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EndurancePeriodization

16-week Olympic triathlon training program

v1

A structured 16-week endurance program focusing on progressive overload and deload cycles to prepare for an Olympic distance triathlon.

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triathlonenduranceperiodizationolympic-distance

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FitnessGrid is an AI coach that plans your week and adapts as you go. Install 16-week Olympic triathlon training program and your coach will follow this protocol every week, learn from what you actually do, and adjust on the fly.

  • Your coach builds the week from this skill
  • Adapts to your actual progress, not a static template
  • Free to start — no credit card, ~60 seconds to set up

Procedure

  1. Assess Baseline Fitness & Preferences

    • Confirm the user meets the prerequisites: ability to run 30–60 minutes, bike for 60 minutes, and swim 400m non-stop.
    • Call get_user_preferences to determine current fitness levels and scheduling constraints.
    • Call compute_hr_zones to establish intensity ranges (Zone 2 for Base, Zone 3/4 for Build, Zone 5 for Peak).

  2. Phase 1: Base (Weeks 1–6)

    • Use create_week to initialize the first six weeks focusing on aerobic foundation.
    • Schedule 2x Swims (technique/catch drills), 2x Bikes (45–90 min, Zone 2), 2x Runs (30–50 min aerobic), and 1x Strength session per week.
    • Apply create_note with coaching cues: "Grab the water, don't slice it" for swims and "Run tall" for runs.
    • Implement a Deload Cycle in Week 4: reduce total volume by 30–50% while keeping 1–2 short high-intensity sessions.

  3. Phase 2: Build (Weeks 7–11)

    • Shift focus to Lactate Threshold and power.
    • Program interval swims (e.g., 100m fast / 30s rest) and bike tempo intervals (3 x 10 mins at 85–90% Max HR).
    • Introduce "Brick" sessions: In Week 10, schedule a bike ride immediately followed by a 15–20 min run.
    • Implement a Deload Cycle in Week 8.
    • Increase intensity/pace (overload) rather than just volume during this phase.

  4. Phase 3: Peak (Weeks 12–15)

    • Simulate race specificity and VO2 Max demands.
    • Schedule race-pace swim sets (4 x 200m) and VO2 Max bike intervals (4 min hard / 2 min easy).
    • Include long simulation bricks (90 min bike + 40 min run).
    • Implement a Deload Cycle in Week 12.
    • Apply coaching cues for efficiency: "Spin the gears, don't mash them" to preserve glycogen.

  5. Phase 4: Taper (Week 16)

    • Reduce total volume by approximately 60%.
    • Maintain intensity with short, race-pace bursts to maintain neuromuscular "pop" and facilitate supercompensation.

  6. Monitoring & Adjustments

    • Advise the user to monitor morning resting heart rate.
    • If a spike in resting heart rate is reported, use update_workout to reduce intensity or trigger an unplanned deload day.
    • Use add_exercise to incrementally increase weekly volume by 5–10% during loading weeks.

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