This plan is appropriate for a wide range of athletes. It can be used by a new triathlete to build base, or for an experienced athlete to maintain between seasons.

At an average training load of 8 hours per week, this plan will let you maintain fitness at a time of year (winter cold, summer heat) where you want to reduce the overall volume. Then, as the weather improves, you can repeat a base block with greater cycling focus (likely the most effective approach), or try a specific preparation block for an A-Priority race.

The plan consists of 12 weeks of general preparation with frequent benchmarking within your aerobic zones. I have also built in higher frequency swim and run weeks. So there are single sport focus weeks enabling you to get the most out of your eight hour allocation. By the end of the block, you will have a very clear idea of your aerobic performance/fitness across all three sports.

Generally, I try to keep the weekday sessions around an hour. On the weekend, your long endurance day is capped at no more than three hours of total training. The plan is achieveable for the motivated triathlete that is training indoors. If you get a "weather window" then you should feel free to extend the endruance workouts and/or substitute crosstraining.

The swimming program is focused on distance freestyle improvement with workout distance capped around 3000 meters (3300 yards). It is challenging and you will notice a material improvement in your swim performance by the end of the cycle.

The plan is appropriate for athletes racing all distances. There is a single strength session placed into each week. If you have the time in your schedule, then I recommend that you place a second strength session on Friday of each week.

To get this most out of this program, you should be comfortable with the following key workout distances:

Swim - up to 3,300 yards / 3,000 meters

Bike - up to 25 miles / 40 kilometers

Run - up to 8 miles / 13 kilometers

I hope you enjoy,

gordo