Training for my first triathlon (mini sprint)

To the OP...I was in the same position as you last year at this time. I had been lifting weights very religiously and was beginning to have great sucecss in building muscle. When I decided to try triathlons I decided to start with a sprint as I am not a very good swimmer.

I began with a training plan and was also working in my weight workouts as well. Things were going well on both ends. About the middle of summer I came to a point where I just didnt have the energy to do both any more, so I had to make the decision whether I wanted to keep trainging for the tri or keep lifting weights. I chose the tri. I was now able to focus much more on the multi sport side of things. i would throw in an easy lifting session here and there, but nothing close to what I was doing before.

I found that my cardio workouts were much more beneficial after I cut back on my weight lifting. My range of motion had increased due to less muscle fatigue/constriction from lifting weights, which really helped me in the pool. I also felt that I had much more time and energy to devote to the triathlon.

As I saw my muscle mass start to decline,it was a little sad, but on the other hand my fitness level was increasing greatly.

 I guess what I am getting at is that if you can manage both then go for it. You are going to love the tri lifestyle. But I think you will have much more succes if you focus more on tri training and use the weights in favor of that training.

Weight training and endurance training do not match well for some, others have no problems. I would say if you plan on competing in triathlons in the future then weight lifting should take a back seat. If its somethign you really like to do and you want to do tri's for pleasure then by all means do both.

Cardio and bodybuilding go fine together. Endurance racing and bodybuilding, not so much. Large muscles have two drawbacks for endurance type events, the first being they weigh more, so it's more mass to haul around. The second being, larger muscles consume more oxygen which is also a detriment. 

And it's certainly possible to train to complete a sprint tri in 2 months. Get hopping!

John 

Welcome to the dark side!  You can easily get ready for a mini sprint as they are not all that demanding in the big picture.  If you can swim bike and run currently you will be able to finish without any major problems.

To improve, just make sure you are consistent in your training.  Definitely check out some of the BT plans for shorter distances.  You can probably comfortably prepare using the 2x plan (2 times a week in each discipline).

And if lifting is your thing, you can certainly make the time to continue that.  Will it benefit you in your tri racing?  The jury is still out but the consensus is it will not make you swim/bike/run faster.  But that should not stop you from doing something you enjoy.

Wow, thank you all for the replies. You have really helped me out.

I lift weights for bigger muscles. Hmm, what i will probably do is keep weight lifting but cut it down to 3 days a week, and also do training for the endurance. If it gets to be too much, or i dont see as much improvment as i would like, i will stop lifting weights.

I dont know what you mean by base. But if you mean like if i can actually do a mini sprint length at the moment then i think i can, i havn't really tested myself yet though. I like JUST got interested in doing a triathlon :P When i was trying a 500 meter swim almost 2 years ago, i got about 100m and felt like i was about to pass out. I definitely got to work on swimming. I have riden bikes for a long time, but like bmx bikes. I dont even have a mountain bike or one of those really light bikes (idk if they are called mountain bikes). And for running, i used to not be able to do a mile without stoping to walk. But after working on cardio (bareley, like 2 miles a week maybe), i was able to do 2 miles and still have at least some energy but was still huffing and puffing. But i havnt worked on cardio for a while now, i know i can do 1 mile and still have a decent amount of energy left. Swimming i probably am the same as when i tried that 500 meter. And biking, i dont even have a bike fit for a triathlon yet, but im assuming i can do 6 miles (not sure how fast though).

If that isnt what you meant by base, sorry. :P Again, thanks for all of your help.

Base is the groundwork that you lay before you go race, it's all the mileage that you put in that enables you to finish without requiring a stretcher.

In weightlifting it would be all the basic lifting that enables you to do a 7-5-3-1-3-5-7 ladder of bench fly with the 90lb dumbbell. You can't just jump in and do that, first you have to lift the 35lb dumbbell a few hundred times, then the 40, etc.

Same with endurance training. You can't just go out and run 26 miles. First you run 3 miles a day for a few weeks, then 4 a day, etc etc. (Note: That is not an endorsed progression plan, merely an example).

All those smaller distances, slowly increased, that let you do the longer distances and/or race is what is considered your base.

And, the more base you have, the easier it is to pick up after a layoff. For example, I have 17 years of age group swimming base, so for me to get back to a certain swimming pace is much much easier than someone that only has a year or two of swimming.

John