Mini Sprint Triathlon Plan - Conservative 20 Week Training Plan

Print Mini Sprint Triathlon Training Plan: 20 Week

About the 20 Week Conservative Plan

There will be three swims, three runs and two bikes on this plan per week.  If you had to cut a workout, cutting one of the bikes would be your best bet.  You really need the three swims and runs per week to progress.

This plan starts you out swimming 100 yards, walking 10 minutes and biking 10 minutes.  For the swim we bring you up to 400 yards over several weeks in a variety of 'easy' strokes including the breaststroke, backstroke and sidestroke.  Then we gradually build-in the freestyle stroke, most suited to the triathlon swim.  You will get exact workouts for the swim.  The bike is simple as we build you up to 30 minutes and hold it.  Near the end of the plan there will be some race-specific workouts.  The run is similar to the couch-to-5k plan, just a little shorter and with exact intervals of the walk-run.  

This plan has no 'rest weeks' like our sprint and higher plans.  The workouts are just light enough while also peaking in volume early enough that 'rest' is not really necessary.  The body can easily handle these plans.

Each workout is the same for the whole week then they change the next week.  The last three weeks of the plan includes two weeks of race-specific training and one week of a taper.

READ ABOUT THE BACKGROUND OF THIS PLAN

Nutrition

This plan won't require any 'additional' nutrition requirements.  Most of us will have a few pounds to lose starting these plans.  The workouts don't exceed 15-30 minutes.  There is no need for Gatorade, Powerade, any other energy drink, energy bars, supplements, gels, etc., to get you through workouts.  These are relatively light workouts though enough to create some caloric deficit to gradually lose weight.

If you are thirsty, drink water, WATER for pre, during, and post workouts.  There is no need to eat any more for meals than you normally do.  Even on race day, as long as you have a good dinner and a light breakfast, you will be fine.  Don't fall for the gimmicky sugar water and energy bar products that the food industry perpetuates.  Those are usually not needed for workouts until you get to the half Iron distance level or races at the Olympic level.  Most people want to lose pounds or maintain, there is no reason to ingest calories while working out at these levels.  The workouts at the beginner mini sprint and sprint level are low heart-rate zone workouts meaning that the muscles have nearly unlimited sources of energy already-to-go in the form of muscle glycogen and body fat.

After the plan?

After you have completed the plan and your race, celebrate.  Take a few weeks off and do some casual workouts.  You will then be able to pick up any of the sprint plans on the site with ease and start marching your way up to possibly...Iron distance?