Pre-Program question

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2008-09-16 10:28 PM

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Subject: Pre-Program question

 

Hello,

 This past Labor Day I competed in my first sprint triathlon with just about zero training.  I had a great time and plan on doing more triathlons in the future.  Since my swimming and biking skills are essentially non-existent, I have been biking every day for 3 miles and swimming every day for 200 to 300 yards.  My thought process being the development of better technique (swimming) as well as gradual conditioning (swim and bike) while not injuring my body to the point I don’t want to train the next day or simply abandon the sport prematurely.

 After a few weeks or even a month, I plan on adopting one of the actual programs found on this site for sprint triathlons. 

 Does this seem like a reasonable starting point?

 You can view my logs to see that my training is very light, but consistant.  Best of all, my swimming has improved and so has my biking.

 Thanks in advance,

 Mark

2008-09-16 11:44 PM
in reply to: #1678827

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Subject: RE: Pre-Program question

Never mind any sort of programs for now. I would recommend each day calculate some goals or anything yo want in your head, and get ot and do it. Make sure you get a solid warmup and cooldown both with a lot of stretching. Go as hard as you want each day, make sure too push yourself and you will see improvements. 

As you keep this up you will understand what kind of physical shape you are in, then once you start keeping track of time and distance you will undertand your pace and abilities much better. Just get out and have fun, find other people to go with or against. Get into the habit of brick workouts (more then one excercise) and you will be amazed at how much you can actually do.

2008-09-17 4:22 AM
in reply to: #1678827

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Subject: RE: Pre-Program question
I have the exact opposite advice from ^^^.

Get thee into a program. It is hard to know your physical parameters at first, and a program will help you formulate your training. Just guessing at each day isn't going to get you too far - an overtraining injury or undertraining stagnation. Through the program, you will come to know yourself better. Go with one of the more conservative programs to ease you up slowly.

If you were a former competitive athlete and had already developed the skills to know your body, then I might recommend trying to ramp up yourself. But really, why reinvent the wheel? These programs work for A LOT of people, especially beginners, because most beginners have the same set of roadblocks, concerns, and gaps. A good program will help you address all of that, and a lot faster and safer than you would likely do it on your own.
2008-09-17 5:29 AM
in reply to: #1678827

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Subject: RE: Pre-Program question
I am doing a maintenance program that starts out slow and builds up easy. I have the time to mostly do each activity 3x per week. I am basicly building a base slowly. figure out what you can schedule for workouts week and choose a beginner plan that most fits your schedule.

kevin
2008-09-17 5:56 AM
in reply to: #1678827

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Subject: RE: Pre-Program question
Start one of the plans. Get a couch to XXX plan and it won't kill you the first couple weeks but will gradually increase time. It's way too easy to work yourself to hurt.
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