I think there’s something innately challenging about doing endurance activities that many people are attracted to. You may start out doing cardio as an easy way to lose weight and get into shape, but it can quickly become more than that. I mean let’s face it, it’s much easier to keep pounding the pavement if you have a goal to achieve. And although losing weight is a great goal, it’s easier to continue doing something “rather unpleasant” or darn right painful, if you have a bigger goal, like trying to run a marathon or maybe entering into your first triathlon, in mind

I get it. There’s a sense of purpose when you’re working hard to try and accomplish a challenging goal. It’s a great feeling. And when you reach your goal that seemed unattainable the feeling of joy and ecstasy is something that’s difficult to put into words.  And I get why you’d want to do it over and over again and keep chasing that sense of accomplishment. There’s nothing wrong with that.

I’ve been there myself. It’s why I trained 18 - 24 hours a week for years. It was the best of times, but it was also the worst of times when it came to my health. I may have been in the best competitive shape, but I was most definitely not in the best of health. I was chronically injured and sick. Everything in my life revolved around my training schedule, there was no if or buts about it. Training came first and everything else followed.

Now, of course, I was on the extreme end and I certainly don’t recommend anyone taking that route, unless you’re a professional athlete and you have the time and resources to train, eat and recover properly.

So if I had to do it all over again would I do it any differently?  Yep.  I sure would, because I know better now. If I was to include long cardio training back into my daily fitness regimen, this is how I would do it.  This way I still have time to do activities that I enjoy and avoid all of the nasty side effects that come with over training like chronic injuries, sickness and low energy levels.

How to Cardio Train Properly

1. I would perform all of my endurance training at low intensities, well below my anaerobic threshold.  The effort level should be 50 - 60% your maximum effort.  I’d keep my heart rate low and exertion level low throughout the entire duration.  By the way, this may be much more difficult to do than it sounds, especially if you’re used to training long and hard. This is especially difficult if you’re training with other people. You’ll need to keep your competitive nature in check.

2. I would include 2 - 3 sessions of strength training per week, using pretty challenging weights to improve my strength and to keep from getting injured.  Keep in mind that many of the injuries come from sheer repetitive pounding of the joints and muscular imbalance. Although you can’t do much about the repetitive stress on your joints, you can certainly take care of the muscular imbalance by strengthening the right muscles. If you’re a runner or a cyclist, the most common muscles that need strengthening are your posterior chain muscles: glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.  Here’s a great exercise you can do to strengthen your posterior chain muscles.

3. I would include 2 - 3 short but intense interval cardio sessions separate from your long endurance training days.  These sessions should be short (20 - 30 minutes) and super intense (90% maximum effort).  I would change up the intervals and rest periods as it pertains to your activity.  Here’s a sample interval cardio session taken from MAX Workouts program.  Perform 30 seconds of cardio @ 90% max intensity level followed immediately by 15 seconds of cardio @ 30% max intensity - repeat four sets.  Take a one minute break after finishing the four sets and repeat the entire set four times.  Sounds simple enough, but it’s a real lung buster!  These short but intense interval cardio sessions are a great way to build your work capacity which is very beneficial for any endurance activity.

4. I would do a hard long training session once a week, performed at race pace (if you race) or at the fastest pace that you can sustain for the duration of your training session. Make sure that you feel good and rested before doing this session. You may want to skip it if you’re too tired or haven’t recovered enough. You also want to make sure that the following day is a rest day so you can recover fully.

5. I would spend at least 20 - 30 minutes a day doing necessary active muscle recovery work and joint mobility work to keep my joints healthy.  Here’s a great joint mobility exercise you can do to keep your joints mobile and muscles flexible. Keep in mind that doing proper active recovery and joint mobility work will allow you to sustain healthy muscles and joints, so you can keep training without being hindered by nagging aches and pain.

6. I would make sure that my diet is conducive to this type of training. I would consume foods high in anti-inflammatory properties like omega-3 fatty acids. Fish such as salmon, herring, trout and anchovies are all really good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. I would also make sure to consume plenty of high quality protein, especially from grass-fed meat to ensure that I’m providing my muscles with enough protein. This way I’m not risking losing any of my hard earned muscles from all of the training I’ll be doing.  I would also make sure that I’m getting plenty of healthy fats to make sure that I can provide my body with plenty of energy.  Since I’ll be adhering to a low carb diet, I’ll need to make sure that my fat content is high. Since my body is fat adapted already, I should be able to train even longer without worrying about bonking out from lack of energy, which is something normal sugar dependent athletes have to worry about.

7. Lastly, I would make sure that I’m taking enough supplements as an adjunct to my healthy diet. Although most of my nutrients will be coming from whole foods, I know that I’ll need to supplement key nutrients simply because I won’t be able to consume enough food to adequately supply my body under these heavy training conditions.  First I would make sure that I take a high quality omega-3 fatty acid supplement to help reduce any inflammation. Although I’ll be consuming fish as much as possible, it’s difficult to eat enough fish to get the necessary amount of omega-3 from food alone.  Second, I would include taking high quality whey protein supplement into my daily diet as well. Getting protein from food is best, but often I simply can’t eat enough protein from real food. Since having adequate amounts of protein is essential, being able to consume whey protein shakes really helps meet my daily protein requirements. Lastly, I would also be taking BCAA in addition to my whey protein supplement. BCAA has been found to help increase muscle performance in athletes and it’s something that I feel will give me an edge in my training.

There you have it. If you want to include (or don’t want to give up) long endurance training, but you’ve been suffering from classic effects of over training like nagging joint pain, lower immunity, low energy, restless sleep, mood swings etc., give this protocol a try.  If I had to do it all over again, this is the training protocol I would follow.