Sprint Triathlon Training

Sprint Triathlon Training is something that nearly anyone can undertake, even those with little experience in endurance sports. The endurance required for a sprint triathlon is minimal compared to other endurance activities like a marathon or a 100 mile charity bike ride.

So how can you go from a couch potato a successful Triathlete? You'll need a well thought out structured training plan, and just a little bit of time to carve out everyday. For first timers, you'll need at least 8-12 weeks to prepare yourself. If you are currently very inactive, you should give yourself another 8-12 week block to simply acclimate to being active, especially if you've got a significant amount of weight to lose, or need to leave time to get clearance from your physician with any tests before you start training

I'm going to make an assumption that you are a moderately active person, exercising a few times a week. Nothing too crazy, but maybe you take a half hour walk a few times a week at lunch or after dinner, or maybe you ride your bike 10 miles on the bike path with your kids on the weekends.

You would probably do well, and improve significantly with as little as 4 hours a week of training time for your first sprint triathlon. At the start of your training, it can even be as little as 2 1/2 hours, consisting of at least 2 days a week of practicing or training in each sport.

From week to week, the time spent in each activity should increase slightly. The rule of thumb for running is no more than 10% increase per week in volume. Volume refers to the total training time. You can increase volume by increasing the length of time you train, or by adding an extra workout in the week.

A progressive sprint triathlon training plan will result in you being able to complete the distance in each event separately by about 3 weeks prior to the triathlon. In the last 3 weeks before your first sprint triathlon, you should start to do workouts called "bricks" where you combine two activities into one workout. I'll talk about that soon below.

The secret to gaining speed for experienced sprint triathlete requires adding some intensity to your training. Intensity is probably the most misunderstood aspect of triathlon training...how hard is hard? How easy is easy?

In general, Sprint Triathletes should spend the majority of their time in each of the 3 sports working in an "aerobic" range. Here is where the confusion comes in.

Popular media and "traditional" Triathlon Training books would have you doing all of your training time in the "long slow distance" intensity range. Also known as the "conversational pace", this effort level is fairly easy, and is a good way to build up basic endurance. The problem is that it takes a long time, and can get kind of boring!

While good for preparing for your first events, most triathletes would benefit from training at higher intensities, also called "tempo" and "vo2 max" ranges. Now many triathletes at hearing this will get a bit panicked, start sweating profusely and protesting..."But I've heard that training that intensely is bad for your development..."

It's a shame that the latest scientific evidence has not made it into the popular triathlon training literature. Recent studies show that training at higher intensities, not only accelerate development, but do so in less time than traditional endurance training.

In my Forging the Athlete training plans, I incorporate any one or more of the following into weekly workouts: Tempo workouts, Threshold Booster Intervals, VO2 maximizing workouts, Hills and Drills.

The improvement in each athlete comes from progressive and knowledgable application of these latest training principals without pushing the athlete beyond their current limits. Sprint Triathlon Training can be exciting and varied...it doesn't have to be boring!