Thoughts on the Base Period
All of the athletes I coach are now in their early Base periods. So I've been talking with them about why this period is so important. Here's the gist of what these conversations have been about.
In many ways Base is the most important training period of the entire season. If it goes well you will be able to train at a higher level in the following periods. If it doesn’t go so well you won’t be able to train to your limits later on in the Build period and you’ll be more likely to break down due to overtraining, illness and injury.
Training in the Base period has been compared with laying the foundation for the construction of a house. Build a solid foundation and the house will be sound and free of cracked walls and sagging corners. Do a very poor job of constructing the foundation and the house is likely to collapse as it is stressed by harsh conditions.
The Base period has also been described as being like an Egyptian pyramid: The broader the base of the pyramid, the higher the peak that can be built on it. I've always liked this analogy.
However you like to think about it, the bottom line is that the Base period is when you construct your season. Everything you do after this period is dependent on what you accomplish now. It’s certainly not an 'off season' in the sense that it is relatively unimportant. This is a time that is critical to your success later on. You need to have defined objectives for the Base period and a training plan for accomplishing them. The higher your goals are for your racing this season, the more important clear objectives and a plan become.
The biggest mistake athletes make in the Base period is by-passing the basic-ability workouts that should be done in order to get to the truly hard sessions of the Build period such as high-intensity intervals, anaerobic hill repeats and 'racing' with training partners. Athletes commonly skip the Base period because the workouts seem too easy. They come to the conclusion that they aren’t working hard (read 'intensely') enough. If that happens and you cut out Base training, your fitness will not be as great later on as it would have been following several weeks of laying down a solid foundation.
There are four 'abilities' I strive to improve in the Base period for the athletes I coach: aerobic endurance, speed skills, muscular force and muscular endurance. The last of these is dependent on the previous development of aerobic endurance and muscular force so is delayed until later in the Base period. These are described in my books.
The bottom line for the serious athlete: Know what it is you must accomplish in the next few weeks, develop a plan and follow it closely.
Labels: aerobic, base, endurance, force, muscular endurance, speed skills
posted by Joe Friel @ 5:52 AM
27 Comments
27 Comments:
Just found the blog. Great work and great post.
Hi Joe. I recently read an article (below) which seemed to recommend training shorter & harder in the "off-season" to get faster. I'd be curious to get your thoughts on this approach. Thanks!
http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/Offseason_Intervention__Train_Fast_to_Race_Fast.htm?page=2
What do you feel is an acceptable decline in your FTP through the off season/ base period? I would assume that most of us are not pro athletes looking to race in LE Tour? Therefore we wouldn't want to loss a large portion of that FTP?
Courtland
Erin--Wish I could but there just aren't enough hours in the day. Sorry.
n8rhino--It could be any where from 0-20% depending on what was done in tran period. But really don't know as I don't test riders immediately at end of tran period.
Hi Joe,
In the base period for triathlon, would you want to avoid anything above Zone 2 in all three sports? Additionally, should my once-a-week track workouts (running) be put on hold for a while as well (keeping all my weekly runs zone 2 too)?
Thanks in advance!
DaveP--If in Base 1 get as much 2 zone as you can. Some time above is ok but don't make it your focus. In Base 2 include more 3 zone.
Joe: I just finished my first Ironman (IMAZ), had a great race and have recovered well. Should I go straight into base building for my spring A race (Wildflower) or take time more time off before starting?
Hi Joe,
What's the minimum duration of Z2 training sessions to start happening physiologic adaptations?
sallya--It's almost always a good idea to take a transition break after an IM. Glad to hear it went well for you. Good luck at WF!
fabiano--It depends on the level of aerobic fitness at the start of the training period. So can't really say.
Joe, just got your book for my Birthday! Wow - what a resource!! It fills so many gaps in my training and confirmed my "instinct" that a comprehensive base period is essential to prep for racing in 2010. I especially am impressed with the progression of different types of on-bike intensity (force, ae, me, speed and power - but I havent taken the leap to needing to weight lift yet...). I ride 10,000 miles per year and upgraded to Cat3 this year, and thought I could just coast on the past 4 years of miles, but your book lays out a very compelling case that I need to really pay attention to building an comprehensive base before I can load on intensity and maximize performance next year. Thanks Joe!
For tempo workouts in base 2, should I be focusing on power, or HR? I've been noticing that towards the end of an hour or so of tempo my HR is increasing up to the sub-threshold zone/almost to threshold, but I've been focusing on maintaining power. Is this the right approach, or should I be focused on keeping my HR constant?
Joe, I have just taken a three week break with just a few easy fun rides. My FTP is down a little but that's okay. I was planning on a build period to increase my FTP, followed by an easy week, some VO2 Max work and then another FTP build period. My aim is to have a higher FTP by late spring in time for summer races. Would I have a better chance of a higher spring FTP by doing L2 rides and building a base over the winter instead?
anon--I use HR in the base period and power in the build period as the control. Discussed this in greater detail some where on this or previous post/comment but don't see it.
Mike s--It will take about 6 weeks to max out your FTP once you have established your base.
irunforfun--Not at all. Speed skill training is not terribly stressful for the soft tissues. It has lots of rest and very short reps (on order of 20 sec on, and 90 sec off). Good luck with marathon!
Joe, found the blog & your book is next. Thank you! Quick question for you & your years of experience. I have 2 off season goals that need balancing. #1 is to become a faster climber. #2 is to have a smarter base building period, building a broad "pyramid". I live in the Northeast where short, steep hills are all over. Its hard to stay on flat or just gradual roads. Would I be better off hitting hills at VERY slow speed and maybe come out of my sweet spot HR a bit or should I stay on the flattest roads possible for the next 6-8 weeks and hit the hills in February in higher training zones?
Thanks for your answer.
DPK--You need a mix of both hills and flat. Flat for aerobic endurance development. Hills for muscular endurance.
Hi Joe,
Just bought your book after reading this interesting blog. After reading it I had a discussion with some friends of me:
"They are saying that spinning (high intensity revs and power) are a good training for your base period. My counter-argument is that this training is to intensive and you can better training only in the lower zones and on power. In my opinion you should train "spinning" more in the months March and April (peak in June)."
Who is right?
Hi Joe! Where I live, there are many mountains, and steep slopes. During the base period is too complicated for me to find flat land, to make the long rides on. For example, on Saturday I got the workout in AET that is supposed to do 90 min in aerobic threshold on mostly flat roads. This way, it is impossible to be done, because I am surrounded by mountains all around (4 to 8%).
Would I benefit more in the indoor training bike (I have the Tacx Fortius I-Magic), if I do the training on Saturday on my Tacx? On Sunday, I also have the same problem, because I have a long day of training in mostly plain roads.
Tom--I have athletes work on their pedaling skills year round. High cadence spinning drills are a common part of that.
Sergio--Yes, that persents challenges. Indoor training is one option. But be aware of burnout from a lot of time staring at the wall. That's a better problem to have than the athlete who lives some place flat and has no hills to train on but will race on hilly courses.
I took a low volume rest period followed by a base period w/ mostly zone 2 and speed skills. I then started my base 2 period where I added tempo wko's. The problem is that I used power to be my controlled variable, instead of heart rate. Therefore, my heart rate went into z4 and zone 5, as mentioned above. Am I going to peak too soon? Would you recommend adjusting my schedule and what might you recommend in this case? I would like to race in February, but I don't want to be toast in the summer, if that helps as well! Thanks.
I wanted to add a comment to the question I just asked "Will I peak too soon?". Even though last week my heart rate drifted to near LT HR during my 3 tempo sessions, this week my power was the same and slightly higher, but my heart rate did not go into z4, except when I stood or was near the end of my second 30 minute interval (3 beats or so into z 4). Too soon of an adaptation that might cost me later? Thanks again!
anon--Naw, you won't peak too soon. Just get as much Z2 HR as you can - assuming Feb race isn't A priority.
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