Opportunity Strikes: Training Drunk

About a month ago, another incredible opportunity came across my way and without a doubt I had to take advantage.  In April, I accepted my first assignment as an official CrossFit Endurance Intern. I know there's a bunch of us out there, but how incredible right? Especially for me. My only question was how am I going to fit it all in? We as humans typically assume we have more time than is actually available; however this is an opportunity that only comes around once. I had to accepted and I am already learning more than I ever imagined.

Over the course of the next 6 months, I will attend 4 CFE Running Seminars and submit videos presenting run mechanics, nutrition, and discussions on LSD training verses CFE. The question is what am I looking to get out of this? (I am in love with my job at HHHealth) But honestly the answer really came up: what won't I get out of this opportunity? Always have to follow what we believe in and "go with the gut" for a lot of decisions. CFE is the way I train. It's changed my outlook on racing and it's beginning to change the perspective of our athletes @ CrossFit Hilton Head. The potential for growth here as a coach, athlete, and person is simply exciting.

I truly believe that you make time for the things that are important in your life. The fact of the matter is that when you put your priorities first and decide what makes you happy you're truly living. I love training and I love coaching and seeing individuals change. I am the guy that is so comfortable with routine that it's sickening. What I'm saying is this: when a new opportunity comes up and you're willing enough to break your structure, your routine for it there's obviously some importance there. The difficulty is deciding how much to really place and placing enough where it's not throwing off who you truly are and how you want to live.

So on to the Endurance Topic for today. I watched a recent whiteboard Wednesday and it was on the subject of getting "WOD Drunk," which is very comparable to the typical LSD athlete. What WOD drunk refers to is an athlete who only places attention on the 30minute AMRAP (haha do those exist) or the 20mile Long Run. Many CrossFitters (especially when initially starting) think metcons are the sexiest things alive and same goes for the individual training for their first marathon. Believe me I've been there and I'd be lying if I wasn't that person at one point.

As I continue to delve deeper into the studies of anaerobic training I continue to be blown away by how DRUNK I truly was and how WASTED the endurance community is. There's a website named Zone5Endurance and for the sake of you saving time, preventing injury while getting better training results it's worth a read. Let's keep it simple today: The crossover from dominant anaerobic to dominant aerobic energy production can occur within the first 30 seconds of intense activity. Thus, short-duration, high-intensity training can deliver tremendous aerobic and endurance benefits because the training itself can be highly aerobic. For those who can't understand this that means you're taxing your body aerobically in efforts under 1minute. 400M Intervals will train you much better than going out for that 20mile run.

Back to simplicity ... Heard of the Tabata Protocol?

Group A

• Trains @ 70% effort 1 hour per day 
• 6 week training duration

Group B

• Trains @ 100% effort for 4 minutes 5x per week 
• :20 On :10 Off 8 Rounds of all out intervals 
• 6 week training duration

Group A

• Increased aerobic capacity by 10%, no changes in anaerobic capacity 

Group B

• Increased VO2 Max capacity by 14% (one of the highest reported EVER in exercise science) and anaerobic capacity by a whopping 24%

What's the takeaway here? Just like you shouldn't drink too many beers, you shouldn't be getting drunk on training volume!!  Most athletes and coaches believe that gains in aerobic endurance are proportional to the volume of training.This isn't the case. 

In a nut shell, (par CFE module) some people bake Thanksgiving turkeys for 3 hours, others deep fry them for 15 minutes and they come out even more most. Check out the research. Don't train drunk. You wouldn't drive that way, why train that way??