Customer Reviews

Training Plans for Multisport Athletes: Your Essential Guide to Triathlon, Duathlon, Xterra, Ironman & Endurance Racing

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Training Plans for Multisport Athletes is an excellent resource for anyone interested in planning a multisport fitness or training program. Bernhardt clearly outlines several different plans for different events (sprint, olympic, half and full Ironman, as well as duathlon and general fitness) and provides explanations for each workout.

Similar books include Niles's "Time Saving Training for Multisport Athletes" and Friel's "The Triathlete's Training Bible," both of which I would recommend alongside Bernhard's work. However, there are important differences among these books. Niles is a great concise overview of the why of training in a time saving manner and gives some good examples of how to do it. His chapters are easy to read, and brief. Niles provides some workouts, but only a few week's worth.

Friel's book, aptly named, is a must have since it clearly explains, in appropriate depth, the components of triathlon, and how and why to train for them in certain ways. His book is thorough, yet not overwhelming. The book helps you plan your training year and get started on a program, but does not provide daily plans-you need to make those yourself.

Bernhardt's book differs (and adds value, in my opinion) from the others because she provides workout plans that are already made: the plans are detailed to the specific day, and targeted to specific audience members, providing a ready made formula for success for a wide range of athletes, from the beginning sprint triathlete to the seasoned duathlete and Ironman competitor. She also has plans for improving sprint and olympic distance triathlon as well as duathlon performance.

This book bridges the gap between Niles and Friel--Niles gives you some example workouts, but only a few week's worth. Friel, on the other hand, gives you the components, but you need to assemble the plan--a chore I didn't really want to do. Bernhardt gives me what I want--a clear plan that follows the concepts Friel explains. It's like having a coach, but only paying for the book!

This book is a definite asset in my training library. I think it is, alongside Friel's Training Bible, required reading for anyone interested in triathlon. Friel gives you the concepts, and Berhardt gives you the plans based on those concepts. For the price, Bernhardt practically provides personal coaching distilled into a convenient travel sized package! It is easy to read, covers all the basics of training and preparation, and is fun to read. If you want plans, this book is a teriffic resource. Thanks Gale! Great book!

This book is not what I was hoping for. I've downloaded free training plans from the internet (Troy Jacobson in particular) that were just excellent, with scheduled workouts spelled out clearly. There is too much guessing and jumping back and forth between chapters, appendices, and training charts in Gale's book. Not to mention typos and missing information. This is not a user-friendly book. 3 stars at best.

This book was really the foundation for my training for a recent 1/2 ironman triathlon. I'm a casual athlete and this book gave me all the information needed to step up to the next level and do better than I ever imagined possible. It has relatively brief sections on nutrition, how to train (levels of exercise and such), weight training, specific run, bike, and swim workout, stretching, and a good section on how to modify the plans in the book, but the bulk of the book is training plans for various levels of athlete's for specific goals - everything from a first sprint triathlon to a competitive ironman, with plans for duathlons and other types of multisport athlets. I followed a 13 week plan for a 1/2 ironman and, even never having done a triathlon before, exceeded all expectations with this plan. Don't get me wrong - it wasn't by any means easy, and for almost all of the 13 weeks my body was feeling a bit beat up, but come race day I performed better than I had in any of my training workouts. I can't recommend this book enough.

The book does stay at a fairly high level. It takes more of the "trust me this will work" approach. If you're interested in the theory behind the book or want to spend time developing a HIGHLY tailored plan, I would recommend Joe Friel's Triathlete's Training Bible ... , but for most people this is too much information. Both books are based on the same training methodology and the authors work closely together.

The one thing that this book doesn't cover that many triathlete's need help with is how to swim correctly and easily. For this I would recommend one of Terry Laughlin's books ... . Spend a couple months doing his drill progression and swimming will be the least of your concerns in a triathlon.

In short, this is a phenomenal traing tool that will help all levels of athletes reach their and exceed their goals in a large variety of multisport events.

WOW -- I am new to tri and looked and looked for just the right book and found in it everything that I was looking for.

This is a great instructional book that includes step-by-step training plans to prepare you for triathlons that range from your first sprint tri to improving your times to preparing you for an Ironman. No guessing involved, just follow the plan. Plans range from 6 weeks all the way up to a challenging 52 weeks; therefore, triathletes of all levels can benefit from this book.

Includes specifics on nutrition, weight training, individual swim, run and cycle workouts based in periodization. (Periodization, in my opinion is the training secret to improving performance in all sports.)

WOW -- I am new to tri and looked and looked for just the right book and found in it everything that I was looking for.

This is a great instructional book that includes you step-by-step training plans to prepare you for triathlons that range from your first sprint to improving times to preparing for an Ironman. Therefore, triathletes of all levels can benefit from this book. No guessing involved, just follow the plan. Plans range from 6-weeks all the way up to 52-weeks and would be challenging, I believe, for even a seasoned triathlete.

Includes specifics on nutrition, weight training, individual swim, run and cycle workouts based in periodization. (Periodization, in my opinion is the training secret to improving performance in all sports.)

This is a good training book with some helpful hints. Another new book that is very helpful is the Waterproof Triathlete: Waterproof Workouts for Triathletes. It contains lots of different workouts as well. Keep on tri-ing!

If you're interested in learning the training procedures for a triathlon, look no more. The book is great for amateur or elite advice. There are quiet a few books out there on the sport, but this one beats all i have read. She gives very easy to read workout plans up until race day... Simply put- This book is a has a wealth of knowledge to anyone wanting advice on "Tri-ing"

My book is a mess. The cover is torn, the pages are all curled up, and who knows what I spilled on page 265. Obviously it is well used. When I wanted to do a marathon it was simple to find a easy plan to follow. It went something like "Run 5 miles today". Then I got interested in triathlons and life got complicated. Now I was dealing with lactate thresholds, zones and phases. Life is too busy, I just want to know what to do. Gale's book is perfect. It translated that complicated stuff into "run 5 miles up a hill today". I used one of her plans for my first triathlon (a 1/2 IM) and another for my most recent (FL IM). I am signed up again for FL IM and the only thing I will do different is follow the plan closer.

I was hoping that with the help of this book and The Triathlete's Training Bible, that I would be able to create a perfect training plan for my abilities at the 1/2 Iron distance. I must admit that I was somewhat disappointed. If you fit the canned plan - great. If not, it is difficult to make meaningful alterations that will be of significant benefit.

One of the reasons I bought this book was because I was so impressed with some of Gale's plans that are published in Triathlete. I don't think this book offers any greater value than the magazine published plans. This is more a comment of the high quality of the plans published in the magazine rather than a criticism of those in the book.

Finally, there are problems with some of the tabular presentations. Some codes are under the wrong day and such. This adds additional confusion.

All and all, I am a fan of Gale's plans but only wish this book included a plan that was directly oriented towards my abilities and training commitment. Certainly the book provides meaningful advice, but by no means will be all things to all people.

I bought this book and several others to develope a training plan for an off-road triathalon. This was the book that most clearly layed out a plan for me to follow. The book has many different training plans for many different multisport events. I was able to find a plan that focused on the the events in which I was competing and in the time period I had to train. I modified the plan a little to meet my schedule. This weekend I completed my first triathalon and I could not believe how good it felt. I had a blast. Make a plan and put it into action. Good Luck. Brian