Because it is always useful to remember it – and even more so during the winter season – Low intensity training is the key to long term progress in an endurance sport like cycling. Here's why.

By Guillaume Judas – Photos: depositphotos.com

No Pain, No Gain (" no pain no gain "). This adage is always relevant when you want to progress in a sport as demanding as cycling. But while this common sense phrase should include notions such as diligence, patience, planning and strategy, others choose to apply a more literal translation ("no progress without pain") that does not lead to the desired effects. Accumulating training sessions by "hurt yourself", or in other words at "sustained or high intensity", can only lead to failure, or at least to a rapid stagnation.

Some people constantly need challenges. The guy in front to catch up with. The buddy to impress. The peloton that is too fast to catch up with. The average speed to surpass. The home trainer session that is only possible by participating in a virtual race. But we can often see that this type of rider rides almost all year round at the same speed. It's the one who hurts you in December or January, but who gets dropped at the first bump in the race in June. And it's the one who stays in Pass Cyclisme his entire career when his buddies end up moving up to the first category.

obviously, This is not to say that you can give your best without setting goals. But you have to do it with rigor and strategy., and this involves devoting most of the preparation time to low-intensity training, to what is called "basic endurance". And this is even more true in the winter period, after a break or a relaxation of activity. If professional athletes start high-intensity training very early, it is because they have years and years of a very high volume of practice behind them, which allows them to maintain a very high base level for a long time, and to get back in shape very quickly after a break. And since they are professionals, they always devote a lot of time to a high volume of training in parallel with high-intensity sessions.

What is low intensity training?

The ESIE scale is a seven-level graduation of what you feel when producing an effort, and named from I1 (Intensity 1) to I7 (Intensity 7). These are terms used today by almost all coaches in cycling.

• I1 : light intensity, easy effort in relaxation, easy conversation, corresponding to < 50% of the power at PMA (maximum aerobic power), or < 75% of the FC (heart rate) Max. Training objective: long hours of effort, relaxation, regeneration.
• I2 : medium intensity, corresponding to a pure endurance effort, no muscle pain, easy conversation, fatigue occurring after 3/4 hour of prolonged effort, 50 to 65% of PMA and 75 to 85% of Max FC. Training goal: increase in endurance level, active elimination of waste.
• I3 : sustained intensity, appearance of muscular tension, difficult conversation, exhaustion over 2 hours, 65 to 75% of PMA, 85 to 92% of Max HR. Training objective: to maintain the average level of intensity of a test over time without difficulty.
• I4 : critical intensity, progressive increase in muscle pain, very difficult conversation, exhaustion from 20 minutes, 75 to 80% of PMA, 92 to 96% of FC Max. This is the pace of a 20-minute time trial, or what is called the anaerobic threshold intensity. Training objective: to withstand the high intensities of the competition, or the difficulties (elevation) of the course.
• I5 : over-critical intensity, very rapid and quickly unbearable increase in muscle pain, very complicated conversation, exhaustion between 3 and 7 minutes, around 100% of PMA and between 96 and 100% of FC Max. This is the appearance of a climb at full speed. Or what we call PMA. Training objective: increase the pain tolerance threshold (for key phases of an event, follow or make the difference).
• I6 : sub-max intensity, extreme suffering during exercise, close to nausea, exhaustion between 30 seconds and 1 minute, around 150% of PMA, non-significant HR. Training goal: lactate tolerance (punching abilities, hill sprinting).
• I7 : maximum intensity, impression of an effort in apnea, very short, no muscle pain, hyperventilation at the end of the exercise, maximum effort of 7 to 10 seconds, peak power or 250% of PMA, HR not significant. Training objective: develop maximum strength, improve movement skills).

When we talk about low intensity training, we are referring to the first two levels I1 and I2, and even more precisely to I2 in order to optimize the time spent pedaling. This is in contrast to the higher intensities, which are rather reserved for the approach phase of the competition, and of course for the competition itself.

Why low intensity training?

Endurance work must be the basis of all preparation for performance, and it is also what allows long-term progress. It's kind of the foundation of the season.

Accumulating time in this intensity zone offers many advantages.tagIt is for physical condition.

First, physiological adaptations:

• Increase in the number of mitochondria (present in all cells and which enable the production of ATP)
• Increased number of blood capillaries (which carry nutrients throughout the body)
• Increase in VO2 max (maximum volume of oxygen that can be consumed during exercise)

Then, metabolic adaptations which in particular make it easier to use lipids (fat) as a source of energy rather than sugar (stored in more limited quantities in the body). Good low-intensity training allows the thresholds of use of these different energy substrates to be brought closer to VO2 max. This is in order to gain endurance by pushing back the threshold from which sugars are used to produce an effort, and to lose weight by reducing fat massThis type of training also allows progress in terms of energy saving to produce the same power, whether on a gestural or metabolic level.

Accumulating low-intensity training time therefore allows the body to get used to maintaining a stable state for longer, and therefore to gain endurance. This is obviously essential for preparing for long events (such as cyclosportives). It also allows you to progress slowly (but surely) in all other intensity zones, except for I6 and I7. And above all, A long cycle of low-intensity training allows you to benefit more from high-intensity sessions later.

The trap of training too intensely

Poorly conducted or poorly planned high-intensity training may have immediate benefits in terms of performance, but it leads to atagfast nation. With an insufficiently prepared body, the athlete reaches the maximum of his capacities very quickly, and he must constantly increase the intensity and difficulty of the sessions to progress, while generating an increasingly significant fatigue induced by these training sessions, on the physical and psychological level.

By adopting a training mainly at low intensity, progress is slower, but more sustainable, and it allows you to go further. Additionally, the gradual increase in training volume every year is relatively easy to sustain physically.

With a good base of fitness from a long cycle of low intensity training, progress is also quite rapid when it comes time to integrate high intensity sessions into the training week.

With a good base of fitness from a long cycle of low-intensity training, progress is also quite rapid when it comes time to integrate high-intensity sessions into the training week. The exercises introduced can be longer and more difficult while generating less fatigue than when the athlete only trains at high intensity.

How should a low intensity session take place?

It is often in old jars that we make the best jams. So-called “old-school” outings are still the most effective when it comes to endurance work. Solo or very small group sessions, where everyone takes the wind in more or less the same way (riding an entire outing in the wheels is obviously counterproductive), where time passes quickly while chatting but without hanging around in route however, and by flirting with other energy sectors while simply responding to the situation on the ground.

New practitioners will probably prefer to be given more specific instructions. And these will consist of: stay as regularly as possible in the range of 75 to 85% of HR Max (i.e. approximately 125 to 145 beats for someone whose Max HR is 170 beats per minute, or 150 to 170 beats for someone whose Max HR is 200), regardless of the profile and the gradient, by adjusting the gear to ride in sequences either with a high pedaling cadence or a little more force. A short explosive sprint of 7 to 10 seconds every now and then is always interesting to include in this type of session. This helps maintain maximum strength and retain some liveliness.

Endurance is worked on by gradually increasing the duration of sessions. But also by maintaining a regular frequency of outings. So, it is more profitable to do one long outing per week (progressively increasing its duration each week by 15 minutes each time for example until the desired endurance duration), and several short outings in addition, than to do two long sessions and nothing in between. It is better as much as possible to keep up this habit of the long outing per week. (which can last from 3 to 6 hours depending on the athlete's level) throughout the season, and take advantage of the rhythm of the small additional sessions to integrate high intensities, as competitions or different objectives approach.

=> SEE AS ​​WELL : All our Coaching articles