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A 12-Week Triathlon Training Plan For Beginners

triathlon training plan

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 Not every athlete is out to win, but everyone is out to finish. And whether you admit it or not, everyone secretly wants to do better than their competitors and see improvement race after race, year after year.

As with most endurance sports, triathlon training plans employ a technique called periodization--a cyclic training plan an athlete puts into practice over a certain period. The goal of periodization is to reach peak performance when race day arrives.

This beginner's plan was created specifically for the classic distance race at the 2016 Nautica Malibu Triathlon presented by Equinox, which includes a half-mile ocean swim, an 18-mile bike segment and a four-mile run. This program assumes you have limited multisport experience and you're beginning your training straight off the couch. 

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The plan breaks down into three basic segments:

Base: The first few weeks of the program focuses on muscle and movement prep and includes limited growth in volume or intensity.

Build: The "meat" of a training plan focuses on weekly increases in volume, endurance and generating power over distance. It also includes recovery weeks, where volume drops approximately 40 to 50 percent, yet intensity may increase.

Although this cycle can vary depending on the race distance, coach and especially the athlete, the goal is essentially the same: Stress the body into adaptation and growth. Recovery weeks allow for extra rest and replenishment, allowing the body to repair and get stronger.

Race Prep and Taper: This segment includes the final few weeks leading up to your race. The volume will begin to decrease as the focus shifts to final race preparations. The taper is the final week(s) leading up to the race, when volume significantly decreases.

Triathlon training plans also focus on specificity. Multisport racing offers a wide range of challenges that require specific training for optimal performance.

Open water race swims often require athletes to run through crashing surf, battle choppy water and then fight the crashing surf again on the way back to the beach. Also, you'll have to learn to "sight" while swimming to prevent going off course and adding extra mileage to your race. Adding hard effort laps to your practice swim can help you prepare for the rush of a triathlon swim start.

One of the most important training elements of a triathlon plan is the brick, or bike-to-run workout. The transition from cycling to running can be very jarring—and as any triathlete will tell you, incredibly uncomfortable. To account for this, we introduce brick workouts early in the training plan.

Through these series of stresses (volume, intensity and recovery), you'll slowly inch your way up to race distances and have trained your body to not only recognize the discomfort, but also better manage it.

12 WEEK CLASSIC DISTANCE BEGINNER TRIATHLON TRAINING PROGRAM

Start with three workouts each week (1 per discipline)

 

Brick = Bike / Run Combination

 

 

Open Water Swims can be done before BRick workout or as 5th Day

 

 

 

*Consider the MESP Practice Swims

 

 

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

WEEK 1

SWIM 600yds
4 x 50yds
4 x 100yds

BIKE
45 minutes

RUN
15 minutes

 

 

WEEK 2

SWIM 700yds
6 x 50yds
4 x 100yds

BIKE
45 minutes

RUN
20 minutes

 

 

WEEK 3

SWIM 800yds
6 x 50yds
5 x 100yds

BIKE
60 minutes

RUN
20 minutes

 

 

WEEK 4

SWIM 1000yds
4 x 50yds
5 x 100yds
2 x 150yds

BIKE
45 minutes

RUN
30 minutes

BRick
Bike 60 minutes  & 15 minute run off-bike

 

WEEK 5
*recovery

SWIM 800yds
6 x 50yds
5 x 100yds

BIKE Recovery Day

RUN
2 miles

BRick
Bike 45 minute &  15 minute run off-bike

 

WEEK 6

SWIM 1000yds
2 x 50yds
5 x 100yds
2 x 200yds

BIKE
45 minutes

RUN
30 minutes

BRick
12 miles &
20 minute run off-bike

 

WEEK 7

SWIM 1200yds
2 x 50yds
5 x 100yds
3 x 200yds

BIKE
45 minutes

RUN
3 miles

BRick
14 miles &
30 minute run off-bike

 

WEEK 8

SWIM 1500yds
2 x 50yds
5 x 100yds
3 x 300yds

BIKE
45mins

RUN
4 miles

BRick
16 miles &
3mile run off-bike

Open Water Swim*
20mins
Practice ins/outs

WEEK 9

SWIM 800yds
6 x 50yds
5 x 100yds
(25 HARD / 75 EASY)

BIKE
8miles

RUN
2 miles

 

 

WEEK 10

SWIM 1500yds
2 x 50yds
5 x 100yds
3 x 300yds

BIKE
45mins

RUN
4 miles

BRick
18 miles &
3 mile run off-bike

Open Water Swim*
20mins
Practice ins/outs

WEEK 11

SWIM 1600yds
4 x 100yds
3 x 400yds

BIKE
45 minutes

RUN
3 miles

BRick
16 miles &
4 mile run off-bike

Open Water Swim*
20mins
Practice sighting

WEEK 12

SWIM 800yds
2 x 50yds
5 x 100yds
(25 HARD / 75 EASY)
8 x 25yd SPRINTS

BIKE

45 minutes &
15 minute run  off-bike

RUN


2 miles

RACE DAY!

 

 



Jason Schneider is an Equinox Trainer, 4x IRONMAN and founder and head coach for TriTrain Endurance Coaching.

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