Originally Posted by
Bandera
Interesting article in VN.
Seems that my old school coach's regimen of putting in those long winter base miles at a "conversational" pace to build into the hard work of the racing season wasn't just old-fashioned hooey after all.
What's next: Fixed gears for base miles too?
"First, an increase in base training volume improves mitochondrial size and function. This adaptation affects oxidative enzymes, which increase fat-oxidation capacity.
Second, aerobic training improves lactate-clearance capacity."
Diagnosis: How many base miles do you really need? | VeloNews.com
I read that the other day. The concept is sound. The devil, like in all things, is in the details. Reading through the article reminded me that most of these case studies are based on kids doing elite races, many of whom have a tall ceiling they haven't hit yet. It also sounded like his first coach had him on a program that one of my old coaches started down after reading a paper that showed results getting rid of base entirely. I ended up switching coaches not long after that.
Some of the "old school base" advocates had a rule that you NEVER went above that conversational pace, which in itself has some flaws. My thought is that it was put in place as much to keep every group ride turning into a race as for any actual structural benefit. And a lot of folks empty their physical fatigue bucket overdoing LSD (long slow distance), or their mental fatigue bucket doing endless trainer rides if they are in places where weather is an issue.
Moderation is not intrinsic in cycling.
There are a lot of layers that can be added on to traditional "base" that will improve and accelerate the process, and for some folks (like track sprinters) they will be better off doing a little base and more of something else. I like to keep a least a small amount intensity in my programs year round, there's a physiological benefit but probably more important is the psychological benefit of being able to mentally calibrate an interval and not losing the brain "over ride" of discomfort.
A lot of the "old school" theories were based not in lab science, but in the field science of trial and error and built up historical models. Big value to that. Ex rode a fixed gear in the winter and did "Y" workouts, and he came out flying. I tried it and it worked, Etc. Determining why those things worked with lab science gives us a nice starting point to improve further on that model.
Of course then someone gets sick and we toss it out the window
