When swimming, the more you can get out of a stroke, the better. In other words, the less strokes you can do in a lap, the more efficient you can swim. But when it comes to running or cycling, often the opposite is true. It’s better to run with shorter steps to avoid burnout and prevent injury, and when cycling, generally the higher the cadence, the better.

These approaches are different, but they are all in an effort of playing off fatigue, meaning you can exercise for longer.

Long term efficiency over short term gain. If you’re in it for the long run, this is your only option.