So how do you know if you are training at the correct intensity when working on your base?

The best rule of thumb is that if you can sustain a conversation then you are training at the correct level. If you need to take a breather from putting the world to rights on the club run then you are riding to hard and need to back it off.

However, the most accurate way to determine whether you are riding at the correct intensity – and, therefore, the best way to ensure you are getting the most out of your training – is to use a heart rate monitor or power meter. For those of you using a heart rate monitor, base training is between 60 to 70 per cent of your maximum heart rate (according to the Sally Edwards zone model). If you’re using a power meter then the correct base training intensity is between 56-75% of the power you can sustain for one hour (functional threshold power or FTP).

Riding at this intensity teaches your body to burn predominately fat instead of glycogen. Glycogen is how your body stores carbohydrates in your body but these stores are very limited and even when fully topped up will only last for between 30-90 minutes of intensive exercise. To be able to ride for four or five hours cyclists use fat as an energy source, however in order to burn fat your body still needs a small supply of carbohydrates – so it’s important to keep eating on a base ride!

As the intensity of exercise increases, more glycogen and less fat gets burnt. Therefore, base training improves the efficiency of your engine, so the higher the intensity at which you can keep using predominately fat as an energy source, the more glycogen you will have in the bank for the last push on the final climb.

But why do you need to ride at such a moderate intensity to build your base and what is the actual science behind it?