Active.cm Triathlon Home Page. Joe Friel. 10 Week Olympic Distance Training Program for Beginners. What Does 'Periodization' Mean and How Does It Work? | Trifuel. If you have ever wondered how the Russians were kicking our butts for three decades in sports, here is the answer. Yes, there were some Eastern Block women that looked like they could play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, ‘Steel Curtain’, and maybe that wasn’t natural, but the answer is something called 'periodization’. Tudor Bompa, who is considered the ‘Father of Periodization’ refined the ideas of Russian sports scientists in the early 1960s. During the 1940s the Russian scientists tried dividing the training year into different training periods. Previously, the training was to maintain the same constant stresses year round. Could you imagine doing the same workouts week in and week out?
The new method was to create some periods of training that were easier then the others to promote rest and to let the body grow stronger. The first phase of training is called the Preparation (Prep) Phase. The Base Phase can last anywhere from twelve to twenty four weeks. Ramp Up Your Running for Olympic-distance Racing. In the last several weeks before your goal race, your key workouts should closely simulate the demands that will be associated with the 10K-run leg of your triathlon. The most race-specific key running workouts are tempo runs at or near race pace, moderately long runs at a moderately brisk pace and transition runs (i.e. runs immediately following a bike ride), also done at or near race pace. There are two reasons why these types of key running workouts should be emphasized late in the training cycle.
First, the body adapts very specifically to the precise nature of the exercise demands placed upon it. Running at race pace prepares your body for race-pace running better than any alternative. Doing overdistance runs at a brisk pace trains your body to finish strong better than longer, slower runs. And running in a pre-fatigued state after cycling in training prepares you to do the same in races better than any alternative. The Build and Peak Phases Don't Forget... Core Exercises for Cyclists and Triathletes - Plank and Variatio.