The word triathlon comes from the Greek terms "tri," meaning three, and "athlon," or contest. The race consists of three different long distance events, usually bicycling, swimming, and endurance running.
The race is made up of a 2.7 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a marathon run, which is 26 miles and 185 yards. Most Ironman Triathlon events have a time limit of seventeen hours; however, in Japan the race must be done in fifteen hours.
This type of event takes a lot of athletic stamina and long-term preparation. The best way to start out preparation for an athletic event of this type is by choosing a goal date to be ready to compete by.
Once you have done this, create an exercise plan in which you workout every day and alternate practice between events. You must start out slowly and at a comfortable level, always increasing the distances of your runs, bikes, and swims.
If you have not been active and exercising regularly or you have not developed the endurance, yet, to participate in an event of this magnitude, it is best to start out with smaller events and workouts and build up to an Ironman after much practice. Try beginning to train for a Sprint Triathlon first.
A Sprint consists of a 0.47 mile swim, a 12.4 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run. To begin preparing for a Sprint Triathlon, try each event separately.
The first day, for your cardio workout, try swimming 0.47 miles at a slow and easy pace. If this is too difficult, cut the distance in half or thirds, and increase it each time you swim.
It is best to practice your swimming in a gym or public pool, where you can swim laps and know the specific distances of the lanes. Also, swimming in a gym allows you to work out during any time of year, whether it is warm or cold outside.
To build up your endurance with biking, follow a similar pattern. If you do not have a road bike in your possession or the weather does not permit you to exercise out of doors, try beginning your training in the gym on an exercise bike.
Exercise bikes allow you to map your distance and time yourself easily and accurately. This also helps in logging your progress.
Start out pedaling on the exercise bike at a moderate and steady speed for twenty minutes to a half hour. Keep track of the distance you traveled and your heart rate.
Over time, you should keep increasing the distance you bike on the machine and try to decrease the time it takes you to bike 12.4 miles. Using and exercise bike will help you prepare to bike on outdoor terrain.
In order to prepare for the running event of the Sprint triathlon, start out slowly and pace yourself, increasing your distance every day. You can do this both outside and inside on a treadmill.
Once you have competed in a Sprint triathlon and feel comfortable increasing the distance of your workout, try an Olympic triathlon. Once you have competed in a few of these types of races and you feel comfortable with your level of health and endurance, begin training for an Ironman triathlon.
To do this, follow the same pattern as you would when preparing for a shorter race, but increase the distances you practice in larger amounts and try practicing more than one event during your daily workout. You should also keep participating in shorter events, like Olympic triathlons, while also pushing yourself in your daily cardio workouts.
Once you are able to do each event separately at the distance assigned, try practicing the events two at a time. For instance, do the 2.4 mile swim and then try running as much as you can of the 26 mile marathon.
When training for an extremely challenging event like this one, you should increase the distances that you run, swim, or bike as often as possible, without overworking yourself. You should also be practicing and getting cardiovascular exercise every day.
Preparing for an Ironman Triathlon is a process, and you should give yourself enough time to prepare. Work as hard as you can and push yourself to reach you goal date, but only participate in the race if you feel ready and strong enough.
Author Resource:-
Ronald Pedactor is a fitness trainer. He has been coaching athletes for more then 20 years. He recommends the bestrecumbent exercise bike to achieve your highest biking performance.
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