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Home > Base Building for Cyclists: A New Foundation for Endurance and Performance
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Base Building for Cyclists: A New Foundation for Endurance and Performance
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By Thomas Chapple
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 (31 Reviews)
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List Price: $18.95
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Publisher:
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VeloPress
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Date:
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December 31, 1969 |
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Binding:
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Paperback
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Pages:
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224
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Cyclists of any age, experience, skill, and talent level can reach their full potential as both athlete and individual by training their bodies and minds for athletic competition. Ultrafit coach Thomas Chapple shows how with this practical guide. Based on the idea that success depends on the extent to which cyclists build their foundation of aerobic fitness, or their "base," for the road ahead, the book explains step-by-step how to build a bigger aerobic engine, work up to higher volumes, and make significant improvements in strength, endurance, and speed.
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Customers' Reviews:
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 Cost effective book to achieve long term results, January 9, 2007
By CanadianBiker (Canada)
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Don't buy this book if you're short sighted and want to get faster next month. Do buy this book if you're a student of the sport of cycling, and the associated physiology. Friel's Bible dedicates several chapters to offseason and base preparation, but Chapple builds on this and expands it to an entire book.
Sound, detailed and correct. This isn't a "cycling for dummies" type book where you open it to a given page, do some canned workout, and magically win your next Cat 4 race.
Start reading it after Thanksgiving, plan through the holidays, and execute.
47 of 47 people found this review helpful
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This book unlocks the keys to racing success!, December 26, 2007
By Mohican
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AWESOME!!! Thomas Chapple shows that he is a very skillful teacher!Base Building is right on the money! It takes you through step by step of creating a stronger, healthier, and fitter bike racer. The logic behind the concepts are sound and based on science. The style of writing is understandable & witty. You will feel like Thomas is having a conversation with you. It's like having your own highly qualified coach with you whenver you need him. I still find myself referring to the book often. I have read many different cycling books and this is the only one that dedicates in itself to the most important step of training: the base period. Thomas sheds considerable light on a topic few really understand, he makes very applicable to the needs and expectations of each rider. If you bought only one book on training this should be the one. After reading "Base Building", all of the previous books that I've read on training for cyclists make alot more sense to me. Well Done Thomas!
21 of 22 people found this review helpful
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 Great Book Builds on Friels Bible, March 17, 2007
By Allen L. Chong (Western Australia)
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This is a great book. Read Friels Bible for the big plan and then read this to help implement. Its for those who like detail. Well thought out and written.
14 of 16 people found this review helpful
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Excellent resource for endurance training, February 29, 2008
By Nadine (Emeryville, CA USA)
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I'm training for my first 200 mile ride this May and wanted to find a guide to help me maximize the small amount of time I have to train. This book is easy to read and follow, and I'm really seeing results. The material covers race training as well so it would be useful for people who want to train see gains for racing. The most difficult part is keeping the intensity low because it's my natural inclination to want to push it to the max.
On a recent 100 mile ride, riding at a lower perceived exertion rate than I ever have, I finished slightly faster than last year, *and* feeling refreshed. I credit all the base training I did this year following the plan in the book with my success.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
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Outstanding Book to Improve Your Fitness, December 2, 2008
By stephenkirkish (Healdsburg, CA USA)
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I'm a recreational cyclist, getting in a ride a week at best of around 25-35 miles, while otherwise hitting the gym 2-3 times a week. I was frustrated because my speed wasn't improving, my weight loss had bottomed out (although I knew I could lose a bit more,) and I often found that I was getting head colds and such every could of months. Then I found "Base Building for Cyclists".
I've read this book cover-to-cover, and applied Chapple's philosophies. My cycling endurance and speed has improved, I lost another 8 lbs of unproductive body fat, and I got even more excited to get on the saddle and out on the road.
Chapple's approach is simple: Riding hard all the time will not improve your cycling performance. He proposes a program of training that starts out slow and builds from there. How you train depends on what areas you need to improve. I needed to build my endurance, and learned to ride slower to train my body to burn fat using carbs for the fire, rather than just burning the carbs. Results: longer rides and faster speeds after a few weeks of progressively harder rides (and no more over-extending and getting sick!)
It's an interesting book in that you're way past page 100 before you get to the training plans. He spends a lot of chapters giving you the background you need to develop your own program. This is good - you understand what to eat and when, how to balance aerobic and anaerobic training, where strength training fits in and what exercises to do, and how your body processes food for your muscles. He does all this in a very readable form. To me, this is outstanding.
While he does discuss how power meters can be applied, he also recognizes that not everyone can afford this technology, and gives you enough tools to get by with as little as subjective judgment. I recommend at least investing in a heart rate monitor if you really want to improve.
This book is great if you want to train to compete in races. However, it is also good for the recreational cyclist who wants to improve his performance and skills and keep up (or pass!) his friends.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
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Great book, July 16, 2008
By Ty A. Ketlinski
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I wish I had this book when I was racing. The book goes into some great reasons to train at lower zones to teach your body to use more fat for fuel, rather than carbs. Great sample workout plans are included, as well as weightroom and stretching exercises. This book, however, relies heavily on the use of a powermeter, which are expensive (most are more expensive than my bike). If it had an alternative way to find your lower lactate thresholds, other than a powermeter, it would be better for the financially-challenged. Other than that, a great book that I would highly recommend.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
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Helpful even for a new cyclist, March 30, 2009
By Ride in Indy (Indianapolis)
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I bought this after reading recommendations on Amazon preferring this book over Chris Carmichael's book which I had read at the library and was considering purchasing for myself.
I am fairly new to cycling (this is my second season riding) and I do not race - I was looking for something to help me understand how to develop my cycling fitness and how to ride stronger, farther, and eventually faster.
This book has been very helpful. Good explanations of the underlying principles and ideas of training, especially base training. Really emphasizes that "less is more" and the importance of "riding slower to get faster."
Specific, concrete ideas and advice about setting up a structured yet flexible training schedule; and advice about modifying training based on amount of experience (beginner like me, intermediate, or advanced), on one's personal response to training loads, and one's personal training goals. Includes information on strength/weight training.
I am glad that I purchased this book instead of Carmichael's book which, altho' interesting and helpful for me initially, was not as specific or detailed as Base Building for Cyclists.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
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 Good, but could be better., October 24, 2009
By snx (Mount Vernon, NY United States)
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I used this book this past season for my training following the beginner-level program. It worked fairly well, but I do have some criticisms:
-The beginner level is aimed at people who haven't been training regularly at all. I found the cardio portion to be too slow. I actually lost fitness over the winter from having to keep my heart rate down to such low levels.
-The weight training is too fussy. You're better off following the Friel book and keeping your exercises basic and to the point. Doing all sorts of moves on the ab ball won't make that much of a difference during the season.
One of the best parts of this book, however, are the training charts. You can just photocopy the sample training programs and you're good to go. The authors do a great job of distilling the information into concrete programs that are easy to follow.
I've found the best way to use this book is as a companion book to The Cyclist's Training Bible. With both books together, you would have all the information you need to set up a successful structured training program.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
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THIS BOOK SHOULD BE ON EVERY CYCLIST'S READING LIST, February 3, 2009
By Robert Alonzi (Los angeles, CA USA)
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Thomas Chapple has taken into account the multi-layered training regimens needed to become a well conditioned cyclist and put them forward in a well written, easy to understand book. Whether a beginner or a pro, Chapple's system is broken down into easy to understand chapters and language that makes implementation easy and effective.
Chapple's clear explanation of how the body's fule systems work (carbodydrates, fat and protein) coupled with a conditioning program that protects the body from injury and over- training is what every cyclist needs. The concept of riding slow in order to get fast is fully explained and guidance on specific implementation of this method of traning could not be clearer.
By following Chapple's program I have found my endurance, speed and enjoyment of cycling has greatly increased.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
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Same as the Training Bible, November 13, 2009
By Mark Schow
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This is pretty much the same as Joe Friel's Training Bible. In fact, this guy works for Joe Friel - so you don't get a lot of new information. I also found the Training Bible to be better.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
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It works, January 6, 2009
By getting faster guy (Bike Heaven)
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I've been an avid cyclist for more than 20 years, some times I'm fast, sometimes I'm slow and I've never had a real plan for structured improvement. This book was written for me. The writing is clear and consise and while it occasionally hammers a point, the point is usually relevent and worthy of hammering. While the best training results will depend on the quality of your personal execution, the books idea's can be easily followed as a general high level sort of riding philosophy or micro-managed into a daily-weekly-monthly goal specific program. You can get more specific theories for any of hte ideas presented here but this book does a great job of giving working knowledge of the basics.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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Really good and up to date, June 3, 2010
By Visit my Amazon Profile page! (Bay Area, CA)
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I really enjoyed this book. It is much more up to date that others of the same ilk. It is a good read and discusses at length qualitatively why the method of base building and slowing down and backing off before building up is so important for the long term and improving in the long term. The only complaint I have is that it could have a little more quantitative added to all the qualitative discussion. I was not aware of any wrong advice, as sometimes one sees in some books. The descriptions of how the body responds to training and why physiologically the body responds the way it does are very helpful. I recommend this book highly.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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BUY THIS BOOK, November 17, 2009
By theWyatt (Chicago Il)
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This will get you on a path and training system for the advanced or beginner. Even you old timers that think you should just 'feel' your ride for the day. YOU WILL BE MISSING your POTENTIAL! Took me a bit to figure to slow down to do faster, longer, harder... but it works. Well written, comes with charts, tests to test yourself on and how to help narrow down genetically whether you are more of climber, sprinter, or endurance racer. WONDERFUL book. I reference this book regularly.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Plenty of strong details for base building, November 22, 2010
By Sasha
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I have read many other training books for cyclists of all skill levels, including Joe Friels' book, Allen Coggin, and Chris Carmichael among others. While this book's first few chapters were more or less repeats of other books on basics such as nutrition, bike fit, etc, the second half of the book on structuring the base building portion of a training plan is invaluable. It is exactly what I was looking for when I purchased this book. Plenty of details surrounding specific workouts, time on the bike, intervals, all you need to know as a bike newbie, intermediate or advanced cyclist wanting to get more out of your early, winter training season.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Let chapters 1-4 sink in...., October 29, 2010
By CJ (NJ, USA)
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The book is mostly a rehash of Joe Friel's training bible, BUT it adds very critical information. Chapters 1-4 sums it all up. Just these 4 chapters makes the book worthwhile. This is the most important information I have ever read in trying to find out how to achieve my athletic potential. Forget about riding hard, that's for well trained professionals who have been training for a decade or more. Understand how the body's energy production systems work and you will train smarter and reach your potential.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Make every cycling mile count and cut out those junk miles, October 20, 2010
By Michael Lerner (Philadelphia, PA)
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Local Bike Shop turned me onto Base Building. Found this book and learned a great deal about nutrition, hydration, and the fundamentals of base building. I didn't go so far as to dive headlong into the training schedules but I have no doubt that if I were training for crits, time trials, etc., this book would be quite useful. I was a little skeptical about the impact of nutrition and hydration on human performance, but after double checking everything with medical professionals, everything checks out. Highly recommend this book.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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 Sleeping Aid, January 9, 2007
By Jeffrey Anderson
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The information is there but I can't keep my eyes open long enough to find it. There are some great training books out there. This is not one of them.
2 of 40 people found this review helpful
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 Repetitive and ultimately leaves you wondering what to do, January 10, 2010
By G. Bailey (SoCal)
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This is a lousy book. The author seems to have repackaged Joe Friel's concepts (given the foreword by Friel apparently he had permission) into a book that is incredibly repetitive on the most mundane points. And for a specialist book with a narrow topic, he managed to say incredibly general and ultimately fails to provide the expected direction on the kinds of actual workouts one should be doing to implement the training concepts. For those that said they had to read it twice, it's because the author gets lost in training jargon and generalizations. Unfortunately I got very, very little out of this book. You'll learn just as much from a generalist book like the Training Bible in much less time.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Really good and up to date, June 4, 2010
By Visit my forCycling Profile page! (Bay Area, CA)
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I really enjoyed this book. It is much more up to date that others of the same ilk. It is a good read and discusses at length qualitatively why the method of base building and slowing down and backing off before building up is so important for the long term and improving in the long term. The only complaint I have is that it could have a little more quantitative added to all the qualitative discussion. I was not aware of any wrong advice, as sometimes one sees in some books. The descriptions of how the body responds to training and why physiologically the body responds the way it does are very helpful. I recommend this book highly.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Readable and organized, January 17, 2011
By Porter
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Yes, much of the info is in Friel's Training Bible...but this book is readable, understandable and easy to put in practice. Pertinent, interesting physiological info -- I like to know the "why" behind a training proram -- but didn't feel like reading it was an academic exercise. For recreational or competitive riders...useful next steps are there.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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For Beginners and Seasoned Veterans and Everyone In Between, October 30, 2009
By nflection (east)
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This book is a great resource for anyone who wants to improve their cycling performance. I would suggest reading it with The Ultimate Ride by Chris Carmichael. There will be a lot of overlap but if you read them both you will have a comprehensive understanding of health, nutrition, training and recovery.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Great resource!!!, October 9, 2009
By E. Halpern (NY, NY)
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I would highly recommend this book if you're looking to take your training seriously. The emphasis of this book is on training for races, but if you're looking to have a really strong season and don't plan to compete this book could still be very helpful. Much of the same information from Friel's book is here, only Chapple takes it a few steps further. As the name implies the author gives a very specific plan for riders to follow during their base training period. What's great is that he also includes gym workouts, crosstraining activities, and pedaling exercises (to improve your pedaling technique) in addition to all the workout suggestions. I'm starting my base training off now, in October, with his recommended workouts and I'll be getting back to more of Friel's workouts once I hit the later building periods.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Best with Power Meter, January 22, 2009
By The One Who Knows Nothing (Canada)
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This along with "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" by Hunter Allen are the best training books that I have read. You will need a good power meter to get the most out of your training time and these books will show you the way. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Very Good Book, Now DO THE WORK!, July 22, 2011
By raspell (Memphis, TN USA)
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I've read a few of these type books as a one year cyclists because I love to gather information. These books can normally be summed up pretty quickly and have a lot of repeat and filler. So, here is the summation on this book, "ride slow for an extended length of time to train your body to burn fat". Now, there is MUCH more info. But will you really commit to this? I must say of the 26 reviews, there are about four where the reviewers glowingly state they followed the program and got faster and better. So the question is, will I commit and follow?
Reading to learn is great. But as I've mentioned, I've read other books and didn't follow them. So why this book? Basically, I am a 58 yr old B rider and my heart rate is substantially higher as a percent of my max when I ride as with all sports. I'm incredibly inefficient and am burning myself out. I must be more efficient. He repeatedly warns not to get in group rides in the starting periods. That will be hard to pass up as there is a fun component I will miss. But, while I have no interest in racing, I do have an interest in being better. so Tom Chapple, I'll commit to your program and see if I can stay on it because you have convinced me through the book that this is what I need. Wish me luck.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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More than Base miles, February 2, 2010
By A. T. Edwards (Mid Atlantic,USA)
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I bought this Base building book along with the training bible mainly on the recommendation of another reviewer. After I started to read the Training bible, I slightly regretted buying the base building book because the training bible had plenty of info. But as I started to progress through the pages of this Base building book, the more interesting it became to read. The Base building book systematically breaks down all the basics of analyzing current and achieving better fitness. Also, the base building book seems to have plenty of the info found in the Training Bible. The Base building book is more than just base miles.It is base knowledge on what it takes to be an improved cyclist. If you had to go with one, and you're at beginner level, I would choose the base building book first.Bottom line, If you're a novice and aspiring racer, this book contains very useful info.
p.s. Chapters 8 and 9 offers a little more specifics
in regard to how to train and how to setup ones week
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The base of endurance cycling, December 8, 2009
By CSXC (Marin, CA)
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Expands on the base topics discussed in Friel's 'Bible. Confusion may arise when Chapple attempts to redefine or name the various training periods to fit into his approach. However, this disciple of Friel does a fine job discussing in depth, the benefit and means to establishing a strong base.
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The base of endurance cycling, December 7, 2009
By CSXC (Marin, CA)
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Expands on the base topics discussed in Friel's 'Bible. Confusion may arise when Chapple attempts to redefine or name the various training periods to fit into his approach. However, this disciple of Friel does a fine job discussing in depth, the benefit and means to establishing a strong base.
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Base Building for Cyclists, August 30, 2009
By James Harmon
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Excellent book for beginning cyclist. Lots of helpful information and answers your questions. Very helpful.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Cyclist book, January 13, 2008
By GoulaVicks (Mississippi)
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I purchased this book as a Christmas gift. It arrived within a short time and the recepient was well pleased with the book.
0 of 17 people found this review helpful
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Good Source for Cyclists, December 7, 2011
By Leon Grant (DETROIT, MICHIGAN, US)
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Very good source of clear, straight-forward workout information for cyclists at every level, in a very clear, user friendly format.
Wish I had this book 30 years ago. It pulls together a lot of ideas to help prepare yourself for improved biking, if you're willing to do the work.
Quite informative and motivational. GOOD INVESTMENT!
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Excellent for even a beginner!, October 8, 2011
By RS
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Bought my first road bike a month ago and have started training for the MS 150 next year. I seriously had no idea how to go about training or preparing but this book has made all the difference in the world. Some of it is a little technical for what I am doing and geared more toward professionals, but it is great to have that insight too.
All in all a great book and I would highly recommend it for someone just starting out, in fact it is a must for anyone new to the sport.
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