CrossFit Endurance

Endurance 1 My name is Collin Brooks and I am the OC Endurance coach at Oregon CrossFit. OC Endurance is a CrossFit Endurance Team that is part of the Oregon CrossFit Box. CrossFit Endurance is an endurance sports training program dedicated to improving performance, fitness and endurance sports potential (crossfitendurance.com). CrossFit Endurance is in addition to and builds on a CrossFit base through increased stamina efforts (i.e. max effort time trials and intervals). CrossFit Endurance is for Runners, Cyclists, Triathletes, Adventure Athletes and of course CrossFit Athletes.

OC Endurance classes take place Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:30pm. During class on Monday and Wednesday athletes do interval training. There will be a day of long intervals (long in distance or time) and a day of short intervals (short in distance and time). During these classes you will warm up, do drills to improve and assess running technique and then do the intervals. OC Endurance Athletes must complete the Oregon CrossFit WODs as well as the interval-based WODs. Athletes must complete the Endurance WOD 3 + hours before the OC WOD. This is for recovery purposes. On Friday we will do a time trial day (i.e . 5k run, max effort). This is the only workout to be done on this day!
All WODs can be scaled to meet the individual needs of any athlete. Classes will be 1 hour in duration with a few exceptions on days with longer time trial efforts. Below you will find some example schedules for OC Endurance athletes.

Looking for athletes to compete and train with? Our athletes are dedicated to doing CrossFit (strength and conditioning training sessions) while also doing endurance events. The OC Endurance Team pushes each other to get the best results. Athletes have competed in 5k’s, 10K’s, Half Marathons, Marathons, Triathlons, and duathlons. Team members will also participate in the Cascade Lakes Relay this August. Most importantly, every athlete that has committed to the program has hit PRs! Check out some of the OC Endurance testimonials from Star Loy and Amanda Gow.

Endurance 12Skill Based Approach: OC Endurance allows you to train for Endurance Events as well as increase your strength and conditioning with a skill based focus. Far too many Endurance athletes spend a lot of time training but neglect the benefits of technique and strength and conditioning. Another likely theme is endurance athletes will have several coaches, one for running, one for strength and conditioning. You can find all of these components under the same roof at Oregon CrossFit.

Fees: OC Endurance Athletes are on the unlimited membership plan at Oregon CrossFit, which is $149 a month. Refer to the schedule/fees page for more details.

Personal Training:
  1. Do you want to have a 1 on 1 time to work on your running skills or strength and conditioning?
  2. Do you want help making a training schedule using CrossFit Endurance Protocols?
  3. Do you want help but are not in the Bend area? Email OC Endurance Coach Collin Brooks to set up an appointment: Collin@oregoncrossfit.com

Collin bMy success story: November of 2011 I completed Ironman Arizona (my first Ironman) using strictly CrossFit and CrossFit Endurance protocols. For those of you that do not know, an Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run. I was able to finish in the top 25% without swimming more than 1.2 miles, biking over 56 miles and running 13 miles. Does this make me an elite triathlete? No, but I had some success. Does this mean that CrossFit endurance is a short cut? Absolutely not! Interval and time trial training is very physically and mentally challenging. Before I started training using CrossFit protocols I spent years using long slow distances (LSD) to train for marathons on a regular basis. This caused me to lose weight, lose muscle mass, and always fight overuse injuries. CrossFit Endurance has allowed me to train for long and short distance endurance events using the same training methods. Furthermore, while I trained for the Ironman I continued to PR in local sprint triathlons (2nd place at the Redmond Area Sprint Triathlon), but also continued to PR in front and back squat, dead lift, and press. I also had enough time to meet all my personal and job obligations.

If you are an athlete who fits into one of these categories let me help you reach your goals:
  • Athlete with less time to train.
  • Athlete who wants to maintain strength and train for endurance events of any distance.
  • Current CrossFit Athlete who wants to develop a increased level of metabolic conditioning (cardio).
  • Athlete who needs help making an endurance training program.
CrossFit endurance is based highly on anaerobic training. Anaerobic benefits include the following:
  • Increased cardiovascular function
  • Decreased body fat
  • Increased muscle mass
  • Increased strength
  • Increased power
  • Increased speed
  • Increased anaerobic capacity
  • Anaerobic DRAWBACKS
  • Intensity can speed up overtraining
Classic slow long distance endurance training is highly aerobic. The following are aerobic benefits.
  • Cardiovascular function
  • Better fat utilization
  • Greater capillarization
  • Increased Mitochondrial growth
  • Aerobic DRAWBACKS
  • Decreased muscle mass
  • Decreased strength
  • Decreased power
  • Decreased speed
  • Decreased anaerobic capacity
  • Decreased testosterone level

I am very passionate about CrossFit Endurance and Oregon CrossFit and am looking forward to the opportunity to help others meet their goals at Oregon Crossift. If you have any further questions please add a comment to this page. Chances are you might have the same question as someone else. Feel free to also email me at collin@oregoncrossfit.com