A Look Inside Minimalist Triathlon Training With a Twist

It's a fact... Triathletes love to talk about themselves and especially their training (or lack thereof). I'm no different, in fact talking about own experiences in training is what led me to become a coach in the first place. This being said many Triathletes don't like to disclose everything about their training to their peers, with the attitude that certain workouts are some sort of secret that if exposed will give the competition an edge over them. Unless you're a professional athlete, combination at an age group level is rarely the same race to race. Not to mention most age groupers are really only competing against themselves and their own personal goals.

So in an effort to lighten up the attitude of "secret" triathlon training. I have decide to publicly post all my weekly training sessions starting this week. What if my competition reads this? GOOD! Honestly mimicking my training could potentially cause more harm than good. The reason for this is simply my training is specific to me and no one else. Copying ones training protocols is like taking someones else medicine prescription. It might to something for you, or you could literally die from it.

On any note, I do hope that the readers of my blog will take away bits and pieces from my training and pay special attention to exactly how I meet my goals while following my personal training "rules".

Training Goals/ Objectives

1. Maintain muscle mass/ strength until the Leadman Triathlon (September)

To meet this goal I will conduct 1 Kettlebell workout a week (because kettlebell training is just awesome), 1 traditional strength session a week (Squats, pull-ups, push-ups, etc.), and 1 random strength workout a week (this is usually when I try new things or going fitness exploring outside).

2. Beat my last years Leadman Bend triathlon time (4:59)

To meet this goal I need to focus strongly on the bike. To increase my bike fitness before the race I will bike at least 2x a week in addition to commuting. 1 workout will typically be short and fast, while the other will be fairly long and moderately paced.

3. Increase mobility through shoulders & hips

One my limiters this year has been flexibility in my hips and mobility in my shoulders. To overcome this limiter I've decided to make it a must to work on this issue before and after strength training workouts via various mobility exercises.

My Personal Tri-Training "Rules"

Rule #1: Commute via my Mtn. Bike whenever possible. Even if that means lugging around a backpack to and from the grocery store.

Rule #2: Never workout passed 6:00pm. Not that I don't like training in the evening, but 6:00pm-bedtime is when I spend time with my wife, no exceptions.

Rule #3: Remember to have fun. This is the most important rule of all, if I'm not having fun training I stop doing it, it's that simple.

Rule #4: Don't train if my Heart Rate Variability (HRV) score is below 60. I'll save explaining HRV for another post, but basically it's a awesome recovery measurement.

Rule #5: Be flexible. I'm not afraid to move things around if things come up or not I'm recovery. Sticking to strict training might work for some people, but not for me. I believe in rolling with punches of life, not forcing everything to revolve around me (which more often than not already does).

Rule #6: Never train over 12 hours a week. For the distance of triathlons I race in, I just don't see any benefit to training more than 12 hours. In fact most of training weeks average between 6-8 hours.

Rule #71: No excuses play like a champion. You need to have seen Wedding Crashers to get this one.