Robert Ferris - B-Fit Coaching

These triathlon programmes are designed for all abilities of triathlete, from the complete beginner to the seasoned racer – my aim is to give you a structured training programme at a reasonable cost. As with all training programmes aimed at the masses, you will have to tweak it here and there to suit yourself.

What do I mean by complete beginner and seasoned racer?

The complete beginner (we were all beginners once!)

This could be someone who has not competed in anything since school - and even then it was with reluctance - or you may come from another sport entirely. The thing is, you fancy having a go at this triathlon business but don’t know where to start. As well as giving advice and setting structured training programmes, I will explain and try to put your mind at rest about some of the major worries most first-timers have. Here are a few common ones I get asked.

• Do I need a racing bike?
Any old bike will do, but it must be roadworthy and in good working order.

• Do I need specialist kit?
You must wear a B.T.A. approved helmet on the bike and you are not allowed any swimming aids. Your apparel must be decent, no Lady Godiva impressions. (B.T.A. = British Triathlon Association.)

• Do I have to swim front crawl?
For pool swims you may swim breaststroke or crawl and you can take a rest each length if you wish, no backstroke or butterfly.

• It must be really hard?
Yes and no. It’s not easy but it’s not as hard as you may think. It’s an achievable goal to set yourself.

The seasoned racer

This applies to anyone who has completed one or more seasons’ racing. You may have only competed in pool swim triathlons and wish to try an open water event. It could be you wish to move up in distance, sprint to Olympic or Olympic to½ or full Ironman.

You may have set yourself the goal of qualification in your age group for European or World championships.
I will offer advice on Goal Setting, periodization (planning your year), Visualization, Planning your training, Basic (common sense) nutrition.

Triathlon for the beginner

If you can answer yes to these three questions you can complete a triathlon.

Can you swim?
Can you ride a bike?
Do you own a good pair of running shoes?

When I first became interested in triathlon in 1987 (I was very young and still in junior school, honest) the only time I would get wet was when I was on holiday. I could swim breaststroke but my front crawl was non-existent. I could manage about 10/12m before I became a coughing, wheezing wreck, but this did keep the lifeguards on their toes. It was about six weeks at three sessions per week (about 30 minutes per session) of bloody-minded persistence before I could manage 100m without stopping. I also noticed that the lifeguards stopped reaching for the rescue equipment every time I appeared on pool side; this did improve my confidence somewhat. Once I could manage 100m it seemed fairly rapid progress to 200 – 400m and so on.

So if you think you are a poor swimmer, you will improve. Sign up for some swimming lessons or get a qualified coach or swim teacher to look at your stroke. Don’t just learn to swim, learn to swim correctly with perfect style and technique.

Again with the bike section you don’t need a top of the range bike to start with. Make sure you are going to enjoy the sport before paying out your money on a triathlon bike. A lot of first timers will use a mountain or street bikes; remember your objective is to complete your first triathlon.

If you are new to running or have not run for some time this is where you need to be careful, it’s very easy to injure yourself by doing too much too soon. Coming from another sport, your fitness levels could be high for that sport but running is a repetitive action! So a 3-mile run may not worry your cardiovascular fitness but your leg muscles will not be used to the repetitive running action. This can lead to an over-use injury quite quickly.
Triathlon will put demands on your body but, if you train correctly, injury problems can be limited.
I hope this very brief introduction has been of some help to you.

What will you get for your money?

• Brief description about the B.T.A.

• Buying a bike
price, what to look for, where to buy.

• Swim bike run kit
what you must have, what you may want.

• Race distances
sprint to ironman, suggested first timer distance.

• How to enter a race
how to find a race, where to look.

• Training programme
all you need to know for your first event.

• Transition
what is it? How do you cope?

• Nutrition advice

• Duathlon
triathlon without water.

Titles Available

Beginners Triathlon : Buy Programme | Download Sample

Now available in PDF format for you to download, a new booklet titled Beginners Guide to Triathlon, written by Rob Ferris

Marathon Training :

Available soon in PDF format.

Travel 30 minute programme : Buy Programme

These 30minute programmes are designed for the travelling business person who would like a tick-over or stress relief programme they can perform at their hotel. This will include a room-based session just using what’s in a standard hotel room, a gym based session and the great outdoors.

Advanced Triathlon :

Available soon in PDF format.