Olympic Distance — Glossary

Every Olympic Distance term explained in plain language: technique, equipment, rules and slang – with tips on avoiding the classic mistakes.

Age-Grouper (Slang)
Anyone racing outside the elite field, scored within their age category. Age-groupers almost always race under different bike rules than the elites you see on TV.
BMR & TDEE (Rule)
BMR is your basal metabolic rate at complete rest; TDEE is total daily expenditure including everyday movement and training. Nutrition targets always work off TDEE.
Body Position in the Water (Movement)
How flat and horizontal you lie in the water. Good body position saves more energy than any improvement to your arm stroke.
Brick Training (Movement)
A ride followed immediately by a run, with no real break in between. Without bricks you run 10–15% slower than an open run; with regular bricks, only 1–5%.
Cadence (Movement)
Steps per minute when running, or pedal revolutions when cycling. For most runners, 170–180 steps per minute sits in the sweet spot.
Carbohydrate Rate (Grams per Hour) (Cheat code)
How many grams of carbohydrate you take in per hour. Over middle and long distance 60–90 g is the target — from a single sugar source only about 60 g is usable.
Cutoff (Time Limit) (Rule)
Fixed time limits at checkpoints and at the finish, at which you are taken out of the race. Over long distance they usually sit at roughly 2:20 h for the swim and 17 h overall.
Draft Zone (Non-Drafting) (Rule)
The minimum gap to the rider ahead on the bike leg of a non-drafting race. Under World Triathlon rules it is 12 metres, and an overtake must be completed within 25 seconds.
Drafting (Cheat code)
Riding, running or swimming close behind another athlete to cut air or water resistance — on a bike, up to roughly 30% energy saved.
Even Pacing (Cheat code)
Holding your output steady across the whole course profile instead of pushing on climbs. In Ironman World Championship data, low heart-rate variation was the strongest marker of success.
Flying Mount (Cheat code)
Jumping onto an already rolling bike with your shoes waiting in the pedals. Executed cleanly it saves 15–30 seconds — the flying dismount, by contrast, only 2–3.
Footstrike (Movement)
How and where your foot lands when running — heel, midfoot or forefoot. What matters more is where it lands relative to your body.
FTP (Functional Threshold Power) (Rule)
The wattage you can hold for roughly an hour. Every training zone derives from it — estimated as 95% of your 20-minute average power.
FTP (Functional Threshold Power) (Rule)
The power in watts you can hold on the bike for roughly an hour. Over middle distance the target sits at around 70–78% of FTP as normalized power.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) (Rule)
A scale for perceived effort. In strength training it usually runs 1–10, where RPE 8 means you had two more reps in the tank.
Streamline Position (Movement)
The fully extended body position after starts and turns — arms overhead, hands stacked, head between the upper arms.
Threshold Run (Tempo Run) (Movement)
A steady run right at the point where your body clears lactate as fast as it produces it — 'comfortably hard'.
Transition (T1 & T2) (Movement)
The area where you switch from swim to bike (T1) and from bike to run (T2). Performance analyses count both transitions as race components in their own right.
Zone 2 (Aerobic Base) (Cheat code)
The easy endurance zone where you can still hold a conversation in full sentences. The base of almost every endurance plan.

General

Terms from training theory that apply in every sport.

1RM (One-Repetition Maximum) (Rule)
The maximum weight you can move for exactly one clean repetition. The reference value behind almost every training plan.
Core Tension (Movement)
Active stabilisation of abdomen, back and pelvis — the bridge that lets force travel between legs and arms at all.
Deload (Cheat code)
A deliberately lighter week with volume or intensity clearly reduced, so adaptation can catch up.
DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) (Cheat code)
Delayed muscle soreness 12–72 hours after unfamiliar load. Not a measure of training quality.
Knee Valgus (Movement)
The knees collapsing inward during squats, jumps and landings. One of the key risk markers in technique analysis.
Progressive Overload (Cheat code)
The one principle no training works without long-term: the stimulus has to grow over time, otherwise adaptation stops.
RIR (Reps in Reserve) (Rule)
How many clean reps you had left at the end of a set. RIR 2 means two more were available.