Comprehensive Fitness Training Guide
/“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” ― Socrates.
I post my workouts publicly every day, and I get a lot of questions about my training.
“What are you training for”? “How do you plan / design your training”?
So this is the most comprehensive fitness training guide I've every produced.
It took over 2 weeks to write, and includes absolutely everything I know about physical training.
I hope you find it useful.
This guide will cover:
My fitness Objectives
The 7 Foundations of Physical Fitness
How to test your fitness level
How to train each of the foundations, and how to develop a training plan
Examples of workouts for each Foundation
(it's a long one, so save it somewhere for future reference)
1. MY FITNESS OBJECTIVES
I’ve covered this before in previous posts.
I don’t train for looks. I train to perform.
I train for “life”.
I train to be able to run a marathon or go on a hike with my son when he's old enough.
I train to be able to go up 20 floors to my home if the elevator is broken.
I train to be able to pick up my grandkids one day.
I train because I do not want to depend on anyone in old age.
I train because a leading risk factor for death for people of old age is: falling & breaking a hip (the risk of death within 12 months after breaking a hip in old age is 33%-55%!!).
I train because I once had to pull a 100kg man out of an overturned car - and it can happen again.
Life is unpredictable and can throw unexpected challenges at you.
But the path to "long term goals" is made up of "short term goals".
My fitness objectives are designed to cover all aspects of phsyical abilities.
I’ve been researching, experimenting and training for years.
I have studied training philosophies from ancient Greece, Roman Empire, China…
… all the way to modern ones: Olympic sports, Crossfit, Hyrox, Obstacle Racing, etc.
Through all this, I have narrowed down my Fitness Objectives to the following YEAR-ROUND:
1. Be able to do any of the following on a 1 week notice (no additional prep):
- Half Marathon
- Sprint / Olympic triathlon
- 5k / 10k Obstacle race
- Any other event up to 2 hours long
2. Be able to do any of the following on a 3-month notice:
- Full marathon
- Half ironman triathlon
- 21km obstacle race
- Ultramarathon up to 80km +<3000m climbing
- Any other event up to 10-12 hours long
3. Be able to do any of the following on a 4-month notice:
- Ultramarathon up to 100km +>4000m climbing
- Full Ironman triathlon
- Ultra distance obstacle race
- Any other event longer than 12 hours
4. Year-round Strength benchmarks:
- Be able to squat & deadlift 10 reps of 100kg all year long (1.25x my bodyweight)
- Be able to do 15 unbroken strict pull-ups all year long
- Be able to do 25 unbroken strict dips all year long
5. Skills
Decent level of skill in:
- Swimming (including open water)
- Cycling (including mountain biking)
- Rope climbing
- Skiing
- Self defense
In order to achieve this, I focus on 7 areas, which I call the 7 Foundations of Fitness.
2. THE 7 FOUNDATIONS OF PHYSICAL FITNESS
Through all my research and experimentation over many years, I have narrowed down the standards of physical fitness to the following SEVEN FOUNDATIONS.
And as with any “foundation”:
ALL SEVEN have to be strong AT ALL TIMES to support whatever you build on top of them.
FOUNDATION 1: SUB-THRESHOLD ENDURANCE (Zone 2)
E.g. You're on a hike with your friends and get lost. You need to walk for 4 hours up a mountain to get help. Can you?
Definition:
The ability of your Cardiovascular, Muscular, Endocrine (hormonal), Nervous Systems and your Mental Strength to: Sustain a physical effort over a period extending from 1 hour to 24+ hours with no rest.
Note: this is the only foundation that includes Mental Strength as a key component.
The majority of people who “quit” in an ultramarathon do so because they “break mentally”, not “physically”.
Also: studies have shown that high Zone 2 ability is highly correlated with health in old age.
FOUNDATION 2: THRESHOLD ENDURANCE (Zone 4)
E.g. Something bad happens and you need to run 5km as fast as you can to get help. Can you?
Definition:
The ability of your Cardiovascular, Muscular, Endocrine (hormonal), and Nervous Systems to:
Sustain a high level of physical effort over a period extending from 30-60min with no rest.
This includes “cardio efforts” (running, cycling) as well as non-cardio (bodyweight or weights).
FOUNDATION 3: VO2Max (Zone 5)
E.g. You're going to miss your flight. You need to run across the whole airport to make it. Can you?
Definition:
“The MAXIMUM amount of Oxygen your muscles are able to use over a period of 5-10min with no rest.”
This is your “red line”, the “ceiling of your engine”.
Also: studies have shown that this is the metric MOST associated with health in old age.
FOUNDATION 4: STRENGTH
E.g. You see an accident. Someone is pinned under a 200Kg Harley Davidson. Can you lift it?
Definition:
“The MAXIMUM amount of weight you can lift, carry, push, pull”.
Again: studies have shown that overall strength is highly correlated with health in old age.
FOUNDATION 5: POWER
E.g. You're rushing to catch your flight. The wheel on your suitcase broke. You have to carry it and make it to check-in before they close. Will you make it?
Definition:
“How FAST you can move HEAVY OBJECTS over DISTANCE”.
FOUNDATION 6: SPEED & AGILITY
E.g. You're getting chased by a dog. Are you going to make it?
(fun fact, I was once chased by a cow!! while running in the French Alps).
Definition:
“How fast can you move over a short distance”
AND
“How fast can you change direction”
FOUNDATION 7: SKILL
Can you:
- Ski?
- Climb a rope?
- Swim in the ocean?
- Defend a loved one?
- Ride a bicycle?
- Balance walk on a narrow beam?
3. TESTING THE FOUNDATIONS
Before you start building your training plan, you need to:
TEST your FOUNDATIONS so you can PRIORITIZE and PLAN your training.
I will schedule FOUNDATION TESTS every few weeks.
Tests will take 1 of 2 formats:
Format 1: a fitness test
Format 2: a race / competition (makes the test more fun!)
Remember: these are "tests", so give them "max effort".
TESTING FOUNDATION 1: SUB-THRESHOLD ENDURANCE
Format 1:
- Run: 10 mile (16km) or half marathon
- Cycle: 50km
- Row: half marathon
(remember, this is a test, so if you can only walk fast, so be it)
Format 2:
- Marathon
- Ultramarathon
- Spartan 10km / 20km
- Triathlon: Olympic, 70.3, Ironman
TESTING FOUNDATION 2: THRESHOLD ENDURANCE
Format 1:
- Run: 5-10km
- Bike: 30km
- Swim: 3km
- Row: 10km
- Crossfit-style workout of 30-60min (e.g. Murph)
Format 2:
- Spartan 5km
- Triathlon: Sprint
TESTING FOUNDATION 3: VO2MAX
Format 1:
- Run: 1km
- Bike: 5min max effort
- Swim: 400m
- Row: 2km
- Assault Bike/Skierg: 50Cal
- Beep Test
- Crossfit-style workout of 5-10min (e.g. Fran)
TESTING FOUNDATION 4: STRENGTH
Format 1:
3 Rep Max in:
- Squat
- Deadlift
- Bench Press
- Pull-ups: max nb unbroken deadhang pull-ups
- Sled Pull/Push: max weight over 15 meters in “one go”
TESTING FOUNDATION 5: POWER
Format 1:
- Sled Push/Pull: 50 meters weight = bodyweight
- Row / Skierg: 500m
- Assault Bike: 20Cal
TESTING FOUNDATION 6: SPEED & AGILITY
Format 1:
- Run: 100m
- Swim: 50m
- Row: 200m
- Illinois Agility Test
- 20 yard shuttle test
TESTING FOUNDATION 7: SKILL
I don’t really need to test those because:
- If you’re including them in your training, you either “can or cannot” do them
- Many of the other tests (e.g. obstacle race) will test a number of skills
IMPORTANT NOTE
It’s crucial that you maintain a log of your scores on all these tests.
Test every few weeks, especially Foundations you focused on recently.
4. DEVELOPING A TRAINING PLAN
Once you have the test results, you know what to prioritize in training.
Use training blocks consisting of a multiple of weeks (e.g. 4 weeks).
3 things to always bear in mind when designing a training plan:
1. Improvement comes from “progressive overload”
This is a critical part of training.
You will not improve if you’re not increasing the challenge (volume or intensity) on a weekly basis.
2. You CANNOT improve all Foundations at the same time
You can work on improving 1 or (at most) 2 Foundations in parallel.
Your aim with the others is to “maintain” them.
So: you improve 1 or 2, maintain the others for a 3-4 week training block.
In the next block, you will choose another 1 or 2 to “build” and maintain the others.
3. Not all Foundations are created equal
You can see improvements in some Foundations in 2-3 weeks.
Others require weeks or months.
Example:
A 10% improvement in Foundation 1 (Sub-Threshold Endurance) requires months of training.
By contrast:
A 10% improvement in Foundation 4 (Strength) can happen in 3 weeks.
This has to be taken into account when designing training plans.
The importance of recovery weeks
Recovery weeks (where you reduce volume and intensity) are CRITICAL for improving your fitness and to keep you motivated.
1. There is no fixed rule for when to take a recovery week.
It depends on how much stress you are putting on your body.
As a general rule of thumb: I take a recovery week every 4th week of training.
2. A recovery week is NOT a “zero training week”.
Reduce training volume / intensity by 50-60%.
It’s important to continue training.
This is ESPECIALLY important for people who DO NOT like exercise:
it is very hard to resume a habit after you break it.
Exception: you can take time off completely after a major race / competition (for a mental & physical break).
5. EXAMPLES OF WORKOUTS
Foundation 1: Sub-Threshold Endurance
Long cardio efforts (1+ hours) at 75% of your Max Heart Rate.
In other words: Zone 2 heart rate.
A good approximation of your Zone 2 heart rate: 180 minus your age.
Key to developing Foundation 1: VOLUME, and lots of it.
Examples: swim, cycle, run, row, hike, etc.
Foundation 2: Threshold Endurance
Hard efforts of 30-45min long (with no rest).
2 types of exercises:
1. Cardio: swim, cycle, run, row, etc.
2. Strength-based exercises, such as:
30min workout of push-ups, box jumps, wall balls, burpees, lunges, kettlebell swings, devil press, etc.
Hyrox training is a good example of Threshold Endurance.
Foundation 3: VO2Max
These are the types of exercises that people typically hate!
All-out efforts of 5-8min!
This can be done using cardio exercises (boxing, swim, cycle, run, row), or
Bodyweight exercises (burpees, box jumps, wall balls).
Good time formats include: Tabata sets (4min rounds), or MMA-like sets (5min rounds).
Foundation 4: Strength
Research has shown that the best way to develop strength is:
Lift heavy weights in the 3-5 rep range
(i.e. using weights you can “only" lift 3-5 times per set).
Examples: squats, deadlift, bench press, Oly lifting, Strongman training, etc.
Can you develop strength using bodyweight or light weights?
If you’re a beginner yes, but for more experienced people, not much.
Foundation 5: Power
In sport, power = ability to move weight over distance divided by time.
So the focus is on explosive movements using heavy weights.
Examples of best tools for the job:
- Olympic lifting (clean, snatch, etc)
- Strongman-type training (tire flips, sled push/pull, farmer carry, etc)
Foundation 6: Speed & Agility
Interestingly, you DON’T need to train this often.
If you have a good level in Foundations 1-5, you will achieve speed.
But it’s good to practice specific speed & agility movements occasionally:
- Run / Row 100m
- Swim 50m
- Cycle 200m
- Plyometrics
- Agility drills (e.g. shuttle runs, Illinois Agility Test)
Foundation 7: Skills
Most skill development will happen anyway as part of your general training.
This is the case with skills such as swimming, cycling, rope climbing, etc.
But some skills will have to practiced separately:
- Skiing
- Mountain biking
- Trail running
- Balancing
If you've reached this far down, congratulations! It's a long one!
If you're a complete beginner, I would suggest that you start with Foundations 1 and 4 for 2-3 months before testing.
I'm no longer coaching regularly. But if someone wants a 6-month training plan, I can put one together for you. Just drop me an email and I can send you the details for that.
