…and it says you’re three minutes into a workout that’s going to take at least fifteen to get close. Buckle up, because it’s going to be an ugly ride to flopping defeated on the floor, and rounds four and five are guaranteed to make you rethink your choices in life.
It’s not necessarily about coming out too hot. Even conservative pacers can hit the end of the line too soon. Give them Fran or a fast, all-out metcon and they eat it up for breakfast. Heavy squat day? Bring it on. But anything with running past where the car is parked, or sustaining effort over time, will suck the life right out.
In today’s fast-paced world, with 60 minute class times that try to coach 20 people to get stronger, faster, and more mobilized with 5 rowers to share, the art of aerobic development is often overlooked. Try as you might, you simply cannot build a great engine with 7-12 minute AMRAPS at all-out effort a couple times a week. This is like standing in your garden dumping water on your plants and poking them to grow faster.
Developing true fitness means taking the intended applications of your sport, and teasing out the parts, giving them each appropriate amounts of time and attention. For functional fitness, you don’t need the endurance of an ultramarathon runner, or the focused strength of a powerlifter. But you do need enough of each element to move well, breathe hard, and lift heavy, combining different movements and efforts, in a variety of time domains.
I would also argue that you need one more thing: FUN. Even if you see the value of taking a long, progressive approach to developing an aerobic engine, a long running program is a one-way ticket to Yawnsville if it doesn’t mix things up from time to time. Moreover, engine building for functional fitness means not only becoming a great runner, or rower, or biker, but being able to combine these things with other movements too.
The best training program is one that is not only effective, but that you’ll enjoy and want to keep doing.