Subject: Endurance athletes and fighters focus on a wrong goal

Pavel’s Strong Endurance express online course

Athletes are obsessed with training their hearts and lungs. This needs to be done, but it is not the priority.

 

Consider the correlation between one’s VO2max and 10K race time: r=0.32. If you know anything about statistics, it is nothing.

 

For contrast, the speed at the anaerobic threshold and the 10K performance correlate at a killer r=0.94. You can take this to the bank.

 

The speed at the anaerobic threshold for racers and the power at the threshold for fighters is the #1 training target.

 

Here is what this means.

 

Imagine running at a steady pace and speeding up a notch every few minutes.

 

Every time you go faster, your heart and lungs rev up proportionately to the speed increase—linear dynamics.

 

Suddenly, you hit a point when another small increase in speed brings out a disproportional jump in your heart and respiration rates. You have picked up a little speed, but it was not a good deal. The effort is going up exponentially; you are sucking wind and will not last much longer.

The relation between the running speed and the heart rate, the respiration rate, and the blood lactate

The running speed is on the x-axis.

On the y-axis are the heart rate, the respiration rate, and the blood lactate.

They keep going up linearly with the speed—then suddenly do a hockey stick at the threshold.

You have just crossed the lactic threshold. Abandon hope, all ye who cross it.

 

The faster you go, the more lactic acid your muscles are producing. Up to a certain point—the anaerobic or lactic threshold (LT)—mitochondrial “sinks” can dispose of most of the acid and keep going with high efficiency, which is the trademark of aerobic metabolism, no burn or suck.

 

But once that threshold is breached, acid rapidly accumulates and puts sticks in the wheels.

 

Whether you are training to endure a race, a fight, or a game, your #1 goal is to increase the speed or power that you can sustain just below the threshold, before your system gets overwhelmed with acid.

 

Pavel’s Strong Endurance express online course will teach you how—and a lot more.

 

Revolutionary Soviet science. Interpreted for athletes, coaches, and self-improvement fanatics. Translated into methods, templates, and plans.

 

Available for 25% off until Thursday. Get it.

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