Forgive the paraphrasing of Star Wars’ Yoda in the article title, but the diminuitive Jedi’s advice seemed appropo.

So the time has come for bfntg (big fat new tri guy) to start his training program. But first we must find out his current life style patterns. The things that we need to find out will be what he eats, when he eats it, and how much of it he does eat (he keeps saying he is married to a baker’s daughter, and it shows). We must find out what his level of fitness is (no matter how low), so that we can set up his heart rate zones.

I plan on using his heart rate as the scale to judge his increasing fitness.

He has set a goal of completing a sprint triathlon in Oxnard, CA. This triathlon is a good starter event because the course is flat and fast. No real hills. And the weather should be cool. The date of this triathlon is Sunday, March 25th, 2007. The event is named “Strawberry Fields”. It consists of a ¼ mile swim, a 11.5 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. I feel that bfntg (if he keeps his heart in it) will be able to lose the weight, increase his fitness, and be able to cross the finish line in his first ever triathlon.

What I have asked of bfntg in the next few weeks is to log his food intake. As well as what time he eats, and the portions. With this info I will be able to see how many calories he is consuming on an average day. We will also be able to see if he is eating the wrong things at the wrong time. What we want to do is change a little as possible at first, so the shock of change is reduced.

He also is going to start to walk the 1.250 miles to and from his office. Just to start to get him moving. After a couple of weeks I will have him lifting very light weights, at high reps to start to strengthen his connective muscles. Our goal is to go slow, and avoid any injuries.

The training plan for the triathlon is from the book “Training Plans For Multisport Athletes” by Gale Bernhardt. It is a training plan for someone with limited time and limited fitness.

He will also take his heart rate first thing (as soon as he wakes up) in the morning, before he even gets out of bed. This will help me determine his heart rate zones. We will be using the Polar 625x heart rate monitor. He will do this for one week only, and then once a week after that.

With the double goal of weight loss and the sprint triathlon, we will have our hands full over the next 5 months. A man’s got to start somewhere, and that somewhere starts wherever the man is. Here’s to the goal.