TRAINING
WHAT WOMEN NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRAINING FOR THEIR FIRST TRIATHLON
Training for your first triathlon can be so much fun and as a female we all can have fun with the social aspect of training. It doesn’t matter what fitness level you start at, all women can do a triathlon if you keep three key factors in mind;
1. FUN 2. Consistency 3. Intensity
1. FUN
Fit the training into your lifestyle
To make training for your triathlon fun you need your training program to fit into your lifestyle. As women, we tend to try and do too much. Involve friends, kids or partner, this will help you love what you’re doing and gain the encouragement from people around you.
Reward yourself for doing your training
- Meet for coffee after a ride or run,
- Go out for dinner after you’ve completed your weeks training.
- Download podcasts about what I love and listen to them on my long runs; kill two birds with one stone.
- CLICK HERE for more tips and tricks go to stay motivated
Life is a gift, relish it, celebrate it, explore, play and dance with it. @ainebelton
2. CONSISTENCY
The body adapts to stress, but it adapts slowly. You need to keep stressing the body so it will adapt over time. Adaptation over time will only occur if you’re consistently training.
What is consistency? Consistency is about doing something regularly over time. Have you ever tried to learn a language, if you don’t practice you don’t get any better. The brain is exactly like the body. You need to keep at it. If you plan is to train 3 x per week then you need to train those three times a week. Trust me if you can stick to 3 x per week training over 3 months you’ll improve more than the person who flogs themselves for a week and then does nothing
NOTE: Write a plan you know you can stick to and stick to it. Make sure you have 3 key sessions each week and stick to these. DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP if you miss one or two but make a vow to get back on the horse.
Minimum 3 times per week and everything else is a bonus.
The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” Oprah Winfrey
3. INTENSITY
What should those 3 times per week look like?
1. Long easy aerobic activity eg. Long bike ride that is comfortable and not stressful. If I have limited time to train I will add some hills and work up the hills for 5-10min to add some intensity (stress to the body = improvement)
2. Shorter activity with intervals – Interval training is great for this eg 1min hard 1 min easy and over time you can change the ratio dependent upon your degree of fitness. If 1 min is too long then make it 30sec on and 30 sec off. If you’re already fit then try 3min hard, 2min easy
3. Tempo workout – I always hate the word tempo, as it doesn’t mean a lot to many beginners, I like to refer to it as that slightly uncomfortable feeling, talking isn’t easy, your head is asking you to stop but your body actually feels good. Start with a time period that is comfortable for you (10-20min) and then build it each week by 10%. Again, if you’re fitter then start for a period of time that is comfortable for you.
NOTE – start each session with 10-15 min warm up and then the same to cool down. This is a comfortable talking pace and even walking is great. Get that blood flowing.
Life is not about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself
