Countless people join the sport of triathlon each year. Many become severely addicted and grow into everyday trainers with long-range goals. Others, however, struggle and fail, competing in only one before selling their bikes and using their swim goggles for protective eyewear on home improvement projects. Any person who has ever been involved in a triathlon can understand why people become attached, but the harder concept to comprehend is why some quit so early. A good possibility is that they simply did not plan well at the beginning, thus setting themselves up for failure.

To plan properly, that is once you have decided to go all in and actually do a race, whether it is a sprint, Olympic, Half Iron or Full Iron, you must select the best time frame for training. To begin, pick a race that is at least twelve weeks away. Anything closer will cramp your training and prevent your body from being totally prepared. Race day then will be a nightmare, for attempting a triathlon when being undertrained rarely results in that warm, fuzzy feeling needed to come back again and again.

Next, generate a training pace that allows your body to adjust. Throwing yourself into a massive workout will hurt your body, which again sours the experience. Ease into a pattern that has logical, safe increments. This will give your body time to rest, recover, and progress, and it will let you feel more accomplished and confident as the race date grows closer.

Finally, when scheduling your workouts, plan all of your swims first. Time in the water, either in the pool or open water, is the most difficult to attain, so make swimming your planning priority. Training for the running and the biking can be done just about any place at any time, so fill those in once you have mapped out your aquatic times.

If you begin early and establish a realistic plan that takes into consideration both time and patience, you stand a far better chance of enjoying the actual race. The goal of a triathlon is to get you to come back and be a true member of the sport, so plan well and you can change your life in ways you previously didn't think you could.

Triathletes, especially new ones, often find off-season training to be difficult and less intense. While clearly you cannot be as aggressive in your workouts during the off-season, as you are not searching to peak then for a particular race or time period, you can generate a training schedule that permits you to establish a motivated approach that will strengthen your weakest points and help you to avoid the dreaded plateau.

Implementing focus months can allow you to place all of your emphasis on a given discipline. For example, if you struggle with the swim and find yourself to be more proficient on the bike and on the run, spend a dedicated two months perfecting your abilities in the water. Swimming five to six days a week, rather than rotating each day like in a normal in-season workout cycle, will help you make greater gains in both strength and form. While you can do other workouts to maintain your run and bike, the majority of your efforts should be in the pool.

To do so, train hard for two weeks in the given sport, then schedule in an easy week of rest and reflection. Keep repeating this cycle for up to two months, and then turn your sights to one of the two other disciplines. After a six-month off-season, you will have had two focus months for each sport, and your overall proficiency in each will have improved without question. Then, as the triathlon season approaches, begin the normal rotational schedule that will permit you to peak in time for the races in which you will compete.

Sacrificing time on two to work on one may seem like odd advice, but it is sound and logical, especially during the off-season. Getting over that mental block so many triathletes have, the one that drives you to work on everything all the time, represents the first obstacle. The second hurdle to clear is training the right way. If you want to improve the swim, study quick swimmers. Watch their form and their habits, and do what you can to mimic them. Immerse yourself in the culture of the sport in which you need to improve.

If you try this approach in a diligent and dedicated manner, you will find that the gains you make set up your later triathlon season better than your old training methods. In your next off-season, give monthly rotations a try. I think you'll love the results.