how do these guys do it?
32
Member
1381 days
escapeartist posted 3 years ago.
Having been a professional athlete in the past (and having lived with one too -argh) I can tell you it's quite simple... These guys do nothing much apart from train.
First of all you have to have a good base, so it takes a few years of consistently hard training in order to be able to produce that sort of volume (it sounds opbvious but you can't go from 2 to 6 hours a day in a year). You then have to have a very well designed training programme, focused on one (or maybe two) races a year.
And the other secret is: you have no life outside the sport. I'm not saying this in a bad way, but when i rowed i only did three things, row, sleep and eat. I really did not do ANYTHING else... I woke up, ate, rowed, ate, slept, rowed, ate, rowed ate and slept. Literally. I was lucky enough to have supportive people to wash my clothes, occasionally cook my food and do all th little things that take so much time, but the most important things in my life were training and sleeping... Oh... and sleep was so importnat that going out any day of the week apart from before a day off was unthinkable.
Fun... for a while...
Enjoy a normal life and train to your limits.
One last thing. These superathletes are usually very fortunately not prone to injuries - not sure how they do it (good practice, genetics or goo technique) and so can go uninterrpted for years. Having a chat at some guys at the Olympics it turns out the ones who make it to that level are the ones who have been less injured throughout the years...
Long rant... sorry
13
Member
1314 days
AnderTri posted 3 years ago.
escapeartist wrote:
Having been a professional athlete in the past (and having lived with one too -argh) I can tell you it's quite simple... These guys do nothing much apart from train.
First of all you have to have a good base, so it takes a few years of consistently hard training in order to be able to produce that sort of volume (it sounds opbvious but you can't go from 2 to 6 hours a day in a year). You then have to have a very well designed training programme, focused on one (or maybe two) races a year.
And the other secret is: you have no life outside the sport. I'm not saying this in a bad way, but when i rowed i only did three things, row, sleep and eat. I really did not do ANYTHING else... I woke up, ate, rowed, ate, slept, rowed, ate, rowed ate and slept. Literally. I was lucky enough to have supportive people to wash my clothes, occasionally cook my food and do all th little things that take so much time, but the most important things in my life were training and sleeping... Oh... and sleep was so importnat that going out any day of the week apart from before a day off was unthinkable.
Fun... for a while...
Enjoy a normal life and train to your limits.
One last thing. These superathletes are usually very fortunately not prone to injuries - not sure how they do it (good practice, genetics or goo technique) and so can go uninterrpted for years. Having a chat at some guys at the Olympics it turns out the ones who make it to that level are the ones who have been less injured throughout the years...
Long rant... sorry
no hey that shines some light on ti right there for me. i mean, i am hard trainer dont get me wrong, just lately i have felt that i have ha dno life outside my training is all. your from Cambridge huh i assumed you rowed for that school, thats awesome
180
Member
1321 days
trigirl97 posted 3 years ago.
escapeartist hit it right on. These folks usually have years, not months, of training under their belts. And that's ALL they do.
I am an age-group/athena/back-of-the-packer who started with practically no base and it's taken me three years of consistent training to elevate my endurance.
It takes time and lots of it to accumulate that type of volume. Case in point: look at the average age of the elite professional triathlete. These folks are usually in their mid-30s. That's because it takes a long time to be able to perform at that high level.
Just have fun and focus on what your abilities and time will allow. Triathlon is my hobby. So I have to keep that in mind at all times, even tough it's hard not to get sucked in. :)
"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." ~T.S. Eliot
trigirl97.blogspot.com
97
Member
1373 days
xcdave posted 3 years ago.
Just to put it all in perspective - I did a triathlon as part of a team a few years back in Michigan when they had the US Pro championship. Our swimmer was a national champion masters distance swimmer, our cyclist was a state champion time trialist, and I've run a 14:10 5k. Obviously we flew right through the transitions, because all you had to do was tag your teammate.
I don't remember who won it, but I do remember Mike Pigg smoked us by almost 5 minutes all by himself...
82
Member
1874 days
trianimal posted 3 years ago.
trigirl97 wrote:
escapeartist hit it right on. These folks usually have years, not months, of training under their belts. And that's ALL they do.I am an age-group/athena/back-of-the-packer who started with practically no base and it's taken me three years of consistent training to elevate my endurance.
It takes time and lots of it to accumulate that type of volume. Case in point: look at the average age of the elite professional triathlete. These folks are usually in their mid-30s. That's because it takes a long time to be able to perform at that high level.
Just have fun and focus on what your abilities and time will allow. Triathlon is my hobby. So I have to keep that in mind at all times, even tough it's hard not to get sucked in. :)
So where do you swim?
414
Member
1376 days
trithis04 posted 3 years ago.
At one time, I looked at volume of training put in by pros Iike Reid, Lessing, and the like and imagined how it is possible to put in that amount of work, even with a open schedule. However, after giving up my previous carreer in the military and going back to school full-time, I'm starting to understand. The body is an amazing thing! It is just a matter of having the time and using it wisely. Now, by no means does my schedule or ability allow me to duplicate a day in the shoes of Peter Reid, but the extra free time has offered me an opportunity to advance my level of training significantly.
With consistant workouts focused with the proper discipline, eating, and sleep habits one's ablilty to perform multiple distance workouts improves greatly. The body adapts to the change, but it must be done slowly. The key here is to have the TIME to fit it all in and DISCIPLINE to make it consistant. At one point, I tried balancing work (which consisted deploying outside the U.S. w/out a bike or access to a swimming facility) and Ironman training. My goal in this situation was just successful completion of the race, but take away all the B.S. and give me the time to do it right: Different story!
So, I'm starting to understand how that level of volume is possible. Although, I only have one more year in the wounderful world of academey. After that, I guess it's back to reality! I going to try and make the best of it while it lasts.
[FONT=Impact]-Jason
"Fatigue will make cowards of us all!"
13
Member
1314 days
AnderTri posted 3 years ago.
trithis04 wrote:
At one time, I looked at volume of training put in by pros Iike Reid, Lessing, and the like and imagined how it is possible to put in that amount of work, even with a open schedule. However, after giving up my previous carreer in the military and going back to school full-time, I'm starting to understand. The body is an amazing thing! It is just a matter of having the time and using it wisely. Now, by no means does my schedule or ability allow me to duplicate a day in the shoes of Peter Reid, but the extra free time has offered me an opportunity to advance my level of training significantly.With consistant workouts focused with the proper discipline, eating, and sleep habits one's ablilty to perform multiple distance workouts improves greatly. The body adapts to the change, but it must be done slowly. The key here is to have the TIME to fit it all in and DISCIPLINE to make it consistant. At one point, I tried balancing work (which consisted deploying outside the U.S. w/out a bike or access to a swimming facility) and Ironman training. My goal in this situation was just successful completion of the race, but take away all the B.S. and give me the time to do it right: Different story!
So, I'm starting to understand how that level of volume is possible. Although, I only have one more year in the wounderful world of academey. After that, I guess it's back to reality! I going to try and make the best of it while it lasts.
give some insight onto your training, i am 21 years of age and it looks like we are in the smae boat
2334
Member
2426 days
Tribro posted 3 years ago.
I think Matt was speaking from the professional level of winning races. That at the highest level some genetic make-up does apply. While I believe this to be true to some extent. Clearly Lance Armstrong VO2 Max is a factor in his ability to race, but at the same time that guy works harder, longer, and smarter than anyone else out there. Could he win on the work effort alone. It certainly is possible.
On the other hand, as many have elluded to in this post. Persistence, Time, Smart training can lead anyone to perform at the top of their age group or class in my opinion. While I currently don't put in the effort and am a mid to back of the pack racer, my brothers have moved up to professional status winning an Ironman and the youngest placing respectably in his first season. So genetically speaking we're from the same mold. Yet they put the time and effort and have achieved the results. There are no swimmers, cyclists, or runners in our history. Quite frankly no sports at all, aside from my Grandma who played a little baseball.
As well, BigMatt, was well, big for most of his youth. So one wouldn't of have believed he'd be a professional triathlete looking at him 6 years ago. But 6 years of training consistently can make an impact.
Anyway - point is if you believe in achieving something then go out and attempt to achieve it. Most of what holds us back is our own mental shortcomings. If at the end of the journey you don't quite make it to level you wished, at least you made an attempt and lived a good lifestyle in the process. Much more than most of can say.
Now, if only I could practice what I preach :)
414
Member
1376 days
trithis04 posted 3 years ago.
Ander Tri,
To start, I take a comprehensive view on training. I need to account for all of my time and make a routine that will allow for the most efficient use of that time. This includes what I mentioned previously: eating, sleeping, training, and daily activities. When you get an overview and plan accordingly it makes it much easier to maintain a consistent schedule.
My training starts with a scrutinizing look at my schedule. This is relatively easy now, due to the fact that I have the dates and time of my classes well in advance. With that information, I am able to determine on what days I can do certain workouts. This allows me to stay consistent. Now, that being said, I understand not everyone can predict their schedule, but just sitting down once a week (or month, etc.) and getting idea of what you will do and when, dependent on a predicted schedule helps a great deal.
From the last week of March-April during this semester (which for me ended today with a history final), my weekly training schedule looked something like the following (deviations did occur when I had certain academic commitments and weather):
Monday
Morning: Weights, Core, Stretch (1hr.)
Afternoon: Long Run (80-105 min. during the winter; 90-180 min. at beginning of build-up)
Evening: Stretch (15-20min.)
Tuesday
Morning: Swim 3000m.-4000m. (60-80 minutes)
Afternoon: Recovery Trainer Ride (60 minutes) and Stretch
Evening: Rest (i.e. study)
Wednesday (for me; mid-week recovery day)
Morning: Weights, Core, Stretch (1hr.)
Afternoon: Easy Run (45-50 minutes)/Stretch
Evening: Rest
Thursday
Morning: Swim 3000m.-4000m. (60-80 minutes)
Afternoon: Bike (120-180 minutes)
Evening: Rest/Stretch (15-20min.)
Friday
Morning: Sleep (late class 10:10 am)
Afternoon: Bike (120min. road or trainer 60 min. of high intensity intervals)
Evening: Tempo Run (50-60 min.)/Stretch
Saturday
Morning: Easy Swim 2000-2500 (Optional)
Afternoon: Run/Speed workout (6-7 miles of pyramid based intervals)
Evening: Rest
Sunday
Morning-Afternoon: Long Ride (220-360 min.)/Transition Run (15-20 min.)
This was my rough schedule for the first part the Ironman build-up. Things to consider when reviewing this are weather and other conditions. The majority of my winter rides were indoors on the trainer, so volume does vary a significantly. I can do the three hour trainer rides at the beginning of the indoor season; however, they become exponentially more difficult and boring as time wears on.
With this regiment, I also am very particular to get at least eight hour of sleep each night. I eat four or five times daily and always carry a special needs bag around campus. I keep an apple, banana, or cereal bar in there for post workout needs. I try and follow diet guidlines that you can find on any edurance site. Yes, this does mean during the build (for me, April-June) no beer! Not a popular choice on the PSU campus!
In closing, I will say that when I first started training I would not have thought that this type of regiment was possible for a guy who use to (and still does) take pride in one time having a 400 lbs. bench press. Peter Reid I am not, but I certainly do take pride in my accomplishments to this point. I feel very fortunate to be in situation where I can commit this level of time and energy to a sport and way of life. I’m steadfast believer that if you want to do it you’ll find a way. And as I mentioned, if you have the TIME and DISCIPLINE to make it happen, it can be done. The most vaulable lesson I learned: There is no substitute of DISCIPLINE. You can have the motivation, commitment, energy, desire, and the list goes on, but without the DISCIPLINE to an do it and make it consistent, they are just fancy nouns with little value. :D
[FONT=Impact]-Jason
"Fatigue will make cowards of us all!"
82
Member
1874 days
trianimal posted 3 years ago.
training schedule:
Mon - swim bike run
Tue - swim run bike
Wed - bike swim run
Thur - run bike swim
Fri - bike run swim
Sat - rest
Sun - race
repeat as needed
relax and have fun with it!
i was just reading about the guys who do all these crazy hours of training, and i am just wondering if anyone knows how they really have made it possible sot hey can recover so well and not overtrain in order to keep on going day after day. i am whipped aftter a 40 mile ride, and can sometimes do something later, but it hurts.
these guys just kina go from one thing to the next based on their training log, and their volume is hudge as well. i just dont get it. they gott be on something, i saying in a humerous tone might i add for that statement.
any thoughts.......