What Makes An Effective Olympic Distance Triathlon Training Plan? I have recently been asked this good question and the answer is different for different people, goals, experience and lifestyle.
Since my triathlon training programmes are aimed at busy ‘real world’ people who might be beginners or may have stepped up to a new longer triathlon distance and really challenged themselves, this is what I will focus on. I hope you have set yourself a challenge and this article helps you achieve it. Today I am going to recommend 5 things to consider when embarking on your Olympic distance triathlon goal.
So, what makes a great Olympic distance triathlon training plan?
1. “Stickabilily”
When I was in my 20’s I was passionate about fitness, giving it my all on every occasion. This worked to an extent and I did get very lean, very fit and I could just about beat everybody I used to train with up a hill. I did have a busy lifestyle and I would consider that I was burning the candle at both ends. I’d work full time, train full time and party full time. The result was that I’d get very run down and every few weeks I’d get a cold. It was most frustrating that they usually began just on the run up to my triathlon race and I often felt I didn’t get to the start line of my event refreshed. What I am trying to illustrate here is that you should be passionate about reaching your inspiring triathlon goal, but at the same time it is very important to be smart about your exercise, work and life balance. For me I was overcooking it, training 20+ hours weekly, staying out with friends late and working full time. In hindsight and what I have learned the hard way is that quality of training session was more important than volume, that it is not possible to train hard all the time, and that consistency counts. Consider your lifestyle, your goals, your commitments and decide how many hours you can really commit to. Remembering that a high intensity workout is far more effective for both endurance and speed, you should try to do your training and achieve your goal on as few training hours as possible. It frustrates me that I have seen many training plans that are volume based and treat ‘real life’ athletes with jobs and a million other commitments the same as elite or full time athletes who have more time to train and recover. In a nutshell, train effectively, and prioritise recovery.
2. KISS
I am sure you have heard the acronym ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’. This really is an important factor when you are training for a triathlon. When time is of the essence you don’t want to be faffing, analyzing, monitoring or over complicating things. Don’t get me wrong, the plans I write regularly monitor your progress but they do keep it simple. Simple triathlon fitness tests to gauge progress for example are effective for monitoring your success and bring you step by step to achieving your goal. They are also specific to your goal so make great practice. Don’t over-complicate your sessions either. Keep your triathlon training sessions, swim sessions, bike and run sessions simple, specific and quality. Don’t get yourself into a pickle trying to remember too much. I have been caught in the trap of over-complicating my training in the past and ended up spending hours planning and analyzing sessions. No need, just KISS it.
3. Recovery
With reference to point one, recovery is key and needs to be prioritized. Without recovery you will not adapt and you will not see fitness improvements. Plan in your recovery time, and think, can you really get up at the crack of dawn for this triathlon run session or would you be better off doubling up sessions, called triathlon brick sessions, so you only have to train once in a day. This way you can have a lye-in, get 8 hours sleep and recover properly. The quality of your one session will then be superior to if you are tired.
4. Flexibility
A flexible triathlon training programme is important if you are to stick to it. I always say to plan ‘in pencil’ because you never know what life will throw at you. Meetings after work, children after school club, weddings to attend. Consistency is king if you want to achieve in triathlon, however flexibility is important too. I plan my training programs on a flexible grid with sessions that can be moved from day to day to suit your life’s needs. If you do miss a session don’t play catch up. Just forget it and move on. Overloading your schedule and training volume will not benefit your overall goal.
5. Proven solution
This brings me to my final point. For an Olympic distance triathlon training programme to be effective it must follow a proven solution that is aimed at you. Being a ‘real world’ triathlete and a beginner with an inspiring goal maybe you’ve stepped up a distance, you need a zero guesswork triathlon training plan. Maybe you need to get twice the fitness results in half the time because time is of the essence and you are wondering how to fit in all the training necessary to achieve your goal.
I have developed an Olympic distance triathlon training programme that has repeatedly proven itself. It is designed for the ‘real world’ triathlete with a big goal. The Olympic distance beginner triathlon training programme is simple, flexible, has zero guesswork and gets you to your goal event with minimal training volume. I’d love to be able to help you achieve your Olympic distance triathlon goal so why not join many other successful triathletes and check out what the programme has to offer. I hope you find these triathlon training tips useful, good luck and happy training!