How many sessions are enough?

[afie]

How many swim/bike/run sessions do people feel is enough to make steady improvements? I am not talking about length, quality or quantity of sessions, but the small losses that are made from session to session. i.e. if I swim three times a week, each time I get in I feel that I have to spend part of the session getting back up to speed having lost some touch. If I were to swim seven times a week it feels much easier to just get going.

It is the same with running, but I cant run traditional length sessions six times a week. Would it be better to run shorter but everyday, adding length and intensity over time, or get most of my weekly km's out of the way in three runs a week?


I ask a similar question of sickness - two weeks until I race and I have lost the past 5 days due to sickness. Would it be best to break down what I was going to do into smaller sessions (school holidays, I can swim/bike/run everday) to get the feel back quickly?

[doc]

how long is a ball of string ?
not being funny , think again on what your asking and so will i .

[afie]

Ill rephrase: if I have alot of time to train, would it be better to have lots of short sessions or a few long sessions?

I feel like breaking down the weekly totals into 5-7 sessions a week (6x8km runs rather than 2x24km runs) eliminates the "junk miles" feeling, gives shorter warm-up, less uncomfortable running and allows for quicker improvement. Does anyone else think the same?

[doc]

getting better ,
it would depend on what distance you are racing
what are your weaknesses ?
if you are a poor runnner tecnically , then shorter more faster work outs may improve you better
if your a poor cyclist , then long slow junk miles wont help you .
if you have a bad swim
the more time  you spend in the water may help you
but
its wont help you if you spend a lot at one time
or when your arms get tired and they need arest
then that session becomes junk miles practicing bad tech nique
what is junk miles to you might be fast miles to some one else
what type of gears do you push on the bike
how stressfull is your job
how physically active is your job
does it require long shifts of physical labour
do u  do stretching
do you do muscculation
if you do
is it before training or is it after training
does that count as one complete session
so if you stretch  then  run
do you count that as one  or is it 2 sessions
do you have a wife ,
do you have kids
are they in sports ,
i am not trying to be a smart arse .
i am trying to tell you , that  these things all have a bearing on  how many sessions you do and the length .
i wrote an article a 1000 years ago on it
and have kept it for  a book , i ll try and dig it out .
and post it

[afie]

Thanks.

By weakness do you mean not as fast as I think I can eventually go? In that case should all the sessions be kept short and fast- try and go as fast as possible for sprint races, then when speed plateaus go for Olympic distance, then when speed plateaus go for HIM, then when speed plateaus go for IM?

One thing about triathlon I did not forsee - all three disciplines need to be worked on simultaneously. Emphasis on one discipline can help, but a faster swim and bike will also give a faster run. It makes planning quite exciting: swimming adds speed but also allows my legs to recover between running and riding; the discipline that feels really good changes from week to week- do I work it or try to switch?

Assume I have no job but full support, unlimited time to train, but alone. Everyone has a certain number of beans in their jar, mental stress takes its toll more than in my previous sporting career.