Endurance Training: The Best Workout You Might Be Missing

I have spoken on this topic previously through the lens of how the online world often gravitates to a specific workout as having some sort of primacy over others. It is usually framed as some sort of training structure or intensity that promises to be the missing link to your longevity or next PR. This is usually where I suggest people zoom out, while others zoom into whatever session is being advocated for as being best.

When I onboard a new coaching client, there are two things I really like to know. The first is what their purpose is for their training. There really is no wrong answer here, but it can help guide the inputs and the style of programming. It can also highlight if the person can benefit from more thought about their why, which can be fun to explore. The second is their training history. With some general detail on what their inputs have been over the previous months or years, I can usually guess with decent accuracy what the best inputs are to focus on in the short term.

My main goal for most people focusing on endurance is to first make them a good overall runner. That is the framework I would prefer to build from when it comes time to peak for whatever event they plan to do. This means picking from a wide range of inputs. For example, if someone comes to me and they have been doing a lot of low intensity running, it is unlikely we will continue to add more volume at low intensity as a starting point. This person is likely in a position where we can reduce the amount of time they spend doing low intensity training and still maintain their progress. What this will do, is free up training load for inputs that have relatively weaker near term exposure. This person may see better improvement in their overall running performance by shifting the pace they can do at lower intensities up through some exposure to things like short intervals at VO2max, or longer intervals at Lactate Threshold. On the other hand, if someone comes with a history of consistent workouts targeting these intensities, but relatively lower volume, we can maintain all that work at those higher intensities with less input, and spend more of their training load making their foundation larger. That way when they return to a bigger focus on moderate and higher intensity work, they will likely have a better tolerance to more volume in their short and long interval sessions, and therefore be able to improve by simply being able to recover more easily from a higher volume at these intensities.

I made a post on X a while ago that said, “a lot of relatively new runners will eventually find that they will improve with more zone 3 (on a five zone framework) work.” The reason I chose zone 3 for this post is it is often an intensity that is warned against. The saying goes, “don’t go too fast on your easy days, and too slow on your hard days.” A healthy dose of zone 3 will often present this. When programmed improperly, it can put an athlete in a position where they are missing a better combination of inputs that will move the needle on their overall fitness better, especially if they have ample time to train. However, most people have a finite amount of training time, and if they have maxed their time spent on lower intensity training, and pulled the lever on short and long intervals, they may benefit from an input that their body has less familiarity with over their training. Just because zone 3 is unlikely to be a great starting point in training, it isn’t inherently bad, and likely gets better over time if it is ignored. This will become especially true if the event they are training for is done at an intensity near zone 3.

One of my breakthroughs as an athlete and coach came when I stopped looking at workouts as better or worse, and even certain combinations as inherently better or worse. Getting curious about different inputs creates an exploratory mindset that allows us to view training as play. This type of framing can be vital in a world where consistency rules the day, and showing up curious and excited to explore brings out the enjoyment of it all. Happy training!

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