Best Olympic triathlon training program

haha....

let's make sure the OP (newbie) understands the sarc font. 

1.  I think it's fair to say that there is no 'best training program'.

2.  What is best FOR YOU depends a lot on where you are right now -- how much volume are you currently doing?  For how long (weeks? months? years?)?   (WARNING:  I don't know what to do with the answers to these questions beyond observing some generalities, but I do know that they are important questions to answer before you determine a plan.)

3.  I used the BT plans as my base, and modified from there as seemed appropriate, given my (limited!) knowledge, and how my body was responding to training.  Worked for me (so far...).

Thank you all for the help.  I have been playing Professional lacrosse for the past 8 years, and am in good shape, and just retired.  I am now ready for something different.  I don''t know much aboout triathlons, except what I have read and heard from other people.  I am doing a sprint tri this weekend, which will allow me to see what type of shape I am in now.  I have been training for this tri for the past 12 weeks. 

I saw that they have me do a brick workout twice in the 3x a week.  I think I will go with that and adjust the training if it is to easy. 

With the sac.  I take it there isn't a triathlon bible? 

Thanks

There is a book called The Triathlete's Training Bible, but I, and others it seems, , don't find it all that useful.  I found it to be way too much, overkill, especially for someone new to the sport.

Oh, there is something called "The Triathlete's Training Bible". It's just not something that I personally found very useful in building a program and I think the other posters agree with me!

Thanks for the help.  I am going to go with the BT 3x week for olympic training and see where that takes me. 

I like the Matt Fitzgerald Training Plans book. It has different plans for different levels and distances. Use it as a guide, and since you were/are a pro athlete, I'm sure you know to just "listen to your body" when you train.

I used the beginner freebie one last year and was just fine with it, and I was not coming off a professional athletic career. S/B/R 3x a week each with some bricks thrown in.

Edited by mrbbrad 2009-06-19 2:49 PM

Well, coming off of a professional athletic career is going to help a lot, I'd venture to guess.  I came off of a pro drinking career, and it turns out that doesn't prepare one at all....

Sounds like you are off to a great start. On the brick thing: lots of people will tell you that, physiologically, they don't produce training adaptations that you don't get (and maybe get better) from just training the three disciplines individually.  But:  (1) some others will disagree with this view (I'm in no position to judge); (2) I think everybody agrees that doing a few bricks is helpful for learning what it feels like to run off of the bike, and they help you practice transitions under somewhat realistic conditions (tired, trying to go fast...); (3) if you ramp up the volume and have a life outside of training, they may be hard to avoid, as a matter of scheduling necessity.  Anyway, regardless of that controversy, I don't think anybody would suggest that you judge a plan by the number of bricks it contains (not to suggest that you were doing so).  My current plan has bricks, so I do them.  If it didn't; I wouldn't.  I can take 'em or leave 'em.

Anyway, have a great time this weekend!

I did the 3x oly last year and yes there are only a few bricks in there, but I didn't really wish there had been more. You could always toss a few extra in by cutting a bike session short and adding on a short run to it or whatever. Probably better not to pile on extra workout time though because the point is to no over-do training.