Half of readers get tested on their endurance capability. The other half is worried about surviving the zombie apocalypse. Lucky for you, in the Venn diagram of fitness, those two overlap quite nicely.
This endurance plug-in lays out a very simple and effective plan to get you up to snuff for the PFA or the incoming wave of walking-dead. If you’re worried about your chainsaw-wielding skills or max push-ups, you better be using the Mighty Fit Plan to prepare!
I’ll be talking in terms of running, but this basic template can be applied to swimming, cycling, Pogo-sticking, or any other endurance training modality.
Don’t get me wrong training outdoors can be a mind-blowing experience. If you enjoy it you should do it.
(Photo by Fabio Comparelli on Unsplash)
How to logistically fit in endurance training
Strength training is the base of any solid training plan. Three days of strength training is the minimum in order to ensure all bases are covered. That still leaves four days a week to train.
Typically, you don’t want to do the same type of training two days in a row. That means your endurance training sessions should alternate days with the strength training days. That covers 5-6 days a week.
Day seven is special: it’s a day of rest. Some people may need two days of recovery, while for others, one is enough. The number of runs you engage in per week depends on your current level of fitness, your proximity to your race or test day, your ultimate goal, and one other factor…:
The level of enjoyment you get from endurance training!
It’s not all sunrises and mountain views though…
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Debra S. Sainer/Released)
If you enjoy running, go out three days a week. If you are doing it for work, run twice and add the third day two months out from your test. If you’re like me, ignore it entirely until you get winded going up a flight of stairs and then start training it to ensure you are more survivable in the zombie apocalypse.
Soreness is the last limiting factor. If you are sore from lifting and sore from running, only run two times a week until you are recovering efficiently enough to be fresh on day six.
You need to learn to trust your body, but also not be mentally weak. If you feel good enough to train, you should; don’t allow soreness to be a convenient excuse to be a lazy POS.
There’s a reason many professional swimmers get fat after retiring. Read the article below and commit it to memory.
(Photo by Gentrit Sylejmani on Unsplash)
This plug-in is not for fat loss
I know this needs to be said. It is highly likely that the world has convinced you that cardio is the best type of exercise to achieve fat loss. I’m here to tell you the prior sentence is a horrible generalization and exaggeration. It’s plain wrong.
The intricacies of fat loss in relation to exercise are spelled out here.
In short, cardio makes you lose weight indiscriminately. You’ll lose fat, muscle mass, and a whole bunch of other “stuff.” This total decrease in size means two things:
- Cardio makes you require fewer calories all day; this needs to be reflected in your diet to achieve continued fat loss.
- Over time, you become more efficient at cardio, so you burn fewer calories for the same workout that used to burn more.
Here’s the full article again. Read it and commit it to memory so you can start shutting down any bro science that claims you lose fat by indiscriminately running, biking, or swimming more.
Sometimes you gotta run…You can’t kill ’em all.
(Zombieland Oct 11, 2009)
The 3 workouts of the endurance boost plug-in
Here are the template workouts to improve your endurance. Start where they recommend, and progress as able to achieve your peak performance.
The epitome of long and slow, the open water swim.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Kevan Dunlop)
Workout 1: Long and slow
Run for 25 minutes at a pace in which you can still speak in full sentences.
If you have a heart rate monitor, the goal is to keep your heart rate under 60% of your heart rate max. That is roughly where most people can carry on a conversation while running.
You don’t need blocks for your sprints but you do need to PUT OUT.
(Photo by Nicolas Hoizey on Unsplash)
Workout 2: Sprints
400-800 meter repeats (for those of you training to improve PT test scores.)
Choose your distance, and always do that distance so that you can gauge improvement. Time yourself, and then rest for 2-3 times that length of time. Sprint as hard as you can every repetition for the entire length. Don’t cheat yourself.
Start workout one with four iterations of your distance and increase 1-2 lengths every two weeks as your recovery permits.
Example:
- Week 1: 4×400 meters
- 1: 75 second sprint/ 150 second rest
- 2: 80 second sprint/ 160 second rest
- 3: 86 second sprint/ 172 second rest
- 4: 91 second sprint/ 182 second rest
- Week 2: 4×400 meters
- 1: 72 second sprint/ 144 second rest
- 2: 79 second sprint/ 158 second rest
- 3: 83 second sprint/ 166 second rest
- 4: 85 second sprint/ 170 second rest
- Week 3: 6×400 meters
- 1: 72 second sprint/ 144 second rest
- 2: 79 second sprint/ 158 second rest
- 3: 83 second sprint/ 166 second rest
- 4: 85 second sprint/ 170 second rest
- 5: 90 second sprint/ 180 second rest
- 6: 97 second sprint/ 194 second rest
- etc…
I love people that look the part. I’d be the guy running a marathon in cargo shorts, eating tater-tots for a mid-race glucose boost.
(Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash)
Workout 3: Timed distance
Run your race length or the length of your PT test and time yourself.
Simple and idiot-proof. Just hop on a site like gmaps pedometer and plan your route.
Mighty FIT is making some big strides to bring you the fitness content that you want to read, please take 2 minutes and let us know what your preferences are here. Michael and the other writers will take your input to craft future articles and training plans.
