can any body reccommend a triathalon training program. I'm getting ready for my first one and would like to develop a solid program so that i may get ready for it. I needed a new challenge! Any diet tips would also be helpful. Being a bodybuilder, I'm a a little nervous about burning up too much muscle.

My wife and I completed our first marathon earlier this year. If you have previous copies of BodyMuscle, refer to Volume7 (Julie Lohre on cover). Page 14 is part of the Q&A Forum section and addresses utilizing Bev supplements while training for endurance events. The link is: http://www.bodymusclejournal.com/vol07/index.html

As for specific training for triathlons, I can recommend the following website: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/default.asp
Hope this helps - Good luck with your training!

Justin,

Your concern about burning up muscle is a legitimate one. Triathalons and endurance exercise are excellent for general health, but not so great for bodybuilders. If you're just doing them both for the sake of competing, that's fine, but I think you will find that it will be difficult to be successful in either of them as your training for the triathalon will burn up muscle, and your diet for bodybuilding (lower carb, higher protein) will limit your enduracne. Not to mention...it's harder to stay afloat with less bodyfat, and its harder to run fast carrying excess muscle.

Last year I took a break from bodybuilding and started running, biking, and swimming heavily. I was up to 50 miles a week running, 80 miles a week biking, and 3 times a week at the lap pool. It was great -- I pretty much ate whenever I was hungry and didn't worry much about portions or calories. I did eat 'cleanly' (actually I was a vegan aside from my Beverly Ultra Size), though my carb to protein ratio was much higher. My weight seemed to settle right around my contest weight at around 8-9% BF. I trained with weights 1-3 times per week and only did upper body. It was a nice break and I was pretty happy that I could maintain a lean physique without having to watch my food intake closely -- nice to eat 'normally' for a while.

After a certain point, I couldn't drop the necessary mass to get me into real triathlon condition (the recommended bodyweight for my height of 5'5" is something around 135 lbs. or so and I was at 160 lbs.) and couldn't make much improvement in my times or distances. I tend to gain/maintain muscle easily, so I probably didn't lose as much muscle as others might on the same regimine, but my arms, chest, and legs got pretty skinny.

I totally agree that following the recommended Beverly macronutrient ratio while doing endurance training wouldn't be optimal. I found that a ratio of 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat worked well for me. The bulk of my carbs were from oatmeal, high-fiber cereal, and wheat bread, but I also used Clif bars and other simple carbs before/after long runs and rides. My fats came mostly from natural peanut butter and my proteins came from soy milk, vegan burgers, and Ultra Size.

I'm hoping to get back into running and biking (not a big fan of swimming) after my 2006 bodybuilding season. I miss the long runs and bike rides.