Dear Athletes! It’s that time of the year again — the perfect moment to pause, reflect, and prepare for what’s ahead. Before jumping into another intense season, take a moment to digest, analyze, and truly reflect on the one that just ended. Go through that off-season guide and get in touch with any of your questions! Yours, Coach Katharina 🌺 Before you chase speed, build stability. Reflect – Honestly and Together How was your routine? What worked well, and what didn’t? Were there weeks where training felt effortless, or others where motivation was hard to find? Ask yourself: What do I want to keep? What do I want to let go of?   And here’s the key: don’t reflect alone. Having a coach or training partner guide your reflection often reveals patterns and insights you might miss on your own. A fresh, objective view can turn vague impressions into clear action points for your next season.   As you plan your new season, be realistic. Ambition is great — but consistency wins every time.  A well-balanced 10-hour week done steadily is far more effective than planning 20 hours, completing half, and ending up frustrated, sick, or injured. Strength & Mobility – Build the Foundation in your Off Season Training Before you chase speed, build stability.  A strong, mobile body is your best protection against injury — and the base for performance. Your main strength sessions should include 1–3 key lifts:   Squat Deadlift Bench Press Pull-ups   These compound movements target the major muscle groups runners and triathletes need most. Add a few complementary exercises to round out a full-body session. The benefits are huge:   Glute & hamstring power = more speed Improved running technique Greater pedal efficiency Stronger core & hips = better run form Enhanced body composition & metabolic efficiency   And please — don’t think a few planking sessions are enough. Strength work deserves a real spot in your training plan. The tricky part is often how to integrate it — load, timing, and technique make all the difference. That’s where expert input can keep you from common mistakes that are hard to fix later in the season. Swim – Technique Meets Toughness Winter is the perfect time to fine-tune your swim. Focus on form and feel for the water — but don’t shy away from intensity. Include leg-kicking and intervals (50, 100, 200, 400m) across all zones, from Z1 recovery to Z5 sprints. This mix of control and challenge builds efficiency and resilience. The right swim structure early on prevents many mid-season frustrations — a well-planned base here pays off massively later.   Bike – Find Your FatMax, Then Go Beyond The bike often makes up the biggest training volume — and it’s where endurance is truly built. Spend most of your sessions at your FatMax intensity (roughly 60–75% of max HR, Zone 2, or low-intensity steady state). That’s where your body learns to burn fat efficiently. But don’t neglect the hard stuff: VO2max, sweet spot, and technique drills like cadence work or out-of-saddle efforts. These sharpen your edge for race performance. Dialing in the right intensity zones can be tricky without guidance — but getting it right now saves you months of wasted effort later.   Run – Race, Test, Improve Keep your running purposeful. Schedule small run races between December and March — ideally one per month. These short events give you motivation, feedback, and perspective on how your performance is improving.   Find some useful links: Ultimate Triathlon Off-Season Guide Strength Training for Endurance Athletes: Optimizing Off-Season Performance How to Periodize Your Training During the Off-Season   If you’d like a second pair of eyes on your structure, or help designing a smart, science-based off-season plan — reach out. Together, we can make sure your next season starts on solid ground.   Yours, Coach Katharina 🌺

Have you ever dreamed of tackling a triathlon? Or even crossing the finish line of an Ironman Race? The qualification for the Boston Marathon is on your bucket list but gets postponed year by year? In my career as a coach the most named reason to not train with a structured plan or a coach is that athletes feel not mature enough to follow a plan. First of all they won't even call themselves 'athletes' and second of all they feel the need to learn and improve before starting with a plan. THIS is the crux... Custom Triathlon & Ironman Training Plans - Coach Katharina Steppan Everyone who reads this obviously occupies oneself with training. No matter how often or how much she or he trains. What does training mean? A systematic execution of a program to increase physiological capabilities. So, basically everyone who does sport on a regular basis follows a systematic execution program with the goal to get more efficient, to increase ones health and performance. To dissolve the crux: the more experience you have, the more training years you piled up, the more you understand your body, the less you need a plan or a coach! WHY? It starts with setting goals.  As mentioned in the intro, you have dreams and a bucket list! I am sure. There's a difference between a dream and a goal though. A goal is one step on a latter to your dream. It needs to be defined with diligent care, taking into account your entire status quo (work, health, equipment, financials, etc.) Let your goal get challenged by your coach! Imagine the following situation: enthusiastically signed up for a race , let's say your first Half Distance Ironman. Your buddies are doing the race, so why shouldn't you be capable of finishing it as well?! Day 1:  getting up in the morning, no breakfast, running an hour, red head, pulse skyrocketing, taking a shower, off to work, still sweating for 2 hours, grabbing every snack you can... Day 2:  lower back pain, a hell of sore calfs, glutes and quads... but pain is only in your head, correct? Let's go swimming with your combatants. After two lanes you feel like dying. Swimming is not the issue. It's only the breathing! Am I right? Day 3:  sore shoulders and upper back pain are added to the tight lower extremities. You feel like you've finally done something and are on the right track! Day 14:  you can't find restful sleep, everything hurts, swim performance has not increased as expected, your neck is killing you from your first experiences with aero bars on your bike (triathletes have aero bars, so you just mounted some yourself). Day 15: you need a rest day Day 16: uh, rest day felt awesome, so add another Day 17:  and another Day 18:  first doubts raise regarding the race in three months... maybe the goal has been set to high? You see where I am going with this? Beginners and inexperienced athletes (YES, you all are athletes) need a step by step approach. Your head and your body alike need a careful approach. Wanna go through your thoughts? Let's talk! Book a 15 Minute free consultation or write an email to start@coachkatharina.com ! Yours, Coach Katharina 🌺