Melanie Fink - IronFit Triathlon Training for Women: Training Programs and Secrets for Success in all Triathlon Distances

An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright 2014 by Don Fink and Melanie Fink

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

Ironman, Ironman Triathlon, Iron Girl, and Ironman 70.3 are registered trademarks of the World Triathlon Corporation.

IronFit is a registered trademark of Don Fink.

All exercise photos featuring Yvonne Hernandez are provided courtesy of Debra Trebitz.

Cover Photo: Heidi Sessner by James Mitchell Photography

Illustrations by Corey Debiasse

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

ISBN 978-1-4930-0609-0

eISBN 978-1-4930-1620-4

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER

The programs in this book are designed for athletes with either a high level of fitness or the physiology to attain a high level of fitness. Readers should consult a physician before beginning any of the workouts suggested herein. If you experience any pain or difficulty with these exercises, stop and consult your health-care provider.

To our service women and men who defend our freedom and allow us the liberty to pursue our dreams.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Female participation in the sport of triathlon has skyrocketed worldwide since the year 2000. Whats even more amazing than this phenomenal growth is the fact that the ratio of women in the sport has greatly increased during this same time frame. Women are now the most rapidly growing segment in one of the worlds fastest-growing sports.

In no place is this more apparent than in the United States. Membership in USA Triathlon, the governing body of the sport in the United States, has more than quadrupled in the past twelve years, climbing from about 127 thousand members in 2000 to over 550 thousand members today. As amazing as this growth is, even more amazing is the fact that women make up the fastest-growing segment of this rapidly growing sport. While women accounted for only about 25 percent of the USA Triathlon membership in the year 2000, their participation has skyrocketed to about 40 percent today. And these statistics are only for the United Statesthere are now millions of women competing in triathlon worldwide.

Along with the amazing growth in the participation of female triathletes has been a growth in their competitiveness. Women want to do a lot more than just participatethey want to compete, and their race times have been getting progressively faster each year. Today, competitions in the female age groups are as fiercely battled as any of the mens age groups.

This has resulted in a hunger for information specific to female triathletes. The challenge for women, however, is that while they encounter all the same challenges as men, a host of additional issues exist that are unique to them... most of which men dont have a clue about. From the stay-at-home mom to the professional woman, female triathletes face a wide range of challenges including societal expectations and physical and emotional issues. Until now, there has been no single go-to source for this type of information and guidance.

This book provides exactly what the fastest-growing segment of the triathlon world yearns for: a complete training guide for female triathletes with highly efficient and easy-to-follow training programs for success in all triathlon distances. It is geared toward women of all experience and competitive levels, from the beginner to the seasoned veteran triathlete. This book arms the female triathlete with everything she needs to know to persevere over these unique challenges, and it provides her with the exact step-by-step training programs to help her to achieve her goals and more.

We have been training female athletes for over twenty years and have enjoyed success at all levels. From being the first overall woman at a regional triathlon to winning their age groups at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, IronFits female athletes have been a force. And more important, IronFit has successfully inspired and brought women into the sport through our time-efficient approach and practical training plans. Through this book we share the training secrets and training plans guaranteed to help any female triathlete take her performance to the next level.

We will start by presenting the illustrious history of women in triathlon. This may be surprising to some, as most women are not even aware of the crucial role women have played in the successful growth of the sport from the very beginning.

Then we will present successful training and lifestyle strategies for you as a female triathlete and discuss the important health and nutritional challenges affecting women. We deal with all of the physical and emotional issues confronting women, some of which are sensitive and rarely discussed. But it is important information that female athletes need to know.

We will then provide all the information needed to empower you to select the best races and to set highly motivating goals. The criteria for selecting races and setting exciting and healthy goals for women often differ from that of men, and we address those issues head on.

Next we will provide advice on triathlon equipment for women. Should you use equipment specifically designed for women or the same equipment the men use? It actually depends on the type of equipment, and we will spell it all out for you.

We will fully explain all of the specific training sessions that make up a great training program, as well as the crucial training principles for success, and we will show you the secrets of making heart rate training work for you.

This book includes three complete multileveled training programs specially designed for women at the Sprint/Standard (aka Olympic) Distance, Half Iron-Distance, and Full Iron-Distance triathlons. Each program is presented at three levels: Competitive, Intermediate, and Just-Finish. You can simply select the program for the race distance for which you want to train and the exact level, based on your individual competitiveness, experience, and available training time. The proper training program, combined with the information presented in this book, will provide you with everything you need to successfully prepare for and maximize your performance at any racing distance.

In addition to the actual training programs, we will present our Functional Strength and Core Program, Warm-Up Program, and Flexibility Program, all specifically designed for female triathletes.