THE LONG WINTER: The keys to a successful base training for your perfect Triathlon season

 
THE LONG WINTER: The keys to a successful base training for your perfect Triathlon season
 
 

 
 
 
Now is the time that we as triathletes take a few weeks off after our racing season.
Now is the perfect time to do a number of things :
1. Rest / Recovery after weeks of pushing your body to the limit dedicating yourself to all those personal bests in those races, take a up to two weeks off, this will allow you to get the rest that your body needs to adapt and repair. It will also provide you with a mental break and relax your mind. Spend some time with your family and friends who you have neglected off the racing season.
 
2. Review Goals and Achievements - Have a good look back on your racing season now is the perfect time to review what worked well and what you could improve on for next year. This should inform your plan for winter. Do you need more miles in those legs on the bike or an extra focus on your swim ?
 
3. Plan - With race dates already set now is the time to set some key goals for next year. With these goals this should inform how you train over the next months.
 
So now all of this is done and you are well rested and focused towards a perfect season next year you will begin your base building period but what is base building ? and why is it important to you ?
 
This is the time of year when you train to train, not train to race. That means in base you are preparing the body for the greater stresses that will follow in the build period. Build starts immediately after base ends about 12 weeks before your first A-priority race of the season. In the build period you will be training with workouts that are very much like the stresses you will experience in racing. There is a big difference between training to train and training to race and yet I see athletes in base doing the very same workouts they will be doing a few weeks before their first big event – anaerobic intervals, hill repeats, tempo and bricks. These are all workouts intended to prepare you for the stresses of racing.
 
Base 1
Count backwards 23 weeks from your first A-priority race of the season to find the starting point for base 1. When it starts the training shifts toward an emphasis on swimming, biking and running. Functional strength and weight training continue only now the loads become heavier as the reps are decreased. Your purpose here is to create excellent strength for the muscles associated with the movements of swimming, biking and running.
 
I have included a strength and conditioning programme which is suited to this phase. (See Below).
 
Aerobic endurance workouts are long sessions done mostly in your heart rate 2 zone or its equivalent power and pace. These long, aerobic sessions get longer by about 10 to 20 percent each week until you reach your long workout goal durations based on the event for which you are training.
Speed skill workouts are intended to improve your technique in each sport. This should include drills for aspects of your techniques that are in need of refinement, paying close attention to your movement patterns, video recording and review and feedback from authorities such as coaches and knowledgeable athletes. To keep the change in heart rate also throw in a quick turbo session or spin class. This is excellent for us as the weather isn't always on our side so those days when the snow is on the ground don't sit on the sofa praying get the bike on the turbo and the Tour on the TV and you will be ready to go. Oh don't forget to mop up !!! WELCOME TO THE SUFFERFEST
 

 
 
I would suggest to always hit every intensity, from high to low, each week. That said, the ratio of your training load that is made up of high or low intensity should change as you go through your phases of training. Early in the season, which could be called your base phase, you should be preparing the body for heavier training loads later in the season while ensuring that you remain injury-free. You should therefore have the greatest portion of your training at a lower intensity, but still include some medium and higher intensity training to maintain speed, neuromuscular firing and hormonal balance. As you progress there should be an increasing focus on intensity, with subsequent drop in volume, before becoming specific to your race intensity in the weeks before your race.
 
As long as the intensity is low  workout duration can be high at this time of year. It’s all about stress. The idea is to gradually adapt the body to high levels of stress by starting with long-duration workouts and gradually shifting toward race-appropriate-intensity workouts as the season progresses. I try to err on the low side when it comes to workout duration as I start someone into Base 1. Better to do too little than too much now. It’s a long time until the race. No reason to make the training hard now. And with the break from training after the last A-priority race of the previous season the body needs to be eased back into it. For running, especially, doing too much could easily result in an injury and ruin an entire season. There’s much less risk with cycling and swimming, but it’s never zero risk.
You certainly don’t want to do to little. Use past experience as a starting point for determining the durations of workouts. Then gradually increase the duration over a three- to four-week period.
 
Base 2
Base 2 starts 19 weeks before your A-priority race. There are two changes that occur now. The first is that you cut back on weight training, not only in terms of the number of days assigned to it each week but also the stress you apply with loads, sets and reps. Strength maintenance is now your goal. Functional strength training may continue as before.

The second change is that you introduce sport-specific muscular force training with hill work incorporated into steady, moderate effort bike and run workouts. For swimming paddles and drag devices will help to create more force. The intensity of these workouts stays below your lactate threshold. Remembers to continue to engage each zone though.
 
Aerobic endurance and speed skills workouts continue as before. The endurance sessions continue to get longer as the skills sessions continue as in base 1.
 
Base 3
 
The last base period begins about 15 weeks before your A-priority event. Two more adjustments are made to your training now. Weight training is cut back even more to just once a week. In fact, if you are pressed for time it’s now ok to stop strength training altogether.
The second change is that muscular endurance training is introduced. This involves long intervals in the range of 6 to 12 minutes done at about the lactate threshold with very short recoveries that are about 25 percent of the work interval duration. Twenty to 40 minutes of cumulative lactate threshold training within one workout each week is generally quite effective. Build to a higher volume over the course of three weeks.
Aerobic endurance, speed skills and force training continue as in base 2.

After this period you will now move into what is knowing as the build period 1 & 2.

How Does This Transfer Into Performance Gain?

Let me give you a hypothetical example. Suppose Johnny runs a seven-minute mile at lactate threshold (85 to 90 percent of max heart rate). His fastest aerobic pace, or aerobic threshold (around 65 percent of max heart rate), is an eight-minute mile. We start off Johnny's base training at the low-end aerobic zones, at which he runs nine-minute miles. At the end of his 12-week base phase, Johnny is able to run 7:30 miles aerobically. This is the base for Johnny to build on for the rest of his season.

The hard part of base training is having the discipline to train at these low intensities, because even spending short amounts of time above your aerobic zone spoils the workout. The area between the top of the aerobic threshold and the anaerobic threshold is somewhat of a no-man's-land of fitness since such intensities do not train the aerobic or anaerobic energy systems effectively. Unfortunately, however, this area is where I find a lot of athletes spending the majority of their seasons.

The bottom line is you have to let your anaerobic system atrophy during the base phase. This means you will lose some of your anaerobic endurance, so expect to surrender some top-end speed coming out of your base phase, but take comfort in knowing this is what you are going to spend the rest of your season working on.
 
It often takes several seasons to see the results of sound base training if you are a novice athlete. Be patient; it is a slow process that cannot be rushed, but the sooner you get started the faster you will be.

Enjoy your training now, try something new there is always another option for the bad weather.

Too much snow for the bike going Mountain Biking !

Too much snow for running go cross country !

Those early morning raises in the pitch black on freezing mornings will make it worth it when you stand on the start line knowing you have done all the hard work and are prepared to give it your all.

 
 
 
 
Base Building Strength and Conditioning

Exercise #1: Stretch Cord Row 
Grab a stretch cord; wrap one end around a pole (or a partner) and anchor it in front of you at the base of your ribs. Hold both handles, stand tall, tuck your scapula, and keep your elbows in tight and your thumbs up. Make a rowing motion: bring your elbows in to 90 degrees and pull the inside of your wrists to the outside of your ribs. As you release tension on the cord in a forward motion, only go to 150 degrees with your elbows. 
Do 3 sets of 12; every fourth rep do a few pulses where you squeeze your shoulder blades together.
In the offseason you want to avoid doing the same exercises with the same pattern each time, so to change the recruitment you can either change the load or change the angle. 
 
 
Exercise #2: Fly With Elbow DropUsing a stretch cord, start with your hands together, your thumbs up, and a 150-degree bend in your elbows. Swing your arms up and out to the sides. The height of your hands should be at ear level and your elbows will close to about 130 degrees. Your hands, shoulders, elbows and ears should all be in the same line. If you are weak or have too much tension your hands will try to drift forward.
Once you're in that fly position you want to draw your elbows down to your sides and bring your wrists in toward your shoulders. Let your arms come back up to the fly position, then relax for one rep.
 
Exercise #3 and #4: Stretch Cord Hip Extension and Abduction
Extension: Stand on an elevated platform (2-4 inches) with a stretch cord anchored around your right ankle (the other end should be around a pole or partner).  For the hip extension, it should look like you're getting ready to kick a ball.  Your support leg (the left leg) should be slightly bent. Bring your right leg back about 12 to 18 inches; then bring it back to alignment with your left foot.
Do 12 reps; pulse six times in the back position on every fourth rep.
You're going to feel this in your right leg (the stretch cord leg) but it's really all about stabilizing your balance on the other leg as it works to hold your body in alignment.
Abduction: Step off block, turn your body 90 degrees and step your left foot over the stretch cord so that the cord is at your Achilles. Swing your right leg out to the side and back. Don't let it come down to ground.
Do 12 reps; pulse six times in the back position on every fourth rep.
This is the single best exercise for your glutes and the rotator muscles in your glutes. Again, you will feel this in your stretch cord leg but it will also have a huge overload in that stabilizing glute.
More: Stretch Cords: The Key to Offseason Swim Training

Exercise #5: Romanian Deadlift
Stand tall; keep your back flat, your head in a neutral position and your hips high. Hinge at hips. Grab onto a barbell or weight bar. As you stand, your weight will shift back to your heels. Lift the weight keeping your arms straight.
As you lower your upper body, keep a slight bend in knees. Avoid rounding your back as you hinge forward; then come back up.   
The reason I really like this exercise in the offseason is that it helps to lengthen the hamstrings, and endurance athletes typically have tight hamstrings.
More: How to Do a Deadlift Safely
 
Exercise #6: Squat Curl Press
Take two dumbbells in your hands. Stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder width apart and your toes turned slightly out. Stand tall; keep your back square and your ribs high. Curl the weights up and put them on your shoulders: Keep your thumbs down, pinkies up and palms facing your ears. Your elbows should be pointing straight ahead.
From there, do a squat keeping your elbows high. If you drop your elbows, your shoulders will round. As you stand up out of squat use your core to drive the weights straight up over your head.  As you raise the weights, rotate your palms forward. Lower the weight down, squat, and then repeat.