Olympic distance

Training for an Olympic distance triathlon

The Olympic distance triathlon which is also known as the international distance or the intermediate distance is composed of a 1.5 Kilometer swim, a 40 kilometer bike and a 10 kilometer run. This distance was the most popular distance during the initial boom of triathlon in the 80's and 90's. The first American national triathlon series (USTS) was raced at this distance in the 80's. Today we have the 5150 race series and the Olympic triathlon is also raced at this distance.

This distance is great for beginners who want to train and compete in a multi hour event and have a little more time available for training. Top professionals can finish a triathlon at this distance in a little under 2 hours. But a true beginner can take up to 4 hours, it is an endurance event.

SmartTriathlonTraining training plans can fit your training needs and time available to train. The least time consuming training plan includes 2 training sessions per sport as well as 2 strength training sessions per week. That is a total of 8 workouts in a week. Doing any of the sports less than 2 times a week can be a little risky and it may not be enough to improve fitness and prevent any injuries.

Most intermediate and advance competitor with time to train can choose to train 3 or 4 times a week per sport. It should be noted that more is not always better. Training more times a week works great for endurance but only if your body is capable of recovering and absorbing the training. The training cycle should be train, recover, get stronger and train again. Without recovery one minimizes the "get stronger" part.

If your Olympic distance triathlon is in the next 12 to 22 weeks time is of the essence. You are ready to start our peak performance program. This program takes you through three phases of training (base, speed, and taper) and provides you with daily workouts including tips to help you gain the most benefit from each of these sessions. The program incorporates heart rate zones so that you will maximize your fitness gains, and also includes a four phase strength training program, tips on nutrition, mental focus guidelines, equipment checklists and more. The fee for the peak performance program is US $29.00 per week.

If your Olympic distance triathlon is in more than 22 weeks your best bet is to get started with our Maintenance Program, which is designed to help build and maintain a base of off-season fitness while still enabling you to recover perfectly to be able to slot comfortably into our peak performance program later. The fee for the maintenance program is US$19.00 per week.

You want to sign up and obtain a user name and password by opening an account fist. If you have an account already you want to log in and follow the steps to get your program started. If you have any questions feel free to contact us

No matter what program you start with each one is designed specifically around your individual needs, level of fitness and training preferences. Our custom training schedules along with the support you receive from us will ensure that you have your best performance at your main goal race. Feel free to contact us us see our demonstration of how our coaching works.






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