Training Agents
Guides

Training guides

The fundamentals of endurance training and preparation guides for each sport: training zones, FTP, fitness and form, progressive overload, the pre-race taper, training in the heat; running from 5K to the marathon and the trails, gran fondos, pool and open-water swimming, triathlon and strength training. Each guide explains, in plain words, the logic Training Agents follows when it writes your plan.

Cyclist on a mountain road

Training basics

7 guides
Runner crouching to check his sports watch during a workout

What are training zones? Heart rate, power and pace zones

What training zones are and how they are set: using heart rate, power, pace and RPE to pitch intensity, what to do without a meter, and the mistakes to avoid.

6 min readRead Runner catching his breath with hands on knees at sunset

Fitness, fatigue and form: how to read your training load

Fitness, fatigue and form (CTL, ATL, TSB) explained: how training load is counted, why form rises before a race, how to read the curves and the model's limits.

6 min readRead Runner running uphill against a cloudy sky

Progressive overload in endurance training: building load and recovery weeks

What progressive overload is, how to raise training load safely and why recovery weeks matter, plus periodisation, overreaching signs and judging progress.

7 min readRead Woman jogging at an easy pace in a park with earphones

Why easy training should be easy: intensity distribution and the 80/20 approach

Why easy sessions should feel truly easy: the 80/20 intensity split, the grey-zone trap, and how to keep easy days easy with the talk test, RPE and heart rate.

6 min readRead Runners with race bibs waiting at the start line of a road race

How to taper before a race

What a taper is, how long it should last and why volume drops while intensity stays. Plus feeling sluggish, mistakes to avoid and the basics of race week.

6 min readRead Runner sitting on the road resting after a night run

Missed a workout? What to do after a missed session, week or break

Missed a session, a week or a few days to illness? How to get back into your plan without cramming, which sessions to protect and how to plan around travel.

7 min readRead Woman running on an asphalt road beside dry fields in the sun

Training in the heat: how to train safely and well in hot weather

How to train in the heat: why heart rate rises, pace versus effort, timing, fluids, acclimatisation, racing in hot weather and warning signs of heat illness.

6 min readRead
Runners on a trail

Running

4 guides
Marathon runner on a tree-lined city course lined with barriers

Marathon training plan: how to prepare for your first marathon

Preparing for your first marathon? How long it takes, how to structure the week, the long run, realistic pacing, the taper and race day, and common mistakes.

7 min readRead Runners wearing race bibs during a road race

Half marathon training plan: how to prepare for 21.1 km

Training for a half marathon? How long it takes, the weekly structure, long runs, tempo and threshold work, a goal from your 10K, even pacing and the taper.

7 min readRead Athlete running fast on an athletics track on a sunny day

5K and 10K training plan: how to run faster

From walk-run to your first 5K, then faster: easy mileage as the base, intervals, tempo runs, strides, a 3 to 5 day week, and how to pace a 5K versus a 10K.

6 min readRead Trail runner on a rocky mountain ridge above the clouds

Ultra and trail running training: climbs, descents, fuelling and safety

How to train for trail and ultra running: time on feet over pace, climbing and descending, power hiking, flat-city training, fuelling, kit and mountain safety.

8 min readRead
Road cyclists

Cycling

2 guides
Woman riding a road bike on an indoor trainer in a living room

What is FTP, how do you test it and why does it matter?

What FTP (functional threshold power) is, why watts per kilo matter, how FTP tests work, indoor vs outdoor differences, using it in Zwift and when to retest.

6 min readRead Group of road cyclists riding a curving road in morning light

Gran fondo training: how to prepare for a long-distance cycling event

How to train for a gran fondo or medio fondo: endurance base, long Z2 rides, pacing climbs by power or RPE, group riding, fuelling, bike fit and the taper.

8 min readRead
Swimmer in a pool

Swimming

2 guides
Two swimmers with orange safety buoys swimming freestyle in open water

Preparing for open water swimming: the Bosphorus and other open water races

How to prepare for open water swimming: how it differs from the pool, sighting, mass starts, cold water and wetsuits, safety rules and race-day basics.

6 min readRead Woman swimming freestyle in a pool lane

Pool swim training: technique, pacing and critical swim speed (CSS)

How to build a pool swim session: warm-up, drills, main set, kit, critical swim speed (CSS), using the pace clock and the mistakes most adult swimmers make.

7 min readRead
Triathlete swimming in open water

Triathlon

2 guides
Triathlete running out of the water after the swim

Your first triathlon: a sprint and Olympic distance guide

Preparing for your first triathlon? Distances, balancing three sports on limited time, brick sessions, transitions, open water, kit essentials and race week.

6 min readRead Triathlete riding a time-trial bike on a lakeside road

What is a brick workout and how do you do one?

A brick workout is a run straight off the bike. Why your legs feel heavy, the main types of brick, how often to do them and the mistakes most triathletes make.

6 min readRead
Athlete lifting weights

Strength

1 guide
Athlete doing a barbell back squat in a power rack at the gym

Strength training for endurance athletes

Strength training for runners, cyclists and triathletes: why it matters, which movements to train, how to periodise it and how to fit it around endurance work.

6 min readRead

A plan that applies all of this to your week

Tell it your goal, your level and the time you have each week, and your first week is written in minutes.

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