I was training for IM Korea this August and have been stricken with ITBS (IT band right knee). My idea is to focus on the swim & bike for a couple of months while I heal the knee, and I was wondering if the 10% volume increase rule (i.e., 10% per week with one rest week per month) is REALLY applicable for low-intensity swim/bike work… think: I started out swimming 400 meters per workout last year. Now I’m up to 10,000 meters. If I’d followed the 10% rule, I would be doing maybe 2,000 meters a week now. And what, do an IM in 12 years? Give me a break! I think for running the 10% rule makes sense, but for the swim & bike, so long as I’m cautious of INTENSITY increases, why can’t I raise my total workout time/distance say DOUBLE every month? I’d like to go from 10 hours average training per week up to 20 (swimming to 20km per week).
I’m 32, 6’, 147 lb, just did my 2nd Olympic Tri in 2:29, was hoping for mid-11s at IMK. I have a history of running problems (achilles, ITBS) but have never had any serious biking or swimming injuries. Thanks!!!
As with all rules. . .they are made to be broken. . .IF you know what you are doing. You can progress faster, but you need to account for the increased stress on your body. The 10% increase standard doesn’t mean that if you go up 20% next week, you’ll automatically break. . .its over some period of time (specific to the individual’s ability to recover, and the variables of their training program). . .maybe it won’t happen next week, next month, or even this year. . .but if you consistently break the barrier. . .sooner or later your body is going to give up the ghost unless you have taken steps to mitigate any overuse issues. . .
As for the ITBS. . .plenty of cyclists experience ITBS. . .so sticking to cycling isn’t necessarily going to mitigate the causes of that situation. . .get it checked out. . .check for worn/mis aligned cleats. . .do you need some pronation/supination (LeWedge) in your cleat/shoe interface. . .I.E. go get your position checked. . .And finally, it could, indeed be overuse issues. . .
Swimming doesn’t put nearly the stress on your body running does so I am comfortable saying the 10% does not need to be applied to swimming unless you are experiencing injury type pain.
Also with regards to swimming training distances, you need to keep in mind that because a) most triathletes are not really very good swimmers and b) swimming is proportionately less important to a decent performance than running or biking, the swimming distances that even serious triathletes train in a week pale in comparison to what competetive swimmers do. The same is not necessarily true of running or biking where training distances do tend to be closer to what an elite athlete in that sport might do in a week and the athletic abilities tend to be better and thus allow harder training.
Even 9 or 10 year old kids swimming competetively on a recreational summer league team will routinely do 10,000 yards a week and elite swimmers train over 60,000 yards a week and some distance swimmers may do as much as 90,000 or more. While you need to keep tabs on how your own body is responding, unless you have some specific limiters, no triathlete is even approaching the physiological limits of the human body in the pool so feel free to jump up to higher yardage without worrying about the 10% rule.
The 10% rule is for dilettante readers of Bicycling and Outside. People that look for excuses to not work out hard. At any given moment, I could double or triple my bike or swim training with nothing but positive effects. I didn’t do bike training for about 18 months, and hit hard 150-mile weeks from the start when I finally got back into it.
Running, however, is a different matter entirely. Caution is well-advised.