Have you transformed yourself; became something you weren’t before? My last few posts have been about how between 2012 and continuing through today, I went through a transformation. I was overweight and out of shape with bad blood test results, badly depressed, and a mostly inactive person.

I have become a lighter, more fit, mildly depressed, fairly active triathlete! If you missed my other posts, you can check out how I started, my first big goal, and then what I did to stay motivated.

So how does an elite triathlete train for optimum race day performance? I don’t know. Honestly, I really just want to be sexy, less depressed and finish races at least mid-way or higher in my age group.  I’m happy if I can improve with each race. All I can tell you is what works for me. If you’re starting out, I hope you take care, do that doctor check in thing that nobody does, and always remember that results vary.

The following is what I usually plan for each week. Sometimes I change it up or take a rest day when I don’t get enough sleep – sleep is critical for recovery! Sometimes my work requires meeting or events that mean I have to shift around workouts.

Swim:

• Day 1 – Long course up to 2.5km.
• Day 2 – Intervals or Fast 50’s as I like to call them.
• Day 3 – Longer swim mixed with kick sets

Bike:

• Spin Class – at least 2x a week.

Run:

• Treadmill for 30 minutes – walk on incline to warm up then run at 6.5mph for 2-3 minutes, then walk for 1 minute then repeat.

Strength:

• Day 1: Upper Body
• Day 2: Lower Body
• Day 3: Upper + Lower Body
• Essentials and Core Exercises – 2 times a week

Most of the time, I am done and on to my usual day before 10 am. My work time is usually 11-9. In upcoming posts, I’ll give more details on my workouts and diet.

(I want to give a shout out to Shay-lon, a fitness enthusiast, trainer, and blogger living in the USA (but don’t hold that against her). I follow her blog and occasionally give her a hard time. She bugged me to write about this stuff even though it’s not my usual focus. I’ve enjoyed the process and now, when I die, there is a record for posterity.)