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The winter months are perfect for working on the basics. Here are the five most important training tips to improve your performance and endurance.

Good basic endurance is key to sporting excellence. This is often forgotten about as we tend to train at an intensity that is slightly too high. Especially in winter, when conditions should actually invite you to take things a little easier, it is important to approach everything in a more relaxed manner. We've put together five key tips for the next 2-3 months to strengthen your cardiovascular system, promote fat metabolism, improve recovery and strengthen your active musculoskeletal system.

1. Choose longer over faster

That's the beauty of endurance training: it doesn't always have to be intense and painful. Instead, basic training is more about exerting yourself for as long as possible at a low intensity (about 60–75% of your maximum heart rate). 

While this sounds simple, it sometimes takes a little practice. We have a tendency to run or cycle at our usual pace, which is usually neither fast nor slow enough. The effort is then higher, but the effect on the crucial and desired mechanisms in the core area will be less.

2. The heart doesn’t have eyes

You can absolutely switch to alternative sports for basic training, which has the positive side effect of bringing variety to your daily training routine. It therefore doesn’t always have to involve running; it might also be a cross-country skiing session, gravel bike ride or snowshoe hike. The main thing is that you manage to exercise in the low intensity range for a long time.

Alternative sports particularly make sense in winter, when the next competition is still far away. They also improve our overall fitness by addressing endurance, strength, flexibility and coordination in a variety of ways.

3. Train regularly and consistently

Improving basic endurance requires three to five workouts per week over a longer period of time. Intensity is secondary. Regularity and duration are more important. When running, make sure that your sessions are as long as possible, but never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10%. For cross-country skiing, cycling or snowshoeing, you can stay out for as long as you like since these activities put significantly less strain on the musculoskeletal system than running does. Give your body a rest day and enough recovery time in between.

4. Supplement with strength and mobility training

In order to remain injury-free and demonstrate your increased performance in the coming spring, it is recommended to include 20 to 30 minutes of strength and flexibility training twice a week in addition to endurance training. This doesn’t necessarily require a gym. Your own body weight is usually sufficient and there are plenty of exercises to choose from here.

Those who have difficulty motivating themselves should consider attending a Pilates course or another strength-based class, for example. The question shouldn’t be whether to work on strength and agility, but when. Experience also shows that you're more likely to stick at fixed sessions.

5. Eat healthy and drink plenty

In order to recover well after a session, you should pay attention to a balanced diet with sufficient carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. It’s also worth keeping an eye on fluid balance, especially if longer sessions are on the cards.

Never forget that training is important, but you will only improve if you recover properly. You can help this enormously with an optimised diet and fluid intake right after exercise.

Conclusion

Basic training is essential for systematically building up performance, preventing injuries and achieving sustained progress. Winter is the ideal time to work on this in a versatile and consistent way. Basic training should therefore be a central part of your training plan over the next few weeks.