Training for the triathlon can seem a bit intimidating at first.

Not only do you need to swim, bike, and run several times per week,

but you should also be including weight training, stretching, or yoga,

and some of the recovery protocols I've talked about in other episodes,

which I'll link to in the show notes to this one, over at get-fitgai.quickand-dirty tips.com. On the other hand, because you're

exercising in so many different ways, while it is intimidating, your risk of injury decreases

because you're not stressing the same joints over and over again, as would be the case if you were,

say, training for a marathon. In addition, your fitness can often quickly increase because

you're throwing so many different

forms of activity at your body.

So let's talk about how to start training for a triathlon in the swimming department.

Well, for swimming, the best place to begin, especially if you aren't an experienced swimmer,

is to go take a swim lesson at your local health club or meet up with your local

master's swim club which is a group of adults that do swim workouts together usually with a coach

most triathlons take place in a river lake or ocean so you'll want to be prepared to practice

swimming in open bodies of water and you may also need a wetsuit, which can keep you warm and also

keep you buoyant while you're swimming. How about cycling? Well, for cycling, you don't need a

fancy, expensive triathlon bike. A simple road bike will suffice. For the first four years that I

personally did triathlons, I rode on a used $300 road bike that I bought on the internet.

Once you get a bike, call your local bike shops or go visit them to see whether they have any

beginner, weekday, or weekend rides in which you could become involved.

Now, for running, when it comes to equipment, it's one of the easiest of the three sports.

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