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The Importance of Base Training by John Josephs, MS


Filed under: Exercise Science

BASE TRAINING

 

 

            Now is the time to start your preseason training for 2008.  Spending the necessary time in the proper training zones will build a good aerobic base for next season.  Your patience and discipline will then pay dividends later in the season.  Failure to reduce your training intensity and making the mistake of training  hard throughout the winter will make you more susceptible to injury, fatigue, burnout, and/or sub-optimal performance the following season.  Athletes generally feel it is counterintuitive to slow down to get faster, however, you cannot maintain your fitness indefinitely without a break  from high intensity training.  Establishing a solid, early season base now will enable your legs to recover from the previous year’s training and mentally allow you to mentally rejuvenate your spirit and prepare for harder training sessions later in the year.  Physiologically, your body will create additional capillaries and develop mitochondria.  These circulatory and cellular adaptations will give you that performance advantage due to an increase in oxygen delivery and extraction.

 

       If you train with a Heart-Rate monitor, keep your HR between 65-80% of your maximum HR.  If you train with a power meter, train initially in the endurance, level 2 training zone (Coggan’s Power Zones) and add some tempo, level 3 training after a few weeks of adaptation and building a good aerobic base.  If you train "naked", (neither HR nor Power), pay attention to your perceived exertion (see Borg’s Perceived Exertion Scale), keep it below 15.  Do not allow yourself to become short of breath or experience the sensation of excessive burning in your leg muscles.  If either of these occurs, throttle back on the intensity!  You’re working too hard!  A good rule of thumb for early season riding is to stay in the small chain ring and concentrate on spinning and keeping your cadence smooth, between 90-110 rpms.  You may supplement your training with muscle tension drills (big chain ring, low cadence) or isolated leg drills to build additional strength and efficiency.  Excursions into the high training, anaerobic zones may complement a well-designed training plan but these workouts should be limited.  Consult a USA Cycling certified coach for more information.

Remember, ride your ride and follow YOUR plan!  
 
"Don’t get caught up with keeping up." 

 

 

John Josephs, MS

Level 1 Certified Coach, USA Cycling



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