Coach Glassman’s thoughts on Anaerobic vs Aerobic workouts

August 31st, 2009, by

Anaerobic vs Aerobic

The following are several excerpts from the first ever CrossFit certification held in December, 2002. These were all taken from Coach, and CrossFit founder, Greg Glassman's lecture on anaerobic vs aerobic training. For those of you with a subscription to the CrossFit Journal, the video can be seen in its entirety here.

What are the chief drawbacks of anaerobic exercise? Discomfort. Compared to anaerobic exercise, aerobic efforts are fun.

I know guys all day long who want to get up in the morning and jog on west cliff. Take their dog and wife. They think jogging is fun. NOBODY thinks 1,000-meter efforts on the rower are fun. If you do, you are a liar. Or, you are rowing poorly. Or, you’re starving mad. I would venture to guess that even the seriously mentally ill would not think that is fun. Even guys who like to get beat up at bars wouldn’t think that is fun.

I have always believed that a good anaerobic athlete could put his hands in his pockets and walk up to a 5 gallon plastic bucket full of water, stick his head in, and drown himself; not pull out. That is the kind of will power that is required to endure anaerobic efforts.

We don’t advertise that aspect of our program much; it doesn’t draw a lot of people through the door. But it is true. If you can give me good 1000-meter efforts on the rower, good 800-meter efforts out on a track, if you’re that kind of guy, if you can thoroughly exhaust these anaerobic pathways with a smile on your face, then you are the real deal; to the extent that you can engage in this and not give up. You will also become supremely fit. Because you are working out in a high power range where the intensity is great and that focus is where all the results come from.

We aren’t looking to make you comfortable. What we are looking for is to turn men into steel. And that is done with higher intensity work. And it is only fun when you stop. It is only fun to the extent that we have camaraderie and support. It is fun in the acknowledging that we are improving. It is fun in the community that it builds in knowing that you have done what you have done. It is a very cerebral kind of thing.

Over time, your capacity for it will increase. Your tolerance for the discomfort will increase. It does become better. All the while it gets worse and worse because you go harder and harder. It is really amazing.

Does it ever get easier? No, it gets harder as you perform better. It never gets uneasy.

Coach concludes this segment of the lecture by telling a story about a guy named TJ. At the time, the Glassmans were working with the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to assess their current fitness standards. They needed a volunteer for their demonstration so they used TJ; the fittest amongst all police officers in the state according to the standards at the time. Long story short, a CrossFit style WOD absolutely crushed the guy. That leads into Coach's final thoughts:

Sure, you’ve got a big bench press, you’ve got a fast mile, but how you hold up when those stressors are combined, that is critical. Keep your 500-pound bench press. Keep your 4:00 mile. Give me the capacity to bench moderately heavy at screaming high heart rates and come away with a clear head and a strong body and the capacity to do it again. And do it again. And do it again.

How well? Just better than anyone else. That’s all. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be better than the others.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree with Coach? Is this an accurate description of what we do at the Fort? Post your thoughts to the comments and enjoy this beautiful Monday.

Category: CrossFit

8 Responses to "Coach Glassman’s thoughts on Anaerobic vs Aerobic workouts"

  • Garth
    August 31, 2009, 6:37 pm

    Strength is still a critical factor in tackling a lot of the WODs RX'd in a respectable amount of time but ignoring and overcoming the discomfort is key. Watch out Pete! I'm coming after your 2:40 Fran time :)

  • Beth
    September 1, 2009, 1:40 pm

    Well, in getting up to the point of actually doing the WOD's Rx'd - I'd say strength is a more limiting factor for most people, rather than willpower or drive (or endurance or skill, for that matter). When the day comes that I could do Fran Rx'd, I don't *CARE* how long it takes me at first. :)

    I've noticed something lately, though, and it's been on my mind. I've gotten a lot better at keeping going - still, though, it's hard to just 'go heavier' every chance I get. My shoulders, for example, give me a really rough time with resetting a bar - I can get weight up, but controlling it on the way down is becoming more of a limiting factor, especially at any kind of speed. (I don't know if it's just strength, or a form/practice issue, though.)
    But... I can run farther without feeling like my lungs will implode and I'll collapse on the side of the road. *shrug* :D
    Should I try to increase the "Intensity" - or weight, or whatnot - until I get back that feeling of impending death after a workout? ;) Or am I in a good spot right now, recovering well enough within an hour after, and try to ease into things a little more?
    From someone who's been in better shape - but not for over a decade - it's hard to gauge where it should be, or how I should be feeling. I'm not quite sure how else to try and explain it. Does anyone else have input??

  • Bill
    September 1, 2009, 3:33 pm

    Garth - Coach isn't saying that you don't need strength. Instead, he is pointing out that you need "usable strength" instead. Being able to deadlift the world doesn't mean shit if you are on your back trying to die on us after merely thinking about running 400m.

  • Bill
    September 1, 2009, 3:36 pm

    Beth - Keep doing what you are doing. The fact that you are seeing improvement and needed an hour sometimes to recover after a WOD tells me that you are getting a hefty dose of intensity. As for your shoulders, it is more of a lack of flexibility issue than anything else. Developing a good rack position should be priority number 1 and then you shouldn't have problems unless you are near your overhead max in which case we all struggle seeing as it is our "max" :)

  • Garth
    September 1, 2009, 3:53 pm

    Pete makes a 40k bar look like a tinker toy. I think that goes a long way towards a sub 3 minute Fran. I'm so jealous!

    Beth, you feel impending death after a workout? I usually feel like death is knocking on my door at the end of round two :)

    PS - Had a post workout meal today that included a chicken breast, large grilled mushroom cap and a cup of mashed sweet potatoes during my drive into the office. My soreness level is significantly lower than it's been these past couple of weeks. Bring on the chicken and sweet potatoes!

  • Meat Slicer
    December 7, 2010, 9:12 am

    I go to the University of Illinois in Chicago and was wondering if I could cite your website in my paper? We need to get pemission before we do so. It would be greatly appreciated! Thanks - Clara