I'm a total beginner and need some advice.....please
BY: mickyboro on 2010-03-02 9:32 AM

Hi all,

I am a total beginner looking to get into triathlon, looking forward to getting stuck in.  I am looking for a club in Birmingham that can guide me with training, nutrition etc.

Is it possible to go from complete beginner to triathlon?  I am 31 years old and could do with losing a few stone but not obese.

Looking forward to the help

Cheers

Mick

RE: I'm a total beginner and need some advice.....please
BY: Julia123 on 2010-03-02 3:23 PM

Hi Mick

Welcome to this forum, I am in Brighton so can't help re club but google it and there is usually a club associated to a good gym.
Do you have a plan re your weight loss? Calories in, calories out, do more of the calories out = excercising and you will lose the weight - simples!

I have already lost a stone by gym, cycling to work and just started jogging. I have a heart defect and a very dodgy shoulder but these are getting sorted out and I am planning on my first tri within the year.
Get signed up for one and get a training plan sorted, you could  start off walking or non impact such as cycling or joining a gym and have a session with a personnal trainer.

BEst of luck, keep us informed and get inspired from the weight loss forum on here!
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I am going to inspire myself!
You are doing this to get fit, and feel amazing, breathe fresh air and feel truly alive. I want to do so much and will achieve this.Just focus, support Penny. Swim properly and concentrate! Cycle as often as you can with Winston and Jackson. Buy a hairdryer and leave at work! Be competitive and proud- I can and will do this!



To feel truly fulfilled and content we have to be active, be out in the open air and rain. Sit by a fire that you have built and get back to being human, after all, you have to have lived to die.

RE: I'm a total beginner and need some advice.....please
BY: Pashda on 2010-03-03 11:53 AM

Mick
It is certainly possible to go from total beginner couch potato to triathlete.
I did it in 2008 as a bet. have never been a good runner, cycled a bit for fun and could just about swim 50m before I had to stop for a rest.
I followed the 20 week beginner sprint training plan on this site and then did the Blenheim sprint which almost killed me but I was hooked.
Did olympic distance last year and am signed up for vitruvian in september. I would recommend joining a club though it gives you a reason to train when you dont want to and usually someone to train with helps. My swimming has improved loads thanks to structured sessions with the club rather than just doing lengths at lunchtime on my own and we usually cover 2-2.5km each session.
cant promise you will lose weight but I guarantee you will change shape as the fat gets burned off and you start using muscles you didn't know were there.
I joined one of the mentor groups on this site which was a massive help

good luck

RE: I'm a total beginner and need some advice.....please
BY: Tiesim on 2010-03-15 5:23 PM

Welcome Mick, u sound just like me, 32, never done it before and decided to at xmas this year gone, 1st thing is to just get signed upto a race so u have no choice but to get stuck into training, give yourself atleast 4 months though as it is a rollercoaster getting settled into the routine,

I have not joined a team and in southampton cant give you any pointers on that but deffo get some mates into one or 2 disciplines, eg a friend to ride with a friend to run with and a friend to swim, with, all works for me, and get into logging your training on here as it is inspirational to see what you and and motivational when you realise you have been a real slacker for a few days.

I bought a fancy watch garmin 310xt which was expensive but helps motivate me train as i want to use it and see my results afterwards, before you knwo it this year will have passed by and you will be a triathlete, enjoy it, get your family involved and supportive, never kn ow they may get the bug too ! good luck, pm me if you want any tips etc/
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Work to live, dont live to work
Its better to have memories rather than dreams

RE: I'm a total beginner and need some advice.....please
BY: RoyBird on 2011-04-20 5:40 AM

Here I am, a year after you Mick, trawling this website, just like you probably did, looking for help and advice. I certainly hope that you completed your first Tri without too much upset and pain. I am totally new to this sport, have mainly been a runner (on and off), have just ridden a bike for the first time in 15 years and am just starting to swim laps again, the last time being when I was about 10. So I certainly hope you completed it, knowing that there was another beginner out there who has completed one does give be a strange sense of confidence. It would be good to hear how you did.

My first Tri I think is going to be in just 6 weeks time, the Braintree Triathlon, here in my town of Halstead. Here's hoping I get some motivation and grow some willpower.

RE: I'm a total beginner and need some advice.....please
BY: mjsark on 2011-04-20 10:02 AM

Good luck Roybird, I am just looking around with the view to sign up for an Olympic in Sept. I might do a sprint in between now and then to practice.

It looks like a good sport though!!  With as much challenge as anyone could hope for.

I have done a marathon with 5 weeks training, so make the training good for you and just get through it.  Although the better the training the more enjoyable experience will be!!  Hence going to try 5 months training for triathlon.

Hope you do it, let me know how its going

RE: I'm a total beginner and need some advice.....please
BY: RoyBird on 2011-04-20 11:22 AM

Just found out that the Braintree Tri is totally full and there's a waiting list, although there is another sprint nearby in September. In all honesty I reckon that'll be better so I can get some real training in. I'll still keep an eye out though.

 

A marathon with only 5 weeks training, I am impressed yet also know that you must have had a pretty good level of fitness prior to doing it. Good luck with your Olympic distance and yes... do keep in touch, keep each other going.

RE: I'm a total beginner and need some advice.....please
BY: mr2tony on 2011-04-21 6:00 AM

Find a race and sign up for it so you have a goal.

Then train.
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FishrCutB8 ``...and you are Agent Double-O-Goggles...''
Me ``Well it's easy. Swim til you're done. Bike til you're done. Run til you're done.''
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