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Thinking About a Triathlon in 2022?

author : alicefoeller

comments : 3

Training tips, workouts plans, free mentors and more

Couch to 5k triathlon training plans for those starting from square one.

Ok, here you are. It's a new year and you've decided to take on a triathlon. You may have once been fit or even athletic, but you are now either out of shape or just lacking experience at swimming, biking and/or running. So let's begin at the beginning!

Triathlon is a great sport for beginners. Your "competitors" on race day will be friendly and helpful. The training is pandemic-friendly (mostly solo). One sport (running) is simple, cheap, and can be done from almost anywhere. The other two (cycling and swimming) are low-impact.

The first place to start is figuring out how to begin, how to train, what equipment you might need or want, and where to get answers. This website is perfect for all of those. We have veterans of the sport just waiting to answer your questions for free, Mentor Groups to give you peer accountability, and training plans with built-in online journaling. You can log your workouts right from your device. We also have virtual triathlon coaches and more advanced training plans available for a monthly fee. We even have a Custom Training Plan Creator: Enter your current fitness level and the system will give you workouts each week. You even get to say which days you want to swim, bike and run. (This is great for people with tight or challenging schedules.)

Start with Something You Can Do Right Away

Running (or walking at first with short running spurts sprinkled in) is the first discipline you will want to start with. This is a great exercise for a beginner and will help you gauge your fitness level, begin to lose weight if you want to, and start you on the discipline of a workout schedule.

Running, on its own, is one of the best calorie burners and will give you the most fitness for the time you invest compared to most other forms of exercise. But many people go for their first run, feel sloppy, out of breath, and give up. Trust me, this will get better. Your body will begin to comply with what is being asked. Your core muscles will tighten up so everything doesn't feel so bouncy. Your joints will learn a gait that doesn't pound your heels or make your knees hurt. Trust yourself and keep going.

These days, average humans in their 40s start needing medicine. Medicine for blood pressure, medicine for cholesterol, medicine to get to sleep, caffeine to wake up. Many of our diseases and medicated conditions are caused by a sedentary lifestyle. In earlier generations, people walked more and did more manual labor and movement in their jobs.

You'll notice quick improvement in your health, and maybe even your weight, if you stick to a schedule and exercise daily. Triathlon training is a great way to begin, because you mix up the sports, which keeps things interesting and prevents the types of overuse injuries that are common when people begin, for example, training for a 5K run when they are not a runner.

Training Plans

We have a lot of training plans here at Beginner Triathlete to suit the needs of those at the beginning of the journey, and those wanting to improve their time at an iron-distance race.

Our Original 13-week Sprint plan has been used by hundreds (if not thousands) of first-time triathletes.

To use this plan, you should be able to:

Swim at any pace for 20 minutes straight

Bike at any pace for 30 minutes straight

Run at any pace for 20 minutes straight

If you aren't there yet, check out Running from Scratch and/or try our Couch-to-Sprint Plan (requires Silver Membership Level).

MAKE THE COMMITMENT

If you can commit just 2-3 months for this adjustment period for your body...you will find it a piece of cake from here on out.

Remember, for most people, looking good and feeling great is not easy - we must work hard at it! No amount of crazy fad dieting or supplements offered by the fitness industry will help you.

You must ask yourself 'How bad do I want to be healthy in my mind, body and soul?' If the answer is a resounding 'YES!!!' then you have come to the right place. If you are unsure, then go back to your fad diets and non-intense workouts.

I hope right now you are putting on your workout gear to go at least walking or maybe to the gym for your first weight-lifting experience. Do not submit to the dark side of couch-potatoeness and "fat-free snack food"! Think about it, if they take out the fat, more carbohydrates go in to replace them ... Biochemistry 101 says that any unused carbohydrates get converted right to fats again - easily!

It's now time to get serious, grit your teeth, put on your game-face and lets do this!!!

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