Primal Endurance shakes up the status quo and challenges the overly stressful, ineffective conventional approach to endurance training. While marathons and triathlons are wildly popular and bring much gratification and camaraderie to the participants, the majority of athletes are too slow, continually tired, and carry too much body fat respective to the time they devote to training. The prevailing “chronic cardio” approach promotes carbohydrate dependency, overly stressful lifestyle patterns, and ultimately burnout.
Mark Sisson, author of the 2009 bestseller, The Primal Blueprint, and de-facto leader of the primal/paleo lifestyle movement, expertly applies primal lifestyle principles to the unique challenge of endurance training and racing. Unlike the many instant and self-anointed experts who have descended upon the endurance scene in recent years, Sisson and his co-author/business partner Brad Kearns boast a rich history in endurance sports. Sisson has a 2:18 marathon and 4th place Hawaii Ironman finish to his credit, has spearheaded triathlon’s global anti-doping program for the International Triathlon Union, and has coached/advised leading professional athletes, including Olympic triathlon gold and silver medalist Simon Whitfield and Tour de France cyclist Dave Zabriskie. Under Sisson’s guidance, Kearns won multiple national championships in duathlon and triathlon, and rose to a #3 world triathlon ranking in 1991.
Primal Endurance applies an all-encompassing approach to endurance training that includes primal-aligned eating to escape carbohydrate dependency and enhance fat metabolism, building an aerobic base with comfortably paced workouts, strategically introducing high intensity strength and sprint workouts, emphasizing rest, recovery, and an annual periodization, and finally cultivating an intuitive approach to training instead of the usual robotic approach of fixed weekly workout schedules. When you “go Primal” as an endurance athlete, you can expect to enjoy these and other benefits in short order:
- Easily reduce excess body fat and keep it off permanently, even during periods of reduced training
- Perform better by reprogramming your genes to burn fat and spare glycogen during sustained endurance efforts
- Avoid overtraining, burnout, illness, and injury by improving your balance of stress and rest, both in training and everyday life
- Spend fewer total hours training and get more return on investment with periodized and purposeful workout patterns
- Have more fun, be more spontaneous, and break free from the pull of the obsessive/compulsive mindset that is common among highly motivated, goal-oriented endurance athletes
- Have more energy and better focus during daily life instead of suffering from the “active couch potato syndrome,” with cumulative fatigue from incessant heavy training makes you lazy and sluggis
Primal Endurance is about slowing down, balancing out, chilling out, and having more fun with your endurance pursuits. It’s about building your health through sensible training patterns, instead of destroying your health through chronic training patterns. While it might be hard to believe at first glance, you can actually get faster by backing off from the overly aggressive and overly regimented “Type-A” training approach that prevails in today’s endurance community. Primal Endurance will show you how, every step of the way.
For serious minded athletes as well the the lazy ones like me.
I purchased this book for several friends and family members and lead 2x as many to buy it. Absolutely life changing if you haven't read anything about Primal Lifestyle.
For the past twelve weeks, I cut back on the extremely high heart rate, in lieu of a more moderate approach. It has paid off ten fold.
Very educational.
It's bad enough when dedicated adult endurance athletes burn themselves to toast following conventional training protocols, but when we subject high school athletes to training schedules that almost literally leave the State competitions to the last young men and women standing, there is something seriously wrong. Mark and Brad explain why brutal weekday workouts and insane calls for teenagers to "go to the well" weekend after weekend in competition necessarily result in chronic injury and metabolic stress so severe it can take months (or years!) to recover. The fact is that coaches nationwide are ruining the mental and physical health and athletic careers of trusting young people every season. If you care about young endurance athletes, read this book.
Likewise, if you care about yourself as a serious adult competitor, either full or part-time, read this book.
And finally, for anyone who cares about their health but simply can't find the will or the way to fill a logbook of workouts, Mark and Brad give us a whole new perspective on baseline endurance using a long, slow approach within the grasp of those of us who are older, or less fit, or who have physical limitations (for example, fibromyalgia) that preclude the high-stress approach to fitness.
Their nutritional advice is excellent as well, although "eating primal" can be a lot harder financially, practically, and even emotionally than those in the paleo/primal movement might want to admit, given, for just one example, the widespread social and cultural endorsement of the food-drugs so many of us are quite literally addicted to. But they are right, of course, that ideally a diet without refined sugar or modern grains can allow our bodies to burn the cleanest fuel possible: fats (our stored body fat or dietary fat).
The book itself may seem a bit repetitive (do we really need soundbite previews and recaps of every single chapter?) and rah-rah for some, but the authors' enthusiasm seems genuine, and might just inspire a few of us to make the rather major changes that will, probably, allow us to "Lose excess body fat"! "Reduce stress"! and even "Have more fun"! Or, perhaps more importantly, live long enough without ruining our bodies to age, as the authors have, into health and well-being, instead of out of it.
Conventional wisdom says we as humans are sugar burners. However, Mark and Brad throw that notion out by saying that humans since the beginning have been fat burning machines. Since we are, we need to change the way we train so that we emphasize fat and not sugar (carbs). Say goodbye to high carb loading days. They aren't necessary if you train the right way. I have started training as they suggest and I have noticed a difference even though I have a long way to go.
Also proper nutrition is emphasized. Not the high carb low fat diet but a moderate to low carb high fat diet based on whole foods. Forget processed foods if you want to attain the best you can be.
It is absolutely a must read for anyone who is tired of endless endurance training without the results that should be present.
Today, I still have a little spare tire, but I am following Mark and Brad's advice in Primal Endurance and my stomach is getting flat. What amazes me is how easy it is. I eat the right foods. I lift weights, but the workout doesn't take hardly any time...just 3 times a week for 30-45 minutes. I do a 5 by 5 workout and can do 5-7 exercises in that time. I do squats, Romanian deadlifts, straight leg deadlifts, and more. I love it. I also run long runs a couple times during the week for 1-2 hours each. I do sprints once a week too. The time I am exercising is shorter than what I was doing in the past, but the quality is very good. It really works. I am getting lean and my performance is outstanding. I am getting stronger in the lifts, and my running is very easy. It is awesome! Right now, I am losing 2-3 pounds of body fat a week, and I am looking awesome too. Thanks!!! This book rocks!
One of the more interesting things I learned about in the book deals with the Maffletone number. First a little background. I’ve often heard Mark write and speak about the large number of his running colleagues that have passed away, while still being quite fit. Note that there is a difference between being fit and being healthy. The toll that long hours of repetitive endurance cardio training takes, fueled by high carbohydrate diets, has too often been a recipe for disaster. Mark and Brad stress periodization in Primal Endurance. They emphasize a rest period in the off season and recommend starting off the new season by keeping the body in the fat burning zone, versus going into the cardio zone, while training. Most of you have likely used a piece of gym equipment like a treadmill or elliptical and seen heart rate numbers for fat burning and cardio zones on these machines. These zones are based on the approximation formula where your maximum heart rate is supposed to be 220 minus your age. The fat burning zone is approximately 55-75% of your max heart rate. Once you exceed the fat burning zone you enter the cardio zone. Phil Maffletone is a running coach who has written the book The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing. The Maffletone number is the maximum number you should allow your heart rate to go up to when beginning training for endurance events. By not exceeding this number you will keep yourself in an aerobic, fat burning zone and build up your “aerobic engine”. This training phase could last several weeks and its purpose is to train the body’s aerobic system (meaning with oxygen, which occurs when fat is burned). When the body enters the cardio zone it becomes anaerobic and burns without oxygen. The stress imparted on the body is much greater in the cardio zone, as many more dangerous free radicals are created when burning sugar for fuel, versus burning fat for fuel in the fat burning zone. The Maffletone number is also a simple equation. It equals 180 minus your age. So I’m 50 years old and my Maffletone number would be 180-50 or 130 beats per minute (BPM). The majority of my endurance training should be limited to that upper heart rate of 130 BPM. Primal Endurance has multiple testimonials of world class endurance athletes that tried this approach of slowing down during training. At first they complain that training doesn’t even feel like training, because they are restricted by their Maffletone number. But when their competitions begin, amazing things start to happen. They are much better rested and not only compete just as well as they did previously, but they consistently beat they personal bests. The lesson here is more and harder is not always better. You need to train smarter.
Strength training is a bit of a controversial topic among endurance athletes. Some believe that strength training is not only a waste of time, because it takes away from precious actual endurance training, but it could also add bulk to an endurance athlete’s frame leading to slower competitive times. Mark and Brad blow this premise away and focus a chapter on how strength training can significantly improve competitive endurance athletics. They feature Jacques DeVore and his concept of Maximum Sustained Power (MSP) training. Instead of the classical workouts consisting of 3 sets of 8-12 reps per set, the MSP approach uses heavier weight and less reps. The theory behind this approach is that MSP training will teach the body to be more explosive and fatigue less. The fatigue less part is what ultimately helps competitive endurance athletes once again beat their personal bests. So how does an MSP workout go? It’s best done with exercises that are total body such as squats, one legged presses or deadlifts. Many trainers believe that the deadlift is the ultimate total body exercise. In the MSP workout you first need to find your 5 rep maximum weight. This means that with this weight, you should be able to perform 5 reps before your form starts to falter. Once you know your 5 rep max number, you follow the rep sequence 4-3-2-2-2-1. You should rest 10-20 seconds between each mini set. If you feel good enough after this sequence, rest a couple of minutes after the last mini set, before repeating the routine. The key is to not lower the weight during the entire workout. It should be noted that the classical workouts consisting of 3 sets of 8-12 reps per set are intend to increase hypertrophy (your muscles get larger). When using the MSP workout you will become more powerful, but will not add the bulk, which has its advantages when competing in endurance sports. If you happen to being looking at getting larger muscles, you still may want to vary your routine to mix in an MSP workout every so often, to increase your strength.
Primal Endurance is loaded with many other fascinating topics such as proper diet for peak performance, ketogenic training, how to use sprint workouts to better endurance performance and tips for optimal recovery. Whether you are seriously competitive in endurance sports or just really enjoy going for long runs or bike rides, this book is well worth reading.
Most helpful for me, however, is that much of the theory that is used here for endurance training can be applied to my particular sport of choice, CrossFit. After years as a recreational cyclist, I transitioned to CrossFit for the community and thrill of being able to "lift heavy things" without worrying about how it might make me heavy and slow on the bike. Recently I've been concerned that my aerobic engine isn't as awesome as it was right after I quit cycling, but this book has given me hope and a plan to jump start that skill and maintain it without sacrificing the strength, speed, and power I need for anaerobic competition.
Thanks guys, keep the Primal knowledge coming!
The chapter on building an aerobic base has changed my views on training for big hikes entirely, and will open new opportunities for non-sugar fuels on even the most challenging hikes. I'll be shopping today for a heart rate monitor so I can take a very strict approach to aerobic training going forward.
I imagine that the diet chapter would be totally necessary for someone stuck in the carbohydrate (sugar) paradigm, and it presented me (a low-carb verteran) with useful information on how to tailor diet to an endurance focused approach to fitness. Related to, but far more interesting to me than the diet chapter was the chapter on ketogenic endurance training. I don't anticipate maintaining high intensity levels for anything longer than a couple of mile+ climbs, but knowing that I can now do it with mininimal or no sugar is super freeing, and will certainly lighten my backpack on multi-day adventures.
I had previously added an element of strength training to my weekly fitness routine, but the chapter on strength training presented a lower-risk, high-reward approach to strength training that will add strength without adding unnecessary bulk muscle weight. I'm not a bodybuilder, and similar to an endurance athlete a better strength to weight ratio is far more useful for my purposes.
Finally, the chapter on recovery has pointed out some HUGE flaws in my post-hike practices (or lack thereof), and I'm goiong to utilize several of the tips provided to keep myself primed for strenuous efforts that span several days. I needed more reasons to hop into glacial-fed alpine lakes anyway.
I kinda feel as though I've stumbled upon a book of secret powers - and I've never been more tempted to sign up for a half marathon to test them out! I'm definitely going to pass this book along to several friends who are serious runners.
Both my husband and I have been reading the book and learning a lot from it. I'm pretty much a fitness beginner, just started to run for the first time in my life this summer - so I think the book will make sure I build a solid and maintainable level of fitness. My husband has been running regularly for years and occasionally competing with good results - but this summer he got injured and burned out from what was probably overtraining. So Primal Endurance is a really eye-opening read for him and involves a complete shift in the way he's used to training - but he's giving it a real try to see how it works.
The book is very thorough and definitely exceeded my expectations on the amount of information it would contain. It includes sections on not just training, but the importance of rest, diet, stress, sleep, etc - it's a real prescription for how to live a healthy lifestyle, and I think it can be just as useful for people who are only trying to be fit and strong and who aren't runners.
I love the success stories scattered throughout the book - through the personal anecdotes you can see clearly how this training program has worked for many people, including many very serious and very successful athletes, bringing them to a higher level of fitness and overall health with much less injury than they had faced before. The stories are extremely motivational as well as being fun.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to achieve and maintain high levels of fitness while not compromising their health in the way that many athletes do.
One great thing about Mark, which is conveyed extremely well in this book, is his absolute dedication to presenting the evidence on health and fitness. Unlike other health gurus and experts, he is willing to adjust or change his stance on certain beliefs if enough evidence surfaces. This book amends and expands upon his frequent advice to avoid chronic cardio and explains perfectly how endurance athletes who love their sports can continue to do so safely and effectively.
The biggest takeaways I really needed to hear, and got in this book, (aside from the refresher course on the Primal laws - always helpful!):
- Take it easy
- Build an aerobic base
- Avoid the "black hole"
- Train simply and intuitively
As a former extremely competitive distance runner, I was devastated that my running career was sidelined due to overtraining injuries at 19 years old, and further demotivated by unsuccessful attempts to re-start running since. Although I have successfully channeled my competitiveness into strength sports I find myself craving running at times. This book has given me the final motivation, perspective, and most importantly a KNOWLEDGEABLE and ACTIONABLE plan to give it one more try. I am confident with Mark's advice, and a real commitment to keeping my ego in check and in line with my aerobic abilities, I will be able to restart an activity I love.
Thanks Mark Sission for this and all you do!!!!!!!!
I’m a 43 year old woman who loves endurance sports but I have also had major problems with burnout, illness and injury while following conventional training approaches. The past few years, I have transitioned into eating a Primal style diet for the majority of the time, and have also tapered off constant cardio training and focused more on body weight resistance training (power yoga, etc.). This has helped immensely with my energy levels, body composition, and overall health. However, I LOVE long distance road cycling, and want to enjoy that sport to the fullest, without compromising my health or energy!
Primal Endurance is enjoyable to read and chock full of information that goes into a greater level of detail than you would find on the MDA blog. The Primal Endurance approach to training covers it all from how to build your fitness through nutrition and workout, to rest, recovery, and living a life in balance. I love the statement on the back cover… “Enjoy a refreshing alternative to the “struggle and suffer” approach” (too many people I know adhere proudly to the struggle and suffer mentality, unfortunately!)
Of the many insightful topics covered in the book, there are a few things in particular that I feel will help me immensely with building strength. As an amateur athlete who has never had the benefit of working with a trainer, here are some of the concepts presented in the book that are totally new to me…
1. Building an Aerobic Base - how to use a heart monitor to stay in an aerobic zone and how to develop aerobic capacity and fitness *without* over stressing your body
2. Incorporating Maximum Sustained Power workouts to your program once you have built an aerobic base
3. Endurance training in a Ketogenic state - not sure at this point if I want to pursue full ketogenic training but it’s great to know more about it, and how to approach it.
The book presents all of these concepts in a clear manner, with explanation of how to apply these principles to your own level of fitness. I look forward to getting out there and trying it out for myself!
I love how the first section of the book is a bulletpoint by bulletpoint list of every key concept in the book. It introduced all of the grammar necessary to navigate the book, making it particularly easy for folks like me who want to define terms like "aerobic max heart rate" or "periodization" before diving in. Absorption of the material within is much easier, which makes it much easier for me to get to work! The book is like an aerobic workout -- you gotta read it slow and keep yourself paced, to get the best of it -- take lots of notes, and really enjoy it! But it's not dry or boring. Anecdotal and scientific sidebars are mixed in, as well as numerous photos offering a fun poke at the authors' past lives as athletes, keeping it very interesting for each type of reader.
For the investigative self-experimenter, this is a good tool to have.
In 2012 I trained for a January marathon in the traditional way. I found a respected training calendar, ran 3-4 days a week, and was very strict and serious about my training. I never missed a day. Even when I felt tired I pushed through it and stuck to my training. It was a tough experience and I experienced fatigue and overuse injuries in the form of hamstring and IT band problems. I took minimal time off to let these heal and stayed on target. I completed my race with a respectable time and felt quite proud.
in 2014 I trained again for a January marathon. Unwilling to go through the same problems I took a much more organic approach. I ran 2 days a week and devoted the other 2 days to strength training, I took days off when I felt like it. I trusted my gut instead of my training calendar. I cut runs short if they started going badly. People around me were pretty darn skeptical about this approach. “That’s fine, I’m sure you’ll finish, as long as you’re not expecting to run for any kind of time….” was expressed to me several times. I felt like a bit of a slacker, and like I had to defend myself for the choices I was making. At times I simply glossed over what I was doing like it was a dirty little secret. Fast forward to race day… I had a GREAT run, and shattered my previous time by 25 minutes!
So what would Mark Sisson and Brad Kearns have to say about that? They would say GREAT JOB! Stay strong, run less, strength train more, listen to your body, trust your gut, be sure to keep it FUN and take days off when you need them. Fuel with more quality fats and proteins and fewer carbs after teaching your body to become more fat adapted. In other words, when I was training for race #2, I was doing it right even though I felt guilty for breaking “the rules”. It sure did feel right and it’s great to be able to read this book and learn even MORE on the subject.
For those who are fans and followers of Primal Blueprint and Mark’s Daily Apple, you WILL find some re-cap in this book. There had to be a general overview to the primal lifestyle for endurance athletes who are unaware of this who might pick the book up. It is definitely STILL worth your time and money. There is subject matter here that is not covered anywhere else. I would say this book is ground-breaking in many ways. There are a few more things that deserve mentioning…
1.) This book is an amazing asset to the competitive athlete but it is not at all about training to win. I think that if you incorporated the ideas here into your training that winning is, indeed what you would do, but there is as much here for the weekend warrior and the person who wants to dabble in endurance events just for the fun of it. The wisdom on finding the balance between performance and longevity/sustainability is wonderful.
2.) I found the index extremely useful in looking up topics and re-finding things that I had read and wanted to find again.
3.) Even though this is a book that wants you to trust your gut more than your schedule, there ARE some sample training schedules in the back of the book for runners and triathletes. That sounds counter-intuitive but they are there to give the reader ideas and, I suspect to show us what the minimum effective dose can look like when put into practice.
I expect this volume to be re-read, loaned out, and dog-eared within the year!
There is a lot that is new and different here, and I see it as a valid argument for a healthy change in how many of us have exercised, fueled, and lived since the 1970's. The authors are correct that many of us were broken down and injured from all the miles, and high carb diets caused us to put on excess weight. All the things that we thought would make us thin, fast, and healthy actually made us fat, slow, and gave us metabolic syndrome. Sisson and Kearns urge us to sprint rather than go long, eat fat rather than carbs, train inconsistently, sleep long, and to mix it up with lots of functional whole-body movements and playful activities. Many new methods and treatments are covered, including ECM healing of injuries, heart rate variability (HRV) training, and the RTX cooling glove.
This book is revolutionary, but it is so well supported that it cannot be ignored. Emphasis is placed on incorporating sport and exercise into a healthful lifestyle. I've been following these suggestions and it works!
Mark's Daily Apple was my introduction to the Paleo movement, and I've been following this blog since those days when I tried the cardio-coaster that didn't work. And while I never plan on being an endurance athlete, this book holds a wealth of knowledge that I can still apply as a new mother getting back into shape (breastfeeding, carrying my baby everywhere, eating clean, and keeping moving have done wonders). I also hope to inspire my husband with this book: I'm leaving it in the bathroom (a.k.a. the reading room) where I'm sure he'll peruse it. He's still in that old "the harder I work, the more fit I'll be" mindset that only wears your body out. (If this is your mindset, do yourself a favor and buy a copy of this book. ;)
One of my favorite aspects of this book is that, while you can easily read it from cover to cover, the summary sections provide a great way to quickly understand what's important in this book. The book begins with one of these sections (115 Things You Need to Know), and each chapter ends with a summary as well. Not that you shouldn't read the entire book, but as a teacher, I appreciate the sound pedagogy in this: summaries always help the reader retain information. Awesome job, gentlemen.
While Primal Endurance is certainly geared toward the competitive, triathalon, utra-athletic crowd, the average Jane or Joe - like me - will still enjoy its content and be able to glean tips that will help in his or her health journey. That's the power of Primal - it's concepts work, no matter the pace of your path: walk, run, or sprint. ;)
In the introduction the authors lay out some of the problems with the traditional approach to endurance training and give a brief overview of how the primal endurance approach is different. They present a nice analogy of how their methods equate with being a solar powered plant (i.e. clean and sustainable) versus a coal plant (just the opposite).
The early chapters are the most comprehensive. They provide detailed explanations of why training at lower heart rate levels than is typical allows the athlete to build an aerobic base without compromising health and why fueling your endurance efforts with a high-fat, low-carb diet will both eliminate unwanted body fat and provide a steadier supply of fuel for your endurance efforts. With the information provided anybody could bring their training in line with the primal endurance philosophy.
The next several chapters outline some additional topics which the authors feel are neglected by most endurance athletes but could greatly accelerate their progress and allow them to maintain a high level of performance. Ketogenic endurance training, strength training, and sprinting are addressed in these chapters. None of these topics are discussed in depth (certainly a book could be written about each topic alone) but I believe the point here is to give the readers an overview as to why they're potentially beneficial and some ideas about integrating them into a training regimen. I see these as secondary to the primary themes listed above.
There are plenty of case studies laced throughout the text detailing the exploits of elite endurance athletes (including the two authors) and their success in switching their approach to the one outlined in the book. There is also a dedicated chapter with more of these stories. It was interesting to note that, especially in regards to dietary specifics, there were slight deviations among the athletes which goes to show that this is not a regimented program but allows the flexibility to find what works for you.
The book's final chapters address complementary lifestyle practices, recovery optimization and how to balance performing at a high level with health and longevity goals. The lifestyle practices are right in line with what Mark espouses both on his website and via his other books. The recovery chapter has a fairly detailed discussion of how Heart Rate Variability can help you avoid overtraining along with an overview of other recovery methods (compression, self-myofascial release, etc.).
I found this to be an extremely well-written work that will be of value to anybody interested in improving their performance in endurance events, not just the paleo/primal crowd. Highly recommended!
Who doesn't want to slow down, eat better, train intuitively and enjoy life through movement all while maintaining your healthiest mind and body ever.
It is not just fluff, there is science behind what Mark Sisson has to say and you can't forget he has been there done that. Brad Kearns and others are examples/proof of how less training, using fat as energy and not relying on consistency can make you a better athlete and avoid burnout.
The book is genius and easy to follow. It is written to help the endurance athlete and it will. But this book belongs in the hands of everyone trying to figure out why their chronic exercise and diets are making them sick and fat.
You will learn how to train, eat, optimize recovery and balance stress and rest. Looking forward to eight weeks in the aerobic zone.
It has all the essentials:
1. a great summary of concepts in the beginning
2. a good review of aerobic fitness & training via the Maffetone Method
3. the SECRET to weight loss, healthy living & fueling training.....hint its about being fat adapted! Good science review.
4. why & how to use strength training & sprinting
5. the all important sleep & recovery.
6. more!
Each chapter has nice end review. Suggested reading & index supplied.
What you will not find are detailed training plans. Most importantly you learn that such plans are part of the problem. This book does give you the tools & concepts & training guidelines to implement any type of training that is HEALTHY!!
It's no surprise that this text's development coincided with the development of the Primal Certification program: the latter has been described by Sisson as comparable to an upper-division university course in Nutrition Science. In 'Primal Endurance', the authors and publishers deliver a beautifully formatted, accessibly written tome that is, above all, intellectually engaging. A person already familiar with the Primal Blueprint will not have his or her mind blown by the Eating Strategy chapter, but it's absorbing just the same -- the arguments are more polished, the points more persuasive, the pictures more embarrassing (Mark opens up the time capsule). Likewise, even a person who has never thought about running a marathon will be stimulated intellectually by how the arguments are presented. It's a textbook, but it's far from bland. The sidebars, graphics and pull-quotes combine with the photographs to create a visually appealing journey, and the joint authors display a savvy understanding of rhetorical principles, balancing ethos, pathos and logos as needed to snap skeptical readers out of their Conventional Wisdom-induced brain fog.
Yet this is not a purely academic text. There are several references and suggested further reading for those interested in more hard science, but I believe that this book sets out to convert hardcore endurance athletes who believe in the nutritional Conventional Wisdom; this conversion can be life-changing in perhaps the most basic sense of being life-prolonging (obviously with plenty of perks). The nice thing about a well-researched, well-designed, well-written book like this is that it is eminently inviting to any potential reader who is simply interested in improving as a human being.
As a physician and wellness researcher, I read as many nutrition and exercise books I can get my hands on. Some books are fluff, rehashing what has been stated so many ways (often better) in other sources. Primal Endurance brings in rigorous research, much of it not described or compiled in other books.
I should admit I am not a “runner.” I primarily use resistance training and sprinting as my means of exercise (along with moving as much as possible). Essentially I follow the Primal Blueprint Fitness Pyramid. From an evolutionary and general health perspective, the pyramid just makes too much sense to not follow. It feels natural because it is.
I believe Primal Endurance was written both for people like me who love to learn as much about fitness and nutrition as possible, and for people whose physiology and genetics have led them to endurance sports.
The book is laid out nicely with the following chapters:
-115 things you need to know
-Intro
1. Slow down
2. Balance out, chill out
3. The Primal Blueprint eating strategy
4. Ketogenic endurance training
5. Strength training
6. Sprinting
7. Primal Endurance success stories
8. Complementary movement and lifestyle practices
9. Tips to optimize recovery
10. Hitting the showers
-Appendix: periodization schedule
-Online resources and suggested reading
As I read the each chapter (and especially with the 115 things to know) I’d think “Man I would love to just have this chapter alone or as a pdf file to keep with me.” Of course as the chapters accumulated I realized I would need the whole book.
The sprinting chapter is the best concise compilation of information on sprinting that I know of. The strength training chapter offered pearls from Kelly Starrett on mobility and injury prevention, along with descriptions of Maximum Sustained Power training of Jacques Devore. The complementary movement and recovery chapters provide nice reviews of those concepts.
Primal Endurance taps into experts on all aspects of health for athletes. From Maffetone’s aerobic training to Devore and Starrett in resistance training; from Phinney and Volek low carb performance to William Davis wheat bashing; Noakes and Attia on nutrition and exercise; Katy Bowman on natural movement. A brief list of further reading is supplied at the end of the book, but the titles by some of these experts are not included. I am waiting for the links to articles and research to be posted on the primal blueprint page as stated in the end of the book.
Primal Endurance throws in superficial concepts as teasers guiding you to read other books, mixed with other more detailed sections such as heart rate variability and aerobic conditioning.
The writing style is conversational and crisp. You can almost see Mark Sisson pacing around the room excited to share all of this information with us. The chapter summaries are also very helpful.
Overall I was very pleased with Primal Endurance and it almost made me want to run an ultramarathon! The fresh presentation of such a balanced, evidence-based philosophy of exercise and living well is inspiring and we can only hope for a huge amount of people to read the book and benefit from this wisdom.
That line from the book perfectly summarizes the well achieved goal of Primal Endurance. So often people destroy their bodies in what they believe to be the path to health and fitness. Mark Sisson and Brad Kearns have given an extremely detailed and honest account about how to achieve fitness while not breaking down health.
The authors have created a complete resource from beginning to end. Primal Endurance walks you through preparation, diet, workout specifics, and in my opinion what many amateur athletes fail at completely, resting and recovery from the stresses one puts on their body and mind.
The sections on diet are a major departure from conventional wisdom of carb loading and pasta pounding. If you aren’t familiar with Mark Sisson’s take on the concepts of ancestral health and diet as outlined in the Primal Blueprint, it is very similar to the paleo way of eating (natural foods, increased veggies and fruits, avoiding heavily processed foods and grains, and increased intake of healthy fats). Training with these dietary guidelines allows an endurance athlete to burn fat for fuel, and improve body composition.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in endurance training. If you are just starting out, and want to find a healthy way to approach it, or if you are an experienced endurance athlete (who likely from time to time wonders why they may be hurting more often, or wondering why with the miles they put in, aren’t seeing better results) then this will have more than just a few suggestions to not only improve your abilities and have more fun, but also cultivate good health and well-being.
This book is well laid out, easy to follow and backed by some of the giants in the field of endurance, including Dr. Phil Maffetone and Dr. Timothy Noakes who have been involved in the endurance field for decades. Mark and Brad have tremendous credibility on their own having "been there and done that" and having tremendous success along the way.
The book provides clear and actionable steps to help you get the most out of training for your endurance sport, whatever it may be. This book approaches training for performance while maintaining health. It is a holistic approach which aligns perfectly with the primal movement. Too often runners try to force themselves to fit into a 16 week schedule or cookie cutter plan found all over the internet. This book uses heart rate training and other objective measures of your current fitness to meet you where you are currently at, and help you build on this fitness in a healthy, sustainable way. Looking forward to training my Primal Endurance in 2016.
The book is written in easy to find, well-organized chapters, which is nice to quickly flip to the material you want to study more closely. For me, it’s the very first chapter, titled “Slow Down!” Chronic cardio is a hard habit to break and though I’ve been trying to convince myself of this over the years, but the “more, longer, harder” mentality camps out in the back of my mind. Primal Endurance explains this thoroughly, in a very approachable and user-friendly way, yet it wasn’t until reading the piece on uber-triathlete Mike Pigg’s experience, that I really got it. His story showed that by training within a limited heart rate, which was much slower than his usual pace, he was able to improve his speed and aerobic endurance.
I have never paid attention to heart rate any more than I’ve counted calories. But now, I’m absolutely trying this.
This is just one example of how real, how user-friendly this book is. People like me who have busy lives, who have been injured from over-training, and who want to enjoy training rather than dread it: Primal Endurance sets the path. Enough of the “no pain, no gain” mentality! Less is more if you do it right by listening to your body and treating it right. Following conventional wisdom makes us slaves to some hardcore regiment that sets us all up for failure.
What I love about this book’s message is that sport shouldn’t have to be a luxury for the privileged who have countless hours to slog miles just because a schedule mandates. Primal Endurance opens the arena to any one of us with the desire, motivation, and focus to reach our goals.
Accessible, just like this book, which is camped on my nightstand.
Primal Endurance is extremely readable and well written, and covers all aspects of a balanced approach to primal training, nutrition, and complementary lifestyle practices like sleep, mobility, daily movement, and recovery. I also appreciated the comprehensive sample annual periodization schedules (using a triathlete and a runner as an example) in the back of the book!
My biggest takeaways from Primal Endurance were:
- Slow down! Living in the black hole of chronic cardio makes you sick, exhausted, and burned out.
- Periodize your workouts and train intuitively.
- Eat Primally! Maximize your nutrients, become a "fat burning beast," and keep your carbohydrate consumption low.
- Incorporate strength and sprint training to help preserve good technique and maximize power output during endurance workouts.
- Complementary movement and lifestyle practices like good sleep discipline and mobility work can help achieve peak performance while preserving health.
- Methods such as cold water immersion, compression garments, self-myofascial release, and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) are great tools to
optimize recovery.
If you are an endurance athlete who wants to learn how to improve your return on your training investment while avoiding overtraining, burnout, illness, and injury, this is the book for you. Thanks Mark!
Primal Endurance covers so many key topics for the endurance athlete to include cross-training, how not to be saddled with frequent injuries, how to optimize recovery and the "shocking" concept of how to balance your training with your life. My favorite sections of the book cover the importance of cardiovascular health (and how to avoid damaging your cardiovascular system with your training) along with the topics of both diet and recovery/listening to your body. This book delves deep into the concept of how to safely build your aerobic base and the potential cardiovascular repercussions that can happen with incorrect training. Ditching the SAD (standard American diet) is key to your health whether or not you're an endurance athlete. It's been heard before but in my opinion it is so true that you cannot out-train a bad diet and fueling yourself with sugars and grains will not lead to sustained success and health. The concepts and importance of recovery and the importance of listening to your body (recurring fatigue, boredom, pain, etc) before, during and after training are topics that are not emphasized as much as they should be and Primal Endurance explains why intuitive training and recovery are so important for your physical and mental health.
One topic that I wish was included in the book is in regards to supplements and alternative therapies specific to endurance athletes. The book does touch on some options for recovery, such as a cooling sleeve, but I would like to read about options that are readily available to many of us (besides yoga) such as cold water immersion, supplements/foods that improve endurance capabilities, meditation, etc.
Primal Endurance is a book that I wholeheartedly recommend if you are an athlete (not just an endurance athlete) who wants to train in the safest and most effective manner. It's awesome to have one book that can be used as a reference for some many important topics for us folks that like to go long whether it's running, swimming, cycling or cross-country skiing. I plan on being a healthy endurance racer into my "old age" and this book will accompany me on my journey.
For years I was in a perpetual training mode, that is until I was diagnosed with a stress fracture to the femoral neck in my right hip over a year ago after my half Ironman. It wasn’t unusual for me to be in a race as late as November and then again as early as March, so training and training hard was consistent. What was rest when there was another race to get ready for! I never thought of being in the “off season” or establishing an aerobic base. I always thought of my aerobic training as my regular runs until the miles creeped up with my race date. Trying to get faster by running faster and often. That was what I thought I had to do, what I was told to do. I was wrong and am completely happy with it since Primal Endurance came to my door.
Mark and Brad’s experience has saved me from making more of the “bad” choices by learning from their experiences. Their knowledge is backed up by studies by highly regarded doctors like DR O’ Keefe and DR Maffetone.
Before my fracture I was injured every year with some “minor” ailment (foot, groin, shin) that would put training off for a month at minimum. I still tried to compete no matter what, pushing myself. I would be worse afterwards and left me with nothing but misery and wondering when I could begin training again. After reading Primal Endurance, I now know that I need to build an aerobic base (working below my maximum heart rate for a period of time) and lifting heavy weights at low reps while performing only minimal sprint workouts. Knowing that I can train less, become faster and stronger while spending less time in the gym and slowing the aging process, not speeding it up, it’s priceless! In 2016, I know with Mark’s knowledge I can become the athlete I wanted to be years ago.
This book is for every athlete and non-athlete alike that wants to look better as they age, without injury and be able to compete in that long Ironman or the 5k weekend race and do it for longer than any of their peers.
My favorite thing about the book was how easy it was to read. The scientific basis is explained, the results of the experiments are explained, and even without a scientifically heavy background, I was able to follow the logic, though I do want to revisit a few more parts so that if anyone asks I'll be able to explain it. I also loved Chapter 7: Primal Endurance Success Stories. All my doubts about this program, not that there were many, were blown away by the testimonials of athletes who changed the way they trained and the way they ate, to improve so much in all areas of their fitness.
I also found that Mark and Brad's ideas make sense. You want to be fat-adapted, and he shows you how to do that. It makes sense to improve the aspects of your fitness that will help with your endurance goals, and he tells you the most important weight-lifting exercises to do. I could go on and on, but it's better if it comes from them.
In the next few weeks, my plan is to buy a heart rate monitor and start training at 180-age, and be more strict with my eating. I can't wait to see the effects of this book, and I'm so grateful to Mark and Brad for writing it. If you are a distance athlete who hasn't been seeing results, or has been stuck in an injury loop, or you just want to start training in a safe manner, read this book!
I received this book for free from MarksDailyApple in exchange for an honest review.
I have been an avid follower of Mark Sisson for the past few years - found him when I was looking for answers about how someone like me could run as much as I did and not lose weight. Sisson's "Primal Blueprint" helped me identify that I needed to overhaul my diet and STOP running as much as I did to get to a healthy place.
But I couldn't quite make the Blueprint principles stick. Chronic cardio was killing me. Running went from something that was fun to something that was a necessary chore to keep my weight in check. I had miserable cravings and struggled with an eating disorder.
I made a deal with myself that as soon as I achieved my half marathon goal time, I'd stop running. Except every half marathon I ran, I seemed to get worse and worse. It didn't look like there'd be an end to the cycle for me.
And then I was tipped off that there was another way - that I could still continue to run half marathons... and run them FASTER... just by slowing down my training! I began implementing all of the concepts in this book, from using the Maffetone Method and eating primal whole foods, in early December. I quit sugar for the first time in my life.
Three things happened almost immediately:
1. I actually looked forward to my workouts - they were no longer a thing of dread.
2. My overall mood and outlook in life improved.
3. My cravings were gone. My eating disorder almost felt "cured."
So will I be achieving my half marathon goal? I don't know yet, but something is working. My next half marathon is April, 2016 - keep up with my progress at www.runtothedarkside.com to see if the Primal Endurance principles really work.
I absolutely loved the premise of this book - run easier and eat better to improve your endurance performance. This is a far less demanding training "program" than many of the other books out there, and I'm super excited to put all of the tips I've learned from this book into practice. I found it incredibly helpful to see the details of the primal diet reviewed in this book, so even if you aren't a Mark's Daily Apple follower (and if not, I suggest you become one), there are plenty of actionable tips to improve your diet and lifestyle within this book.
A little background info on me - I've run 2 marathons and many shorter-distance races since 2010. Even when my training volume has been high, I've seen very little improvements over the years in my pace (around 12:00/mile). The negative side effects of high volume included shin splints and other injuries. This book made me realize (and the data from my heart rate monitor can attest) that I've been running WAY too hard to see any kind of improvement. My aerobic base is basically non-existent! Since reading this, I've been on a few runs as suggested in the book, and I have had to revert to run/walk in order to keep my heart rate in the proper zone. I also felt like I could keep on going forever, and so far I haven't had any hint of shin splints, IT Band soreness, or other aches and pains that usually make me take more days off. Overall, this feels like a much healthier approach to running, and I'm excited to see how my times improve over the course of the next few months.
As a more technical note, I was pleased to see the high quality with which this book was printed - it reminded me of a college textbook, with glossy full-color pages.
Key concepts this book explores include:
• Exercise should be fun
• Exercise should be varied in intensity as well as activity
• Too much of the kind of cardio we typically do in gyms can damage the heart. While cardio on equipment or in classes is not bad as part of a balanced regimen, just be sure to mix it up. (In my experience, few people actually do because its just so easy to get stuck in a routine)
• Your diet’s macronutrient breakdown influences whether you burn fat or sugar during exercise
• Sugar is not the perfect fuel for athletes, in spite of what most sports nutritionists will tell you
• When your diet supports fat burn, you can listen to your body and TRUST what its telling you (with regard to hunger, fatigue and so on)
Far and away, the most important concept and one that the book keeps returning to is the metabolic state of burning fat is essential to normal health. And contrary to what many athletes assume, its not just exercise that promotes fat burn, it’s also diet. So that no matter how much you exercise, if your diet does not contain the right nutrients, you will not burn fat optimally.
Programatic elements of the book will help you to:
• Enjoy a balanced variety of activities
• Determine if you are overtraining
• Get more results from your workouts with less time
• Adapt a diet that helps to optimize fat burn even without exercise
I run a weight loss clinic and don’t always have time to go over a full exercise program with my patients so I have been waiting eagerly for a book that I can recommend it to my weight loss patients as well as the athletes I work with. This book is exactly what the doctor ordered.
An engaging and easy to read book no matter how you slice it Primal Endurance offers much needed information that brings the best nutrition advise from the medical world into the world of fitness, while providing a balanced approach to exercise.
As far as results you can expect in terms of improving your fat burn, I would expect that you could double your fat-burning capacity in 4 weeks, and go even further into fat burning beat territory the longer you follow this program. I use a similar dietary approach and test people’s fat burn before and after dietary intervention, and this is what I've found so far. For example, if someone starts the program burning 2 calories of fat per minute at rest and a maximum of 3 with exercise, they'll get to 4 and 6 respectively in a month easily. And that's without adding any exercise!
I have followed a more conventional approach to training with set days of tempo and distance rides, blah blah blah blah. Insert any training program you have read in a magazine, on-line, or from your super fit friend. Training this way, I often found myself enjoying a roller coaster of good health, "great blocks of training" followed by a total train wreck of lethargy, poor health and poor eating. My wife can attest to mood swings after a few "solid weeks" of training. Borderline depression would often follow these so called great blocks.
In Mark and Brad's cut to the chase style they clearly highlighted what was wrong with my approach. Primal Endurance laid out in no uncertain terms what I needed to change and more importantly why and how to do it. As an example they write at great lengths about Phil Maffatone and the 180 - (your age) heart rate principal. After reading this I thought an experiment was in order, so I set out on one of my normal off-road training rides. This would be a ride I cover twice a week and is about an hour long. Low and behold many of the climbs had me 25-30 beats above my target training heart rate. No wonder I would crash and burn after 4-6 weeks. I really look forward to applying these new guiding principals to my training and look forward to the same outstanding results we have enjoyed in other areas of our life.
This book is a must read for anyone who wants to train in a healthy and responsible way. I believe it is a game changer for individuals of any fitness level. Do yourself a favor and order Primal Endurance today.
Primal endurance is a fantastic guide to endurance training. It essentially takes what is already taught in Mark Sisson's other books and applies it directly for the use of athletes.
Mark's prior books haven't really covered a heavy training schedule. Conventional endurance training follows a very chronic approach which could ultimately harm your longevity if not practiced carefully." Primal Endurance" takes the "Primal Blueprint" principles and presents them for someone who is interested in athletic performance.
My review has removed a start due to this. The only problem I can see with this book so far is that it tends to repeat a lot of information that is freely available on Mark's website or is stated in his other publications. Due to this, if this is not your first "Primal Blueprint" purchase you will be repeating a lot of information in the earlier chapters.
This being said, if this is your first time encountering the "Primal Blueprint" this is a fanastic ( 5 star) purchase ( especially if your goal is athletic performance). The highlights of this book for me are the recovery section and the appendix( more on this in a bit). This book puts a clear emphasis on athletic recovery and the information provided is inspiring. Just reading this makes me feel as though my weekly training logs will be less of a chore. The thing this book makes me optim
The appendix provides sample training weeks for a variety of situations. This provides what I hope will be a clear format on how I should focus my training for my goals while avoiding burnout. It details sample weeks/months for training situations such as a triathlete or just a runner. What is more appealing with this is that it doesn't seem overwhelming. The average week for a runner looks to be about 5-6 hours. This more than half of what I've trained in the past.
If this book can improve my runs and leave more time for family and friends then I am more than sold. Unfortunantly, I can not provide this information in this review until I have trained for a full period following this books guidance. I will update it when I have completed a full cycle.
When I first heard about this book, I could not wait for it to be released. I enjoy endurance running for the time and solitude it gives me to think. The only drawback to that is that I did not know fully how to be Primal yet still enjoy a guilty indulgence of a 10-mile run with the case Mark builds against chronic cardio.
Because of this book, not only do I know how to prepare for the runs so that I enjoy the act, but I also don't feel guilty about what I eat in order to have the energy to do so. It's also given me a new mindset to accept the limits I have in my endurance training and not set unrealistic, unhealthy goals.
This book is a must-read for anyone, regardless of how long you have been on the Primal or quite similar Paleo path. This book will teach you how to enjoy being an endurance athlete and get the most out of your workouts, preparations and recovery. There will be many in the endurance athlete world who wished this book was around when they started their training regime.