PDCA Endurance™ is an online community for athletes who are interested in a process-based approach to endurance training. We emphasize working with people at different starting points. Many places you see runs defined as slow when they are 12-15 minutes per mile, some are trying to be more inclusive, but still miss the point. Here we acknowledge all work done, reguardless of the pace, if you’re truly just starting out, especially if you’re overweight, you will be excited when you finish your first mile, even if it takes 20 minutes or more.
PDCA refers to the plan-do-check-act methodology, a concept that was borrowed from the manufacturing world, but applicable to many things in real life. In my fitness journey it has been a useful tool that helps me remember to take small bites to improve little by little and be in a more sustainable place.
Plan: The first step in the PDCA journey is to plan. This includes high level, mid level and detailed plans.
Do: This is where you actually do the work. You follow the detailed plan put in the effort day after day following your detailed plan.
Check: Periodically you need to look up from your work to determine where you’re at now, how far you’ve come and most importantly, how you’re feeling.
Act: Based on your check, you need to act on your plan. This includes multiple options, staying the course, doubling down or pivoting.
Like the quality improvement concept, our goal is to make small continual improvements. At first it may not seem as gratifying as making big huge ‘new year, new you’ type changes, but it’s also much more sustainable. The goal is not overnight transformation but instead a practical repeatable framework to help real people train in the real world.
PDCA Endurance™ does not medical advice. It is not designed for elite performance optimization. It is not one size fits all.
Last updated: December 18, 2025