N.B. The following is intended as guidance only and should be treated as such. Any actions you take are entirely at your own risk. This document assumes you are training for the Road Season. For cross just adjust the dates accordingly.
What is Base?
So you've completed your Max HR test, you've plotted your graph and worked out your training zones. So what next? The most important stage of your Winter training should be the 'base' phase. Base training refers to your Aerobic Base. It is a level of training intensity which trains your body to become more efficient. It will promote the use of your body fat stores as a fuel and make your heart, lung and cardiovascular systems more efficient. ie. your body will be become more efficient at getting Oxygen to your muscles and taking away the waste by-products. A common mistake is to do a good base through the winter and then neglect it through the season. Base training is an important element of your training which, if continued while you are racing, allows your body to maintain a consistent level of fitness and will see you through the season.
What level?
A classic level at which to train your Aerobic Base is Level 2 or 75-85% of your Max HR. There are factors which make this a bit of an estimation but in general thats the zone you should be aiming for. Riders training levels do vary a few beats so what might seem easy for one rider at, say, Mid/Upper Level 2 maybe too hard to sustain for another. This is where knowledge of yourself as a rider is important. If it feels too hard, back off, say 5bpm, if too easy, drive your HR up 5bpm and so on. With a bit of trial and error you will find your level.
Don't be fooled into thinking this type of training is easy. This isn't your 4hr club run, that is too low an intensity to be training your base. Level 2 training is hard, controlled and taxing. Rides in excess of 2hrs at Upper Level 2 generally can't be completed. Rides in excess of this can be ridden but back off your target HR accordingly. Anything consistently too high will leave you tired, fatigued and will be counter-productive. So listen to those legs!
Food & Drink are important on these rides. On shorter rides you may not want to eat, but on longer rides, eat sparingly but do eat. We are trying to promote the use of your Fat stores as an energy source. Hydration is very important, drink plenty.
The key to Base Training is maintaining a constant effort. If you go up hill, back off the speed to keep yout HR down, downhill, pedal faster to keep it up. As a rule, you should feel slightly out of breath and a hint taxed while riding at this level.
Important. While training at this level its important you don't consistently push your HR over Level 2. Keep racing your club mates, sprinting etc to a minimum else you just negate the training effect. It will pay off in the coming months.
The Turbo
Most of your base training will be done on the roads through the winter and at the weekends but that doesn't stop you doing it during the week. If you dont fancy dark nights on the road then you can do good quality base training sessions on your Turbo Trainer too.
A 1hr base training session maybe as follows:
-Warm up
-1hr at 80% of your Max HR
-Warm down
Sound boring? Here are a couple of techniques which make the perception of time on the 'Rack' appear to go quicker. Try them, they do work.
- Pedal at a higher cadence than normal
- Do intervals in your Level 2, 1 min ramp your HR up to Upper L2, ease off back to Low L2 and repeat
- Watch TV, at this level you can comfortably watch the box while training
How Much?
How much base training you do depends on your committments but you should be devoting all or as much of your training time to it for October and November, as you can. A typical week maybe as follows:
- Mon - off the bike, light spin
- Tues - 1hr on Turbo, Level 2
- Wed - as Tues
- Thurs - as Wed
- Fri - off the bike
- Sat - Sat morn club run, 2 hrs Level 2 on the road
- Sun - 3hrs+, Low/Mid Level 2 on the road
To recap then. Base training is the most important part of your Winter Training. Back off the hard stuff, do as much as you can and be patient.
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