How To Structure Your Weekly Triathlon Training | Tri Training Planning Tips

Where do you start when structuring a triathlon training plan? Well, Mark is here to help you through the key points to think about when planning your weekly training structure around work, lifestyle, and commitments, to make sure you get consistency and wring every ounce of productivity out of it!
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Some of the best advice we've been given in terms of training is quite simply that “consistency is key”. Whether you are training for your first ever triathlon or the Olympic Games, we really believe that it matters just the same!
So with that in mind, in today’s video Mark is going to help guide you through the key points to think about when planning your weekly training structure around your work, lifestyle, and commitments, to make sure you get that consistency and wring every ounce of productivity out of it!
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Watch more on GTN...
📹 Structuring A Week Of Running Training 👉 gtn.io/RunWeekStructure
📹 How Many Training Hours A Week For Triathlon? 👉 gtn.io/TriHours
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[@gtn]

What does your training week look like?

[@carlbyronrodgers]

1 Resistance Z 3, Swim/Bike/Run,1 Speed/Anaerobic Z 4/5 Swim/Bike/Run,1 Long/Aerobic Z 2 Swim/Bike /Run.

[@zfjames]

Alternating running and cycling at the moment until a pool becomes available this fall.

[@marinkecman7811]

Sunday: long run Monday: chill run, long club ride Tuesday: recovery swim, chill run Wednesday: track intervals Thursday: swim/bike/Run Sprint distance Friday: chill run, weights Saturday: bike intervals, chill run

[@jacobwright9383]

On that adapt point. Look at weather reports, if indoor swim day is glorious but the bike day looks like storms, consider swapping

[@gtn]

Really good tip, we're all here for flexibility

[@evanmacdougall9715]

I set up my training into 4 week blocks. Week 1 I have 7 workouts. Week 2 I have 8 workouts. Week 3 I have 9 workouts. Then Week 4 is a recovery week down to 5 or 6 workouts with lower volume and intensity. Since they don't divide up evenly, I lean towards the ones that need the most work. So, 3 swims every week except for recovery week when there's only 2.

[@sm1l3yfilms]

Doing my first sprint in 4 months; this was good advise

[@anton31]

I really want you to make video " from Half Marathon to Full Marathon plan "

[@alisontriathlonlover]

Very helpful! Thanks 😊

[@markdenney7977]

Love the channel. Along with the GCN GTN is a great resource, and has really helped me. Im training with a view to doing The Florida 70.3 in December. I have seen your video on strength training, and on putting a plan together. Can you advise where to fit strength training into the plan on top of the 10 hours a week training.

[@ajsbrushworksllc8348]

I do what I call, triangle training. Think of a triangle, 3 sides. Wk 1, Swim, bike, run is at the bottom or off that week. Wk 2, everything rotates to the right so to speak, so run, swim, and bike on the bottom/off. The concept is, 1 discipline you hit back to back weeks. 1 discipline is always off. So if you were to draw triangles on paper, you should see 1 discipline gets repeated every week. Then, the weeks where the swim is off, I work in a bike/run brick to end the week. Not every week. If you set it up right, there should be a brick workout staggered every week. For example, my upcoming week, Week 1 will have a brick, and Week 4 will have a brick. Because of my work schedule, this gives me flexibility without the dread of a schedule conflict or stress that I missed a day. It works for me. Hope it works for someone else.

[@johnnyb1897]

My week- First my goal - full IronMan Monday-Wednesday-Friday noon swim- Saturday open water swim Tuesday-Thursday-5-7k run at noon,sometimes it's speed intervals. Sunday long run. Tuesday and Wednesday nights 40-60K on the bike, Saturday afternoons long ride. Some nights I will do intervals on the trainer. Pending weather, anything outside will be switched around JB

[@beltransuarez4941]

And when do you rest in order to improve?

[@lwittrock1]

Great video!

[@lizziegutteridge8267]

Do you tend to put all the longer easier workouts in one half of the week, and the interval/speed work on the various diciplines at the other end, or is it better to try and move them away from each other? Currently running 3 times a week (1 longish, 1 fartlek, 1 tempo or easy depending how I feel) plus one long bike ride and two days when I bike to the river or sea for a swim (about 30-60 minutes bike each way, 30-40 minutes int he water). I have no "end date" at the moment but am aiming to do a DIY olympic distance in late August or September before the water cools down.

[@willalfred5959]

Great video, could you possibly add time stamps if we need to refer back to it? (e.g. Frequency and Duration)

[@JK-ui4qs]

Monday - Brick workout being cycle and run Tuesday - Long slow run Wednesday - Strength training Thursday - CrossFit Friday - Rest Saturday - CrossFit in the morning swim in the afternoon Sunday - Long cycle First triathlon in 5 weeks, only one way to find out if that routine works...

[@ghaithkanawati1460]

did it work?

[@JK-ui4qs]

@@ghaithkanawati1460 Yes it did! To be honest not long after that comment my training was solely CrossFit 6 days a week! Completed the triathlon in 1hr 45 mins

[@IsmaelDiazIAGoupeFinancier]

Excellent video like always ! Quick question... in other to buil a training plan for like a year and to keep a good dairy would you choose Garmin or Training Peaks ? ... also do you have video about this topic ? Thanks!

[@stuartalderson2635]

You mention about trying to avoid more than 2 sessions/day or backing up sessions working the same muscle groups. How would you look to structure a plan to include S+C training?

[@rlfs2853]

Try to avoid leg lifts and then cardio. For example on days where I squat and deadlift, I only lift that day. No other training. Upper body can generally handle way more volume plus biking and running are both putting stress on the lower body almost exclusively.

[@GamersCraft]

can u please make a more in depth video about specifically making a program for yourself with an example worked out. Would appreciate it a lot

[@tonycastro6805]

Will this training schedule help a older athletes?????

[@rachels1086]

Do you have a recommended training App?

[@jeremyzhao569]

That's my off-season work, 2 bike, 2 swim 2 run In my season, it looks like 6 bike, 6 swim 6 run😂, as I trying to get to pro field😅

[@mamatkebab]

👍

[@geordieinca9834]

Why does noone talk about weather...most days where I am its over 90 F

[@giovannisciotti9972]

Do you think having a personal trainer is important for an absolute beginner?

[@gwenllianroberts5857]

On a purely curious note, are you guys qualified coaches? Did you ever go through the British Tri system of coaching levels? :)

[@zfjames]

Gwenllian Roberts I smell a hostile question.....

[@markthrelfall3577]

Yes, I'm a Level 2 BTF coach. I had a coaching business prior to GTN :) That's my bread and butter, I love this stuff!

[@AntiUgg]

Zach Fabin I think it is quite a good question. They should have some training in coaching besides their own triathlon experience before making videos on how to plan your training. Great to hear Mark does have the experience and training!

[@mattofthenorth]

Great content however I strive to work toward a “peak date” of fitness for an A race. To me “end date” sounds like death. Lol I get what you mean though. Hopefully one hasn’t worked themselves to death in the process 💀 🏊‍♂️ 🚲 🏃 💪🏼🙂

[@markthrelfall3577]

Haha yeah 'end date'/'A race'. Same thing

[@akshaydeora5182]

Sir is it possible to complete swin in ironman 70.3 by breast stroke.

[@ishannakra5764]

Yeah u can but that would be too slow learn free style instead

[@TheRixstar]

I'm new to triathlons and was wondering 🤔?? If I was a national swimmer with over 10+ years in a pool training 2 2 hours session almost every day, (🤮) do I have to do much swimming? I planned on once a week. Cycling im decent at and thats where I clock up the most mileage. Now running I suck at so at the moment I focus on running the most. Would this be a fair assumption?

[@markthrelfall3577]

I wouldn't suggest just doing one swim per week. Perhaps one short focussed quality session, and then a slightly longer session focussed on longer sustained aerobic reps. It sounds like you want to put some focus on your running. Strip it back. Start short, but frequent. Perhaps run every other day

[@TheRixstar]

@@markthrelfall3577 Awesome thanks for the reply I appreciate it. I currently do run every other day with the suggested run workouts you guys at GTN have previously recommended. Half way there ✌👍

[@chuckschreiber2365]

If you have time constraints then you could get by with 1 swim session a week if you STILL are an accomplished swimmer. You have the advantage of knowing the techniques but you still need the endurance. Also, even if your first out of the water, you could easily be passed on the bike or run (heck, I lost a first place by getting beat in transition). You didn’t mention the distance, but since your new it’s probably a Sprint, so the bike split will carry more impact. However if you are not in good running shape then even the 5k run after the bike will seem like a death march. Running has great aerobic benefits that also help with the bike and swim, so focus on running, then bike, then swim.

[@TheRixstar]

@@chuckschreiber2365 thanks for the reply Chuck, I can hit a 2k swim at 1:33~ pace so I have retained a fair bit of my ability, time and availability is always a struggle for me week to week! I do have a sprint coming up in fact! My running is fine 5km and under, its anything over and I cant keep a decent pace up. I have a balanced training plan at the moment and everything is coming along slowly 🤞🏻improvements every training block!

[@frlipa]

I dont' think you need to worry about swimming...

[@alexwright915]

Can't you guys just give us an actual schedule to work with>

[@user-tb8kx6bl2v]

Love the channel. Along with the GCN GTN is a great resource, and has really helped me. Im training with a view to doing The Florida 70.3 in December. I have seen your video on strength training, and on putting a plan together. Can you advise where to fit strength training into the plan on top of the 10 hours a week training.