51 ESSENTIAL LUNCHTIME SESSIONS

Sub-1hr swim, bike, run and strength workouts that will make you a better triathlete

Squeezed for time? You’re not alone. As triathletes we have three disciplines to train for. Plus add in work, family and friends, any semblance of a social life, and it’s clear that we need to maximise our training opportunities to stay on top of the multisport competition. This means fitting something productive into a lunch hour or grabbing some time before or after work.

At every level of racing – from super sprint to Ironman – triathlon is an endurance sport. Therefore, it’s easy to fall into the habit of thinking that a short session isn’t worth doing. This is the wrong path to take. If your session has an objective – and you nail it – then it’s definitely worth getting your kit on for. Here we’ve come up with 51 sessions that should take less than an hour to complete, including warm-up and cool-down, plus time to get changed before a quick stroll back to work.

The swims are all based on a 25m pool so you can change the structure of the sessions if needed. For some of the sets, you’ll need various pieces of swim equipment including a kickboard, pull buoy and paddles where stated. The bike sessions are mostly based indoors and are a mixture of turbo, gym or spin class, although some can be adapted to the outdoors for variation.

The bike sets are mostly 3035mins in duration and it helps to have an existing knowledge of your capabilities. If not, you can complete the 30min ‘Test’ to help you figure out cadence, power and your average speed per kilometre. The run sessions are a mix of location and terrain. They offer a variety of speed, strength and endurance options that’ll give you a great kick in the winter months.