The Importance of Endurance Sport Build Phase Training

The Build Phase of your Ironman Training follows on from the Base Phase. Recall that the Base Phase provides the foundation. The focus is on building fitness, developing muscular strength, improving skill sets, imbedding good habits and optimizing your nutrition. Everything you do in the Base Phase prepares you for the increase in load that comes during the Build Phase covered in this post. If the Base phase is all about ‘training to train’ the Build phase is ’training to race’.

Specificity is important:

The theory of specificity becomes more important during the build phase. Training should become more aligned to the race you are targeting and your goals. To successfully construct this phase of training you must first identify the specific demands of your race and take into account your performance goals. No point training on pancake flat terrain if your event is full of hills!

The intensity of training should also be aligned to your current level. If you’re a newbie with very little training history and are still developing your fitness there’s no point upping the load to that of a seasoned campaigner. You’ll be much better served focusing on further developing your endurance and skills as you have been doing in the base period. On the other hand if you’re an experienced athlete with desires of getting on the podium your build phase should be focused on that and reflect your goal.

Timing is everything:

Transitioning through the phases requires careful consideration. This is because the intensity and training load associated with the build period is more taxing. Consider this. Can you safely say that you have acquired the required level of fitness to transition to this next phase of training? If you can honestly answer yes to this question then proceed, if the answer is no you’ll be much better served carrying on with your base phase preparation for a few more weeks so that you can successfully move on without exposing yourself to injury and illness that could result. An accurate way to understand whether you are ready to progress from base is to monitor the exercise efficiency of similar longer endurance workouts.  If you are not seeing continued improvement and have been following your training program you are ready. Training Peaks and other training software platforms have excellent tools to help monitor exercise efficiency and inform these types of decisions. Planning and executing a successful progression in training is one area a coach can be of particular value.

Nutrition is key:

Focus on maintaining your good nutritional habits during the build phase. You will need to introduce some change as the intensity of training means you’ll probably be burning more energy than in the base phase. Prioritize protein intake and nail your recovery nutrition. You can include high Glycemic Index foods in your recovery nutrition post tough and long sessions as these will be absorbed quicker replenishing your glycogen stores more readily. Outside of recovery nutrition your diet should still be based on nutrient dense unprocessed foods. Remember you will be burning more calories so will need to increase your food intake accordingly. Undereating can be a significant issue in endurance sports people so pay special attention. Energy deficiency can derail training very quickly! It’s also important to include gut training in your program to help prepare for race day and help avoid potential gastric distress.

Watch Outs:

Too long - The build phase is physically demanding, most can only handle 2 cycles of training. This will end up being 6 - 8 weeks in length dependent on your level of base fitness and event. With this in mind planning any more than this is not a wise move and generally not necessary.

Too much intensity - Intensity is required in your build phase to reflect your goals but too much is counterproductive. Make sure you hold balance in your training and maintain the majority as endurance focused.

Not enough recovery - The volume and stress of training increases therefore it is very important to ensure you are recovering well between sessions/days. Get plenty of sleep and prioritize recovery nutrition. I have found MitoQ to be a very good addition to my recovery toolbox.

In conclusion the build phase is where you ‘train to race’. Your workouts should become more specific to the event you are training for and your performance goals. It’s demanding and shouldn’t be any longer than 6 - 8 weeks. If you have not built the necessary endurance base to successfully transition continue building your fitness. And remember recovery is super important so do everything you can to be ready for your next workout.