The days are short and cold here in Colorado but the stoke factor is HIGH.
This weekend I am flying back to Los Angeles for the CrossFit Endurance "Endurance War Tour"...
It has been seven months (!) since I left Huntington Beach for Boulder, and this has been the longest stretch I have spent away from the ocean (and oxygen) in many years. My salty, pelagic soul is weary and itching to get back!
The timing of this weekend could not be better. Yes, I am excited about getting back to the beach...the sight, sound and smell of the ocean..."home". However, ironically, the forecast is for 50s and rain, and there will not be much time for surfing, catching up with too many of my friends or visiting my old breakfast spots. The seminar is action-packed and nonstop from Friday night until Sunday. The weekend will be totally dedicated to dialing-in my POSE running knowledge and CrossFit Endurance programming & training with CFE founders and coaches Brian Mackenzie and Doug Katona.
If you have the kind of hours on your engine, mileage on your body and "less than ideal" biomechanics like me (AND especally if you have a goal of lifelong health/fitness) it is 100% mandatory to focus on technique, skills and form. I am after constant improvement in fitness without injury, and I like to share the best information as it becomes available with my coaching clients.
Many athletes pay attention to detail in the weight room or with their aerodynamics on the bicycle for example, but totally ignore technique when it comes to running. Eventually it catches up with you in the form of an injury, and you are wasting energy in the meantime with an inefficient gait. Who doesn't want "free speed"? We pay thousands for it on the bike...
In Hermosa Beach I look forward to catching up with good friends and teammates Christian Burke and Cyril Jay Rayon at FeedTheMachine.com, makers of the best multivitamin for endurance athletes commercially available, SportMulti FeedTheMachine and SportMulti are really starting to grow, as more and more athletes are finally starting to question and consider the science of fueling and the sources of their multivitamins.
As a former "Volume Warrior", my association with CrossFit Endurance might appear to be a signal of the coming apocalypse...but au contraire mon frere...I look forward to sharing more on this in the near future. Regardless of your protocol-of-choice, if you are an endurance athlete and your are NOT leveraging CrossFit, you are missing out more than what you might realize. Trust me, you have holes in your game.
My background of 20+ years of passionately studying nutrition + endurance sport competition + strength training + military + martial arts + CrossFit + business and time management experience is all coming together in a beautiful synergy and today I have greater CLARITY of exercise program efficacy (congruent with a "real" life) than ever before.
Goodbye, comfort zone! Hello, evidence-based fitness.
Suffice it to say there are very Big Things are happening this year which I cannot wait to share them with the Tribe!
Sometime in March/April I will launch a program for Adventure Racers and other endurance athletes. I will begin working with a handful of new athletes (of ANY level) on a case-by-case basis.
If you want to be comfortable and just be a "weekend warrior", this program probably won't be for you. If you want to change your body, mindset and life, then let's talk.
SC
3 comments:
i'd be real interested in learning more about (your) training for adventure races vs tri's and other endurance events - especially with respect to "lsd" vs cfe.
Hey Evan,
I would be happy to answer any of your specific questions based on my own experience. I have played around with many different protocols out of choice and sometimes necessity over the last two decades with varying levels of success.
LSD training is a waste of your TIME if your specific goal is improving FITNESS & PERFORMANCE. If you just want to enjoy riding all day that is totally cool. The goal is to enjoy the day and relax. Nothing wrong with that!
I am as passionate about the simple soulful experience of riding as anyone you will ever meet.
My (lengthy)thoughts/opinion on LSD vs targeting 'steady' volume "SV" vs "SV" + CrossFit vs. CFE (as a rough 'spectrum' of protocols)...
With LSD, you may be laying down some capillaries and getting some other adaptation, but you can do that more efficiently in better ways in much less time. Most people I know value their time and have to make sacrifices and trade-offs to spend all day training.
High Volume at Steady has worked for me but of course created imbalances and holes in my fitness as I irrationally obsessed over Aerobic Volume numbers while making HUGE sacrifices in Overall Fitness and Recovery. This approach is very time-intensive and not sustainable for many athletes.
Guess what the divorce rate is in endurance athletes?
It is no secret that many (not all of course) endurance athletes find the sport and compulsively overtrain as a way to self-medicate. That's a whole other topic..neurotransmitters/catecholamines/personalities. Those folks would be better served (with dopamine!) after a HARD workout rather than repetitive long slogs...
This is coming from someone who has done the rolling 20+hr/400 mile bike weeks, a few times as high as 500, with and without strict HR caps.
I have also done that volume while incorporating frequent racing, strength training and other factors, recording my daily workouts, fitness and other results.I have done these at ~22yrs old and 30-35yrs old. Working 50hrs per week and going to school full-time, and not working at all for a few months...varying external commitments/stressors.
Lastly, I have experimented with very low volume but higher intensity intervals in preparation for Ironman, adventure races, time trials, etc. I have compared my experience and results to the evidence that is out there (and has been for some time but we all ignore it).
The protocol questions should address Efficacy/Fitness Improvement (defined as increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains), Return On Investment (v/v training volume) Opportunity Cost (life sacrifices/recovery time) and turning weaknesses into strengths.
Completely OUTSIDE of the CrossFit or CrossFit Endurance world, Michael McCormack has won Ironman Canada (--8:16--) coached Ms. Tyler Stewart and Gina Kehr to Ironman bike course records (4:47 for Tyler) and KONA Top 10s on his low-volume/high intensity program.
Worth checking out. Worth experimenting. What do you have to lose by throwing out all the fluff? It certainly not your "Base" or aerobic capacity!
Mark's Website
http://www.triathloncoach.com/articles.html
The paradigm has shifted. It's a choice.
Yadda, Blah, Etc.
SC
thanks man!
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