The Triathlete's Training Bible

In my opinion, the goal of this book is to give people who want to compete in triathalons a scientific, self-coached training plan. Does it deliver? Absolutely. The book accomplishes this through six, cleanly divided parts. Part one, "The self-trained triathlete" is concerned with the "philosophical" basis for methodical training. It deals with things such as attitide and commitment, which are as important to me as the physical training. Part two, "From lab to real world" talks about the scientific foundation of training and goes into the science and priciples of training (i.e. progressive resistance, periodization, etc.). Part three, "Training with a purpose" seems to pull together parts one and two in which a system of purposeful training is described. This part will help the reader to determine exactly what their training needs are and the best ways to address them. Part four, simply titled "Planning" is really the heart of the book. Here the book helps you design your own training plan for a season, week by week. Part five, "Racing and recovering" takes you through the many details of preparing to race and recovering after. In other words, it gives you info on what to do before and after the actual race. This information is essential as many athletes neglect to recover properly before starting training again for the next race. Part six, "The competative edge" talks about other supplemental aspects of training that can contribute to peak performance. Here the book covers things such as swimming tips, weight training ex's, eating tips, keeping a training diary, etc. I like to think of this chapter as a kind of "tie up the loose ends" section. Truly a book that lives up to its name, I can't see many readers coming away from this book without picking up much useful information- from the beginner to the experienced. Athletes who have shoulder trouble that interferes with their training might also find Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff helpful too. Happy training!

The title sums up what this book is about and who it is for better than any other training book on the market. It is a complete program for competitive athletes. If you are currently doing triathlons just to stay in shape and enjoy yourself without worrying about your finishing time, stay away from this book. Stick to your swim a little, bike a little, run a little and see what happens training program. But the second you find yourself saying, "I want to beat my previous time" or "I want to see how fast I can go", this is the book for you.It is one of the only books out there that teaches you the information necessary to develop a customized training program that is perfect for only one person - YOU!Beware of all the books written by the stars of their respective sports that show you what they did to win, then tell you to adjust their program accordingly. Granted, many of these books are interesting reading and have some insightful hints, but they don't teach you the skills to think up your own program that fits your lifestyle. This book offers facts. It lets you decide how to incorporate all these facts into your own training, whether you are a first timer or elite competitor. The instant you decide that your last triathlon was not your best effort and you get competitive with yourself, buy this book.

After reading this book, many other books and articles on the sport seem to be poorly written. The author provides the whole picture for his claims by mentioning relevant scientific studies both supporting and nullifying his training method. He does not base any of this book on opinion, but does point out that there is also an art to training that has nothing to do with science.He gives excellent instruction for all three sports including how to devise a training plan customized for your goals, the special skills required for each sport, and nutrition. It is a very comprehensive book and will take at least a couple of weeks to finish, but the education is priceless. I never raced a triathlon before this book and after reading it, I felt like I had more information in my head on the subject than most seasoned veterans.The only negative about this book is that there needs to be more on swimming and to truly become a better swimmer you will need another resource; I believe he suggests Total Immersion by Terry Laughlin. Joe Friel's web site is http://www.ultrafit.com/ and you can go there for more tips or to inquire about personal coaching services. I sent him an e-mail questioning something in the book that I didn't understand and he responded the same day. I constantly quote the book to my friends. Maybe that's why it's called the "Bible".

Not being of the multisport athlete ranks myself (I'm a runner)I endeavoured to branch out this year and try a triathlon using the advice given in this book. I found that not only was this book incredibly useful for the novice triathlete, it was also the best book on running I have ever picked up. Advice on training cycles, nutrition, strength training, and racing was invaluable even for runners alone. I would highly recommend this book for any endurance athlete.

This book is as comprehensive as it gets on training for and competing in triathlons. The author outlines training programs for triathlons of all distances - sprint races to Ironman. He takes you through a self-evaluation that assists you in determining your strengths and weaknesses. This is a tremendous help in guiding you towards improving your performance, at whatever level you are competing. The information in this book is very current and will help any triathlete avoid the many pitfalls of the over-ambitious nature of triathlon training.