I have always had a fascination with the "bodybuilder physique". The combination of conditioning coupled with the accentuation of every single muscle group highlights the athletic ability that we have as humans. The ironic part of this comes when you ask someone with a physique like this to do something as simple as itch their back. In doing this we see the visual level of athleticism break down, and the mechanical side take over. On the opposite end of this spectrum we have ultra-endurance athletes. These individuals often look like malnourished office workers but are capable of running for sometimes days straight without stopping. I'm both inspired by the physique of athletes like Chris Bumstead while equally enamored with the mechanical efficiency of Jim Walmsley as he glides over the ground on 100-mile races. Recognizing that, I think most of us would probably like to fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.
As I've advanced through my athletic career, I have always had three main goals: Look good, be athletic, and be strong. Over the years, the priority of these goals has flipped around dozens of times. I've spent time solely focusing on running but seemed to plateau around the 5:30 mile mark and had trouble keeping weight on. Likewise, I've devoted long periods to increasing my strength but struggled with more complicated athletic events and had difficulties staying conditioned. The best combination I found of maintaining all three of these was CrossFit, and for years I kept seeing increases in my strength, physique, and athleticism. Unfortunately, as with any sport, the magnitude of these increases quickly began to plateau. Being a stubborn 20-year old my answer to this was to add more volume.
Trying to maintain these improvements, I was spending 4-5 hours a day in the gym. In practice, this was often 2-3 WOD's, some strength training, and conditioning. While those numbers sound like a recipe for success, all I managed to accomplish was trashing the hell out of my central nervous system. Being completely burned out I started pulling all the research I could find on balancing volume and intensity.
In the most basic form, volume and intensity are inversely related. If volume goes up, intensity must go down and vice versa. Naturally, this should make sense as there is no way you could maintain your 100m sprint pace for 10km. I realized that even though my 4-5 hour sessions felt intense, the volume to intensity ratio was way off. This sounds intuitive, but this is where a lot of people go wrong.
The other factor that needs to be discussed is specificity of training. The traditional line of reasoning is if you want to be an elite runner you shouldn't touch weights. Likewise, if you wanted to be an elite strongman you should stay off the treadmill. While this makes sense, the logic breaks down when you see 480 pound Brian Shaw hop on a rower and break the 100m record: (Trust me, watch this)
Similarly, when you see jacked ultra-runners like David Goggin's or Camron Hanes out there smoking their competition it calls into question this linear way of thinking. The truth behind this is that our bodies are far more complicated than most people understand. While resistance training seems unnecessary for running 100-miles it causes neurochemical and metabolic adaptations that are beneficial to running. In the same way, the behemoth of a man you saw in the video above started his career as a basketball player. This gave him the neuromuscular and metabolic base he needed to become one of the top strongmen of the 20th century.
Understanding this is the foundation of becoming a hybrid athlete.
The realization of this led to the biggest leaps in my athletic abilities that I have seen. This started with a 3-month break from CrossFit to train for a 70.3 Ironman. Yes, I did lose some strength during this time, but when I returned my conditioning was through the roof. This allowed not only for my strength to return but it returned stronger than ever. After another bout of CrossFit, I took time off to focus on strength and hypertrophy. When I returned, my lungs were indeed on fire, but I was moving my previous 1RM weights with ease. Just like before my conditioning returned and was enhanced due to my ability to more efficiently move weight. By giving myself time to focus on just one aspect of my sport, I was operating in the optimal training adaptation window. I found that when I stayed in this narrow window it allowed for maximal returns from my energy. These adaptations improved my general athletic foundation which led to greater improvements in other areas. This is what I would consider Macro-training specification and is something I recommend that you include once or twice a year in your training regimen.
These same principles can be implemented in your day-to-day training as well. One of the most frequent questions I get is, "Should I do my cardio before or after my lift?” The answer is neither. If you lift right before your cardio, you will either decrease the intensity of your cardio or you will lower the volume of your lift. Meaning that you decrease the potency of the stress stimuli of both workouts by trying to do them both.
The key is to subject your body to the strongest stimuli possible (within limits). This will allow you to see the best results from any given bout of training. This seems simple, but it's one of the biggest mistakes I see is people make. Too often people try to squeeze cardio, a lift, and accessory work all into their short workout window. This is inefficient and explains why some people never see the results they want from training.
The solution to this problem is simple, decrease the volume and increase the intensity. You are much better off lifting three days a week if they are focused and exhaustive training sessions than if you are lifting 20 unfocused minutes every day. This is the same for cardio, and truthfully anything else in your life. Quit multitasking and dedicate yourself to whatever you're doing for the eternity of the time you allotted.
Specificity of training allows you to utilize recovery more efficiently as well. Back when I was training like an idiot my body was constantly sore and my central nervous system was never operating at 100%. Because of this, my Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was still very high, but the actual intensity of my workouts was diminished when compared to my full potential. Currently, I train 2-3 muscle groups per day. This means if I destroy my chest on Monday it has 3 full days to recover before I train it again on Friday. This style of training allows me to get two workouts at 100% intensity and allows me to enter the maximal adaptation window. This is where the best results are seen. It's important to remember that time is just one factor of recovery. Making sure your diet is on point, stretching, sauna, supplements, etc. are all important factors when it comes to optimizing this time between workouts.
Whether you want to be a bodybuilder, an ultra-endurance athlete, or fall somewhere in between, you need to train with specificity. Trying to up your squat by 20 pounds while simultaneously training for a marathon is a great way to fail both of those goals. We are complex biologic organisms, and more work doesn't always mean more results. On the other end of this, try to recognize that branching out from your sport or activity for a dedicated period has massive benefits. Being more conditioned will allow you to get stronger and vice versa. At the end of the day, maturing in the gym means understanding what your body can take. Fitness culture pushes the idea that you need to be an animal when you’re training. While I love that mentality, three months as an animal followed by a four-month burnout is still a step backward. You only have so much energy, so make sure you have it pointed in the right direction.
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