By Matt Russ

Before beginning any workout, an endurance athlete should ask one simple question:

What is the specific purpose of this workout, and what do I want to accomplish?

If you cannot answer that question, there is a good chance the workout has limited value.

This is one of the biggest problems I see when reviewing Ironman training plans and endurance training programs. Athletes often believe that more miles, more hours, and more training automatically lead to better performance. They don't.

The goal of an effective training plan isn't to accumulate as much training as possible. It is to apply the right training stress at the right time, and then provide enough recovery for your body to adapt.

That means eliminating something I see in many athletes' training plans:

Junk miles.

What Are Junk Miles?

Junk miles are training miles that have little specific purpose within your overall training plan.

They are often performed simply because an athlete feels like they "should" train that day.

The workout might look something like:

"Ride three hours."

There is nothing inherently wrong with riding for three hours. Long aerobic rides are an important component of Ironman training. The problem is when workouts are performed without a specific objective and simply add more volume to an already demanding training schedule.

Sometimes those three hours would be better spent recovering.

Sometimes they would be better replaced with a shorter, more specific workout designed to address a particular weakness.

And sometimes the best training decision is to do nothing at all.

More Training Does Not Always Mean More Fitness

For fitness to improve, the body needs an appropriate training stimulus followed by adequate recovery.

The basic process is simple:

Training stress → recovery → adaptation → improved fitness

If the training stimulus isn't sufficient to create adaptation, fitness won't improve.

But the opposite is also true.

If you continually apply more stress without allowing adequate recovery, your body doesn't get the opportunity to adapt properly.

Fatigue is also a poor measure of training effectiveness.

An athlete can finish a four-hour workout completely exhausted without having accomplished anything particularly useful. If you begin a workout already fatigued, sore, or mentally drained and then simply go through the motions, you may be doing little more than creating additional fatigue and delaying your recovery.

Being tired doesn't mean you're getting faster.

Ironman Training Is More Than Long Runs and Long Rides

Ironman racing requires a tremendous amount of aerobic endurance. There is no question that long-distance athletes need to develop the ability to swim, bike, and run for many hours.

But that doesn't mean every phase of an Ironman training plan should revolve around long workouts.

This is particularly important during the base phase.

During base training, I often place greater emphasis on developing strength, power, efficiency, and durability rather than simply accumulating as many aerobic miles as possible.

We still perform enough aerobic training to maintain and develop endurance, but the more specific workouts are designed to address the athlete's individual limitations.

That distinction is critical.

If an athlete already has adequate endurance but lacks cycling strength, adding another long aerobic ride may not be the most effective way to improve performance.

If an athlete has poor running economy, another easy hour of running may not address the underlying problem.

If an athlete lacks power, simply riding longer isn't necessarily the answer.

The workout needs to address the limiter.

Strength Training Has a Place in Ironman Preparation

Strength training is another component that can easily get pushed aside when athletes become obsessed with accumulating endurance miles.

During the base phase, strength training can be particularly valuable for Ironman athletes.

The objectives can include:

• Improving muscular stability
• Correcting muscle imbalances
• Increasing force production
• Improving durability
• Supporting better movement mechanics
• Developing sport-specific strength

Base training is also an excellent time to work on flexibility and mobility where appropriate.

The important point is that time is limited.

If you add strength training to your program, you may need to reduce some of your weekly cycling, running, or swimming volume to accommodate it.

That isn't necessarily a reduction in training quality.

It may actually make the entire training program more effective.

Less Can Be More

The athlete who trains the most does not necessarily win. The athlete who trains most effectively does.

Consider an athlete whose limiter is climbing on the bike.

One way to address that weakness would be to ride several hours on a hilly course every week. The athlete might gradually increase the duration or distance and continue doing more of the same.

Eventually, however, the athlete reaches a practical limit.

There are only so many hours available in the week.

The body also adapts to the training stimulus.

If you continue performing essentially the same workout at the same intensity, the return on that additional training may become increasingly small.

So what do you do?

Change the stimulus.

Instead of continuing to add hours, you might introduce structured climbing intervals, strength-endurance work, low-cadence intervals, or longer efforts near a carefully selected physiological threshold.

Now the athlete is addressing the same limiter in a different and potentially more productive way.

Quality Over Quantity in Endurance Training

During the fall and winter, we offer a base-focused stationary cycling training class.

The class is approximately 90 minutes long, with progressively more challenging resisted intervals as the program develops. The intervals increase in length and intensity throughout the training cycle.

Performed twice per week, this relatively short and highly targeted workout can create a strong foundation of cycling strength endurance and power.

Several additional hours of unstructured aerobic cycling may not provide the same stimulus for these particular fitness characteristics.

For example, we progressively work toward longer efforts near aerobic threshold—something that can be difficult to reproduce consistently on the road because of traffic, terrain, intersections, weather, and other interruptions.

The lesson isn't that 90 minutes is always better than three hours.

The lesson is that the most effective workout depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

Define the Purpose of Every Workout

Before choosing workouts, identify the athlete's limitations and establish the goals for the season.

Ask yourself:

• Are you a weak climber?
• Do you lack cycling power?
• Is your running economy poor?
• Does your swimming technique need work?
• Do you struggle to maintain form late in races?
• Do you lack strength or durability?
• Which sport requires the most improvement?
• What is the course like for your goal race?
• Where are you most likely to lose time?
• When does your target race occur?

The answers should influence the structure of your training plan.

If you are an underpowered cyclist, strength training during the base phase may help improve force production.

That may mean spending fewer hours on the bike while dedicating more time to strength development.

If you are a weak swimmer, you may need to spend more time correcting your stroke technique.

That could mean maintaining your running and cycling fitness rather than continuing to increase volume in those sports while neglecting the swim.

Your training plan should reflect your weaknesses, your goals, and the demands of your race.

A generic Ironman training plan can provide structure, but it cannot necessarily address every athlete's individual needs.

To reach your true potential, your training needs to be as individual as you are.

Training Requires Energy

One of the most common patterns I see in athletes is chronic fatigue combined with recurring injuries or declining performance.

Athletes come to us already burned out, injured, or chronically fatigued.

The first thing we often do is reduce their training volume.

Then we eliminate the junk miles.

This can be a difficult mental adjustment.

Athletes often believe that reducing their weekly hours means they aren't working hard enough.

What they discover is exactly the opposite.

Once they have more energy available, they can make their important workouts harder and more productive.

They can recover more completely between sessions.

They become more balanced physically and mentally.

And, eventually, they start getting faster.

Some of the shortest workouts in the training plan may turn out to be the hardest and most productive workouts of the week.

Reducing total training hours doesn't mean reducing training intensity or commitment.

It means becoming more selective about where you spend your limited training energy.

Every Athlete Has a Limited Training Budget

You only have a finite amount of energy available for training.

You have a finite amount of time.

And you have a finite capacity to recover.

Where you apply those resources determines the effectiveness of your training plan.

An extra hour of unfocused training may provide very little benefit if you are already carrying significant fatigue.

That same hour could be used for recovery, mobility, strength training, technique work, or a carefully designed interval session that directly addresses your biggest limitation.

The question isn't:

"How many hours did I train this week?"

The better question is:

"Did the training I performed move me closer to my goal?"

That is the difference between simply accumulating miles and actually training.

Eliminate the Junk Miles

Ironman training requires a tremendous amount of endurance work, but more is not always better.

Every workout should have a purpose.

Some workouts develop endurance. Others develop strength, power, speed, economy, technique, or race-specific fitness. And some days the purpose of the workout should simply be recovery.

The best Ironman training plan isn't necessarily the one with the most miles.

It is the one that applies the right training stimulus, at the right time, while allowing the athlete enough recovery to adapt.

Eliminate the workouts that don't have a purpose.

Use that time and energy where they will produce the greatest return.

Train with purpose, recover with purpose, and make every mile count.

Matt Russ enjoyed a professional coaching career spanning over two decades of working with professional endurance athletes. His athletes have achieved numerous regional, national, international and championship titles under his direction. Matt achieved the highest level of licensing by both USA Triathlon and USA Cycling, and was a licensed USA Track and Field Coach. His accomplishments include being named "Team USA" Coach for the 2011 Beijing World Championship. Head Coach and founder of The Sport Factory, a USA Triathlon Certified Performance Center, he has authored many articles on a wide variety of endurance related topics.