How Australia's #1 Triathlete Trains: Sam Appleton

Get Fast Podcast - Triathlon, Ironman & Cycling Coaching Advice

On today’s episode we have Australia’s number 1 ranked male triathlete at the moment, Sam Appleton.

Sam in in flying form especially with his performances of late including 5th at the PTO Collins Cup last year, 9th at the 70.3 world title and his most recent win at Geelon 70.3 on Sunday.

He has had an incredibly successful IM 70.3 career winning 15 races, which is now 16 after his Geelong 70.3 win, which was his 3rd win at Geelong.

He’s also had multiple top 10 finishes at worlds 70.3, finishing as high as 4th.

We’re so grateful he joined us on the podcast after his big win on Sunday, and we had a great chat to him really diving into the behind the scenes of his training program and structure, how he plans to improve himself and what he focuses on specifically in a training week as well as many more great insights into Sam as a professional athlete.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

02:52 - What does triathlon mean to Sam?

04:22 - Sam breaks down his recent Geelong 70.3

06:42 - The changes he made to his training to improve his weakness: running

09:11 - How to train your run to heart rate zones

12:53 - Has he jumped on board the lactic testing train yet?

15:45 - Why it’s important for Sam to start his season in Australia

17:37 - When and why he plans on making the switch from 70.3 to Ironman

20:34 - How you train differently for an Ironman compared to 70.3 (plus the surprising fact about Sam’s bike training volume)

26:04 - How to keep bridging the gap to the top few spots in the world

27:28 - How Sam and his coach plan out their training days and blocks

28:39 - The typical training week breakdown of a pro triathlete

31:32 - Living and training at altitude in Boulder

35:06 - Do you prefer training solo or with people?

36:18 - How a professional spends their time outside of training

37:45 - Sam’s “non-diet” nutrition plan and what to have on hard training days

41:09 41:00 - His unorthodox pre-race meal

42:28 - What’s your goal for the next few years?

45:35 - The race you are MOST proud of

47:38 - The race that you are LEAST proud of

49:38 - Sam’s final words and motto for life

The Get Fast Podcast is brought to you by TriVelo Coaching, where we help triathletes and cyclists like you, Train Smarter to Race Faster. Your hosts are Australian Triathlon Ironman Champion and HEAD COACH of TriVelo Coaching Gerard Donnelly, and his son Jordan Donnelly.

If you want to learn how to TRAIN SMARTER and RACE FASTER, you can join our weekly coaching email, just go to: getfastpodcast.com

Some of you might already be in there, but many of you won’t be and so this is our official invitation for you to come and join our free community: www.facebook.com/groups/trivelocoaching

Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trivelocoaching/

Disclaimer: The Content in this podcast is in no way intended to be medical advice, treatment or diagnoses. None of our Content is intended to imply that any products mentioned, remedies or information provided are intended to prevent, diagnose, cure or alleviate a disease, ailment, defect or injury or should be used for therapeutic purposes. The Content is intended to assist you with running, cycling, swimming or triathlon and should not be substituted for medical advice by your healthcare professional. We do not accept any liability for any injury, loss, or damage incurred by the use or reliance on our Content.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.