New Aquabike Plans Launched!
We are pleased to announce our newest training plans — the Endurance Nation AquaBike edition! These are officially our 63rd and 64th training plans — you won’t find a more comprehensive or detailed set of resources to help you be your best. You can find them under the Move/Change portion of the My Plan page, the title is “2017 Aquabike…”
Before going any further, we owe a big shout out / thanks to friend, coach, and superfast triathlete Michael Collins for his help on the thought process behind these plans and the race execution tips.
Overview
Designed to help you reach the finish of your next Swim / Bike race as fast as possible, these plans were built using our proven workouts and online platform.
There are 12- and 20-week Intermediate level plans build specifically to prepare you for Long Course Worlds. The Aquabike distance there is a combined 2-mile swim and 75-mile bike. This year the race is in Penticton in August (details here).
Overall these plans are "swim heavy" as compared to traditional EN plans. This is partly because there is no running — whatsoever — in the plans. Ideally two of the swims have a bike right after to get you ready for the rigors of race day. Remember, you’ll be far less conservative on the bike as compared to a traditional triathlon since there’s no run at the end!
There is also Functional Testing in weeks four, eight and twelve. These tests will help set your swim and bike zones. You will also “enjoy” race simulation workouts for the swim and bike in the third and final phase to your race.
Individual Training Phases
The Endurance Nation Aquabike training plans have several different phases as you build to race day.
Phase One: Swim and Bike Fitness Building
- 12-week Plan: N/A
- 20-week Plan: Weeks 1 through 8
- Main Structure: Three Bikes, Two Swims
Phase One is your introductory training. You’ll swim twice, bike three times and have a cross-training day. The bikes follow the tradition Endurance Nation style of a weekday interval session, a longer Saturday session and then a Sunday tempo ride. Enjoy Monday’s off each week for recovery.
Phase Two: Bike Quality, Swim Endurance
- 12-week Plan: Weeks 1 through 7
- 20-week Plan: Weeks 9 through 14
- Main Structure: More swims plus FTP and VO2 mid-week rides.
Phase Two is go time! You’ll double up on the swim sessions for a total of four swims. Two of these will be “pre-bike” to get you ready for race day. Speaking of the bike, you’ll move to four rides during the week, with two interval sessions (think shorter, but harder) to get your fitness up. You still keep the Monday day off!
Phase Three: Bike Endurance, Swim Race Specificity
- 12-week Plan: Weeks 8 through 12
- 20-week Plan: Weeks 15 through 20.
- Main Structure: Four Swims, Three Bikes
Phase Three is the final push to your race. The swims remain frequent, ideally stacked Monday through Friday, as you can build them very close to race day. The bikes transition back into our more “traditional” setup with a single interval ride and weekend quality plus endurance. Your day off will be on Friday to help you get more out of the weekends.
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