Wednesday, October 17, 2012

LSD vs. HIIT

I would love to hear your thoughts on this article.
He doesn't really cite any sources or empirical facts, other than personal experience.  I would say that our little focus group (me and you) running TM would contradict his position, since you wooped my ass and you do little to no LSD.  This does agree with my layman's opinion however, that (depending on your goal) completely ignoring LSD is not balanced.

7 comments:

  1. Yeah... he fails to provide any evidence other than the few he claims to have passed 5-6 hours into the Beast. I do think a balance is necessary for someone who desires to compete in those types of events lasting several hours. The experience I have from Adventure Races tells me that fueling (hydration and macronutrient intake) is important. However, there really is no physiological basis for what this guy has written. At submaximal intensities (power output), predominantly aerobic metabolic processes fuel the engine. I would like him to explain what the LSD provides that a 30-min run or a 20-min run does not... there is no physiological mechanism. Nutrition is the foundation and training stimulus provides the adaptation for optimizing performance. As far as that Optimization goes, each individual must find not only what works for him/her but also what he/she enjoys. There are many means to the successful end. Finally, his rock hard abs comment is silly as rock hard abs have no place in a conversation about performance. Those that continue to focus on appearance will continue to fail their clients. Focus on function first and form will follow. The comparison of sprint vs. endurance athlete appearance is simply a phenotypical explanation for what lay behind functional performance. The comparison of CrossFitter vs. any other athlete is also a phenotypical explanation for what lay behind functional performance, but CrossFit provides the evidence in terms of power output across broad time and modal domains, whereas others tend to focus more on some ideal appearance that somehow translates to their definition of fitness.

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    1. That is pretty much what I figured. I think the one thing that LSD provides is psychological. I know I tend to fatigue at the limit that I train to. So if I train for an hour, I tend to lose focus and confidence at about an hour, and it requires effort to break through. That should only require the requisite LSD once a week, or even every other week in the month or two leading up to the challenge you have set for yourself. Again this is just based on personal experience, and I have certainly adopted more of the HIIT philosophy in my training. I only go over 30 min. once a week at most, and even that is only about 40 at a very moderate pace.

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  2. I agree with the mental aspect of stamina. I would love to focus my research on being able to define and test physical, as well as mental, toughness. I have a decent handle on mental toughness, at least as defined and measured by the folks who developed the MTW-48 (look it up if interested). However, I'm not sure how physical toughness could be assessed.

    Again, if someone wants to compete and improve in distance running, some amount of LSD is probably needed. On the other hand, the most bang for your buck is gained via HIIT and even more through functional movement HIIT.

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    1. Should that be MTQ-48? I didn't find anything on MTW.

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    2. Sorry... type... yes, MTQ-48 is Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48 developed by Peter Clough and associates. It is the most often used psychological assessment of mental toughness.

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  3. Dudes ,what does this in English ? ( G )

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