Thanks to Tim “Lucho” Waggoner on the Endurance Planet, I’ve been hearing a lot about training an aerobic base and using the Maffetone Method as a starting point.
Here are the top-4 reasons to remain aerobic in the base-phase as found on an article from TRImyCoach.com:
1-Anaerobic training can decrease the # of aerobic muscle fibers.
2-Lactic Acid produced during anaerobic training may inhibit the AEROBIC muscle enzymes which are necessary for triathlon-specific energy usage.
3-Anaerobic training raises your respiratory quotient. This means that you % of energy derived from sugar (which is limited) increases………while % of FAT (almost unlimited) used decreases.
4-TOO much anaerobic stress inhibits the aerobic metabolism by raising cortisol levels. Cortisol is a catabolic (as opposed to an ‘anabolic’) hormone that negatively alters insulin levels to rely on sugar USAGE instead of fat usage. Cortisol is a muscle stripper by converting it to fuel as well.
Article URL: http://www.trimycoach.com/articles/heart_rate_training.html