Depends on the person I guess. For me it works great but note that one of the day is a 30-40 min ez active recovery run and that if I'm too thrashed, I simply skip it.

I would suggest that you talk to your new coach so he can adjust your plan according to your specific needs.

Good luck and happy training

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Richard

"You're only young once, but you can be immature forever" - Larry Andersen

Frequency is just one factor.

Intensity, Volume, and recovery also play a role.

Let me get 8 hours of sleep a night, have meals prepared for me, vitamins, and some supplements, and I could likely train with dencent intensity and volume 7 days a week. But, allow me to have my current schedule and training fairly hard and long 7 days a week would likely lead to "athlete's cold" and/or burnout.

As I once heard it said, there's no such thing as over-training, only under-recovering. I like that because it takes the emphasis off training factors and places them on the ones that take the most discipline ... non-training factors.

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

What distance event is the training plan for?

Does the plan go all the way through the event, or does is he giving it week by week (or some other period). Look down the road at the plan, does it begin to give you a rest day or every three weeks, a lighter load?

Just curious.

I don't know down the road, as I get 4 weeks at a time, and will be going to next Fall. the distance will be an international--*not* a 1/2. IF I have in it me I might run a half marathon, not sure yet and it's too early to say, as it wouldn't be until spring. i'm fully capable of doing the tri distance already, so this is about getting faster, fitter, etc. I'd like to break 3 hours for an international distance, which I think won't be hard at all...so maybe my spring goal will be like 2:45 or something like that.

lol--i don't even know if i answered your questions. (i need more coffee!)

kittycat

I need to do something pretty much every day, or I really can't sleep. Seven days a week is fine for a schedule, assuming some are still easy days. On the other hand, if I am not ready to go, I don't hesitate to blow one or two or even three days off in a row, the schedule be damned.

I typically plan for 7 days/week and training tends to be smaller segments (2 smaller workouts a day) since the limiter in my schedule is finding big blocks of time. This seems to work fine for Oly distances..can't speak for IM however. Like a previous post I read, if you decide to plan for 7 days a week, you can't fret the missed day or it'll drive you nuts. On average, I end up missing 1 day a week regardless.

Kittycat,

Is your coach working with you one-on one, closely, or just some internet deal where you get monthly schedules? Not to be critical of the latter as it is helpful for some, but if that is the route you go, you clearly need to personalize it somewhat.

I am a bit surprised at your level of building toward an olympic that someone would have you training seven days a week. I've done 2 IMs in the last 12 months, with many intervening races, and I think I only had one week where I trained every day, and that was a heavy bike week. No way my body can handle 7 days on when you lump in running, which to me can be abusive.

Frankly I do not think that either you, or I, are at the level where 7 days on is healthy. Take your day off (Monday?) and make it something you look forward to - like sleeping in, great stretching, yoga, ice cream, etc. I bet once you take a day off each week, you won't find yourself actually taking two days off. Consistency is the key here. Perhaps you have needed two days off because being on for 7 days was just too much.

Good luck.

Robert

everyone is different of course but for me, ive been working off a 7 day schedule for a few years. properly laid out, it shouldnt be a problem and (for me at least) training 7 days means that when life gets in the way or I start feeling like I NEED a day off I dont feel guitly.

I need one day to take my Geritol, re-fill my oxygen bottles, cash my Social Security check, and look in the house for my wife.

Seven days a week would be a waste for me.

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

yeah, I'm like that too. coming from a marathon background, literally I only trained 4 days a week and ran good times in a 10K and less. marathon was decent, but not boston qualifying time by like 20 minutes or so.

the truth is, I love sport, but I just don't want to have to do it every damn day. i have alot of other interests, and like time spent on those things too. i think the main reason is that I just don't want to...and if I did, it would drive me crazy. I've told my coach this, but it's not an accpetable practice because nothing changes--so I just change it myself. anyway, I appreciate the feedback, I'm just not going to worry about it anymore. i think I can meet my goals with 5 days training...it's only an oly for pete's sake.

kittycat

i take monday off every week whether i "need" it or not. it's a great mental break. some weeks i take off 2 days a week if my schedule forces me too or i feel i need it.

the important thing is, if you feel you need a break for any reason, take it. it won't ruin your training or racing - in fact, chances are you'll come back rested and refreshed and ready to train harder or longer.

Your coach is supposed to fit your needs and goals and then counsel you if your goal isn't in line with what you willing to do with your training, which isn't the case here. He is your coach not your boss:) Do what you want to do. It is supposed to be FUN

I think that training every day is at best obsessive behavior, yet I have been doing two-a-days for more than a year now(pretty much required for IM training, IMHO). As a few others point out, I think that given enough rest you can do it and remain reasonably healthy, but I believe that given how many of us live, it will wear you down.

For example, in my case, when I am healthy and training, I get about 5-6 hours of sleep, have very busy days, and work out 11-12 times per week. Mondays are a rest day, so I only swim, with long ride/run on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. I can maintain this for quite some time, but it definitely wears me down, largely because I am trying to do all the workouts without making too many concessions elsewhere.

Since my post-IM layoff, I have backed down to about 7-8 hours per week, and the amount of leisure time I have is astounding. I have remodeled two rooms, re-acquainted myself with friends, and done lots of other things that I vaguely recall used to be regular activities. One many days, I'm not even sore.

Once I am recovered from the surgery I had last week, I will start training for next season in earnest, but in all honesty, this forced time off may be jsut what I needed. I haven't slept until 5:00 AM on weekdays(my swim team meets at 5:00) or until I woke up on weekends(usually up by 6:00) in over a year. I am having trouble keeping the weight off, though.

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sounds like to me that you have a miscommunication with your coach. Does he know that you want a day off each week? Like someone else earlier stated, I train everyday unless something happens, and when I miss a day, I don't sleep well that night because of not burning that energy off. Everyone is different and has different goals, aspirations and availability. You need to comminicate your desires to your coach and let him know that you feel like you work better with an off day each week.

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Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org

If you talked to your coach and they're not willing to change your program, you probably shouldn't be working with that coach. If you have imput into what you want your program to be like, and the coach has a totally different philosophy, you need a different coach. You're not some national team member who has to apply to a strict program, you need someone who recognizes what your goals are. It's not an insult to your current coach, it just seems like a difference of philosophy. I left a great coach who really knows his stuff and we're actually really good friends. But we just saw training differently, and what works for me doesn't always comply with someone elses methods. Part of being successful is having faith in what you're doing, and if your not gonna follow the plan anyway, make a change.
As for 7 days vs. days off, it's totally personal. A lot of top pros take 1 day off a week, but tons don't. I don't think either way is better or worse, it depends on how your body(and mind) responds.

"training 7 days a week=crazy, or is it just me?"



It's neither! It's all been said above (I'm always late to these threads!), but I'll add my endorsement to a couple of the comments.



1) Like some others above, I plan 7 days worth of workouts. A couple of those days are very easy. If I don't feel up to doing what's on the schedule, I'll do one of two things. If it's an easy day on the schedule, I just skip it. If it's a key workout and I find that I'm not up to it, I pull the plug and make it a short easy workout. I find that this happens about once every 2 weeks, but I've gone over 3 and as little as less than 1. I don't worry about it, I just log it as a needed rest day and move on. The key here is to make sure you really need a rest day. Often I'll be feeling like crap when workout time comes (especially if it's right after work), so I'll suck it up and head out with the intention of just getting in something short and easy, then lo and behold, once I get warmed up I feel great and decide to do what I had planned.



2) "He's your coach, not your boss." That's right, but if he isn't willing to work within your constraints and you aren't willing to do what he says, then why are you paying him to coach you? (I assume you are paying this coach.) You should find someone who will balance your goals with your commitment level, and then do what he suggests. If you don't follow the plan, then you are wasting your money and will eventually be disappointed in the coach, despite not doing what he asked you to do.

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Happy trails,
Chris

Depends on many factors including age, goals, fitness level, work schedule, sleep pattern, stress level, exercise intensity, etc...

And if you train hard & you're over 40 years old (like me), you had better be taking at least a day off a week.

~AB~

Perhaps you should be considering Mike Plumb above as your new coach???? If you have already let your coach know you aren't happy and there are no adjustments then the relationship ain't working - and it is a relationship!!

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http://www.endurancesports.ca
Coaching and Training Camps

I hear ya, sister! I'm trying to acclimate to a 6-day/week schedule that includes 3 days with 2 workouts/day. I'm not doing a very good job of staying on schedule and struggle with whether I should cry uncle and ask for a 5-day/week schedule or just tough it out until I get used to it. I have a friend here at work who runs every single day and feels lost without it. Her coach finally made her stop running 8 milers the day after a marathon, so she swims or climbs on the elliptical. That is definitely not me. To me, post-marathon entitles one to 4-7 days of total rest. I'm just a normal MOPer -- triathlon is my hobby; I want to improve, but I'll never be fast. But what I really don't want to do is train myself right out of the sport.

First of all, take rest if you need it. TT was right on about the "under recovery part". I'd question your coach if you can't see further out in the "roadmap" beyond 4 weeks. As a bare minimum, you need to know the general trend in your training over the next 12 month. You also need to know, when the "landmark" workouts are scheduled for. These are almost like races, as you build up your training to do these workout and then need to absorb their effects.

You need to know the big picture. If not, it is like blind, following the blind. You need to make intelligent decisions on a daily basis, based on the plan at hand, the long term projection of the plan, the key workout and races and the realities of your life outside triathlon. Consider the coach as an aid, but don't blindly follow him/her. The coach does not live in your body, you do, so become accountable to youself (and not your coach) and make wise decisions based on your own circumstances and explain them to your coach. A good coach will understand. If the coach does not, then fire him/her.

"it's a great mental break."

I agree with this. I need the mental more than the physical sometimes. It's nice to have one day where I don't have to worry with remembering my workout stuff, figuring out when I'm going to fit the workout in, etc., and can do things like go to the grocery store, work late, etc.

And no, I'm not elite, at least not as an athlete ;)

Why do you need to take a day off per week if you are over 40? I am 44 and train 7 days a week. Days off only when absolutely fried or traveling all day. Not for everyone, but as others have posted, each person has their own tolerances and goals.

Yeah, it's tough. I'm just not one of those people who wants to make training a 10-12 hour committment every week. that would make me pretty unhappy. I can swing 5 days, and 8 hours, with 10 to 11 near the top of the line/peak. But, dang, I need 2 days off, def one day. luckily though I've been able to adjust the schedule and things. but I'm sorry, 20 minutes of drills is going to get tossed, especially when it's not going to do much for me when I'm such a strong and fast swimmer already. it just feels like "busy work"...and I've never been into that. I'll go for quality every time.

kittycat

And God saw that it was the seventh day, and he rested, and He saw that it was good.

I take a day off every week after 5 years of training, and I definately will keep it that way. (ps. I'm not going pro, but I'm FOP)