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Olympic Triathlon Training Program - Elite

The following is an example of an elite athlete's Olympic Triathlon Training program (phase 3). Before starting any training, you must have a medical examination to ensure it is safe for you to do so.

Any training program application is at the athlete's discretion and risk.

Key to notations and terms used

m = metres k = kilometres hrs = hours min = minutes secs = seconds Rep = repetition
pb = "personal best" time for Triathlon 5 × 200m = 5 repetitions of 200 metres
tpb = "target personal best" time for the Triathlon event

Phase 3

Each training session should include an appropriate warm-up before the session and a cool down after the session.

Week 1

Day Develop Session Effort Recovery
Rep Set
Monday Specific Strength
& Endurance
& Transition		 Weight Training
Run - 40 min
200m Swim, 200m transition, 5 mins Bike
tpb+5%
tpb		    
Tuesday Specific
Endurance		 Swim - 30 mins
Run - 40 mins
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 tpb+5%
tpb+5%

    
Wednesday Specific Strength Weight Training

   
Thursday Specific
Endurance		 Swim - 30 mins
Run - 40 mins
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 tpb+5%
tpb+5%

    
Friday Specific Strength
& Endurance
& Transition		 Weight Training
Swim - 30 mins
15 min Bike, 100m transition, 1 km Run
tpb+5%
tpb		    
Saturday Specific
Endurance		 Swim - 30 mins
Run - 40 mins
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 tpb+5%
tpb+5%

    
Sunday Rest        

Week 2

Day Develop Session Effort Recovery
Rep Set
Monday Specific Strength
& Endurance
& Transition		 Weight Training
Run - 40 min
300m Swim, 400m transition, 5 mins Bike
tpb+5%
tpb		    
Tuesday Specific
Endurance		 Swim - 30 mins
Run - 40 mins
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 tpb+5%
tpb+5%

    
Wednesday Specific Strength Weight Training      
Thursday Specific
Endurance		 Swim - 30 mins
Run - 40 mins
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 tpb+5%
tpb+5%

    
Friday Specific Strength
& Endurance
& Transition		 Weight Training
Swim - 30 mins
15 min Bike, 100m transition, 2 km Run
tpb+5%
tpb		    
Saturday Specific
Endurance		 Swim - 30 mins
Run - 40 mins
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 tpb+5%
tpb+5%

    
Sunday Rest        

Week 3

Day Develop Session Effort Recovery
Rep Set
Monday Specific Strength
& Endurance
& Transition		 Weight Training
Run - 40 min
400m Swim, 800m transition, 5 mins Bike
tpb+5%
tpb		    
Tuesday Specific
Endurance		 Swim - 30 mins
Run - 40 mins
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 tpb+5%
tpb+5%

    
Wednesday Specific Strength Weight Training      
Thursday Specific
Endurance		 Swim - 30 mins
Run - 40 mins
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 tpb+5%
tpb+5%

    
Friday Specific Strength
& Endurance
& Transition		 Weight Training
Swim - 30 mins
15 min Bike, 100m transition, 3 km Run
tpb+5%
tpb		    
Saturday Specific
Endurance		 Swim - 30 mins
Run - 40 mins
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 tpb+5%
tpb+5%

    
Sunday Rest        

Week 4

Day Develop Session Effort Recovery
Rep Set
Monday Endurance General Swim - 30 min Fartlek      
Tuesday Strength Specific
& Endurance General 		Weight Training
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		      
Wednesday Endurance General Run - 40 min Fartlek      
Thursday Strength Specific
& Endurance General 		Weight Training
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		      
Friday Endurance General Swim - 30 min Fartlek      
Saturday Rest        
Sunday Rest        

Minor Race

In the event of a minor race in this period, then for the week of the race, the training will be as follows:

Day Race on Sunday Race on Saturday
Monday Training as normal Training as normal
Tuesday Training as normal Training as normal
Wednesday Training as normal Training as normal
Thursday Swim - 30 min Fartlek
Run - 40 min Fartlek		 Swim - 30 min Fartlek
Run - 40 min Fartlek
Friday Weight Training
Run - 8 x 400m @ tpb-5% with full recovery		 Rest
Saturday Rest Race
Sunday Race Swim - 30 min Fartlek
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek

Major Race

In the event of a major race in this period, then for the week of the race, the training will be as follows:

Day Race on Sunday Race on Saturday
Monday Swim - 30 min Fartlek
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek		 Swim - 30 min Fartlek
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek
Tuesday Swim - 2 x (200m @ tpb-5% + 200m @ tpb) with full recovery
Run - 40 min Fartlek		 Swim - 2 x (200m @ tpb-5% + 200m @ tpb) with full recovery
Run - 40 min Fartlek
Wednesday Run - 8 x 400m @ tpb-5% with full recovery
Bike - 1 hr Fartlek		 Run - 8 x 400m @ tpb-5% with full recovery
Bike - 2 hr easy
Thursday Swim - 2 x (200m @ tpb-5% + 200m @ tpb) with full recovery Swim - 30 min easy
Bike - 2 hrs easy
Friday Swim - 30 min easy
Bike - 2 hrs easy		 Rest
Saturday Rest Race
Sunday Race Swim - 30 min easy
Bike - 2 hrs easy

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

  • MACKENZIE, B. (2007) Olympic Triathlon Training - Elite - Phase 3[WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/triathlon/oeph3.htm [Accessed