Olympic Triathlon Training Plans

4.6out of 5TrainingPeaks rating across every level of the 80/20 Olympic plan.

Most of your training stays easy, so you have fresh legs for the speed an Olympic distance race demands. Four levels, coach support included.

Join Team 80/20 Buy a single plan from $64.95

Every plan and TrainingPeaks Premium, as low as $16.58/month when paid annually. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Coach email support
Free switch to another level
Never expires
Syncs to Garmin, Wahoo, Zwift, Apple Watch and more

Olympic athletes on 80/20

Six athletes on our Wall of Fame have taken 11 to 75 minutes off their Olympic best using 80/20, and four more finished their first.

“I PB'd every race I did this year and then topped it off with my first 70.3 thanks to the 80/20 plan I used! PB'd the Olympic distance at nationals! The 80/20 method really changed my approach to training and got me fitter than I've ever been without a single injury.”
Claire Colbert
Olympic
“In my first triathlon after switching to 80/20 I had my fastest swim pace at any distance and my fastest Olympic bike and run splits. Even my transitions were faster!”
Curtis Repen
Olympic
“The 80/20 program made my first Olympic Triathlon not only attainable, but something that left me hungry and ready for more the moment I crossed the finish line.”
John Hodges
Olympic
“I loved the Olympic plan I used about a year ago. Now I'm ready to do a half-Ironman.”
Mark Burdeshaw
Olympic

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Read hundreds more athlete results

Choose your plan and level

Pick the level that matches the training you can sustain today, not the one you hope to reach. If it turns out wrong, we switch you to another level at no cost. Still not sure? Try the plan finder.

Best value

Every plan on this page, and every other 80/20 plan

Team 80/20 Gold includes TrainingPeaks Premium and Mind of Matt, as low as $16.58/month when paid annually. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Join Team 80/20

Olympic

80/20 Triathlon

4.6TrainingPeaks rating

The plan most of our Olympic athletes choose. About 80 percent of your training stays easy, so the hard sessions count.

16 to 19 weeks · Heart rate, pace and power

Help Me Choose

Which level is right for you?

Norwegian Olympic Triathlon Plan

Norwegian Training

The Norwegian method. Hard work concentrated into controlled threshold sessions, wrapped in easy volume. No lactate meter required.

16 weeks · Heart rate, pace and power

Choose your level

Every plan includes

Every workout on your TrainingPeaks calendar, synced to your watch
Your zones built into each session
Works with a free TrainingPeaks account, no Premium needed
Coach email support for as long as your plan runs
A free switch to another level if yours is wrong
Lifetime access, the plan never expires

Why 80/20 works for the Olympic distance

Most age-group triathletes still spend too much of their training at moderate intensity, too hard to recover from and too easy to build much fitness. An 80/20 plan keeps about 80 percent of your training at low intensity, so the sessions that decide an Olympic race arrive on fresh legs. Every session lands on your TrainingPeaks calendar with your zones built in, a coach answers your questions by email, and Team 80/20 includes every plan on this page.

When researchers followed nine recreational triathletes through the last six weeks before an Olympic distance race, those athletes did just 47 percent of their training at low intensity. In only two of the eight weeks studied did they spend more than half their time easy. That is the moderate-intensity rut, and it leaves you too tired to go fast when it counts.

An 80/20 plan flips the balance, so the speed sessions an Olympic race rewards get your best effort. As race day nears, take some of your pool workouts to open water where it is safe to swim, and Matt shows how to convert them. There is more in our triathlon articles.

What a week looks like

Take a typical Level 1 week. Day 1 is your rest day and Day 7 usually carries the longest workout. Between them sit three swims, three rides and three runs, and most of that time is spent in Zones 1 and 2.

Your Running Foundation sessions ask for discipline. Stay in Zones 1 and 2 even when you feel fresh, and save the energy for the harder work, such as Cycling Cruise Intervals for muscular endurance. Every rest week includes a test, so your zones keep up with your fitness, and every session syncs from TrainingPeaks to most watches and bike computers.

Read the workout code glossary

Olympic triathlon training plan questions

How many weeks is an Olympic triathlon training plan?

Our 80/20 Olympic plan runs 16 weeks at Levels 0 and 1 and 19 weeks at Levels 2 and 3. The Norwegian Olympic plan runs 16 weeks at every level. If your race is closer than that, email a coach before you start and we will tell you where to begin.

How many hours a week do I need to train for an Olympic triathlon?

On the 80/20 Olympic plan your weekly training averages 5.6 hours at Level 0 and 10.1 hours at Level 3, and peak weeks run from 7.5 to 13 hours. Matt's rule is to train at the highest volume at which you consistently feel good, so pick the level whose average you can hold most weeks.

Is there an Olympic triathlon training plan for beginners?

Yes. Level 0 is built for first-timers, with two swims, two rides and two runs in a typical week and two days off. John Hodges says the 80/20 program made a first Olympic triathlon attainable. If you are torn between two levels, start with the lower one, and if it turns out wrong we switch you at no cost.

Should I train by heart rate or power for an Olympic triathlon?

Use whatever you race with. You pick at checkout, heart rate, pace or power for the run and heart rate or power for the bike, in any combination. If you have the choice, make power or pace your main guide and heart rate the check, since heart rate lags behind changes in effort and rises with heat and fatigue.

What if I miss a week of Olympic triathlon training?

Pick up the schedule where you are rather than trying to make the workouts up. That holds for a missed session or two when you are healthy. After a longer gap, especially for illness or injury, ease back in over a few days first. If the plan no longer fits, email a coach and we can move you to another level.

Does it include strength training?

Not in the plan itself. Strength comes as a separate Olympic Strength Training Plug-in, matched to your level and to the plan's weeks so the sessions fit around your key workouts. For a fuller gym program there is Olympic Premium Strength. Team 80/20 includes both, along with every other 80/20 plan.