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Sometimes I get questions about how I train. Let me also add that I am no super-gifted athlete. I also know a lot of athletes who are either faster, stronger, or have better endurance than I do. I think I've reached a really good overall physical level where I'm able to perform well in multiple disciplines, but I am nothing special.
If you take nothing else away from this article, make sure you take this: Consistency is THE MOST IMPORANT part of training.
I've listed my cardio training data from 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 (to date) below. The data begins in January 2019 when I first bought my Suunto 9 (amazing watch by the way!) You will see some gaps that are a few days long. Those are typically after long training events (usually 20+ miles, or if I did several longer/harder training sessions in a short period of time). There are some gaps that are a week long. Those are either when I purposely took off for a week to let my body recover and relax, or when I got sick (only happened once that I recall). Where there are big gaps (several weeks to multiple months - starting in 2020), those are times when I was away for work with the military and wasn't allowed to have my watch and didn't have any good way to track data. However, those periods were filled with lots and lots of physical training - it just doesn't show on my watch data obviously. You'll also notice that the cumulative ascent data for the years has dropped...that's because I used to live right by the mountains where I could go 6-7 miles and get 1,200ft+ of elevation gain, and now I live where it's hard to get 500ft of elevation gain in a 10 mile run.
Yellow = Road or Trail Running/races
Darker Green = Rucking (weights vary from 20lbs to 75lbs+, average would be 40-45lbs)
Red = Indoor or Outdoor Cycling
Grey = Hybrid Competitions
Lime Green = Obstacle Course Racing
Blue = Indoor or Open Water Swimming
2019 Data
2020 Data
2021 Data
2022 Data
None of the data above includes my strength training workouts from the past 4 years. Though I don't keep specific track, I've done well over 350 strength workouts over this time frame. Typically 3-4 strength workouts per week with variation based on big events like Ultras, important races, or things that work required.
Consistency is key. My time off (except when sick) was calculated. Sometimes I took days off when I was feeling exhausted or for travel or before an important race. Most of the days where you don't see cardio logged, I was strength training. Many of the days when cardio was logged, I was still doing a separate strength training session that day.
Your training journey is going to look very different. It's going to be based on your goals and your family life. It's going to depend on what you have access to, what type of improvements you want to make, your nutrition, your sleep, and so much more. NO MATTER WHAT THOUGH, CONSISTENCY IS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE GOALS IN FITNESS.
If you struggle being consistent and need programming that is created specifically for your circumstances, goals, needs, etc. then we have options for you. Visit our OCR training programs page and view our custom programs. I promise we can help.
