Building an Aerobic Fitness Base

Summary:

Coach Donald and Coach Tim discuss the key points of building an aerobic fitness base, and why it is such an important component of overall athletic performance regardless of an athlete’s sport or experience level.

Key Discussion Points:

1. Addressing Common Misconceptions:

1) Aerobic capabilities don’t matter for power sports

2) High-intensity activities are required for base-building

1. Deep Dive:

1) Cardiac and metabolic adaptations

2) Tendon, bone & muscle adaptations

3) Nervous system adaptations & efficiency/economy

1. Webinar Pitch, Outro & Feedback

Noteworthy Moments/Quotes:

1. 5:22 - Coaching Highlights include learning programming techniques and fielding questions from athletes
2. 13:00 - The coaches dispel some common myths and discuss how the aerobic base serves a purpose as recovery in most sports
3. 19:30 - The purpose and dosage of high intensity interval work required when building an aerobic base
4. 22:50 - Defining what “base building” actually means
5. 26:05 - Sprinters, team/field-sport athletes, and endurance athletes all need aerobic development — just in different proportions
6. 26:30 - The coaches take a deep dive into cardiac and metabolic adaptations and tendon, bone and muscle changes to aerobic base building
7. 42:10 - The nervous system refines landing mechanics, making each step more uniform, more efficient and less costly
8. 46:00 - How strength training plays an important role in aerobic base building
9. 52:30 - Episode re-cap & Coaching Considerations

Resources Mentioned:

1. Webinar: https://ghperformance.com/webinar/
2. Website: https://ghperformance.com/

Actionable Takeaways:

1. All athletes can benefit from having a good aerobic base!
2. Do a lot of low intensity work early in the training cycle, to support higher intensity activities later
3. Load and intensity will differ for each individual athlete
4. Support the podcast by downloading Coach Donald’s Strength Training for Runners webinar!