How to Plan a Training?

I don't have a coach but I would like to progress. Marketing will put pressure on you to find - and pay - for a coach. Having a coach is not the only way to go for success. If you are curious, bright, resourceful and a bit stubborn (in a good way!), you can be successful by being a self-coached athlete.

Here are some key questions you should ask yourself when you are planning a training session...

What Period Of The Year Is It ?

Check your annual training plan or ATP in order to check what current week should be devoted to. If you are not familiar with periodization, read about it. There is plenty of documentation about it.

Annual Training Plan example from Training Peaks

How Do You Feel?

Whenever an athlete feels tired or hurt, I will offer some avenue to alter the training and still get something out of it. It may be a longer warmup or reduce the number of intervals in the main set.

Sticking to the plan might not be necessarily the way to go. Be flexible. Listen to your body and try to decode what it needs. That being said, do not get mixed up by laziness of your mind. Getting up and go running on a rainy morning even though you do not feel like it (anyway, who feels like it?!) might just be the best thing to do for your body and being proud of yourself for your tenacity.

What Are Your Limiters?

"Race on your strength, train on your limiters"

Take a minute to sit down and write down race situations you hate. You might be scared of swim start squeezed within dozens of people around you. You might fear a puncture on the bike. You hate fueling your body on the run. You do not swim straight and sighting is not your forte.

Be honest.

Then, reserve a few minutes in every training session to address your limiters for this sport.

Training Templates

To avoid blank page syndrome, find a training plan template on the net and fill it with what you intend to do.

Every training session should include a major objective (optionally secondary objectives), a warm up, a main set and a cool down.

To help build your training sessions, I strongly suggest reading about training phases of strength training:

1. Anatomical Adaptation (AA)
2. Hypertrophy (HYP)
3. Maximum Strength (MxS)
4. Muscular Endurance (ME)

Training Journal

A great habit is to jot down a few notes after every training session on what went right or wrong. What were your thought during the training. How hard (or easy) your training was.

Keeping a journal is zen and a good way to sustain your love for the sport. The night before an A race, go through your journal and notice all the work you have done. Nobody can steal it from you.

Be proud!!