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Plateau
Aerobic training may also have phases of normal plateaus. Initially, your progress will be measured by larger improvements—less minutes per mile, more miles per hour, or whatever parameters you choose to use. As time goes on and development continues, progress occurs at a slower rate, but now you are performing at a much better pace. The graph on the next page represents the general progress of an actual age-group cyclist over a four-year period.
There are actually two different kinds of plateaus, one normal and the other abnormal. A normal plateau will be encountered at some point during progress—almost as if your body needs a rest from the progress it’s making. The reason for this is unclear, although it seems like the brain, muscular, and metabolic aspects of the body require a period of adjustment. This may be associated with the need for recovery, much like ascending a long hill during a marathon. These normal plateaus should not last too long—a few weeks to a few months at most. Even slight improvements, as seen in the chart above, should be taken as progress. At the end of that time, progress should again resume as measured by the MAF Test. If you stay on a plateau for too long, it may be abnormal and may mark the beginning of a regression.
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Example of Normal Aerobic Progress of Cyclist
An abnormal plateau is due to some physical, chemical, or mental obstacle that prevents progress of the aerobic system. The MAF Test is very useful to help assess an abnormal plateau. Once you find your times have stayed the same for too long, the next step is to find out why. Specifically, some important questions to ask yourself include:
- What is interfering with my progress?
- What changes have occurred in my physical life: new shoes, new bike set up, new training course?
- What changes have occurred in my body chemistry: dietary change, new dietary supplements, over-the-counter or prescription drugs?
- What mental or emotional factors may be causing more stress?
- What adjustments can I make?
There could be many factors, and quite often they are combinations of seemingly minor problems. For example, the combination of a new bike set up that’s not quite right for you in conjunction with increased travel for work with the accompanying poor diet can adversely affect aerobic function. In some cases, making an adjustment in your training schedule is the only way to adapt to stresses you can’t easily control. An athlete who is also an accountant typically has an exceptionally busy schedule at certain times of the year, often working 50 percent more with longer workdays. In this case, attempting to maintain a normal training schedule can create significant stress; the remedy is to reduce training to avoid excessive stress.
The weather may also be a stress that can halt endurance progression, during extremes of temperature and humidity. The hot, humid months of summer, or very dry extreme heat of the desert, can easily affect performance.
After a marathoner named Karen came and saw me, her progress was rapid—almost from the moment she began building an aerobic base. Her dedication to improving diet and managing stress was quickly paying off. Her first mile MAF Test on the track went from 9:07 pace in September to 7:52 the following June. However, following that improvement, there was a long three-month plateau, but she continued to feel great. Finally, improvement in aerobic speed continued. The next year the same pattern was evident: Her great progress halted abruptly and was followed by three months of no improvements. At first I thought Karen’s plateaus were normal. Eventually, I considered the possibility that perhaps her tolerance to the New York summer weather—hazy, hot, and humid conditions—was too stressful, and this was the cause of the plateau. Since Karen could not go to the mountains for cooler weather in the summer to avoid the weather stress, we cut her training schedule down by about 30 percent. Using that strategy beginning in the late spring, Karen continued progressing through the next summer. She also felt even better than normal, and continued racing better than the previous year.
If you think your plateau is abnormal, assess yourself carefully, or get help from a holistic professional who understands the needs of endurance athletes. Find out what may be blocking your natural progress.
Question: I have just started endurance training using the 180 heart-rate Formula. I am a thirty-six-year-old male and have been consistently running for about five years. I was somewhat saddened to find out that
I can only maintain a 12-12:30 pace at an average 140 beats per minute, and find that my pace per mile has to slow down even more when running beyond 14-15 miles in order to maintain the 140 rate. I am currently logging approximately 40-50 miles per week. My goal is to maintain this training for a minimum of eight to ten more weeks. Should I expect to realize a minimum level of improvement over the course of this training period?
Answer: Your pace of 12-12:30 indicates that the level of your aerobic function is poor. Everyone, in all sports, slows down during the course of a training workout. You should expect an obvious improvement in speed over your ten weeks of base building, and if not, something is wrong with your health and/or fitness. It could be a problem with your diet, nutrition, stress, or another issue.
If you are a triathlete, you may plateau for one event but not the others. In this case, if you are measuring progress in swimming, biking, and running, you may see your swim and run times improving while your bike improvement has reached a plateau. After a month or two, this may change with swimming and cycling showing progress while your running maintains an even level. The reason for this is unclear, but I feel it is a normal part of progression in healthy athletes.
