Training Plan Store FAQ
Welcome to the Official Endurance Nation Store FAQ page!
Hopefully we’ll answer all your question here, but if not, feel free to email us directly. If you are looking to learn more about how the plans have evolved for the current season, please read the first section below. If you are ready to shop, please return to the main store page. Note: If you are a member looking for help, please visit the Member FAQ page here.
What is the Difference Between a Single Plan and TeamEN Membership?
Purchasing a single plan is a one-time fee. You get the plan and access to all of the related resources needed to follow that plan (calculators, videos, how-to documents, etc).
Becoming a Member of Endurance Nation is a monthly subscription fee. You get access to ALL 60+ training plans, as well as access to a Coach, our community Forums, hundreds of articles & resources, our Sponsorship deals and much more.
Training Plan Information & Upgrades
All Endurance Nation training plans are updated each season based on the feedback of our athletes as gathered through our forums, an annual survey and our own personal training and racing experience.
Please note that Endurance Nation has more than 50 different plans for all types of events (marathons anyone?) and situations (mid-season Bike Focus anyone?), but the vast majority of these plans are for Team Endurance Nation Members Only (Create a FREE 30-Day Trial).
What Do I Get When I Buy a Digital Plan?
You get lifetime access to that training plan in the Endurance Nation online training plan platform. You can use and re-use the plan as you see fit. You have access to basic online resources (written and video) to help you make the most of your training plan.
Yes, we said lifetime access. We will update the plans each season and you’ll have the opportunity to upgrade to the latest version at a significantly discounted rate.
Please Note: This doesn’t apply to PDF plans purchase in 2014 or earlier.
Can I View a Sample Training Week?
Each week is built from the perspective of maximizing your training time as an Age Group triathlete. While details, duration and intensity varies week-to-week between different plans, you can see a visual sample here.
What are the Different Plan Types (OutSeason, ENHalf, ENFull, Short Course) all about?
OutSeason® Training Plan What started in 2008 as an initiative to get our athletes focused on critical fitness has turned into the cornerstone of the Endurance Nation training experience. Now in their 12th iteration, the OutSeason® plans set the stage for your entire season by helping you build strength and speed on a fixed schedule. We leverage the minimal volume requirements of winter training; giving you ample time to recover from our quality cycling and running workouts. While swimming isn’t required, we do provide you with supplemental guidance in case swimming will benefit you in the winter.
ENHalf Training Plan The 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1 mile run combination is the perfect intersection of endurance and speed. The events are accessible to triathletes of all ability levels; and we have developed a suite of plans that will help you move from Registration Day to Race Day. You will leverage our basic endurance training week, but the hours are very manageable.
In addition to the regular training plan, you will have two race simulation opportunities and a Big Training Day to put your positional fitness, nutritional plans, and race pacing strategies to the test. Of course, all of the EN
Half Plans include our renown Swim eBook with Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced swim guidance included for ALL plans!
ENFull Training Plan The ultimate triathlon distance, the Ironman® transcends sport. For some athletes it’s a bucket-list goal; for others it’s part of their lifestyle, just something they do multiple times a year. Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, there’s no denying that race day success favors the prepared — aka those who have trained and are ready to execute on race day.
Our ENFull Plans are designed to get you ready without sucking up all of your available time. Step One is getting you to the final eight (8) weeks of your training plan ready to do the work required to prepare for your race. Step Two is adding the volume, recovery and execution guidance to make sure you build the smartest, strongest engine possible. Of course, all of the ENFull Plans plans include our renown Swim eBook with Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced swim guidance included for ALL plans!
What are the different ability levels? How can I pick the right one? What if I am advanced at one sport but not another?
We divide our training plans into ability levels not based on skill or experience, but on fitness.
- Beginner athletes are either first-timers or athletes coming off of an injury / significant time off. Either way, you don’t currently have the training consistency and experience to sustain the work of the Intermediate level plan.
- Intermediate athletes have completed at least one race at the target distance (or one full OutSeason). You have earned the right to do more work this time around based on your experience and current fitness levels. As compared to the Beginner Plans, most intervals are slightly longer in duration, with total exercise time increasing only slightly.
- Advanced athletes are veterans of the sport and/or distance who are looking to set a new personal best, place in their age group or perhaps even target a Kona slot. In addition to more overall volume, the main set intervals of most workouts are longer…and there is one or two more runs a week (ENHalf & ENFull Plans). No one said this was going to be easy, but you will be ready!!
I hear that EN is big on training with power. I don’t have a powermeter. Can I still use your training plans?
Short answer: yes, absolutely! We “talk” power simply because that is the methodology we use to create your fitness, but our athletes use all methods of managing effort.
The intensities for all of our workouts are prescribed as power (or pace for the run), heart rate, and rate of perceived exertion (RPE). The workouts are exactly the same, you just reference the intensity according to what training tools you are using: power, GPS, a heart rate monitor, or the calibrated head.
What’s this Real-Time Support option?
The coaches are active online every day. You can use the “Red Chat Icon” at the bottom of your training plan page to reach out with technical questions regarding your plan and resources. Coaching is limited to full Members of Team Endurance Nation.
Why do you include swim guidance for all levels with all of your training plans?
After years of coaching triathletes, we’ve realized that very few individual athletes actually fit the profile of being Advanced (or Intermediate or Beginner) at all three disciplines. The biggest disconnect was swimming. For example, many Advanced cyclists and runners can be rocks in the pool…and many fish can’t bike or run!
Now each plan is written with Intermediate swims that are a stretch for beginners, a touch easy for advanced folks but right on for intermediate levels swimmers. We’ve then included, as an additional supplement, entire swim schedules for Beginner and Advanced swimmers, allowing you customize any of our plans to fit your unique swimming ability.
I thought Endurance Nation only did ENFull Plans or ENHalf Plans?
Our athletes have been doing Sprint and Olympic distance events for the better part of the last four years. We have offered minimal guidance on how to add these races to a larger schedule; making the switch to generating complete training plans was simply the next step.
It’s More Than A Plan, It’s Your Ticket To A “Nation” of Athletes
When you purchase an Endurance Nation training plan, you’ll join our extended family of triathletes…more than 4,000 strong! You’ll have access to sponsor discounts with infinIT nutrition, FuelBelt, Wheelbuilder.com, and many more.
What is a Season Plan?
Nobody trains for just one race. We train through a triathlon season, moving from focus to focus within highly variable time, weather, and environmental constraints. Responding to the feedback of our training plan customers, we’ve created a tool that teaches you how to adapt your Season Plan to any race schedule across an entire season. There are three types of Season Plans for 2014:
- Full Season Plan, Long Course Edition (34 weeks) — This is our OutSeason® Training Plan (14 weeks) plus the entire ENFull or ENHalf Training Plan (20 weeks).
- Short Season Plan, Long Course Edition (26 weeks) — This is our OutSeason® Training Plan (14 weeks) plus the Race Preparation Phase of either our ENFull or ENHalf Training Plan (12 weeks).
- Short Course Season Plan, Short Course Edition (26 weeks) — This is our OutSeason® Training Plan (14 weeks) plus our Short Course Training Plan for Sprint or Olympic events (12 weeks).
If you live in New England, are racing Ironman® Wisconsin, plan to begin your off-season in January, and need to know how to integrate an Olympic in May and an ENHalf in June until your plan — our Season Plan and the Season Planning Toolkit has you covered!
What do the Training Hours look like?
We know that so many of you are looking for information that will help you choose the best plan for you.
OutSeason® Plan Hours — These average between 6 to 8 hours a week. If you decide to swim on the Monday and Friday of each week, then you can add that time to the totals.
ENFull Plan Hours — These range from 12 hours at the start to peak weeks of about 16 hours. The Advanced Plan has more hours on paper, but it bears noting that if you are a slow biker or runner, you might spend more time training than is outlined here.
ENHalf Plan Hours — These range from 10 hours at the start to peak weeks of about 14 hours. The Advanced Plan has more hours on paper, but it bears noting that if you are a slow biker or runner, you might spend more time training than is outlined here.
What types of payment do you accept?
Currently we accept Visa and Mastercard. At this time we only accept payments online so we will not be able to accept a P.O., invoice you, or take an order over the phone.
Ready To Purchase Your Plan?
Please return to the main store page in order to pick your training plan.
