HIM in 6 workouts a week?

Are you following a plan? The beginner BT HIM plan calls for, generally speaking, 1 day off per week. There's lots of discussion on days off etc. I liked my day off (sometimes I moved it around to fit into my life).

IMHO, 6 days a week is fine. Of course you need to make sure you get your volume in (duration + intensity) that is congruent with a 70.3.

I think the OP is talking 6 workouts as in - 2 swims -2 bikes - and 2 runs per week.
I don't see why not, but add in one or even two double workouts every week or every other week would be better.

Number of workouts is one thing... quality IMO is another.

I read somewhere that you can get to 50 percent of your capacity in a given sport with 2 workouts a week, 75 percent with 3 workouts a week and closer to 100 percent with 4 workouts a week per sport.  Even if that is not scientifically proven, it feels right.  I was only able to swim 2x a week last winter and it really limited my improvement.  I was able to maintain and build some endurance, but not speed.  So the question is do you want to maintain your training and creep up in endurance, but not improve your speed, or do you want to improve speed and endurance?  I would think that 8 workouts a week would be kind of minimum with slacking in one are once per week.  So if you were a really strong swimmer you could go 2 swim, 3 run, 3 bike.  

When folks prep for a stand alone marathon they typically run 5-6 times a week.  So just know that if you are gona stick with 6 workouts that your time will not be so fast for your HIM and it will take more months to reach that fitness level.  Note that not all workouts are long.  A 5k run can be a workout, a 25 mile bike can be a short workout and 2000 yards in the pool can be a lite swim.  But then you do have your longer workouts, the plan should take care of the details though.    

Well, I workout 6 DAYS a week... but here is what my schedule looks like:

Monday- Run and then swim. (run 3-5 miles and then swim 2,500-4,000 meters)
Tuesday- Ride
Wednesday- Run and then swim. (run 4-6 miles and then swim 2,500-4,000 meters)
Thursday- Ride and then run.
Friday- OFF
Saturday- Long ride
Sunday- Long run

Yep, that is 9 a week. I can't imagine any less. Not for me at least. And honestly, riding and running 3 days a week and swimming 2 days a week is bare minimum.

Right it's doable- but the OP will have a suffer-fest on race day, unless he/she is a great athlete with a really amazing base.

Let's think about it... training to ride 56 miles and then run 13.1 miles... with only 2 days a week in each discipline? Not very smart- unless you have a really solid base and some history with each.

I can't imagine training for a half mary only running 2 days a week. Let's see... run 1 day short and 1 day long? Just doesn't add up to the miles that he/she will need.

Well I ran a full marathon with only a 10mpw average and no long run past 14. It's doable but you really have to be the kind of person that can run thru the pain. Or to stupid to give up.

Thanks, Everyone, for your responses.

That pretty much answers my question.  It sounds like more is better.  I believe you.



 

Willing to count a brick as one workout?

My 6 workouts would look like this:

1 swim
2 bikes
2 runs
1 bike/run

If you can swim an oly you can swim a HIM.  You aren't going to get much faster on one extra swim per week, but I do believe you could make more significant gains by going to 3 runs/rides per week... plus those are the two events where you will really need to up your endurance come race day.

This is an interesting thread, similar to a question I had in my mind starting about 3 weeks ago. 

I've been training 6-8x a week from April - mid July, and have had 4 sprints in that timeframe, and have on top of that worked w a pers. trainer 2x a week.   I've swam 1200 - 1800 y/wk, ran 15- 20 mi, and bike 20 - 30 per week.

In mid July I wanted to see if I could ramp up the distances/times enough to do a HIM end of Sept.  I've been swimming 4000 yds / week (3 sessions), biking 80 90 (3x), and running 5 mi, 6 mi, and 10 mi long run (so 3 runs weekly) for the last 3 weeks.

I've concluded I could do the swim comfortably, i'm not fast, I figure 38 - 40 mins.  Twice a week would be fine - I'm not looking for AG award - just want to finish my first HIM in about 6 hrs.

I've also concluded that my running base is pretty solid, and I dont need to do much more mileage, but shoot for 3x a week, about 22 - 25 mi total.

I believe my biggest challenge - and the place to focus - is more time and miles on the bike - so that's my primary objective from today on (7 weeks till race.).

I'm going to ride 3x a week, two 25- 35 milers (getting longer every week), and a longer ride 40+ (getting longer every week as well.)

Throw in some bricks, and a lot of gatorade, and that's my plan.

 

I finished first HIM doing about 4 workouts a week, but struggled. I did the single distances multiple times, but putting it together is a different story. I am now trying to cut off nearly 2 hours from my time. I am doing the Triathlete Magazine plan from Nov. 2008 issue - Shortcut to going long. 7 workouts a week with a rest day for a HIM in NOV. I modified it to fit my days and increased the volume early in the plan because of the base I started with. Hope this works. I can scan and email the plan if you need it.

I haven't done a HIM in awhile but am doing one again this fall and am sticking to the 6 workouts a week. 2 swim, 2 bike, 2 run. One short bike, one long bike - one short run, one long run and 1200 - 1700 yard swims. I have done this in the past for my previous HIMs and finished right around 6 hours. Would I be faster if I jumped up to 3x a week for each, probably but I am not going to kill myself for a HIM would rather save the 3x for Ironman.