Conquering Cardio

You want to bike/run/swim faster and you want to go further too? Cool, join the club. 

You want to learn how to do this by studying the top Olympic, professional and college coaches and deep-diving into the lives of people in the speed and endurance world? Okay, now we’re talking.

Although Garrett was someone who followed typical training methods (think putting in the miles and basic cross-training) for a long time, it wasn’t until he truly understood anatomy, physiology and exercise science that he experienced an ah-ha moment and the disolvement of his more pain more gain mentality.

In Iron Horse Fitness and Sports Performance’s recent podcast episode, Garrett deep dives on the difference between anaerobic and aerobic endurance, the importance of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) successfully navigating long endurance and how to train smarter, not harder.

We’ve shared some podcast details below, for easy training reference: 

Anaerobic Endurance:

• Anaerobic endurance is achieved by doing shorter spurts, under 2-3 minutes

• Vary your rest ratios to make better adaptations: Work:Rest Ratio = 3:1 - 1:5 (e.g., 30s:10s or 20s:100s) - these two different types of training make different adaptations - shorter rest helps you train while fatigued (3:1 ratio), longer rest helps you train to do more work in each bout (1:5 ratio).

• Complex movements

• 3 - 12 (ish) sets

• >100% VO2 Max

• MAX SPEED on all reps, for as long as possible during your set

• Method:

• Sprints, Uphill Sprints, Sleds, Rowing, Anything you can do maximally for the time domain without huge eccentric loading

• No weight lifting or plyometrics - if you do use these for this training - be careful

Aerobic Endurance:

• Work:Rest Ratio = 3:1 or 1:2 (e.g., 3 min: 1 min or 8 min: 16 min)

• Complex movements

• 3 - 12(ish) sets

• = ~100% VO2 MAX

• MAX SPEED on all reps, for as long as possible during your set

• Aerobic endurance is how much work you can do within the 8-12ish minute domain

• Method:

• Sprints, Circuits, Jog, 1 mile repeats, cycling, obstacle course

High Intensity Interval Training:

• Complex Movements

• 2 - 12(ish) sets

• Work:Rest Ratio = 3:1 or 1:5 

• Reps ~ 15s - 10 min each

• >100% VO2 MAX or >95% MAX HR

• ~30 - 180 s rest per set

• MAX speed/effort

• Method:

• Sprints, Circuits, Jog, 1 mile repeats, cycling, obstacle course

Long Endurance:

• Simple Movements

• 1 set

• Continuous

• <100% VO2 MAX or HR

• Rep > 12 minutes

• Emphasize low speed & efficiency, for as long as possible

• Efficient movement is imperative

• Method:

• Jogging, rowing, cycling, obstacle course