How do you prepare your body for a triathlon?

How do you prepare your body for a triathlon?
It takes approx. 4 minutes to read this article

The thought of participating in a Triathlon is nesting in your head – what do you have to do to start and not get injured? Training alone is not enough, also attitude counts!

What is Triathlon?

Let’s start with a short explanation what Triathlon is. The name means triathlon and it is a combination of running, cycling and swimming. How do the stages of such competitions look like? First, the participant swims, then rides a bike, and finally runs. Interestingly, the final time does not only consist of minutes in water or on a bike. The judges also take into account the time spent changing clothes and sports equipment.

In the pool we train so that at the competition we swim faster and after the swimming stage we go hard ?♂️ and run hard ?♂️

Published by Endure Team Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Triathlon from the ground up

If physical activity is alien to you, preparation for such a grueling competition must start from the basics. At the beginning, however, let’s talk about what events you can compete in:

Super sprint: 0.6 km swim, 15 km bike, 3 km run

Sprint: 0.75 km swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run

Olympic: 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run

1/4 Ironman: 0.95 km swim, 45 km bike, 10.55 km run

– Long distance: 3 km swim, 80 km bike, 20 km run

International Triathlon Union (ITU) – long distance: 4 km swim, 130 km bike, 30 km run

Half Ironman (70.3 Ironman): 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike, 21 km run

Ironman: 3.8 km swim, 180km bike, 42,195m run

You shouldn’t get down to training for an Ironman or even a ¼ Ironman, which is also grueling for beginners. Try your hand at competitions of a slightly lower rank. The most important thing is swimming, its technique and speed. In most cases, this is the triathlete’s biggest challenge. Set yourself a specific but realistic goal, such as participation in a Sprint or Super Sprint. Then, using the method of small steps, you will get to slightly more demanding stages.

Training proper

If you’ve never been physically active before, start with three training days per week. This is the optimum number for recovery of your muscles after exercise. After a week or two, increase the training frequency – the target should be six days with one day off. Then you have plenty of time to train the individual elements of triathlon. Of course, if you can’t afford to train that often, nothing will happen. Plan out each day of the week for yourself so that you can see clearly what you have to do that day.

Here’s an uncomplicated 7-day plan for beginners:

Monday – go to the pool. Spend about 30 minutes swimming, focus on breathing and correct technique.

Tuesday – on this day awaits you running training. Interval training is best, a few dozen seconds of intensive uphill runs, then walk or jog and so on 10/15 times. At the end jog to calm down your body.

Wednesday – another swimming pool. This time train for 45 minutes without any breaks. Count later how many lengths of the pool you have covered.

Thursday – a day off and time for the regeneration of your body.

Friday – start with a few dozen minutes’ ride on a bicycle, then without any breaks start a running training. You must be prepared for such changes.

Saturday – another day with bike training. Spend more time on it, if it is possible, of course. Preferably about 90 minutes of riding at an even but fast pace.

Sunday – today a running training. First a few minutes trot, then 20 minutes run at a fast, even pace and so on until exhaustion!

This plan allows your body to enter the world of physical activity. From week to week make your workout more intense. Increase the length of your workouts, the number of intervals, and the speed at which you cycle or swim. After a month or two, compare your running, swimming, and cycling results over a Super Sprint distance. If they are similar to your competition results, think about competing for the first time! Don’t worry if you don’t place high. The time will come, just like competing in more difficult triathlons, and you will only gain it with hard work!

Featured photo: Pixabay

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