In this third and final part dedicated on optimizing the first three months of an Ironman distance triathlon season, Coach MD Luca Bianchini outlined the guidelines on how to set up a weekly training schedule for in Ironman Triathlon. “In the various books on training methodology – says Coach Bianchini – we talk about training cycles. The practice is to divide these cycles according to the days of the week and the pattern of months and weeks. Monday indicates the start of a training cycle and Sunday marks its end. Based on typical weekly commitments (for example working hours, swimming pool times, etc.) the training program is divided into 7 days. A micro-cycle (normally assimilated to a week of training) is identified as the shortest cycle in which all the conditional skills such as strength, speed and endurance are trained.”
From these initial indications, it is presumed that the minimum number of workouts to be sustained per micro-cycle is 9. “If we also want to include 2 physical training sessions – continues Coach Bianchini – which are useful to prevent injuries and improve performance, we go up to 11 workouts. But sometimes 11 workouts within a week cannot be performed due to time constrains. If this is the case, an alternative can be to perform the so-called combined workouts, at least 1 per cycle, for a total of 12 workouts.”
Various authors insist on using the week as a reference, but no one forbids extending this time to 10 days. Coach Luca Bianchini, therefore, hypothesizes two micro-cycle modes, the first based on 7 days, the second on 10. Here they are in detail:
as you can see, a high intensity workout is scheduled every day. Following this type of program for three months (even considering that you can modulate the loads) can lead to functional overload.
By extending the cycle to 10 days, however, you can give more room to recovery and aerobic training, an important basis for endurance sports. As mentioned above, this type of schedule is sometimes hard to follow due to the many commitments we all have. The 7 or 10 day schedule needs to be adapted according to the competition date (which is necessarily held on Saturday or Sunday), therefore, Coach and athlete need to work together to find the right balance between all factors.
Assuming there is a race Sunday, the week can be adapted as follows:
In the case of a race on the 7th day of training, the schedule will be as follows:
In the case of a race on the 10th day of training, the schedule will be as follows:
“The use of the JARVIS training system in triathlon – concludes Coach Luca Bianchini – allows you to perform specific training for each distance. There are different steps, from the analysis of the performance model to the planning of training. The continuous feedback between athlete and coach represents the ideal combination to optimize performance. And the collaboration between the MD Coach, the triathlon coach and the athlete is the optimal solution for scheduling training times and plan methods to achieve the desired goal.”
To better understand how functional indoor training in triathlon with MD JARVIS can optimize performance in the first 3 months of an Ironman season, click here.
Indoor triathlon training, especially Ironman distance training, is increasingly present in the life of athletes, amateurs and professionals. If before “smart training” was considered an option for a few, today it is becoming an integral part of a training strategy aimed at optimizing the performance for many. A multipurpose tool like MagneticDays JARVIS smart trainer allows the coach (and the athlete) to introduce specific quality indoor cycling sessions within a weekly schedule.
The use of MD JARVIS smart trainer in weekly indoor training: when and why.
For an athlete, the first three months of each new triathlon season are the most important ones because they test the results of all the hard work carried out during the off season. Once you get to the race, finding the right rhythm, the right pace is key. To do this you need to build endurance, which is gradually developed during each training session. In any triathlon race, especially on Ironman distance, the cycling segment represents a crucial part, certainly the longest portion, and this is why it is fundamental to train it at best without loading the body with exhausting workouts that, in the long run, can only worsen the performance.
“The functional evaluation test with JARVIS – says MD Coach Luca Bianchini – has a dual purpose. It serves both as a verification of the work done during winter and as a starting point for preparing a set of workouts aimed at optimizing the physical condition in progress, and therefore, performance. At first, the new threshold and the respective training zones are identified, both in terms of Watt and heart rate. Then, we analyze the characteristics of the cadence and the over-the-threshold capacity to understand how you can intervene to improve performance. All this keeping in mind that during the first three months of the season the athlete, and his/her body, needs to get used to a more constant pace of physical and mental effort.”
The advantages of a MagneticDays personalized training program
A personalized training program must necessarily start from good planning. The underlying concept of the HTT methodology is to follow the polarized method. This training method consists in investing about 75-80% of the training volume in the aerobic zone, while the remaining is at high intensity. Considering that an amateur athlete spends approximately 10 hours of training for the cycling part (cycling and triathlon), about 7-8 are typically performed on the weekend with long rides. The remaining 2 hours of training should be done at high intensity. These two hours of high intensity training can be carried on MagneticDays JARVIS smart trainer to perform HTT workouts and thus optimize the indoor training program.
“The concept behind every workout – continues Coach MD Luca Bianchini – is to increase and improve performance which, in the case of cycling, translates into the supply of more watt at the same heart rate. Using the heart rate (internal load) as an absolute reference can sometimes be misleading. In case of fatigue, the heart struggles to rise and to modulate based on the watt delivered, while the watt (external load) are always the same and do not take into account the physical state of the athlete. With MD JARVIS smart trainer, the heart can be seen as an internal state control system which follows an external load that the coach is able to verify together with the athlete’s feedback. Increasing the threshold watts is not enough for excellent performance. Theoretically the threshold is the power that we can maintain for about 60 minutes, but not everybody can do this, sometimes because those watts have not been consolidated.”
In this time of the year (from March to June), when the Ironman triathlon season has not yet started, we are in the optimal period to consolidate the performance improved during the winter. The first races will serve as a test to see if the programming has had its effects. Each athlete’s goals are different. There are those who want to compete a race for the pleasure of doing it, and those who want to achieve important goals (from the podium to the Italian sprint triathlon Championship to the final of the Ironman in Hawaii). What unites all these athletes and the variety of their goals is to perform at their top during the competition. The best training for a race is the race itself, but you obviously cannot compete every week and expect a perfect performance every competition. Furthermore, to train for triathlon, where the effort is 100%, you need to follow an even more focused program.
If we are only talking about one of the three disciplines in triathlon (cycling) programming is quite simple, but being able to perfectly modulate all three disciplines is complex. There are some factors that must be taken into account:
- number of days until the target race
- time available for training
- load capacity of the athlete
- alternation between days of high intensity and low intensity
- training insertion of combined workouts (generally cycling-running)
- interpretation of the performance model
- enhancement of the deficient discipline
These are just a few points a coach needs to keep in mind to optimize the annual schedule. In the second part of this article we will analyze how to optimize the performance in triathlon.
Andrea Gabba is one of the most important Italian Triathlon Coach with a great experience at international level. Dedication, passion, working method and results are the fundamentals of his training phylosophy, because quality is the only way to obtain great results.
Palmarès of Andrea Gabba
Andrea Gabba is a young Coach with a fantastic palmarès: he is currently working as Coach of Italian Triathlon National Team Under 23. He coached two times the Italian Triathlon National Team at the Olympics Games (2004 and 2008) and he was the technical manager of Turkish National Team from 2013 to 2016 (getting the World Championship and European Olympics Games qualifications). Furhermore, Andrea was an Ironman also!
Hi Andrea! What does triathlon mean for you?
Triathlon, like my family, is my life, job and passion (I started in 1992 in Montecarlo) and for me and my wife Nadia Cortassa (5th place at Olympic Games – Athens 2004 and 2006 World Champion in team competition) triathlon is a lifestyle in terms of healthy values that we try to teach to our sons and athletes day by day. Triathlon means coordination, optimization, concentration, respect, love for nature, pay attention to itself and other people.
www.trifunfit.com
Swim, bike, run. Tre disciplines completely different that they become one. What is your approach to training in professional athlete and amateur respectively?
Regarding the professional triathlete I define the limits and contents and built tailor-made training programs for him. On the contrary, amateur has a life completely different as compared to a pro athlete: family, job and friendly relations are his priorities. He talks with me about time, goals and availability, and I must prepare the best possible built training program, in order to obtain the best results. Professional triathlete makes itself available wherease I make myself available for amateur. In any case, the goal is the same: optimize work for better performance.
Quality is a must for you. Whats is the role of Indoor Training in your planning? And how do you consider MagneticDays in your training plans?
Time optimization is the key for both professional triathlete and amateur. I have always considered indoor training as a must in my training plan during whole the year (I worked indoor only in the winter until recently). Fortunately, since I work with MagneticDays (the first Indoor Training System based on a scientific approach) I was able to convert my ideas into reality, offering high quality built training to my athletes during spring and summer also (at least twice a week), because there are specific workouts that are more efficient if done with this training system if compared to others on the road.
Bike strong to run strong. In terms of results, how MagneticDays affects the performance of your athletes?
MagneticDays is “more than a smart trainer” and my athletes have obtained great results. Each workout is planned in 3 phases on the base of specific physiological values of the athletes, so I can prepare the best possible training in order to reach our goals. Furthermore, MagneticDays is “no shortcuts”, because we can work with Newton and RPM that can be controlled from beginning to end.
I am very much satisfied of MagneticDays because there are two great possibilities: create your personal workout (I invented a specific training for triathlon) or “pedal” on JARVIS System the most famous cycle route in the world (or your personal cycle route) as .tcx or .gpx file imported on your personal profile on www.magneticdays.com.
MagneticDays allows me to simulate any bike race course, setting the personal values of Watt for each athlete. So, I can work specifically on all of the race segments (start, jerks, race pace and more), obtaining great results. I work currently with international Pro athletes and MagneticDays is one of my personal fundamental points..
Here’s the advice by Coach Andrea Gabba
My personal advice for all triathletes is: “MagneticDays allows you to optimize your time and training in the best way, giving you the chance to improve yourself under each point of view.. if you try it, you love it.”