3 Must Do's for Beginner Triathletes

Triadict Coaching
Jan 4
3 min read

Updated: Jan 11

Nothing beats that feeling of being super motivated, and ready to take on a new challenge. Most often that is the feeling of a beginner triathlete. Excitement like never before. Great!!! This comes with moments of uncontrollability leading to, not just doing the wrong type of training early on, but also emptying your wallet way too soon.(yes, eventually you will need to spend some cash) Over exertion and spending money is easy, but thats also the most common rookie errors we as new triathletes can make. So how to start then as a rookie triathlete?

Research the Sport

The info is out there. You Tube, Google and all the socials. Go research what the sport is about on all levels. The more info you gather, the better you will know how to go about it. See what others do. Go find out what will be required by you to do your first Sprint distance triathlon or Half-Ironman. Try to understand the sport, especially the training side of things. Find athletes or coaches online, and schedule a free call with them to get all your info. Save yourself time and money by talking to people with experience in the sport. Be guided. As you learn more about triathlon, the easier it will be to identify and set your goals. As you read along during your research, you will realize why a coach and structured training plan is the best way forward.

Just get going...

You will need endurance sessions, and higher intensity sessions to eventually get maximum gains. Most likely you will start your training without a coach or training plan. Although not the best way to start, you can still get going on your own. Just be conservative. For now, just start off with easy 20-30min runs, or 45-60min runs if you have some experience in running. The same for cycling, 60-90min easy rides are good for now. Once a week, ad 1 x higher intensity run where you do anything from 200meters up to 1200m. Basic interval training. The same for cycling. 2-8min reps at RPE 7-9 with enough rest will get you going. Now swimming is a different game for many. I would suggest to initially start off with basic endurance swims, allowing yourself enough recovery. Remember, it's gonna be a game of identifying your level of fitness, potential and limitations in the pool. So, go swim 5 x sets where you swim as far as possible. Maybe you can only do 200m without rest the first time. That's a great start. Now recover, and go again. You will soon identify where you at, and then you can adjust your swim training accordingly. Just start. In general 4-6 training sessions a week are more than enough for a newbie. As you go along, you can progressively increase the training load. Improvement comes with progressive overload. If you are new, and need some guidance, send me message and I will help you out.

Save your money

Ahh, probably the beginner athlete's biggest pitfall. Buying fancy equipment. Signing up at your gym is easy, going to the gym consistently is tough. First exercise at home, get into the habit of training, then go buy that expensive gym membership. So, start training with the equipment you have. You don't need a triathlon bike, new shoes or a smart watch to get going. Start with the running shoes you have. You only need goggles to get going with the swim. For the cycling you need any bike, helmet and and some shoes. You can even just begin on an indoor bike if you have access to a gym. Many athletes start with their mountain bikes. For the run training it's wise to learn what Zone 2 running is. Distance, time and RPE is all you need to know for now. So no need to go buy the latest Nike shoes or Garmin Smart watch ok. As times goes on, and you realize you want to do the sport long term, then you can start looking at spending some money on gadgets and gear.

"It's all about Less Complexity and More Action", says Lowaldo, founder of Triadict Coaching.

Let's Recap. Go get info about the lifestyle of being an amateur triathlete. Start training with 3-5hours a week and be conservative with your training load the first month. Buy or rent only the minimum equipment needed to get you going.

Live Limitless!!!

Cheers,

Lowaldo vd Merwe

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