The Paradox

Yesterday (and previously here & here) I elaborated a bit on Tenet #1 and #2 of this program. Today I wanted to get into Tenet #3 which is…

Tenet #3: Paradoxically, the athlete’s ability to perform well in intermittent endurance-like events of multiple durations in competition will increase if he favors shorter, more intense efforts in training,

…but I’m a little short on time today. So I’ll save the details of the research that drives this tenet #3 for Monday’s rest day post. Keep in mind, the research that drives tenet #2 says strength training is the gateway to better endurance performance because it increases the muscles’ ability to withstand duress (by increasing slow-twitch muscle fiber and increasing the muscles’ ability to create force). The research that drives tenet #3 builds on that:

• research suggests training energy systems is difficult and if possible may matter less (it does matter some) to athletes engaged in sprint distance events and explosive sports, medium duration endurance sports, and intermittent “field” events like the sport of fitness.
• training intensity has a greater positive effect on neurological and physiological adaptations than does the duration of effort
• other research suggests the aerobic contribution in conditioning efforts happens sooner than previously thought, implying aerobic capacity can be trained with shorter (duration) efforts
• further studies show while strength training positively affects endurance performance, long-duration endurance training inhibits strength development

With that information in tow and in trying to formulate an effective training protocol for our sport, a distinction needs to be made regarding which is the better strategy for us between,

1. training the aerobic energy system’s contribution in intermittent efforts of varying lengths and,
2. training for greater endurance performance regardless of energy system contribution.

We’ll get to that in Monday’s post.

Here’s Jenny Butler of CrossFit West Chester working on her… endurance.

Jenny Butler. source: CrossFit Football

Olympic
1) snatch: 20 minutes to a max for the day
2) clean and jerk: 20 minutes to a max for the day

rest 30 minutes

Strength
3) back squat: 1×5 @ 60%, 3×5 @ 65%, rest 1-2 minutes

rest > 3 hours

Conditioning
“Nate Straight”
5 rounds of:
ME of kettblebell swings @ 32/24kg for 1 minute
ME of handstand push-ups for 1 minute
ME of muscle-ups for 1 minute
rest 3 minutes