046 Lessons from Elite Endurance Athletes

The Paul Weber Podcast

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Modern, elite endurance athletes perform ~80% of their training at low intensity and ~20% at higher intensity.
It has not always been this way. This training intensity distribution appears to have increased in popularity each decade. The % of training at low intensity has increased.
Defining the terms
LT1 is the lowest exercise intensity at which there is a measurable increase in blood lactate concentration, compared to resting lactate concentrations.
LT1 is not really a threshold. Nothing dramatically changes when you exercise slightly above LT1: lactate concentrations will remain in steady state.
LT2 on the other hand is a “threshold” because it clearly differentiates two intensities from each other:
1. Above LT2, lactate concentrations will rise over time. There is no more lactate steady state.
2. Below LT2, lactate concentrations will not increase over time. There is a lactate steady state.
Low Intensity = Training Zone 1, below Lactate Threshold 1 (LT1, e.g. <2 mM blood lactate), long slow distance, stable blood lactate, physiologically sustainable, primarily aerobic energy production
Moderate Intensity = Training Zone 2, between LT1 and LT2 (e.g. 4 mM blood lactate), “threshold training,” can be continuous or intervals
High Intensity = Training Zone 3, above LT2 (e.g. >4 mM blood lactate), intervals, physiologically unsustainable, greater contribution of anaerobic energy production

In the offseason, there’s almost no time in Training Zone 3.
Pre-competition it’s a little more.
Competition it’s a little more.
But even during the competition period, on average, it’s still 80% low intensity.
Two high intensity training sessions per week suffice to induce adaptations for performance.
CrossFit is supramaximal in intensity – nearly every task you do is physiologically unsustainable.
~50/50 anaerobic and aerobic energy production
The % 1RM of the contractions you have to repeat is very, very high compared to endurance sports. This is why strength is so important. So before you even think about how to best condition for CrossFit, you’ve got to be really, really strong.
Once you are really, really strong, then you have to train extensively because the competition is extensive.
That’s where this sort of approach comes into play.
1) Lots of time in Training Zone 1 that is concentric-based and targets the quads
2) 2 high intensity (Training Zone 3 training, above LT2, interval) sessions per week suffice to induce adaptations for performance. Mixed or cyclical.
3) Reduce the RPE with which you do your conditioning.
4) Use machines to replicate the patterns of movement but remove all eccentric loading. Too much eccentrics will result in too much tissue damage. Has to be concentric based.
These 4 machines cover each movement pattern for CrossFit:
Rowing – knee extension, shoulder extension, scapular retraction, hip extension (squat, bend, pull)
Biking – knee extension – (squat, push)
Skiing – shoulder extension, elbow extension, core and hip flexion (core, push)
Stairmaster – knee and hip extension (lunge)
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2015.00295/full