Customer Reviews

Training Plans for Multisport Athletes: Your Essential Guide to Triathlon, Duathlon, XTERRA, Ironman, and Endurance Racing

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Training Plans for Multisport Athletes is an excellent resource for anyone interested in planning a multisport fitness or training program. Bernhardt clearly outlines several different plans for different events (sprint, olympic, half and full Ironman, as well as duathlon and general fitness) and provides explanations for each workout.

Similar books include Niles's "Time Saving Training for Multisport Athletes" and Friel's "The Triathlete's Training Bible," both of which I would recommend alongside Bernhard's work. However, there are important differences among these books. Niles is a great concise overview of the why of training in a time saving manner and gives some good examples of how to do it. His chapters are easy to read, and brief. Niles provides some workouts, but only a few week's worth.

Friel's book, aptly named, is a must have since it clearly explains, in appropriate depth, the components of triathlon, and how and why to train for them in certain ways. His book is thorough, yet not overwhelming. The book helps you plan your training year and get started on a program, but does not provide daily plans-you need to make those yourself.

Bernhardt's book differs (and adds value, in my opinion) from the others because she provides workout plans that are already made: the plans are detailed to the specific day, and targeted to specific audience members, providing a ready made formula for success for a wide range of athletes, from the beginning sprint triathlete to the seasoned duathlete and Ironman competitor. She also has plans for improving sprint and olympic distance triathlon as well as duathlon performance.

This book bridges the gap between Niles and Friel--Niles gives you some example workouts, but only a few week's worth. Friel, on the other hand, gives you the components, but you need to assemble the plan--a chore I didn't really want to do. Bernhardt gives me what I want--a clear plan that follows the concepts Friel explains. It's like having a coach, but only paying for the book!

This book is a definite asset in my training library. I think it is, alongside Friel's Training Bible, required reading for anyone interested in triathlon. Friel gives you the concepts, and Berhardt gives you the plans based on those concepts. For the price, Bernhardt practically provides personal coaching distilled into a convenient travel sized package! It is easy to read, covers all the basics of training and preparation, and is fun to read. If you want plans, this book is a teriffic resource. Thanks Gale! Great book!

This excellent book offers a training plan for everyone - the novice, the Ironman (or half-ironman) competitor, the sprinter, the Olymic distance specialist, and the "I like to do triathlons in the summer, but I also play volleyball, racquetball and softball" athlete. The training plans are easy to follow and can be modified to suit one's personal schedule. One unique feature is the treadmill workouts in the appendix. I've done 2 of them and have noticed an improvement in my running. These workouts are tough and great for any triathlete who has to occasionally train indoors. Best of all, they're not boring. I used to dread my treadmill workouts, but now I actually look forward to the challenge. I also liked the section for beginners. Several friends have expressed an interest in triathlon but are not up to my level of training. Now I can recommend this book to those who want to get their feet wet (literally!) in the sport. I own several training books, and this is the one I reach for most often. I agree with the reviewer who mentioned that this book rounds out a collection including Joe Friel's and Rick Niles' books. I also recommend "Total Immersion" by Terry Laughlin, "The Fit Swimmer" by Marianne Brems, and "Swim, Bike Run" by Glenn Town and Todd Kearney. There aren't too many triathlon books out there, and these are the best of those available. If you don't own any of those books, buy "Training Plans for Multisort Athletes" first! Sidenote: I saw Ms. Bernhardt's post about the revised training plans, so I e-mailed her with a request for the update. She got back to me in 2 days with new plans.

This book was really the foundation for my training for a recent 1/2 ironman triathlon. I'm a casual athlete and this book gave me all the information needed to step up to the next level and do better than I ever imagined possible. It has relatively brief sections on nutrition, how to train (levels of exercise and such), weight training, specific run, bike, and swim workout, stretching, and a good section on how to modify the plans in the book, but the bulk of the book is training plans for various levels of athlete's for specific goals - everything from a first sprint triathlon to a competitive ironman, with plans for duathlons and other types of multisport athlets. I followed a 13 week plan for a 1/2 ironman and, even never having done a triathlon before, exceeded all expectations with this plan. Don't get me wrong - it wasn't by any means easy, and for almost all of the 13 weeks my body was feeling a bit beat up, but come race day I performed better than I had in any of my training workouts. I can't recommend this book enough.

The book does stay at a fairly high level. It takes more of the "trust me this will work" approach. If you're interested in the theory behind the book or want to spend time developing a HIGHLY tailored plan, I would recommend Joe Friel's Triathlete's Training Bible ... , but for most people this is too much information. Both books are based on the same training methodology and the authors work closely together.

The one thing that this book doesn't cover that many triathlete's need help with is how to swim correctly and easily. For this I would recommend one of Terry Laughlin's books ... . Spend a couple months doing his drill progression and swimming will be the least of your concerns in a triathlon.

In short, this is a phenomenal traing tool that will help all levels of athletes reach their and exceed their goals in a large variety of multisport events.

I apologize for the printing errors in the book. The book was reviewed numerous times at numerous stages of production and a few errors still slipped through. Obviously, this is something neither VeloPress nor I want. The detailed training charts make the editing and printing process very challenging. The corrections are being made in the second printing.

While second printing corrections won't help those needing a six-week plan NOW, I have been personally sending every person who has written to me, correct charts. I will continue to do this, as I value the loyalty of my readers. VeloPress is investigating the feasibility of posting corrected charts on the net.

Best wishes for health and fitness ~ Gale

I've got too many triathlon training books and have read too many magazine articles. Almost everything you can learn in those books is here in this one text, albeit in a more terse format. If you want the tools you need to succeed this book is for you.

I've used two of the training plans in this book and my wife has used another and all have been very effective. Follow the plans and the nutrition guidelines and written and you will reach your goals.

WOW -- I am new to tri and looked and looked for just the right book and found in it everything that I was looking for.

This is a great instructional book that includes step-by-step training plans to prepare you for triathlons that range from your first sprint tri to improving your times to preparing you for an Ironman. No guessing involved, just follow the plan. Plans range from 6 weeks all the way up to a challenging 52 weeks; therefore, triathletes of all levels can benefit from this book.

Includes specifics on nutrition, weight training, individual swim, run and cycle workouts based in periodization. (Periodization, in my opinion is the training secret to improving performance in all sports.)

Training Plans is a very thorough book and will be relied upon heavily in training for my first Ironman. But because I purchased the book for one specific event, 70% of the book is extranious information. That's my fault for being so one dimensional however. A bigger gripe is the actual plans. I've downloaded several training plans for marathons and am used to glancing at my calandar, seeing it's Tuesday, and thereby knowing that I need to run 5 miles at a stated pace. The training plans in this book require digging through the appendexis to decipher the abbreviations and to determine what the author had in mind for that day. A small price to pay no doubt but just looking at the plans in the present format gives me a headache.

If you're interested in learning the training procedures for a triathlon, look no more. The book is great for amateur or elite advice. There are quiet a few books out there on the sport, but this one beats all i have read. She gives very easy to read workout plans up until race day... Simply put- This book is a has a wealth of knowledge to anyone wanting advice on "Tri-ing"

My book is a mess. The cover is torn, the pages are all curled up, and who knows what I spilled on page 265. Obviously it is well used. When I wanted to do a marathon it was simple to find a easy plan to follow. It went something like "Run 5 miles today". Then I got interested in triathlons and life got complicated. Now I was dealing with lactate thresholds, zones and phases. Life is too busy, I just want to know what to do. Gale's book is perfect. It translated that complicated stuff into "run 5 miles up a hill today". I used one of her plans for my first triathlon (a 1/2 IM) and another for my most recent (FL IM). I am signed up again for FL IM and the only thing I will do different is follow the plan closer.

I'm entering my second year of triathlon racing and this book and the triathlon bible by Joel Friel are the leaders in their class. Last year, I seriously undertrained for my first triathlon and I cramped up on the run due to lactate buildup caused by undertraining. For, the next triathlon I raced in six months later, I beat my time by 15 minutes. The key to doing well in triathlons is proper preparation and this book encorporates plans for all types of athletes. I simply had to go to the performance plan for sprint triathlon and viola! My training plan is set for the next 15 weeks! I use the 2 heavy/1 easy week periodization plan to prevent overtraining and to maximize performance. Best $18 I have spent this year.