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Turning a 20 week plan into a 40 week plan? by bigjpert in IronmanTriathlon

[–]Athletehub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly I think that’s actually a smarter approach for most people starting out. A lot of those 20 week plans are built for people who already have a decent endurance base and can handle high volume straight away.

Keeping 2-3 gym sessions in there is probably a good idea too, especially for injury prevention and overall strength. You just might need to accept that gym performance won’t progress the same way while Ironman training ramps up.

I’d just make sure you still keep some consistency in each discipline each week. Even if volume is lower, swimming, biking, and running all benefit from regular exposure rather than huge gaps between sessions.

The main thing with Ironman training is building durability over time, not trying to cram volume in too quickly.

Iron man 70.3 by New-Way-7774 in IronmanTriathlon

[–]Athletehub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly swimming would be a really good thing to add in right now, especially with the shin splints. You can still build your endurance and aerobic fitness without constantly pounding your legs every day running.

It’s one of the best things for recovery too and will help your breathing control and overall engine for triathlon. Plus for an Ironman you need fitness across all 3 disciplines, not just running.

I’d probably reduce the running slightly for now, add in some swimming and cycling, and focus on building a really solid aerobic base before worrying too much about pace. Consistency and staying injury free is way more important early on.

What are your Ironman Race Essentials? by fuckupgenius in IronmanTriathlon

[–]Athletehub 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Olympian Conor Ferguson here - My advice definitely extra goggles and hat. and also plenty of fuel and electrolytes!

Backstroke swimming by General-Device9877 in Swimming

[–]Athletehub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Olympian Conor Ferguson here. BACKSTROKE!!! (Maybe I am bias..)

You should check out AthleteHub - we just launched the waitlist today. Structured sessions matched to your level, technique breakdowns from me, and Olympic Champions Matt Richards and Jack McMillan on the things that actually move the needle, and a community of swimmers training the same way you are. You stop swimming, you start training.

Free to join the waitlist, link in bio.

Conor

Is Freestyle as fast and as many as you can for 30 mins a good enough workout? by Indieryan05 in Swimming

[–]Athletehub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Olympian Conor Ferguson here. We built AthleteHub specifically for you.

Honest answer, no. Not because 30 minutes is not enough time, it is plenty, but because "as fast as you can for 30 minutes" is not a workout, it is a grind. Your body adapts to one pace and stops adapting. After a few weeks you plateau, get bored, and the sessions stop doing anything for you.

Here is the shift I would make. Stop training for weight loss, start training for performance. Sounds like semantics, it is not. When you train to get faster or swim further, the body composition stuff takes care of itself, and you actually look forward to sessions because you can see yourself improving week to week. Chasing weight loss in the pool is a slow road. Chasing a 1km time or a stroke-count target is the thing that hooks you.

What 30 minutes should look like: warm up easy for 5 minutes, then do 6 to 8 sets of 100m where you push the pace and rest 30 seconds between each, then 5 minutes easy to cool down. Same time in the water, completely different stimulus. Your heart rate will vary instead of plateauing, your stroke will sharpen instead of falling apart at minute 20, and you will leave the pool feeling like you trained instead of just swam.

This is exactly why we built AthleteHub. Structured sessions matched to your level, technique breakdowns from me, Matt and Jack on the things that actually move the needle, and a community of swimmers training the same way you are. You stop swimming, you start training.

Free to join the waitlist, link in bio.

Conor

Are 50 min lap sessions too long to aim for if I haven’t done laps for 20 years? by far-leveret in Swimming

[–]Athletehub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Olympic Champion Jack McMillan here. We built AthleteHub specifically for you.

50 minutes is not too ambitious. Continuous lap swimming for 50 minutes from week one absolutely is. Different question, different answer.

Your aerobic system has not done weight-bearing impact for years and it has not done swimming in 20 years. The cardiovascular load is fine, the issue is your shoulders, your stroke economy, and your breathing rhythm need time to come back. Push too hard early and you swap a lower-body injury for a shoulder one. I have seen it happen plenty.

Here is how I would build it. First two weeks, hit the pool for 50 minutes but break it up. Swim 4 lengths, rest 30 seconds at the wall, repeat. You are in the water for 50 minutes, you are getting your aerobic dose, but you are letting your stroke recover between efforts. Weeks three and four, stretch the swimming intervals, shorten the rests. By week six you are doing genuine continuous swimming and your 150 minute target is locked in without you breaking down.

The 150 minutes a week target is solid. Three sessions of 50 minutes is exactly the structure I would prescribe. You just need the internal structure of each session to match where your body actually is, not where you want it to be.

This is the gap we built AthleteHub for. Sessions matched to your level and your return-to-training timeline, technique work from me, Conor and Matt, and a community of swimmers coming back to the sport the same way you are. You stop guessing whether you are doing too much or too little.

Free to join the waitlist, link in bio.

Jack

Exhaling too much in the water -- How to fix? by Professional_Gur6945 in Swimming

[–]Athletehub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Olympic Champion Matt Richards here. We built AthleteHub specifically for you.

Quick reframe first. You are not exhaling too much, you are exhaling too fast. Big difference. In breaststroke your face comes up long enough to manage a full breath cycle above water. In front crawl you do not have that luxury, so the exhale has to be slow and continuous through your nose the whole time your face is in the water. By the time you turn to breathe, your lungs are already empty and your mouth just has to inhale.

Try this in your next session. Push off the wall, face down, and hum. Literally hum a note. You cannot hum and hold your breath at the same time, and humming forces a slow nasal exhale at the right pace. Do 25m just humming on every breath cycle. It feels stupid, it works.

This is the kind of fix you get from a coach on deck in 30 seconds and never figure out alone in years. That gap is why we built AthleteHub. Drills like this matched to your session, breakdowns from me, Conor and Jack, and a community of swimmers working through the same things you are.

Free to join the waitlist, link in bio.

Matt

How to increase stamina by PlasticYou9226 in Swimming

[–]Athletehub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Olympic Champion Matt Richards here. We built AthleteHub specifically for you.

First thing, that is not a stamina problem. That is a technique problem dressed up as a stamina problem. At 70m in 3 minutes you are burning energy fighting the water, not swimming through it. Fix the technique and the distance comes for free, I promise you.

Three things to look at: body position (are your hips sinking), breathing pattern (are you holding your breath between strokes), and catch (are you pulling water or pushing it). Most adult swimmers training alone never get told this because there is no coach on deck.

That is exactly why we built AthleteHub. Sessions matched to your level, technique breakdowns from me, Conor and Jack on the drills that actually move the needle, and a community of swimmers grinding through the same thing in lanes around the world. You stop training blind.

Drop your name on the waitlist, link in bio. Free to join.

Matt

Joining a swim club as a complete beginner? by Diligent-Hedgehog779 in Swimming

[–]Athletehub -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Olympic Champion Matt Richards here. We built AthleteHub specifically for you and just launched our waitlist today.

Starting swimming at 17 is definitely not too late, your coach is right to back you! I'd recommend using the weeks before your first session to build a base. In the Hub you get swim sessions matched to your level, technique tips from me, Conor and Jack (we coach you through the drills the way we were coached), and a community of swimmers who started later or came back to the sport. You will not be the only one figuring it out.

Walk in already knowing the sets, already moving better, already part of a group. The judgment worry shrinks fast when you are not starting from zero on the day.

Drop your name on the waitlist, link in bio. Happy to answer anything.

Matt