Was curious how everyone likes to handle their periodization training. I’m starting a plan for olympic distances next year (and winter). I’ve got 4 years in other sports using this, which seemed to be similar. For a 12 week cycle, it was
I’ve seen some plans where they intermix the type of workouts based on what you want to focus on, and I also know you can’t hammer all in the same week. I’ve had huge success in multiple sports following the above, and am also injury prone if I try to focus on power too much for too long.
Looking to meet with a coach later this year, but wanted to get a jump start on ideas, locations, equipment needed.
What do you mean by anaerobic and power - i.e. what are some sample workouts you would do?
I use a progression from general to specific training. For Juniors racing sprint distance, we will do something like the following (note this is very general and the specifics depend greatly on an athlete’s training history and performance level):
Early Season: mainly a combination of long, slow distance, skills and speed. Speed meaning (using running for example) 30-50m sprints on 6-8X recovery.
Mid Season: mainly a combination of long, slow distance, aerobic capacity and skills. Aerobic Capacity meaning (again, using running) 800-1000m repeats done at 3k race pace with 1:1 recovery.
Competitive Season: mainly a comination of long, slow distance, threshold and skills. Threshold could be something like 2 x 3k on 1-2’ rest.
Not fully sure…was relating from my other training programs. For climbing, power was focusing on raw power…how hard I could climb, but with rests and very specific workouts. anaerobic was doing climbs/sets with specific rests in between.
from my other programs, anaerobic is similar to what you have for aerobic capacity…for biking doing 60-90 second springs, followed by recovery…repeat X times (or time trials). Swimming doing sets of 100’s near t1 pace with ample rest and your running you list below. Power I would say is speed skills.
Thanks for the info Dan, helps clarify some parts and seems like I can throw out the power week and rotate it in workouts. I would start out the winter doing the 12 week, then taper down to 8 or 6 depending on trips (which can be races now) and keep it up during the year.
No problem. Beware of terminology though - especially in triathlon, terms like “speed” and “anaerobic” are often used incorrectly (even by coaches and in published books!) - can get very confusing. Heck, we’re in a sport where they call a one hour race a “sprint”!!
Also, keep in mind that what I wrote was for a very specific group of athletes (Juniors with a few years of experience preparing for draft-legal sprint races). A progression for a 35 year old age grouper with little endurance experience would be different.
If you want a really good resource, I would recommend 2 books, one specific to triathlon and
one general for endurance sports:
Thanks for the info. I am fortunate enough to personally know a training expert in one of the sports I was doing, so I got a lot of feedback and personalized workouts from him. I’ve skimmed the triathlete’s bible (about 10 times now) and was looking for more guidance, rather than just target heart rate zones.
What do you mean by anaerobic and power - i.e. what are some sample workouts you would do?
I use a progression from general to specific training. For Juniors racing sprint distance, we will do something like the following (note this is very general and the specifics depend greatly on an athlete’s training history and performance level):
Early Season: mainly a combination of long, slow distance, skills and speed. Speed meaning (using running for example) 30-50m sprints on 6-8X recovery.
Mid Season: mainly a combination of long, slow distance, aerobic capacity and skills. Aerobic Capacity meaning (again, using running) 800-1000m repeats done at 3k race pace with 1:1 recovery.
Competitive Season: mainly a comination of long, slow distance, threshold and skills. Threshold could be something like 2 x 3k on 1-2’ rest.
Yes, and the two resources mentioned above do an excellent job of giving guidance. Well moreso then that, they will help you understand the underlying science that will enable you to develop your own schedule and workouts. And the first one is only $20 and will put you in a much better position then the TB. If you really want to go in-depth into the “science”, then get the second.