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A
This is the Jocko Underground podcast number 167 sitting here with Echo Charles, about to answer some questions that have been submitted and provide some courses of action, some possible guidance, some recommendations and actionable steps.
B
We'll see.
A
We'll get to some actionable steps as well.
B
Okay, first question, first inquiry. I attended an Echelon front roll call event and I have been on the path ever since. For the past few years I've been waking up every morning to get to the gym and will lift for an hour to an hour and a half of a bodybuilding style routine with most sets to failure. Shout out to Echo for that advice. I have been seeing great results with this style program during my time on the path. I've done 75 hard and I have maintained most of the disciplines from that program. The program consists of two workouts a day. One has to be outdoors, drink a gallon of water, maintain a diet reading. My second workout usually consists of a fast paced walk or ruck. I would like to increase the intensity of my second workout. I started running three and a half miles three times a week. I want. I was wanting to implement some metcon style workouts or using some of the workouts from Discipline Equals Freedom Fuel manual. My concern is about over training, especially since I'm approaching 40. Would this be too much volume? What kinds of workouts would you recommend to help my cardio and with my mental health toughness? Thank you in advance and thank you for all the wisdom you have passed on.
A
Cool. Well, I think you're a pretty good example because you incorporated metcons into your workout later in life.
B
Yeah.
A
You're probably over 40, huh? When you did that.
B
Yeah, about this point.
A
Yeah, about this point.
B
Yeah. If not then right before.
A
And I think, I think they're definitely beneficial for a bunch of reasons. But one thing that you can do when you want to incorporate these things is if you're really using them for cardio and for that fueling system of cardio, which isn't an endurance three and a half mile run, which is a different fueling system. Anything that you like, there's a bunch of things that you can do and body doing like lightweight, easy, quote unquote easy movements. Like a burpee. Right, A burpee. You can always do another burpee.
B
Yeah.
A
Like you can literally always do one more burpee. No matter what. You're never going to not be able to do a burpee, realistically speaking.
B
Right.
A
Jumping jacks. Like you're not going to get muscle Failure on the jumping jacks, some level of, of plyometrics, right? Like you can do plyometrics and look, can you burn yourself out on. Yeah, you can. But even if you're just doing jumps, you know, jumps over the bar, just little jumps, things like that, jumping rope, right. You can kind of always do a little bit more jumping rope. And then you get things like the air bike, things like the rower, where you're not extremely taxing your muscles in a way where you're gonna get muscle fatigue. In this particular case, in my opinion, tell me what you think. You're not looking for muscle fatigue, you're looking for muscle usage. That, that fails due to cardio, that's not failing due to muscular, muscular failure. So, and I think what you could do in a situation like this is you, you, you could start off by doing really short bursts of super high intense but low weight work. You know, even if it's just like 20 seconds or 30 seconds of all you got on an air bike, or 30 seconds of as many burpees you can possibly do, and then rest until you're ready again. Like take a legit rest and then just over time make that rest a little shorter, make the work a little longer and eventually you'll get to a point where you're getting some, even the first one, you'll get really good work. You go to two minutes of burpees as hard as you can. I don't care who you are, if you do them as hard as you can, you're going to be freaking tired. Yeah, cardio tired. Now listen, if you're not muscularly strong, you can also, you can work your legs. If your legs aren't strong, your legs will get tired too. But eventually you can, you can maybe if you want, you can add a load, right? You can start throwing a kettlebell swing in there. You do something that again, we're looking for, for a sustainable weight that you can do many, many times. And then you can add that over time and you can start doing things like kettlebell swings, maybe some light, you know, cleans or snatches with a kettlebell. These things are, they shouldn't be. You know, you're not going super heavy, especially in the beginning, but you're using them to get your cardio activities going. And then, you know, over time you just decrease the, decrease the rest time and, or increase the amount of time that you do something for and, or increase the reps that you do something and, or increase the weight that you're doing. And those are A bunch of ways that you can start to add some metcom, some metcon activities into your workouts. And I think if you're aiming for like, eventually you're getting to between five and 15 minutes of really high intensity work, maybe with some breaks in there. You know, if you're doing rounds that are three or four minutes long and you're doing three or four of those rounds, or you're doing five minutes straight or something like that, and you can get to a point where you're gonna get some really good cardio work and you'll feel that. Is this guy doing Jiu Jitsu? I don't think he's doing Jiu Jitsu. But you'll feel it in situate. Like you'll feel your cardio get better for these short burst things. And by the way, that will help your three and a half mile runs.
B
Yeah, it will.
A
You'll get stronger and faster all along. So that's kind of my assessment here. But then what we have to pay attention to because the actual question that you had was like, or the statement that you made is you don't want to over train. Right. So I think you're going to be able to get away with more of this than you might think. Because it truly is just looking to tax your system in a very specific mode. Not your endurance mode and not your explosive weightlifting mode. You shouldn't be getting. You shouldn't. Your goal is to not be sore the next day. Like muscularly sore the next day. That's not the goal. The goal is that you work that metabolic region of work and you stress it out so that it becomes stronger and stronger over time.
B
Yeah, it's true. I the. Without going too deep into the it depends realm, because it does. It depends on how much volume you're doing. Because even when you say lift for an hour, whatever, it depends. Like what? Lifting. You know, I like metcon, but I started metcon for a reason. Just so I would. I wouldn't be dying in the later rounds in Jiu Jitsu. So there was like a reason tethered to it, you know, it wasn't metcon. Just so I can get in quote, unquote, better shape arbitrarily. I don't. It starts to become hard to answer any question when you don't have like a reason why you're getting in shape or whatever. Especially like metcon. Metcon is like a performance scenario, you know, it's like. Because there's better ways to get cut up.
A
Yeah, yeah. Metcons are Good, though.
B
I'm not. Well, yeah, I mean, depends on what you mean by good. Depends on who you are. Depends on what your ultimate goal, you know, but yeah, if you want to maintain or grow muscle and lose body fat and metcon's not that good really. You know, especially when you compare it to the good stuff. Yeah. So it just depends on what we're doing. I like Metcon for the performance. So now, now when you go do jiu jitsu, when you do hiking, mountain climbing, you gotta, you know, playing with the kids, all that stuff, all. It all becomes a lot easier and you can do more of it. So that's good. To me, the mild, the cardio stuff, even super low intensity is good. So. Yeah, don't get too crazy with it all of a sudden.
A
Yeah, yeah, don't get too crazy. You know, one thing, if he's running three and a half miles three times a week, one thing that you could put into this, and I don't know if I specifically mentioned it, but sprinting. Sprinting is awesome. And you do, you know, measure. Do. Do four forties. You know, it doesn't take much time at all, but you'll get faster.
B
Yeah.
A
And. And you're. And then you start doing 6 forties and then you start doing 8 forties, and then at some point you're doing 10 forties.
B
Yeah.
A
And it takes you with, with a, with a rest in there. And now it takes you 10, 15 minutes and you're getting some really good work. And that's going to benefit you all across the board. It's not the same. And you're not going to feel the same way you'll feel when you do a hundred burpees for time, which is a. To is different. But again, I guess when we talk Metcon, we're talking 100 burpees for time. But the sprinting will prepare you for that as well. So.
B
Yeah. So I would say to answer the question of. Is this too much volume? It. If you do too much too quickly, it'll become too much volume. Yeah, but like, just like how you kind of laid out there as an example where if it's like you just do. Actually I would even go less approaching 40 years old, I would do this. I'm going to add some sprints. I would do like four sprints once a week to start with for literally 40 yards. Rest 40 yards. Rest 40 yards.
A
Rest 40 yards. I'll say this. Do it after your, after your run.
B
Yeah.
A
And the reason is because I want you warmed up, dude. I don't want you going out there and freaking blowing a hammy because 40 year old dudes blow hammies like and Achilles like it's. So that is a little excerpt of what we are doing on the Jocko Underground podcast. So if you want to continue to listen, go to jockounderground.com and subscribe. And we're doing this, we're doing this to mitigate our reliance on external platforms so we are not subject to their control. And we are doing this so that we can support the Jocko podcast, which will remain as is free for all as long as we can keep it that way. But we, but we are doing this so we don't have to be under the control of sponsors. And we're doing it so we can give you more control, more interaction, more direct connections, better communications with us. And to do that, we are, we're building a website right now where we'll be able to utilize to strengthen this legion of troopers that are in the game with us. So thank you. It's Jocko underground.com it costs $8.18 a month. And if you can't afford to support us, we can still support you. Just email assistance@jockounderground.com and we'll get you taken care of. Until then, we will see you mobilized Underground.
Jocko Underground Podcast Episode 167: "Are You Doing Too Much? How Do You Even Know?"
Release Date: May 27, 2025
In this episode of the Jocko Underground Podcast, hosts Jocko Willink and Echo Charles delve into the delicate balance between pushing oneself and avoiding overtraining. The discussion centers around a listener's inquiry regarding the intensification of their workout regimen while approaching the age of 40. The conversation offers valuable insights into effective training strategies, the benefits of metabolic conditioning (metcon), and maintaining mental toughness without compromising physical health.
The episode begins with a listener reaching out for guidance on enhancing their workout routine. The listener outlines a disciplined regimen inspired by the 75 Hard program, which includes:
The listener seeks advice on increasing the intensity of the second workout by incorporating metcon exercises or routines from "Discipline Equals Freedom Fuel", expressing concerns about potential overtraining, especially given their impending 40th birthday.
Jocko responds affirmatively about the benefits of integrating metcon workouts, even later in life. He emphasizes that metcon can be tailored to suit individual fitness levels and goals.
"Metcons are beneficial for a bunch of reasons," (02:21) Jocko explains.
Echo concurs, adding depth to the conversation by highlighting the importance of having a clear purpose behind incorporating metcon:
"I started metcon for a reason... performance-related activities like Jiu Jitsu, hiking, and mountain climbing," (07:25) Echo shares.
Jocko provides practical strategies to safely increase workout intensity:
Incorporate Low-Impact Metcon Exercises:
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):
"You could start off by doing really short bursts of super high intense... and then over time make that rest a little shorter," (02:28) Jocko advises.
"If you do too much too quickly, it'll become too much volume. Start with manageable sprints and gradually build up," (09:01) Echo advises.
Jocko addresses the listener's concern about overtraining, especially at the age of 40:
"The goal is to not be sore the next day. You're working the metabolic region of work and stressing it to become stronger over time," (05:46) Jocko explains.
Echo reinforces this by emphasizing the importance of matching workout volume with personal capacity and goals:
"Don't get too crazy with it all of a sudden. Start with manageable additions to your routine," (08:05) Echo advises.
Both Jocko and Echo highlight the significance of having clear objectives behind workout adjustments. Echo stresses that without a defined purpose, such as improving performance in activities like Jiu Jitsu or mountain climbing, it's challenging to tailor the training effectively.
"It starts to become hard to answer any question when you don't have like a reason why you're getting in shape," (07:25) Echo notes.
Episode 167 of the Jocko Underground Podcast provides a nuanced discussion on enhancing workout intensity through metcon while mitigating the risks of overtraining. Jocko Willink and Echo Charles offer actionable advice tailored to individuals seeking to elevate their fitness routines responsibly, particularly those nearing or surpassing the age of 40. The emphasis on purposeful training, gradual progression, and listening to one's body serves as a valuable guide for listeners aiming to achieve both physical and mental resilience.
Notable Quotes:
Jocko Willink: "You can literally always do one more burpee. No matter what. You're never going to not be able to do a burpee." (02:22)
Echo Charles: "Metcon is like a performance scenario... Because there's better ways to get cut up." (07:25)
Jocko Willink: "The goal is to not be sore the next day. You're working the metabolic region of work and stressing it to become stronger over time." (05:46)
Echo Charles: "Don't get too crazy with it all of a sudden." (08:05)
For more insights and actionable guidance on discipline and leadership in various aspects of life, subscribe to the Jocko Underground Podcast.