(from Men's Health)
Imagine that you're standing at the starting line at this year's Nautica Malibu Triathlon presented by Toyota. While that moment is some weeks away, it actually starts here. The following will lay the foundation of your training program. It begins by helping you determine your current Fitness Level. Now let's take the first step in this process by figuring out where you're starting from.
WHAT FITNESS LEVEL ARE YOU AT?
(As featured in Chapter 4 of Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week)
Not every person is at the same Fitness Level. For that reason, we will spotlight four different training programs with four different types of Triathletes-in-Training in mind. To find out which Fitness Level you’re at right now, answer the following questions and then add up your score.
Have you exercised consistently (three or more times per week) for more than four months over the past year? Yes (10 points) No (0 points)
Have you ever done a triathlon before? Yes (15 points) No (0 points)
Have you ever done a single-sport event before, such as a 5-K run, a bike or swim event? Yes (10 points) No (0 points)
Have you suffered any acute or chronic exercise-related injuries over the past 12 months? Yes (0 points) No (10 points)
Do you have trouble staying motivated to exercise? Yes (0 points) No (5 points)
What would you rather do: go for a nice trail run or go for a nice beer run? Trail (10 points) Beer (0 points)
Were you a competitive runner, cyclists or swimmer in high school or college? Yes (10 points) No (0 points)
Do you currently work 50 hours or more per week (including your commute time)? Yes (0 points) No (10 points)
If you had the ability, training and finances to allow it, would you compete as a professional triathlete for one year? Yes (10 points) No way, José (0 points)
What’s more important to you on event day: performance or enjoyment? Performance (10 points) Enjoyment (0 points)
Translating your score:
Add together the points from all 10 questions above and see what where you fall. Then read about your Fitness Level below.
0-40: Fitness Level I
41-60: Fitness Level II
61-80: Fitness Level III
81-100: Fitness Level IV
TRAIN IN THE ZONE
Determine your approximate maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. You will use that number as the basis for your workouts. You can use your maximum heart rate to determine your ideal Training Zones, which essentially are different levels of exercise.
Training Zone I – Recovery/Endurance/Anatomical Adaptation:
These workouts are conducted at a nice, easy pace. Your heart rate should be at 50 to 60 percent of your maximum heart rate and should not exceed 130 beats per minute.
Training Zone II – Tempo/Long Intervals:
When you are exercising in this zone, your subjective feeling is “comfortably challenging”. Your heart rate should be at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Training Zone III – Short Intervals/Speed:
When your aerobic fitness begins to plateau, it’s time to sprinkle some Training Zone III work into your program. These intervals can last anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes and should only be performed after at least four weeks of consistent, injury-free exercise. Your heart rate should be at 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Training Zone IV – Explosive Power:
These sessions are reserved for Fitness Level IVs who want higher-end fitness, particularly competitive athletes. Efforts should be from five to 20 seconds in duration and should build into an all-out effort. Your heart rate should be at 80 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Regardless of your Fitness Levels or goals, you should spend the vast majority of your training time in Zones I and II. Training in these zones helps you become more aerobically fit without fatigue.
THE FOUR TRAINING PROGRAMS
As featured in Chapter 9 of Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week.
TRAINING ZONE I
Fitness Level I: Slice above Couch Potato.
To allow you to ease into exercise very gradually, your program should last for eight weeks as opposed to six. This will ensure that you don’t get injured or overtired by doing too much, too soon. View the Fitness Level I Training Chart.
Fitness Level II: Neophyte
This program is designed for you to start slow, with only two hours and 15 minutes of training per week for the first two weeks. Your third and fourth weeks will consist of about four hours and 20 minutes per week. In your one hard training week, your total will rise to four hours and 40 minutes of training, to make sure you’re sufficiently rested before race day. View the Fitness Level II Training Chart.
Fitness Level III: Fitness Enthusiast
Your training schedule pans out as follows: about three hours of exercise in the first two weeks, close to five hours in weeks three and four, five hours and 45 minutes in week five and just one hour and 45 minutes in week six, leading up to race day. View the Fitness Level III Training Chart.
Fitness Level IV: Single-Sporter on a Mission
As a high-level athlete, you won’t be able to limit your training to four hours per week, as less-accomplished triathletes can. You’re likely exercising more than that already. View the Fitness Level IV Training Chart.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 1:
Ditch the scale and the madness attached to it. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if the numbers on the scale aren't budging, they aren't telling the right story - just look in the mirror and decide for yourself if you are making progress. Judge your fitness not by some arbitrary number, but by how energetic and positive you feel - and how your clothes fit!
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 2:
Examine your exercise habits and eliminate time-wasters. For example, work out at home instead of a gym. Run or bike in the morning or after the evening rush hour when fewer people are on the road. Store all your gear in one place - like a closet or trunk - so you can find everything you need and be out the door in 10 minutes. Keep your cycling gear in good working order so you aren't wasting time on your rides making repairs.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 3:
Do you remember how you felt when you were 10 years old? During your next workout, try to capture that feeling, if only for fleeting moments. Be passionate! The only rule is that you have to let go of all rules and expectations. This technique of "play" takes practice, but it's very well worth it. For those of you serious about performance, it will help reach your potential by opening your body and mind and relaxing your approach.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 4:
At least twice a month make an effort to exercise somewhere new. The change of scenery will keep you enthused about your exercise program and prevent boredom from setting in.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 5:
The next time you exercise, concentrate on breathing in through your nose and into your belly, not into your chest. As you gradually increase your exercise effort, focus on maintaining a slow, steady breath rate. Use power breathing not only to improve your workouts, but also to reduce stress in your daily life.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 6:
It's the moment you've been training for... five more days until the big event.
- Here is a final tip for the day of the race.
The start of a triathlon can be the most physically and mentally stressful part of the race. If you are a strong, confident swimmer, you may want to position yourself near the front of the field so that you can swim with the better swimmers. However, if you are a slower swimmer or if you're nervous about open-water swimming, start the race out on the periphery. This will allow you to avoid that frenzied mass start and get you into your own rhythm.
CLF Challenge Weekly Swim Clinic at UCLA!
CLF Tri Swimmer Roland Eavey will be hosting special, weekly Swim Cinics at the UCLA Pool & Rec Center each Saturday afternoon until the Triathlon on September 14th, from 2pm to 5 pm. Please see map below for directions, and please, be advised to park on Veteran (indicated by the "A") and then walk up to Sunset Canyon Rec Center (indicated by "B"), for your convenience. After you walk to point B, please call Roland, who will personally meet you at the UCLA Rec Center, and sign you in!
To RSVP, please also call Roland Eavey at: (617)-935-9394.
(There is an $8 fee for the day for use of the UCLA Pool.)
Thank you, and Happy Training!
Imagine that you're standing at the starting line at this year's Nautica Malibu Triathlon presented by Toyota. While that moment is some weeks away, it actually starts here. The following will lay the foundation of your training program. It begins by helping you determine your current Fitness Level. Now let's take the first step in this process by figuring out where you're starting from.
WHAT FITNESS LEVEL ARE YOU AT?
(As featured in Chapter 4 of Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week)
Not every person is at the same Fitness Level. For that reason, we will spotlight four different training programs with four different types of Triathletes-in-Training in mind. To find out which Fitness Level you’re at right now, answer the following questions and then add up your score.
Translating your score:
Add together the points from all 10 questions above and see what where you fall. Then read about your Fitness Level below.
0-40: Fitness Level I
41-60: Fitness Level II
61-80: Fitness Level III
81-100: Fitness Level IV
TRAIN IN THE ZONE
Determine your approximate maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. You will use that number as the basis for your workouts. You can use your maximum heart rate to determine your ideal Training Zones, which essentially are different levels of exercise.
Training Zone I – Recovery/Endurance/Anatomical Adaptation:
These workouts are conducted at a nice, easy pace. Your heart rate should be at 50 to 60 percent of your maximum heart rate and should not exceed 130 beats per minute.
Training Zone II – Tempo/Long Intervals:
When you are exercising in this zone, your subjective feeling is “comfortably challenging”. Your heart rate should be at 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Training Zone III – Short Intervals/Speed:
When your aerobic fitness begins to plateau, it’s time to sprinkle some Training Zone III work into your program. These intervals can last anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes and should only be performed after at least four weeks of consistent, injury-free exercise. Your heart rate should be at 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Training Zone IV – Explosive Power:
These sessions are reserved for Fitness Level IVs who want higher-end fitness, particularly competitive athletes. Efforts should be from five to 20 seconds in duration and should build into an all-out effort. Your heart rate should be at 80 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Regardless of your Fitness Levels or goals, you should spend the vast majority of your training time in Zones I and II. Training in these zones helps you become more aerobically fit without fatigue.
THE FOUR TRAINING PROGRAMS
As featured in Chapter 9 of Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week.
TRAINING ZONE I
Fitness Level I: Slice above Couch Potato.
To allow you to ease into exercise very gradually, your program should last for eight weeks as opposed to six. This will ensure that you don’t get injured or overtired by doing too much, too soon. View the Fitness Level I Training Chart.
Fitness Level II: Neophyte
This program is designed for you to start slow, with only two hours and 15 minutes of training per week for the first two weeks. Your third and fourth weeks will consist of about four hours and 20 minutes per week. In your one hard training week, your total will rise to four hours and 40 minutes of training, to make sure you’re sufficiently rested before race day. View the Fitness Level II Training Chart.
Fitness Level III: Fitness Enthusiast
Your training schedule pans out as follows: about three hours of exercise in the first two weeks, close to five hours in weeks three and four, five hours and 45 minutes in week five and just one hour and 45 minutes in week six, leading up to race day. View the Fitness Level III Training Chart.
Fitness Level IV: Single-Sporter on a Mission
As a high-level athlete, you won’t be able to limit your training to four hours per week, as less-accomplished triathletes can. You’re likely exercising more than that already. View the Fitness Level IV Training Chart.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 1:
Ditch the scale and the madness attached to it. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if the numbers on the scale aren't budging, they aren't telling the right story - just look in the mirror and decide for yourself if you are making progress. Judge your fitness not by some arbitrary number, but by how energetic and positive you feel - and how your clothes fit!
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 2:
Examine your exercise habits and eliminate time-wasters. For example, work out at home instead of a gym. Run or bike in the morning or after the evening rush hour when fewer people are on the road. Store all your gear in one place - like a closet or trunk - so you can find everything you need and be out the door in 10 minutes. Keep your cycling gear in good working order so you aren't wasting time on your rides making repairs.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 3:
Do you remember how you felt when you were 10 years old? During your next workout, try to capture that feeling, if only for fleeting moments. Be passionate! The only rule is that you have to let go of all rules and expectations. This technique of "play" takes practice, but it's very well worth it. For those of you serious about performance, it will help reach your potential by opening your body and mind and relaxing your approach.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 4:
At least twice a month make an effort to exercise somewhere new. The change of scenery will keep you enthused about your exercise program and prevent boredom from setting in.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 5:
The next time you exercise, concentrate on breathing in through your nose and into your belly, not into your chest. As you gradually increase your exercise effort, focus on maintaining a slow, steady breath rate. Use power breathing not only to improve your workouts, but also to reduce stress in your daily life.
Men's Health Weekly Training Tip No. 6:
It's the moment you've been training for... five more days until the big event.
- Here is a final tip for the day of the race.
The start of a triathlon can be the most physically and mentally stressful part of the race. If you are a strong, confident swimmer, you may want to position yourself near the front of the field so that you can swim with the better swimmers. However, if you are a slower swimmer or if you're nervous about open-water swimming, start the race out on the periphery. This will allow you to avoid that frenzied mass start and get you into your own rhythm.
CLF Challenge Weekly Swim Clinic at UCLA!
CLF Tri Swimmer Roland Eavey will be hosting special, weekly Swim Cinics at the UCLA Pool & Rec Center each Saturday afternoon until the Triathlon on September 14th, from 2pm to 5 pm. Please see map below for directions, and please, be advised to park on Veteran (indicated by the "A") and then walk up to Sunset Canyon Rec Center (indicated by "B"), for your convenience. After you walk to point B, please call Roland, who will personally meet you at the UCLA Rec Center, and sign you in!
To RSVP, please also call Roland Eavey at: (617)-935-9394.
(There is an $8 fee for the day for use of the UCLA Pool.)
Thank you, and Happy Training!