TRIATHLON TRAINING

By: Shannon Mulder, USAT L2 coach

A successful Triathlon season is difficult to strictly define. Some people may want to complete and not just compete in a Triathlon. Others may want to compete for the “prestige of the podium”. Still others may just want to change their unhealthy lifestyles by partaking in a cross-training (swimming, cycling, and running) regime that helps them regain their fitness. Regardless of the person’s goals, there are a lot of different training methodologies being adopted by people. Some partake in random training. This is the type of training that may get the person out on a random weekday or weekend either alone or with friends. It usually involves very little planning and doesn’t take periodization into consideration. This usually makes the exercise sessions irregular in duration or intensity. For people partaking in this method of training, there is the assumption that training progresses linearly. In Laymen’s terms, this means that there is an assumption that a person will continue to reap in the physiological benefits of training regardless of changes in duration or intensity. The important thing to the person subscribing to random training is that they actually just get out and exercise. Random training has its pro’s and con’s. If a sedentary person suddenly starts to exercise, there will be physiological improvements in the body for a period of time. Unfortunately, these benefits will eventually either plateau or lead to overtraining in the long term since a body exposed to the same stimulus over and over again becomes ineffective. That is why numerous athletes partake in periodized plans that map out their seasons.
Periodization simply means that an athlete will follow a strategic training plan for a set period of time. This period of time has a specific goal and purpose. Once this period is complete, the focus of the next period of strategic training changes slightly to accommodate physiological changes in the body. The culmination of these periods eventually should lead someone to an eventual peak in their season. Usually, these peaks are planned around big events such as the novice’s eventual first Triathlon or the seasoned Triathlete’s Championship race at the end of the season.
There are several ways of learning more about periodization. The first is to find research on the topic through various reliable sources. There is a large amount of information on Pub Med. Although this website has a lot of articles that must be purchased you can review their abstracts for free. Rest assured that the articles come from establishments using valid testing protocols publishing peer reviewed articles. Remember that just because you may hear a commercial state that their product is backed by scientific research, you should always be able to check sources that they provide. If they do not provide any such sources, you may be suspicious. You can also request some information from the governing bodies of each sport. Triathlon’s governing body is USA Triathlon (www.usatriathlon.org). Swimming’s governing body is USA Swimming (www.usaswimming.org). Track & Field’s is USA Track & Field (www.usatf.org) and Cycling’s is USA Cycling (www.usacycling.org). These governing bodies are non-profit organizations that use current scientific research to create the best possible programming for athletes and coaches. It is the primary goal of these institutions to help athletes be successful at what they love to do. Now may be a good time for a word of caution. Be careful of the articles that are not scientifically valid. The authors or vendors of this information may just be selling you information without using science. Their motivation can come from taking your money or believing that because a certain program worked for them that it will also work for you regardless of interindividual variability.
Interindividual variability accounts for the fact that individual responses to a training plan are uniquely different depending on a number of factors such as age, initial fitness levels, and health status. These differences make creating exercise programs an art form. A person’s specific needs, interests, and abilities must be taken into account when creating a program that improves adherence. These plans must take specificity of training, overload, progression, initial values, diminished returns, and reversibility into account. In other words, there is an art of exercise programming that can help someone maximize usage of their time as well as the outcome of their performance. Creating a periodized schedule will involve training in different intensities for differing durations. The phases will incorporate aerobic and anaerobic training, sport specific training (I.E. bricks), and tapers. If these topics seem overwhelming, there are various ways in which a person can get help. The University of Utah provides Triathlon Training courses to people not enrolled at the University and also to students for credit. These courses run three days per week for 6 week sessions. More information for non-enrolled students can be found at www.continue.utah.edu/noncredit/. Classes are extremely affordable and fun. Weekend and weekday short clinics are also available. The University of Utah Exercise and Sport Science Department also offers free riding and running dates to train with groups of people who share the same interests. You can find out more information by contacting me at Shannon.mulder@utah.edu. If the University isn’t for you, there are USAT coaches throughout the valley willing and able to help any athlete reach their desired potential. You can also look for free lectures on the REI calendar. There are various clubs also set up throughout the valley. Now, get up and get moving!