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| Time-Saving Training
For Multisport Athletes
by Rick Niles DescriptionThis is an excellent book for triathletes, designed to teach you how to train more efficiently in only five to nine hours a week. The basic philosophy of this book is that, in order to maximize performance in minimum time, every workout must have a purpose; every one must "count." This philosophy is certainly not unique to Niles, but this book is probably the best place where you can find that philosophy, and its concrete ramifications, laid out. In a way, this book can be seen as an update and extension of Mark Sisson's excellent Training and Racing Biathlons. Like Sisson (any many others, of course), Niles believes in "Threshold Training," and says that "the most profound training adaptations" result from such training. And, acknowledging that some people may think you don't need to train "fast" to race long distances like an Ironman, he notes: "As you adapt to going a little longer and a little faster in a threshold range, you also adapt to going a little faster at lower intensity."The book is quite comprehensive, and includes:
One nice feature of the book is that all training is described in terms of "levels," and while the use of heart rate monitors is acknowledged (and gently encouraged), Niles is equally at home with "perceived exertion" rather than being wedded to heart rate as seems to be the trend these days. Niles is also very much in tune with the multisport nature of triathlon. For example, he makes the following comment (which practically duplicate things this reviewer has written on the net, speaking from personal experience): "If your swimming fitness is off, you will start your bike leg more fatigued... You will deplete your fuel sooner on the bike, which may take extra time and will definitely slow down your run." Niles very much carries this philosophy into his training schedules. For example, he cautions against doing a run before a swim workout, because then you won't really get the benefit from the swim that you should be getting; better to forego the run. So, although any single-sport athlete might benefit from this book, the book is very definitely written for triathletes, as the title implies. The only weakness in the book is in the sample training schedules. Niles provides three 3-week schedules (one each for "swim emphasis," "bike emphasis," and "run emphasis"). If you're looking for a "complete" schedule, you may be disappointed, although I believe the sample schedules are still quite useful. Their weakness lies in that some of the workouts in the schedule have specific paces and/or heart rate (not percentages) in them, without any explanation of how to adjust the numbers for your own situation. Furthermore, about half of the bike workouts are given assuming that they are done on a stationary bike with a readout in Watts; triathletes who like to train on the road or who lack a Watt readout will have to figure out the equivalents themselves. Despite this problem, triathletes should find this book extremely useful. Highly recommended. About the AuthorRick Niles runs Rick Niles Multi-Sport Fitness in Santa Rosa, CA. He is an experienced triathlon coach and age-group triathlete. He is a regular contributor to Triathlete, Inside Triathlon, and Triathlon Sports in Australia.Book Details
Table of Contents
Reviews"Time-Saving Training is the book that I wanted to write...As Rick emphasizes in this book, 'It is not a matter of how much you train, but of how you train." - Karen Smyers, world-champion triathlete.Use the Back button on your browser to return to where you were, or select one of the following choices: |
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