Trimarni Training Plans - available now!

Do you have a triathlon goal for 2016? 

Are you registered for your first Olympic, Half or Full Ironman distance triathlon? 

Are you looking to improve your skills, endurance, strength and overall fitness throughout your racing season to see what you are capable of achieving at your key race? 

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If so, we created our (NEW) 20-week Trimarni training plans with YOU in mind. 

As 2015 Ironman World Championship finishers, we understand the physiological and nutritional needs of endurance triathlon training and racing.
But we don't just cater to top athletes.
No matter what level athlete you are or what event distance you are training for, we put a lot of thought and effort into our plans to ensure that you would feel physically, mentally, nutritionally and emotionally ready for your upcoming races. 

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Marni is a Board Certified Sport Dietitian (CSSD) and holds a Master of Science in exercise physiology. She specializes in sport nutrition and she is a certified USA Triathlon level-1 coach. With a great understanding of the physiological and nutritional requirements of training for endurance sports, she enjoys working with triathletes of all levels. She has coached fitness enthusiasts to become first-time Ironman finishers, has helped many age-groupers, with families and busy work schedules, reach personal best times and achieve life-long goals and has developed athletes to qualify for the Ironman World Championship.
Marni is a 10x Ironman finisher with a 10:17 Ironman PR (IM Austria), including 4 Ironman World Championship finishes. 

Karel is an experienced RETUL bike fitter with exceptional skills as a bike mechanic. Karel knows everything and anything about cycling. As an exceptional cat 1 cyclist turned triathlete, Karel has the ability to think like a one sport athlete but train like a triathlete in order to help Trimarni athletes learn how to train smarter. As a cyclist turned triathlete, Karel has had to learn the basics when it comes to training for triathlons, which has allowed him to better coach his athletes. Karel qualified for the 70.3 World Championship after his first half IM and finished his 2nd Ironman in 9:22 (Ironman Austria) with a 3:11 marathon.

Karel and Marni enjoy working together because they each have their own strengths and specialty areas when it comes to coaching athletes and performing as top age-group endurance triathletes. 

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We enjoy the developmental process of working with athletes and teaching our athletes how to train smarter in order to execute well on race day.  We provide great detail and attention to every workout which includes focus on strength training, daily and sport nutrition, pacing, intervals, mental toughness, recovery and learning how to adjust to life. We strongly believe in an educational component to our coaching so that our athletes know why they are doing what they are doing in every workout, with every phase of training.

Thank you for considering Trimarni Coaching to help you reach your short and long term triathlon goals. 

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2016 TRIMARNI TRAINING PLANS

Performance Team
If you are a triathlete who is interested in Trimarni coaching and being part of the Trimarni team but not interested in individualized-coaching this season, the PERFORMANCE team plan is designed just for you!
With the purchase of any Trimarni 20-week endurance triathlon training plan (Half or Ironman distance), you can feel part of a team by joining our private Trimarni Coaching Facebook page to socialize with your fellow Trimarni teammates, connect with us at key Trimarni races and camps, receive our weekly “check-in” emails (which will provide you with weekly education, information, tips, race results and support on topics like swimming, cycling, running, mental strength, sport nutrition, daily nutrition, strength training, race strategy/execution, motivation tips, etc) and receive sponsor discounts.
Instead of browsing the web and consulting with friends over and over again about your gear, training and nutrition questions, let us help educate you so that you can learn how to train and race smarter.
At check-out when purchasing your 20-week half or full Ironman training plan, select "Performance Team". After your purchased training plan is emailed to you, you will be part of the Trimarni team for only $50 a month (we will contact you regarding set-up for monthly paymnets). You can start/cancel your $50/monthly payment anytime. 
We look forward to having you be part of the Trimarni team!

Email us with any questions. 

Olympic, Half and Full Ironman plans
The Trimarni training plans are designed for committed, passionate, performance-seeking athletes of all fitness levels who want to train smarter to train harder. We keep our training philosophy simple - we want you to reach performance goals without compromising your overall health. Our training plans are designed to keep you in good health, as you balance everything in your busy life, as you take your fitness to the next level. We believe that our plans will keep you excited to train while minimizing burnout and risk for injury. Our plans provide the right mix of challenge and fun as you work hard to reach personal fitness goals. 

We have updated our plans which are all now 20 weeks and include 4 weeks of our Transition/Foundation plan. 

For more info on what is included with each plan: 

Endurance Plan - Half and Full Ironman distance

Olympic Plan

At checkout, you can add the option of the Performance Plan OR select 1-hour phone call if you'd like to set-up a consultation with me and/or Karel at any point throughout your season to discuss your race strategy, training or nutrition. 

Transition/Foundation Plan
Back by popular demand, our updated transition plan is designed specifically to help you develop the proper skills to progress smoothly throughout the year. Consider this the blueprint of building a strong house for your body.  It is important to appreciate the first phase of your training plan as the focus is not on speed, pace, heart rate and/or power but instead skills, form and neuromuscular control. We designed this plan to help you get stronger before you try to get faster or go longer. We consider this phase a necessary but often overlooked part of most  triathlon training plans. Every Trimarni athlete (and Karel and myself) follow a transition phase before we get into more specific training.
For more info: 
8-week Transition/Foundation Plan

Periodized Strength Training Plan
You know it's important but strength training is often the most neglected or confusing component of a triathletes training plan (and often the first to go in the spring when the training becomes more specific). 

We designed a periodized strength training plan that allows for smooth progression throughout your periodized plan. With swimming, biking and running as your primary focus, our strength training plan may make it easier to achieve better swim, bike and run results with a stronger body.
Our strength training plan is designed to help you build a strong foundation and then when you add more speed and power in your training plan, the strength training routine changes from simple, isolated movements to more complex and dynamic movements.
The Trimarni periodized strength plan includes videos for every exercise, including dynamic warm-ups, glute/hip/core focus and stretching links for your entire season and almost all exercises can be performed at your home, with minimal equipment. For more info:
Periodized Strength Training Plan

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GIFT CERTIFICATES
Yes - we have them! 

Trimarni Gift Certificates are available for the holidays, birthdays, special occasions and anniversary's.
Please send us a message via our contact page on our website before purchasing your desired plan so we know to include a gift certificate with your purchase to your favorite athlete in mind.

Thanks for supporting Trimarni.
We are excited to be part of your upcoming training and racing season!

Trimarni training plans - new and updated!!!!

At Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, we realize that no two athletes are alike. We (as athletes) all have different health and fitness goals, we live different lifestyles (with different stressors, obligations and time constraints) and we all come from different athletic backgrounds.

When it comes to coaching an athlete, there is nothing like a personalized training plan with specific workouts and zones to support your individual athlete development. Even better is a training plan that caters to your every day life so that you never feel guilty about the 3 M's - missing workouts, modifying workouts and making-up workouts.

An experienced coach understands that preparing an athlete for a race is more than just being a great workout writer.
Depending on a coaches background or specialty area, coaches are often required to be experts in many areas or they bring in the other experts in for a "team" approach to coaching - sport RD, exercise physiologist, sport psychologist, counselor, motivational speaker and physical therapist.  As you can see, there is so much more to "coaching" an athlete than just giving workouts.

At Trimarni coaching and nutrition, we never want our athletes to feel as if training takes over their life or a nutrition journey is extreme, restricting or complicated. We want our athletes to feel prepared and confident with their training and nutrition so we love helping our athletes put in the work for positive results but not at the cost of poor health or sacrifices in life. 

What we feel is not effective in a quality training plan is a standard approach of training - simply having athletes check-off workouts just to get them done. We want athletes to get something valuable out of every workout. We never want our athletes to feel that a workout is only successful if a specific number of miles or minutes are achieved. 

We put great detail and attention into every workout and do our best to carefully monitor our athletes to help them stay balanced with training but also in life.  We also want to give you as much information (handouts) as possible so you understand the why's with your training. We place a lot of focus on strength training, daily and sport nutrition, proper pacing, race execution/planning, mental toughness, recovery and so much more and we want you to learn as you train so you can be a smarter athlete. 

The Trimarni training plans are designed for committed, passionate, performance-seeking athletes of all fitness levels. Yes - that's you!
Our training plans are designed to keep you in good health as you take your training to the next level. 

As a 4x Ironman World Championship qualifier and sport RD, I understand what it takes to train and fuel smart to excel as an endurance triathlete. Karel is a recent Ironman World Championship qualifier and with only 2 years as a triathlete (former cat 1 cyclist), he understands the importance of athlete development. Together, we have coached many athletes of all different levels and ages, who dream big just like us and are willing to work hard for short and long term goals. 

We feel confident that our training plans will take the guessing away from haphazard training and ensure consistent performance gains to help you feel physically and mentally "race ready". We want you to arrive to your race start line with your uninjured, strong and healthy body, feeling "hungry to race" and confident to do so!

If you are interested in a Trimarni training plan, here is what we currently offer to help you with your performance journey: 

Don’t miss our “spring training” special – receive 20% off a 1-hour phone (or skype/facetime) consultation with Marni and/or Karel with the purchase of your training plan now until March 31st!! This can be used to discuss all things related to training, nutrition, sport nutrition, gear or racing!

16-week Endurance plan - UPDATED

Half or Full Ironman

Training for an endurance event requires dedication and commitment. We can assure you that it is extremely helpful to have a training plan that will allow for gradual fitness progression and to help you reduce the risk for injury, burn out and sickness. With the help of our endurance training plan of your choice (half or full Ironman), we want to make sure that you absolutely love your upcoming training journey. And if this is not your first go-around with endurance racing, we are confident that you will enjoy the detailed, periodized workouts in our training plans with specific periodized strength training. No matter your fitness level, we can assure you that you will never get bored with our workouts and you will find yourself getting stronger, faster and fitter during your 16 week plan. 

Olympic Distance Triathlon Plan - UPDATED
Our 12-week plan includes periodized training with key workouts with specific main sets. We focus on all phases of training, including a proper build phase, followed by peaking, taper and race week. Just like in our endurance plan, you will receive a go-to guide to learn how we coach our athletes and how to use your gadgets properly. You will also receive a sport nutrition handou, foundation strength exercises, a swim technique handout, a Trimarni pace zone calculator – for determining pace and HR zones with testing and all workouts can be accomplished with RPE (ratings of perceived exertion) or you may use your GPS device with attached heart rate monitor. A GPS-device/HR monitor is highly recommended for better pacing and quality training. A power meter is not required for our training plans but can be used.

8-week transition plan - STILL AWESOME
Triathlon focused

The transition plan is designed specifically to help you develop the proper skills to progress smoothly throughout the year. Consider this the blueprint of building a strong house for your body.  Our transition plan comes with specific strength and skill workouts to help you get stronger before your more structured training. We do not want you to rush you into your structured training and have you training hard right from the beginning so this plan allows you to place some healthy stress on your body so you can properly adapt to your more specific race-focused training. If you follow the plan that you are given, you will realize that you have some weaknesses (we all do) and that is what we want to address before you advance with your training. Check out our website under the 8-week transition plan to learn more about what is included in your plan. 

Periodized Strength Training Plan - NEW!

For Triathletes, runners and coaches

No longer will you feel like strength training is a missing link in your training plan! Our periodized plan is designed for triathletes (and runners) to help you get stronger before you get faster so you can go longer.

Even though we know you love to train, we are not here to give you a strength training plan that is too advanced for your fitness or one that is haphazard and does not yield favorable swim, bike and run results. Our strength training plan is designed to help you build a strong foundation before you begin to add more speed and power in your training plan and then designed to help you become more powerful and stronger all the way until your A-race. We have personally created over 50 exercises AND videos featured in your strength training plan as well as dynamic warm-up exercises AND videos for swimming, biking and running. We also include specific glute/core/hip strength routines, specific routines for each of the 4 phases of training including recommendations for days performed, sets and reps and ALL strength training workouts are machine-free!
We do require a therapy band, stability ball and free weights (5, 10, 15 and 20 lbs) at minimum. If you have access to medicine balls, kettle bells,  plates and bars, you will have exercises that incorporate full body movements with the use of added weight. 

Don’t miss our “spring training” special – receive 20% off a 1-hour phone (or skype/facetime) consultation with Marni and/or Karel with the purchase of your  training plan now until March 31st!! This can be used to discuss all things related to training, nutrition, sport nutrition, gear or racing!

Our goal is to help athletes reach performance goals while keeping the body in the best health possible.
We train in a way that provides the most optimal performance gains with the least amount of training stress. 

Happy Training!

To learn more: Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

Periodized strength training - say what?

source

"One of the most important functions of muscles and tendons in running is to store energy. Like a pogo stick, your body can store energy from impact and then release it to propel your body forward. As such, a large portion of your propulsive energy actually comes from the energy stored in your legs from impact previously made with the ground. This is why you can leap higher and longer if you do a “countermovement” before jumping, like swiftly bending your knees, which allows you to reach much higher into the air than slowly bending your knees.

While this “stretch-shortening cycle” has been known about for some time, standardized methods of training this reflex are fairly new. Improvements in your muscles’ ability to elastically store energy have obvious implications for runners, as more stored energy means you can maintain a given pace using less overall energy. In short, your efficiency would improve.

Plyometrics are exercises that aim to develop strength and speed by conditioning the neuromuscular and elastic characteristics of the muscle. The main objective of plyometric training for runners is to produce greater power by training the muscles to contract more quickly and forcefully from an actively pre-stretched position." - source

It's easy to understand the benefits of plyometrics and many athletes will discuss the need to strength train in a cardio-focused training plan. But if your ultimate goal is to be a fast and strong runner, triathlete, swimmer or cyclist, what's the best strategy for incorporating strength training into your periodized training plan so that you don't compromise your energy/time for your primary sport?

Well, the first part is actually making time to strength train and to be consistent with it on a weekly basis. The second part is knowing how to periodize your strength training with your cardio. The third part is making sure you keep good form and progress slowly as your two top priorities when you strength train. You wouldn't run 20 miles after 3 weeks of starting your marathon training plan so why do plyometrics when you haven't yet mastered standing on one leg while moving your arms back and forth?

As athletes, it's so easy to get so caught up in the end result that we often get stuck into the mentality  that the miles/hours we put into training are the only way to feel physically prepared for our upcoming event. But we all know that improving fitness and feeling race ready is much more than just putting in the miles and hours for your respected sport. Strength training improves performance and there is no denying this concept. You can swim, bike and run as much as you want, for hours and hours every day but strength training can improve your speed, power and endurance and the gains are often quick to receive without as much time needed for big results. 

I believe that the biggest reason that athletes do not strength train is that it takes up time and the athlete/coach doesn't feel it is necessary. Funny because athletes make the time to train 10+ hours a week and talk about being "strong" as it relates to improved fitness but can't squeeze in 90 minutes a week of strength training.

Another reason why I believe athletes don't strength train is because it is not fun or perhaps the knowledge isn't there how to strength train as a triathlete or runner or swimmer or cyclist. I realize there is no endorphin high when lifting weights and that can make strength training feel like a waste of time.

In my perfect world, all athletes and fitness enthusiasts would strength train - yes, I find it that important.

It's so important that I want you understand that strength training is more than being strong just for the fact of being strong. We strength train to improve the brain-muscle connection (or neuromuscular pathway) because that is how we produce movements. So many of the "functional" strength exercises that may seem so super simple and boring are quite imperative to "turning on" specific muscles to fire more effectively. For example, if you have ever been told that your glutes aren't working/firing or are "dead" it's not that your glutes aren't working (or else you would not be standing) but they are not receiving the correct signals to support the given exercise  like in running or cycling. Just think about how you feel after you warm-up or after the first few miles in a race compared to before you start - I'm sure you would agree that a warm-up or dynamic exercises can help you become less stiff and that is kinda similar to what strength training can do for your body - you are simply helping the muscles wake up and work better.

Think about the concept - just like a child learning how to ski for the first time, there are specific movements that are new and unfamiliar but also movements that require extreme balance and control. Also for any new skill, we must have the right strength to continue progressing our skills.  We can certainly just swim, bike and run more to get faster and stronger but eventually, a limit will be reached when you have no more time or energy to devote to getting stronger and faster and you may find yourself pushing so hard to improve that you get injured. This is why we must make sure we are taking the time to strength train so that the brains learns how to connect with the muscles in a way that produces efficient, powerful and fatigue-resistant movements. 

I highly suggest starting slow with your strength training. Just like anything that requires skills (learning how to swim, ride a bike, ski, play tennis, etc.), if you skip over steps, you will regret lacking patience down the road. Just like building a house, if you want a strong foundation, you have to follow a well-designed blue print and follow the right steps to build it slowly. 

 Strength training is a key component in your athlete development. 

Karel and I often do strength before our cardio workouts such as doing a 30 min strength or plyo session before an EZ form focused run or doing 10-20 minutes of glute/core/hip strength before a swim or doing 5 min of foam rolling + hip mobility before a bike workout. 
Sometimes we will do our cardio workout in the morning (swim, bike or run) and then do our strength session in the evening as our second workout of the day (instead of another swim, bike or run workout). 
We often do strength before a swim workout and a few times we will do strength after we swim since it is convenient to strength train where we swim. 

But regardless of when we strength train, we are not just strength training because we see "strength" on our workout plan. It is part of the entire weekly focus of training.
When we perform strength around a cardio workout, we see the workout as a whole (example strength + run or swim + strength or bike AM, strength PM) rather than just squeezing in a few exercises here or there and call it a completed strength session. 

The strength training is very specific has a purpose in our plan and the preceding or former cardio workout is designed to compliment the strength session (and vice versa).

This may all sounds confusing but the most important thing to remember is that strength training should enhance your cardio routine. To learn more, I highly recommend reading The Well-Built Triathlete by Coach Matt Dixon as he does a fantastic job explaining strength training in a cardio focused routine (among many other great topics that he discusses that will help you build great performances). 

So how should you periodize your strength trainingwith your cardio training? 

Here's how we do it at Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition.

First we start with our transition or foundation training which can be found in our 8-week transition plan.  Many of the cardio workouts in our foundation phase are also strength focused (ex. heavy gear work on the bike, band and paddle work in the pool and hill work for the run) in addition to specific isolated and simple, neuromuscular-focused strength workouts.

Exercises include: Step-ups, marching, bridge w/ alternating legs, stability ball work and dynamic warm-ups. 

Next we progress our athletes to endurance/power based strength. We make exercises more complex and explosive knowing that our athletes have put in a good 8-weeks of basic movements to help the brain/muscle/nerve relationship for more fluid movements.

Exercises include: squat jumps with bar, single leg deadlifts, push-ups, medicine and stability ball work and a series of basic plyometrics. 

After 8+10-12 weeks of progressing with strength, our athletes are super strong and no longer feel as if strength is taking away from their cardio fitness but instead, they understand (and can see) it is clearly enhancing their cardio fitness. So, essentially it is much easier for our athletes to continue with strength through their peak training and want to do it.  Additionally, since strength was periodized with their training, we know they advanced slowly so the risk of injury goes down so long as the athlete is continuing to train smart and does not mix intensity and volume and strength together, within a workout (in our training plans, we make sure our athletes get stronger before they get faster and then they go longer).

 We are currently finishing up the videos of our race specific phase of strength training for our athletes. All of our pre-built plans include the exercises that we and our athletes do in the first two phases of strength training (foundation and endurance/power).



Here are two advanced strength exercises in our race specific phase of strength training:

Advanced plyometric circuit

Chin-ups

Other race-specific exercises include: series of glute/hip warm-up exercises for every workout, medicine ball squats, single arm weight press, squat jump with bar and overhead lift, bench jumps, plank clams, wall squat with medicine ball overhead lift, pull-ups and single leg lunges with weight. 

Oh, and the best part about our strength training is that our athletes do not have to belong to a fancy gym because we include no machines in our functional strength routine. We do require the use of weights, weight bars, kettle bells, medicine balls, bars and steps but we provide options in the case that our athletes do not have all of these options. Simply put, all our Trimarni athletes (of all levels) do strength training  - at least 3 times per week. 

If you have any questions about strength training in your periodized training plan, just send me an email and we can set up a consultation to help you get stronger so you can take your fitness to that next level.

Have fun getting stronger before you get faster before you go longer!

For more informative strength videos, check out my web-based PT Chris Johnson HERE who has helped me tremendously with my hip/glute strength and helping me "turn" on my glutes.