If you want to lay the foundations for your first year of triathlon racing, this six month programme will ensure you're ready to hit the ground running in the spring

Your triathlon journey starts here

The decision to take on a triathlon is not one to be taken lightly. Even if you have experience in one or two of the disciplines, putting it all together back to back is another matter entirely.

While you can bungle your way through a race, the smart move is to start laying down the foundations a long time ahead of race day. This will help ensure that your first race is less a fight for survival on the course, and much more of a race. By starting with a solid off season you can head into your race specific training a stronger, faster version of yourself who can knock out an hour long session without any soreness or fatigue the next day.

We achieve this with a combination of strength training, VO2 max intervals, swim technique and stacking lots of easy workouts to build our aerobic base. A successful race is built in the cold and the dark of winter, not just the warmth of summer. 

If we want to have a great summer of racing, structured training is a must, and there are two ways athletes look to achieve this. Working a coach, or by purchasing a training plan. Let's look at the pros and cons of each.  

Training Plan

Written by an experienced coach, these take the form of a series of workouts for you to follow to help you prepare for your event.

These help remove the guesswork from your training. Preventing you from going out too hard and burning out, while also reducing the risk of injury.

While some plans are simply a list of workouts, my training plans self adjust for your fitness level. They also include videos demonstrating different exercises, and come with a free training guide which helps you navigate issues such as illness, injury and schedule clashes.

Delivered via TrainingPeaks, my plans send workouts direct to your watch or cycle computer with individual targets based on your current fitness. 

No more hours trawling YouTube or creating workouts to follow in Garmin Connect. It streamlines the process and reduces the mental load.

However, there is still no accountability or feedback loop. Nobody to ask questions, or seek reassurance from when things start to go wrong. The plan may also be too easy, or hard for you. Especially if you are much stronger in one sport than the others.

Bespoke Coaching

Working with a coach on an intensive 1to1 basis is the most reliable way to improve. 

This isn't just about having someone write you a training plan around your schedule every week, it's having someone to message with your questions and to hop on a call with when the motivation takes a wobble. 

It's having an experienced eye to review videos of your form, help you pick out the best equipment for race day, choose the right events and plan your season to help you tread that tightrope between high performance and burnout. 

It's daily data analysis, comments on all your workouts, adjustments to your plan and optimisation of your diet.

The biggest downside to this is the cost. As a highly qualified and experienced coach, my bespoke coaching costs £250 a month. While I'd like to think this offers good value for money, it still puts it out of reach for many.

Additionally, some may just not want that much contact, and prefer to get on with things themselves, preferring a more hands off approach. 

MEET YOUR COACH

My name is Simon Olney, I've have spent the last ten years helping athletes achieve their goals in triathlon. I have been racing myself since 2012 with over 50 triathlon finishes and a handful of wins to my name. 

I work with athletes like you. Not professional athletes, but athletes who work full time jobs, have a family and have to pay for their own kit. I worked in the film industry for ten years, so understand the challenges that come with fitting training in around a stressful, demanding job. 

My plans are written to be simple to understand yet effective. My job is to set you up for your best ever season, not try to bamboozle you with complex language. That's not to say that my plans are basic though. They are carefully curated, tried and tested plans to help put athletes in the strongest possible position for when they start their race specific training.

I have taken my professional development very seriously. I am a British Triathlon High Performing Coach, IRONMAN Certified Coach, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Certified Nutrition Coach, Corrective Exercise Specialist, Level 2 Swimming Teacher and Level 4 Personal Trainer. 

I am committed to helping everyday athletes like you achieve their dreams at the right price.

Let's take a look at what's included

24 Week Training Plan

You will gain immediate, full access to your 24 week training plan, ready to download into your TrainingPeaks calendar. Every month I will edit the plan to fit around your ability, job and family life to ensure it is realistic and achievable.

Never used TrainingPeaks before? Don't worry, I also include my TrainingPeaks for Triathletes mini course. It helps you setup your account, sync your devices, set your thresholds and understand the jargon.

Even if everything seems a bit overwhelming, I can talk you through it all during your first coached session.

Seven Coached Sessions

As part of the programme you get seven online 1to1 coached sessions with me, a British Triathlon High Performing Coach, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Certified Nutrition Coach and Corrective Exercise Specialist.

Each session starts with an update from you about how the last block of training has gone, You can share what went well, what didn't go so well, and what your next month looks like.

I then tweak the training plan to suit you. We can extend some sessions, shorten others, add in an extra rest day, or even some additional sessions. 

We then go through a short coached session covering the following topics

Session 1: Introductions

To kick things off I want to help understand how your last season went, what you have planned for next season, and what you want your off season to look like.

If we're going to be working together, I want to really understand you to ensure that the programme can be personalised. It should be challenging in its own way, but also realistic.

This is also a chance for us to get you setup with TrainingPeaks and ensure that your thresholds are accurate so you can hit the ground running. 

By the end of this session I will have a much better idea of how to build the plan around you, and you will feel like you're in the driving seat rather than a passenger in the process. 

Session 2: Stroke Analysis

Your homework between the first and second session will be to get a video of your swimming for me to analyse. I can use thousands of hours of experience coaching athletes on poolside to give you feedback on where to improve your technique.

Can't get a video of yourself swimming? I will use some stock videos of myself and others swimming to provide you with pointers on different areas of technique.

By the end of this session you will have a clear idea on what it is you need to do to improve your swim efficiency and prevent months of frustration.

Session 3: Mobility Assessment 

We all move differently. While some of us will be as limber as teenagers, years spent sitting behind a desk will have stiffened many of us up. The result? A short stride length, poor shoulder mobility and an increased risk of injury. As a L4 personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist, I want to help you move better.

If I can extend your stride length, improve stability on the bike and get you breathing bilaterally in the swim, this is the very definition of free speed.

In this session I will ask you to perform a series of mobility tests on camera so I can ascertain your mobility levels and set you appropriate exercises to improve your performance.

By the end of this session you will have a series of exercises and stretches that will improve your athleticism as well as quality of life. 

Session 4: Sports Science 

I don't expect you to blindly follow a training plan. I want you to follow the plan while understanding exactly why you're doing the sessions, and how they're making you faster. The better you understand how your body works and adapts to exercise, the greater the buy in to your training.

By the end of this session you will have a much better understanding of different energy systems, your metabolism, performance metrics, how your muscles work and an understanding of how each session makes you faster.

Session 5: Day to Day Nutrition 

The saying is that you can't outrun a bad diet. While this is generally a reference to those who are using exercise to lose weight, the same is true of those training for performance. Without the proper balance of carbohydrate, protein and fat, you will be leaving performance on the table.

In addition to this we need to ensure we are getting enough micronutrients to support our body to ensure we avoid illness when our training ramps up. I can help you hit your vitamin and mineral targets to keep you healthy and your energy levels high even as we start to ramp up our training volume.

By the end of this session you will have a much clearer idea of the role that different nutrients play in performance, and be able to make more informed nutritional choices for both yourself and your family. 

Session 6: Bike Maintenance 

You need to look after your bike if you want it to perform for you on race day. Not only will your bike lose efficiency over time, you also run the risk of needing to make very expensive last minute repairs. If you're really unlucky, your bike could let you down during the race, leaving you sitting at the side of the road on your big day staring at your bike with no idea what to do. We can't afford for this to happen.

This session will help acquaint you with the workings of your bike, and help you understand how to perform basic maintenance tasks yourself. While putting your bike in for a service is great, we should be able to perform basic tasks ourselves to save money, as well as to be more self sufficient. 

By the end of this session you will learn how to prevent punctures, prolong the lifespan of expensive components, become more self sufficient and be better placed to protect your investment. 

Session 7: Next Steps

Your off season may be coming to a close, but it's time to double down hard on your training ahead of the start of race season. 

This is a chance for us to plan your race season in detail a bit, and for you to ask me some more questions. If you are planning to go your own way at this point, I want to ensure you have a great race season.

If you want to continue working with me, I will offer you a £100 discount on another of my coached training plans, to help ensure that you make it to race day in great shape and convert your hard work over the off season into results on race day.

Triathlon Courses

Is there a sport more complex than triathlon?

Between swimming, cycling, running, strength, nutrition and all of the equipment required to complete an IRONMAN, it's very easy to feel overwhelmed. 

When you purchase my programme, you get instant access to all of the following triathlon courses:

Triathlon Swimming Masterclass: RRP £50

Introduction to Strength and Conditioning for Triathlon: RRP £50

IRONMAN Race Day Nutrition: RRP £25

Fat Loss For Triathletes: RRP £30

IRONMAN Race Day Success: RRP £10

Hill Climbing Masterclass: RRP £10

Clipless Confidence: RRP £5

That's £180 in free content to help you build optimise your off season available immediately on my exclusive app so you can learn on the go.

Free TrainingPeaks Premium Subscription

My plans are delivered via TrainingPeaks as it is the best software on the market.

However, the best features are behind a paywall. The ability to see in depth data and move workouts around on your calendar are, unfortunately, premium features.

So I cover the cost for you.

TrainingPeaks Premium costs USD $19.95 per month. As a coach I can get this for a lower price, and cover the price of your premium subscription for the duration of the programme. 

Not only do you gain full control over your calendar and data, you also get access to TrainingPeaks virtual. This software talks to your indoor trainer to provide engaging visuals, simulate riding on varied terrain, participate in races, group rides, time trials and more. 

Please note that you will receive an email after purchasing with instructions on how to redeem your subscription. 

The value of working with a human coach

In the age of AI, some will gravitate towards asking a chatbot for advice. Here's what I can offer that AI can't. 

Telling you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear

AI psychosis is a very real issue. Most chatbots are sycophantic and will tell you what to hear, so you use them more.

As a coach I am 100% in your corner, but I'm also here to give you some hard truths when you need to hear them.

I'm definitely not an old school coach who will berate you for missing a single session, but I will make sure you stay on track to complete your goal. 

Real, lived experience as an athlete and coach

Unlike AI, I've trained for and completed IRONMAN events. I've thrashed up and down the local leisure centre pool gasping for breath. I know how it feels 30KM into the IRONMAN marathon, and I understand just how isolating it can be on the bike course.

I've also coached hundreds of athletes to their first IRONMAN finish. I have the gut instinct and experience to help steer you in the right direction when things don't go to plan or you need extra support

A calm, human voice to lift you up

IRONMAN is probably the toughest sport on the planet. Not many people will argue with that. That initial motivation you felt when you signed up will start to fade when the alarm goes off at 5AM for the third time in a week.

There will also be time lost to illness, you'll experience self doubt, have days where every thing feels hard, and think about quitting at least once.

At times like these, there's no replacement for a human calmly lifting you up and helping you get your training back on track. 

Let's talk pricing

I didn't start coaching purely to make as much money as possible. If I did, I would be cold messaging executives on LinkedIn all day rather than building programmes like this.

I want to offer good quality coaching at a fair price.

The value of the training plan, courses and TrainingPeaks Premium subscription comes to over £350 on their own. 

The seven coached sessions are with myself are valued at £525. 

The cost of this programme is £520 (or regional equivalent). That's nearly 50% off, and only £21 a week to be guided through your off season by a certified and experienced coach.

It's not just about finances though. It's about the time you will save. No more hours spent trawling through YouTube, double guessing your training or doing unnecessary sessions. My programme helps you protect your time, so you can prioritise your family and social life. 

You will make or break your race in the off season, working with me will ensure you head into race season feeling fresh and ready to lay down some serious speed on the race course. 

Don't just take my word for it

Check out some testimonials from previous athletes