Training Plans Flashcards
(38 cards)
You should consider the following six factors when developing a training plan.
The athlete’s most important race (distance and location)
Athlete availability/schedule
Athlete experience level
Physiological makeup of the athlete (baseline)
Athlete limiters (physiological capabilities, injury, time, social support, etc.)
Race performance goals and reasons for participating in the race
Swimming Evaluation Form
Coaches can use the swimming evaluation form to gather the following information.
Swimming equipment and access to swimming (limited access could lead to adjustment in goals and/or objectives)
Level of comfort
Training history
Medical history
Stroke form analysis (results and limiters to address)
Fitness test results
Biking Evaluation Form
Coaches can use the biking evaluation form to gather the following information.
Training and triathlon history Medical history Equipment (current and desired) Handling skills assessment Bike fit analysis Pedal stroke analysis Fitness analysis
Running Evaluation Form
Coaches can use the running evaluation form to gather this information.
Equipment Level of skill (self-assessment) Training history Medical history Fitness analysis Gait analysis
Strength and Conditioning Evaluation Form
Coaches can use the strength and conditioning evaluation form to conduct the following screenings.
Static postural screening
Dynamic movement screening
Overhead squat screening
Single-leg screening
Core muscle endurance screening
Physiological Factors
Coaches should consider the following physiological factors.
Athlete age
Discipline specific capabilities (swim, bike, run)
Biomotor abilities (endurance, strength, speed)
Fitness level
Endurance race history (triathlons, marathons, bike races)
Medical history (heart condition, history of stress fractures, injuries)
Sociological Factors
Sociological factors might also be referred to as lifestyle factors and can include the following aspects.
Number of hours (on average) available for training
Occupation
Professional and personal obligations
Family, social support and relationships
Athlete’s daily routine, including the hours available during each day of the week for exercising
Finances
Travel
Psychological Factors
Psychological factors include, but are not limited to, the following aspects.
Confidence Self-awareness Motivation Ability to focus Performance under pressure Approach to challenges Locus of control (belief in extent to which they have control)
Addressing Limiters
Whatever an athlete’s limiters are, the training plan should reflect those areas needing additional work. If the limiter is one of the disciplines (e.g. swimming) coaches should indicate these sessions as a priority.
If something is of higher priority, athletes should dedicate their best (i.e., freshest) time to that priority. For example, if running is a limiter, and the athlete is scheduled for both a swim and a run on the same day, schedule the run when the athlete is at their best.
Coaches may also opt to add an additional training session for discipline-specific limiters, depending on the athlete’s available time to train. Drills can be incorporated into any training session to improve sport-specific technique, strength, power, agility, coordination and suppleness.
Macrocycle Phases
The Phases
In order to help an athlete peak at the right time and achieve his or her racing goals, the training objectives within the macrocycle shift throughout the course of the training plan.
Preparation Phase
This is when the coach should focus on the athlete’s physiological limiters.
For endurance triathletes, training sessions should emphasize aerobic endurance, muscular strength and technique.
Competition Phase
Training sessions become more about race-pace fitness and perfecting all of the strategies that will lead to a successful race.
To achieve this, the overall training intensity of the sessions increases.
Transition Phase
For many triathletes, this phase is at the end of the race season.
The goal in this phase is to allow time for athletes to physically and mentally rejuvenate. Therefore, this phase is characterized with very low intensity, low volume workload.
Adjusting Macrocycle Phase Duration
The total length of the macrocycle, and the length of each of its phases, should be customized based on the following factors.
An athlete’s level of fitness and experience.
The amount of time available to prepare for the A race.
Whether the A race is an IRONMAN or an IRONMAN 70.3.
The number of A races.
Beginner (Limited Endurance Experience)
A beginner is an athlete with limited endurance experience. Coaches should encourage beginners to increase the length of their training plans one to two months more than the minimum.
The Preparation phase is typically longer for the beginner athlete than the athlete who already has an endurance foundation. Early weeks focus mostly on endurance and technique. Athletes who are not currently exercising, or exercising very little, will need additional weeks of building endurance prior to starting this phase of training.
Building a good base for endurance and strength will enable athletes to endure more intense training with less risk of injury. However, coaches need to be careful to avoid burning out the beginner athlete by starting off with too high a training volume. Beginners may need to start with extremely short sessions.
Intermediate
An intermediate athlete has some experience with endurance events and a solid fitness foundation. Because they have a base fitness level, the intermediate athletes will typically spend less time in the Preparation phase than the beginner athlete.
These athletes may also be able to spend less time tapering before races than beginners.
Advanced
An advanced athlete has already developed a strong foundation of fitness and has participated in several endurance triathlons. Advanced athletes have a shorter Preparation phase than beginner and intermediate athletes.
A longer Competition phase is possible for advanced athletes and can allow for dedicating more time to increasing sustainable speed. Overall intensity and load will still need to be managed in order to avoid overtraining.
Preparation subphases
General Preparation
The General Preparation subphase may be referred to as the “conditioning” or “base” phase.
The focus of this subphase is on aerobic endurance and building strength.
The training plan should focus on workouts that target the aerobic energy system to improve cardiovascular and muscular training effects and the utilization of carbohydrates and fats.
Athletes will also work to improve technique, form and skills, especially on their physiological limiters.
Resistance training during this phase will help increase muscle recruitment and strength, and prepare the athlete for higher volume and intensity work.
Specific Preparation
Specific preparation is where athletes start to integrate race-specific training.
The focus shifts to more threshold training to build sustainable speed and power.
For endurance athletes, volume increases progressively as intensity increases.
Emphasis shifts to the development of specific endurance with the use of sport-specific interval-based training methods. This allows for a transfer of training effects into the Competition phase.
Athletes can start to use races to provide feedback about their preparedness for competition.
Coaches should evaluate race results and testing data, and modify training plans based on the quantitative and qualitative feedback.
Competition Phase
Muscular Endurance and Power
For endurance athletes, being able to compete at race pace doesn’t just mean getting faster; it means building sustainable speed (anaerobic endurance) and power.
Pre-Competition subphase
The Pre-competition subphase can include races or race simulations.
To allow for B races, the coach should manipulate training volume (frequency and duration) and intensity before and after the race.
Competition subphase
During the Main Competition subphase, the coach should develop training plans that maintain or continue to improve on the athlete’s performance by using sport-specific training activities (such as bricks), technical and tactical exercises, and through the use of simulated training sessions and B priority races.
Define Competition Schedule
B and C Events
The coach and athlete should evaluate any other races or training events that will occur during the overall training schedule.
As previously mentioned, these secondary races are referred to as B and C races.
How Many? How Often?
Too much high-intensity training can lead to injury or burnout, regardless of the experience level of the athlete.
To determine how often an athlete should compete, the coach and athlete should compare the athlete’s list of desired races and events to the training plan to see where they fit in.
Adding and Limiting Races
If an athlete is struggling after a few events, coaches may suggest eliminating some of the B or C races and focusing only on those that support the primary goal.
Transition Phase
The Transition phase of the macrocycle is typically used for vacations, active recovery, participating in other sports, resistance training to recover muscular strength and weight gain to recover pounds lost during endurance training.
As previously mentioned, this period may be scheduled between macrocycles within a race season, or at the end of the race season.
If athletes initiate a new Preparation phase without properly and fully recovering, it’s likely that performance will be impaired and the risk of injury will increase.
Purpose of Mesocycles
Mesocycles help manage training load by balancing periods of “loading” with periods of “unloading.”
They allow the coach to plan training for a moderate length of time without investing time and energy into planning too far ahead.
Mesocycle Structure
Mesocycles can be as short as two microcycles, but are usually three to six microcycles in length.
Three week mesocycles are typical, and are comprised of two microcycles of loading and one microcycle of unloading.
Establishing Volume
- Volume = frequency x duration.
If Janet runs twice a week, for 60 minutes each session, her run volume is 120 minutes.
For ease of planning, in this course, total volume of training will be expressed in hours. - Determine the maximum number of hours an athlete will need to train on the highest volume weeks of training to achieve his or her goals.
- Once the coach and athlete have established the maximum training volume, the next step is to determine the initial training volume.
More advanced athletes who are coming out of a transition period where they have been active should be able to start at a higher volume than a novice. - A common question is “How much can a coach increase in volume per microcycle?”
The more time an athlete has from the start date of her training to the competition date, the more gradual the progression can be to reach the maximum volume of training.
Athletes with advanced fitness levels can progress to the maximum volume in less time. - Once the maximum training volume and initial training volume are documented on the training plan, the coach should document the training volume (in hours) for each microcycle.
Training Session Frequency and Duration
- Key Training Sessions
At a minimum, for each discipline, athletes should have one key higher intensity training session and a key endurance session per microcycle. In this example, the three Zone 3 sessions on Tuesday-Thursday are the higher intensity sessions and the longer duration sessions on Friday-Sunday are the key endurance sessions.
Optional training sessions will be scheduled based the athlete’s needs and constraints, such as disciplines needing improvement, time availability and level of experience. In addition, strength and conditioning sessions will be included.
The frequency of training sessions can vary between microcycles depending on the needs of the athlete. Since Janet is starting out at 10 hours per week, she has enough time to complete one key higher intensity session and a key endurance session for each sport, as well as some supporting sessions. Two sessions for strength training will also be included. 2. Frequency The frequency (or number) of sessions is again dependent on the:
Athlete’s experience and fitness level.
Amount of time available to train.
Sport-specific limiters that may need to be addressed.
Phase in the training plan.
3. Duration
The overall duration of each discipline will be determined when scheduling the microcycle training sessions. Typically, more time is dedicated to cycling because it is the discipline that will take the most time to complete in the IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3.
Duration can also be determined based on key sessions and the athlete’s needs and limiters. What’s important is that athletes train at a volume that develops resiliency in tendons and ligaments, improves range of motion, and increases muscular elasticity & strength, so that they are prepared for higher intensity training sessions.
Establishing Training Intensity
Exercise intensity is directly related to oxygen consumption and can be measured using a variety of variables including heart rate, perceived exertion, power, pace etc.
Scheduling Intensity: Preparation Phase
- Building Endurance Base
The goal in the General Preparation subphase is to build an endurance base and to train the body to utilize fats as the primary source of fuel via the aerobic pathway. Volume is the primary source of training load. Therefore, in this subphase, overall intensity is low to medium (Zone 2-3), but this does NOT mean that these training sessions will only emphasize endurance. - Variations of Stress
Higher intensity work can be introduced fairly early in the Preparation phase. Some variance in stress can be achieved through a variety of cadence and hill work for the bike, strength-related sessions in swim (paddles and buoys), and hill work for run. - Training Zones
Athletes with a lower initial fitness level will spend a majority of the General Prep sub-phase in Zone 2 and move into Zone 3 for the Specific Preparation sub-phase.
Athletes with higher fitness levels may have a shorter General Preparation sub-phase, if any, and can maintain an average intensity in Zones 3 for this entire phase.
