Some Work, All Play

This week's episode was such a fun romp! The main training topic involved the often-overlooked variable of hemoglobin mass, and how optimizing hemoglobin levels for your individual genetics could help you bring out your inner aerobic monster. Important considerations: training intensity/stress, nutrition, iron intake, and oxygen stress like altitude... plus some wild new science on how year-round heat exposure may help. We also had a follow-up based on listener questions about how we like athletes to use heart rate data from their watches. Simple calculations to figure out your Zone 2 can help make running more productive and MORE FUN! Other topics: bands-core-massage replacing gym-tan-laundry, an update on Leo's health journey, setting little goals and how athletics can help, our framework for evaluating running shoes, ways to think about adding cross training, and the etiquette of going to the bathroom during races.  We also read the most touching and soul-affirming listener message. We love you all so much! This episode was our second hottest date of the week, after our 15-minute trip to the running shoe store. There is nothing sexier than trying on some new supershoes! For a weekly bonus episode (and bi-weekly newsletter), make sure you're subscribed to our Patreon. WOOHOO! Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap

This week’s episode was a total joy ride! The main training topic involved how underperformance is linked with reduced adaptation rates, with possible connections to endocrine system responses. That has major implications for how we approach training and life stress, plus eating before and after runs! We also talked about how to approximate heart rate zones with a small amount of data. You’ll never have to guess again! Other topics: hamstring strengthening, uncertainty and fear (through the lens of being new parents), the benefits of percussive massage (get that vibrator game going), the wonderful Recover Athletics app, a follow-up on the microbiome and probiotics, the reality show "The Climb," holistic training approaches, and using few-week training micro-cycles. We also talk about why VO2 max approximation is unhelpful. Imagine your VO2 max is world-class, and BELIEVE accordingly. Coach Vanessa Carlton would want it that way!  For a weekly bonus episode (and bi-weekly newsletter), make sure you're subscribed to our Patreon. We love you all! WOOHOO! Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap

This week's episode was such a joyful treat! The main training topic involved understanding training intensity in the context of heart rate drift, where the heart rate rises across an activity. That's especially important for improving aerobic threshold over time, a key to performance at all distances! We also talked about our new FAVORITE STUDY OF ALL TIME, on how the microbiome may influence motivation via dopamine levels in the brain. It's a mouse study that could have profound implications for how we understand human health in the future, including gut health practices. You know we're all about that RAT NEWS. Other topics: a study on Strava as a social network, a fascinating analysis of what led to underperformance in a world-class athlete and how they rebounded out of that valley, the adaptation importance of balancing stress and eating enough always, "The Last Of Us" showing how athletic supplements can turn people into zombies, why it's fine to drop lots of balls in life, and 3 parenting reflections coming up on 3 months. We also unveil the most important snack revelation you'll ever hear. BUTTER TUBS FOR ALL! For a weekly bonus episode (and bi-weekly newsletter), make sure you're subscribed to our Patreon. We love you all! WOOHOO! Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap

This episode was such a joyous (and loving) way to kick off 2023! The main training topic addressed one of the toughest and most important questions for all endurance training: what does "easy" actually mean in practice? The answer is nuanced, diving into athlete background, physiology, and goals. Athletes who figure out how to live in that uncertain space can get SO MUCH FASTER, and have more fun in the process. We also talked about a story showing the beauty of sports, featuring professional football player Damar Hamlin's miraculous recovery from cardiac arrest. And that was just the start! Other topics: how we have evolved on rest days over time, the Bandera 100k and the exciting future of trail and ultra running, life and training as new parents, a beautiful listener corner message on the quiet struggles many people are facing, a far-reaching conversation about core values, and much more! The core value that guides us the most? Giving you THE BEST PLAYLIST EVER to rock your training. Check out Love, Kindness, and Hill Strides: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2NjJ0CtKcNhO6CUqvmsVac?si=545fec4b15094821 For a weekly bonus episode (and bi-weekly newsletter), make sure you're subscribed to our Patreon. We love you all! WOOHOO! Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap

We had the most fun and inspiring interview with one of our best friends in the whole world, Amelia Boone! Amelia is a world-class athlete with 4 world championships in obstacle course racing, a recent win at the Spartan Trail 100k World Championships, and numerous other accomplishments. Those accolades led to magazine covers and a public profile at times when she was working through an internal journey that couldn't be portrayed in glossy photoshoots. So what did Amelia do? She opened up, she got vulnerable, and she learned to love herself independent of her achievements. Amelia is defined by courage. She talked to us about her treatment journey for an eating disorder, why she advocates for others fighting unseen battles, the importance of complete honesty, making athletics fun, and balancing that independence from external validation with a competitive (and fun) desire to CRUSH SOULS. Do you want to start 2023 with some HOT FLAMING INSPIRATION? Then this is the interview for you. We love Amelia, and we can't wait for you to listen to this interview. Most importantly, we think that after you listen, you'll love yourself a tiny bit more, too. We appreciate you all so much. WOOHOO! Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap

The 2022 celebration episode brought all of the joy! We started with a holiday recap, including a burst-pipe adventure and a VERY IMPORTANT digression about vibrators. This week's big training tip involves a stunning study on self-talk, showing downright bonkers results. Other topics: the ULTIMATE  top-10 list for 2022 (we promise that it is vaguely running related), our theory on using races as training throughout the year, the uncertain definition of "supercompensation," a new study on trail runners v. road runners, what the study results mean for training, and much more!  The episode finishes with a Listener Corner email that will make you feel so much love and appreciation for existence. Thank you all for giving us the best year! We can't wait for what's ahead in 2023. We are all the sexiest monsters on the hill strides! For a weekly bonus episode (and bi-weekly newsletter), make sure you're subscribed to our Patreon. We love you all! WOOHOO! Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap

This episode brought the science and the FUN! We started with an overview of studies on penalty kicks, leading to a broader discussion on managing pressure over time in sports and life. It's all about shooting those shots, with openness and vulnerability! This week's big training tip is on encouraging adaptation through a training framework that considers the endocrine system. It's important for running and for the bedroom! Other topics: a public service announcement about the worst type of weather (WIND IS HORRIBLE), a new study on fatigue resistance with major training implications, a reflection on the science of coaching and leadership via a 2021 study, post-exercise ketone ingestion, long tempo runs, and much more! We also talk about the interplay between confidence and vulnerability, through the lens of books about vampires getting it on. We promise that it'll make 50% more sense when you listen. For a weekly bonus episode (and bi-weekly newsletter), make sure you're subscribed to our Patreon. We love you all! WOOHOO! Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap

We had a fantastic, life-changing interview with one of our heroes, Alex Honnold! You probably know Alex from the movie Free Solo, which documented his climb of El Capitan in Yosemite, possibly the most historic athletic achievement ever. But did you know that Alex is also a runner, recently completing a 50k, with plans for more? It was SO FREAKING FUN to pick his brain on climbing and running training. We asked some smart questions and some dumb ones, as is our nature. But the training discussion was just the beginning! Alex also talked to us about avoiding the pitfalls of external validation, his advice to aspiring young athletes, the reality of aging as an athlete, parenting, fueling, and SO MUCH MORE. And get a load of this: After an hour, he turned the tables on us and asked questions about running training. His curiosity was inspiring as heck, and we all flew our freak flags together. Alex is not just a legendary athlete, he is a stellar human whose kindness and humor lifts up everyone around him. We loved this interview, and we can't wait for you to listen! We appreciate you all so much. WOOHOO! Donate to the Honnold Foundation, supporting equitable access to solar energy: https://www.honnoldfoundation.org/donate Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap

This episode had it all, with some of the most fun training and life topics! We kicked it off with a training discussion that could improve your form and strength FOREVER... and it involves barefoot running. We are not ashamed to speak our barefoot running truth! The main training discussion is on a new study looking at 16,518 race results to determine whether uphill or downhill splits are the most important for race performance. The results may shock you! Other topics: 5 pieces of running news (including doping and race lotteries), novel approaches to tapers, podcast stats, flopping in soccer, breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and what that means for authenticity, and much more!  We also talk about the performance-enhancing properties of country music. Yes, we officially reversed our position on country-pop playlists! We apologize for our past errors. You only hate the ones you secretly love. For a weekly bonus episode (and bi-weekly newsletter), make sure you're subscribed to our Patreon. We love you all! WOOHOO! Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap

This episode was a total treat, getting to talk about some of the best topics! We started with the ONE FORM TIP THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE... maybe. It involves your glutes, so that has to be good. The main discussion is on 5 takeaways from World Champ Adam Peterman's training that can apply to all athletes, including how to balance intensity and using cross training strategically. Other topics: rejecting cynicism, a cellular-level explanation for why strides work, how the principles may apply across sports, using the bike and elliptical for breakthroughs, some cool data on iron bisglycinate, and much more!  Most importantly, we finish the podcast with a primer on WOLF SCIENCE from a recent study showing how a parasite affects animal behavior. This episode is some wild fun! And after the wolf talk, you may find yourself setting out and becoming the leader of your pack (especially if you grew up with cats... it'll make more sense after you listen). For a weekly bonus episode (and bi-weekly newsletter), make sure you're subscribed to our Patreon. We love you all! WOOHOO! Support the podcast: patreon.com/swap Try Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/swap