10-week beginners duathlon plan

If you want to enter a duathlon but don’t know how to get started then help is at hand. Leading duathlete Tom Lowe plans out 10-week training programme to prepare you for an event.

This 10-week duathlon training programme is only a guide. Heart rates are not included as this is pitched at an active person who is a relative beginner to the sport and most people will not have a monitor. Should you wish to incorporate heart rate into the programme then it is advised that you work at 60%-75% of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age for an approximate maximum).

On the days where the programme shows a bike and a run on the same day the run should be done immediately after the bike so as to make it a brick. Should you have a cycle computer that displays cadence aim for between 80-95 rpm.

Static stretching where the stretch is held for 20-30 seconds should be incorporated at the end of every activity. Any health and fitness professional at your local gym should be able to give you five minutes of their time to show you a few basic core and flexibility exercises specific to running and cycling.

This programme was written by Tom Lowe an accomplished runner and one of Britain's leading duathletes. In 2007 Tom won a bronze medal at the European Duathlon Championships held in Edinburgh.