The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [161]
Expect your run times (Time Trials) to worsen in the first three weeks of training. This is normal, and your body will quickly return to baseline and then exceed previous bests.
In each interval, hill, or Tabata workout, if you can’t recover to a heart rate of 120 in less than two minutes, the workout is ended. You haven’t recovered and adding more stress would just impede progress. Call it quits if needed and come back stronger the next workout. In the first four weeks, if you are unconditioned, this rest period can be increased to three minutes.26
In generic terms, the taper—a reduction in volume—the last week prior to competition might look like the chart below.
The key to the Tabata sprints in this schedule is maintaining a very high per foot strike rate (110+ per foot). If using a treadmill and unsure of speed, set the per-mile time to 30 seconds less than your average 5K per-mile time.
1. “On minute” means once you start the count up on your stop watch, you do a set at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, etc. Rest will depend on how quickly you finish each set. “On two minutes” would mean sets at 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, etc.
2. For example, if your previous best Tabata was completing 6–8 “reps” at 10 mph on a 12% incline, use the same incline but lower the speed to 8 or 9 mph. If you’re running on flat ground, just reduce the distance you normally run by 20% (e.g., 100m→80m).
12 WEEKS TO 50K
Here represents the exact 12-week program Brian designed to take me from 5K to 50K. I also wanted to target a 24-minute 5K time, which would (if sustained) approximate a 3:50 marathon.27
The 12-week program is based on my following stats, which he requested:
400m times, with 90 seconds of rest between: 1:20, 1:30, 1:34, and 1:39.
Military press with barbell: 145 lbs. × 4 reps.
1-repetition max deadlift (DL): 450 lbs.
CrossFit (CF) routines for comparison: I didn’t have this, so I indicated I could do 50 shoulder-level swings with a 40kg kettlebell.
5K time and back squat poundages: I had neither, the latter due to shoulder surgery in 2004. I asked him to include front squatting if squatting were required.
Some additional notes on the three-month program:
If there is only one workout prescribed for the day, it is possible to do an A.M. workout in the P.M. or vice versa.
Unless indicated otherwise, assume no rest between exercises. “AMRAP” means “as many reps (or rounds) as possible” within a given time. If it’s a single exercise, it’s reps; if it’s a circuit of exercises, it’s rounds. Doing something “for time” (e.g. “seven rounds of ABC for time”) means completing the prescribed workout as quickly as possible and recording the total time.
“10 × 2” would mean 10 sets of 2 repetitions, for example (sets × reps).
Reread the “on minute” footnote on this page.
DL = deadlift and BS = back squat.
Instructionals and videos of almost all CrossFit exercises, routines (often named after people, like “Cindy”), and unfamiliar exercises can be found at www.fourhourbody.com/crossfit. Common tools include rowing machines, pull-up bars, and barbells. If you ask yourself “what the hell is that?” in the schedule, it’s probably a CrossFit exercise.
FAQ WITH BRIAN
What type of shoes should I wear?
I suggest the Inov-8 X-Talon 212 or Inov-8 F-Lite 230 for trail running. For asphalt and other hard surfaces, I suggest the Inov-8 F-Lite 220, but the F-Lite 230 can be used as well.
What not to use: I’ve seen more problems with Newton shoes than any other. Avoid them.
Don’t fall for the barefoot myth, either. There is a misguided belief that you can go barefoot and immediately fix all of your problems. If you have been wearing shoes with heels for years and start barefoot running with no transition, expect problems with your Achilles tendons. One year of stretching might get an additional ¼ range of motion out of them, so if you remove a ½″ heel and go pound the pavement, you’re asking for major issues. Removing the heel will not automatically fix your form. Most of the grandfathers of