With Tri Yas and the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon fast approaching, now or never is the time to get training.
Whether you are a complete beginner to the sport or a Tri-aholic looking to tackle the tougher distances, Egyptian triathlete Omar Nour is here to see you through it with these four-week Tri Yas training programs.
Here, he walks you through them himself:
Much like most things in life, triathlon, from the outside, seems like a very difficult challenge to overcome for the average individual. I am living proof that, also like most things in life, if taken in small strides with incremental achievable goals, and with a little bit of faith, magic is inevitable!
I weighed over 100 kg and was overworked at my desk job five years ago. Today, at age 34, I am in the best shape of my life. I weigh 76kg and make my living competing on the International Triathlon circuit, representing my country.
Sometimes athletes are not always the best coaches so I had my world famous coach, Neal Henderson, look over these programs and he’s approved them. Now you know they are based on science!
I hope that these training plans may be the beginning of your journey to a new you or may simply help you on your journey to good health. Just remember, it’s never too late – it’s never impossible. It’s never as hard as it looks and you can always make time if it matters to you.
Now for the serious bit… Before you get started, you should always consult a doctor before starting any training regiment to ensure that you are not putting yourself at risk. If you are severely overweight, you will need to prepare over a longer period to make sure you gradually lose weight before running at a higher volume.
If you have to slow down in training to complete these programs, slow down. If you have to do a combination of walk/run at first, go ahead and do that but make it your goal to work up to running/swimming/biking continually.
If you end up missing a day for whatever reason, don’t try to make it up on another day, just go ahead and continue following the program; missing one day of training is not going to make or break you.
The Newbie to Sprint Programme assumes you have done little to no training in the past and are looking to complete your first sprint race. Congratulations, this programme was built around you crossing that finish line! Don’t concern yourself with speed or distance, just keep in mind that your goal is to complete the Sprint distance without stopping. Simply make sure you do the recommended training times.
Tackling the Olympic distance? This programme assumes you’ve done some training leading up to this point. Most of you have raced a triathlon (Sprint or Olympic) before and are looking to improve your finish time. Go you! …And that’s it!
Remember to have fun, and make sure to keep me posted on your progress too – I’d love to hear from you! I am looking forward to toeing the start line with all of you at Tri Yas on February 8!
Happy Training!
Omar Nour
