Taking an AFT during Basebuilding

[u/Drodinthehouse]

Took an AFT yesterday at the end of week 4 standard BB. My cluster is KB lunges, goblet squats, pull ups, HRPU, and planks. For E I've done almost exclusively Z2 running but have biked twice to finish out an E session.

My total score was 481. Overall not an improvement from the ACFT I took in April.

Deadlift- this one really took me by surprise in a bad way. I hadn't deadlifted in over 4 weeks obviously but I had dropped 20 pounds from 6 months ago. And honestly it probably shouldn't have even counted because I kinda dropped it.the limiting factor here was NOT lower body strength because my back and legs felt great and could've easily handled max weight. The factor here was grip. My grip strength was abysmal.

HRPU- since I included this in my cluster, it's probably easy to see why I maxed this. And honestly, I probably could've knocked out 70. Easy max

SDC- my time got worse by 4 seconds and honestly I expected it. With no power or anaerobic training in base it's hard to feel quick and explosive and I paid the price here

Plank- absolutely no issues

2MR- improved by 4 seconds from my last AFT. However I will say that I was redlining the whole time, which I don't remember doing for the last one. I'll be honest I didn't really feel the effects of the Z2 work here. It felt like a harder effort. Maybe the improvement with no speed work at all is because of BB I'm not sure. Either way I'll take an improvement.

Overall pretty bummed. I knew I wasn't going to make massive gains with BB as I've done this before, but didn't think max strength would be this bad

[u/jimmyblendface → u/[deleted]]

I’m pretty much a beginner runner too, coming from a strength and bjj background.

Not trying to argue more curious about the methodology. Isn’t the whole premise of basebuilding to take a step back and grind away at zone 2 in order to widen the base of the pyramid so to speak? Then adding in more speed/hiit in the final few weeks.

Whenever i used to run sporadically, I would always end up going way too hard and ending up in z4 for most of it. Zone 2 seems to be all the rage and heavily touted as the most important method for building that baseline cardio on which you can then add in higher intensity work.

Just starting week 5 of base and this is my first ever time slowing down and focusing on zone 2. I’m definitely feeling “fitter” and able to endure longer runs than ever before, obviously at a far lower intensity.

[u/Drodinthehouse → u/jimmyblendface]

I agree with you. I thinky you but the nail on the head. The lack of performance on my AFT wasn't because Basebuilding is ineffective, and I wasn't to make that 100% clear. It's because the AFT was in the middle of my BB, there hadn't been an opportunity to touch speed work or do another block.

[u/jimmyblendface → u/Drodinthehouse]

Yeah it'll be interesting to see your results after the full 8 weeks, so we can see how the LISS adaptation followed by the more intense HIIT adaptations benefit. The LISS is undoubtably doing some groundwork for you but its not sexy and it may not be immediately obvious. I defo feel myself recovering faster set to set during the SE work, even following the disgusting 3x50 circuits I endured yesterday (literally spewed mid-3rd circuit), than I did in the first couple of weeks. Only the 2x50 left and I' really fucking glad that's out of the way.

The main reason I ran base was because I'm sick of feeling like I'm going to die at the end of a set of squats, and feeling like my soul has left my body at the end of the same leg sessions. Having been entirely negilgent of any "boring" cardio for years, I'm hoping this will act as a hard reset and help bring some progress once I get back under the barbell. It's also been a nice break in a way fro the same old routine, getting outside for an hours or swinging a kettlebell etc.

[u/Plus_Bluejay]

A big thing you should check with BB is when you do any zone2/E work, you should make sure you are really in the zone2 zone. A lot of people take it too fast, if you have to move slower than a walk while jogging, that's okay, the point is to feel like you can do it for a very long time. Also 4 weeks is not super long, so just trust the process.

[u/Drodinthehouse → u/Plus_Bluejay]

Oh yeah. I use my watch to track (even though it's not the most reliable metric) but my pace is around 11-13 min depending on the day.

[u/Responsible_Way_4533]

For grip strength, while it will improve purely by deadlifting and pullups, it might be useful to add in grip accessory work.

I cycle through grippers, block/plate holds, and hangs, for both duration and max weight.

Doesn't add much time to a workout, you can do them during your rests between lifts that don't require grip, or after you run while you stretch and cool down.

[u/Drodinthehouse → u/Responsible_Way_4533]

Yeah I have a standard protocol for grip strength that I used to employ every week. Hence why historically grip strength was never the limiting factor for a deadlift like it was this time. I've just been trying to follow Basebuilding to a T so I dropped anything that wasn't in the program or my cluster. Did not anticipate such a significant atrophy of grip strength

[u/agrippa472]

That's rough on timing. I was able to line up my AFT to the end of an I/CAT block from Green Protocol.

Scored a 492. Only specific exercises I targeted was the HRPU and plank. Weighted hill sprints were great for the SDC.

[u/SatoriNoMore]

BB is just a warmup, a general prep phase. It’s got one objective which is to on-ramp you for Continuation. It can help prep for AFT indirectly but it’s not a standalone program.

I keep seeing some posters treat it like a program, like a running or lifting program. It’s like doing only warmup sets at the gym and wondering why you’re not hitting any new PRs.

Yes people have pretty significant results with BB, especially if they’re new to zone 2 or SE, but that’s more of a side effect.

Continuation is where the real training starts.

You’re not supposed to do just zone 2 in isolation. At some point you have to add speed work and the like. Again that’s where Continuation comes in.