The first rule of fight club is...

Rule number one – know what you are doing, why you are doing it and how it should be done. If you understand and believe in the reasons why then you are more likely to stick to the plan.

Rule number two – do it right. The goal of “this” specific workout presents your first opportunity to succeed at the long-term goal. 99.7% of your time in endurance sports is spent preparing – not only must you succeed on a daily basis in doing the workouts correctly and to the best of your ability in order to win on race day, but you must attempt to succeed in each workout if you are to look back with pride and satisfaction at all the work you've done.

Rule number three – do it right. Warm up, allow time to build intensity in harder workouts, finish strong, warm down. remember to stretch!

Rule number four – do it right. Workouts must be done at prescribed intensity. This is the most oft broken rule. Just because the group starts hammering doesn't mean you have to be at the front. Or that you have to tack on the extra three miles of rollers that the faster people are doing. Keep your ego in check and your brain in focus.

Rule number five – do it right. Don’t race unless it’s a race. If you are supposed to do a workout at a specific pace then your buddies pace may or may not be correct for you. Have fun racing for the city limits if it fits with where your training is, but know when to say "sorry, I can't this week." Win the workout by doing it right.

Rule number six – do it right. Know your limits. Sometimes you have to push them, but doing so inadvertently is a great way to kill part of the training you've just done and the training that you were going to do next week.

Rule number seven – recover right. Eat, drink, rest. Recovery is vital. You will not only be able to perform again sooner but you will get a lot more from the workout if you eat (protein and carbs) right after training and if you hydrate before, during and after training. Not doing this is a huge cause of illness, overtraining symptoms and general foul-mood. Eat good food three meals a day (or more), a protein/carbo snack after each workout and for everyone who is training hard a healthy snack in the evening as well. Eating and hydrating well makes such a difference.

Rule number eight – consistency. Training must be done year round. If you had to stop for whatever reason, don’t let that keep you from starting now, just don’t stop again. Consistency is key.

and...if this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight.

Adapted from the Team Today website. I love reading about the training those guys and gals do week-in and week-out. Now that's gotta take some focus.