Essential Training Principles for Beginner Triathletes

In part 4 of the Beginner Series, we discuss training structure and key principles. After listening to this episode, you'll already be able to write a basic training plan for yourself.

HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY TOPICS: 

• Eight key training principles for beginner triathletes
• How to structure your training week
• Frequency, duration and intensity
• Distributing time between swimming, biking and running
• Micro-, meso-, and macrocycles
• How do you know if your training plan is working? 
• Common mistakes related to training principles and structure

DETAILED EPISODE SHOWNOTES: 

• We have detailed shownotes for all of our episodes. The shownotes are basically the podcast episode in written form, that you can read in 5-10 minutes. They are not transcriptions, but they are also not just surface-level overviews. They provide detailed insights and timestamps for each episode, and are great especially for later review, after you've already listened to an episode. 
• The shownotes for today's episode can be found at www.scientifictriathlon.com/beginner4/

LINKS AND RESOURCES: 

• NA

WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NEXT?

If you enjoyed this episode and have missed any of the previous installments of this series, be sure to give them a listen: 

• Beginner Series 1 – Introduction to Triathlon
• Beginner Series 2 – Selecting your first triathlon
• Beginner Series 3 – Gear and Equipment

You can find our full episode archives here, where you can filter for categories such as Training, Racing, Science & Physiology, Swimming, Cycling, Running etc.

You can also find separate archives for specific series of episodes I've done, specifically Q&A episodes, TTS Thursday episodes, and Beginner Tips episodes. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TRIATHLON: 

• The Scientific Triathlon website is the home of That Triathlon Show and everything else that we do
• Contact us through our contact form or email me directly (note - email/contact form messages get responded to much more quickly than Instagram DMs)
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• Learn more about our coaching, training plans, and training camps. We have something to offer for everybody from beginners to professionals. 

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SPONSORS: 

• Precision Fuel & Hydration help athletes personalise their hydration and fueling strategies for training and racing. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get personalised plan for your carbohydrate, sodium and fluid intake in your next event. That Triathlon Show listeners get 15% off their first order of fuel and electrolyte products. Simply use this link and the discount will be auto-applied at the checkout.

NEW BASE TRAINING PLANS - 60% LAUNCH DISCOUNT

We have just launched a set of brand new base training plans. There is a low-volume (7 hours per week average), mid-volume (10 h/wk) and high-volume (14 h/wk) version available. 

For a limited time only, until the 31st of August 2025, these plans are available on a massive discount of 60%, meaning you can purchase a plan for 30$ instead of the regular price of 75$. Use the code "BASE1" at checkout to apply this discount code. 

The plans are only available on TrainingPeaks. You can learn more about each of the plans (and purchase them, if you so desire) through the links below. 

• Low-volume Base Training Plan
• Mid-volume Base Training Plan
• High-volume Base Training Plan