Lionel Sanders takes radical new approach to training this year

With a name in triathlon synonymous with pushing to extremes with a “No Limits” mentality, one the sports most popular pros is taking a “smart not hard” approach to training this season.

Lionel Sanders recently shared on his YouTube channel that he is looking to do more than smashing himself in workouts. Highlighting past mistakes, he points to overdoing it on the bike in his effort to emulate cycling pros, recognizing that the demands of pro cycling are not the same as triathlon. He goes so far as to point out how illogical his past approach has been in using such high volume training when a better balance is required to be successful at his chosen sport.

Specificity over volume

He is tossing volume aside to focus on specificity. This will be the year he will take time to understand the specific demands of triathlon and chase workouts that support those demands over getting in as much volume as possible. By being purposeful with every session, he expects to train smarter not harder. When he lines up at his next race he hopes to not only be fit for competition, but also rested enough to express that fitness.

The high-volume training approach is also a trap that many pros fell into following in the footsteps of the Norwegians and the insanely high-volume nature of their revered methodology. Even the Norwegians have since made a shift as their head coach, Alexander Bu, moved on to focus on pro cycling, and after two seasons that saw lackluster results.

Optimizing sessions to meet race demands

This lighter training load with sport specific training will deliver Sanders to the start line fresh and ready for a peak performance, he explained. While he had a successful 2024 season winning Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, 70.3 Mont Tremblant, and Ironman Canada, he had another disappointing performance at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. He is openly critical on YouTube about his direction last year and the illogical nature of getting in as much volume as possible with little regard for training specificity.

“Can I ride my bike for only two hours and expect to do four hours at bottom of zone three, upper zone two and then also run well after in zone three?” he questioned. “The answer to that is no. Why in the world would you be able to do that suddenly on any particular race day – that’s illogical,” he added.

Sanders’ new approach is a long-held, tried and true method for many pro athletes. Recently, this methodology hasn’t had as much showtime as the more mysterious or more hardcore high-volume approaches that the Norwegians and he have taken, respectably. It’s a shift for Sanders, but a move that brings him into a well-established realm of training that’s proven itself time and again.

“From a volume standpoint I believe in specificity of volume, so as long as I am doing the specific sessions with which to meet the demands of the race, then whatever the volume of that ends up being is what the volume ends up being.”

Still chasing his best performance yet

Sanders is clear about one thing. He is confident that his best performance is yet to come. In accepting that his previous thinking has been “stupid” and “insecure” he is vowing to spend more time recovering and tapering ahead of races.

“I only have one goal for myself now, and it is I want to achieve my best, and I know how to do it.”

Expect another year of exciting and eventful action from Sanders as he chases down his competition in the Ironman Pro Series this season.