Olympic Triathlon Training Program - Novice

The following is an example of an Olympic Triathlon Training program (phase 1) for a novice 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 1

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	General Strength	Weight Training
Tuesday	General Endurance	Swim - 30 min	tpb+15%
Wednesday	General Strength	Weight Training
Thursday	General Endurance	Bike - 2 hrs	tpb+15%
Friday	General Strength	Weight Training
Saturday	General Endurance	Run - 40 min	tpb+15%
Sunday	Rest

Week 2

Day	Develop	Session	Effort	Recovery
Day	Develop	Session	Effort	Rep	Set
Monday	General Strength	Weight Training
Tuesday	General Endurance	Swim - 35 min	tpb+15%
Wednesday	General Strength	Weight Training
Thursday	General Endurance	Bike - 2.5 hrs	tpb+15%
Friday	General Strength	Weight Training
Saturday	General Endurance	Run - 50 min	tpb+15%
Sunday	Rest

Week 3

Day	Develop	Session	Effort	Recovery
Day	Develop	Session	Effort	Rep	Set
Monday	General Strength	Weight Training
Tuesday	General Endurance	Swim - 40 min	tpb+15%
Wednesday	General Strength	Weight Training
Thursday	General Endurance	Bike - 3 hrs	tpb+15%
Friday	General Strength	Weight Training
Saturday	General Endurance	Run - 1 hour	tpb+15%
Sunday	Rest

Week 4

Day	Develop	Session	Effort	Recovery
Day	Develop	Session	Effort	Rep	Set
Monday	Strength General	Weight Training
Tuesday	Evaluation	Swim - 10 min maximum distance	100%
Wednesday	Strength General	Weight Training
Thursday	Evaluation	Run - Cooper Test	100%
Friday	Strength General	Weight Training
Saturday	Evaluation	Bike - 30 min maximum distance	100%
Sunday	Rest

Page Reference

The reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (2007) Olympic Triathlon Training - Novice - Phase 1 [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/triathlon/onph1.htm [Accessed

Associated Pages

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