How many training days per week?

[roadie gal]

I'm curious, how many days per week or days in a row do you train? My 50 year old body likes 4 days in a row. Come to think of it, at 30 I still only liked 4 days. If I do more I get tired and the training becomes counterproductive. Most training schedules that I've seen call for 6 days a week training. I just can't do that.

I don't sit on my butt on my days off. The dogs still need an hour plus walk in the morning every day. I'm talking about dedicated training.

[Tri Girl]

Personally, I would train as much as your body needs. I've noticed that on a lot of schedules, there seem to be some amount of "junk miles" IMO. If you train well on 4 days a week, then do that, just make your workouts high quality. Do two a days with the workouts and get more bang for your buck- so to speak. Swim in the morning, and ride in the afternoon. Next day, run in the morning and do yoga/weight training in the afternoon. Etc, etc...
I'm no expert, but I know I can't workout 6 days a week. I get too tired, then the training becomes counterproductive like you said. Use the off days for walking the dog, doing yoga or weights, and stretching that way you're still working out, but not overdoing it. That's just my 2 cents. I'm sure others will have more wisdom to share.

What are you training for?

[rocknrollgirl]

I do 5. Three in a row. I can't handle any more than that. I go really hard during the week and long on the weekends and I rest Monday and Friday.

Tuesday and Thursday I do double sessions.

No way could I do 6.....

[Veronica]

I generally work out twice a day, but I count yoga/stretching as a workout. How many days I go in a row, kind of depends on what else is going on in my life and what I did for a workout. This week was 3 days in a row then a day off.

Sunday I ran and rode.
Monday was a tough day with Spinverals before work, interval session on the treadmill after work, followed by an hour with my trainer.
Tuesday yoga in the AM and an easy bike ride in the PM.
Wed. I was suppose to see my trainer, but she was sick. I was still kind of sore so I took it as a sign I needed a rest day. Plus my house needed some cleaning.

I always set myself a plan for the week, but I don't always do everything on it. In fact I rarely do, since I set it up with something in the AM and something in the PM.

Work has a way of messing up the PM plan.

Veronica

[celerystalksme]

5 days a week...3 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 1 day off...work out twice on probably 3-4 of my 'on' days. one long endurance swim, endurance run, and endurance bike a week. speed work otherwise. weight train twice a week.

voila

[Susan Otcenas]

My last day completely off was last Thursday.

[OakLeaf]

Three days cycling, three days running, three days Yoga and/or Pilates. So six days cardio, but I don't do the same cardio sport two days in a row unless I'm traveling or doing a special event.

[salsabike]

It varies a little with my work schedule. I often have a day or two off during the week, and on those days will try to do two workouts--swim and bike, or swim and run. Then, it either turns out to be four additional days, or occasionally five, when I want to have three runs in a week. I am happiest with at least two days off a week.

[HillSlugger]

I generally do 6 days on (2x swim, bike, run) and then 1 day off. However, lately I've been trying to do a run every third day so I've been skipping some of my days off to get everything in (no double workout days yet). I actually went all of February without a day off (plus 2 more weeks of March), but a few of the days were pilates or stretching and nothing else. I've been holding up well, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[tribogota]

5 days swim (10-12000 meters a week)
3 days run (1x 30 1x 40 1x 50)
3 days bike (1 long distance, 1 velodrome, 1 spinning)
Ends up being about 6 days a week, but never THAT consistently. If I am tired, I don't care what the schedule says, I take the day off. Last year for 3months I trained 4 days on 1 day off and that really worked for me. This year my schedule doesn't fit that.
I don't do any weight lifting and only occasional core, so it is basically all aerobic. Work tires me out more than training, so when I have extra work, I train less, less work, I train more and less tired.
my two cents

[mama2tri]

I'm training for a sprint. I'm trying to do 6 days a week, 2x each of swimming, biking and running. The swim and run workouts are never longer than 30 minutes. The bike rides are longer, up to 1:30. On weeks when I'll bike and run on the same day, I'll only do 3 or possibly 4 days of training.

[kacie tri-ing]

6 days a week. I take fridays off because I like the rest before the hard weekend.

[Kimmyt]

I usually take one day off a week, unless my body is protesting and then I take more, or if I'm feeling particularly good and then I don't take any off. I try and listen to my body to determine my training volume.

[Bron]

5 or 6. Three in a row is fine, four is sometimes pushing it, it depends on how busy I am otherwise.

Apart from getting tired, the other problem is finding time to other things - grocery shopping, cooking, keeping the house clean and my job. That's why two sessions a day rarely works for me unless I do them back-to-back, either a brick session, or combine cycling with another sport, e.g. cycle to boathouse throwing in some sprint intervals, go rowing, cycling home.

[txred9876]

I am working with a group called Team Survivor and this is my schedule (you can pick and choose between three locations and what they offer). I am working toward my first sprint tri on may 17th. My goal is to FINISH!!

Mon - tri 101 (for us newbies so we don't look like one) 6-7, swim 7-8
tues - spin class - 7-8pm (road biking is so much easier then this class...LOL)
wed - swim 5:30-6:30
Thurs - spin class 5:30-6 and run/walk from 6-6:30
Fri - off
Sat - 7-8am spin or ride outside, 8:30-9:30 swim
sunday - bike outside

I rode apprx 14 miles yesterday!!!! (concidering I am very overweight...and had not been on any bike in 20+ years....and only been at it about 6 weeks....each time I go out I try to add another mile or two). Normally I had been going to spin calls and walking on Thursdays but it cleared up after several days of rain and was WAY to nice outside to go do an inside class!

All is well with my schedule... I am always tired no matter what I do (I think it is due to some of the medicine I am on).

Tina