Training Plan Philosophies
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TryScott posted 17 weeks ago.
I think I asked a similar question about a year ago on Trifuel, but I don't have the time to find it now.
Here's my take. There's 2 major ways of training. Either train long and slow now, then add the speedwork and cut volume when you closer to the race. Then there's the opposite. Michael Mccormack (see http://www.triathloncoach.com for more info) and Endurance Nation are good examples of the go fast first, then long later philosophy. Lots of others, including Friel, use the other approach.
Lets make a crazy assumption that one method isn't the best for everyone. :) The hard part is finding out which method is the best for you. For me, it's the method that keeps me motivated. If you have no problems with motivation, and can get out of the door every day for your workouts, then you need to look at other factors.
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MaverickNH posted 17 weeks ago.
Thanks for the comments TryScott.
Interesting too that some plans appear to specify distance (miles/yards) and intensity (%FTP, %MHR, flats/hills, easy/moderate/hard, etc), while others get very detailed on WOs, like: Swims: 2x100 fs, 2x50 kicks; Runs: 4 x800, 2x400; Bike: Pyramids, 2x20s. This granularity seems to come with more costly plans.
Maybe this added detail allows chunking of WOs into managble blocks of time/effort and keeps variety and motivation higher? I can see training various physiological systems (aerobic, anaerobic, VO2, etc., as one never knows what one will face in a season's schedule. But the more detailed and complex the plan, the less flexibility and harder the compliance.
I guess training for a tri ins't like training for a century/double-century, where progressive increases in distance are the main focus, eh? Except for the elite and/or draft-legal events, strategy in competition with opponents would seem far less the issue than training oneself physically & mentally.
It's all new to me and fascinating. And as you say, finding what work for you might be some trial and error.
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NotAsFast posted 17 weeks ago.
If you are looking for a pretty good amateur training plan that lays out the training in a methodical way, then look up "Essential week by week training guide" by Matt Fitzgerald.
It can be used from a beginner to a serious competitor and it lays out the training in week to week imcrements along with recovery weeks etc.
It may not suit everyone, but it is a very comprehensive book.
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TonisTri posted 17 weeks ago.
NotAsFast wrote:
If you are looking for a pretty good amateur training plan that lays out the training in a methodical way, then look up "Essential week by week training guide" by Matt Fitzgerald.It can be used from a beginner to a serious competitor and it lays out the training in week to week imcrements along with recovery weeks etc.
It may not suit everyone, but it is a very comprehensive book.
+1. I just bought this and it's very detailed. Got a good quality, used copy on Amazon for cheap.
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." -T. Roosevelt
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MaverickNH posted 17 weeks ago.
I sent to Amazon for Fitzgerald's book. I guess I should check all the options out and try to synthesize my best guess for training. My goals are 2 early season Sprints to learn the tri race process, then a late season Sprint and Olympic. I tend to be a bit cautious and not to overcommit on the first time through things - at 51 a significant injury from forgetting I'm not 25 takes too much time for rehab.
I've been shadowing a local tri training group at my gym this year, and am eager to give it a go. The method can be the motivation, as noted above, so sorting a plan myself, for a first year might work OK, if I can spot mistakes and successes. Thereafter, I'll know what I want in a coach.
On the topic of coaches, I'm sure a face-2-face local coach is the best option, but I'm curious how on-line coaching works for some as in-between self-coached and "live-coached" people.
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snail_male posted 17 weeks ago.
MaverickNH wrote:
... at 51 a significant injury from forgetting I'm not 25 takes too much time for rehab...
At 50 I'm in much the same mindset, in fact I'm also nursing a bad back (sciatica). FWIW I am taking the longer before "faster" route as a precaution. My logic says if I work on speed now I'll always be at a highly-strung level, a mistake away from injury at all times, like a thoroughbred race horse (hahaha), whereas if I build up to mega distances carefully and steadily I can always look to pick up the pace later, knowing I've at least toughened up the chassis somewhat.
I'm too chicken about wrecking a good thing here, so erring on the side of caution works well for me (and justifies my slow times, for the time being!)
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Amphibious Triton posted 17 weeks ago.
TonisTri wrote:
NotAsFast wrote:If you are looking for a pretty good amateur training plan that lays out the training in a methodical way, then look up "Essential week by week training guide" by Matt Fitzgerald.It can be used from a beginner to a serious competitor and it lays out the training in week to week imcrements along with recovery weeks etc.
It may not suit everyone, but it is a very comprehensive book.
+1. I just bought this and it's very detailed. Got a good quality, used copy on Amazon for cheap.
+1 for me as well.
"There were so many fewer questions when stars where still just the holes to heaven"
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tri-ac posted 16 weeks ago.
Amphibious Triton wrote:
TonisTri wrote:NotAsFast wrote:If you are looking for a pretty good amateur training plan that lays out the training in a methodical way, then look up "Essential week by week training guide" by Matt Fitzgerald.It can be used from a beginner to a serious competitor and it lays out the training in week to week imcrements along with recovery weeks etc.
It may not suit everyone, but it is a very comprehensive book.
+1. I just bought this and it's very detailed. Got a good quality, used copy on Amazon for cheap.
+1 for me as well.
+1
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sbrmultisports posted 16 weeks ago.
Be sure to mix the long and slow with the speed work- otherwise the human machine will not be challenged enough to improve.
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I'm just looking to move into triathlon training my for my first season next year. I've been mixing cycling & swimming this year, with good intensity, and minimal running due to a back injury a year ago.
As I shop for training plans, I'm wondering if they lump into several distict philosophies or not, what those might be and who advocates them.
While all probably do address periodization, are there major variations in approach? I'm thinking about the classic Friel cycling plan with LSD base building vs the High Intensity Training HIT advocates. Do such major differences in approach exist in Triathlon plans?