TRAINING PROGRAMS
Coach Robb’s 70.3 Performance & Nutritional Program – Week 1 of 6
Time Trials | Max HR | Strength Assessment
Time Trials | Max HR | Strength Assessment
Here you can find your testing, training & nutritional protocols for your first week of training, please follow the weekly schedule exactly as outlined.
Please follow the weekly schedule exactly as outlined. By following the schedule exactly as outlined, we will be able to compare future testing results with the least amount of deviation. Additionally, please refrain from surpassing the duration or intensity levels as outline for each day. This will minimize your risk of injury and/or becoming ill.
Because the testing and assessment protocols are unique, recognize that this will create a lot of “mental noise” so begin each workout mentally focused, well fed and hydrated to accurately assess your current level of speed, endurance and lactate tolerance.
Also, each day, take 5 extra minutes a day and focus on diaphragmic breathing. This skill has two distinct advantages. First, it is beneficial when you become stressed. Diaphragmic breathing increases the amount of oxygen you deliver to your muscles and brain which helps with your mental focus by thinking about your strategy for success verses fear of failure. The second advantage of practicing diaphragmic breathing is that you can literally triple your oxygen uptake – voluntarily. This is a tremendous skill to tap into during the heat of competition. If you are struggling with developing this skill, breathe through a straw with your nose plugged. You will “feel” the deep pull in your diaphragm.
Learning to belly breathe will yield huge dividends on race day, so dedicating five minutes a day is a great use of your time. Diaphramic Breathing, another tool for Working Smart, Not Hard!
If you have any questions or need anything clarified, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email.
Yours in sport & health,
– Coach Robb, Coaches & Staff
Orca Wetsuits is the official wetsuit of Complete Triathlon Solutions
AT A GLANCE
MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Run Even Tempo 4 Miles | Swim Even Tempo 45 Minutes | Run 4 Mile Time Trial | Swim Assessment – 500 Yards | Rest | Bike 10 Mile Time Trial | Bike Even Tempo 90 Minutes |
WEEK 1
Blue highlights indicate HR Zone 2 or less (Builds your aerobic engine – burns fat as a primary fuel source)
Red highlights indicate HR Zone 3 or above (Builds your strength & speed – burns fat as a primary fuel source)
MONDAY
Workout Notes: the most important element for today is to eat within 20 minutes of completing this workout; this will help replenish your stored sugar levels within both your muscles and liver (along with speed up the absorption of amino acids).
Pre-Hydration & Nutrition: 10-15 minutes prior to this workout, consume 8-10 ounces of Energy Fuel to top off both your calories and provide electrolytes for proper muscle contraction.
Warm up for ½ mile: ease into the warm up with small and intentional strides; keep your foot placement right under the center of your body to keep your time in touch with the ground to a minimum.
Main Set – 3 Miles (Very Easy Effort)
Within your aerobic zone, focus on your belly breathing strategy to help maximize your oxygen uptake. Stay relaxed; leaning forward and don’t allow yourself to surpass your aerobic zone for any reason. Hit your hydration every mile if possible (carry it with you if necessary).
Cool Down by running for ½ mile: like your warm up, gently back down your leg tempo (without getting sloppy) with small and intentional strides; keep your foot placement right under the center of your body to keep your time in touch with the ground to a minimum.
Post Workout Protocols
Flexibility: after your shower, upper body and lower body trigger point, foam rolling and stretching exercises
Nutrition: consuming a high-quality smoothie 30 minutes before bed will feed your brain throughout the night improving your sleep quality making you leaner.
TUESDAY
Workout Notes: Your focus needs to be relaxing and “putting in yards”; with this in mind, do not keep a clock on your swim intervals, simply just swim for 10 minutes at a time (beginning to end).
Pre-Hydration & Nutrition: 10-15 minutes prior to this workout, consume 8-10 ounces of Energy Fuel to top off both your calories and provide electrolytes for proper muscle contraction.
Warm Up: 10 Minutes even; mentally focus on allowing the blood to distribute into your extremities.
Main Set: 3 x 10 minutes with pull buoy only; breathe every 3rd stroke from the beginning; focus on keeping your stomach muscles tight which will keep your lower back straight (hence more streamlined).
Rest 1-2 minutes after each 10 minute block (stretch and hydrate as needed).
Cool Down: 5 Minutes even; by keeping the intensity low, you are allowing the blood to come back to the heart region (this facilitates your recovery process before you even get out of the water).
Post Workout Protocols
WEDNESDAY
Workout Notes: to obtain an accurate assessment of your running abilities, please don’t cut your warm up short. If you cut the warm up short, you will use a portion of your time trial to get the body up to full speed (this will have an adverse effect on your time trial results). If you feel anything tightening up, simply stop and stretch. It is better to re-test later than to spend four weeks healing up a pulled muscle.
Pre-Hydration & Nutrition: 10-15 minutes prior to this workout, consume 8-10 ounces of Energy Fuel to top off both your calories and provide electrolytes for proper muscle contraction.
Warm up for 1 mile plus Dynamic Movements; stay light on your feet and with a leg turnover rate that doesn’t leave you gasping for air. Stop and stretch feeling for any muscle(s) tightening up during this warm up; complete your Dynamic Movements to increase your range of motion prior to moving into your main set.
Main Set – 4 Mile Time Trial (use a 1 mile loop ideally)
Settle into a comfortable fast pace early: stay relaxed; lean forward and keep your foot impact to a minimum; focus on your belly breathing to help maximize your oxygen uptake.
Mechanical Elements:
Mile 1 Elapsed Time: Heart Rate:
Mile 2 Elapsed Time: Heart Rate:
Mile 3 Elapsed Time: Heart Rate:
Mile 4 Elapsed Time: Heart Rate:
Cool Down by running for 1 mile
Keep the intensity on the low side, mechanics optimized and your lower leg turnover relatively high (avoid letting your heels drag).
Upload your time per mile along with your heart rate data into your Coach Robb Report Card for later evaluation
Post Workout Protocols
THURSDAY
[Please reference the spreadsheet and associated videos listed at the bottom of this document]
Workout Notes: This assessment block is going to test your muscular endurance and power output for 500 yards. Fight the tendency to push the pace too hard initially – if you do fall into this “trap” don’t be afraid to slow the tempo down slightly, but continue to focus on your “reach” to the end of the pool to keep your momentum optimized. Stretch and hydrate as indicated to maintain your range of motion and to reduce the risk of pulling a muscle.
Post Workout Protocols
FRIDAY
Misc. Notes: pay close attention to your food intake prior to lying down to sleep (both for your naps and evening rest). When you are sleeping, your brain is fed from the stored sugar in your liver. If your brain doesn’t get enough fuel (in the form of sugar), you will not stay in the deepest level of sleep (REM 3 and 4) which will hinder your body’s release of hGH (human growth hormone) resulting in reduced recovery and rejuvenation. As we have discussed previously, the only thing that satisfies hunger is protein and fat so make sure that are including high quality protein and fats to each snack and meal; when your body is satisfied with high quality food, you will sleep deeper and longer (because you don’t wake up) helping improve your recovery and development of new muscle tissue (helping you improve your strength & endurance). Implement the 1% rule, improve your program (sleep, food, stretching, hydration, etc.) by 1% per day and where will you be in a month, six months or a year!
SATURDAY
[If logistically possible, complete in a location that you can easily duplicate in the future for comparison purposes]
Workout Notes: don’t cut the warm up short nor push the intensity during the warm up so that you are properly warmed up and have the lactic acid shuffle activated BEFORE you begin the time trial.
Pre-Hydration & Nutrition: 10-15 minutes prior to this workout, consume 8-10 ounces of Energy Fuel to top off both your calories and provide electrolytes for proper muscle contraction.
Body Weight Pre-Assessment: Body Weight Post-Assessment:
Warm up (Very Easy):
Duration: 10 minutes Gearing: small chain ring up front, middle rear gearing
Cadence: 80-85 (no higher/lower) Misc.: stretch and hydrate before moving into your main set
Transition Set #1: 15 minutes as follows:
2 minutes: 90 plus cadence (move around on the seat and toggle between aero and non-aero)
1 minute: 80 or less cadence; active recovery with relevant stretching
Repeat 5x for a total of 15 minutes
Stretch & rehydrate prior to moving into your 10 mile time trial
Test Block #1 – 10 Mile Field Test (5 Miles Out/Back Ideally) – Race Effort
Once you begin your time trial, be aggressive – work on maintaining perfect form to get the max power out of your legs (use all of your muscle groups – not just your quads). Keep your cadence in the 80-85 range and your effort level under control so that you are strong for the entire 10 miles!
Elapsed Time: Avg. HR:
Ending HR: Max HR:
Cool Down (Very Easy):
Duration: 15 minutes (no shorter) Gearing: small chain ring up front, middle rear gearing
Cadence: 70-80 (no higher/lower)
Upload your time at the 5 and 10 mile mark along with your heart rate data into your Coach Robb Report Card for later evaluation
Post Workout Protocols
Misc. Notes: you understand the power and benefits of a nap; strive to get a minimum of 2 hours after your meal.
SUNDAY
Workout Notes: the most important element for today is to eat within 20 minutes of completing this workout; this will help replenish your stored sugar levels within both your muscles and liver (along with speed up the absorption of amino acids).
Pre-Hydration & Nutrition: 10-15 minutes prior to this workout, consume 8-10 ounces of Energy Fuel to top off both your calories and provide electrolytes for proper muscle contraction.
Warm up for ½ mile: ease into the warm up with small and intentional strides; keep your foot placement right under the center of your body to keep your time in touch with the ground to a minimum.
Main Set – 3 Miles (Very Easy Effort)
Within your aerobic zone, focus on your belly breathing strategy to help maximize your oxygen uptake. Stay relaxed; leaning forward and don’t allow yourself to surpass your aerobic zone for any reason. Hit your hydration every mile if possible (carry it with you if necessary).
Cool Down by running for ½ mile: like your warm up, gently back down your leg tempo (without getting sloppy) with small and intentional strides; keep your foot placement right under the center of your body to keep your time in touch with the ground to a minimum.
Post Workout Protocols
Misc. Notes: about an hour before you head to bed, take a cold bath/shower. Soak your legs for 10 minutes – no stretching, and then go into a hot bath/shower for 10 minutes. Repeat the 10 cold/hot again. After you second contrast session, stretch passively for 15 minutes while consuming 8 to 10 ounces of cold water (drink it slowly) and then head directly to bed. Once you are laying down and relaxed, implement your Diaphramic Breathing drill until you fall asleep.
Workout Notes: This assessment block is going to test your muscular endurance and power output for 500 yards. Fight the tendency to push the pace too hard initially – if you do fall into this “trap” don’t be afraid to slow the tempo down slightly, but continue to focus on your “reach” to the end of the pool to keep your momentum optimized. Stretch and hydrate as indicated to maintain your range of motion and to reduce the risk of pulling a muscle.
Post Workout Protocols
Simply go to ‘My Account‘ and click on the ‘My Forms’ tab. From there, you will be able to download and complete the necessary form(s).