Olympic & Sprint Distance Base Plan (Nils Goerke) 12 Weeks is a 12-week triathlon plan. This article combines the actual plan description with a example week from the stored workout entries.
What this plan is built for
This 12-week Base Plan is the kickoff for your season preparation for Sprint and Olympic distance. The first weeks serve as a re-entry into training after the offseason and primarily focus on motor skills. After that, the goal is to build your engine - meaning to increase your VO2max. Additionally, we aim to get you accustomed to the training volumes, especially in running, and to establish a tolerance for stress.
The structure of the plan is designed for consistency. You can recognize this by the 3-1, 2-1 structure. So, training on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday + Sunday, with recovery on Monday + Friday.
You should try to adhere to this structure, even if appointments or spontaneous commitments disrupt your weekly schedule. Only through the combination of training and adherence to recovery days will the desired adaptations occur in the body. If you change the structure and train several days in a row without a break, the risk of illness or injury increases significantly. This can lead to system breakdown and disrupt consistency. However, with consistency comes form! Therefore, it’s better to skip 1-2 sessions per week if your schedule doesn’t allow for it, and instead, focus on completing the remaining sessions week after week. This consistency will ultimately lead to success. Always listen to yourself and your body, and don’t follow the plan blindly - if you feel absolutely unfit for training one day, it might be better to take a break or possibly reduce the intensity and just train lightly.
Training logic and load
The emphasis is durable base fitness, clean technique, and a rhythm you can repeat for several weeks. The important part is not upgrading easy days into hidden hard days. The workout data shows which sessions are structured and which ones are intentionally simple.
The plan contains 94 scheduled entries across 12 weeks. The sequence matters as much as the total hours: hard, technical, or long workouts only work when the surrounding days allow you to absorb them.
Example week: Week 6
This week is not a generic template. It is built from the actual training plan entries, and the workout charts use the stored workout data.
No scheduled workout in this real plan week. Use the day to absorb the load and arrive fresh for the next session.
200 m | 8x variable on / 0 min easy | 8x variable on / 0 min easy | 3x variable on / 0 min easy + 6 more steps
200 meters/yards warm-up swim, 8x50 meters/yards freestyle kick with board, rest: 20 seconds 8x50 meters/yards, divided into 25 meters/yards sprint and 25 meters/yards easy, rest: 20 seconds 3 sets of 300-200-100 meters/yards with 20 second
10 min @ 70% | 7x 1 min on / 1 min easy | 5 min @ 70% | 7x 1 min on / 1 min easy + 1 more step
The goal of the hill runs is to improve your sub-distance performance and enhance anaerobic capacity.
16 min @ 60% | Ramp from 60% to 85% | 6x 1 min on / 1 min easy | 5 min @ 60% + 4 more steps
Training Goal: Introduction to HIIT training. The aim is to increase your VO2max.
400 m | 4x variable on / 0 min easy | 4x variable on / 1 min easy | 2x variable on / 1 min easy + 4 more steps
400 meters/yards warm-up swim 4*50 meters/yards leg training, rest: 20 seconds 4*100 meters/yards freestyle with touch, rest: 30 seconds 2*50 meters/yards backstroke, rest: 30 seconds 12*100 meters/yards freestyle arms with finger paddles,
Perform a 30-minute mobility/Blackroll session. Warm up with a mobility routine focusing on: - Hip flexors - Gluteus/Buttock muscles - Hamstrings - Achilles tendon + Calf - Ankles - Lower back - Shoulders - Chest muscles Following the mobil
40 min @ 75% | 5x 0 min on / 1 min easy
This run primarily serves to activate and at the end to perfect the running technique in a fatigued state with strides.
2 h @ 60%
Training goal: Base endurance sessions make up the largest part of triathlon training.
70 min @ 80% | 20 min @ 90%
Calm base run with final acceleration This run primarily serves to optimize fat metabolism, as well as to finalize the development of pace endurance.
How to read the workout charts
The chart is based on the workout data: longer segments take more width, higher intensities sit higher, and harder work is marked with stronger colors. For swim or distance-based segments, the graphic represents the planned sequence rather than GPS data.
Practical execution
What to watch
- Execute the key days precisely instead of making the easy sessions faster.
- Use the plan description as context: equipment, fueling, mobility, and realistic threshold values are part of the training.
- When life or fatigue adds pressure, trim secondary work first and keep the most important session stable.
Training effect
Executed well, the plan improves your ability to absorb the intended stimulus repeatedly. Depending on sport and phase, that means more aerobic stability, better pace durability, stronger technique under fatigue, or more confidence at target effort.