Base 1 Training, Part 4

This series on Base 1 training is probably stretching out a bit too long. Some athletes may be well into Base 1 and others may be even be starting Base 2. The good news, however, is that Base 2 is only slightly different from Base 1. The biggest differences are the workouts are longer and there is a bit more intensity. So what I will do in the following descriptions of the workouts is to include the adjustments made in Base 2.

Base 1 Workouts. There are 3 abilities to focus your training on in Base 1: Aerobic endurance, muscular force and speed skills. In Base 2 you can add muscular endurance to the list of abilities to be trained. Each of these are explained in my TrainingBible books for cyclists, triathletes and mountain bikers, but I’ll summarize each here. Go to the book for more details. The accompanying table summarizes the training of these abilities (click to enlarge).

Aerobic endurance is the heart of training for endurance sports. Until this is well-established there is no reason to move on to the more advanced abilities (muscular endurance, anaerobic endurance and power). These workouts are done at the or near the aerobic threshold which is usually about the 2 zone using my heart rate or pace system, or Coggan’s power system. In Base 1 I generally have the athlete build up to doing 1 or 2 hours steady in zone 2. In Base 2 this is extended. The upper end for the duration of this workout depends on the sport and the type of event the athlete is training for. (I’ve written about this here before. If you’d like to find more details do a search on the home page of my blog for ‘decoupling.’ You’ll find several posts on the topic.)

I generally start an athlete into muscular force with an emphasis on strength training. By Base 1 the athlete is lifting heavy loads with low reps. After Base 1 I reduce the importance of weight training and have the athlete go into a strength maintenance mode. This is all explained in the Training Bibles. (Interestingly, strength training seems to be well-adopted by triathletes but seriously questioned by cyclists. I may write on this topic and the research related to it later.)

In Base 2 I’ll have the athlete start doing force intervals for muscular force. These are low-rep, high-intensity intervals done on a short, steep hill for cycling and running. On the bike they involve selecting a high gear and then on a hill doing 6 max-effort pedal revolutions (count one leg for 6 revs or 12 strokes total for both legs). The cadence will be less than 50 rpm. A runner will do something similar on a hill with 6 max-effort revolutions (12 steps). A swimmer might use a bungee resistance cord with 12 max-effort strokes. This is a high-reward workout (good things can happen) which also makes it a high-risk workout (bad things can also happen). If you have easily injured knees (bike), lower legs and feet (runner) or shoulders (swimmer) then it is best not to do this workout. The risk of injury is too great.

Speed skills workouts should be done frequently in Base 1 and 2. Almost any workout that isn’t focused on aerobic endurance or muscular force can be devoted to speed skills. These workouts typically involve drills that exaggerate some aspect of technique. For example, on the bike this could be one-leg pedaling or high-cadence spin-ups. A runner might do grass strides with recovery skips. Swimmers already do a lot of drill work. Choose drills that emphasize the aspect of your skills that need improvement. Again, this is all explained in my Training Bible books.

Muscular endurance workouts are best saved until after strength training has reached a peak. This is typically after Base 1. The workouts are long intervals done at HR, pace or power zone 3. In Base 3 the intensity of these intervals goes up one zone and the intervals become shorter—in the neighborhood of 6 to 12 minutes. At this more advanced stage of ME training in Base 3 the recovery interval becomes critical. In Base 2 you can take a long recovery between the zone-3 intervals. In Base 3 the work-to-recovery ratio should be about 4 to 1. For every 4 minutes of hard work take 1 minute of recovery. This is the most overlooked aspect of ME training by self-coached athletes in Base 3 and later—they take overly long recoveries negating one of the primary benefits of this workout.

I hope that not only helps you get started with Base 1 but also gets you started into Base 2 and Base 3. In the Base period there is not much difference between sports or between the types of races being done within a given sport. It’s pretty much all the same with the primary differences being duration. It’s in the Build period, with about 11 weeks to go until the first A-priority race of the season, that the training varies widely between sports and types of races. More on that at a later time.

Comments

[Joe Friel]

MG--Got to start some place. Whatever seems appropriate for you, your experience and fitness level.

[jonw9]

In your MTB Bible, you recommend riding the trainer for a maximum of 90 minutes. However, I have 2.5+ hour E2 endurance rides scheduled for Sundays.

I agree 90 minutes feels like a long time, and I have trouble maintaining HR and attention for longer.

You also recommend considering splitting these days into two rides. Would this be two E2 rides (separated by how long?) to build endurance; or one 1.5 hour E2 in the morning and then some other (speed) work for an hour in the afternoon?

My concern is I would be building really good endurance for 1.5 hours, but it won't help for 2 hour races.

[Joe Friel]

jonw9--If you're in base 1 then just ride for 90 minutes z2. If in base 2 or 3 then your 2 ride suggestion (with both in z2) is fine.

[Kevin Klinefelter]

I'm confused about when ME should be introduced. In your book, Total HR Training, it indicates in the microcycles appendix to do a M1, M2 or M3 workout in Base (1, 2, or 3). If I'm not to do a ME workout in Base 1 then what is the suggested workout for that day. An alternative isn't suggested in the book.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Tina Howes]

Joe, it's been a while since you wrote these posts, but I'm hoping that you can give a bit of advice;
I'm relatively new to cycling, been training for about a year, took part in some criterium and road races in the latter half of the season and managed top 10 finishes in every race and some wins, so I've got high hopes for next year.

I'm currently doing Zone 2 training for 3-4 hours and find that although I'm not short of breath, I am very tiered during the last hour.

In the summer, I was doing 3hrs at race pace and felt about as tiered as i do in the zone 2 training. Why is this? Am I training for too long?

Thanks,
Tina

[Joe Friel]

Tina--You've probably just lost some fitness since the end of the race season. You're doing the right thing now. Keep it and good luck!

[Kevin]

I'm confused about when ME should be introduced. In your book, Total HR Training, it indicates in the microcycles appendix to do a M1, M2 or M3 workout in Base (1, 2, or 3). If I'm not to do a ME workout in Base 1 then what is the suggested workout for that day. An alternative isn't suggested in the book.

Thanks, Kevin

[Joe Friel]

Kevin - ME training is _highly_ recommended. I don't know what your sport is as you didn't say, but i's critical for runners and triathletes. But if you don't do such a workout you should do whatever your limiter is. That could be aerobic endurance, speed skills, force, anaerobic endurance or power, depending on what your sport is. Good luck!