To be successful with the sport of CrossFit, you need to have good endurance. This idea or formality of endurance spans across all modalities. You need to be able to have muscular endurance as it relates to gymnastics, barbell endurance as it relates to weightlifting, and aerobic capacity as it relates to the various monostructural movements/machines used within the sport. There is no way around it. You can be the strongest person in the sport, and the best gymnast out there, but if you cannot sustain reps over time, you will not make it. So, the question comes down to this: How does one build endurance within the sport of CrossFit?

I am going to answer that question with one word: FOUNDATION.

The way one puts themselves in the proper position to build endurance, speed, muscular endurance/capacity, capability, resilience, and conditioning all lies within the strength and depth of the foundation that they have created.

In this day and age one can argue, especially with the American cultural stigma to want everything right away, that the biggest problem in training lies with the lack of attention around the time it takes to proper layer the foundational patterns/systems. Everyone is racing to do the cool shit they can post on IG saying “look at me and what I did.” Unfortunately, this attitude and approach only sets them up for failure down the road.

If you want to be able to train your ability to run longer and eventually faster, you have to build a huge foundation around your aerobic threshold. This entails putting in time and distance operating at fairly easy paces. What we see rather are people who just start jamming right into intensity and threshold work and then get confused when they cannot maintain paces or tempos for time and distance. If your goal is endurance, and you want to go long and operate at a higher capacity and capability for that time, then you need to acquire the foundation or base that can sustain that.

This idea holds true for everything else in the sport of CrossFit. If you want to be able to continually add endurance and volume around gymnastics movements, then you need to have this amazing foundation around the movements. This foundation is governed by strength, movement quality, movement capacity, and the commitment to the integrity of the action.

Think about buildings that span the sky line, and trees that reach high up to the heavens. What do they all have in common? A strong, broad foundation that every additional inch can be built and stand upon.

So, in conclusion, if you want to build your endurance in the sport of CrossFit, then take the necessary time and steps to build your foundation for each component of the modalities (weightlifting, gymnastics and monostructural movements). Do not rush through these critical stages for the sake of “competing”. Take the time here and allow these to properly develop. This will ensure your longevity and ability to grow and continually improve.

-Coach Jay