Chris Hinshaw AMA

[catrinabrosko]

@jibonsha04 Thank you for the kind words. CrossFit truly helped to restore my health and I'm beyond grateful. I make every effort to give back to the community.

My free programming at aerobiccapcity.com is not a progression. I would love to do progressions (like my paid on-line programing) however, people jump in and out of the weekly program and this option is not viable. That said, I do tend to focus on certain distance goals or time domains.

 

[gpj]

@oldman1941 Hi Chris, thanks for doing this AMA!

Two questions:

1. Could you pass along a tip for a (very casual) runner who does 1-2 5k runs per week at a relaxed pace but wants to complete a half marathon trail run later this summer? How much should I be increasing my distances if I'm only able to fit in 2 runs/week due to schedule?
2. Which CF athlete you've worked with has shown the most growth and success in working with them? I remember you running with the NorCal crew in a video a few years ago and were impressed with Garret Fisher's natural talent. Anyone else come to mind?

Thanks!

 

[kurtben]

@oldman1941 Chris, I have seen in past content you've shared about how people often "build an engine" backwards by going to the track and doing 800 m repeats as hard as they can for every interval. Thus the last interval is dramatically slower than the first. You've recommended choosing at pace for all intervals and then consistently trying to hit that pace. In the beginning it may feel easy, but by the last few intervals it can be really challenging to maintain.

I was curious if you had any recommendations for particularly distances or number of intervals that you've found most effective for this type of training and could you share that?

Additionally, is this something you'd apply to EMOM or every couple minutes on the minute work for non-monstructural movements? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[catrinabrosko]

@kurtben I believe it is very important for athletes to understand the "why" in workouts. As you highlighted, doing 800s at max effort and getting slower and slower without understanding the metabolic and muscular adaptations should be confusing. It is important to clearly explain the intent of the workout. As example, you might want to do 5x30sec uphill sprints and intentionally not allow enough rest between reps so that the lactate "stacks" and your body learns to better buffer the lactate. In contrast, what if the purpose of the workout is speed? You must allow yourself sufficient rest between reps to maintain your speed. As example, an athlete that wants to improve their pure speed and the coach never allows sufficient rest between their max effort intervals. This athletes will run slower and slower as the workout progresses. Are they teaching themselves to run fast or run slow?

Regarding recommended workouts or ideas, I believe a good volume target for a track workout is 5000m. Assuming you have built your capacity to run 5000m without stopping, I would starting building your range of gears by programming intervals at various intensities (or time domains). Most new runners I coach just have "running speed" and I want them to develop a range a gears so they are better prepared for the unknown and unknowable. My elite Games athletes practice their 1min, 2min, 3min, 5min, 10min, 20min, 40min, 60min, 90min, and 180min time domain intensities.

 

[pawn3d]

@oldman1941 Hi Chris, thank you very much for this AMA. Two questions:

1 - In your opinion, how often should an athlete train the aerobic conditioning path under monostructural movements(such as running) vs the anaerobic energy path?
2 - What is the biggest flaw, concerning running technique, you've seen among crossfit athletes, from the average box client to the games athletes.

Thank you again, and welcome aboard.

 

[confrontyourfaith]

@oldman1941 Thanks for doing this Chris, a general question: If you could give one tip on how to improve at running, what would it be? And if it's run more, I've been doing plenty of that. I have endurance when it comes to moving the barbell, or even rowing, but when it comes to running, I'm not the best.

 

[catrinabrosko]

@confrontyourfaith Can you clarify the question? Do you have a specific running goal (a specific distance or time domain) that you'd like to improve? How much volume have you been doing? Do you have any times for accurate distances. As example, what is your current 400m and 1-mile max effort times? Also, can you give me idea of your weight and height? I'd like to recommend a more definitive direction.

 

[confrontyourfaith]

@catrinabrosko Sorry for that, I'm 5'9" and around 210lbs. I get some serious back pain when I run, my best mile is around 7:50. I'm just looking to get better overall at running, maybe a technique issue of some sort, or a breathing problem. I fatigue WAY too quickly from the pain and tap out.

 

[st333333]

@oldman1941 What makes one person run faster than another. Assume me and person x both run. We are supposed to run a the same cadence, right? So is the faster person, or SHOULD,the faster person for taking longer strides?

 

[catrinabrosko]

@st333333 There are a number of genetic and training factors that make one person faster than another. However, in your example, you and person x will not necessarily run at the same cadence. Stride rate and stride frequency can vary greatly between individuals. As example, I believe Usain Bolt has a 10+ foot stride length at top speed.

 

[st333333]

@catrinabrosko What I meant is if two.equal athletes are being trained by you, what is actually making one faster?

 

[cnsgrl]

@st333333 Ones wearing nanos ones wearing Metcons. Amirite?

 

[mustango1961]

@oldman1941 Hey Chis, thanks for doing this. Looking forward to reading all your replies.

On Christ Spealler's podcast you mentioned programming for wallballs and other movements besides the ones found on your website. I'm curious how you go about this, what the protocols are like, what other movements you have helped folks with, etc.

 

[catrinabrosko]

@mustango1961 Thinking of programming other movements like I program track workouts. As example, we run at a many different paces to develop efficiencies at different time domains. How about programming a wall ball workout with air squats, 10lb, 20lb, and 30lb wall balls? Think of the air squats as a recovery pace, the 10lb as a jog pace, 20lb as a run pace, 30lb as a sprint pace.

 

[noname5137]

@catrinabrosko This is also the foundation of Louie Simmons' conjugate system. He relates the body to a manual car. You would be remiss to try to pull a really heavy object from a stand still in fifth gear, and equally remiss to try to drive on the freeway in first.

I think what you've done really well is establish what that volume needs to be for people in the sport of CrossFit. We have the Prilepin Chart for weightlifting but what do we have for aerobic conditioning (this isn't a rhetorical queation)? Your workouts provide some idea of training these different "gears" in that 75-85% range of relative intensity. I noticed when doing your free workouts that I wasn't getting burned out from them (ok, sometimes I cut the distance a little bit) but it definitely wasn't easy, and I could tell what was getting conditioned, whether it was aerobic threshold or lactic acid threshold. It was definitely novel to me in that realm of the sport, but it comes back to programming based on a desired stimulation and trying to maintain conditioning and strength through all ranges of the spectrum.

 

[rasnosauj]

@oldman1941 With the anticipation on a longish event at the games, what are you recommending to your athletes for on course nutrition? Thanks.

 

[janiellebeh]

@oldman1941 Hey Chris, thanks for coming to the subreddit! Currently, I'm 26 and my gym's competitors class is doing Master programming from Bergeron, so I follow it. My one problem is the volume is low.

I'm just curious on your thoughts as a person who has done an insane amount of volume in your past(and probably now). I want to increase my open performance significantly, is it feasible to expect that from going to the gym for an hour and a half - 5 days a week? And is there really a point where volume hurts more than helps or does it just depend on the person?

 

[giggles10062007]

@oldman1941 What is your selection criteria for the athletes you coach?

 

[alexandriaa]

@oldman1941 First off, thanks so much for all that you give the Crossfit community.

I have a question on Zone 2 training. I've heard that training in this zone allows you to build up endurance and increase recovery ability. Is this true? And if it's true, how would one go about adding Zone 2 training to their weekly workout regimen?

 

[emerald518]

@oldman1941 Which Crossfit athlete that you've worked with took most naturally to what you were helping him/her with? Who struggled, or continues to struggle, the most?