Tactical Barbell

jog and interrupt the process by spiking your heartrate? This is a perfect example of why more is not always better. I made this very same mistake for a long period of time. I thought if jogging at an easy pace was good, then going even faster and doing sprints and hills along the way would be that much better. Wrong.

Now don’t get caught up in all this to the other extreme and think LSS is the bomb, and the only thing to do. Again, LSS is great at developing certain aerobic traits. We talked about how LSS develops cardiac hypertrophy. Not to use another example let’s talk about another adaptation, cardiac strength, or how forcefully your heart can contract. As mentioned earlier in the chapter, the stronger your heart can contract, means more blood and oxygen get to your working systems. This means more energy, greater endurance, and improved performance. While LSS is great for cardiac hypertrophy, it’s not necessarily the best method to develop cardiac strength. One way to do that is through particular types of interval training. Yes, interval training can be aerobic when done a certain way. And anaerobic when done another way.

If your eyes are starting to glaze over, all I want you to really take from all this is that there are many ways to develop the aerobic system, and there are different methods and tools for developing each aspect. TB2 contains sessions designed to cause cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac strength, improved oxygen delivery, and strength-endurance. When you see an LSS session, understand that there is a specific reason it’s being included (ventricular hypertrophy/enhanced vascular network etc), and there’s a specific reason it won’t include sprints or burpees. Likewise, you will see sessions that may not fit your perception of aerobic work, such as certain types of interval training, but it is, and it’s hitting your aerobic system from a different angle by forcing different adaptations. So when you see certain HIC sessions included in your Base Building phase, they’re there because they improve certain aerobic traits. Remember, you’re not training to be a good long distance runner or LSS-er, you’re developing and enhancing physiological markers.

To many, aerobic training means only one thing - long steady state jogging. This is a misconception. Aerobic training improves a few things as I mentioned above; cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac strength, improved vascular network, and improved oxygen utilization to name a few. Different types of aerobic activity target different areas of the aerobic system.