Olympic Triathlon Training Program - Elite

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

Any application of this training program is at the athlete's own 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 Triathlon

Phase 3

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

Week 1

Day	Develop	Session	Effort	Recovery
Day	Develop	Session	Effort	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
Day	Develop	Session	Effort	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
Day	Develop	Session	Effort	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
Day	Develop	Session	Effort	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

Swim faster and easier than ever before

Discover the secrets to improving your swim technique, avoiding painful injuries, and shaving minutes off your best triathlon times to date. Select this link or image for more information.

Training for Triathlon

Training for Triathlon reveals the very latest triathlon-specific training research, competition tactics and performance-boosting secrets - and spells out exactly how you can apply these race-winners today.

Throughout this brand new special report, we dissect the major current debates over the best methods of training for triathlon, we disclose the pre-event preparation of the world's best triathletes, and we share the strategy and tactics that are guaranteed to deliver on the big day.

Select this link for more information on "Training for Triathlon".

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page:

Associated Books

The following books provide more information related to this topic:

Advanced Studies in Physical Education and Sport, P Beashel et al., ISBN 0 17 4482345
Physical Education and the Study of Sport, B. Davis et al., ISBN 0 7234 31752
Essentials of Exercise Physiology, W.D. McArdle et al., ISBN 0 683 30507 7
Physical Education and Sport Studies, D. Roscoe et al., ISBN 1 901424 20 0
The World of Sport Examined, P. Beashel et al., ISBN 0 17 438719 9
Advanced PE for Edexcel, F. Galligan et al., ISBN 0 435 50643 9
Examining Physical Education, K. Bizley, ISBN 0 435 50660 9
Sport and PE, K Wesson et al., ISBN 0 340 683821
PE for you, J. Honeybourne, ISBN 0 7487 3277 2