The Basics of Base Training
Principles:
The purpose of base training is to establish a foundation of fitness that will allow cyclists to build towards their
physiological potential for a goal event. It may seem counterintuitive to revert to base training every year after
reaching new heights of performance, but this strategy pays dividends come race season.
Much like a pyramid, our fitness is built in a hierarchical fashion, with the initial work serving as a critical
foundation that will eventually support a higher peak. This foundation is achieved through effective base training in
which cyclists raise their fitness levels. During this phase there are various transformations happening on different
levels, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll just focus on the efficiency of muscles to transform energy into speed on
the bike.
As you focus your training on developing your aerobic capacity, amongst other useful adaptations, you train your body to
become more efficient at turning fat into energy and producing energy aerobically regardless of its fuel. This
transformation takes place within the mitochondria (the powerhouses of the cell ) in your muscles. So, as you spend more
time stressing your aerobic energy system, your body adapts by creating more efficient mitochondria. This adaptation
will benefit you throughout all portions of your power curve because mitochondria are involved in turning energy into
speed at all different intensities.
Takeaway: By following a Base training plan, you will establish fundamental aspects of your fitness capabilities. The
primary focus is on aerobic endurance, muscular endurance, and form/speed/power capabilities.
TrainerRoad Base Plans: General, Traditional, Polarized, and Masters
So it's time for base, but you aren't sure what will work best for you... what do you do? You can use the guide below to
decide which Base plan is right for you.
General Base
This take on Base training integrates a bit more variety than the Traditional approach. You will see a lot of Sweet Spot
work, but the plan also contains VO2 max intervals and neuromuscular bursts in the Low and Mid-Volume Plans.
The reasoning behind this is that most amateur athletes when training at a low-intensity will run out of time in their
schedules before they really tax their endurance muscles to the limit. Through Sweet Spot work, and a mix of higher
intensity work, you can attain sufficient training stress to initiate adaptation in your limited training time.
- When choosing a Base plan, we've found General Base (GB) is the best choice for most athletes who don't have enough
time (less than 10 hours/week) to complete a full Traditional Base. If that's you, we recommend trying one of our
General Base plans to fit your schedule.
- This plan initiates general fitness gains much faster (can expect FTP increase in 6-8 weeks)
Learn more in our blog post: What is General Base Training?
Traditional Base
The Traditional Base approach requires long, low-intensity hours in the saddle. There are a few key demographics that
this approach is best for:
- Those recovering from injury will benefit from the gentle approach of Traditional Base
- Athletes who have large amounts of time before their target events. By planning their season well in advance of
their race days, riders afford themselves the option of cultivating a wider base of fitness. Completing Traditional
Base prior to a General Base circuit is one way to build this huge, substantial base.
Polarized Base
Polarized Training spits your training into two intensities at specific volumes: ≈80% low intensity, 20% high intensity
or 95/5%. This structure takes more time in the saddle to generate comparable adaptations to General Base, but less than
Traditional Base. Polarized training is best for:
- Experienced athletes with a strong aerobic base who can handle intense sessions.
- Athletes who have the time and want to train with long endurance sessions and hard high-intensity efforts.
Masters Base
Masters Base plans are designed to prioritize recovery with no more than two days of Sweet Spot, or higher-intensity
workouts each week. These plans work well for:
- These plans are made for athlete's who need more recovery time.
- Any athlete who needs more recovery time will find these plans extremely beneficial, not just masters athletes.
- They can be used for athletes returning to interval training after extended time off, injury, or illness.
Learn more about Masters Plans from this article: What are Masters Plans?
Takeaway: For most applications, General or Masters Base is the way to go.
Relevant Podcasts
[13:45] Podcast 068: Sweet Spot vs Traditional Base discussion
Can I Skip Base Training?
Typically, we do not recommend athletes skip any training phases. You will get the fastest if you work through all three
training phases in order and to completion before moving onto your next phase of training. However, every rider has
different time constraints, as well as different levels of fitness and cycling backgrounds going into their structured
training. Here are a few common reasons that athletes want to skip Base:
- Riders with heavily experienced backgrounds who are familiar with the level of base training they have at that point
in the season. These riders can decide to bypass or reduce the duration of the Base phase, and move straight into a
Build phase if they have been doing structured Base outside of TrainerRoad.
- Riders with mid-level or minimal experience, whose target event is less than 28 weeks away (the time it takes to
complete Base/Build/Specialty). We’d suggest s/he complete the entire Base phase of training and move as far along
through the Build and Specialty training plans as time will allow. See our article "Not Enough Time!" To further
explore how you should structure your season with less than 28 weeks.
- Riders who are mid-season and have already peaked for en event, but have 16 or fewer weeks until their next event.
These athletes should first consider a low-intensity training block but can absolutely skip base and jump back into
Build. This is what we call a 'rebuild' and you can learn more about how to structure around this in our "Peaking
for Multiple 'A' Races" article.
Takeaway: No, you should probably not skip Base Phase, however there are a few fringe cases where it is an acceptable
decision.
Base Training Q&A
Q: Time constraints aside, how many hours per week would I need to spend base training in order to improve upon last season's fitness?
A: The goal is to increase your annual training volume by 5% but not more than 15% over last year’s training volume in
order to improve upon last year’s performance without overdoing it.
Q: Do I really have to go this easy during Base I? It doesn't seem like I'm working hard enough to gain any training benefit.
A: Properly performed, Aerobic Endurance rides (roughly 60-80% FTP) train your type IIb fibers - which are the most
versatile muscle fiber type - to prefer fat over sugar, one of the key objectives of Base Training. This adaptation is
negatively affected if you work too hard, so go slow so your body learns to metabolize fat and spare sugar at low, but
eventually greater, effort levels.
Q: Sometimes I don't have the time for the prescribed ride duration. How can I address these time constraints without missing out on the benefits of base training?
A: Although athletes competing in events requiring long hours on the bike need to adapt to long rides with no breaks,
riding twice daily is often the only way to log high daily base mileage and is also an excellent way to reduce body fat
during Base Training. Simply break your longer rides into 2 segments and perform them at the beginning, middle and/or
end of your day. Try to refrain from breaking your long weekend ride into halves, and avoid breaking rides less than 90
minutes into smaller parts whenever possible.
Q: Are recovery weeks really necessary when the training intensity is already so low?
A: Yes. Regardless of the low intensity, the body needs time to absorb new stress before additional stress is applied,
even if that stress isn't due to high-intensity intervals or race efforts. Recovery weeks will simply drop the stress to
roughly half the stress of your current phase's toughest week but keep you on the bike the same number of times in order
to avoid any disruption of your training schedule. Also, there’s no reason (nor benefit) to exceed 50% FTP during
Recovery Weeks unless you are certain that riding over 50% FTP is still regenerative and restful and allows your body to
recover and prep for the next, more stressful, block of training.
Q: Which drills should I be doing per session and how many do I do for the duration?
A: The drills are briefly during the workouts themselves. As long as you haven't checked the "Hide text during workout"
box on the Profile tab, and the onscreen directions will prompt you to add particular drills at particular times.