Suffer City | Why it’s the most complete system in fitness.

INTRODUCTION

Hi, my name is Jason. And I am the chief programmer for all Suffer City workouts. 

I love programming workouts. More than that, I love programming large-scale training phases which target specific adaptations and high-level results. 

As a developer for the Combat Athlete Program (CAP) at Athletes' Performance Institute (now EXOS) back in 2006, I have been studying and programming for hybrid and integrated sports performance for over 20 years.

For most people like yourself, you just want to show up to your workout, know which movements to do, and be prescribed your weight loads, rep counts, and rest cycles so you can get to work. 

Truth is -- that's all you should have to think about.

However, for the programmer prescribing all those factors, I need to pan out and SEE the bigger picture. I need to see how every rep count, weight load, and movement pattern prescribed combines with all the other rep counts, weight loads, and movements prescribed prior to and after. 

Now, you'd think that after 20 years of doing this I'd notice patterns; see how certain stimuli can predictably lead to certain adaptations and specific results. And, you can believe I most certainly have. 

Which is why I created Suffer City to begin with. Until Suffer City, not only was there no program that effectively hybridized the core components of aerobic capacity and muscular endurance, but no one else had thought to integrate those component parts into the whole of a single workout -- like what we now call our Engine class.

Strength, Engine, Speed & Power, and Aerobics each have a distinct purpose and pronounced heart rate signature, leading to specific long-term adaptations. 

And when layered together with intention week over week, they create a training system that develops strength, durability, and cardiovascular power along a continuum of progress that is on the lunatic fringe.

Here I briefly describe the adaptive benefits our members enjoy while illustrating precisely how these benefits occur using heart rate graphs from each of the workouts. 

AEROBICS

Aerobics is our baseline class, upon which other components are built. You can see it produces a steadier rhythm with less dramatic peaks and valleys as well as the symmetrical, consistent work-rest intervals throughout the workout.

Work cycles are longer, and intensity is regulated with purpose. The adaptations promoted by Aerobics focus on heart-lung efficiency, oxygen utilization, and lactate shuttling. 

Over time, recovery improves and rest periods shrink — meaning you regain composure faster and sustain higher outputs longer.

SPEED & POWER

In contrast to Aerobics, Speed & Power sessions create sharp spikes and deep valleys in heart rate data. You can see the vast range of beats per minute (BPM) covered is in just one interval. Short, intense efforts are followed by longer rest periods to allow repeatable high-quality output. 

These workouts target neural pathways, explosive response from Type II muscle fibers, and lactate tolerance. The result is faster turnover, more aggressive power production, and improved ability to handle high-intensity bursts without breakdown.

STRENGTH

Strength sessions forge stability, durability, and foundational force production. Though you can see peaks & valleys in this graph, notice how the range of BPM (on left) covered isn't as vast as Speed & Power. 

And even when effort feels extremely high, heart rate often sits between 65–85% on account of the primary adaptations targeted being neural and musculoskeletal. We’re developing coordination, tendon integrity, and force transfer under load.

When strength-based METCONs appear, the focus is mechanical efficiency under stress — applying skill, not chasing cardiovascular fatigue.

ENGINE

Engine workouts show a variety of sustained and interval-based elevations and drops in heart rate, often hovering between 80–90% of Max HR (MHR) for longer durations. You can see in this graph depicting a buddy-shared Engine workout how even the high-intensity efforts are sustained and, even though there are drops in HR, those drops aren't long nor are they big in terms of lowering HR too much. 

This is where strength, speed, and power are blended into a single, demanding course of work that grounded in aerobic capacity. The adaptations are systemic — synergising muscular endurance, cardiac output, and the ability to integrate multiple movement patterns while under fatigue. This is hybrid performance in action.

IN CLOSING

The term hybrid fitness has certainly gained more prominence since HYROX exploded onto the fitness scene. But even good programmers and great coaches are struggling to grasp the concept of converting the hybrid model into integrated results. 

Too often, athletes end up doing a bunch of Engine-type workouts (integrated) without properly developing their Aerobic or Strength bases first, or at all. 

Or worse, athletes are exposed to programming that simply throws together random movements into workouts which don't correlate or combine with one another. This robs athletes of critical individual adaptations necessary for long-term success at integrated sports, like HYROX. 

I believe the Suffer City system accounts for a complete model, addressing individual adaptations as well as the integration of each into a single course of work. 

Whether you're aiming to improve overall physical health and mental well-being or target high-performance results in fitness racing sports like HYROX, I have you in mind when I'm wired-in and programming fitness. 

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