The following is a list of the biggest changes in the All-New Triathlete’s Training Bible. It really is “all new.” That’s not just a marketing ploy. The only thing that stayed about the same was the chapter topics. But even that changed a little. Writing it took me a year and half. That’s because it is almost twice the size of the original going from about 75,000 words in the first edition in 1998 to more than 140,000 now. I’m pleased with how it turned out. But the most important thing is that I hope you find it helpful for your training. That was my motivation for taking on such a huge task.
Here are the biggest changes.
- The single most important change is that it is now easier to personalize your training with several periodization options for planning your season and workouts based on your unique needs and preferences. The original Training Bible offered only one way of doing everything. This alone makes the book a much more valuable reference when preparing for a triathlon.
- The increasingly popular technologies of power- and pace-based training are discussed from various perspectives such as understanding how they can be used to improve race performance and how they can be blended into your seasonal planning.
- The science of training has expanded considerably in recent years and you will learn how to apply the newest of the proven concepts to improve your race performance. This includes TSS-based training that is becoming quite popular among serious endurance athletes. And with good reason: It’s a much more effective way to gauge training load.
- Skill development, especially for swimming, is one area where age group triathletes typically are overwhelmed with overly granular information—most of it intended for elite athletes. In this latest edition swimming skills are simplified to four basic movements that you can easily master and result in faster swimming immediately. Illustrations accompany the discussion of this. Bike and run skills are also included.
- The strength program is updated to provide more options on how to best develop the functional strength to swim, bike, and run more efficiently and more powerfully. If you are time-constrained, as many triathletes are, you’ll find that not all strength training needs to be done in the gym. Much of it can be done in the sport without the need to lift weights. That greatly decreases the training time needed for those who are already very busy. For those who want to follow a gym-based strength program the exercises are updated to provide the most benefits for the time invested along with alternatives when time and energy allow for them. All of the options are explained with both the pros and cons along with illustrations.
- The unique recovery needs of the busy and serious triathlete are described in detail to help you design a personalized plan for bouncing back after challenging training sessions.
- The effective analysis of training data is critical to the continued improvement for the triathlete who has high aspirations for the sport. In this edition new ways of looking at training information are discussed with an eye to examining just the right workout data to more precisely train for high performance while limiting the time for analysis.
- The swim, bike, run, and combined workouts in the appendices are expanded to include power and pace in addition to heart rate along with simplified explanations. Options for how they may be used in your training program are also included.
I hope you like my newest book. Please let me know what you think of it.
