I’ve been in the gym at least 3-4 days a week for a little over a year.

Weight loss goals were achieved without any issue.

I’m significantly stronger now than 14 months ago.

I can jog 3-4 miles, no problem.

I can swim laps fairly efficiently, thanks to Total Immersion.

Enter anaerobic health.

When my heart-rate approaches 160, I have the fitness level of any random dude chugging 2-liters of Mountain Dew and eating meat-lovers pizza for every meal.

My coach can’t believe how much I struggle after I hit the anaerobic stages.  “What did you eat today?  List everything… be honest. ”

“Coffee?”… Nope.

“A buncha Mountain Dew?”… Don’t drink soda.

“McDonalds”… I don’t eat fast food.

“Get drunk all weekend?”… Nope.

In an effort to stop wasting practice time attempting to get my heart rate down, I phoned a friend.  A college friend who ran track, was always in ridiculous shape and is a lot smarter than I’ll ever be.

Here’s what he suggested:

Intervals

• Sprint 200m
• Walk 100m
• Repeat 8x

Run Hills

Run Stairs

The last line of his response was quite prophetic.

“You will die, of course.”

Death starts today!