Your Ideal BMI Depends on Your Sport
Of course, there are tradeoffs. My experience over 4 decades as an athlete (YMMV)... BMI 18-19 - I *will* be injured. BMI 19-20 - I'll run fast when not injured, but I'll be injured a lot. BMI 20-21 - Probably the sweet spot for running (for me) in terms of performance v injury risk - but weak in the pool & on the bike. BMI 21-22 - Sweet spot for tri, rarely injured, good power on bike. BMI 22-23 - Feel really good in the water, a bit heavy on the run. BMI 23-24 - Run fitness tanks, start to feel a bit "soft".
Training Only Works When It Improves Your Fitness
👏 Sometimes you don't benefit *at all*, i.e. you're completely wasting your time. This is one of the most counterintuitive things for an athlete to grasp, and one of the most important. Always keep in mind, training is a means to an end....
30 Years of Coaching Reveal High‑Performance Essentials
The 123 of High Performance: What 30 years as a coach and exercise physiologist has taught me... 👇🧵
Your Body Stays Adaptable at Any Age.
A fantastic series on the pillars of long-term movement from @hjluks , This is module 1 for a reason... When we are young we move without fear... sometimes stupidly... but we survive 😊 As we age, we dial this down too much, we...
Build Aerobic Base Before Intensity for Long-Term Gains
Most athletes are in awful metabolic shape... And they don't know it. Then they skimp on the low zones because they're "time-crunched" and go straight to intensity. All that does? Reinforce the limiter. Want to really improve over long time horizons? Build the aerobic base...
Bigger VO2max, Not Tiny Lactate Tweaks, Drives Speed
Many athletes are focused on the little stuff - tweaking or shaping the lactate curve. A timely reminder that the vast majority of the difference in speed at *any* point on the curve comes from building a bigger engine - a...
Your Training Shapes Others' Expectations of You
You're not only training your own body & mind... You're training the minds of others as well... In what they can expect from you... If you're the type of person who will be where they say they're going to be.
One Year Training Cuts HR 25 Beats, Boosts Efficiency
A very interesting question that we did a deep data dive on the #MADcrew forum about... https://t.co/GjhhFK2p7c Average improvement in E.F. across the entire group over 1 year was 0.21. At typical training paces (and, of course, assuming volume builds), this would be...
Maximize Heartbeats: Prioritize Pace Over Heart Rate
Athletes should become *very* attentive to both pace and heart rate, because higher pace at a given heart rate is 90% of the game. More plainly... Do not accept runs with a shitty E.F.: * Run early * Use cooling strategies * Treadmill if you...
Carbs Aren’t One Tank: Muscle Glycogen Drives Performance
Let me dump some carbs on you... Someone said yesterday that thinking about CHO intake in terms of stores, output and "bonking" is the "old way" of looking at carbs in sport. That pissed me off. So, let's start with... Only those with...
Sodium Fuels Glucose Uptake, but Excess Clogs Absorption
Yes, it is a confounding factor, but a necessary one. To get carbs from the gut across the intestinal wall requires the SGLT1 transporter... Sodium-Glucose-Linked-Transporter Sodium is the driver, glucose is a passenger. So, you do need ample sodium to get high levels...
Speed Comes From Volume, Volume From Slowing Down
The way to run fast is to run more. The way to run more is to run slow.
Definitive Language, Proven Follow‑through Reveal True Commitment
Great Q: "How do you know that an athlete means what they say?" That they'll keep their commitment? A few thoughts: 1. They don't use whiffly language. They don't say... "I'd like to.." "I'll try to.." "I do have a busy life, but.." "I'm looking...
Commitment Turns Inspiration Into Real Fitness Gains
You probably saw the post. You clicked "like" 👍 You thought... "What a cool idea, I should do something like that" Then it faded from your mind. Six months on, day after day after day, John has been living it. And, he's at a completely...
Hit Breakpoint Volume? Train Less or Recover Better
As volume ⬆️... fitness (pace for a given HR) should ⬆️ When this stops being the case, you've hit breakpoint volume. You have 2 options at that point: 1/ Train less. 2/ Recover better.
Race Specialty Dictates Training Focus: Sprinters vs Distance
Thanks @lupinrider 🙏 I think the races/events that the athlete is good at offers a lot of info - both on how they should train late in the build and what race they should be focused on at the end of...
Volume Sets Your Performance Ceiling, Not Sharpening
I agree with @zbitter - this is how it should be done... 1/ Build volume (6+ mo) 2/ Sharpen for a race (2-4 mo) 3/ Recover (1-2 mo) 4/ Build to a higher volume. The problem comes when time-limited athletes stop at phase 2 and...
Increase Training Volume for Sustainable Performance Gains
Your training volume sets your performance limit. Sure you can do intervals for a couple of months to get a temporary boost. But, for lasting, sustained improvement, the only way forward is to figure out how you can do (and absorb) more.
Tailor Your Training: Athlete Types Guide Updated
Updated my latest article on "What Type of Athlete Are You?" I wasn’t satisfied with just explaining the athlete types… So I added a NEW section on how to actually adjust training for each one... - What to emphasize through the season - How...
Consistent Easy Miles Beat Intervals for 5K Success
I dunno, man... If you're say a 20 minute 5K runner doing 30mi/wk w/ 2 specific interval workouts/wk. You drop the interval workouts for a year and commit to building to consistent 60mi/wk of *only* easy miles plus strides. Then run a...
Nature Syncs Our Heart Rhythm, Boosting Health
Something we overlook… Our body is constantly syncing with our environment. Every time I’m by the ocean, my #HRV starts to mirror the waves. Maybe better health isn’t another intervention… Maybe it’s reconnecting with nature. 🌊 https://t.co/x5xbhjlner
No Speed Without Mileage: Denial Won’t Boost 5Ks
Thinking you can run fast in anything 5k or more without putting in serious time/mileage is bathing in a river called denial.
90% of Fitness Gains Come From Pure Base Work
(Sadly) leaving ice cream metaphors behind, the number is ~90/10. That is, you'll get ~90% of your fitness potential from pure base *work* (sub LT1) You'll get ~10% by adding "the fancy stuff" More concretely, your typical runner with the potential to run...
Your Training Plan Should Fit You, Not Be Universal
The right training plan is like the right relationship… There’s no universally “perfect” one. There’s just the one that perfectly fits you.
Amateurs Train by Time, Pros Train by Calories
The key question for an amateur endurance athlete: "How much time do you have to train?" The key question for a professional endurance athlete: "How much food can you eat?"
No Such “Magic” Workout Ratios—Just Personal Preference
If you believe in & want to argue for "magic workouts"... Like 45/15 is somehow special & universally superior to 30/30 or 20/40 or 15/45 or 180/180 or 3000/300 or any other possible interval permutation... Please let me know so I...
Monitor Heart Rate: Ignoring It Leads to Bad Outcomes
This is exactly why you *should* pay attention to heart rate. A lot of variables beyond the pace/power you're pushing go into the mix to determine physiological stress at any point in time. You can't ignore those variables. I mean, you can, but...
Lower Resting Heart Rate Lets You Work Harder
One thing I like about a fixed HR cap... It naturally grows with your fitness. 120 bpm is a much higher relative effort for someone with a resting heart rate of 40bpm, than it is for someone with a resting heart rate...
Walking Reduces Calorie, Hydration, and Heat Limits
95% Calories, fluid & heat management are 3 of the biggest limiters to marathon performance. All go down a lot easier when walking.
Burn 1,000–2,000 Kcal Daily for Health and Edge
1,000 kcal of low-intensity exercise every day keeps the Doctor away. 2,000 kcal of low-intensity exercise every day keeps the competition at bay.
Build Zone 1 Reserve Before Hard Training
Zone 1 is an investment. It builds your fat-burning engine and expands your energy reserves. Zone 3/4 is a withdrawal. It spends from that reserve. Want your hard training to actually work? Build the reserve first. #Base
Limited Time Means Prioritize Health Over Performance
No time → no high performance. That’s endurance sport. If time is limited, the goal shifts to health & fitness. Your training should shift too.
Elite Athletes Blend Hard Sessions with Abundant Easy Miles
You can argue threshold vs high-intensity all day. Both have produced world-class athletes. What hasn’t? Skipping the easy miles. Almost everyone at the top: *Something* hard + a lot of easy aerobic work That’s the recipe.
Prioritize the Fitness Type You Need Most
Aerobic fitness & Metabolic fitness are two separate things. If you are a time-limited athlete, prioritize that precious time according to what you need the most.
Aerobic System Dominates Events over 78.6 Seconds
If your event lasts longer than 78.6 seconds, your Aerobic Energy system is the dominant contributor. #BuildThatBase
Build a Solid Base Before VO2max Training
Your regular reminder... You can only sharpen the base you've built. If you have no base, "VO2max work" is completely pointless.
Tech Shows You Really Need Easy Training
On tech… The real purpose of lactate meters, metabolic carts, HR monitors, etc? To tell you: “Yes… you really do need to train that easy.” Without it, most athletes never figure that out.
Success Lies in Low‑Intensity, High‑Volume Work
Just had a lovely chat with a double Olympic gold medalist… ...and it left me with a very familiar conclusion: We all need more plain old low-intensity volume. If there’s a secret, it’s hiding in the boring stuff.
Banister Model: Only Load and Timing Matter
Something I always find offers perspective... The Banister model is still a good model. It explains a large portion of athletic performance. It doesn't factor in all of the fancy stuff - whether you do 4 or 8 minute intervals, whether you...
Youth Rushes; Age Teaches the Strength of Patience
One of the cruel ironies of life: When we're young, & have all the time in the world, our impatience limits us. When we're older & our remaining time on this planet is limited, we discover the power of patience.
Know Your Metabolic Profile, Not Just VO2max
The reason you should know your VO2max, ironically, has nothing to do with VO2max. It’s because you should know your metabolic profile: How much fat vs carbohydrate you burn at different intensities 🔥 And that requires a metabolic cart.
Test Your Physiology, Train at the Right Intensity
Physiological testing isn’t about geeking out on numbers. It’s about *intensity discipline*... Knowing where you should be training & sticking to it! I spent years training at the wrong intensity. And it was my ultimate limiter.
Prioritize Aerobic Training, Periodic Races Reveal True Fitness
Yes, but... 1/ Going along with @hjluks most recent post... "Aerobic Deficiency Syndrome" is a freaking epidemic. That is, most of us have aerobic fitness orders of magnitude worse than our anaerobic fitness. This should be reflected in how much training time/emphasis...
Time Your Fitness Boosters for Peak Performance
Fitness isn’t one engine. It’s a sequence of boosters - each one timed to fire at exactly the right moment 🚀 Get the sequence right → you peak on race day. Get it wrong → you never leave the ground. My latest: Building your season...
High-Performing Athletes Suffer More Health Issues Than Elite
Fascinating review on the relationship between level of training/performance and immune function. I would agree that "high" performing athletes generally have worse health than "elite" performing athletes. Because... 1/ They have less control over life stress (often global "Type A" personalities) 2/ They train...
Release Unused Energy Through Simple Daily Movement
Energy you don’t use becomes a problem. Your body needs a release valve. You have one. Movement.
Your Easy Runs Are Already Threshold Workouts
"Coach, after reading Bakken's book, I think I need to add some threshold runs to my week" "Are you lactate testing your easy runs?" "No." "Good news: You're already doing them."
Wearables Distinguish Real Fatigue From Cat‑like Laziness
Wearables (can) help with that eternal question... "I feel kinda tired today. Am I really tired, or am I just being a 🐱?" That question is a very stressful question for athletes. It can rattle around in your head for days. And...
Walking and Running: One Continuum, Infinite Options
Walking & Running aren't separate activities. They lie on a continuum: 🚶♂️ 🏃♂️ You have all points on the range at your disposal... You can go... - All walking - A walk with 30s jog every 5 min. - A jog with walk breaks when...
Consistent Low‑Intensity Training Drives Massive HR & HRV Gains
We all have such potential for fitness change if we simply stick with a simple, progressive, low-intensity training program for a long time. Most won't. They'll get bored. They'll get confused. They'll lose consistency. That's your advantage.