Train for Your First Triathlon

swimming

Determine What Your Goals Are

Figure out how long you want your first triathlon to be. How you start your training for your first triathlon will depend largely upon you and what shape you are in. Do you want to do a half sprint, a full sprint, or an Olympic triathlon? We will start slightly ambitious and go for a sprint length triathlon. Doing a 15 mile will allow you to test yourself, help you familiarize with the transition areas, and allow you to test your equipment.

Starting out

Obviously you are not going to be able to just walk out of your house and start running for five miles, or swim a half mile. You would spend yourself, not to mention possibly damaging your joints. You have to work into things, so you ease into it. Begin with a walk / run program. There are many websites out there with programs for this, and they are effective at getting you running in weeks. If you are overweight you may want to start out with riding a bike and losing a bit of weight before attempting jogging or running. Your joints will be grateful to you. Something else you can start out with is high rep strength training.

  • Never increase your training duration or distance more than ten percent over the previous week.
  • Always have one week a month be a rest week of sorts. This is extremely important.
  • Try to train for your single event three to four times a week.

Focus on either bicycling or running for between two to six months to build your aerobic capabilities. Once you have done one for the range given, then move to the other. Do not attempt to do two or even all three until you are in the kind of shape that will allow for it without hurting yourself.

Plan for swimming, running, and biking

Once you have yourself built up and ready from your previous training regimen, it will be time to train for all three sports at once. In general for a sprint triathlon, you will only have need to train two times a week in each of the three sports. That equates to six days with one rest day. You could also have one day where you do two of the three events, and then the next four days you only train for one. Then you can have 2 days off a week.

Thirteen weeks to race day

Despite what you might think you can lose weight in a weight lifting routine if you keep it serious and do not slack off. It would need to be a high rep / low weight routine so that you do not bulk up. Combine this with your jog routine. It will also help build bone density, and strengthen your joints. At first all of this exercise will leave you sore. After a few months you will feel better, you will be less sore, and you will have more energy.

Photo Credits: Photo Mojo

Originally posted 2009-10-13 03:03:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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6 Tips for Beginner Triathlon Success

bsrIf you are a beginner to the world of triathlon racing, then you probably have a wide variety of different questions. The best advice that you can receive as a beginner planning for a first time triathlon is to take it easy and enjoy yourself, because triathlon racing should be fun, and it certainly isn’t brain surgery. Here are some tips for obtaining success in your first triathlon race:

1 – As a beginner in a first triathlon race, your training should be targeted for a shorter distance type of race such as a sprint triathlon race for example. Sometimes you may even be able to find a beginner triathlon race that is being advertised in your immediate area. Races are capable of filling up pretty quickly, so make sure that you sign up now if you are interested, and then you have a goal race that will help to keep you committed in your training.

2 – Come up with your own training plan for your first triathlon race. There are plenty of triathlon trainer plans that can be found online, in books or through gyms, so shop around until you find one that suits you.

3 – Work on your swimming as part of your training regimen for your triathlon race. Find a pool that you can train at. If you can possibly find a masters swimming program or a swim coach, do so, otherwise, look for a triathlon coach or an experienced triathlete that can help you with your training, because most beginners to the concept of a triathlon race have a big need for swimming practice.

4 – Beginner training for your triathlon race should include reasonable mileage. Do not over train in the beginning no matter how badly you want to, especially not if you are already reasonably strong as an athlete. As a triathlon trainer beginning a first triathlon race, you should work on the weakest event in your arsenal, making sure that you can finish the other events rather than necessarily worrying about winning them. After you finish your first triathlon race, then you can worry about building up speed and beating the other racers.

5 – Next, as part of your triathlon race training you are going to want to practice the transitions from event to event, but be careful not to go overboard. You can do brick workouts where you go for a bike workout and then transition into a running workout, but make sure that you are taking it easy rather than overwhelming yourself.

6 – Listen to the instructions before the race. If you have questions, ask them as soon as you can. Everyone was once a beginner to the triathlon race circuit, so do not be afraid to ask questions where you need answers, otherwise you may end up messing up because you were too shy to speak up.

Photo Credits: (klaus)

Originally posted 2009-08-18 03:18:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Planning and Preparing for your Swimming Triathlon

swimmer1Make sure that you plan long ahead of time by making a list of the materials that you are going to need in order to participate in the swimming portion of your triathlon. Here is a list of basic supplies that you are going to need for your training regimen and the race itself.

  • Swimsuit
  • Cycling shorts or racing suit
  • Goggles
  • Cap
  • Anti-Fog Drops
  • Wetsuit (In races where it is allowed)
  • Lubricant (Anti-chafing)
  • Water Bottle for pre-race hydration
  • Watch or heart monitor
  • Plan for using all of these items

Training Tips:

Make sure that you are not overdoing your swimming workouts. For most triathlete participants, an adequate workout is between 30 minutes and 60 minutes, and you can have one workout per week that is 75 minutes to 90 minutes if you want a long and straight swim.

In order to set a goal time for your swimming, you need to determine what your threshold swimming pace is for 100 meters of swimming, then add 5 % or 10 % to accommodate navigation issues and also to compensate for a lack of walls, and then multiply that amount by the distance of the race. This time should be generally pretty accurate barring any strange occurrences such as being kicked in the stomach by a passing swimmer.

You need to learn how to swim smart, and you need to learn how to make yourself as efficiently as possible through the practice of good swimming technique. While improvement is capable of being measured by creating faster times, it is also capable of being achieved through the same amount of elapsed time by having to put less effort forth or having a lower heart rate. This will leave you with more reserves for the biking and the running legs of your triathlon competition, and it will allow you to result in a faster race time over all.

When you arrive at the site of the race, and you have finished setting yourself up for the race, you should head for the swimming part of the course and spend some time warming up. As you begin to do some swimming, you should be looking around for any navigational landmarks that are all around you. Think about where the sun is and make sure that it will not provide you with any swimming difficulties. Are your goggles, wetsuit and cap feeling okay, or do adjustments need to be made before the race is ready to begin?

Now you can line up for the start. Line up toward the front of the pack on the outside. You can drift back to your own pace more easily rather than having to work your way through a thick mass of swimmers and their splashing, after all.

Photo Credits: eric.surfdude

Originally posted 2009-08-07 05:55:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Going on Biking Adventures for Training

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Originally posted 2010-03-13 03:17:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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The Right Biking Gear Makes All the Difference

Many people when riding a bike believe the right biking gear means nothing more than having a good bike and a water bottle. What many people find is that when they upgrade to gear which is actually designed to increase performance that they will actually be able to ride longer and with better performance than they ever imagined possible. This is because they will have more comfort and will get everything they need as they complete their daily exercise or training regimen.

It All Starts With the Bike

You will be surprised how many people are riding a bike which is the wrong size for them. Since the most important piece of biking gear is the bike itself, this is a huge oversight to make. It is easily avoided simply by going in to a good bike shop and having them measure you for the right size bike. You will be able to then choose the frame which is best suited to your body type. You will be able to find comfort for your legs and for your back by riding on the frame which was designed specifically for you.

Get the Right Shoes

Your shoes are very important pieces of biking gear. This has to do with where you will be clicking in to your pedals at. The right placement of the secure will allow you to easily find the pedal every time. It will also help you not to have a dangerous overhang which can cause your foot to run into the front wheel at lower speeds. The right shoe will also help to make sure your feet are not in extreme pain at the end of a long ride with extreme climbs.

Under Where?

It is important you have the right kind of clothes right next to your body. This is a piece of biking gear which is not often thought about. The good news is there are more jerseys which are made out of more than just spandex. There are many jerseys which are made out of bamboo fibers. This is important because of the wicking properties you will find in bamboo fabrics. Bamboo has the ability absorb more than three times the amount of water cotton can. This allows your skin to stay cool and the water can evaporate from the fabric which will act like an air conditioner.

Staying Fueled up

While the water bottle is important biking gear, it is also important what you put into the water bottle. Many people will fill the water bottle with nothing but Gatorade or something similar. This is a mistake as your body needs water more than anything else. You should have at least two water bottles on your bike if you are going for a decent length ride. One should contain water while the other can have some kind of energy replacement beverage. The danger in drinking only energy replacement beverages is the high sugar content they contain.

Photo Credits: Mr. T in DC

Originally posted 2010-03-13 10:20:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Triathlon Newbies Should Consider These 4 Tips

Are you thinking about joining a triathlon competition? If you have enjoyed athleticism in the past or are involved in endurance sports and are interested in joining a triathlon, the first step is to know exactly how to approach your triathlon training. Training correctly is very important when it comes to endurance sporting events like triathlon. If you do not have enough training, then your competitive performance will be poor and you may even become injured or ill as a result.

What should triathlon newbies keep in mind?

1 – First and foremost, when you are first starting out it is absolutely vital that you pace yourself. You need to avoid trying to prove to anyone else that you can do it, including yourself, your family, your spouse, or even your dog. You need to be able to start off slowly, and you need to be able to gradually build yourself up to longer workouts and greater speeds. If you do not do this, the only thing that you will prove is that you can make yourself too exhausted to be able to be competitive properly on race day. If you don’t take things slow, you’ll go too far and will end up hurt or sick, potentially for weeks.

2 – Next, you need to keep in mind how important it is for you to stretch well. Lack of stretching is going to rob your muscles of their strength, as well as taking flexibility away from your movements, which can lead to some truly serious injuries. Your stretching regimen should be truly involved, and it should it should cover all of your muscle groups at once. You should take your time, and you absolutely should not ever take stretching lightly because it is truly vital for your training regimen.

3 – If you ever feel like you are too tired to work out in the same intensity level that you planned, stop. This does not mean that you cannot push yourself to the limit, but what it does mean is that you need to know and thoroughly understand your capabilities and limits. If you go too far, you put yourself at risk for injury, illness and burn out. You need to be able to listen carefully to your body to know when you are strongest, and when you truly need to rest in order to restore your health.

4 – Building on the aforementioned tip, when you build a schedule for working out, you should stick to it, but only as long as you are not putting yourself at risk. Build a strong mental focus and you will find it easier to be committed and to feel energized when you go about your workout every day. You should plan your workouts up until the day before the race, exercising caution not to overdo it or to over tax your body.

Originally posted 2009-01-27 14:22:03. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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  • swimmingTrain for Your First Triathlon Determine What Your Goals Are Figure out how long you want your first triathlon to be. How you start your training for your first triathlon will depend largely upon you and what shape you are in. Do you want to do a half sprint, a full sprint, or an Olympic......
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