There was a question on our forum from one of the Team Envol athletes about two-a-days/doubles versus “brick” workouts. It’s a good question so I thought I’d share my answer here.

She wrote “For context, I’m primarily focused on the roads and I’m used to running 6 days a week and swimming on the non-running day. I am planning to do a couple of swimruns in late August/early September [Mackinac Island and Cape Cod]. I’ve joined a masters swim club that swims three days a week but right now I’m going twice a week. Here’s the question. With two swims a week and 6 runs a week and only 7 days a week, I have to double up on one day. I may change that ratio as the swimruns get closer, but right now, I am gunning for a fast 5K in late June / mid-July. Do you guys do two workouts in a day? If so, how often do you do them back-to-back versus one in the morning and one in the evening? It sure is more convenient to do them back-to-back, but dang, I wore myself out last week trying that!”

In practical terms two workouts a day become a necessity as target volume reaches a certain level. For example The Envol Pro Plan has around 16 hours of training (runs, swims, swimrun and strength). And has double sessions every day apart from Saturday when there is a swimrun.

So let’s take that planned volume as an example. Even if volume is one of the best predictors of training effect you need to be sure that you have the training history to allow you to handle it. The appropriate structure for your week depends on a number of factors; like time of year and the athlete’s developmental stage, and goals. The great thing about swim training is that it is non load-bearing - we need to be much more careful when it comes to run volume.

But even before you answer that question you should be pragmatic and target a max volume you can commit to week in week out, consistency is king. Training stress is not the only stress - you need to factor in work, family and other stressors.  Even on a lower volume plan, by working with the frequency, duration and intensity of the individual sessions we can create different stimuli and make great progress. To answer the question “how much should I train” - the smart answer is “as little as you can to get your desired outcome”!

Frequency, Duration and Intensity

To become a decent athlete it requires a long apprenticeship. There is no way around it.  Consider a year, 365 Days, each with a morning, noon and evening slot. There are over 1,000 opportunities for movement. Take advantage of these opportunities. All movement is useful.

The number of workouts completed in our year represents our workout frequency. How close these workouts are to each other is our workout density. The first tool we should use is the manipulation of frequency and density. 

Take me as an example. I have 5 swim sessions a week these are at set times:

• Monday 20:00 (90 mins)

• Wednesday 06:00 (60 to 90 mins)

• Thursday 21:00 (60 mins)

• Saturday 07:30 (90 mins)

• Sunday 21:00 (60 mins)

So I need to place the run, strength and dedicated swimrun sessions around those. 

• Mon AM

• Tuesday open

• Wed PM

• Thurs AM

• Friday open

• Saturday PM

• Sunday AM

This leaves Tuesday and Friday as open (which I’ll come to later). By separating them like above, I deliberately reduce density. This means with 4+ hours between I can get two quality aerobic sessions. On these double days the runs will typically be easy distance runs (or swimruns) low to mid Z2.  However in certain blocks when I want to progress or just change the stimulus, I can do that by moving the run closer to the swim (I know Coach Nico is a fan of running to the pool and back) thereby increasing the density. Or I can keep the density but increase the intensity of the run. This way I keep the volume but change the weekly progression of the training stimulus.

Tuesday I reserve for speed work, short run intervals on the track as a single session. Friday is my wildcard which I can play in different ways. Firstly it is typically a day where I can work from home. Based on 1) my recovery metrics + feeling, and 2) the stimulus goal of the week (important - in that order!) - I will either take an easy day or do a hard day. A hard day might look like 6 x 6 (1) minutes on the treadmill and then 10 x 3 (1) minutes on the treadmill in the evening. [I’m a fanboy of Swedish middle-distance runner Andreas Almgren and this is his standard double threshold day prescription].

Basically the questions which we should be asking ourselves every day is:

1. What is the training adaptation I am looking for?

2. What stimulus leads to that adaptation?

3. Is my body in a state that can absorb that stimulus?

   [If Yes]

4. How much is enough?

One last word on recovery. Training doesn’t make you faster. Training + Recovery makes you faster. Sleep, nutrition and avoiding non-positive stressors is a very, very important part of the equation. Genetics also plays a part; the elites are elite because they have a genetic propensity to recover well. We can copy their training methods but if you don’t have that super-power you won’t get the same physiological response (and you’ll probably injure yourself).

A while back I coached a large group of triathletes. Up to 10 to 12 hours a week progress was linear across the group. Basically it’s pretty hard to get the mix wrong at this volume. Above that there were responders and non-responders. I believe that recovery, whether due to lifestyle or genetics (or a combination) made the difference.

At the end of the day we don’t make a living out of this. So we do it for other reasons; fun, challenge, community…  So prioritise enjoyment over everything else… then prioritise consistency, then volume, and to do that you will have to also prioritise patience. Stay away from anything that reduces enjoyment, risks consistency or screws up tomorrow.

Train smart and have fun.