When You're Just Coming Off the Couch
Not all couch potatoes are men in their fifties with beer guts and bald heads. No age group has a monopoly on inactivity. Fortunately, fitness and health have more of a cachet in recent times as study after study reveals the risks of obesity and the rewards of an active lifestyle. If you are a young person (in your twenties or thirties) coming to triathlon competition with no previous athletic experience beyond perhaps the company softball game, start with the four-week Prep for Absolute Beginners schedule in Chapter 11 before tackling the twelve-week Beginner Triathlon Training schedule.
You may be young, but you still need four weeks just to get your body used to the stress of physical activity. Your muscles and tendons, not to mention your cardiovascular system, need that amount of time to adjust to the rigors of training. If you can get through the basic running program outlined in the Prep for Absolute Beginners and feel ready for more, you can then start the Beginner Triathlon Training schedule.
A beginner's running program for the formerly sedentary should start with a ten- to twenty-minute routine consisting of two minutes of easy running, followed by two minutes of walking. Alternate the two through your first run. Gradually increase running time and decrease walking time to a comfort level during a thirty-minute run.
You will also want to start getting used to swimming. Start by just trying to make it from one end of the 25-yard pool to the other without stopping. Rest when you get to one end for as long as you need to, then swim back. Keep it up for fifteen to twenty minutes. Gradually increase your time in the pool and shorten your rest breaks.
For bikers, start with rides of twenty to thirty minutes, coasting when you need to. Your main goal is to get used to the seat and your position on the bicycle.
Reliving the Past
If you are a former high school or college athlete who has been on the couch for a number of years, you are in a vastly different situation from the aspiring triathlete who has never experienced competition. You will begin triathlon training confident that you can master the disciplines necessary to compete. Perhaps you will even excel. There are dangers for you, however.
Perhaps you ran a twenty-minute 5K in college but have been inactive for several years while you made your way up the corporate ladder or started your own business. If you begin your training with the idea that another twenty-minute 5K is right around the corner, you could be in trouble before you start.
In fact, if getting back to a fast 5K is all you're really interested in, you should probably consider just making that goal and saving the triathlon for another time. In the sense that you must also start slowly and go carefully, you are not much different from the person who has triathlon hopes but no experience at all.
Sports massage can be very beneficial to someone who is taking up a physical activity for the first time. A good massage practitioner can help alleviate soreness and increase flexibility to help prevent injury.
Former athletes must keep in mind that it will take a lot of work to regain former levels of athletic ability — if it's possible at all. Keep your focus on the big picture and the little things will take care of themselves.
Even if you were pretty hot back in college or high school, if you have been inactive for an extended period, it will be a shock to your system when you start training again. If you are young enough and train properly, you can get back to where you were, or close to it, as long as you use good judgment. It will be in your best interest to be conservative.
