Training hours

Triathlon Forum
1

Could someone tell me the general weekly training hours for the following types of triathlete?

Beginner
“Having fun” AG
Mid-level AG
Competitive AG (sprint, olympic)
Competitive AG (IM)
Pro (Oly, sprint)
Pro (IM)

Thanks!

2

I’m a having fun AGer and I train ~12-15 hrs/wk. I primarily do the sprint and olympic-distance triathlons in a competitive fashion. I like training and coffeeeee!!!

3

Answer for all:

As much as they are physically able to without killing themselves or being killed by their significant other.

Real answer:

It all depends.

4

I’m a mid-level AG, and on occasion “competitive.” Off season I generally put in 9-12hrs/wk, and in-season 13-18 or so.

5

Its really going to depend on sporting background, genetics, and time avaliable for training. For what its worth I train about 11-15 hours/week and have overall podium at every local race I have done and AG podium at everyother race with exception Ironman Louisville last year.

6

I’m about 10-12 hours/week. I’d love to train (and sleep) more, but work and family intrude. In a perfect, lottery ticket winning world I’d work less and have the time for an extra 4 bike hours/week. I’m competitive in the smaller AG races, when the big boys come out to play I become MOP ;( . That said, I’d only use the extra time for base miles, I keep up the intensity in the time available.

7

In general…

Beginner 3-6 hours
Having fun AG 5-10 hours
Mid Level Ag 8-12 hours
Competitive AG 10-20 hours
Competitive AG IM 15-25 hours
Pro Oly 15-25 hours
Pro IM 15-30+ hours

8

Have fun: 4 hours
mid level: 6 hours
competitive AG: 9 hours

Could someone tell me the general weekly training hours for the following types of triathlete?

Beginner
“Having fun” AG
Mid-level AG
Competitive AG (sprint, olympic)
Competitive AG (IM)
Pro (Oly, sprint)
Pro (IM)

Thanks!

9

I would generally say competitive AG would put in 10-15 hours/week depending on the time to race
.

10

Just thinking about what you can do in 9 hours a week:

M: 1 hour tempo run
T: 1 hour time trial
W: 1 hour tempo run
Th: 30 minute swim, 30 minute speedwork run
F: 1 hour time trial
Sa: 1.5 hour slow run, 30 minute swim
Su: 2 hour bike ride

yeah probably right you need another hour to be AG competitive in a sprint. probably another 30 min of swim and 30 min of run for me.

But then somebody with more talent could proably crush AG sprint dreams on 3 hours a week, and some might never get there even with 20 hours a week.

11

I think a key point to consider is quality vs. quantity.

Last Spring I was logging quite a few hours of training, but I had nagging back problems and the quality of my training sucked, not to mention that it tapped my motivation. Now that I have dealt with my back problems (surgery) I’m back to training with a lot of focus and motivation. The result is that in approximately the same amount of time training I’m making far better gains in fitness.

So, don’t just do it, do it right. :slight_smile: