This is the fifth in a series of articles covering all aspects of Masters Athletes' training and nutrition for track and field events. Here, we will take a look at how properly planned training will greatly impact your success.
In my last article, we discussed how proper planning will greatly impact overall success in masters track and field athletes. Every athlete is different, has unique attributes, and may differ in age. This means that she or he cannot expect a ready-made program to meet her or his needs. We looked at the basic elements for planning, from proper periodization to training cycles, maintaining a training log, and balancing training with recovery periods.
In this article, we take a closer look at the phases of training, and how they are laid out over a specific period.
Phase I (Base Training)
Normally, an athlete would build a sound base of aerobic training for a minimum of two to three months. This prepares your body for the hard work that awaits you in Phase II and III of your overall schedule. A solid aerobic base also enables you to race two or three times on the same day during major competitions such as the World Masters Athletics Championships. This base training, or Phase I, will normally begin after the summer track season is over, assuming you will peak only once that year. It is also the phase where you would introduce hill training for building strength (more on this type of training and its benefits in a future article).
In this…
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