What to Expect on Your First Triathlon Training Camp: A Beginner's Perspective
At Tri Training Harder, we have seen the trend of athletes' abilities change over the years that we have run camps. In the beginning, camp attendees were generally top, competitive athletes. Now, it is still common to have those top athletes joining us, but they are also attending with several athletes going through their first triathlon season. We firmly believe that ability is not a pre-defining factor for camp attendance. In fact, the more varied, the better, as more individuals are considering active holidays. However, there are still some misconceptions and tips that both beginners and experienced athletes would benefit from learning before attending their first camp, and this article will explore them.
Expect to see more training.
Training Camps should always have a specific aim. Regardless of the aim, any camp’s schedule will likely seem like a lot more training than an athlete is used to. Some athletes will be excited by this, but others may feel overwhelmed and find it a little daunting for their first one. The best thing you can do if you are attending your first training camp is to be prepared for what looks like a lot of training on paper!
The schedule or timetable will be blocks of time. However, it is unlikely to highlight the parts of the sessions. For example, a bike ride will have cafe stops, and the swims could have more extended warm-ups than you are used to or include change time! Significantly, few people can go from normal training volumes to those of an Olympic athlete overnight, so there will be sensible progressions, and there should be plenty of ways to make the session easier (or harder) depending on who is there. Still, though, you should expect to see more time training! For our Portugal camps, we point out carefully to athletes that by the time they have completed the first couple of days of training on the camp, it is normal that athletes have trained more than they usually do in the week. Yet, it is one of the most beginner-friendly camps we run, and most finish the week overjoyed at what they completed!
Understanding each day
Some camps may focus more on one sport or discipline than others. However, many training camps abroad will include cycling every day because of the quality of the roads abroad compared to the UK. Because of this, many camps which claim to be triathlon camps are essentially cycling camps with some swimming and running bolted on the sides of the bike. This may be what you are after, but it can also be something you want to avoid if you want more triathlon focus, especially if you're going to take advantage of a clean and empty pool! Triathlon-specific camps often have more balance and will target the training you need to do across all three sports and often are more coach-heavy.
Strength sessions in training camps are often neglected or kept as more of a stretching or rejuvenation session. This is ok. Adding pure strength work on top of the training camp volume may be too much. However, athletes would do well to do their own rehab or prehab in their rooms or the gym. So stretching, rolling and preparing themselves for exercise every evening/morning. This can help them stay on top of tired legs or any tight spots and mean they can train better each day.
Most camps will oscillate with their training focus. There may be harder days and easier days, more intense sessions and less intense ones. Really try and understand (and stick to the purpose of each session! If it says “easy run”, then make sure it is easy. Often, newer athletes will be shy about slowing down to their comfort paces because they don’t want to hold others up. Or, they tend to push hard because they don’t understand what easy is or what the impact of going too hard is! This can be part of the education process, but don’t be afraid to ask questions. A good training camp environment will help you.
The importance of recovery, sleep and food!
Recovery is vital! Athletes shouldn’t spend hours rolling and stretching just to eat into their sleep! A lot of downtime should be spent resting or eating (or both!) to offset the increase in training volume athletes have completed. The only way you can manage this extra training load from that heavy schedule is by recovering "harder", so try and get to bed early, take naps and fuel through the week!
When beginner athletes or athletes who are unaccustomed to the increased training loads arrive at a camp, they often miss the fuelling opportunities. This is because it isn’t normal. This can also be the case for short-course athletes, who can get away with fuelling ineffectively through races or training sessions. On a training camp, though, these errors can snowball. Therefore, athletes should try and eat before, during and after every session! Also, because camps are usually held in warmer climates, athletes should be drinking (with electrolytes) as well. As a general rule of thumb, athletes should try and consume one bottle of electrolytes for each hour of training. Thereafter, if they can consume 60-90g of carbohydrates as well, they will be offsetting a lot of the fuel burned through training. However, this is often uncommon for athletes and much more than they are used to. Athletes can forget to fuel or get distracted during sessions! Try to keep on top of your training fuel and then also eat well, even when you are not hungry. It will really help! This will mean packing fuel or nutrition with you to take on your trip. We always recommend brining our own gels, bars and drinks as you may not be able to find it when in a foreign country.
Many athletes will find that the recovery side of things is easy – they are tired and go to bed! Still, athletes should try and sleep a little more than they are accustomed to, as that will help balance the training load they are completing.
Group dynamics on a training camp
When beginner athletes first join a camp, it can be a bit like attending a race: everyone else seems strong and good, has fancy kit and bikes, talks a lot of the talk and can all be quite intimidating. The reality is that looks (and chat) usually is there to make up for ability rather than showcase it!
They will probably find they are better than they think they are in the group, and the group isn't as good as it first seemed! Inevitably, there will be one or two faster people across the different sports, and that is an opportunity for other athletes to learn from them and see how they can train alongside those athletes. If there are any big egos, they are usually managed by the coaching team so as not to disrupt the rest of the group. We always encourage an inclusive and fun environment which allows people to make mistakes, fail and learn without feeling that they will be ridiculed. This creates the best learning atmosphere. If an athlete doesn't feel safe and secure, they should speak up. The dynamics should change as people find their place in groups, and they will find athletes who usually are unbelievably friendly. After almost two decades of running camps, we can count on one hand the people who were disruptive. Therefore, the norm is for a friendly and inclusive group of individuals!
Athletes mustn’t be afraid of slowing the group down. Everyone should be able to go at their own pace, and this is where understanding the size of the group and the number of coaches can help athletes decide on the right choice of camp for them. Our biggest tip for athletes is to be brave and speak up if they don’t understand or find things too tough. It is always easier for a coach to make the session easier for an athlete early on than try and deal with the consequences of a group that has all gone too hard!
Opportunities for one-on-one coaching and personalised feedback
A training camp may be an athlete’s first opportunity to experience coaching or even professional-standard coaching. This is more significant than the ordinary experiences of a club, as these coaches should be experts! Additionally, time spent with an athlete day in and day out allows the coach to observe a lot more and to give the athlete some clear pointers about their development. Our training camps provide every athlete with an athlete report when they finish. This gives athletes a clear direction on where they want to go next. Other camps may do things differently, but you should leave with a clear direction on what you need to improve and how to do it.
Athletes may want to sit with a coach formally or informally and ask them for more personalised direction while on a camp. Or they may also have the chance to break out and do some 1-2-1 training sessions. These opportunities will enhance training sessions and facilitate even greater opportunities for feedback. We would encourage all athletes to ask for more conversations. However, there may also be the chance to talk to the coaches while riding or through some of the training sessions. This can be a fantastic opportunity to ask any and all sorts of questions! However, it may be harder to take notes!
Bringing the right kit with you
Often, beginners have less awareness of what is good kit and what is bad; what would be useful and what isn’t. We have put together this article on some top tips to bring on a camp. Padded shorts and some key items, as outlined in that article, can be really effective and will make an experience a lot better. However, there is also the opportunity to hire items like bikes or wetsuits, which can make travelling easier or save you from making a significant expense before trying on items. Athletes may be able to borrow some items from other athletes on the camp, but it is best to try and pack enough for yourself.
Philip is the founder of Tri Training Harder LLP. He’s a British Triathlon Level 3 coach, and has been coaching for over a decade and is involved with mentoring and developing other coaches.
Philip has have coached athletes to European and World AG wins, elite racing, many Kona qualifications, IRONMAN podiums and AG wins.
Alongside the conventional development through many CPD courses, he has also been fortunate enough to work alongside experts in the fields of Physiotherapy, Strength and Conditioning, Nutrition, Psychology, Biomechanics, Sports Medicine. Putting this knowledge into practice he has worked with thousands of athletes to various degrees, from training camps in Portugal and around Europe, clinics in the UK and online coaching.
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