And, for the alpha males and females among you, that starts with one clear message: don\u2019t let your ego ruin your chances of success.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWith any training you undertake for an event, the number one goal is to make the start line injury-free and healthy.\u201d The words there of Phil Mosley of MyProCoach. Phil\u2019s been coaching amateur triathletes for over 20 years and is adept at designing training plans for people with busy lives. You must, he says, remember you\u2019re not a professional. Vis-\u00e0-vis, don\u2019t overcook things. \u201cToo many age-groupers set too hard a training schedule and then beat themselves up that they can\u2019t keep up with the plan. They then overdo it and end up injured.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> In short, if you feel more is better \u2013 a common belief among multisporters \u2013 you\u2019ll soon be burnt out or get ill. Instead, dance to the mantra sung by legendary coach Joe Friel in his acclaimed The Triathlete\u2019s Training Bible<\/em>, namely do the \u2018least amount\u2019, plan \u2018continual improvement\u2019 and be \u2018specific\u2019\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLeast amount implies <\/b>that less is better. How can that be? Most successful athletes support the notion that small fitness gains made over a long time are better than quick fitness changes over a short time. We all know that \u2018too much, too soon\u2019 leads to breakdown yet we keep doing it.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cContinual improvement<\/b><\/span> has to do with taking a long-term approach to training. Gradual workout changes from week to week produce fitness that stays with you longer and ultimately reaches a higher level than when big changes are made. Your body is prepared to handle changes of a bit more than 10%. Doing more than what you\u2019re physically capable of absorbing is worse than wasting effort, as it leads to breakdown.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMost specific has to do <\/b>with how daily workouts benefit triathlon- and duathlon-specific fitness, which is the ultimate goal of training. Each and every workout should have a purpose, whether to improve fitness, maintain fitness or recover. Getting the balance right with these three is key Let\u2019s work through these, starting with what\u2019s the minimum needed to reach your targets? In all honesty, this is hard to pin down hour-wise due to all our individual circumstances and fitness background. However, we can prescribe advice based on distance completed; in other words, when it comes to a supersprint of 400m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km run, once you can individually swim for 20-30mins, bike for 20-30mins and run for 20-30mins, you\u2019re arguably ready to go.<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to Olympic-distance, you need to reach a place where you\u2019re training up to 75% of the distance in each discipline. So for a 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run, we\u2019re talking a 1.125km swim, 30km bike and 7.5km run. Do that and you\u2019ll forge the fitness to bring it all together at your event.<\/span><\/p>\n As for middle- and iron-distance, you\u2019re looking at a programme of two swim sessions, two-to-three bike sessions, and two-to-three run sessions each week. For many people at this level, your training\u2019s already dialled in but, as a snapshot, if you\u2019re going long, prepare for weekly 4-7hr bike rides and managing the subsequent fatigue.<\/span><\/p>\n As for planning progress, back to Mosley. \u201cWhatever level you\u2019re at, I\u2019d start off at whatever\u2019s easy to you and progress by 5mins a week when swimming and running, max. And 10mins biking, max. More than that, you\u2019ll be injured.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAlso, avoid back-to-back hard sessions \u2013 these are hard by intensity or duration,\u201d Mosley continues. \u201cAnd include at least one rest day in the week, plus an active recovery week every fourth week. They\u2019re about half the training you do in a normal week. They\u2019re good not just because they help you recover physically, but it\u2019s a mental break as well. It\u2019s also a good chance to spend a little more time with your family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This upward curve of performance is formalised in sport-science circles as \u2018periodisation\u2019. This has many models depending on the experience of the athlete, but the most simplistic one is the traditional model of periodisation where you build stamina during the winter via long, mid-effort rides before upping intensity as the season approaches. For instance, you might train 80% of the time under 75% of your maximum heart rate in the off-season and 20% over. This might then change to 65% under 75% maximum heart rate and 35% over as time rolls by.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> There are myriad physiological reasons behind this model, including raising your ability to burn fat; repeated speed, like chasing and then leaving a competitor, is higher with stronger aerobic foundations; and a lower-intensity winter\u2019s kinder on your immune system. This is the basic template but it\u2019s one that many 220 Triathlon<\/i> readers should follow. <\/span><\/p>\n Need further empirical evidence? A study undertaken by Professor Aldo Sassi of the Mapei Sport Research Centre in Italy analysed fluctuations of VO2 max<\/a><\/strong> in cyclists through the course of a season. (As a reminder, VO2 max is the maximal oxygen uptake a rider can utilise per minute of intense exercise. It\u2019s measured in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight or mL\/kg\/min. A good amateur triathlete\u2019s VO2 max is upwards of 50; a pro\u2019s around 70 to 85.) <\/span><\/p>\n Sassi tested the riders in December, March and June, roughly corresponding to a rider\u2019s rest period, and early- and peak-season fitness, and noticed that, on average, VO2 max increased from 69.4 to 74.2 to 76.7mL\/kg\/min. Peak power output also rose from 6.3 to 6.8 to 7 watts per kilogram during an incremental fitness test. In short, even the pros allow themselves to lose a modicum of fitness during the off-season \u2013 around 9% in Sassi\u2019s study. If they didn\u2019t, they\u2019d hit the wall.<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to session content, there are broad rules you should follow throughout your plan. For swim, technique<\/a><\/strong> is arguably more important than fitness, which you can build in the other two disciplines. Every swim session should feature a technical component, which will often manifest itself in drills<\/a><\/strong> during the warm-up. <\/span><\/p>\n The bike\u2019s a good place to build aerobic fitness<\/a><\/strong> with the weekly long ride a key component of every triathlete\u2019s training schedule. As Mosley said, don\u2019t increase this by more than 10mins each week and reel back every fourth week. <\/span><\/p>\n The run\u2019s the discipline you must be most careful about, its weight-bearing nature cranking up the potential of injury. That\u2019s why we\u2019d advise running regularly off-road as the softer surfaces dampen loads. We\u2019d also recommend one more intense run session each week to increase speed. Just ensure you don\u2019t follow this with another hard session. <\/span><\/p>\n Does your sporting background matter how many of each discipline you should pencil in? \u201cNot really,\u201d says Mosley. \u201cAt the top end, for example, there\u2019s a sweetspot of training each discipline two or three times a week. If you do four, it doesn\u2019t make you that much better. Follow a balanced plan and, if for example, someone\u2019s already a good runner, they\u2019ll maintain their running and still improve the swimming and cycling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This, says Mosley, will have you in a strong position as race day edges closer on the horizon. Which is when you should make things more race specific. \u201cAs you approach your big day, do one race workout each week,\u201d he says. \u201cFor instance, you might ride in your tri-suit on your race-day bike (or with clip-on tri bars) and include efforts at race pace. And ensure you feature open-water swims in the last month or two before your race. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThen there are bricks<\/a><\/strong>, which you should do weekly in the last eight weeks before your race. These should mainly be bike to run, but throw in the occasional swim to bike, too. It\u2019ll give you confidence that you\u2019ve practised the T1 transition skills before race day, albeit it won\u2019t boost you physiologically like bike-to-run sessions will.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> \u201cYou should also pencil the occasional build-up race into your plans, whether it\u2019s a shorter triathlon or a single-discipline event. But don\u2019t do too many \u2013 one or two is fine to crank up confidence without leaving you too tired for subsequent sessions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n One final note is on tracking and measuring your sessions and progress. Most triathletes love gear, which guides them to the latest multisport watches<\/a><\/strong>, power meters and swim devices. They embrace online training software like TrainingPeaks. All of these have their worth and help you balance training, recovery and improvement. <\/span><\/p>\n Then again, some triathletes prefer the old pen and paper. Both are absolutely fine, but we\u2019d implore you to monitor your training and build-up races in some form, not only from a physiological and performance perspective, but it also boosts motivation to see how you\u2019re improved in moments when you\u2019re flagging.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tapering<\/a>\u2019s where you cut training load to maximise fitness and freshness at your event. Here\u2019s tapering expert <\/b><\/span>Inigo Mujika <\/b><\/span>on what to do\u2026<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cResearch has shown that optimal tapering duration ranges between eight and 14 days. However, we all know that general rules do not necessarily apply to individual athletes, who should adapt taper duration to their individual recovery-fitness profile and their level of accumulated fatigue. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSome triathletes recover faster than others and they\u2019d need a shorter taper; others lose fitness faster than others and they\u2019d need to train enough during the taper to avoid losing adaptation (i.e. detraining); while some may have a more pronounced residual fatigue from their intensive training and\/or other stressful lifestyle factors, and they may require a longer taper or a more pronounced reduction of their training load in the days prior to the race.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTraining volume must decline during the taper by reducing either the duration or the frequency of the training sessions but not intensity. Simply put, triathletes should train less in quantity but maintain the quality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n By James Witts Published: Friday, 08 April 2022 at 12:00 am Now that we\u2019ve showed you how to set goals and boost your chances of reaching them, it\u2019s time to take things to the next level. Here, we\u2019ll help you formulate your own training plan, giving you the information you need to go away and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13459,"template":"","categories":[1,23],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"9"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-build-your-own-triathlon-training-plan.jpg",2000,1333,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-build-your-own-triathlon-training-plan-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-build-your-own-triathlon-training-plan-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-build-your-own-triathlon-training-plan-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-build-your-own-triathlon-training-plan-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-build-your-own-triathlon-training-plan-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-build-your-own-triathlon-training-plan.jpg",2000,1333,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By James Witts Published: Friday, 08 April 2022 at 12:00 am Now that we\u2019ve showed you how to set goals and boost your chances of reaching them, it\u2019s time to take things to the next level. Here, we\u2019ll help you formulate your own training plan, giving you the information you need to go away and…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/13458"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Minimum workload<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Peak progress<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/34\/2022\/04\/build-your-training-plan-1-71865e5.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What\u2019s in a session?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Race-specific training<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/34\/2022\/04\/build-your-training-plan-3-1cc1178.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Peak at the races<\/strong><\/h2>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"