RonI started this site 10 years ago after doing my first triathlon in 2001. My goal for this site is to get people healthy and happy. I firmly believe that triathlon is the best 'sport' for your body as it has less impact then the more popular single sport(running) while incorporating your upper body from swimming allows for a balanced-body approach to fitness.
Mini Sprint Triathlon Plan: 10 Week
This mini sprint plan will get you ready for a mini sprint race in 10 weeks. This plan is perfect for the person that has no athletic background and hasn't even exercised in years.
About the 10 Week Aggressive Plan
There will be three swims, three runs and two bikes on this plan per week. If you had to cut a workout, cutting one of the bikes would be your best bet. You really need the three swims and runs per week to progress.
This plan has the same workouts as the 20 week plan, we just get rid of a few to build quicker. For the swim you start immediately with swimming 400 yards/meters while incorporating a small amount of the freestyle stroke and gradually building it in more and more until you are fully swimming freestyle.
For the run, ramps you up to 30 minute walking much quicker than the conservative plan. This plan has the same last three weeks of race specific training and taper as the 'conservative' plan does.
This plan has no 'rest weeks' like our sprint and higher plans. The workouts are just light enough while also peaking in volume early enough that 'rest' is not really necessary. The body can easily handle these plans.
IF the first few weeks of training is too tough with respect to the swim, you may want to restart with the 20 week mini sprint plan.
READ ABOUT THE BACKGROUND OF THIS PLAN
Nutrition
This plan won't require any 'additional' nutrition requirements. Most of us will have a few pounds to lose starting these plans. The workouts don't exceed 15-30 minutes. There is no need for Gatorade, Powerade, any other energy drink, energy bars, supplements, gels, etc., to get you through workouts. These are relatively light workouts though enough to create some caloric deficit to gradually lose weight.
If you are thirsty, drink water, WATER for pre, during, and post workouts. There is no need to eat any more for meals than you normally do. Even on race day, as long as you have a good dinner and a light breakfast, you will be fine. Don't fall for the gimmicky sugar water and energy bar products that the food industry perpetuates. Those are usually not needed for workouts until you get to the half Iron distance level or races at the Olympic level. Most people want to lose pounds or maintain, there is no reason to ingest calories while working out at these levels. The workouts at the beginner mini sprint and sprint level are low heart-rate zone workouts meaning that the muscles have nearly unlimited sources of energy already-to-go in the form of muscle glycogen and body fat.
After the plan?
After you have completed the plan and your race, celebrate. Take a few weeks off and do some casual workouts. You will then be able to pick up any of the sprint plans on the site with ease and start marching your way up to possibly...Iron distance?
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