How to Train for a Triathlon: The Top Tips to Know 

Each year, about 500,000 athletes decide they want to do a triathlon. 

If you want to join all of these athletes, you’ll first have to dedicate yourself to working hard over the next few months. 

Are you trying to learn how to train for a triathlon? If yes, you should check out our guide here on the top things to know and do.

Make Time For Training

One thing you have to do is make sure that you make time for your training.

If you haven’t been working out lately, you should give yourself about four months to get back into shape. Giving yourself this time will also help minimize your risk of injury. 

Twelve weeks is about enough time to help condition your ligaments, tendons and boost your endurance to help you in your race. 

You should make sure that you train at least five days a week, but you also have to incorporate rest days into your training regiment. Each day, you should train for anywhere between two and a half four hours a week. 

For the five weekly workouts, you should dedicate at least two of those days to swimming workouts; this will really help build your endurance levels. 

Incorporate Social Aspects into Your Training

You should also try and incorporate social aspects into your training.

It can be really helpful to have a training buddy to help hold you accountable for your training. You can also do your part and hold them accountable as well.

You should be able to find groups to meet up with and swim, bike, and run together. They can be around your fitness level or a little bit higher to help push you a little bit.

As you do more triathlons, you’ll be able to meet other triathletes who can give you tips and advice.

Prioritize Key Workouts

When you plan your workouts, you should make sure that you prioritize some key workouts.

Some days you’ll have multiple workouts in one day. You should make sure that you do the hardest workouts first when you’re fresh. 

If you put your key workout later in the day, you won’t have much endurance so you won’t be able to have the proper intensity. 

Choose the Right Race

You should also make sure that you choose the right race for you.

If this is the first time that you’ve done a triathlon, you should think about doing a lighter race first.

The first type is a sprint tri. This is normally a 750-meter swim, a 5-kilometer run, and a 12-mile bike ride. This may be best for a beginner.

An Olympic tri is the next step up. An Olympic tri consists of a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 10-kilometer run, and a 40-kilometer bike ride. 

Lastly, the most common triathlon is the ultra or Ironman. This consists of a 3.8-kilometer swim, a 42.2-kilometer run, and a 180.2-kilometer bike ride. 

Spend Extra on the Right Gear

Before you start your race, you should make sure that you have all of the right gear. You may not want to spend a lot of money on it, but getting the right gear can make or break a triathlon for you.

You should make sure you have a thin bike, a helmet, running shoes, a water belt, and possibly even a wetsuit. You should check out these wetsuits for triathlons.

You’ll also need a triathlon suit. You shouldn’t focus more on the fashion of the suit but rather the functionality of it.

Trying to change your clothes can be really difficult when you’re wet, and you’ll want to avoid that if you can.  

Swim in Open Water

You should also make sure that when you swim, you practice some of those workouts in the open water. 

Swimming in open water with a pack can be difficult, but you should still try to include it. It will help you get more comfortable with swimming in open water and not having a black line to follow on the bottom of the pool.

You can also work on your stroke, breathing, and sighting in the open water.

Train Your Digestive System Too

You’ll also want to make sure that you train your digestive system too. You’ll need to have enough energy to do these three different workouts.

You should replenish 25 – 35% of your calorie loss, and drink about 20 – 40 ounces per hour. 

As you train, you should experiment to see what works best for you.

Work on Your Weakness

While you’re training, you should work on your weaker workout. This sport has three disciplines, so it’s easy to only work on the one that you’re good at. 

However, being really good at one sport won’t help make up for your weaknesses in other sports. That’s why you need to train in the parts that you may not like as much.

You should keep track of what feels good and what seems difficult. If you find swimming to be more difficult, you need to make sure that you focus more on swimming than running or biking. 

Learn More About How to Train for a Triathlon 

These are good tips to think about when learning how to train for a triathlon, but there are many more tips out there.

When in doubt, hiring a coach may be one of the best ways to help you train.

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