The topic today is not so easy to formulate because it is supposedly so banal. The be-all and end-all for athletic performance development is regular training. More important than the intensity and duration is that you simply train regularly. I don't mean regularly in the sense of every two weeks, but rather regularly in the sense of at least 2-4 times a week.
Exercising regularly and why it is so important
The basic principle is again supercompensation. This principle states that the body reacts to a training stimulus by adapting it so that the next time the stimulus is not as stressful. This adjustment begins immediately after the load and can last for days and weeks (in the case of very intensive stimuli, eg long-distance triathlon). It is therefore important that the time between two training sessions is not too short so that the body can adapt optimally. However, the time must not be too long either, because then the adaptation also decreases again.
Competition of ToDos
All of us, if we are not a sports professional, move between the tension between job, social environment, other hobbies and of course our sport. How much time we give to the sport usually depends on how high we prioritize the training. Training often takes a back seat because something else is (supposedly) more important. So I can only recommend that you do it like I do and base your training on a sporting goal.
What is a sporting goal?
A sporting goal should be "smart": i.e. "specific" (not vague, but precise), measurable, demanding, realistic and timetable. For athletes, there is of course a specific competition, because it exactly meets the “smart” criteria. My goal is to finish the Sandman Triathlon in Swakopmund in under 5 hours. The competition is precisely defined with its distances of 1.9 - 90 - 21 kilometers, the time and the distances are clearly measurable. For me, the target time of less than 5 hours is currently quite demanding. But it is also realistic, since I can currently swim 1.9 kilometers in 33 minutes, cycle 90 kilometers in 2:45 hours and run 21 kilometers in about 1:45 hours. That means if everything goes well I can make the time. And last but not least, the competition with its start time of December 3rd, 7:00 a.m. is clearly scheduled. So I have to deliver.
After the season is before the season
When you work in the triathlon industry, peak season is peak season for me at work too. That's why I decided to put my season in autumn and winter, because then of course there's simply time to train and there isn't quite as much work to do. The crux of the matter is that in our latitudes the weather is not entirely on the side of my plan. So a competition is needed that can be held at more or less pleasant temperatures. A small secondary condition is that ideally I would also like to combine the competition with a vacation.
And so it goes
In the next blog I will tell you how to get from the idea, i.e. from the definition of a goal, to the actual achievement of the goal. A little tip: Take a look at my training plan . Although I didn't have a lot of time to build up my training, here you can see how to prepare for a specific competition and develop competition form step by step.
How do I know all this?
Since I've been doing sports, training planning and control has been my passion. To paraphrase Hannibal Smith of the A-Team, "I love it when a plan works." That's why I went through various training courses as a trainer, sports scientist and trainer. I've been training athletes since I was 18 and have taught many of these athletes how to swim , triathlon, or run. I have always written my own training plans. That's why I've always put all the units that I recommend to others through their paces on myself.
Training plans from triathlon.de
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