperatures to match competing in warm climate. This could not be possible otherwise in Finland during winter.
Tuunanen is monitoring his core temperature closely so that exercise is not too exhausting. In this 3 hour training Tuunanen closed the fan for the last 15 minutes and his temperature rose to 38,6 degrees.
Long way to this point
Tuunanen’s way to this point has not always been so straightforward and easy. Tuunanen started with endurance running but then had to stop that because of injuries. In university he was introduced to swimming but then became allergic to chlorine. Tuunanen moved to cycling and noticed that he is good in time trials and long sprints.
So it seemed only logical that Tuunanen wanted to try out triathlon. However, the first race was not success with the paddling wetsuit borrowed from a friend and a chinese mountain bike.
The next goal is to do it better!
For five years Tuunanen’s goal was to compete Ironman race in Hawaii. Now that it’s done, Tuunanen wants to do it again – only better.
Tuunanen is now training to South Africa Ironman race that will be arranged in March 2023. His goal is to finish in top three so that he is qualified to race in the next World Championships.
Tuunanen is amazed how much Momentum X1 has improved his cycling in just a couple of months. We are all looking forward to see how this shows in the race results!
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