Variability in your training is key to continual muscle development and increased performance. Maintaining variability will improve motor control, strength, and prevent adaption that often lead to plateaus. If you continue to consistently train at the same intensity, be it at very high levels like a majority of Crossfit Workouts or conversely very low, like long slow distance runs, you limit your potential. For example, if you continue to do Fran every day you will quickly plateau. This is because each metabolic system needs to be effectively trained. Each system requires unique training parameters to maximize gains from that particular system. And be it a triathlon or a crossfit benchmark WOD, you will need to rely on more than one system for optimized performance and efficiency! Further, training one metabolic system only has minimal carryover to the other system. This is why so many people plateau: because throughout their training they primarily, or solely, train at one intensity. Therefore, multiple system must be trained for a single goal. Here is a very simple illustration below demonstrating the energy demands on each metabolic system.
Remember, in training you're not actually making your body faster or stronger; your training your body to be more efficient so that it can learn to be faster and stronger the next time. As it learns, it recovers by making muscle stronger or bigger and adding faster synapses,etc so that you can go faster and be stronger the next time. Your body learns and then responds, we call it SAID: Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands. Your body can only improve on what you teach it (and continue to teach it over and over)
So when planning your weekly,monthly or daily conditioning or WOD, make sure to program each intensity. Do not rely on constantly pushing to the limit but plan WODs at lower intensities that can be maintained for longer durations. This will improve your strength endurance for example. Train on a continuum of intensities, or zones like the ones below:
Intensity (%MHR)
|
Heart Rate (bpm)
|
% Carbohydrate
|
% Fat
|
65-70
|
130-140
|
15
|
85
|
70-75
|
140-150
|
35
|
65
|
75-80
|
150-160
|
65
|
35
|
80-85
|
160-170
|
80
|
20
|
85-90
|
170-180
|
90
|
10
|
90-95
|
180-190
|
95
|
5
|
100
|
190-200
|
100
|
-
|
Again, the key is to consistently work each intensity to maximize overall performance. We should be more concerned with programming the proper intensity than the exercise selection. And most exercises can be adjusted to the intensity. Maybe we should call it the IOD instead of WOD.
Here’s a few specific intensities you can variate through in your programming:
Here’s a few specific intensities you can variate through in your programming:
- Tabata: 20” on: 10” off.
- 30” on: 30” off
- 2’-3’ on: 1’off (this is great interval for complexes!)
- 5’ on: 2’off
- 1’ to 90” on at 95+%: 3+’ off.
- 30’ on: 2-3’off
