I’m a bit confused about the way to train for good short course perfomance. Right now my training fundamentals are as follows, is this too low intensity or do I got something completly wrong?
What are your thoughts on this and what do you do differently to maximize short course performance?
Short as in sprint or Olympic? Draft legal or non?
You should have more intensity on the bike. One hard session isn’t enough. There should be a vO2 Max session, a threshold session, a long ride. You can also add extra z2 if you want.
Mostly no draft Olympic.
So you wouldn’t follow the 80/20 type of training when specializing in the olympic distance?
I’m a bit confused about the way to train for good short course perfomance. Right now my training fundamentals are as follows, is this too low intensity or do I got something completly wrong?
What are your thoughts on this and what do you do differently to maximize short course performance?
Your training targets are about right for FOP performance. Where are you falling short?
Although I often see 8-11k/6-9/40-55k and upon review it’s typically the lower end consistently and the higher end is the biggest week or maybe biggest 2 weeks.
If you’re always on the lower end then I see a lot of low hanging room for improvement without knowing anything else about you.
That’s a good general plan. Are you already front of the pack? What are your race speeds over Olympic distance?
Overall it’s still an aerobic sport so more volume is certainly going to help. You can consider pushing a little more intensity into the program. For example, if you are riding 3-4 times per week then do two interval sessions instead of only one.
Some key sessions I like to do for Olympic prep. Swimming main sets of 2k at threshold effort such as 20x100 or 10x200. Biking sessions such as 4x10 or 3x15 best effort. Running sessions of 1k-mile repeats at goal Olympic pace.
Thanks for the sessions, definitely will add the swim in race prep.
I think the same way about volume but often struggle to hit 8h on the bike with 2 interval sessions, except if I do a 4.5h long ride on the weekend or 45min warm up before the interval. Can I ask how you structure your cycling to get the intensity but also sufficient volume?
(I’m more like MOP but it’s my first season)
I spend most of the season on the higher side, except the first months when starting the season.
At the moment getting better at all three as its my first season but I often struggle to combine the concepts of lots of LIT volume (80%) and sufficient intense sessions because it’s a shortish race. Either thinking I’m doing too little intensity or striving for volume. Therefore this post.
Periodize your intensity. For example, work on TTE at threshold. When you feel that’s topping out, i.e. start with something like 4x10, slowly build towards 3x30, then do a few weeks of VO2. Recover, repeat. IMO minimize running off the bike unless it’s short easy volume. Do all your fast running fresh. Quality is key.
As Andy Coggan once said “it’s an aerobic sport damnit”. You perceive it to be an intense race, but its not, its an aerobic race. It’s easy to burn yourself out on too much intensity, since the autonomic load is cumulative. Your plan on one intense session per sport isn’t bad, although you may think about sometimes doing zero for one sport and stacking multiple on one sport.
Can I ask how you structure your cycling to get the intensity but also sufficient volume?If I ride 4 times a week it looks like this:
-1.5 hr session including threshold (4x10)
-2.5-3 hr long ride including tempo (3x20)
-1 hr at zone 2
-1 hr at zone 2
Btw I don’t chase 8 hrs per week on the bike either. I’ve made steady improvement over 10 seasons riding about 5 hours per week consistently. (Now FOP, riding 25 mph in Olympics). If I find the time I’ll get bigger weeks in but it’s all about stacking lots of weeks of training on top of each other.
If you’re a podcast person, give the Scientific Triathlon episode with Tomasz Kowalski a listen or at least browse the show notes. Was it already answered if you’re already at FOP? Just looking for ideas on how to structure training or want to get a little better? Strengths/weaknesses by discipline? That would help.
Idk if I would call it high volume but you could be FOP on that breakdown. What I think is missing is more intensity for that training volume & for your goals. The Kowalski podcast outlines how a lot of top AGers he coaches do ~13-14 hours/week but that they up the quality a little, especially on the bike (lower injury risk). The 80/20 rule is good. I think some people take that & stick a lot of quality in one main session/week for each discipline. You could also touch on some quality in more sessions but with less volume. For the swim, unless you’re front pack there, I would aim for 3k-4k every time you go to the pool. 3-4 sessions a week but closer to 15k can leave you pretty fit there. The bike hours are good. Add some intensity there. Work on your weaknesses. Do 4 week blocks to work on VO2 or FTP – whatever you think you need. You can get by on 3ish runs/week, getting out for ~hr each time. 2x 1hr + 1x long run 70-90min. Quality in most of the runs is doable but, again, weigh your strengths. Running comes with the highest injury risk. Ok dialing it back there. Work on transitions. It can cost you when you get into deeper races.
Think about getting a coach that is either a pro (not necessarily a prerequisite for me some pros don’t make good coaches) or has experience coaching athletes at your level or the level you want to get to. Commit to the training for at least 6 months-1 year. Think about the differences in how they piece things together.
Nice thanks for the help.
Heard some good stuff from Scientific Triathlon, will give this one a listen.
I’m generally looking for advice to structure my short course training and see the difference between long course training because the fundamentals (high volume, 20% intense) seem the same. But I guess it’s about what you do with those 20%.
hard sessions are often over rated. consider adding one “easy” session in your weakest sport, if you have the time to do it, instead. it may be a 90’ endurance ride, a 60’ z2 run, or a tech-focused swim. it could give big gains, without impeding recovery, like adding more hard work would do