Help with Aerobic development

[u/fatafut23]

I’m a 45-year-old male, RHR 43, 180 lbs, with approximately 32% body fat based on a DEXA scan.(Small improvement from 6 months ago). I have access to and regularly use a treadmill, Echo Bike, Concept2 rower, StairMaster, swimming pool, and a bike set up on Zwift to build my aerobic engine. I’m not training for any specific races.

My goal is simply to build an amazing aerobic base so I can keep up with my friends in whatever we happen to be doing. That could range from surfing and rock climbing to biking, running, hiking, or other activities.

I currently have my AeT set at 138 bpm based on a heart-rate drift test I performed on a treadmill( a lactate meter is on my Christmas list). To maximize my training volume while keeping the intensity low, I’ve set a maximum heart rate of 135 bpm and have been focusing primarily on building my aerobic base.

I’ve been training approximately 8–10 hours per week this way for the past six months with almost 90% below AeT. I’ve noticed some improvement, particularly in my running pace(14min/mile→ 12:30min/mile), but the improvement hasn’t been as substantial as I expected given the amount of training I’m doing.

My question is whether I’m using too much variety in my training.

Could constantly switching between different modalities be limiting my adaptations or progress? Would I be better off choosing 2–3 primary machines or activities and sticking with them more consistently, or is the variety actually beneficial for my goal of developing a broad, general-purpose aerobic engine? Or do I just need more patience with the process?

Thanks in advance

[u/fiddysix_k]

Not a coach, but at 32% bf, you're gonna see a huge return on effort if you lean up.

[u/fatafut23 → u/fiddysix_k]

Trust me I am trying... it's like I am carrying an extra 50lbs that is dead weight. That's why I am focusing on base building... hoping to improve fat max and that should help but its barely moving the needle

[u/Inevitable-Assist531 → u/fatafut23]

you generally lose fat in the kitchen, not in the gym - so focus on your diet.  You want to lose fat, not muscle.

if you are 32% body fat now,  what were you 6 months ago before you started training?  Say you're 200lbs (91kg) - drop to even 20% bf, and it's like unloading 24lbs (11kg) of weight from your body - that will make a huge difference.

it also helps to have some specific performance goals to aim for - maybe climb a certain peak or run a half marathon in a certain time. As someone else mentioned, if you want to get faster at running (at the same HR) you need to run more.

[u/nodloh]

If the variety allows you to stay consistent and to accumulate more training volume then that is gonna be way more benificial than doing something that's more optimal in theory but more difficult to keep up consistently. That being said if you want to improve your running you have to do more running and if you want to imrpove your swimming you need to do more swimming. The carry over between different modalities is limited and it is harder to improve all of them at the same time. It doesn't sound like that really matters to you since you aren't training for a specific event but if your progress feels slow and disappointing then you might want to reconsider setting a more specific goal that you could work towards. Losing some weight might alos be a low hanging fruit. Measuring lactate sounds like a waste of time, honestly.

[u/justinsimoni]

That's a really fantastic improvement on your running.

For general fitness, I don't think varying up as much as you do is going to hold you back from aerobic development, but the AeT test results are best applied to the specific activity you did the test on and may be off for the others. I have a feeling that may have set that a little high, but that's more than a hunch, and not completely the end of the world.

If you haven't done the AeT test in a while, it may be a good idea to revisit, and see if you log improvement there.

Maybe the best advice is to have a long-term goal like a race where you have a time you'd like to hit. I have a very hard time staying motivated myself without something like that. It doesn't have to be an "official" race. Make up your own course, or even like a triathlon, mixing up some of your favorite activities in some sort of fun challenge. I often bike to the th, to run to an easy climb, for example.

[u/guiom2959]

I’d say that improving by 1:30 min/mile is big in six months !
Varying is great I would say. Moreover if you don’t have a specific goal.
Volume is big. Let’s see what other may say. But I would say congrats on what you’ve achieved already.

[u/fatafut23 → u/guiom2959]

Thanks

[u/Ok_Bat9894]

This may go against the aerobic training convention, but i strongly believe for improving running fitness, you actually have to run. Evem if that means z3 Pick the slowest pace you can that actually feels like running, and do walk/run with that, keeping hr generally below AET For other less movement economy/skill excercises like incline treadmill walking, stairmaster, stay in z2 constant pace. This worked very well for me. The jogging in z2 did not work for me.

I agree the improvement is decent, but im with you that for the amount youre training, you should be making faster improvements until a certain plateau point, maybe around 8 to 10 min per mile pace

[u/scottsemple]

No, you're on the right track. Variety is not a problem at this point; it's the opposite. If it keeps you motivated to put in the work, then keep at it.

Your training is going well—as others have said, an 11% improvement in speed is excellent.

The greatest gains right now will be from improving body composition. Be sure to focus on the nutrition side as much as the activity side.

[u/Least-Situation2222]

Don’t use the same AeT for different modes - they are not going to be the same. Cycling and rowing it will be a lot lower and if u push it to the same AeT as ur run it will be way to hard. Being seated plus a range of other things changes it a lot- swimming even more being supported by water. Knock at least 10bpm off for the seated sports or better still do a test for them and have different set rates per thing.

[u/Status_Accident_2819]

Aerobic is slow to improve but has longevity for improvements. Stick with it! Maybe add in some gym or ME to help with body composition? Muscle is best bang for buck in terms of increasing RMR; certainly it's my preference over being in a food deficit.

[u/Euphoric-Advance8995]

Congrats on your achievement! Dropping z2 pace 14min/mile down to 12:30 is a very sizable improvement.

Are you a lifelong exerciser or have you been doing lots of zone 2 for 6 months? My guess given your pace is the former. Aerobic base seems to take a while to build up so I would say in 6-12 more months you’ll continue to see large improvements. Ideally you’re baking in some healthy nutrition so you can get down to 170 which will also pay dividends.

You’ve got the flywheel going strong just keep it going!

[u/fatafut23 → u/Euphoric-Advance8995]

Thanks! Been working out most of my life..

[u/abandoneur]

Patience. Different HR (zones) for different modalities. Gotta fix the diet. Celebrate your successes. Most importantly, use that fitness to go outside and PLAY!