Why are we so obsessed with the finer details of our sport when most haven't even nailed the basics?
Only from a solid base can we start to build something that we can use for quality training and competing. It’s like building a house – you need a solid foundation before you can start to build anything. Rome wasn't built in a day. This is so true when it comes to advances in any sport. If you rush into ‘hard’ work, yes, you may get faster for a short period of time, but you will not have the aerobic base that is needed for long term gains.
Luke Mathews.
Off season or base training is misconstrued by many athletes to mean training that is somehow less important than ‘in season’ or competitive season training. Perhaps, because the low-intensity training is less painful, it is thought to be less important. The concept that only ‘hard’ work produces significant gains in fitness and the greatest rewards in performance is incorrect. It may also be that base training benefits are not immediately obvious. A lot is happening below the skin and improvements are not readily apparent. In fact, the low-intensity base training is where your most significant fitness growth will come.
Impatient athletes may want to rush the early season preparation and get to the ‘hard’ stuff too soon. Developing fitness is a recipe where adding intensity too early will ruin the final product. Developing base fitness in the early season will dictate the extent of your peak fitness later. It’s like a pyramid-shaped building where the foundation needs to be broader than the upper floors – the base fitness you develop early on must be broader than the ensuing layers of fitness you apply.
Base work training should be done at about 65-75 per cent of your maximum heart rate, also known to some as zone 2. This is easily done on the bike – it doesn't mean long slow rides all the time. You should still be taxing the body, but not in a way that you are going to burn out. These endurance efforts also teach the body to burn fat for fuel. This should make up a lot of your training in build periods, or the ‘off’ season. We need to hit speed work and strength work at certain times, but often people get into this too quickly and burn out too fast. The more time you have available to you to get this sort of training in the better. if you only have six hours a week to train then this isn't probably going to have the desired effects.
I find that many people want all these small gains when most need to go out and get the base work done. Get some great base work done and you will achieve so much more long term. It will help keep injuries at bay as your body will cope with the stressful demands applied to it – develop your aerobic system and you as an athlete.
Someone I know was obsessed with getting certain tests done to find out information that really played an insignificant part to what he was trying to achieve. The time and money he spent getting them done would have been better spent doing some quality training.
I guess it is lack of knowledge and wanting results fast. We all want both things, but knowledge takes time and fast results don't happen for 99 per cent of us. You may have all the latest gear and all the mod cons, but they aren't going to help when push comes to shove and you need that extra kick when it's called upon. KISS (keep it simple, stupid)! Don't believe all that you read and what special gains you get from certain products.
It’s the same with gym work. If, like me, you are always short of time and gym work sometimes seems to take a back seat, when you do get in the weights room keep it simple. For example, work on front and back squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, press-ups, single leg step-ups, kettle bell swings – any simple, functional movements and quality core work. These sort of movements will help increase your strength and your body’s ability to work under stress.
My advice is to set a realistic plan for yourself and don't fret about the small things such as gaining an extra 2 watts by using a certain bike chain. Should I pedal at 85 or 87rpm? Should I buy a certain supplement if it says I will lose 5kg? Get out there – swim, bike and run more and get some quality training in. Stop making excuses or trying to find a quick fix. Bradley Wiggins didn't win all he has won by cutting corners – he has dedicated endless hours to training. Yes, he has now left no stone unturned and looked into the finer details with help from experts all over the world, but it wasn't before he had built the solid foundation on which to build a true champion.
Results take time and I believe we are growing up in a world of convenience. Yes, certain training may not be convenient, but if you want results, then you have to be inconvenienced sometime. Just get on with it. Don't always choose the easy way out – the most rewarding times come when you complete a session that you maybe didn't want to do.
