dbdmilton,
Congrats on the new kiddo – while it can feel like a hindrance sometimes in how free time and objectives get limited, it’s pretty rad to watch them grow and start to enjoy joining you (even if just in a backpack) in the mountains!
To your question: instead of thinking about a long base period then a month-plus “de-load”, I would change your thinking to a paradigm of more continuous but undulating training progressions. With alpinism, like other mountains sports, you are able to use a wide range of modalities to build fitness and strength – skiing, running, cycling, etc. You can build aerobic volume up using one or several of these methods, gradually incorporate some more “quality” in the form of intensity, ME, etc., and give yourself periodic rest blocks (7-10 days) to consolidate those loads. In effect, your training can look more like a long staircase which will continue to rise over many years. This method is more beneficial then a big base build then long cessation (more than 2 weeks) because you are able to more easily maintain the crucial aerobic components you’ve carefully built, and also create enough variety for both physical (and mental) well-being.
That said, it’s highly important to monitor the training load and ensure you’re not piling on too much, too fast – play the long game approach with training, acknowledging that you will continue to get stronger year after year, and the returns will be incremental and sustainable.
Cheers,
Sam.
