Are you a seasoned athlete? Are you a complete beginner? Are you somewhere in-between the two?
If your answer is yes to any of these scenarios then following a training plan is an essential part to ensure you achieve your goals.
Here are 3 key reasons why you should get on a triathlon training plan now.
A major benefit of a training plan is that it’s designed to prepare you for a specific event. Although it may be hard to plan for specific races at present that don’t mean you should just aimless train with no objective – just set yourself a goal of running your 10km PB or swim your fastest 1500m. Plans are periodized into larger training blocks with the necessary recovery to allow adaption with the overarching goal of getting you to peak on the day of the race or event.
Let's be honest, not everyone has the time to train as much as a professional athlete as most people have a family, work, and social life to balance with their triathlon goals. Having a plan can be massively beneficial if you have time constraints as a good plan with build in the key sessions you need to get done every week to progress. Of course, you can add extra sessions if you find you have more time some weeks but if you are completing your key sessions every week you know you will be getting closer to hitting your goals.
There will always be days when it can be difficult to motivate yourself to get out the door for a training session, but a training plan can provide accountability to help you stick to a routine. For example, if workouts are scheduled calendars, you are more likely to get them done. Seeing the training boxes turn green as the week goes on provides satisfaction and builds confidence that you are actually making progress.
Signing up for a big race often elicits an equal amount of excitement and fear as you wonder how to start training for it. The good news is that you don’t have to figure it all out by yourself — a good training plan can help guide you to your goals by providing structure.