Beginner Triathlete - 5 Training Tips for Your Triathlon

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Are you ready to compete in your very first triathlon? Are you confused about where to begin your training?

If you are a beginner triathlete, you have come to the right place. This article will provide you with information, tips, and strategies on how to start your first race.

The language is simple and easy to understand, with no fancy terms that only a serious triathlete would understand. There is not an extensive guide that you have to follow. This article is simply to provide you with a starting point to make sure that you are at a level of fitness to compete successfully.

Keep it Simple

First of all, as a beginner triathlete it is most important to remember that this should be fun. That being said, do not go overboard with your training. You will simply need to make sure that you have a basic level of fitness for each of the triathlon events, swimming, running, and biking.

For your first race you do not need to follow some extensive training plan. There is no need to exhaust yourself as your first race should be more about understanding what a triathlon entails and less about competing.

Honestly, it is not really about the amount of time that you spend training, but rather about how your training time is utilized. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Tip 1: Picking a Race

The first thing that you need to do is pick a race. As a beginner triathlete, a sprint race is typically the best option. This is a shorter race that offers a great step into the world of triathlons. A typical sprint triathlon involves a swimming competition of anywhere from 0.25 miles up to 0.62 miles, biking from 5 to 18 miles, and running from 1 to 4 miles.

Tip 2: Equipment Choices

If you are a beginner triathlete, there is no need to invest in fancy equipment for your first race. The fancy stuff can come later, for now stick to the basics.

For swimming you will need to have some goggles and a swim cap. If the race consists of an open water swim, you may need to have a wetsuit.

For the bicycling portion of the race you will need to have a bike, of course. Any bike that is in decent condition is good enough for your first race. You will be required to wear a helmet as well. You may want to have cycling shorts, repair equipment, such as spare tires, and a water bottle on hand as well.

For the run you will need to have a good pair of running shoes. They should fit well and be comfortable to wear. Your clothes for the run should be breathable and comfortable to wear. You should have a hat to wear as well. The hat should be made of mesh to allow for breathe-ability.

Tip 3: Swimming

The swim is typically the most challenging portion of the triathlon for the beginner triathlete. If you are a relatively new swimmer, it is a good idea to consult a local swim coach for advice. You may want to sign up for some type of swim lesson as part of your training. Swimming is a technical sport and any improvement in your technique can help you to shave minutes off your swim time, which can result in more energy for the rest of your race.

Tip 4: Bicycling

The bicycling portion is the second part of the race and most individuals, beginners included, find biking to be the easiest portion of the race. When you start training for the bicycling portion of the race, you will want to make sure to start slowly and build up your endurance. A good goal is to start with short distances and build up to the length of the bicycle portion of the race plus 10% longer.

The bicycle portion offers you a chance to rehydrate your body during the race. It is important to make sure that you practice biking on all types of surfaces with the bike you will be using for the race.

Tip 5: End of the Race

The run is the last part of the race and can be difficult. The reason is that you are already tired from the first two portions of the race. When training for your triathlon run, you need to make sure that you improve your time and distance running, but you will also need to make sure to train to run when your legs are tired.

You will have just finished the cycling portion of the race when you begin your run. This means that your legs will be tired. While focusing on distance needs to be your first priority, you will need to remember that building up your stamina is important as well.

As a beginner triathlete, the most important advice I can give you is have fun. Do not push yourself to hard. Remember, this is your first race and the focus should just be on completing it. There will be plenty more races to improve on.

If you are truly ready to begin your training as a triathlete, download a free copy of "The 7 Biggest Mistakes Triathletes Make," now.

Ironman Triathlete and Endurance Swimmer Carolyn Elliott has been a competitive athlete since 1972. She is also a nurse with an extensive background in nutrition. Tips which took her years to discover and finesse is freely shared so that you can get a jump start on your training and competition. She provides triathletes of all level her expertise on the sport.

Six Tips for Improving Your Speed Training Program

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Coaches are constantly asking me what can be done to make their in-house speed training program more effective. After talking with hundreds of coaches and looking at what is happening all over the country, I have come up with six keys to increasing the effectiveness of any speed training program.

1. Educate the athletes. If your athletes don't have an understanding of why they are doing a speed training drill, there is a good chance they are thinking of it as torture or punishment. It is up to you to explain the purpose of a drill so the athletes fully understand how it impacts performance. Typically, this will motivate an athlete to work harder because they will understand how their hard work will pay off in the game. It also helps you, the coach, choose drills that will actually benefit the athletes.

I can't tell you how often I see coaches lining up cones, ladders and boxes and call it a speed training program, but the movements used in the drills have absolutely nothing to do with the movements used in the sport. If you have to explain how it will help the athlete, you are more likely to choose appropriate drills.

2 Focus on mechanics. Allowing your athletes to do speed training drills with faulty movement patterns is like a golf pro watching his student hit ball after ball with terrible flaws in his swing, and never providing any corrective feedback. Athletes sport practice skills and play games all the time, but they are rarely taught how to move properly. they are just expected to know how. Purpose, if a kid has never been shown how to do something, how can you expect him/her to do it correctly?

It is up to you to teach your athletes some of the most basic movement concepts in sports - running, cutting, shuffling, pivoting, jumping, etc. Begin by teaching them like they have never performed these movements in their lives. In my writing and seminars, I refer to this as Movement Training, and by implementing Movement Training concepts into your speed training program your athletes will always end up farther ahead.

3 Quality not quantity. Too often, speed training workouts turn into conditioning sessions. Remember, the goal is improving speed and agility, not aerobic fitness. Keep the work periods short and the rest periods long so the athletes can give 100% effort on each drill. You are trying to teach the nervous system how to work more efficiently, so the athletes need to be fresh. If the rest periods are too short, the work periods too long, or the athletes are simply fatigued from previous work, mechanics will disintegrate and the same old faulty movement patterns will ultimately be reinforced.

For optimal speed development results, keep the work periods to 2-10 seconds and the rest periods as long as 20-60 seconds or even longer if the intensity is extremely high. Explain that you will be giving long rest periods so the drills can be done with maximum intensity, and stick to your word.

4 Sport specificity. As long as you are trying to teach your athletes to move more efficiently, it makes sense to practice movements that will actually be used in a game. Sprinting and cutting are used in just about every sport, but don't forget about the very specific skills your athletes need to perform on the field or court. These movements include shuffling, stopping, pivoting, faking, spinning, cross-over running, backpedaling, etc.

As much as possible, include these movements into your speed training program. Baseball and softball players should practice starting sprints like they are stealing a base. Volleyball players should incorporate lunging, approach steps and jumps into their drills. Football receivers should practice their routes. Quarterbacks should incorporate drop steps and linemen should start drills from 2-, 3-, or 4-point starting positions. Use your imagination to create drills that mimic competition.

Ladder drills and plyometrics are great general training methods, but if you don 't make your athletes practice their most important movements you should never wonder why they don' t perform them well in a game.

5 Consistency. As I stated earlier, speed training programs are meant to train the nervous system. The best way to make this happen is to consistently practice sport specific skills so the nervous system learns the optimum movement patterns. 5-20 minutes, 2-3 days per week is all it takes.

You can make this happen by adding two short drills to your warm-up routine, or including one or two sport-specific drills into the beginning of each strength training session. This does not mean strength movements that "looks" the sport movements - I'm talking about actually doing a couple of sprints or agility drills before each workout. As long as technique is emphasized, this brief, consist of practice will add up and allow your athletes to perform these skills perfectly on the field or court without any thought.

6 Long-term development. Another major problem I see in a lot of speed training programs is implementing them just a few weeks before the season, hoping for a miracle. Starting these drills 2-3 weeks before your first game is simply too late for major benefits to be seen.

You will certainly see benefits from doing speed drills during your pre-season, but working the drills into your year-round speed training program will elicit maximum results. Pre-season training should focus on technical/tactical skills and conditioning. Too often, though, I see coaches conditioning the athletes during the off-season. This is a waste of time and energy. If you have contact with your athletes during the off-season, work on strength, movement training and technical skill development for the greatest long-term results.

If you can teach your freshmen how to move, and include a few minutes of practice before every strength training session, imagine what a difference that will make by the time they are juniors and seniors. It's never too early to teach kids how to move. Don 't wait until it's too late.

Introduce changes gradually, and continually attempt to make improvements. Speed and agility training will have a positive impact on any team, and incorporating these six keys will help you run the most effective speed training program possible.

Jim Kielbaso is the author of Ultimate Speed & Agility, a popular speed coach in Detroit, MI and a co-founder of http://www.ultimatestrengthandconditioning.com/. You can follow him at http://jimkielbaso.com/