Olympic Triathlon Training Program - Novice
The following is an example of an Olympic Triathlon Training program (phase 3) for a novice athlete. 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 |
Weight Training | |||
| Tuesday | Specific Endurance & Transition |
Swim 200m + 200m transition + Bike 5 min | tpb | ||
| Wednesday | Specific Strength | Weight Training | |||
| Thursday | Specific Endurance & Transition |
Bike 15 min + 100m transition + Run 1 km | tpb | ||
| Friday | Specific Strength | Weight Training | |||
| Saturday | Specific Endurance & Transition |
Bike 1 min + Run 1 min Bike 2 min + Run 2 min Bike 3 min + Run 3 min Bike 2 min + Run 2 min Bike 1 min + Run 1 min |
tpb | 8 min | |
| Sunday | Rest | ||||
Week 2
| Day | Develop | Session | Effort | Recovery | |
| Rep | Set | ||||
| Monday | Specific Strength |
Weight Training | |||
| Tuesday | Specific Endurance & Transition |
Swim 300m + 400m transition + Bike 5 min | tpb | ||
| Wednesday | Specific Strength | Weight Training | |||
| Thursday | Specific Endurance & Transition |
Bike 15 min + 100m transition + Run 3 km | tpb | ||
| Friday | Specific Strength | Weight Training | |||
| Saturday | Specific Endurance & Transition |
Bike 2 min + Run 2 min Bike 2 min + Run 2 min Bike 3 min + Run 3 min Bike 2 min + Run 2 min Bike 2 min + Run 2 min |
tpb | 8 min | |
| Sunday | Rest | ||||
Week 3
| Day | Develop | Session | Effort | Recovery | |
| Rep | Set | ||||
| Monday | Specific Strength |
Weight Training | |||
| Tuesday | Specific Endurance & Transition |
Swim 400m + 800m transition + Bike 5 min | tpb | ||
| Wednesday | Specific Strength | Weight Training | |||
| Thursday | Specific Endurance & Transition |
Bike 15 min + 100m transition + Run 2 km | tpb | ||
| Friday | Specific Strength | Weight Training | |||
| Saturday | Specific Endurance & Transition |
5 x (Bike 3 min + Run 3 min) | tpb | 8 min | |
| 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:
| Race on Sunday | Race on Saturday | |
| Monday | Training as normal | Training as normal |
| Tuesday | Swim - 30 min Fartlek | Swim - 30 min Fartlek |
| Wednesday | Training as normal | Training as normal |
| Thursday | Swim - 30 min Fartlek | Swim - 30 min Fartlek |
| Friday | Run - 8 x 400m @ tpb-5% with full recovery | Rest |
| Saturday | Rest | Race |
| Sunday | Race | 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:
| Race on Sunday | Race on Saturday | |
| Monday | Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek | Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek |
| Tuesday | Swim - 2 x (200m @ tpb-5% + 200m @ tpb) with full recovery | Swim - 2 x (200m @ tpb-5% + 200m @ tpb) with full recovery |
| Wednesday | Run - 8 x 400m @ tpb-5% with full recovery | Run - 8 x 400m @ tpb-5% with full recovery |
| Thursday | Bike - 2 hours easy | Swim - 30 min easy |
| Friday | Swim - 2 x (200m @ tpb-5% + 200m @ tpb) with full recovery | Rest |
| Saturday | Rest | Race |
| Sunday | Race | Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek |
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 - Novice - Phase 3 [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/triathlon/onph3.htm [Accessed