I’m starting with a coach next week. I was told my workouts would be given to me in blocks of two weeks. I assumed the weeks would be spelled out for me. For example,
Monday: Swim 1 mile, Bike 40 miles
Tuesday: Run 5 miles, Bike 30 miles
Wednesday: you get the idea.
But I get the idea it’s going to be less structured than that.
How does your coach give you your workouts and is this normal?
If workouts came like that I would get rid of the coach as soon as I got the first workout.
jaretj
I think it depends on what you’ve discussed up front.
My coach would send me a few weeks at a time and he knows I swim with a squad, so he doesn’t give me specific swim workouts, but would do so if I asked. Here is a sample of three days:
Mon: am - swim. Pm - gym/run on treadmill.
Tue: am - easy 45 minute run but about 10 minutes from home include 6 x 20 seconds fast strides with a 40 second walk. Pm - ride trainer 50 minutes including 12 x 90 seconds standing up in a big gear at a steady effort, easy 90 seconds between each staying seated in a very easy gear.
Wed: am - swim. Pm - run easy 60-75 minutes. Need to go a bit longer here.
I’d say, see what you get and then if it’s not what you expected, talk to the coach. Or better yet, ask him/her now what you should be expecting.
clm
My coach usually sends 2.5 - 3 week blocks at a time, depending on the time of year and what I’m training for, and the workouts are specific.
Thu - coached group workout
Fri - off
Sat -
am - 45 min run as 15 min w/u then 25 min strong, 10 min ez
pm - 90 min base ride
I get my workouts a few weeks at a time. They are a bit more structured in that I’ve got hill repeats/spin/track workouts and more drills instead of just completing distance in the pool. During the week I’ll have a couple of short runs and about 3 swims. Then on the weekends I’ll have a front end brick (swim, bike) on Saturday and a back end brick (bike run) on Sunday.
I get my workouts on a weekly basis. something like this.
Monday, am Masters swim, pm run 4 miles easy.
tuesday, track workout (12x 400 on 3 min send off, hold 78-80)
wednesday, am Masters swim, pm run 6 easy
basically…easy sessions are simply labeled easy. Anything with intensity is spelled out with time intervals and HR zones/pace. He does provide optional swim workouts…but I usually swim with a Masters group.
the sample you gave seems a bit vague…your coach should be giving you some idea of how hard to work during each session.
My coach sends my workouts to me for a two week block, but without specific days assigned to the workouts. Then during a phone consult, we fit the workouts into my work and travel schedule. Obviously big training days usually slot into the weekends, but we have had to be creative when work travel falls on a weekend day. Then it is usually splitting a big ride or run into two sessions for morning and evening fun.
Tell your coach you need to train more.
Or would you like me to?
Masters’ swim coach sends a week’s worth of workouts at a time, detailed warmup and sets with intervals and effort levels/HR. Right now we’re all swimming together but eventually it’ll break into specific sprint and distance workouts.
The running and cycling I make up on my own…
I will generally get a two week block but has IM training gets higher in volume it is week by week. The Queen B wants to hear my happy little voice all rested. If she calls and I sound tired she tells me to take the day off. I have to be tricky and sound all rested that time of year.
It generally come like this:
Mon: Rest/Weights
Tue: 1 hour ride with 4X90 of fast cadence (or whatever) PM 45 min run up tempo…
blah blah blah…
“Mon: Rest/Weights”…huh? How do you rest…and do weights?
Just wondering…
Kurt
Good question and a bad post…it is either a rest day or it can be a weights only day. Not both on the same day.
Kurt
my coach sends workouts one week at a time, with each day set out and the workout explained (enough for me to know whats going on).
Through training peaks loaded 1 week at a time. That way I can play with the schedule (a little, with his permission). Training peaks automatically sends me a daily email with 2 days worth of work outs as well, so I don’t actually have to log in to get my workouts.
I send my athletes their workouts daily via email, and prepare the weekly schedule on Sunday, so they may view it in advance.
teamsln
It appears most athletes are getting some sort of email giving them the workout. I am not sure if many of the coaches are able to review the athletes actual workout data. Here is a link to Polar’s Protrainer 5 software. If you own a Polar R$400 or RS800, it comes with the Protrainer 5 software. You coach can create your workouts, whether an interval or a steady state/pace workout. Your coach can email you the workout to be performed, you upload the workout to your watch and after the workout, you can email the coach(who also uses the same software) your post workout HR file so he can review the workout.
http://www.polarusa.com/Products/cs/pdf/The_Polar_RS800sd_story.pdf see page 6&8
How much does this cost? Tim
If she calls and I sound tired she tells me to take the day off. I have to be tricky and sound all rested that time of year.
LOL!
How much does this cost? Tim
Yeah…how much? I remember using CTS in the early days, and it was cheap - under $40 - now its, like, $140 for the lowest entry level…
My coach uses Workoutlog.com I get a reminder email with the current and next days workouts on it every day. If I want to see how my week is going to look I can can log on and look at it anytine I want. He usually loads 4 weeks at a time. Every two weeks we meet in person to go over my progress and to discuss how my training is going since I input what I did every day into WOL.com too. He can then tweak the next few weeks and load some more.
Here is what I had on tap for this week in WOL.com:
Mon
Dec 31 
NOTES ski country Tue
Jan 01 NOTES ski country Wed
Jan 02
Strength
40min Machine weight workout
conduct 3 sets of each exercise, GO TO FATIGUE FIRST SET with moderate weight, then cut your reps in half and finish up focusing on form with your two last sets. 30" RI between each set.
Smith machine
Leg Press
single hamstring curl
abductor
adductor
Run
3.0 mi
35min Pool run lvl5
post effort stretch
Consistent Pool running will empower you to heal and maintain muscle memory when we get back out on the road for running.
Thu
Jan 03
NOTES 8:00 AM Club Sport, Walnut Creek
Today we will build the next 3 months of the program for our 2008 effort.
Swim
2000.0 yd
01hr 15min Warm up
2x(25s-25 1ASOSB)NO RI
2 x (25s-25 BF) NO RI
100 pull with buoy
MAIN SET
3x100 lvl5 10” RI
4x(25s-25SASK alternating sides NO RI
10x(25s-25SAR) 10” RI lvl5 focus on minimizing stroke count but maintaining speed on each return 25 SAR.
2x200 lvl5 30” RI
2x25 lvl7 15”…
Fri
Jan 04
Bike
20.0 mi
01hr 10min SPIN OR
Bike 70’ lvl 5
Or At least 20 miles
w/4 x 3’ @ your planned 1/2 Ironman Race Pace AND @ 110 RPM
Run
3.0 mi
35min Pool run lvl5
post effort stretch
Consistent Pool running will empower you to heal and maintain muscle memory when we get back out on the road for running.
Sat
Jan 05
Rollerskiing
7.0 mi
60min rollerblading lvl5
post effort stretching
Sun
Jan 06
Bike
30.0 mi
02hr 00min indoor spinnerval