I’ve been training for a Half Ironman since the beginning of the year, and as my race draws near, I’m starting to think about what comes next.
One of my key considerations is varied intensity.
Varied intensity is the foundation of a good training program. You need a balance between high and low-intensity work to improve and grow without burning out or getting hurt.
Balancing intensity is something athletes think often about and purposefully apply to their training cycles. It’s also the secret to avoiding burnout, avoiding hustle culture, and building true balance in your personal and professional life.
What does it mean to vary training intensity?
Intensity is how hard you’re working. Most commonly, intensity is used to describe the level of effort put into a single activity and is often represented as intensity zones on a scale from 1 to 5.
The 5 zones are:
- Zone 1: light activity and movement
- Zone 2: raised heart rate, but still comfortable
- Zone 3: feels like work, but isn’t easy or hard
- Zone 4: exercise that’s very hard, but manageable
- Zone 5: all-out effort
Varying intensity is the practice of purposefully training at low-intensity zones (Z1-2) and high-intensity zones (Z4-5) while avoiding the middle, zone 3.
This is because evidence shows training at extremes has a positive impact on growth and performance while training at zone 3 leads to slower progress, more burnout, and more injuries.
How does this relate to my life, career, and relationships?
Our lives are filled with varied intensities – some chosen and some unavoidable, but unlike in fitness, we rarely plan for or think about them.
Holidays and summer lead to more travel, busy seasons at work lead to less free time, winter leads to flu season and a greater likelihood of getting sick, and even training for a physical event can add stress to our lives.
But instead of planning for these scenarios, we find ourselves approaching everything one day at a time, stuck in a cycle of everyday hustle without progress.
Some call it “The Grind” or “Hustle Culture”, but I prefer “Life’s Zone 3”.
Life’s Zone 3 is deceptive. It’s a trap that many get stuck in that leads to burnout and chronic stress. That’s because when we are in Zone 3, we are working hard, but we’re unable to pursue important goals fully and don’t truly rest and enjoy life.
But it’s possible to avoid or break free of that trap with some analysis and planning.
Below, I’ll walk you through the 4 steps to building a life “training cycle” like an athlete would, to help you do just that.
Step 1: Identifying your cycle goals
Athletes typically follow training cycles that last 12 to 18 weeks. These cycles are designed to improve or optimize toward a specific race or desired outcome that supports their ultimate goal – being the best athlete (runner, cyclist, triathlete, tennis player, bodybuilder, etc.) they can be.
Application & Action Steps:
Each quarter, you should identify goals or objectives that align with the person you want to become, and devote most of your efforts towards achieving them.
- Identify your ultimate fitness, family, faith, and family goals in life
- Determine key milestones you can reach this quarter
My Example:
- I want to be a man active and engaged in his faith
- Key milestones this month would be finding friends from our church
Step 2: Identifying key workouts & building out your calendar
Once you’ve identified your goals, it’s time to start building a plan and identifying what activities will impact your success. You also need to identify what you may have to say no to to accomplish those goals.
Application & Action Steps:
A good training plan has 1-2 key workouts and a rest day per week. I recommend following the same pattern in your personal or professional planning.
- List key activities or ‘workouts’ to reach your goals
- Identify things you may have to say “no” to in the process
My Example:
- Our church has “life groups” every other week that we will attend to meet new friends on top of Sunday service. We’ll also stay after service and try and meet some people each week.
- We have to say no to going to the beach on Sunday mornings and social events on group nights
Note – make sure you aren’t scheduling more than 2 key activities a week or you might start falling back into Zone 3 (more on that in the next step)
Step 3: Eliminating Zone 3 and incorporating recovery
Like injuries, burnout takes time to develop, but when it does happen, it shows up overnight. “Life’s Zone 3” sneaks up on you in two unique ways:
- You try to do too many “key workouts” as identified above
- You don’t spend enough time recovering, relaxing, and enjoying life
In step 2, you’ve identified your “key workouts”. Now, you need to pinpoint your “recovery sessions” and identify where we rack up the majority of your “junk miles”.
‘Recovery sessions’ are pretty self-explanatory – these are going to be the ways you relax. ‘Junk miles’ can be more complicated – these are usually good things that keep us from doing great things, but a telltale sign that something is “junk miles” in your life is if you say you “should” or “have to” do it.
Some life “junk mile” examples:
- Extra activities for kids, just because “your kids should have more to do”
- Picking up an extra work shift “because you should make more money”
- Going out to dinner instead of cooking at home “because you have to get together with a friend”
- Scrolling on social media “because you feel like you should see what others are up to”
Application & Action Steps:
- Identify your “recovery sessions” to do each week
- List all your “junk miles” from the past month and identify traps you fall into
- Make a promise to yourself to reduce Z3 activities to do more varied intensity
My Example:
- The life groups meet every other week, on off weeks we’ll do a date night
- We’ve spent our evenings watching TV which has taken up a lot of our time
- My wife and I are aligned to reduce TV, especially when we have other commitments
Step 4: Rinse and repeat
Your “training cycle” won’t go the way you expect it to. Life is full of chaos and unexpected events. You will do more “junk miles” than you want and spend more time in “Life’s Zone 3” than you expect.
Application & Action Steps:
The key is to have grace for yourself and know that you’ll improve over time. This is your first attempt, but you’ll get better quarter after quarter, cycle after cycle.
- Reflect on your quarter when it’s complete
- Identify things you did well
- Identify things you did poorly
- Identify things that were out of your control
- Improve your expectations and plan for next quarter