Is Base Period Physiological or Psychological?
#1
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Is Base Period Physiological or Psychological?
Putting aside situations where someone has an actual injury that needs to heal, is taking time off / limiting work outs to "Base" building necessary from a physical standpoint?
Or is it simply a matter of needing a mental break?
I guess as background, I tend to race from late spring to late fall (cross), with a dip in the middle of the summer.
Or is it simply a matter of needing a mental break?
I guess as background, I tend to race from late spring to late fall (cross), with a dip in the middle of the summer.
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As the season winds down, you really aren't diving right into base. I think most of us over the next few months are going to be spending less time on our bikes and when we are on our bikes, we'll just be riding for riding's sake (at least me). I wont start an actual base until probably January. Part of it is geographic too...
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i think your terminology is referring to 2 different things. you're describing a rest or transition period but calling it base period.
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Lets think about it this way.
Is racing year round in a summer intensity sustainable? The answer is probably not.
So what does base do?
In addition to the recovery and endurance aspects of the training, you're also going to be working on raising your aerobic threshold and enabling your body to get better at fat metabolism. So, when you do base properly, your aerobic threshold inches up meaning that the wattage where you're recovering and your body is acting no differently than when you're sitting on a couch (gross oversimplifcation) is higher. You can sit in and recover in the pack at a higher wattage.
Cellular/physiological changes are part of it.
Is racing year round in a summer intensity sustainable? The answer is probably not.
So what does base do?
In addition to the recovery and endurance aspects of the training, you're also going to be working on raising your aerobic threshold and enabling your body to get better at fat metabolism. So, when you do base properly, your aerobic threshold inches up meaning that the wattage where you're recovering and your body is acting no differently than when you're sitting on a couch (gross oversimplifcation) is higher. You can sit in and recover in the pack at a higher wattage.
Cellular/physiological changes are part of it.
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A recent book has come out (see Velonews) that basically asserts that base riding is useless for racers, as they never will be in a race, riding in the lower level fat burning zones. So in terms of the benefits, it would mostly come from resting fatigued muscles and mentally taking a break from the rigors of training.
Again - this is what the book asserts, and on initial glance, it makes sense. But anyone who wants to refute this, I would be interested, as I am trying to form my winter training period.
Again - this is what the book asserts, and on initial glance, it makes sense. But anyone who wants to refute this, I would be interested, as I am trying to form my winter training period.
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A recent book has come out (see Velonews) that basically asserts that base riding is useless for racers, as they never will be in a race, riding in the lower level fat burning zones. So in terms of the benefits, it would mostly come from resting fatigued muscles and mentally taking a break from the rigors of training.
Again - this is what the book asserts, and on initial glance, it makes sense. But anyone who wants to refute this, I would be interested, as I am trying to form my winter training period.
Again - this is what the book asserts, and on initial glance, it makes sense. But anyone who wants to refute this, I would be interested, as I am trying to form my winter training period.
Also I think the big miles over the winter helped me in the summer - and guys that didn't ride much over the winter didn't have a lot to show for it this season, so I'm not sure where this new theory is coming from.
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A recent book has come out (see Velonews) that basically asserts that base riding is useless for racers, as they never will be in a race, riding in the lower level fat burning zones. So in terms of the benefits, it would mostly come from resting fatigued muscles and mentally taking a break from the rigors of training.
Again - this is what the book asserts, and on initial glance, it makes sense. But anyone who wants to refute this, I would be interested, as I am trying to form my winter training period.
Again - this is what the book asserts, and on initial glance, it makes sense. But anyone who wants to refute this, I would be interested, as I am trying to form my winter training period.
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The pyramid analogy - wider the base, higher the peak - is over-simplified but remarkably accurate.
For more, just search some of my epic posts from last winter...
For more, just search some of my epic posts from last winter...
#12
Making a kilometer blurry
I had amazing fitness when I did nothing but endurance riding for 6 weeks while I was losing weight. I kept the intensity off by nose-breathing on climbs. I came out of it and three weeks later, my FTP was all-time high, and I was 12-13 lbs lighter. Sprint was gone, but I got that back and started winning with the kilo stuff.
#13
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A couple of weeks from now I'm going to start riding a lot. a. lot. like a million miles this winter.
#14
stole your bike
I certainly notice the difference in the Spring if I don't ride the winter, which is why I like riding through the cold. Typically in the winter I commute to work but keep a day or two of putting in good efforts, so when the warmer weather rolls around my legs are ready.
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#16
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I always rode however I felt like riding. For about 5 years, except when I got sick (usually strep throat for 2 weeks), I rode pretty hard all year round. Intensity went up in the summer of course, but I'd do hard efforts even in the middle of winter, intervals on the trainer and such. The peak of it was the winter before I raced (for 3 weeks) in Belgium - I was doing 2 rides a week from Ridgefield to Kent, doing 4-5 climbs around Kent, then ride back. Probably 120 miles per trip. I had a number of years of very good racing. Only when work started interfering with riding did I ease up on the schedule.
Maybe that's why I can't push myself in training now, but I think it's possible, at a non-elite level, to ride hard for say 10 out of 12 months a year.
Maybe that's why I can't push myself in training now, but I think it's possible, at a non-elite level, to ride hard for say 10 out of 12 months a year.
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I always rode however I felt like riding. For about 5 years, except when I got sick (usually strep throat for 2 weeks), I rode pretty hard all year round. Intensity went up in the summer of course, but I'd do hard efforts even in the middle of winter, intervals on the trainer and such. The peak of it was the winter before I raced (for 3 weeks) in Belgium - I was doing 2 rides a week from Ridgefield to Kent, doing 4-5 climbs around Kent, then ride back. Probably 120 miles per trip. I had a number of years of very good racing. Only when work started interfering with riding did I ease up on the schedule.
Maybe that's why I can't push myself in training now, but I think it's possible, at a non-elite level, to ride hard for say 10 out of 12 months a year.
Maybe that's why I can't push myself in training now, but I think it's possible, at a non-elite level, to ride hard for say 10 out of 12 months a year.
A recent book has come out (see Velonews) that basically asserts that base riding is useless for racers, as they never will be in a race, riding in the lower level fat burning zones. So in terms of the benefits, it would mostly come from resting fatigued muscles and mentally taking a break from the rigors of training.
Again - this is what the book asserts, and on initial glance, it makes sense. But anyone who wants to refute this, I would be interested, as I am trying to form my winter training period.
Again - this is what the book asserts, and on initial glance, it makes sense. But anyone who wants to refute this, I would be interested, as I am trying to form my winter training period.
#18
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#19
out walking the earth
hmmm. well I'm going to ride more and cross train less. my upper body is pretty well ****ed. crooked actually. I don't think I'm going to do any lifting, no plyo. I'll try and do yoga a couple of times a week, but most of what I do this year will be on the bike.
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I know I was completely untrained last year, but I suck at the pain thing. You get used to it after a bit, and then start to crave it. (good music helps)
I raised myself up to 280W for 20 mins at the end of 09. I was about 150lbs then. Given your weight loss, you just need to aim for the prize and go for it. I'm sure you're going to make great progress.
Aren't you going to lift for PT to rehab the crooked upper body?
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if you find a p12 race like that please let me know so i can put it on my schedule. i found the races to be more on/on less. that's what killed me this past season. the fast steady stuff was much easier for me.
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Training plans should reflect both the individual, their current level of fitness, the type of racing he/she is going to be doing and the demands of those races.
There have been people on this board who bought into this "no base" thing and ridiculed people doing base as wasting their time. They just never seemed to be able to answer how nothing but lower duration/high intensity programs would get someone ready for, say, a 110 mile P1 climbing race. And of course people who did base and had great success during the season were just lucky or something.
Then there are the folks who do nothing but one hour crits and ride 24 mostly "base" hours a week.
Neither approach makes sense. Neither approach will yield much success in the chosen event.
For "off season" work base, as RTC detailed, has a number of positive effects. From a mental aspect, it lets the brain associate cycling with something other than pain. It's important for me as a renewal process; as a guy who spends a great deal of time in the pain cave during most races at some point in the season I just get tired of hurting and getting on the bike is more work than fun.
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If you have had an injury, you're probably weak from not using that part for a bit. Your shoulder is potentially weak. I was referring to that kind of stuff.
Also, my knee hurts less after squatting than it does after I ride. That said, I'm not trying to go for maxes or anything of the sort. Just lower weight 10-15 reps for dumbbell squats and lunges. If my issue is a VMO weakness, that's how it'll get better.