3 Reasons I Developed the Paced Performance Method (PPM)

About two years ago, I developed the Paced Performance Method.

I’ve been coaching competitive CrossFit athletes for over 10 years, and I’ve always tried to bring ideas from other disciplines into the way I coach. Running and cycling have had a big influence on me. Interval training, Zone 2 work, threshold work, and controlled pacing were part of my CrossFit programming long before they became popular buzzwords.

But even with all of that, I still felt like something was missing.

That missing piece became PPM.

I needed a way to solve three problems:

1. Add volume without killing my athletes.
PPM training uses AMRAP intervals at different effort levels. For example, in a workout like 5 x 5-minute AMRAPs, the first few AMRAPs are done at lower intensities than most CrossFit athletes are used to training. That lets athletes accumulate more quality work without creating the same damage as five all-out efforts.

2. Bring different training zones into everyday CrossFit training.
Most athletes treat conditioning like it only has one speed: hard. I wanted athletes to train Zone 2, Zone 3, Zone 4, and Zone 5 inside mixed-modal CrossFit work, not just on a bike or during a run. PPM does this through progressive output. Athletes start controlled, build effort each set, and learn how different intensities actually feel.

3. Create real accountability.
How do you judge whether the workout was successful? In PPM, the numbers tell the story. Your score should increase every set. If your output improves, your pacing was successful. If your score falls off, you probably started too hot at some point, crossed the line too early, or chose a pace you couldn’t build from.

That feedback has been huge for our athletes. Over the last two years, we’ve seen athletes improve not just their conditioning, but their athlete IQ. They understand themselves better. They understand pacing better. They understand effort better. They know when they’re under control, when they’re approaching threshold, and when they’re about to cross the line.

PPM isn’t just about pacing, but pacing is a big part of it. It’s about training the full engine. It’s about developing different zones. It’s about improving effort and score across the workout. It’s about learning how to build instead of starting hot and fading.

And that’s where a lot of CrossFit athletes go wrong.

Most athletes don’t blow up in workouts because they’re lazy. They blow up because they start too fast, cross the line too early, and then spend the rest of the workout trying to survive.

You’ve probably felt this before. The first round feels amazing. The row pace is aggressive. The burpees are fast. The barbell is moving. Then, somewhere in the middle of the workout, everything changes. Your breathing gets out of control. Your transitions slow down. The barbell suddenly feels heavier. Movements that felt easy two minutes ago now feel like a fight.

That’s not always a fitness problem. A lot of the time, it’s a training problem.

And the answer isn’t simply to “pace better.”

The answer is to train conditioning with more structure, more progression, and more accountability.

Workout Example: Pacing Practice

4 Sets

5-Minute AMRAP
12/10 Calorie Row
10 Power Cleans
8 Toes-to-Bar
40 Double-Unders

Rest 1:30 between sets

Goal: Slightly increase your score every set.

This isn’t a “send it and survive” workout. The first set should feel smooth. Your breathing should be high, but not chaotic. You should get off the rower ready to move, not standing over the bar trying to recover.

If your score drops every set, you started too fast. If your final set is your best set, you paced it correctly.

That’s the point. You’re not just training your engine. You’re training control.

What This Teaches You

This type of workout teaches you how to build output with control.

The goal isn’t to find one pace and hold it. The goal is to start at the right effort, understand what that effort feels like, and then increase your pace and score as the workout progresses.

That’s the skill.

You’re learning how to move from controlled effort into higher effort without falling apart. You’re learning what 70 or 80 percent feels like, where threshold begins, and how to push closer to that line while still keeping your movement, breathing, and transitions under control.

It also shows you where you waste energy. Maybe your row is too hot too early. Maybe your burpees spike your heart rate. Maybe your gymnastics breaks are too late. Maybe your barbell cycling feels fine in set one, but costs too much by set three.

Most importantly, it teaches you how to finish stronger. Instead of starting fast and fading, you learn how to build. Each set should give you feedback, and each set should give you a chance to make a smarter adjustment.

That matters in competition because the athlete who can increase effort under fatigue usually beats the athlete who panics early.

PPM isn’t about surviving the workout.

It’s about learning how to build, improve, and finish with your best output when it matters most.

The Takeaway

If you keep blowing up in CrossFit workouts, you probably don’t need more random suffering. You need smarter conditioning.

You need to understand effort. You need to understand threshold. You need to train repeatability. You need workouts that force you to control the first round, improve output, and finish strong.

That’s how endurance athletes have trained for years. Runners use pace. Cyclists use power. Rowers use splits. CrossFit athletes need to learn the same lesson inside mixed-modal workouts.

The goal isn’t to win the first two minutes.

The goal is to still be dangerous at the end.

Train the zones. Learn the feel. Build progressively. Finish stronger.

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