How many hours a week should I train for an Olympic triathlon?

This short course triathlon training plan is for athletes planning to do a sprint or standard distance triathlon in about six months time and are able to train around four times a week, between four to seven hours.

How much training do you need for an Olympic triathlon?

For a beginner who has some recent background in fitness or sport, we suggest you give yourself at least 16 weeks to get fit and ready for an Olympic triathlon. The sooner you start, the more time you have to build up your fitness gradually. Fitness adaptations take weeks and months to occur, rather than days.

How long does it take to train for a triathlon?

Most people can go from fit to triathlete in six short weeks. If you are starting from couch potato, you’ll need to spend a few months building your fitness — three days a week of running, swimming or cycling — before starting your six-week triathlon training plan.

How many hours a day do triathletes train?

The truth is that most age group triathletes excel with around 9-14 hours per week of training. You can accomplish a lot with 10 hours a week if you stay focused, put everything into your intervals and cut out all the junk miles and wasted time like long bike stop groups and hanging out in the locker room to talk.

How often should triathletes run?

Join Triathlete A rule of thumb is three times per week to maintain performance and four to five to get faster. But more important than frequency and volume is intensity. Our bodies can only handle so much volume before performance stalls.

Is an Olympic triathlon hard?

Triathlon is probably the most difficult athletic discipline. It combines three sports which, when taken individually, are already among the most demanding: running, cycling and swimming.

Can you train for a triathlon in 4 weeks?

Sprint Training Plan: The Program This sprint training plan begins six weeks prior to your first sprint triathlon. Before starting, you should be generally aerobically fit and able to swim, bike and run. Weeks 4 and 5 continue to focus on race-pace fitness, and will give you practice running off the bike.

Can I do an Olympic distance triathlon?

Overview. Triathlon is an endurance sport that combines swimming, road cycling and distance running, performed in that order. Events are conducted over a variety of distances but the ‘Olympic distance’ for men and women is a 1,500-metre swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run.

Do Triathletes eat during race?

Eating and drinking during events During Olympic distance and sprint distance triathlon racing, athletes should aim to consume between 30-60g of carbohydrate each hour. This can be achieved through a combination of sports drinks, carbohydrate gels and through solid forms of carbohydrate e.g. Sports bars or muesli bars.

What is a good first triathlon time?

To finish near the top of your age category, under 1.5 hours is a good ballpark time. Elite men and women typically finish under the one hour mark, although women might be a little bit higher. Obviously, this depends on the race course and how hilly it is, as well as the weather.

What is a good triathlon time for a beginner?

For the beginner triathlete, it will take about 1 hour 50 minutes to complete their first sprint distance triathlon. If we break down the average sprint triathlon time, this should take the novice triathlete around 2 minutes per 100 m in the swim. 1 hour for the bike leg, and up to 30 minutes to complete the run.

How much money do triathletes make?

First place, for example, receives an average of $20,000 for the race, and the earnings go down from there to 20th place. A second-place finish can bring $14,000, while third place can bring close to $10,000. Triathletes are also eligible for year-end bonuses.

How often should I swim for triathlon training?

An occasional steady endurance swim is appropriate when training for longer swim races, but it should only be one time per two to three weeks when approaching your key event. In general, main sets are broken up swims: 100s to 500s for endurance, 50s to 200s for mod-hard/tempo efforts, and 25s and 50s for sprints.

Can you do a sprint triathlon without training?

Racing a triathlon without training properly is a magnificent way to ensure you hate the day and the sport. Doing the bare minimum is better than not training at all, but this generally means you will just spend the day hanging on for dear life.