Customer Reviews

The Triathlete's Training Bible

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In my opinion, the goal of this book is to give people who want to compete in triathalons a scientific, self-coached training plan. Does it deliver? Absolutely. The book accomplishes this through six, cleanly divided parts.

Part one, "The self-trained triathlete" is concerned with the "philosophical" basis for methodical training. It deals with things such as attitide and commitment, which are as important to me as the physical training.

Part two, "From lab to real world" talks about the scientific foundation of training and goes into the science and priciples of training (i.e. progressive resistance, periodization, etc.).

Part three, "Training with a purpose" seems to pull together parts one and two in which a system of purposeful training is described. This part will help the reader to determine exactly what their training needs are and the best ways to address them.

Part four, simply titled "Planning" is really the heart of the book. Here the book helps you design your own training plan for a season, week by week.

Part five, "Racing and recovering" takes you through the many details of preparing to race and recovering after. In other words, it gives you info on what to do before and after the actual race. This information is essential as many athletes neglect to recover properly before starting training again for the next race.

Part six, "The competative edge" talks about other supplemental aspects of training that can contribute to peak performance. Here the book covers things such as swimming tips, weight training ex's, eating tips, keeping a training diary, etc. I like to think of this chapter as a kind of "tie up the loose ends" section.

Truly a book that lives up to its name, I can't see many readers coming away from this book without picking up much useful information- from the beginner to the experienced. Athletes who have shoulder trouble that interferes with their training might also find Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff helpful too. Happy training!

I bought this book in preparation for my first olympic distance triathlon and found it a bit too advanced for my needs. I'd highly recommend it for anyone who is in top form for the olympic distance or doing ironmans, but it was so detailed I lost the forest for the trees in trying to make sure I was training effectively.

I was hoping for something a little simpler - "here's how you should think about your training and to know you're ready for the race (for me - that meant finishing without feeling like i was going to die.)"

Those nuggets are in there, but it's clearly directed for people who are competing at an elite level or is there to help people train for ironmans. To that end, the book appears to be superb - very well thought out, and well laid out as well.

Jim

This is an awesome book. But, it is INCREDIBLY detailed and thorough. It took me a few weeks of reading and taking notes and making plans to get through, but I finally felt like I understood triathlon training and planning a training period...be it a week, 6 months or a year.

Before reading this I would get a training plan online, or from a friend, try to personalize it a bit, follow it and do ok. But, after signing up for an Ironman and not wanting to shell out the $$$$$ for a coach to make sure I got through the year injury free and ready to race, I got this book. It's amazing. It goes through planning the year up to your race in great detail....hours per year, per week, training phases for running, swimming, biking, weight lifting, cross training and resting to make sure that you peak at the perfect time for your race. It has workouts, drills, tips...if you learn well from a book, it's almost like having a coach. He has special sections for women, novices, masters, youth and elite racers; injury prevention and treatment, etc.

That said, this book could be incredibly overwhelming if you've never done a multi-sport race or training before, or if you're not into planning/organizing. If you're more the go-out-and-do-it kind of person, this book isn't for you.

However, as someone who struggles with the "Am I Ready?! Can I Really Do This!?" anxiety, especially on race day, this book has very much calmed me down...I know that on the day, I'll be as prepared as possible and ready to go.

I am a regular 3 a week gym workout kind of guy (4 years now) who recently decided to get into endurance sports. Unfortunately I received minimal information from this book. I was looking for insider information on technique and multisport workout do's and don't, but ended up reading mostly about theory. The 1st 40 pages or so were purely on attitude, commitment and what it takes or something of the kind. Barely anything concrete on multisports. I did find a couple of useful pages on different training theories and technique itself, but only minimal. Don't mean to trash this book, but it just did not meet my expectations.

I'm only 75 pages into this book so far. However, I am amazed at the depth of detail that there is to know and consider for training. I haven't read a lot of books on training but was told this is the best and I have nothing to compete with that comment in my reading so far. Very good read for someone who is serious about training and triathloning. There is also a wealth of knowledge for people who are doing sports training (run, bike, swim) but focusing on one of the three, or combined. I'm excited to finish - it's all useful and helpful information. No fluff, and well written.

I bought two books and have read extensively online about tri training programs. This book is the best of all. It has all the info you need to prepare for an entire season, plus more. Don't bother buying any other books if you're at all serious - this is the only one you need.

The book presents some complex training methodology and putting together a training program based on the information and concepts in the book takes days. Casual triathletes may find this frustrating and potentially overwhelming. I would figure elite athletes would have coaches to put all this info together for them in the form of a training program. So who is the book geared to? Anyone who has had prior, advanced athletic training and is accustomed to periodization training concepts. Anyone who likes to obsess on their hobbies. Anyone who intends to take their triathlon training from casual , just wanting to finish - to setting some PRs. There is a wealth of usefull, interesting and valuable information int this book.

Great book, very useful. It contains everything you need to start training and further more. I can't stop reading it.

Like many of the other reviewers, I found this book interesting in some ways, but it gave very little concrete information on how to improve my form or make a better training plan. Most of the stuff was WAY over my head, and I've studied a lot of anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, etc. Not the best book out there.

The most informative book I've ever read as regards training for triathlon. Very direct, simple and well supported with validated facts. All you need to know what it takes to train smart for triathlon physiologically, technically and even mentally are all here, explained in a " no nonsense" manner.