An Advanced 8-Week Olympic Triathlon Training Plan for Your Fastest Race Yet
Ready to get faster? This high-performance plan is for you.
Unlock this article and more benefits with 40% off.
Already have an Outside Account? Sign in
40% Off Outside+.
$4.99/month $2.99/month*
Get the one subscription to fuel all your adventures.
- Map your next adventure with our premium GPS apps: Gaia GPS Premium and Trailforks Pro.
- Read unlimited digital content from 15+ brands, including Outside Magazine, Triathlete, Ski, Trail Runner, and VeloNews.
- Watch 600+ hours of endurance challenges, cycling and skiing action, and travel documentaries.
- Learn from the pros with expert-led online courses.
*Outside memberships are billed annually. You may cancel your membership at anytime, but no refunds will be issued for payments already made. Upon cancellation, you will have access to your membership through the end of your paid year. More Details
You’ve got a few years of triathlon under your belt and are looking to go from finisher to faster. We’ve got a training plan for you!
This 8-week Olympic triathlon training plan is designed as a complete program, and includes a strength workout that’s built into the plan. This plan should not present a massive uptick in your typical training volume. If it feels like a large jump, then stick for now with our 8-week Olympic-distance development plan before you progress.
Both plans use effort notes that are based on perceived exertion or your feeling of how hard you’re going. As you get more advanced, you can fine-tune that effort with heart-rate zones, pace, or power.
Along with a workout key for the training plans, generic warm-ups for each sport are listed in the box below. If you’re looking for training plans for other distances, be sure to check out the PDF plans for our Triathlete members and our interactive 10-week 70.3 training course.
RELATED: A Triathlete’s Guide to Race Fueling for Every Distance
8-Week Olympic Triathlon Training Plan
Warm-Ups
| SWIM | BIKE | RUN |
| 400-600 easy swim with snorkel, buoy, ankle strap | 15-20 min. easy spin | 10-min. jog |
| 8 x 25 as:
2 x [4 x 25 progress effort 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%] |
4 x 60 sec. building RPM and effort every 20 sec., 60 sec. easy spin between |
Key
| General | Swim | Bike | Run |
| WU: Warm-Up | KS: Key Swim | KB: Key Bike | KR: Key Run |
| PS: Pre-Set | SS: Supporting Swim | SB: Supporting Bike | SR: Supporting Run |
| MS: Main Set | BR: Brick Run |
Week 1: Intro Week
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
| STRENGTH: Core + Activation Work | KS: 2 x:
6 x 100 easy, 10 sec. rest. 2 x 100 fast, 25 sec. rest. 50 easy and smooth |
KB: 3 x
90 sec. as: 15 sec. max effort sprint into 75 sec. best sustainable pace, with 4 min. easy recovery between rounds |
SS: Technique swim:
3 x (12 x 25 fast, 400 smooth) with snorkel, buoy, band |
STRENGTH: Core + Activation Work | KB: Ride ~2 hours including
MS: 2 x 15 min. as 10 min. strong but smooth, 5 min. hard effort. 5 min. easy spin @ 95 RPM between rounds |
KS: 8 x 100 swim as:
2 @ 75%, 85%, 90%, 95% effort with 20-40 sec. rest |
| KR: 40 min. smooth, include some pick-ups as:
20-40-60-40-20 sec. with 60 sec. easy jog recovery |
BR: 20 min. easy jog OTB | KR: 60 min. smooth running, working in some hills |
Week 2: Building
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
| STRENGTH: Full strength | KS: 2 x 100 smooth with paddles on 30 sec. rest, 10 x 25 @ 90% with ~5-7 sec. rest | KB: 6 x 4 min. hard effort.
Change cadence every other rep. 4 min. easy recovery between each |
SS: Building ladder swim.
50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and back down. Increase effort on the back half. |
STRENGTH: Full strength | KB: Ride 1.5-2 hours including:
15 min. strong endurance pace ~65-75 RPM, 8 min. lighter endurance at choice RPM, 4 min. building to race pace. Spin easy 5 min. then repeat. |
KS: 12 x 100 swim as
3 @ 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% effort with 20-40 sec. rest. |
| SR: Light resilience run, 60 min. | KR: 10 min. easy aerobic effort, 5 min. steady running, 5 min. up-tempo | BR: 20 min. easy jog OTB | KR: 60 min. smooth running, working in some hills |
Week 3: Building
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
| STRENGTH: Full strength | KS: 2 x
4 x 100 fast, best effort you can hold, 10 sec rest. 400 smooth pull between rounds |
KB: 3 x
5 x 1 min. hard @ high RPM. 1 min easy spin. 5 min. smooth effort between rounds |
SS: 8 x 200 swim, smooth effort, 30-40 sec. rest.
8 x 50 as 25 fast/25 easy on short rest |
SB: Easy bike, 90 min. | KB: Ride up to 2.5 hours including
2 x 5 min. building to 80% effort, 4 min. @ 85-90% effort, 1 min. best effort then 20 min. build effort by 10 min. to finish @ goal race pace for last 10 min. all @ choice RPM. |
KS: 2 x 200 @ 75%, 8 x 25 fast.
Finish with: 2 x 100 fast on 1 min. rest |
| SR: Light resilience run, 60 min. | KR: 2 x 6 x 60 sec. hard uphill running, easy jog down into 8-10 min. strong running on flat | BR: 20 min. easy OTB | BR: 30 min. easy OTB | KR: 70-80 min. run including 2 x 5 min. @ race pace with 3 min. easy walk/jog between |
Week 4: Transitional Week
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
| STRENGTH: Core + Activation work | KS: 2 x 500 with buoy @ 75%, 30 sec. rest
2 x 300 with buoy @ 80% effort, 30 sec. rest 2 x 100 swim @ 90%, 45 sec. rest |
KB: 60-80 min. light rolling hills ride, including 8-12 rounds of:
3 min. easy riding @ choice RPM, 2 min. hard effort at <65 RPM |
SS: Building ladder swim:
50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and back down. Increase effort on the back half |
SB: Easy bike, 90 min. | KB: Lighter 2-2.5 hr ride including
2-3 x 5 min. smooth riding @ 100+ RPM 5 min. stronger @ choice RPM |
KS: 12 x 100 swim as
6 @ 80%, then 3 @ 90%, 3 @ 95% effort, with 20-40 sec. rest |
| KR: 30-60 min. recovery run | KR: Low stress, rolling trail run of up to 60-70 min. |
Week 5: Race Simulation
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
| STRENGTH: Full strength | KS: 2 x
300 with paddles, 30 sec. rest 20 x 25 @ 90%, ~5-7 sec. rest |
10 min. up-tempo
KB: 3 x 2 min. as: 20 sec. max effort, 1 min. 40 sec. @ best sustained pace, 4 min. recovery between efforts |
SS: Technique swim: 2 x (12 x 25 fast, 2 x 400) with snorkel, buoy, band | STRENGTH: Full strength | KB: Ride ~2 hours including:
20 min. @ strong endurance pace @ ~65-75 RPM, 10 min. lighter effort @ choice RPM, 8 min. building to race pace, easy spin 5 min. then repeat |
KS: 200 @ 75%
4 x 25 max effort on 20 sec. rest. 200 @ 80-85% 4 x 50 fast on 30 sec. rest. 200 @ 85-90% 8 x 25 max effort on 20 sec rest. 200 @ 95% 4 x 100 fast on 1 min. rest |
| KR: 15 min. easy aerobic,
10 min. steady, 10 min. up-tempo |
BR: 3-4 x 1K @ race pace, 2 min. easy between | KR: 60 min. smooth endurance run including
4 x 5 min. @ race pace with 3 min. easy walk/jog between |
Week 6: Sharpening
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
| STRENGTH: Full strength | KS: 300 with paddles + buoy @ 70%,
4 x 100 steady with buoy @ 70% with 20 sec. rest, 300 with paddles + buoy @ 70%, 8 x 50 strong @ 85% with 10 sec. rest, 300 with paddles + buoy @ 70%, 10 x 25 @ 90% with 15 sec. rest |
KB: 3-4 x
5 min. @ race pace with cadence below 70 RPM, 4 min. recovery between |
SS: 3 x (8 x 50 fast, 400 smooth) | STRENGTH: Full strength | KB: ~2 hr. ride including
MS: 2 x 15 min. building efforts as 10 min. below race pace, 5 min. @ race pace, 5 min. recovery between rounds |
KS: 2 x
4 x 50 fast on 20 sec. rest, 2 x 100 @ 85% on 20 sec. rest. 200 @ 90-95%, holding pace from 100s, 50 easy |
| SR: Light resilience run, 60 min.
Finish with 5-10 min. of drills to prepare for tomorrow |
KR: 4 x 60 sec. pick-ups with high cadence on 60 sec. rest 2 x 6 min. building by 2 min. to strong pace, 3 min. easy running between |
BR: Brick Fartlek
1-2-3-2-1 min. @ race pace with equal time recovery jog between |
BR: 30 min. of great posture and technique. Low stress and conversational | KR: Easy run for 50-60 min. |
Week 7: Race Prep
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
| STRENGTH: Core + Activation work | KS: 2 x
300 smooth with paddles on 30 sec. rest, 40 x 25 @ 90% on ~5-7 sec. rest |
KB: 2 x
2 min. strong @ 95 RPM, 4 min. choice RPM, 90 sec. strong @ 95 RPM, 3 min. choice RPM, 1 min. hard @ 95 RPM, 2 min. choice RPM, 45 sec. hard @ 95 RPM, 1 min. choice RPM, 30 sec. Sprint @ 95 RPM |
SS 3 x (8 x 50 fast, 400 smooth) | SB: Easy spin, 50-60 min. | KB: ~2 hr. ride including
3 x 5 min. strong building 1-3 with #3 as best effort, 4 min. spin between, then 10 min. building from strong effort to race pace |
KS: 6 x 100 building effort every 2 intervals (70%/80%/90%) on 20
sec. rest.
14 x 25 all fast on 20 sec. rest. 6 x 50 building effort every 2 intervals (70%/80%/90%) 14 x 25 all fast on 20 sec. rest |
| SR: Easy 30-40 min. run, finish with 5-10 min. of drills to prepare for tomorrow | KR: Sharpening run:
6 x 400m (or ~90 sec.) @ race pace into 8 min. at/ just above race pace |
BR: 10 min. easy | BR: 2 x 4 min. @ race pace, 4 min. easy between | KR: 4 x 30 sec. strides into 40-50 min. easy aerobic effort |
Week 8: Race Week
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
| SB: Easy spin, 45-60 min. | KS: 200 with snorkel + buoy, 12 x 25 swim as 3 x progressing effort 1-4 (easy to fast) on 10 sec. rest
MS: 8 x 100 as2 @70%, 2 @ 80%, 2 @ 85%, 2 @ 90%, 30 sec. rest between |
KB: PS: 2 x 3 min. aerobic, 2 min. strong @ cadence <65 RPM, 1 min. build to fast and high effort @95+ RPM, 1 min. easy
MS: 3 x 4 min. progress effort each interval as: #1. Build to 80%; #2. Build to 85%; #3. Build to best effort 2 min. easy spin between each then into 5 min. at race pace (by feel, no data) |
SS: Longer progressive building effort swim. 45 min. | SB: Easy bike spin, 45-50 min. | OPEN-WATER PREP SWIM: Warm-up for 10-15 min. then
2-3 x 30 strokes race effort, 30 strokes smooth, 20 strokes race effort, 30 strokes smooth, 10 strokes above race effort, 30 strokes smooth |
RACE DAY!
Trust in your preparation, be patient, and have fun out there! |
| KR: 4 x 4 min. building to race pace,
1 min. easy between
6 x 30 sec. pickups, 30 sec. easy |
BR: 15-20 min. easy jog | PREP BIKE: Ride ~20-45 min., include 4 x 3 min. builds, spinning up to quick cadence.
Spin easy 2 min. between efforts |