You can become a triathlete in six to eight weeks, depending on how fast your progress will be. If you are to join the triathlon, you must have a clean bill of health, and you must be someone who regularly exercises since this will mean that you will not tire quickly.
When you want to join the triathlon race, you need to consider some things like knowledge in swimming, biking and running.
Running is the easiest cause everyone can run and require breathing techniques for you to run a long distance.
Biking, on the other hand, will also be the next thing that you already probably know, and it is advantageous for you if you are a frequent cyclist since you know the basics.
Swimming is a bit risky, and you may also have some background in swimming, but this time, you need to swim in open water such as rivers, ocean, or bays (some held the swimming competition in swimming pools).
If you are someone who just decided you want to join the triathlete with no knowledge of what swimming, running, or biking is, you may have a few months of training ahead of you. You need 3 to 4 days a week of learning and practicing cycling, swimming, and running. This is before you continue with the 6 to 8 weeks of a triathlon training program.
When a novice trains for the triathlon, the most difficult or challenging task is swimming cause you have to train to swim in open waters, but if swimming will take place in a swimming pool, this is an advantage for you.
When you have little confidence in your swimming experience, you may have to join a triathlon where the swimming event will take place in a pool instead of the open water.
What Does a Beginner Training Plan Look Like For The Ironman Triathlon?
A beginner’s training plan for the Ironman Triathlon may need a lot of research and preparation. A novice may need to ensure that he had his time scheduled up to the very last minute for 4 to 6 months prior to the event.
He will need to have the necessary equipment for his training at the ready.
One thing he needs to start doing is to wake up really early. This will ensure that he will have the time he needs before any family member wakes up. He will also have the place to himself while he readies for what awaits him for the entire day.
Another time he needs to set aside is the workout before lunch “time” and the readiness to turn down some invites for a late party or an entire night of fun at the pub. Discipline will be the word written on the fridge, ceiling, even on the forehead and something that you utter in your sleep.
Some equipment he needs to acquire includes running shoes, clothes, hydration bottle, bike, helmet, hydration system, goggles for swimming, a swimming suit/trunk, swimming cap, a wetsuit, and a covering for the feet.
Nutrition will also be the most important during the training and something that should be considered during the planning.
Training for each event (swimming, biking, running, and cross-training) is scheduled, twice or thrice a week. There is a rest day, and the rest of the week will be a well-planned schedule for each sport.
Ironman is an event that tests your endurance, and this requires strength training so you can avoid injury and maintain your precise form throughout the entire race day.
With all the rigorous training, there is a need for a rest day, and this will include sleeping and eating as the body recover from the rigid training it’s been doing the entire week.
Rest weeks will be in place, where he will take a 2 to the 3-week volume increase in the training while a 1-week decrease or rest in training, will be implemented. This is to help the body absorb the training while staying away from injury as well.
Tapering will happen as there is a dramatic decrease in training over a few weeks before race day. It will help the body recover and rest, so it will be all set and ready for the big day.
How Many Months Do I Need To Fully Train For An Iron Man?
Ironman Triathlon training will take anywhere from 6 months to 1 year of training. It will also depend on the current state of your fitness or your body’s capacity for endurance in the different events that will take place.
Some can train for only 6-months provided they can run for 10 to 12 miles, and they can cycle for 45 to 60 miles. Swimming for a mile is another indicator that it is possible for them to finish the training in 6 months.
People who will train for half a year will prepare for 2 to 3 months with 8-sessions per week and can be up to 10 sessions, even.
Peaking is on the 4th and 5th months of training, where preparation will be more rigid and serious since there is a longer workout. Each event will take longer and miles and miles of running, biking, and swimming schedules.
Last month will be for the tapering session where those who train will give their body time to rest, recover and make sure that they are ready for the big event.
Those who choose the 12 months plan to train will have more time to acclimate their body gradually. There is also the base peak and tapering period. This training is for novices and came from being couch potatoes to joining the Ironman.
This is the ideal training for beginners so they can get the necessary acclimation, planning, and scheduling, preventing injury, and savor their time training and being better.
Training for the Ironman event will require 6-days a week for swimming, running, and biking. Running and biking three times a week is scheduled, while swimming and cross-training are scheduled twice a week.
