How to do Base Training. What is it? Why do it?

What is Base Training?
Why should you do it?
And who is it for?
If you want to ride longer and get faster, you have to build up fitness from the ground up.
Kind of like a house, you don’t start with the roof.
First comes the foundation. In the training world we call this base training.
During Base Training we focus on four things.
1- building out the aerobic energy system
2- proper technique
3- building strength
4- learning or getting reintroduced on how to train after a break.
A lot of coaches will tell you to only ride in Zone 1 or 2 and the longer the rides the better.
They keep you doing this low intensity for a couple of weeks before starting to incorporate higher intensity intervals.
Other coaches will have you do interval sessions right from the beginning.
Who do I think is right?
Well, I think they are both right. Depending on what kind of athlete you are, following a mix of the two during the base training phase can be of great benefit.
Especially if you have only a limited amount of time each week.

here is a link to my "OFF the couch, cycling base training plan"
https://www.cyclingskills.co/product-...

or if you have a TrainingPeaks account follow the link below:
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/trainin...



About me:
I am Jurgen Beneke, a 51 year old Bicycle nut, dog fanatic and recovering raceaholic. Former MTB World Cup winner, X-Games Winner and National Champion. Owner and operator at www.dahanger.co