It does depend to some extent on your goals
(just finish vs race competitively
), race distance, and background in the three sports, but in general I've found it's hard to make progress, or even maintain fitness, on less than 3X per week. The exception might be swim if you had a very strong background
(i.e. ex-collegiate swimmer
). It's particularly true for running--if you only run 2 or 3X a week, there's a greater chance that too much of your weekly mileage will be your long run, which can put undue stress on your body and set you up for injury. My personal rule of thumb is 2X
(3X for running
) to maintain minimal fitness and technique, 3X to maintain current fitness, 4X to make progress. If I'm training for a run-only race, for example, I'd probably still try to work in 2-3 swims and 2 rides per week to maintain tri fitness--that doesn't always happen, though!
When I'm training for tris, I try to work in 3 swims, 4 runs, and 3-4 rides per week. I do 3 swims a week rather than 4 as I'm already a strong AG swimmer and I feel my limited training time would be better spent on the bike
(to make progress in my weakest event
) and run
(to spread out volume to minimize injury risk
), rather than in the pool. If I were a stronger biker and weaker swimmer, I'd probably aim for 4 swims and 3 rides instead.
Edited by Hot Runner 2014-04-01 6:52 AM