Going HAM, beastmode, grinding, for time, etc. has become very popular both inside gyms and in the media recently. There is good reason for this, working hard is the only tried and true method for achieving results that no one can really argue with. However, going hard is only one side of the story, and it’s only a small part of that side as well. The part that is less sexy to talk about, but far more functional in terms of building progress and making gains, past the initial 3-month quick adaptation phase, is called pacing. Here’s 10 reasons why pacing is something you should be falling in love with.
1. Pacing allows progress
Once you understand the pace you can handle for a set number of sets and rest periods. You can build upon that by slightly decreasing your time, shortening rest, or adding more sets to increase your ability to handle volume.
2. Progress allows planning
If you keep track of the pacing you can do and understand how long it takes to build volume and increase pace you can create plans that peak for events or keep you healthy and feeling good if your goals don’t entail competition. These plans can be laid out for periods of weeks or over multiple years when you keep track of your results and get detailed in the process.
3. Planning helps prepare for competition AND prevent injury
Monitoring progress means you’ll know when you’ve made significant gains and are pushing hard into new territory. Higher intensities and increased volume require time to adapt, so knowing when you’ll hit these tough training points also tells you when you’ll need to back off in order to start the building process again.
4. There are different paces for different distances
Learning how to function at longer distances and short distances creates breadth as an athlete. Even if your goals are exclusively in one time domain or another, having a basic level of exposure to the short, long, and in between time domains will keep those systems from atrophying and increase your capacity.
5. Long and slow aerobics is the base of support for recovery.
It moves blood and nutrients through the tissues of your body and increases capillary density within your muscles to process more oxygen. Because it is low intensity it also doesn’t interfere with strength and power production. With lower intensity you don’t need a big rest to recover.
6. Power
At the opposite end of the spectrum is high power work, which increases your ability to work hard and fast. Finishing long races with a powerful kick, or running over the top of a defender trying to make a tackle are examples of this. Having the ability get after it aggressively for 1-10 seconds is a powerful asset to your athleticism regardless of goals. This pace is extremely fast, but requires long rest to train it effectively.
7. Lactic acid buffering
In between times 60-4 minutes help to push back the lactate threshold and allow for an increase in aerobic capacity. This is one of the most misunderstood energy systems and is often paced inappropriately with too little rest. Like the high power work, it requires long rest to maintain the appropriate high paces for appropriate training. High power plus short rest will accumulate too much fatigue and results in diminishing performance over the course of a workout and training plan.
8. Functionally mixing training modalities
This has been historically frowned upon, but is being discovered as a legitimate fact in training today. Expert coaches of CrossFit competitors are working with athletes who can run sub 5 minute miles as well as deadlift over 500 pounds. While specialists in either field would smoke these numbers, it is impressive to say the least and most interesting for those interested in general health and fitness.
9. Mixing training is fun because it provides unlimited variety to your workouts
On top of building your strength and endurance you can also learn fun skills like handstands and more technical forms of weight training like Olympic weightlifting on top of aerobic training. The advanced athlete can even use these technical movements within circuits for a conditioning effect.
10. All of these factors add up to long term gains
Running faster tomorrow is always nice, but running 10 years from now pain free AND faster is better.
So there you have it, 10 reasons why you need to fall in love with pacing. Developing the consistency and trust to stick with a plan and let results happen over time is a skill in itself. This mindset is calm and patient, which I guess is benefit number 11 to pacing. Being able to stay relaxed in training will filter over into your daily life and help relieve stress from all aspects of your day. Learn to pace, build long-term progress, and feel great for years to come.
