Beginner Training Help

it might also be worth you taking out BTF membership as that way you get insurance cover even while training (can be important if you have a bike crash) and discount on a range of products. if you join a BTF affiliated tri club, you’ll also get it a reduced price.

Not a fan of strides without a firm definition of what they are mainly due to developing poor form…but am a huge fan of fartlek - unstructured accelerations and recoveries according to feel…these can add value in the middle of any run…

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Arr not really thought of that. I suppose I’m usually trackside when dishing them out and clearly define them as not sprinting but short periods of higher cadence focusing on good form (what we are working on that session)

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what is good form? :wink:

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Arr well, that depends :rofl::wink:

Agreed - in fact nearly posted this.
The point about recovery is a good one and any athlete needs to learn how well they recover from different types of sessions … but, even so, I would suggest that focussing on easy bike/swim sessions won’t help to properly build strength and resilience.
You’ll burn more calories than if you do nothing but you have to get the heart rate up for your body to properly adapt :slight_smile:

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on what?

The athlete.

why?

because we are all different shapes and sizes with different injury histories and all have different distance goals

Why should that change what good form is?

Hi Valaspuku & nice post. Triathlon is such a great sport, especially if you have a sedentary job & would otherwise risk becoming a couch potato as you enter your thirties and forties. It’s enjoyable, it is social, it can keep you healthy. If your kids-to-be grow up with parents who exercise, it’s likely they will enjoy that lifestyle too.

From your posts about being 15 years out of school I’m guessing you are early 30s unless you were some sort of prodigy? That’s a great age to be, you have many years in which to nail it and become a racing machine. Just look at the excellent results of some of the 50 years + athletes on here, they even have their own thread although I think you need to show your bus pass to join.

What you are doing sounds like a great starter for 6. See how it goes. Joining a club is a great way to get ideas from people who have been around the block a few times, and also to guage your improvement which should be pretty rapid. You’ll probably want to run a little more often I guess at some point, once or twice per week is a start but probably not really enough to be very competitive IMHO.

The main thing- don’t forget- there is an unspoken rule at the races that you are not allowed to pass or beat another tritalker if they have ever replied to a thread you started. You heard it here😉

Good luck

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It changes what works best for that person at that time to avoid injury. Also what is best for 5km may not be best for a marathon due to adding extra strain on calf, achilles … but I do suppose conditions could help there.

So form isn’t linked to efficiency then?

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Welcome @Valaspuku - won’t chip in with much as there has been a plethora of great advice already posted

But something that helps me with triathlon, wife, work and kids is planning, planning and planning. Knowing what you’re doing and when you’re supposed to be doing is massively helpful

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Fight
Fight fight …!

Coach smack down at Xmas !

My moneys on the big guy ( I have no idea who’s bigger)

Merry Xmas x

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Carlos the Jackal is feking huge :grinning:

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No mate, its @explorerJC playing coach Ed. I love it! Trying to get me to think about things. The HPCP is very much about pushing boundaries forcing you to think and question and to not be afraid to say something and be wrong, as long as you learn.

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And you are an ex para … I pick my fights wisely :rofl:

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Yes it is. But would you say efficiency for a 95kg 6ft 5 “swimmer” doing a marathon is different to a 5ft 6 55kg African Brit running 5km to Olympic gold?