Post by MarkD on Mar 24, 2008 10:55:05 GMT -5
Since we have a lot of newbies posting these days, here are some thoughts about "build phase" training that may be helpful:
For those who periodize their training (I stick close to the Friel and Fitzgerald methods/advice), we have three basic phases: Base, Build, and Peak.
Many of us who have our first "A" race in June or early July are now in the first weeks of our build phase. If we trained appropriately, over the past 3 months, we have slowly built up our aerobic engines, hit the weights, and done some interval/pick-up work to get the body ready for higher intensity work to come. If we were smart, we avoided much anaerobic work and took our rest weeks seriously. We should be basically injury free and should have lost most of that holiday weight.
In the build phase, we begin to focus on muscular endurance. The key workout in this phase is tempo - the bridge between aerobic and anaerobic work. In a basic program where we run/bike/and swim 3 times per week (4 times if one discipline is a weakness), there should be three primary workouts. The first two are standard:
- long aerobic
- tempo
The third could be a number of different things based on your goals, weaknesses, or simply a general sense to "mix things up". They could be any of the following:
- hill work (or pull buoy work with the swim)
- high (to extreme) intensity intervals
- speed-play (fartlek)
If a 4th workout is chosen in a particular discipline, it should be a lower intensity workout that focuses on technique as a means of recovery from higher intensity in the previous workout.
Again, the key workout in this phase is the tempo. A tempo workout starts with a warm-up, then a slightly less than race effort sustained over a given period of time (for those that do heart-rate monitoring, you are in your "threshold" or between zones 4 and 5A). If your breathing is labored and your muscles are slightly uncomfortable, but you can maintain it for longer amounts of times (15 - 60 minutes), then you are probably in your tempo zone. In the early stages of the build phase, the tempo time should be limited and we should build as the weeks go on. (i.e. 15 minutes in week 1, 20 minutes in week two, 25 minutes in week 3, etc.). During our rest weeks in the build phase, the tempo should be backed down (or eliminated). Depending on the distance, the tempo maximum workout will vary (for example, in training for olympic distance racing, my max tempo run will be 40 minutes, bike = 60 minutes, swim = 20 minutes). For sprint training, I'd cut those times by a third to a half. The absolute best tempo workout is a single sport race or time-trial.
Don't be afraid to turn up the intensity if you have a good base under you. The lungs will hurt, but you'll get used to it. The faster you go (assuming you are controlled), the better your form will be and the likelihood of injury will decrease - especially with the run.
Any other thought from the veterans of the club ??
Peak phase thoughts coming in May...
For those who periodize their training (I stick close to the Friel and Fitzgerald methods/advice), we have three basic phases: Base, Build, and Peak.
Many of us who have our first "A" race in June or early July are now in the first weeks of our build phase. If we trained appropriately, over the past 3 months, we have slowly built up our aerobic engines, hit the weights, and done some interval/pick-up work to get the body ready for higher intensity work to come. If we were smart, we avoided much anaerobic work and took our rest weeks seriously. We should be basically injury free and should have lost most of that holiday weight.
In the build phase, we begin to focus on muscular endurance. The key workout in this phase is tempo - the bridge between aerobic and anaerobic work. In a basic program where we run/bike/and swim 3 times per week (4 times if one discipline is a weakness), there should be three primary workouts. The first two are standard:
- long aerobic
- tempo
The third could be a number of different things based on your goals, weaknesses, or simply a general sense to "mix things up". They could be any of the following:
- hill work (or pull buoy work with the swim)
- high (to extreme) intensity intervals
- speed-play (fartlek)
If a 4th workout is chosen in a particular discipline, it should be a lower intensity workout that focuses on technique as a means of recovery from higher intensity in the previous workout.
Again, the key workout in this phase is the tempo. A tempo workout starts with a warm-up, then a slightly less than race effort sustained over a given period of time (for those that do heart-rate monitoring, you are in your "threshold" or between zones 4 and 5A). If your breathing is labored and your muscles are slightly uncomfortable, but you can maintain it for longer amounts of times (15 - 60 minutes), then you are probably in your tempo zone. In the early stages of the build phase, the tempo time should be limited and we should build as the weeks go on. (i.e. 15 minutes in week 1, 20 minutes in week two, 25 minutes in week 3, etc.). During our rest weeks in the build phase, the tempo should be backed down (or eliminated). Depending on the distance, the tempo maximum workout will vary (for example, in training for olympic distance racing, my max tempo run will be 40 minutes, bike = 60 minutes, swim = 20 minutes). For sprint training, I'd cut those times by a third to a half. The absolute best tempo workout is a single sport race or time-trial.
Don't be afraid to turn up the intensity if you have a good base under you. The lungs will hurt, but you'll get used to it. The faster you go (assuming you are controlled), the better your form will be and the likelihood of injury will decrease - especially with the run.
Any other thought from the veterans of the club ??
Peak phase thoughts coming in May...
