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 preparation. 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 a strong engine - meaning to increase your VO2max. Additionally, we aim to achieve a high level in swimming, so that you can maintain this swimming standard in the spring when cycling volumes increase.
The structure of the plan is designed for consistency. You can recognize this by the 3-1,2-1 structure. This means training on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday+Sunday, with recovery on Monday and Friday.
You should try to adhere to this structure, even if appointments or spontaneous commitments disrupt your weekly routine. 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 breaks, the risk of illness or injury increases significantly. This can lead to system breakdown and disrupt consistency. However, with consistency comes form! Therefore, it is better to skip 1-2 sessions per week if your schedule does not allow for it, and instead maintain the remaining sessions week after week. This consistency will ultimately lead to success.
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 162 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 8
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.
600 m | 8x variable on / variable easy | 300 m | 6x variable on / 0 min easy + 6 more steps
600 meters warm-up, 8x50 meters: on even lanes legs, on odd lanes 25 meters technical drill and 25 meters freestyle with acceleration 300 meters freestyle at GA1 pace 6x50 meters: 2 repetitions of 25 meters fast freestyle/25 meters easy, 25
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
400 m | 4x variable on / 1 min easy | 4x variable on / 0 min easy | 8x variable on / 1 min easy + 7 more steps
400 m warm-up swim 4x50 m legs with board: 25 m freestyle kick at sprint pace / 25 m legs of choice at a comfortable pace.
30 min @ 75% | 8x 0 min on / 1 min easy | 5 min @ 70% | 8x 1 min on / 2 min easy + 1 more step
The goal is to optimize fat metabolism and to train motor skills with the strides while activating the "fast" muscle fibers without producing too much lactate.
16 min @ 60% | Ramp from 60% to 85% | 5 min @ 50% | 10x 1 min on / 1 min easy + 5 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 / 0 min easy | 1x variable on / variable easy + 10 more steps
400 WARM-UP 3 x (4x50* Freestyle Rest:20 sec, 4x100 Freestyle Arms with Pull Buoy GA1 Rest:15 sec, 200 Freestyle GA1 ) *1.
15 min @ ?% | 15 min @ ?% | 15 min @ ?% | 15 min @ ?% + 2 more steps
This workout comes directly from the training plan.
15 min @ 75% | 7x 1 min on / 1 min easy | 5 min @ 70% | 7x 1 min on / 2 min easy + 1 more step
The goal of the 200m intervals is to improve your short-distance performance and enhance anaerobic capacity.
400 m | 4x variable on / 1 min easy | 4x variable on / 0 min easy | 100 m + 4 more steps
400m warm-up swim 4x50m - 2x Single-arm Freestyle with static arm, plus backstroke touch, rest 30 seconds.
Perform a 45-minute athletic / stability training session. Typical exercises may include: - Lunges - Squats - Superman - Push-ups - Leg raises - Plank - Side plank - etc.
50 min @ 70%
This run primarily serves to activate and is intentionally run relaxed in the lower GA1 zone.
Ramp from 50% to 75% | 5 min @ 55% | 5x 0 min on / 9 min easy | 23 min @ 60% + 1 more step
LIT + Booster Main menu: 5x20s All-out Sprint. Perceived exertion during sprint: 10 out of 10 Cadence target during sprint: any Effect: Improvement of neural activation.
75 min @ 75% | 15 min @ 85%
Calm base run with final acceleration This run primarily serves to optimize fat metabolism, as well as to develop pace endurance towards the end.
500 m | 8x variable on / 0 min easy | 8x variable on / 0 min easy | 100 m + 7 more steps
500 meters warm-up swim Eight repetitions of 50 meters, alternating between fast and relaxed.
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.