Couch to triathlon in just 8 weeks: Welcome to your ultimate cheat sheet for getting into triathlon

Tell most people down the gym you’re doing a triathlon and they’ll immediately tell you how hard it is. Or how they had a mate who entered one, only to end up lost in a lake and eaten by a shark (or something). The truth of it is though, that provided you can swim, bike and run a little already, taking on a supersprint (the shortest tri distance) is easily within your grasp.

This 400m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km format is a perfect way to begin and the really good news? You don’t have to train every day for hours and hours.

This training plan from Dermott Hayes of London’s RG Active is designed to allow you to carry on with real life and gradually build until you’re able to complete the full race distance in each discipline, which will give you the confidence come race day to know you can complete it.

We’ve also included some interval training sessions that help to focus on improving your speed and making the longer sessions more comfortable. The second half of the plan includes some brick sessions, which get you to practise the feeling of going from swim to bike or bike to run. Don’t skip on these – they’re essential training unless you want jelly legs!

If you find that you’re not quite ready for some of the sessions, then you can reduce either the duration or intensity to begin with and then build up, and if you feel that you would like to add more time or intensity to the sessions in order to make them harder, that’s okay too. Plus, if you have a race time in mind, go ahead and be more analytical with timed targets each session.

It’s worth noting that although this plan is for triathlon, you can also use it for other short-distance multisport events such as an aquathlon, aquabike or duathlon if one of the disciplines isn’t for you.

Just be careful if substituting sessions – for example, you don’t want to swap all the swims for runs as you’ll be increasing impact on your body and could risk injury.

For most of you though, this plan will be about completing not competing – so make it fun and focus on finishing your first race feeling strong!

Top 5 tips for supersprint success:

1. Fit it in

Spend time thinking about how you can plan your training into your lifestyle. It shouldn’t feel like a burden – so can you cycle or run your commute, for example? Or combine activities with your friends or kids (if you have them)? Good examples are Parkrun or a Sunday morning family bike ride.

At this level, training can be less about hardcore goal-setting and more about just getting active and accustomed to training across three sports. Make a plan at the start of each week when motivation is high.

Although it’s good to be flexible (we all have busy lives, after all) if you know what’s coming up and make a commitment to stick to it then it can be harder to shirk – or bump sessions – meaning they ultimately get missed completely.

2. Get motivated

Set some targets for yourself. A triathlon is based on finish time and so it’s worth thinking about some realistic but slightly challenging times to keep motivation up!

The beauty of multisport is that there’s a chance for everyone to set a goal and achieve it, whether that goal is an overall race one – such as finishing your first event or coming in under a certain time – or one specific to an element of the sport.

You could aim to achieve a certain time in the swim, bike or run, or to (for example) manage the whole swim in front crawl.

3. Gear up

Get kitted out. You don’t need to spend thousands of pounds on equipment, but having gear that does the job is very important, especially a well-maintained bike.

Read the rules for the race you are doing, too (or check them out on the British Triathlon website) to make sure you don’t get caught out on race day.

Simple things like making sure your wetsuit is right for the conditions you will be swimming in and that your bike is well serviced and the gears and brakes are working freely will make a huge difference.

Don’t stress about having ‘all the gear’ though. At beginner level, you’ll see everything from shopping bikes to basic digital watches – and don’t worry about cycling in trainers if you haven’t braved cleats yet.

4. Progress

Understand the objective of each session and stick to the plan. Rather than repeat sessions that you like doing, you must challenge yourself and keep progressing. Our training plan will get you there if you follow it, but why not add your own mini-goals in as well? It could be as simple as a decent Sunday lunch after completing another week of training, to a piece of kit each month as you get closer to your race.

5. Celebrate

Make sure you take the time to look at how far you’ve come and celebrate the wins. Once your first race is complete, give yourself a huge pat on the back – however many mistakes you made (we’ve all been there) and whether or not you hit your goals – you’re a triathlete!

Wear the tee with pride and show the medal to anyone who asks (and maybe those who don’t). Then there’s one thing left to do – plan your next one.

Eight-week couch to triathlon training plan

For more triathlon training plans, check out our list of free plans for all distances and abilities.