Open-water swimming is a completely different kettle of fish to swimming in a pool. While the indoor environment is generally calm – aided by flat water, lane ropes, swimmers setting off in a civilised manner with a reasonable distance between them, and walls to hang onto when you need a rest – open water dramatically changes the script.

Waves, deeper water, sunlight, beach and deep-water starts, swimmers in (very) close proximity, wetsuits, currents… the list of differences is long and each one adds a complication to your race. So just how do you prepare for these challenges and make sure that your open-water debut gets off to the best possible start?

While it is possible to do some open-water simulation in a pool, there’s no real replacement for practising your swimming in open water. The following tips will give you focus for pool- or open-water-based training, helping you make the most of your pre-race open-water opportunities and avoid common errors.

Ironing out mistakes like starting in the wrong place in the pack, not wearing a swimming hat or wearing your wetsuit the wrong way round (yes, it has been seen) is invaluable and will make sure you stand or float at the start line feeling ready, prepared and able to turn that pre-race adrenaline into a force for good.

1. Sighting

Without a wall at the end of each length or a lane rope to your side, you need to find a way to navigate to the next turn point, which can sometimes be more than a kilometre away. Learning how to do this and practising lifting your head every six strokes will let you see exactly where you want to go and head straight in that direction.

For pool practice, start by swimming a length with your eyes closed. In open water, swim towards a target without sighting. This will show you how straight a line you can swim without constant visual feedback. Then practise lifting your head up out of the water to allow you to see where you’re going before turning your head to breathe. To make your sighting more effective, press down slightly at the front of the stroke and kick harder to help keep your body horizontal and therefore streamlined.

2. Group swimming

Open-water swimming means groups of swimmers, and for the larger long-distance events this can mean very big groups. Having other swimmers in close proximity often means a bit of bumping and bashing. You’ll need to adjust to this in order to get the best out of your swim.

You’ll generally have two options: stay completely out of the way of other people or learn to deal with it and turn it into a performance advantage. Drafting can save a lot of energy and improve your time so it’s good to practise this, either in a swimming pool or in open water.

Starting with a friend or two, practise swimming in a close group either side-by-side or one behind the other. As your confidence grows, first increase the number of swimmers in the group and then change your position so that you’re comfortable being at the front, the back and in the middle. And remember: the more you can draft, the more energy you can save.

3 Starts 

The start of a race is often when the swim is most crowded, so knowing what to do and how to do it will build your confidence ahead of the event. For an open-water swim, you’ll either be expected to run into the water from the shore or start in deep water without anything to push off from.

If you’re starting on land, you need to practise running in. Lift your knees and lower legs high over the water as you run through shallow water and then, when it’s deep enough, simply dive gracefully in and swim away, just like in Baywatch!

Deep-water starts can be practised either in open water or at your local pool. Get your body horizontal (wetsuits make this easier) and kick your legs gently but make sure you scull with your palms facing forwards to prevent a false start. When the hooter goes, kick hard and start swimming to give yourself a boost off the line.

4. Wetsuits

Most open-water races in the UK will require you to use a wetsuit, and after a very cold winter temperatures may take longer than usual to warm up, making wetsuit swims even more likely. Having a layer of neoprene over your body can restrict your movement, particularly around the shoulders, so you’ll need to build up a little more strength to maintain the extra effort needed.

While a pullbuoy will help you practise swimming with an elevated body position, the best way to practise using a wetsuit is to get into your suit and swim. You don’t have to use a lake or the sea – open-air lidos are often slightly cooler and you can request to use your suit for a session which will then combine the benefits of using a wetsuit with the feedback and discipline (set distances and times) of pool swimming.

5. Cold temperatures

Open water is colder than a swimming pool and this has a number of effects on the body that you need to get used to. A wetsuit will help keep you warm but you still need to get water into your suit to be able to warm it up. On top of this, cold water on your face can cause rapid breathing and a headache (ice cream head). Becoming familiar with these entirely natural responses will help you deal with them come race day.

Where possible, practise in cold water. Learn to expect, experience and then control your breathing when you get into the water and find out at what temperature you need to wear more than one cap or a neoprene swimming hat to keep out the cold. You can never get rid of this cold-water response entirely but practising for it will certainly improve how you deal with it.

Front crawl is the stroke that all triathletes aim to master, but Masters, swimmers, swim coaches and triathlon coaches support the idea of swimming the other main strokes too. These will bring in variety and technique that can transfer from one stroke to the next. Swimming all four strokes can also build a more balanced shoulder and back musculature, which may lessen your risk of overuse swimming injuries. However, some coaches will not teach anything other than front crawl, arguing that if this is what you’re going to do in the race then this is all you need in practice.

Integrating other strokes into your swim session is easy. You could add simple repetitions of individual medley of anything from 25m of each through to 100m of each. If you’d prefer to practise the individual strokes, it’d be useful to learn some drills for each and add them into the warm-up of your swim session.

If you find that working through the other strokes is challenging, there are steps that you can take to make it easier. Fins are an easy addition to your session that will help give you basic propulsion and an improved body position while you learn the arm technique for backstroke and butterfly. Pullbuoys aren’t used in all strokes and should be avoided for butterfly and breaststroke but could be used in backstroke.

If you’re completely new to these strokes, the time to start adding them into your swim training is during the off-season. At this time it’s easy to work on technique if you fancy a more relaxed swim session, while some cardiovascular training can still be achieved. As you approach the race season your front crawl technique needs to be at its best and your fitness needs to build to a peak. During this build-up you should reduce the volume of other strokes within your sessions.

Are there downsides of swimming other strokes? Maybe. Many age-group athletes won’t have had the same intensity and hours of swimming as they’ve grown through their teens as other swimmers have done. In fact, many will not have even been in a pool during these years, so they’ll have to play catch-up and will need more time practising front crawl to ensure a good technique. You may argue that, in these circumstances, swimming other strokes is wasting time that could be spent on developing front crawl.

QUICK TIPS

• Breaststroke

Timing is very important when swimming breaststroke so say to yourself as you swim: “kick, glide, pull, breathe.”

• Backstroke

Flick the water with the top of your feet as you kick and maintain a good body roll to both sides, getting each shoulder out of the water.

• Butterfly

Undulation of the hips is key and is controlled by your head position – lift your head to drop your hips and drop your head to lift your hips.

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Traditionally, improving your swimming technique requires you to practice a series of drills, breaking down your technique into smaller parts and then putting the swim stroke back together, integrating the new part of the technique back into your stroke. This, combined with a committed approach to a structured swim programme that includes speed development, steady aerobic swimming and pacing practice, results in the ideal steady progression of your swimming. But what if there were other ways of improving your swimming? What if you could find ways of keeping your stroke together, improving your pace and staying relaxed throughout your swim training and racing in a different way? This feature will look at three different techniques – visualisation, the use of music and learning using analogies. You may not have heard of them or experienced them before, but they might be just the thing you’ve been looking for to help revitalise your swimming.

Visualisation

There is an idea that we can actually imagine ourselves swimming quicker, and then make it happen. There are several ways in which you can use this technique; all are relatively simple. This one works in three stages. Firstly, find a video of someone who swims in a similar style to one you would like to adopt. Watch this video and focus on any aspect of the swimmer and the video clip that stands out to you; this could be the action, speed of movement, rhythm. Try to get the image of the swimmer as clear as possible in your head and separate it from anything around it by brightening the contrast between the two. Stage two is to close your eyes and replay the video in your own mind, keeping the image bright and clear, and focus on the areas that stand out to you. This will take a bit of practice but you should eventually be able to play this image back in your mind at will, so repeat stages one and two until this is possible. Stage three is to simply play this image in your mind while swimming, concentrating on the areas that you highlighted when you first watched the video. Then see what happens with
your swimming.

Music

It has been said that music makes the world go round but can it be used to make your swimming go faster? Some people respond to music better than visual images, so using music may be a more suitable way of improving your swimming. The use of music can either help you associate or dissociate from your task at hand. Neither is better than the other; it’s just personal preference. One way in which music is used is to set the tempo of your movement. How many times have you used music in turbo or run sessions to set the cadence of your movements? So why not do it in your swimming? Find a song or tune that allows you to develop and maintain the arm turnover that you want during your swimming and simply sing it, to yourself, while swimming. Or you could even invest in a waterproof MP3 player that allows you to listen to your favourite tracks while swimming in the pool.

Analogies

Swimming drills help break your stroke down into several small, manageable chunks. However, there is an increasing amount of scientific evidence that over-thinking skills in this way can actually be detrimental to your speed during a race. This is because it’s very hard to think of lots of different details when trying to perform at your absolute best when under race pressure. So instead of thinking about exact hand entry, the angle of your elbow at the catch or where your fingers point as you push the water, try to think about the movement in larger pieces. For example, imagine you are wrapping your arm around a barrel as you place your hand in to the water at the start of your catch. This will automatically place your arm into an effective position – a position that grabs hold of the water. Similarly, concentrate on pushing water towards your feet, as this will focus several aspects of your stroke, such as the position of your elbow and how deep your hand is.

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Swimming isn’t like cycling or running. You won’t get anywhere without a good technique, and it’s hardly worth bothering doing loads of swimming until you sort out your technique, right? Well, maybe not – there’s more to it than that. What if I told you that you could still swim fast, even without the perfect technique?

If you were to watch 20 of the best triathletes in the world swim training in the same pool, you would witness 20 different front crawl swimming styles. And yet they’d all be swimming fast times that the rest of us can only dream about. Their strokes are by no means perfect, but the common factor is that they swim for around 90 minutes per day, and have done so for years.

Pro athlete James Cunnama, who won the 2012 Challenge Roth long-distance triathlon and is part of the TBB training squad under coach Brett Sutton, says: “When I went to Brett for coaching, he said my stroke was ‘like a picture’. The only problem was that I wasn’t fast. I just needed to do more swim training to build my fitness. Some people in his squad don’t look like great swimmers, and yet they swim unbelievably fast.” Cunnama’s experience suggests it’s not essential to have a beautiful stroke in order to swim well.

For all its complexity, the art of swimming actually boils down to two simple numbers.

1. Stroke Rate: How many strokes you do per minute

2. Stroke Length:  How far you travel for each stroke

Elite open-water swimmers have stroke rates of between 75 and 95 strokes per minute, whereas age-group triathlon swimmers have stroke rates nearer 50 to 60 strokes per minute. If you can improve your stroke rate, without shortening your stroke length, you will swim faster.

Your stroke rate is governed by your swim fitness – the fitter you are, the quicker and more powerfully you can move your arms through the water.

Whereas your stroke length is largely governed by your technique – the better your technique, the more efficiently you move through the water. There is a crossover between the two as well because your stroke rate will increase  as your technique improves, and your stroke length will increase as you become fitter and stronger.

The conclusion to all this is that you need to attack your swim training on two fronts. One is to swim regularly and progressively, just like you would train for running or cycling. This will help you to become fitter, enabling you to increase your stroke rate. The other is to seek coaching assistance in order to improve your technique, so that you can become more efficient at moving yourself through the water (stroke length). As a by-product of swimming regularly, you’ll also improve your feel for the water. In other words, you’ll learn to feel whether or not you’re moving well through the water, and how to correct it.

But if you can’t get regular coaching, you can still focus on increasing your stroke rate. This takes hard work and consistent training to improve your fitness and feel for the water. Having some way of measuring your stroke rate is important, so that you know if you’re improving (below).

1.     Finis Tempo Trainer

www.finisinc.com
£32

2. Garmin Foreruner 910 XT

www.buy.garmin.com
£329

3. Swimovate Poolmate

 www.swimovate.com
£69.99

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When you watch an Olympic freestyle swimmer knocking out a sub-15-minute for 1500m, you can only admire how easy they make it look – as if they are swimming in slow motion.

Apart from the many hours spent in the pool, these guys and girls are spending a lot of time in the gym building their strength and power output. As a triathlete you don’t need to go to those extremes, although a strength workout once per week, or more during the winter, can certainly put you on a higher level come the start of the triathlon season in the summer.

Swimmers call it dry-land training and for triathletes, it’s a great way to cut down the hours you need to spend in the pool in order to improve. This is because a weak swimmer is a slow swimmer, no matter how many miles you log in the pool. A strong swimmer can spend less time in the pool but still swim faster.

You just need a spare 30 minutes and a few key exercise routines to get you on your way

Warm-up

Start with four sets of 20 to 25 sit-ups to get the blood flowing nicely. Keep the rest period between all routines and exercises to around 20 seconds.

1. Triceps and Biceps

Do one set of 20 tricep pushdowns using a weighted cable, followed immediately by one set of 20 bicep curls, using a cable or free weights. Repeat this four times.

The triceps are used during the final push phase of the freestyle stroke. The biceps are used during the catch.

2. Shoulder Press

This exercise involves pushing a weight from your shoulders towards the ceiling, using both arms together. Start with 10 shoulder presses, using a shoulder-press machine, or free weights – usually dumbbells, which you should push up above your head, straightening your arms and bringing the hands together – carrying the weight back down in front of your chest. Then do 10 more, carrying the weight behind your head. Repeat this four times, with 20-second rests between sets.

You need power in the shoulder area for an effective and arm pull, as well as during the recovery phase. Strong shoulders mean fewer swim injuries.

3. Straight-Arm Push-downs

These are a bit like the tricep pushes above and can be completed using a cable machine or rubber bands. This time, you’re not allowed to bend your elbows. Start with your arms straight up above your head. Pull a weight or resistance band downwards until your hands meet the front of your thighs. Do four sets of 25 reps with minimal rests in between. Keep your back straight, use your abs to keep your balance with your elbows locked from the top right through the push-down motion.

This brilliant exercise replicates much of the underwater phase of freestyle swimming, and builds your specific strength.

4. Bench Press

You can use a bench and a barbell (below), dumbbells, or a chest-press machine. Do four sets of 15 reps with 20 seconds rest between. To maximise this workout, do a set of abdominal crunches during the rest period, while you lie on the flat bench.

Your chest muscles are used to support the underwater arm motion, while your stomach muscles help stabilise your body and are used when you turn at the end of each length.

5. Latissimus Pull-Downs

You’ll either need a lat pull-down machine, all gyms have these, or rubber stretch cables for this one. The exercise involves pulling a weight or resistance cable downwards with both arms behind your neck, before slowly letting it back up. Do four sets of 20 reps.

This strengthens your lats, the big muscles at the sides of your torso. Swimmers with good body rotation can take advantage of these strong muscles to propel them through the water.

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Every year in October, thousands of the world’s best Ironman athletes arrive in Kona, Hawaii, for the Ironman World Championships. Before getting the chance to race here, every single one of them had to qualify by finishing near the top of their category at an Ironman event earlier in the year. So they know what they’re doing.

But although the race in Hawaii covers the same Ironman distance (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run), it’s a very different beast to other events. As if the stifling humidity and brutally high temperatures aren’t enough, they’re sometimes accompanied by strong crosswinds on the bike. These issues can create a number of problems for even the most experienced athletes.

And when you consider that of the 1,800-odd highly trained athletes that take part in Ironman Hawaii, 15-20 per cent of them end up in the medical tent, you realise just how serious those problems can be.

In 2010, I was allowed to look around the medical tent and was intrigued to see the number of athletes hooked up to drips and looking barely conscious. All of them had finished in under 10 hours – a respectable performance in Kona – yet they were barely able to remember their own names.

I was in Kona again in 2012, this time as a volunteer medic on the race staff, which meant I could attend the Ironman Sports Medicine Conference. It’s held during race week and it’s where some of the most-informed medics in the world present the latest research. It’s also where volunteer medics learn how to tackle the medical problems most likely to arise on race day.

These lessons, along with my experience as a volunteer medic, gave me a valuable insight into the challenges athletes face at Ironman Hawaii. So if you dream of tackling this famous race, there are two things you need to know how to handle: the heat and your nutrition. Get a firm grasp on these two, and you’ll be prepared and able to perform well in the challenging Hawaii environment.

Lesson 1: Beat the heat

Heat exhaustion is what Paula Newby-Fraser famously exhibited as she collapsed in the finishing stretch of the 1995 Hawaii Ironman. The early warning signs may include irritability, confusion, apathy, emotional instability and irrational behaviour. Giddiness, extreme fatigue, and vomiting can also be precursors. Athletes suffering from heat exhaustion also experience chills and get goose pimples, which is a sign their circulation is shutting down.

Hyperventilation may also occur – another of the body’s methods of cooling down. Poor coordination and staggering, or “running like a puppet on a string” are late signs and can be followed by collapse, seizure and/or coma.

• Hydration

Good hydration helps prevent heatstroke but there’s no advantage to consuming more fluid than you’re losing. Weigh yourself before and after a simulated race session to calculate your fluid loss. Some experts believe that drinking too much fluid after endurance events can dilute the sodium in your blood.

• Train in the heat

You need to acclimatise to exercising in the heat if you want to race well in it. Start gently and slowly build your sessions in the heat. You need a good fortnight, at least, for the acclimatisation process to take place, which involves your body retaining more water and salt, and increasing blood volume so your heart pumps more blood at a lower rate. ‘Heat-fit’ athletes also start sweating sooner but their sweat is of a weaker concentration. They also sweat in greater volume and over more of their body to help them stay cooler.

• Get lean

Fatter athletes are more prone to heatstroke. This is simply because the extra fat is extra load, which takes more effort to move and so increases your exertional heat production.

• Keep cool

Wear a ventilated helmet, hold ice in your hands or under your hat, or put sponges soaked in cold water in your top or shorts.

• Use waterproof sunscreen

Sunburnt skin doesn’t sweat well, and sweating is vital for keeping cool.

Lesson 2: Fuel up right

Many of the athletes wound up in the medical tent because they got some aspect of their nutrition wrong and ended up losing a lot of weight – both water and fat. Some athletes lose as much as 8kg. Records show that the stronger the winds at Hawaii (a key part of the bike course), the higher the number of admissions to the medical tent. In windy conditions, riders typically don’t like to let go of their bars, tense up, use more energy and forget to eat and drink. So while their energy output is higher, energy input is reduced and soon becomes insufficient.

Athletes competing in the heat can sweat between two and six litres an hour, and most athletes drink less than they sweat so they start to dehydrate. And as their level of hydration drops so does their bodyweight –and a drop of just 2 per cent from dehydration is enough to impair performance.

• Fuel and hydrate on the bike

Find out what works for you by practising! By fuelling well you’ll be sparing your glycogen stores for when you really need them on the marathon. Get a hydration system with a tube on your aerobars so you can drink without taking your hands off the bars.

• Pace yourself on the bike

Endurance training makes the body more efficient at burning fat as a fuel to higher relative heart rates. By riding at an intensity you’re accustomed to from training, you’ll burn more fat than glycogen. But remember, your heart rate will be higher for same effort due to the heat, so you’ll need to take on more carbohydrate than usual.

• Train your gut

When your training is at its peak, allocate one session a week to practise your race nutrition strategy. Your gut is an organ and can be trained in the same way as any other muscle. Any endurance athlete knows that working out a nutrition strategy is essential for race day, but how many actually test that strategy in simulated race sessions?

• Salt and cramping

Research is inconclusive, but most people who take extra salt experience reduced cramping during an Ironman. Clues to salt depletion include visible salt on your skin, sweat stinging your eyes and a salty taste in your mouth. The key is to experiment with extra salt in training, so you’re not trying anything new on race day.

Avoid the 3 B’s of Hawaii

Beware of bloating, burping and barfing. They’re all signs that your race preparation leaves a little to be desired

• Be well trained for the race
• Get acclimatised to the heat
• Keep cool
• Drink/eat a little and often
• Train to eat and drink while racing
• Start exercising with some fluid in your stomach
• Avoid high-fibre foods before exercise – especially in the final 48 hours before racing
• Keep your calorie intake between 200-400kcal/hr (calculated as per your bodyweight)
• Don’t overdo it – if you start to suffer any of the three Bs, reduce the intensity of your effort until the symptoms subside
• Minimise or completely avoid the use of anti-inflammatories (such as ibuprofen or aspirin) as they can irritate your gut

Click the links on the left  to get your 70.3 training plan fix

Half-Ironmans can be seriously tough, so it’s really important to make sure your fitness it the best it can be to ensure you have a fantastic race-day. The training plans below cater for all abilities and are split for those with more or less time available to train.

If it’s a different race length you’re looking to train for, check out our Olympic-distance training plans, sprint triathlon training plans, winter training plans or duathlon training plans.

Click on the links below to download the plans to your computer.

Race Your First 70.3 Plan
Master middle-distance with this 70.3 training plan to build strength and fitness. View the Race Your First 70.3 plan.

Get Your Cycling In Gear Plan
This triathlon bike training plan will help you to improve your core cycling strength, speed and technique. View the Get Your Cycling In Gear plan.

Your Best Ever 70.3 Plan
Smash your personal best with this half-Ironman training plan to get you to the line faster in your next 70.3. View the Your Best Ever 70.3 plan.

Triradar.com is the online home of Triathlon Plus – the best source of triathlon training advice, triathlon gear reviews and triathlon news.

Log your training for free at the TriRadar.com Training Zone.

Have every issue delivered to your digital device by getting Triathlon Plus through Apple Newsstand, Google Play or Zinio. Subscribe to the print edition with massive savings at MyFavouriteMagazines.

Join the conversation on the Triathlon Plus Facebook page, follow us on Twitter @TriathlonPlus.



Click the links on the left to download exclusive Ironman training plans

Ironman triathlons aren’t just tough races to compete in, they can also be incredibly challenging to find the time to get enough training in.

To help you get the most from your training time, we’ve divided our Ironman triathlon training plans into time rich and time poor sessions as well as whether you want to get round the course or improve your speed.

We’ve listed the length of the training plan, the hours per week, required ability level and the author too so you know you’re in safe hands.

If it’s a different race length you’re looking to train for, check out our Olympic-distance training plans, sprint triathlon training plans, 70.3 half-Ironman training plans, winter training plans or duathlon training plans.

Click on the links below to download the plans to your computer.

First Ironman Triathlon Training Plan

This beginner training plan will get you Ironman-race-ready in just 12 weeks. View the My First Ironman plan.

• Weeks: 12
• Time: 6-11 hours / 7-15 hours
• Existing fitness: Swim 400m non-stop, bike 2:30 non-stop, run 1 hour non-stop
• Author: Phil Mosley – Triathlon Plus coaching editor and elite athlete

Conquer The Ironman Triathlon Training Plan

Tackle triathlon’s toughest challenge with this Ironman training plan to get you up to race fitness. View the Conquer The Ironman plan.

• Weeks: 12
• Time: 12 hours / 15 hours
• Existing fitness: Swim 2.5km non-stop, ride 70 miles non-stop, run 16 miles non-stop
• Author: Martin Yelling – Triathlon coach, former international duathlete and Hawaii Ironman finisher

Build Your Ironman Foundation Training Plan

Use this Ironman training plan to build the endurance and strength you’ll need on race day. View the Build Your Ironman Foundation plan.

• Weeks: 12
• Time: 8-10 hours / 10-14 hours
• Existing fitness: Swim 2km non-stop, bike 2 hours non-stop, run 1 hour non-stop
• Author: Phil Mosley – Triathlon Plus coaching editor and elite athlete

Move On To Marathons Training Plan

Move up to long-distance running with this marathon training plan to get your going further in training. View the Move On To Marathons plan.

• Weeks: 12
• Time: 6-8 hours / 10+ hours
• Existing fitness: Already competing in Olympic-distance triathlon
• Author: Martin Yelling – Triathlon coach, former international duathlete and Hawaii Ironman finisher

12 Weeks To Ironman Training Plan

This 12-week Ironman training plan will help get you ready to face the ultimate endurance challenge. View the 12 Weeks To Ironman plan.

• Weeks: 12
• Time: upto 13 hours / upto 16 hours
• Existing fitness: Swim 2.5km non-stop, bike 3 hours non-stop, run 90mins non-stop
• Author: Phil Mosley – Triathlon Plus coaching editor and elite athlete

Boost Your Open Water Swimming Plan

This Ironman swimming plan is designed to prepare you for open water races, helping you get to T1 first! View the Boost Your Open Water Swimming Plan.

• Weeks: 4
• Time: 6 hours / 10 hours
• Existing fitness: Swim 750m non-stop, bike 2 hours non-stop, run 30mins non-stop
• Author: Doug Hall – Elite triathlete and coach

Ironman Countdown Training Plan

Our Ironman training plan will help you get your physical, mental and logistical preparations just right for a smooth race. View the Ironman Countdown Training Plan.

We’ve also got Nine Killer Ironman Workouts that you can view here.

These training plans were originally published in Triathlon Plus magazine – subscribe now to get the magazine delivered to your door every month. You’ll find loads more triathlon training tips, workouts and nutrition advice in triradar’s online Training Zone.

Click on the links on the left to download exclusive triathlon training plans

Olympic-distance triathlons are tough to get through without the right training, so make the most of your sessions with these handy plans to boost your speed on the swim, bike and run legs.

If it’s a different race length you’re looking to train for, check out oursprint triathlon training plans, 70.3 half-Ironman training plans, winter training plans or duathlon training plans.

Click on the links below to download the plans to your computer.

Absolute Beginner’s Plan
This beginner’s triathlon training plan will help first-timers get into the wonderful sport of triathlon. View the Absolute Beginner’s Guide.

Train For Your First Tri
Another beginner’s triathlon training plan, this three-month programme will take you from zero to tri hero! View the Train For Your First Tri plan.

Build Your Foundation Plan
This triathlon base training plan will get your fitness up ready for racing in four weeks. View the Build Your Foundation plan.

Four Week Speed Building Plan
Use this programme to build triathlon speed by adding race pace workouts into the mix and get faster quick. View the Build Your Speed plan.

Six Weeks To Speed Plan
This six-week programme will help improve triathlon speed and see you racing faster with nine and six sessions per week options. View the Six Weeks To Speed Plan.

Blitz Your Swimming Plan
This triathlon pool swimming training plan will help you make long-term improvements in your stroke with the help of some pool toys. View the Blitz Your Swimming Plan.

Get Your Cycling In Gear Plan
This triathlon bike training plan will help you to improve your core cycling strength, speed and technique. View the Get Your Cycling In Gear plan.

Build Your Run Speed Plan
This triathlon run training plan is designed specifically to get your speed up in the third discipline. View the Build Your Run Speed Plan.

Run Faster Plan
Whether you’re time rich or poor, this triathlon running training plan will help you up your run speed. View the Run Faster Plan.

Spring Speed Boost Plan
This four-week triathlon training plan will help boost race speed, with optional sessions for those with extra training time. View the Spring Speed Boost plan.

Double Peak Plan
This triathlon training plan will help you pace your training to hit peak race fitness for your next event. View the Double Peak Plan.

Hit Your Second Peak Plan
Another triathlon training plan for hitting your second racing peak, this 12-week plan is split into eight and 10 hour training weeks. View the Hit Your Second Peak Plan.

Boost Your Open Water Swimming Plan
This triathlon swimming plan is designed to prepare you for open water races, helping you get to T1 first! View the Boost Your Open Water Swimming Plan.



These training plans were originally published in Triathlon Plus magazine – subscribe now to get the magazine delivered to your door every month.

You’ll find loads more triathlon training tips, workouts and nutrition advice in triradar’s online Training Zone.

Click the links on the left to download our exclusive sprint triathlon training plans

Working out to a plan not only provides a guideline to better fitness and a sense of achievement, it makes it harder to get lazy and skip a day’s session. These plans will help you get the best out of your body and set a new personal best, covering everything you’ll need to build a strong swim, bike and run.

If it’s a different race length you’re looking to train for, check out our Olympic-distance training plans, 70.3 half-Ironman training plans, winter training plans or duathlon training plans.

Click on the links below to download the plans to your computer.

Absolute Beginner’s Plan
This beginner’s triathlon training plan will help first-timers get into the wonderful sport of triathlon. View the Absolute Beginner’s Guide.

Train For Your First Tri
Another beginner’s triathlon training plan, this three-month programme will take you from zero to tri hero! View the Train For Your First Tri plan.

Build Your Foundation Plan
This triathlon base training plan will get your fitness up ready for racing in four weeks. View the Build Your Foundation plan.

Four Week Speed Building Plan
Use this programme to build triathlon speed by adding race pace workouts into the mix and get faster quick. View the Build Your Speed plan.

Sprint Swimming Plan
This sprint triathlon swimming training plan is pool-based to get you up to speed for your first race of the season. View the Sprint Swimming plan.

Blitz Your Swimming Plan
This triathlon pool swimming training plan will help you make long-term improvements in your stroke with the help of some pool toys. View the Blitz Your Swimming Plan.

Get Your Cycling In Gear Plan
This triathlon bike training plan will help you to improve your core cycling strength, speed and technique. View the Get Your Cycling In Gear plan.

Build Your Run Speed Plan
This triathlon run training plan is designed specifically to get your speed up in the third discipline. View the Build Your Run Speed Plan.

Run Faster Plan
Whether you’re time rich or poor, this triathlon running training plan will help you up your run speed. View the Run Faster Plan.

Spring Speed Boost Plan
This four-week triathlon training plan will help boost race speed, with optional sessions for those with extra training time. View the Spring Speed Boost plan.

Sharpen Sprint Speed Plan
Build on your existing fitness with this sprint triathlon training plan to supercharge your speed for your fastest ever season. View the Sharpen Sprint Speed plan.

Sprint Specific Plan
Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned sprinter, this sprint triathlon training plan will help you thrash the competition. View the Sprint Specific plan.

Hit Your Second Peak Plan
Another triathlon training plan for hitting your second racing peak, this 12-week plan is split into eight and 10 hour training weeks. View the Hit Your Second Peak Plan.



These training plans were originally published in Triathlon Plus magazine – subscribe now to get the magazine delivered to your door every month.

You’ll find loads more triathlon training tips, workouts and nutrition advice in triradar’s online Training Zone.