Workload when combining endurance work, F1, HS and Stretch

Hi!

Background on me and what I'm trying to do:

• Male, 24 years old.
• Around 11% bf, 79 kg (174 lbs) and 183 cm (6ft).
• Just finishing Fundamentals course and haven't had a particularly hard time with any exercise there yet.
• I'm working towards completing a set of endurance races that are collectively called the Swedish Classic. This entails 90 km cross country skiing in February, 300 km bike in June, 3 km swimming in July and 30 km running in September. I've already completed all these races once but I want to do it faster next year. I'm using the Phil Maffetone method which means I mostly train the endurance disciplines at an aerobic heart rate and for longer periods of time.

Now I want to add some GB for increased strength, endurance speed, flexibility and injury prevention. I understand from what Coach Sommer has said in the forums that Foundation One, the Handstand Series, and Stretch Series are the right way to go when getting started. Does anyone have any experience combining these courses with working on endurance? Also, I wonder if you get anything out of the courses if it isn't possible for you to spend more than 3-5 hours per week on all three courses combined.

I'm eager to hear your inputs!

Cheers

William

Hey William,

You are correct in that those courses are the best next step after Fundamentals. I began Foundation One while I was training for the Leadville 100 ultramarathon and was only putting 1-2 hours a week into it. I'm convinced it spared me a lot of ware and tear and wish I'd had the stretch courses back then. It would, without a doubt, be worth your time to train at least the middle and front split stretch courses and Foundation One every week. You could keep this down to just a couple of hours.

Thanks for that input Everett! Well done on completing Leadville. That's a fun goal for me to work towards in the future! A few followup questions:

• Do you think that the handstand courses can be fitting considering that cross country skiing uses a lot of upper body?
• How long did it take you to complete F1 with that number of hours per week?

It looks like I may be investing in all three programs...

Thanks William! I certainly recommend the Handstand courses as well. All of the courses trained together is certainly optimal and will no doubt keep you healthy. H1 and H2 won't add too much time into your week either.

My timeframe is skewed because my progress accelerated after I mellowed out with the running. I remained on the basics during my ultrarunning phase which was only about 9 or 10 months long.

Good luck with the race series! Keep the questions coming if you have more.

I had a similar question. I did the Chicago Tri (Olympic) in August, and I'm training for the triple challenge next year (Sprint-Olympic-Sprint). I train 5 days a week--2 bikes, 2 swims, and 1 cross/strength training. 45m-1 hour each workout.

Given this, should I do F1, handstand, and 2-3 stretches? I'm willing to do my tri training in the morning and GST in the evening.

Is this too much training? Is there some package I can buy to upgrade from the Foundations to whatever I end up purchasing? Thanks in advance!

Hey Thomas,

Great question. I did GST in the same fashion while training for ultra-marathons. Keep a close eye on your recovery but you should be fine. In fact, it will almost surely increase your performance. 

To upgrade, please submit a support ticket and we can assist you further.

Perfect! Thank you so much!