Free 6-month Olympic-distance triathlon training plan
This six-month standard-distance triathlon training plan is for athletes planning to do a standard-distance triathlon and training around four times a week, between seven to eight hours.
This free downloadable six-month Olympic-distance triathlon training plan is intended for individuals training around four times a week for approx 7-8hrs. It’s aimed at athletes who’d place themselves at an intermediate level in triathlon and want a longer-term plan to build towards an Olympic-distance triathlon.
Less experienced triathletes can also use one of our free triathlon training plans for beginners. Not quite ready for an Olympic triathlon yet? Learn how to move up to Olympic-distance on three training sessions a week.
Six months out from your race, you might be faced with cold and dark training conditions. Read our treadmill tips and turbo trainer tips to capitalise on your indoor workouts.
How to use the Olympic-distance triathlon training plan
Firstly, before starting this plan, we reccommend that you’ve already developed your base fitness. If not, take a step back and follow our free eight-week pre-season base training plan.
We’ve incorporated options for beginner and advanced athletes to use it too by, for example, shortening or lengthening the sessions. They can tweak it to their needs for different triathlon distances, whether that’s sprint, Olympic or longer-course racing. We’ve got separate tips on how to go from racing Olympic-distance to sprint-distance triathlon.
It’s advised to have recovery days in between the scheduled sessions. If you already play other sports or weight train, then try to blend the triathlon training into your existing schedule.
Out of four weekly sessions, at least one is in the pool and the rest are divided between running and cycling.
It’s a good idea to try to vary the routes where you do longer and steadier bike and run sessions. Remember to always take fluids with you during training to rehydrate, and include a cool-down after training sessions with some static stretching.
The intensity targets in this Olympic-distance triathlon training plan are based on Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). So you won’t necessarily need a heart-rate monitor or power meter unless you’d like extra data.
Dermott Hayes
