I have been getting a bit of conflicting advice regarding base training. My coach is big on doing 80% of winter base training at less than 80% of max HR. He said it doesn’t mater what the intensity is as long as its less than 80% (about 150 for me). His theory is this is where elite endurance athletes do the bulk of there training (usually averaging about 65% of max hr) e.g. Seiler, K.S & Kjerland, G,o (2004) Quantifying training interserty in elite endurance athletes: is ther evidence of an optimal distribution? Scand J. Med. Sci. sports online Oct 2004. One of my mates who is an Elite Duathlete thinks I need to focus my training more as my VO2 is quite low and I need to work a little harder at least staying within the 140 to 150 range during my rides and runs.
Elite athletes spend a lot more hours training than we do; that’s the only reason such a high percentage of their training hours are low-intensity. If 20% of their hours are “higher intensity” – that might mean 3-4 hours a week. If I only train 8 hours a week, I can do a much higher percentage of those hours at higher intensities. I train about 8 hours a week on bike and run, and at least half those hours are at Zn3-4 intensity. The rest are at high Zn2. IMO, anything below Zn2 is wasted time in an 8-10 hour week of bike and run training. Zn1 training only stimulates endurance adaptations if done in very, very high volumes.
Too many people try to just “scale down” the program of a high-volume elite athlete and fail to take into account the lower volumes of a recreational athlete.
If you trust your mate to develop a training plan better than your coach’s, drop your coach and have your friend design your training. Your coach should have an overall plan for your season of which your current training is one component. The important thing is will your coach bring you to the point of your individual maximum performance at the right time. If you believe he will, trust your coach and follow the plan; if you don’t, you’re wasting your time with him. The place to discuss this is with your coach.
As asgelle said you should talk with your coach. Ask your coach what his season plans are and how your training will be structured in 2-4 months. Maybe he sees your aerobic fitness as a weakness and wants to build that before moving into more intense work. Maybe he other ideas for you that you do not know about. But no matter what your doing you wil get some aerobic adaptations occur at all training intensities.