The Strength Running Podcast

After 100 episodes of the Strength Running Podcast, Jason announced a survey to get your feedback. What format episode is your favorite? Do you prefer longer or shorter episodes? What would you like to see MORE of? And of course, what can be improved? After analyzing hundreds of responses, there are some clear trends on what you like and would like to see in this podcast. In this episode, Jason talks through the main takeaways from the survey and what changes to expect in the podcast. The survey is still up so if you would like to add your voice, please do so! Visit strengthrunning.com/survey/ to give us your feedback.

Matt Phillips is a running injury and performance specialist from England who's written for most major media platforms and has spoken at numerous international conferences. You might recognize him! He's a massage therapist, video gait analyst, and is also the host of the Run Chat Live Podcast (I was recently a guest here!). In this conversation, we're covering a lot: When is gait retraining a good idea? Who should consider it? What are the risks of trying to improve your form? Are the risks of prolonged sitting substantial? How can we work around this? Can you reinforce proper running technique without trying to? What aspects of this topic have changed in the last 10 years? If you'd like to reinforce proper form, improve your efficiency, and make running more economical you can do so using "form cues." They are simple to implement ways of automatically improving your gait. See my three favorite form cues here.

Menachem Brodie is an exercise scientist, USA Cycling Expert level coach and USA Triathlon certified coach, and a graduate of an American College of Sports Medicine Accredited program with a bachelors in Exercise Physiology. He also has experience working in physical therapy, Emergency Medicine, and even with sports like basketball and CrossFit. By now, you've noticed that I love speaking with guests on the podcast with a wide diversity of experiences. And Menachem clearly fits the mold. Today, we're discussing strength training for endurance runners. More specifically, we're focusing on: The value of having a strength and conditioning certification (but why experience also matters) Strength work for rehabilitation vs. performance The lifting differences between endurance runners and cyclists How to think about strength training periodization Thoughts on fitness classes like Orange Theory, boot camp, Body Pump, etc. As the author of two strength training courses offered on the Training Peaks site, Menachem is uniquely positioned to offer us new perspectives on weightlifting for runners.

Alexandra Ellis is a polymath, having studied and worked in many different areas of exercise science, fitness, and coaching. She has a degree in Exercise Biology and has amassed nearly 1,000 hours of yoga training. Alex also has additional education in: Human Dissection (of course, this was the first thing we talked about) CrossFit Mobility Movement education with Sarah Court, DPT Regeneration Techniques workshop completion through NSCA As you can see, she has experiences that most coaches would envy (human dissection and NSCA training in particular). And I'm always looking for new perspectives that will help us improve our running. Alex delivers in a fun episode that highlights her knowledge about the body, movement, recovery, and injuries. In this conversation, we discuss: What did she learn from dissecting human cadavers? The physiological, biomechanical, and behavioral aspects of her Exercise Biology degree What she learned from CrossFit Mobility that will help runners How to incorporate a daily mobility practice into your life The pros and cons of different massage tools (foam rollers, lacrosse balls, and even Graston tools) How to prevent and treat rolled ankles What she means when she says, "If stretching ain't helping, start building strength." To celebrate our 100th episode, I invite you to take a short (3-question) survey to help us make it better. I really appreciate it.

Today's episode is about recovery, and specifically recovery through three different perspectives: acute recovery - or what you do immediately after a hard workout or race, recovery as preparation - or what you do in training that makes recovery easier, and finally long-term recovery from season to season so you can avoid over-training and burning out. It’s helpful to talk about recovery from different perspectives but also different time scales. Because recovery can happen in the micro and in the macro. And I think this is really important because we runners tend to get caught up in this one dimensional form of thinking about recovery where we’re only focused on recovery after a run. It’s what we do after a race, or long run, or workout, that defines recovery. But recovery is bigger than that and we’ll be better runners if recovery is more 3-dimensional. Don't miss our free foam roller guide to expedite the recovery process at https://strengthrunning.com/roller/ 

Today's podcast episode features one of the lead coaches for Rogue Running, a massive running group in Austin, Texas. After discovering the Running Rogue podcast and learning more about the group, I instantly recognized Chris McClung as a thoughtful coach who truly "gets" training (he's not going to tell you to run less, run faster...). In this conversation, we focus on three key areas: How he learned to be a great coach The training theory and principles that influence his coaching The role of community and how that impacts your performance This episode is an excerpt from Team Strength Running, our group coaching program that connects you to me as your coach, a team of your peers, and a new monthly expert interview. Sign up here to get notified the next time we open!

Borrowing an idea from our mutual friend Nicole Antoinette, Kate has decided to choose courage over comfort when it comes to showing up and racing. When it comes to getting the most from our bodies, all of us have some trepidation about the discomfort of racing. It can be unpleasant and downright painful. But deciding to "go all in" and embrace that fear is the only way we can reach our potential. It's not an easy choice. Comfort is far easier: the comfort of sleeping in, not signing up for that big race, or not pushing hard during the final mile. But comfort can be the invisibility cloak that masks failure. After all, if we're only operating at 85%, are we really thriving? Today's conversation with Kate Grace covers many areas of training and mastering your inner psychology: How she handles workout anxiety and pre-race jitters What she does to stay in control of her thoughts during demanding speed workouts How she talks to herself in fearful situations (like standing on the starting line of a major championship)

You’re about to listen to Strength Running’s first live show with author Matt Fitzgerald. If you’re not familiar with Matt, he’s written more than 20 books about sports nutrition, endurance, running, and the marathon including my favorites, The Endurance Diet, Brain Training, Racing Weight, and Diet Cults. This was recorded in front of a live audience at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver, Colorado. Matt's latest book is a memoir called Life is a Marathon that chronicles his career as a coward when it comes to the suffering that inevitably accompanies endurance running. But he learns to overcome that suffering, and in doing so discovers the person he wants to become, for himself and for his wife Nataki who has severe bipolar disorder. It’s a very different type of book about running that I highly recommend, especially if you want a moving read that isn’t heavy on training jargon.

I ran competitively against Peter while we were both in college. He was at Tufts University while I ran for Connecticut College. Bromka was faster. In college, he was consistently a Varsity runner for their competitive Division III cross country team. But while he was a very good college runner, I wouldn't say he was a standout athlete. Things started to change post-collegiately when Peter started running marathons. His first was 2:56 - a relatively pedestrian time by a former collegiate runner (one who was capable of running 25:xx for a 5-mile cross country course). Soon, he dropped his time to 2:47. And then 2:41. His progression of improvement over 26.2 miles is eye-popping. After that 2:41, he ran: 2:36 2:34 2:29 2:23 2:19 His fastest finish came last December at the 2018 California International Marathon. His official time - 2:19:40 - missed the Olympic Trials Qualifying standard by a mere 40 seconds. This progression gives Peter Bromka one of the most fascinating stories in marathon running today. It's rare. It's unique. And we just don't see DIII runners flirting with Olympic Trials Qualifying times very often! I brought Peter on the podcast to talk about this progression and the mental and physical adjustments he's had to make to continue improving. In this episode, we talk about: How did Peter's mindset about training and racing change as he got faster? What role does fear play in how you think about breaking certain time barriers? Did he ever think he had reached his physiological limit? What then? What is it about the Boston Marathon that makes it so special (and difficult!)? Peter Bromka is like a philosopher of running. You'll love hearing him wax poetic about the marathon distance and what it means to run it well.

Brad Stulberg is a polymath whose first book with coach Steve Magness, Peak Performance, was one of my favorite reads from 2018. His work focuses on helping athletes, business executives, and other top performers improve their chances of success by work on: Defining a path for long-term progression Mental toughness Developing sustainable motivation and purpose How to get into a deep-focus "flow" state Building resilience Development of optimal routines His latest book is also coauthored by Steve Magness, titled The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life. In this conversation, we spend time focusing on the nuances of passion, obsession, and building interest in things that we like. His book is a defense of passion. It's a more nuanced, effective perspective on passion that acknowledges that it's hard to find, that it must be cultivated, and that too much of it can indeed be a bad thing.