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One final episode with Tawnee and John for On My Mind. This will be the last episode released on Endurance Planet for now as we press pause on the podcast.
In this show we discuss:
- Top shows of all time
- What we see here is a rich diversity in what everyone has loved that goes beyond endurance training! Including shows with Lucho, Dr. Phil Maffetone, Dr. Steve Gangemi, Julie McClosky; some links to those shows:
- All of the affiliate and discount codes will still remain live so you can shop through the podcast and continue doing everything you’ve done, none of that is leaving. Head over to enduranceplanet.com/shop.
- Your support helps us to keep all podcast episodes alive and available for anyone to hear.
- All episodes will still be available in the archives and on podcast platforms.
- Website has all shows from all time; podcast apps have a limited amount of more recent episodes.
- John shares his takeaways from being part of EP for so long, as a listener, manager, and co-owner.
- Also some reflections:
- Thoughts on functional medicine, for example.
- It has its place. But sometimes it doesn’t. Tawnee shares how she has worked alongside many athletes over the years facilitating their testing, results analysis, health protocols. This can lead to great results, empowerment, more knowledge of self. But as mentioned in OMM 21 it can go to far for some of us where we need to take a step back and focus our efforts and our healing elsewhere, i.e. tapping more into our intuition, knowing of self, and finding more self-love and acceptance. Tawnee says, “I will help coach an athlete into the best decision based on their current season of life and sometimes that means doing the full load of testing and deep dives, and sometimes that means stepping away from more testing, protocols and supplements!”
- You can follow something and still be critical of it.
- Finally, a reminder to always allow yourself to feel, process, grieve and more…
THANK YOU, EVERYONE!
The post
OMM 22: Goodbye and Thank You first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
The seventh and final installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story as a college student who developed an eating disorder and amenorrhea, turned hardcore endurance athlete, coach, holistic health expert, and eventually slowing down her participation in sport as she entered her motherhood era. It’s an inspiring message that self-healing, thriving and achieving dreams are always possible.
For Part 1 click here.
For part 2 click here.
For part 3 click here.
For part 4 click here.
For part 5 click here.
For part 6 click here.
In this episode, Tawnee ties it all together with a pivotal moment in 2016 in which she rather suddenly fell ill with an autoimmune disease, which prompted her to take an even deeper dive into her healing, discovering even more roots of wellness and being free of dis-ease in the body. Her work put this condition into remission, for good. After wrapping up some races such at the Boston Marathon, and then getting married, so began a journey into fertility and pregnancy. After a brief struggle, she became pregnant in mid-2017 and had a wonderful, happy, healthy pregnancy, but it would end tragically two days before their baby’s due date…. We end with her closing thoughts on this series and a message to everyone out there.
The post
OMM 21: The Autobiography Series, Part 7 (Finale) first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
As we announced recently, we are pausing the Endurance Planet podcast and this is the final episode of Ask the Coaches after more than 13+ years of Tawnee and Lucho at the mic together (this episode’s photo is them together for Ragnar in 2015). Join us for a moving, and inspiring conversation with some thoughts and tips we’ve put together that combines over a decade of research, podcasting, talking and working with athletes; these are the things that have a lot of power to help you and that you’ll want to consider incorporating into your training and life, including:
- Use the MAF Method as a baseline in any plan
- Clearing up a critical mistake/incorrect statement we made on ATC 294, our MAF Method Guide episode (one of the most popular downloads of all time). The correct statement is that MAF HR using metabolic cart testing is determined with FATMAX not the crossover point.
- Why and how MAF works as part of any training plan.
- But also, maybe MAF is really about the intuitive nature and not so much lab testing and data collection.
- Always strength train
- It can’t really hurt but it certainly can help; just don’t go crazy with it if lacking experience because then you might get hurt lol, seek professional guidance at first or as needed
- Your health has a direct correlation with performance
- You can do your thing with sub-par health and/or chronic health issues, but eventually it catches up and hinders performance and zest for life in some way so it behooves all of us to take charge of our wellbeing!
- And if you are really suffering, heal first then go get back to training and go for it—it’s very hard to do both at the same time, it’s ok to take a step back!
- Intuitive training has a role in any training plan
- Do any training plan you desire, but always allow yourself those intuitive workouts or sessions where you can learn your body, listen to your body and honor your body’s needs without the data feedback.
- “You can make incorrect training correct (if you use it correctly)”–Lucho
- Make it work for you and keeping you fulfilled. You don’t always have to fit in a box with training; e.g. if you want to make speed work apply to ultra running, it can be done.
- Have fun!
- If you’re not having fun why are you doing it?
- Ok, so maybe it’s not all fun, and some sessions have to be done, and boxes need to be checked, but overall ask yourself if there is that spark, that joy, that enjoyment? And if it’s not there, reevaluate what you might need.
- It depends….
The post
ATC 365: The Last One – Signing Off With Our All-Time Top Takeaways and Tips For Athletes first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
The sixth installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story as a college student who developed an eating disorder and amenorrhea, turned hardcore endurance athlete, coach, holistic health expert and more. It is a cautionary tale but also one full of hope and that self-healing, thriving and achieving dreams are always possible.
For Part 1 click here.
For part 2 click here.
For part 3 click here.
For part 4 click here.
For part 5 click here.
In this episode, Tawnee comes off a season of revelations and enters a phase of inner conflict—she is finally pursuing deep, intentional healing but also finds it hard to let go of racing and the pace of life that she is used to pushing. Something has to change, and her mind and body need to come into alignment. She also needs to find the fun in it again!
The post
OMM 20: The Autobiography Series, Part 6 first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us for one final episode as EP winds down. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
We are continuing our series, “When Things Don’t Go As Planned,” that dissects your health and injury issues that come up when you least want them and can negatively affect your training and race season–how to heal, prevent and overcome going forward of common (and not so common) issues that athletes face. Listen to No. 1 of the series here, and No. 2 here.
When Things Don’t Go As Planned
Part 1: Sciatica, Sciatic Pain—Or A Misdiagnosis?
- A lot of people think they have it but they really don’t.
- Pain in the glute or down hamstring doesn’t automatically mean sciatica.
- Sciatic nerve is really more from back of the knee down.
- Sensory innervations of the sciatic nerve is really only beyond the knee (distally–knee to foot), according to some research.
- But this is debated and some disagree.
- Common to misdiagnose sciatic pain (when it’s in fact something else).
- Sclerotogenous pain– this is a type of referred pain from lumbar spine/sacral area in the glute area or even hamstring that can get mixed up with sciatic pain.
- Whereas sciatic pain is more like numbness, tingling, sharp-stinging-type pain all the way down into calf and foot
- They both can come from lower back issues or piriformis, muscle imbalances, etc.
- If you do have sciatica—the #1 muscle involved is the piriformis muscle, in which the sciatic nerve can be in different places even going through this muscle in some people.
- Who is susceptible? What are contributing causes?
- Whether it is sciatic or something else, a lot of the causes and treatments are similar; don’t get too wrapped up in terminology if the roots to healing are all similar.
- Hormonal connection, i.e. sex hormones and stress hormones—muscles of pelvis can be affected when over-stressing the body in this way that leads to hormonal imbalances.
- Those with better hormonal status have better core strength and thus likely to have better performance.
- Or also an inflammatory condition or lack of offsetting inflammation in the body, including dietary stresses.
- The role of biomechanics and form in all of this.
- Path to healing
- Steps to healing will depend on the patient you may not need to dive into in-depth testing right away, and maybe you start with the mechanics and then see if influence with hormones.
- Assess the person: some are more hormonal based and others more mechanic based.
- Correlation between sciatica with menstrual cycle? Not so clear compared to hip pain for example.
- Trigger point therapy
- No static stretching, usually just irritates things more (despite temporary pain relief).
- Trigger point work in hip area: under the sacrum, piriformis muscle; this can even help balance things out for back pain relief.
- Beyond that, depends on level of pain.
- Why is it sometimes we flare up and sometimes we’re not only fine but perform so well? Because there are a lot of things that go into this beyond the obvious, e.g. were we really stressed leading up to the issue/flare up?
- Piriformis or sciatic pain could also be an issue on the OPPOSITE side of where the pain is being felt—work on that opposite to relieve and relax the side in pain.
- Supplements
- Healthy fats, animal-based fats.
- Vitamin A & E—main precursors to reproductive hormones which inadvertently helps these issues.
- Timestamp: starts at 28:00
- Types and IU vs mcg of Vitamin A, conversions and confusion cleared!
- Eg) 1,000 IU D is 25 mcg
- Vitamin E is in milligrams, 400 IU of E is 268 mg
- Vitamin A is RAE 2000 IU of A is 600 RAE (0.3 multiplication)
- It’s also about building nutritional status over time
- Usually with sciatica it’s something brewing for a while, such as pelvic floor dysfunction, poor breathing technique (mouth/shallow breathing).
Part 2: Healthy Perimenopause and Menopause
- What is a normal age and timeframe for perimenopause/menopause?
- Is it normal for someone in their late 30s early/ 40s to be experiencing this transition? Not so much.
- 40-45 years old is too young to be starting to experience symptoms and changes in one’s menstruation.
- Late 40s to 50 years old is about the normal time.
- Common and not-so-common symptoms & cycle changes
- The biggest thing is that you don’t ideally want to experience drastic changes in how you feel, e.g.
- Hot flashes, mood swings, body aches, low libido, vaginal dryness.
- The problem is when one’s menstrual cycle changes ALONGSIDE these other symptoms, e.g. longer cycles or missed periods.
- Often, worse symptoms are seen in those women who start this transition at an earlier age.
- Possibly a stress correlation or some underlying
- If there are menstrual cycle changes without (perimenopause-type) symptoms that could be something else.
- “Normal” perimenopause/menopause
- Late 40s to early 50s
- More often when self-care and overall health is present, this is when symptoms may be subtly present but not drastic, very manageable.
- This also is usually when women start this transition later in life rather than too early and things tend to progress more smoothly, in his experience.
- Hormone levels (before and after)
- You still make these sex hormones just less of them.
- Health of adrenal glands through your cycling years can help determine how early or late you go through menopause and how you actually feel.
- If your adrenal glands are stressed out and you’re burnt out this could make perimenopause/menopause feel much worse.
- Progesterone/cortisol connection; relative estrogen dominance.
- Estrogen & receptor issues.
- May need to detoxify estrogen, may need to supplement with progesterone, balance takes time.
- Stalling or reversing perimenopause/menopause? Possible?
- If you’re young and experiencing this you may be able to do something if you catch it very early and ease symptoms.
- Hot flashes have to do with liver detox (1-3 AM timeframe).
- Sulfation, glucuronidation
- Estrobolome
- Focus on gut health, nutrition, stress balance, supporting detox pathways, etc.
- Supplements
- Vitex aka chaste tree berry for progesterone support and hormonal balancing.
- Black cohosh (but NOT when pregnant).
- Jerusalem Artichoke–break down estrogen, PMS, breast tenderness, prebiotics, no side effects, etc.
- Cruciferous veggies, broccoli sprouts
- But if you always have to take an herb, you’re not getting to root causes or via lifestyle and nutritional support.
- Some people may just need extra nutritional support via diet, we’re all individuals!
Steve’s Top-3 All-Time Tips
- Go barefoot
- Podcast with research that Tawnee mentions on minimalist shoes/barefoot with injury prevention and resilience.
- Not a fad! Being barefoot and comfortable without shoes or in minimalist footwear is a reflection of health and well-being (if it hurts that’s a red flag).
- Don’t believe all the hype (that you read online or elsewhere)
- Don’t believe everything you see; we can’t always trust random stranger person who’s promoting x, y, z fads.
- Extremes usually aren’t all they are stacked up to be (e.g. zero sugar, zero caffeine).
- Striving for things that just aren’t possible and therefore it’s hard to sustain and we fail.
- Consistency over time
- And keep it simple.
- Realistic goal-setting, lifestyle and nutritional approaches (moderation)—this lends to more consistency.
- Small changes over big overhauls (i.e. what toothpaste or bodywash are you using? Maybe a simple change there can be more realistic and beneficial over major biohacks.)
- Eating, sleeping, exercise are top here—be consistent!
The post
Sock Doc 22: Sciatica (Or Is It?), Supporting Healthy Perimenopause/Menopause, And Steve’s Top-3 All-Time Tips first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
The fifth installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story as a college student who developed an eating disorder and amenorrhea, turned hardcore endurance athlete, coach, holistic health expert and more. It is a cautionary tale but also one full of hope and that self-healing, thriving and achieving dreams are always possible.
For Part 1 click here.
For part 2 click here.
For part 3 click here.
For part 4 click here.
On this episode:
Tawnee chronicles years 2011-2013. It begins with meeting her future husband John, starting as host of the Endurance Planet podcast, befriending co-host Lucho (and hiring him as her coach) and more business success. All the while, she experiences a peak in her triathlon/endurance racing, followed by downfall(ish), something Dr. Phil Maffetone has alluded to as a red-flag warning sign of overtraining syndrome. In late 2013 she had a horrible race at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships followed by an Ironman DNF two weeks later at Lake Tahoe, and with the way she felt and symptoms she was experiencing, she saw the writing on the wall: It was time to commit to her healing and health above all.
Links mentioned:
Tawnee’s (old-school) blog – tritawn.com
Ironman Lake Tahoe ’13 Race Report
The post
OMM 19: The Autobiography Series, Part 5 first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
On this episode of Ask The Coaches with Tawnee and Lucho, we have a special announcement for our fans and more.
Intro Banter
- Why Lucho doesn’t own a snow blower (yes, he was still under snow at time of this recording, in spring).
- The value of manual labor like shoveling your own snow.
- Lucho learns to snowboard… and also how he met and fell in love with his wife during an early-life era that involved skiing.
- Tawnee’s love for snowboarding.
End Of An Era
First, we announce the end of Endurance Planet, or, perhaps… a pause… for now. Tawnee shares her thoughts behind this difficult decision and what went into it. We also share our reflections as co-hosts of Ask The Coaches (and the multiple variations the show has had) for more than 13 years and what it’s meant to us. Stay tuned as Ask the Coaches #365 (the next show) will be our last and it’s a great show we have planned!
Also, the podcast episodes will still be up for our fans and audience to listen to and go back into the archives to re-listen to past shows or recommend them to people who you think may benefit.
If you have enjoyed this show, please leave us a positive review on the podcast app!
Also, on this episode we followup to our mental toughness question from the last show, ATC 363. We had a lot of great feedback, comments and thoughts from that episode so in this one we cover a couple questions/comments:
Anonymous Writes:
Is It Ego, Discipline or Mental Toughness That’s The Driving Force?
G’day Tawnee and Lucho,
Thanks for the great shows you guys put together. I loved the recent episode on mental toughness and have really appreciated Tawnee’s recent series on her life and eating disorder (note: OMM 15 was the first installment of this series for those interested). Thank you for being so open and vulnerable. One of my favourite shows was Lucho’s wrap up of his last Ironman. Amazing to hear both of you being so honest. On the mental toughness episode Lucho said pushing past pain was foolish but I seem to remember Lucho talking throughout ATC about running through plantar fasciitis pain and other niggles or injuries. Was this driven by ego or your need/want to race? Just wondering how you justified this at the time and if you’re opinion on it has changed. I agree that David Goggins probably shouldn’t have turned his knees into dust but there has to be some middle ground? I recently trained a lot of swimming and decided to see if i could do 25km in the pool, I’d only ever done 10km in the pool before this. About 7 hours into my 9.5 hour swim my shoulders started to hurt… I didn’t know it was possible for someone’s shoulders to feel like they did. I weighed it up and didn’t think i was doing permanent damage to my shoulders so kept going. Do you think this was my ego, discipline or mental toughness ?
I don’t think i have a huge ego, I’ve never had any social media and usually keep goals/achievements just to my family but then again if i didn’t have an ego i wouldn’t have mentioned the swim above. Obviously i’d love to hear Lucho say “That’s awesome” or Tawnee say “Wow, that’s a great effort” I’ve completed a few ultra runs and have a couple of 100 mile runs completed in the “Last one standing” format. I often wonder what’s driving me, of course i like the challenge and i hope i can inspire my kids, and my niece and nephews but if i’m going to be honest it’s probably also about proving people wrong. I’ve got a significant vision impairment so sometimes i feel like i can’t do many things but i can do these endurance tests. Not sure if this is a long term fuel source and these feelings of insecurity probably have lead me to abusing alcohol in the past.
Anyway, just wanted to say I love these type of discussions from you two so please keep it up. Thanks again for the great shows, we really appreciate it.
What the Coaches say:
- Bringing vulnerability to this show and all the growth we can all gain from it.
- Why ego isn’t all evil and we can use it as an ally and channel it for good especially as athletes—something we discuss in detail with Jess Gumkowski in this episode.
- Context, nuance and experience when training or running through niggles. Ask: What do you have on the line? What’s the issue and how bad could it potentially get?
- Not pushing through something that you’re incapable of; still doing that which you’re capable of within your fitness realm.
- Seeking advice from professionals or experts.
- What Steve Magness suggests in his book.
- If a pursuit or goal is unfolding before you and looking unattainable, be willing to re-engage and modify for a new goal. Reassess and re-evaluate—that is mental toughness. Bring self-awareness to the situation.
- Revising goals on the fly.
- What are the thoughts, reasons, etc, that are driving behavior?
- Know your personal boundaries and limits.
- The only dumb workout is the one that gets you injured.
- Motivation from within vs seeking motivation from external factors. A healthy balance of ego vs internal factors not related to ego.
- David Goggins is in no way wrong but his approach may not be for everyone.
- For some of us, the mental toughness can be the ability to not do the “thing” and hold back to not overdo it.
- Embracing differences.
- So what was it for him? Depends on what was going through his mind at the time, i.e. his why… but, that said, probably a combo of ego and discipline.
Laura Writes:
Discipline vs. Mental Toughness From a Behavioral Analyst
I am Tawnee’s single mama with two kids who also stroller runs friend. I found the conversation on mental toughness very interesting and while I thought you both made good points, I wanted to give my perspective being a behavior analyst and studying behavior for over 20 years. But first here is my conclusion from your conversation.
When you have a choice, it’s discipline, when you have no choice it’s mental toughness.
Here’s why.
Behavior is a product of its function meaning everything learned is for a reason. Simplified those reasons are either the behavior is met with intrinsic reinforcement meaning it feels good to us OR its met with extrinsic reinforcement meaning it is socially validated. Additionally, there are setting events or what I call motivating operations involved in one’s decision to engage or not engage in a behavior. A motivating operation is a circumstance that either increases or decreases the effect of the reinforcer (satiation and deprivation).
When it comes to endurance events and training it is ALWAYS a choice. Each of my choices will result in either punishment or reinforcers both intrinsically and extrinsically. The environment that is existing at the time of my choice is purley a setting event that its going to increase or decrease the value of the reinforcer. If I have to go out and run 20 miles in the pouring rain (environment) and I do it (choice) I will be met with a high level of intrinsic reinforcement. If I do it and I do it faster than anticipated or I get a strava segment I now have extrinsic reinforcement piled on which is what creates runners high. I have made these choices because im disciplined and motivated by either positive reinforcement which is the addition of a stimulus that increase the future likelihood of behavior ( faster time, did something hard, strata segment) or negative reinforcement which is the removal of a stimulus which increase future behavior (escaping self doubt and self punishment for not doing the activity)
If its pouring down rain (envornment) and I dont run (choice) I could be met with punishment (negative self talk, negative coaching feedback) that will make me not skip a run in the future or reinforcement (nice cozy bed and sleep) which will make me likely to skip runs in the future. Its simply the choices we make based on environmental factors and the consequences of those choices. Im not taking away from the difficulties of the completing the choice but thats where discipline is different then mental toughness in my option.
Now, take away the watch, the data, the race, the coach, social validation, social media, all of it. you’re left if solely intrinsic motivation. This in itself can fuel behavior or choices for certain people but not all people. Again, discipline. there is always a choice. If I do it im great and feel good (positive reinforcement) if I dont do it and feel shitty about myself (negative reinforcement)
But what about when you have no choice and this concept expands far outside of endurance racing and training. You must engage in the behavior because you have to there is not choice. Things that may seem minimal like having to wake up 5 times a night every night for months to feed my son and doing it while also maintaining a household and working full time with no other help. Losing a family member and still showing up for the others, All the way to soldiers being forced to fight in war and coming home where they are required to function like a normal human being. All circumstances where we have no choice and the people that prevail, in my opinion demonstrate mental toughness.
To me, this is my experience with mental toughness verses discipline. In my past life, I was disciplined when I was trying o qualify for world championships. I did all the hard training, I did multiple workouts a day, I trained as hard as I could and guess what I qualified. That was also met with a lot of social validation and reinforcement. It filled my bucket. I was very disciplined and it paid off. In my current life, I have not slept more than 2.5 hours at a time for 9 weeks now, I still have to be a parent, go to work, cook all the meals, clean the house, do all the things. Im so sleep deprived that I dont think straight. But, I dont have a choice. doing all of this with a smile on face and in hindsight, loving every minute is mental toughness. I want to be angry in the middle of the night but I can’t. I want to lose patience but I can’t. I want to sleep until I wake up but I can’t. Mental toughness.
What the Coaches say:
- A fresh, concise, educational perspective on these terms.
- Empowering to better understand ourselves and how we tick and how we can thrive.
- Learning these things helps us gain better inner control and thus have the potential for better race outcomes with more self-awareness.
- No regrets, but reflecting back on what was possibly going through our minds during certain race experiences in the past and with what we know now how we could have done things differently, perhaps, using mental toughness and wisdom that we’ve gained through the years.
- Mistakes make us better coaches.
The post
ATC 364: The End Of An Era (An Announcement), Plus Mental Toughness Part 2 first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
We are excited to welcome back Jess Gumkowski to the show, with a profoundly impactful conversation exploring what it is to live as an Awake Athlete. Jess is head yogi, wellness coach and podcaster over at YogiTriathelte along with her husband BJ, and has years of experience in endurance sports, meditation, yoga, teaching and much more. She authored the book, Awake Athlete: When Mastery Is Your Only Option, which was published in 2023 and is part memoir part guide through life, its struggles and its beauty.
On this episode, Tawnee and Jess take a deep dive on several related topics, though this does not make up or substitute the rich content found in her book.
Our Brain & Meditation
- Thoughts, and their relationship to the brain;
- Monkey mind
- Chimp vs professor brain (a la Dr. Simon Marshall)
- Limbic (instinctive), prefrontal cortex (conscious), and neocortex (unconscious) brain
- Why there’s no substitute for sitting in silence
- Walking meditations, etc, have their place but not the same as quiet, stillness in a sitting meditation
- Helpful tips for when you’re down on your pace, performance, training, etc
- Using MAF training as an example here
- Visualization and imagining the athlete you want to be
- Being present and at peace with what is
Ego Is Not the Enemy
- How to direct it from a small and limiting reality to assisting in positive change
- Identity: ego and identity also go hand in hand, how to have a healthy approach to this
- Leverage your ego toward your performance goals and away from the pain and suffering and fear that ego and cause us
- Considering our identity as an athlete
Karma & Mistakes
- Fulfilling our personal karma, the good and the bad
- Everything is here to help you (also a book by Matt Kahn that is titled the same)
- Finding the lessons and gifts in EVERYTHING
Emoting and Feelings
- Clinging to joy
- Clinging to really anything and why this does not serve our wellbeing
- Things like nostalgia and the familiar make us feel good so we gravitate toward that
- Moving away from reactionary emotions, and toward more calm temperament
- The Ho’Oponopono prayer to make things right
And much more!
The post
Jess Gumkowski: The Awake Athlete Mindset – On Thoughts, Ego, Emotions, Karma, Mastery and Much More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
The fourth installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story of a college student who developed an eating disorder and amenorrhea turned hardcore endurance athlete, coach, holistic health expert and more. It is a cautionary tale but also one full of hope and that self-healing, thriving and achieving dreams are always possible.
For Part 1 click here.
For part 2 click here.
For part 3 click here.
On this episode:
The years 2008-2010, when Tawnee stepped it up in the world of triathlon and endurance sports, chose a new career path in fitness & endurance coaching—which began with a grad school program—and more work. This, all while she was racing more frequently, longer distances and relentless training, plus involvement in the tri scene. In this phase she was very much past the worst of her eating disorder but still had demons of disordered eating, and a new slew of health issues involving gut, hormones, and more. She did what many 20-somethings do: burn the candle at all ends and “ignore” one’s true needs, and in this show she reflects on the intensity of her life at that time and also the many flaws in her mindset and approach back then.
Link for ATC show referenced.
The post
OMM 18: The Autobiography Series, Part 4 first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Lucho and Tawnee are back on for Ask the Coaches episode 363.
Anonymous asks:
Mental Toughness 101
How would you define toughness? (Admittedly, this is inspired by my recent start to reading Steve Magness’ book Do Hard Things).
What the coaches say:
Listen to OMM 17 in which Tawnee outlines how mental toughness can certainly be a great thing; however, it can also be tricky and certain types of toughness can even do more harm than good in certain cases like those with eating disorders who may also be “good athletes,” which is highlighted in a landmark study here.
We also reference Steve Magness’ new book Do Hard Things which has some amazing and refreshing insight on the topic of mental toughness, redefining what we’ve always thought toughness to be.
Tawnee also wrote an article on this topic way back in 2016, below are some quoted highlights from that piece, which intertwine with our answer on this show:
“Many experts and articles will tell you mental toughness is about going outside your comfort zone. I agree, and at some point I’ll recommend this for you, but it doesn’t always start with that act alone. Of course, doing those uncomfortable acts contribute to building a strong mind—no one will deny that—but, sorry, it doesn’t automatically mean you’re a mental badass. Mental toughness starts from within with self-confidence. Before you even do the physical acts that build mental strength, first you have to get real with yourself and take control of your mind. Don’t worry if you had it backwards. I did too.
“For as long as I can remember, I have always been a tough person starting when I was that little tomboy who kept up with the neighborhood boys when other girls wouldn’t even dare. Into adulthood, I’ve always been willing and able to do things that put me outside my comfort zone, whether toeing the line in a freezing cold triathlon, bombing down a black diamond on my snowboard or the scariest of all: public speaking. I may come across as very mentally tough because I’m able to push myself into these uncomfortable situations, but there’s another side to it—a side of me that ignored what mental toughness really meant for all too long.
“You see, outwardly I have always done ‘badass’ feats. But internally, I was living distressed for many years due to a faulty mindset. I lacked self-confidence and self-love, and never bothered to develop these things properly, instead choosing just to “be tough.” My exterior appeared tough indeed, but on the inside there was turmoil, anxiety and (irrational) fear. What you didn’t see were all those panic attacks I had and a life consumed by worrisome thoughts. Choosing to be tough on the outside doesn’t make these underlying issues just disappear. I put on façade to fool myself, and others. A life of going hard and “no pain no gain” was the easy part. But getting real with myself? Not so much. It took years.”
“Question 1: Do you feel reoccurring anxiety, worry and fear even over the smallest things?
“Eventually I realized worry, panicky feelings and fear had crept into my daily life and I’d be full of anxiety at the drop of a dime, no chance to react any differently because I didn’t know any differently. It led to many unhealthy habits and behaviors. Finally I realized my definition of mental toughness was missing a huge component: self-confidence and self-love. Truthfully, anyone can figure out how to race a marathon (or replace that with anything that makes you uncomfortable). But often, this is not the solution to our problems; rather, it’s an escape for what really needs to be addressed—our mindset and our relationship with ourselves.
“So while having the mental ability to go outside your comfort zone can be a very positive trait, it can also be used for ‘evil’ against yourself and doesn’t always get you closer to self-actualization and mental toughness.
“Question 2: Is it easier for you to push hard in a workout rather than sit down and get real with your emotions or personal issues?
“What about fear? Fear is tricky. On one hand, it’s totally ok to be afraid when you’re doing crazy things and admit your fears! Fear is a normal, healthy feeling, and nothing over which to be ashamed. Ask big wave surfers, for example. The best ones will fully admit they have fear, but they also have immense power over their minds and can channel that fear into focus, resiliency and respect for the situation allowing them to do the impossible. The fear response is there for our survival and can kick us into proper action. However, fear can become irrational and for those of us who lack a healthy relationship with fear we may mentally lose it in those pressing times. In other words, if we let our mind run amuck, it will. We have to learn to reel it in.
“Other things to ask yourself and consider in your healing and development of mental toughness:
“Question 3: Do you avoid uncomfortable situations?
“Question 4: Do you go outside your comfort zone but experience panic attacks or freeze in the process?
“Question 5: Have you ever allowed a behavior to continue chronically even though you know deep down it wasn’t the healthiest for you?
“Question 6: Have you ever lost control over an unhealthy habit and let it rule your life in some way and cloud your mental space? (i.e. food logging, overtraining?)
“There’s a difference between rational fear and irrational fear. Irrational fear can drive irrational thoughts and behavior. There are many manifestations. Some may avoid the uncomfortable situations all together and develop fear avoidance. Not me. Personally, my irrational fears were a motivating force that drove me to push myself very hard in a multitude of ways. I had an attitude of “no pain, no gain.” I’ve done “amazing” things but not necessarily with the healthiest mindset. I was not addressing nor solving some bigger underlying issues. I was just running from those things—literally and metaphorically. I’m sure many athletes can relate.
“Question 7: Do you exercise/train or do your sport for stress relief or to avoid a problem in your life?
“This “no pain no gain” ignores our true needs and puts our external image at the forefront (i.e. what we want others to see and perceive of us). In fact, “no pain no gain” is actually the epitome of mental weakness in my opinion because it is an example of succumbing to social stressors and following the “herd.” It’s our way to try and gain acceptance and prove to others we are tough. “No pain no gain” is a cop-out in my opinion and it doesn’t solve any problems; rather, it’s an easy way to run away from your issues without fully addressing them and just jump on a bandwagon. Eventually it all catches up to where you simply can’t push like that anymore. In my own case, ultimately I had to take a step back to work on me because I wasn’t being true nor kind to myself. Yes, there is some pain involved in that process, but it’s not defined by this “no pain no gain” mantra.
“Question 8: Do you post your workout stats (mileage, volume/time, intensity, etc.) on social media?
Maybe you’re like me: You think doing the act is enough to be mentally tough. I had not problem putting myself out there, and building an impressive resume of accomplishments. But on the inside? Anxiety, fear, worry all dominated. I’ve had my share of breakdowns where my mind just wasn’t strong enough to prevail: panic attacks, doubt and worry for days on end, or pushing myself so hard that it had a negative effect on my physical wellbeing and health. Mental toughness means knowing the right things to do for your own wellbeing, thus being “tough enough” to rest for example. Most athletes will relate: It’s easy to train day in and day out, it’s the rest days that are the hardest.
Question 9: Do you workout even when you’re physically exhausted and sore? If you have a coach, do you “fib” to show you’re more recovered than you really are?
“The point is: Our mental toughness starts with gaining control over our minds; it’s not defined by how hard we can push or how often we can go outside the comfort zone. Those latter variables are important, but if the foundation is lacking—control over our minds—the end goals won’t be actualized.
“I see many people who have the physical strength and talent to execute amazing feats but they’re a wreck on the inside. I empathize and am not bashing, but rather want to provide another solution. Instead of signing up for a 100-mile race as the answer, how about working on YOU first.
“I am certain that I never got to my potential in triathlon because I lacked proper mental toughness and confidence, and was often fueled by fear of failing (or what I perceived as failure) and what others would think of me. In the sports psych world, we talk about motivation and there are two main motivators: 1) motivation to succeed even at the risk of failure, aka the “need to achieve,” or 2) motivation to avoid failure, aka the “need to avoid failure,” with failure often defined by extrinsic variables. The former are more task-oriented and are motivated based on their own achievements, i.e. setting personal bests. The latter, on the other hand, usually related to ego-oriented people who measure success based on rankings and comparisons to others. It probably is not rocket science that the latter—the need to avoid failure—is what we want to avoid. If you’re motivated to beat someone else or to avoid failing, it will certainly result in disaster at some point, even if that means living in mental angst.
“Meanwhile, don’t feel like you’re either one or the other. You may have intrinsic and extrinsic motivations—I was motivated intrinsically and extrinsically. But for a long time I let the ego rule, and that kept me training in a state of fear because god forbid I lose my competitive edge in the field.
“Question 10: Do you consider your ranking and/or end result in a race or competition as main driving factor?
“Furthermore, this doesn’t have to just be about sport, it can be anything in your life. Another common example is body composition. Are you motivated intrinsically to build a health body no matter what that ends up looking like as long as you know you’re super healthy inside? Or are you motivated to build a body that can be categorized under this idea of aesthetic perfection—in other words, do you define your satisfaction with your body based on other “fit” bodies you see?
“Question 11: Have you ever restricted your eating to control the “shape” of your body?
“Question 12: Do you feel better about yourself the leaner or ‘more fit’ you are?
“I say screw society’s standards and be true to yourself. Build health not aesthetics. Same for sport: Build fitness appropriate to what’s right and healthy for you—whether that puts you in the front, middle or back of the pack.
“Use these questions above to be introspective about where you’re at and what you may need to nourish your well-being and true mental toughness!”
Lastly some definitions from the research:
You would think that mental toughness is pretty simple to define and figure out, but in reality it’s not. Even research shows that mental toughness is one of the most overused yet misunderstood elements in sport.
From researchers Graham Jones, Sheldon Hanton, and Declan Connaughton:
“Mental toughness is having the natural or developed psychological edge that enables mentally tough performers to:
- Generally, cope better than your opponents with the many demands (competition, training, lifestyle) that sport places on a performer
- Specifically, be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident, and in control under pressure.”
Jones et al., also researched the common personality traits among those who were considered mentally tough:
12 traits that are found in those who are mentally tough:
- Having an unshakable self-belief in your ability to achieve your competition goals.
- Bouncing back from performance setbacks as a result of increased determination to succeed.
- Having an unshakable self-belief that you possess unique qualities and abilities that make you better than your opponents.
- Having an insatiable desire and internalized motives to succeed.
- Thriving on the pressure of competition.
- Accepting that competition anxiety is inevitable and knowing that you can cope with it.
- Not being adversely affected by others’ good and bad performances.
- Remaining fully focused in the face of personal life distractions.
- Switching a sport focus on and off as required.
- Remaining fully focused on the task at hand in the face of competition-specific distractions.
- Pushing back the boundaries of physical and emotional pain, while still maintaining technique and effort under distress (in training and competition).
- Regaining psychological control following unexpected, uncontrollable events.
Research by Clough, Earle and Sewell also simplified mental toughness into a model consisting of four categories denoting personality traits:
- Confidence
- Challenge
- Control
- Commitment
Additionally, Clough et al., created the following brief list of traits and behaviors associated with mental toughness (you will see overlap with the 12 traits listed above):
- Persistence
- Self-belief
- Insatiable desire to succeed
- Ability to remain focused
- Pushes self to the limit
- Handles pressure
- Maintains emotional control
- Involves self at all times
- Influential among team
So, now think about yourself. Do you possess any, most or all of these traits listed above? Make a list of traits you already believe you have, and make a list of traits you desire to have!
The post ATC 363: Foundations of Mental Toughness: It Starts Within – Self-Awareness, Confidence, Boundaries and More first appeared on Endurance Planet.
The third installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story starting with her eating disorder and entry into endurance sport.
For Part 1 click here.
For part 2 click here.
On this episode:
Tawnee recaps the years of ED recovery and finding and falling in love with triathlon, which ended up being very healing but also was not that simple with still some big issues she was facing and would face.
Study chat: “Good Athlete” Traits and Characteristics of Anorexia Nervosa: Are They Similar?
- 1999 study – a classic!
- Similarities identified:
- Mental Toughness // Asceticism
- Commitment to Training // Excessive Exercise
- Pursuit of Excellence // Perfectionism
- Coachability // Overcompliance
- Unselfishness // Selflessness
- Performance Despite Pain // Denial of Discomfort
The post
OMM 17: The Autobiography Series, Part 3 first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Welcome to episode 39 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, a holistic health & endurance coach, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach and personal trainer, who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
There is so much goodness in this episode that we’ve decided to split it into two parts, today is part 2 (you can listen to part 1 here):
Lifestyle Medicine & the Roots of Wellness
Part 4: #8-10
First, a refresher (listen to these first is you haven’t already!):
Overall, our Top 10 Pillars are:
- Emotional health & self-awareness
- Resilience to stress
- Community
- Nourishing nutrition
- Physical movement
- Connection to nature
- Sleep, sun and circadian rhythm
- Spiritual connection
- Enjoyment / play
- Environment
Now, we are wrapping it up with the last few…
7. Sleep, sun and circadian rhythm
- Life is flat without this! Ties into the previous two (movement, outside/nature/sunshine)
- Circadian rhythm is not just sleep, it’s a 24-hr internal clock
- Regulates many bodily functions – hormonal secretions, metabolic function, immune system, etc.
- Start here:
- SUN! Morning light and UVA/UVB light!
- Sunlight in eyes (outside not thru window which blocks certain wavelengths) in the morning upon waking helps CAR (cortisol awakening response) and this is the healthy balanced kind of cortisol we want in the morning to set us up for success; I recommend to all my clients esp those with adrenal fatigue/HPA axis issues
- CAR is the swift elevation in cortisol level upon the first hour of waking. The CAR is integral in regulating circadian rhythms, as well as improving adrenal fatigue more quickly. Get outside shortly after waking up and expose yourself to the sun—even when cloudy or in the winter time. Even an overcast day will stimulate your body with the intended effect. For circadian rhythm, this morning sun helps set a timer in a way to help melatonin production later on for best sleep
- UVA rise, about an hour after sunrise and lasts 60-90min; has similar benefits
- Specifically when sun is 10-30deg above horizon
- Can help set up our skin for better protection against sun burning and damage… in other words, we can allow skin to adapt with proper sun exposure at the right times!
- Some people call this ability to better tolerate sun a “Solar callus” but medical fields do not recognize this term as something valid and some doctors will just say it’s made up Spring is coming, and after that summer…. I’d at lesat s=consider this concept if you plan to be in the harsh sun in peak summer hours this year, and see if building up your tolerance helps. Tawnee says, “I wouldn’t avoid sun! Just do it right, don’t go from 0 to 100!”
- UVB
- Get this during peak daytime hours
- Bright light is great, but not night! Not after sunset! Especially not after 10pm… and not at 3am lol…
- Circadian app helps detail these things specific to your location.
- It’s funny because we’ve been taught to villainize the sun and exposure to it… but, should we question this?
- Really cool podcast on more of this subject: Still Sick? The Sun Can Help
- Then nighttime and sleep itself:
- Beating a dead horse, so this time I want to read these stats from IFM: https://discover.ifm.org/sleep
- Set up the sleep hygiene routine almost nightly.
- Obsessed with lighting in our house, one of the first things I did at new home was change bulbs and set up red lights and dim lights for evening and night.
- And if I do wake up in the middle of the night (this happened a few times right before we moved!) I NEVER EVER look at my phone, that is the death of me and chances of going back to sleep
- AVOID UVB/Light exposure at night (between 10pm-4am) which will wake you up even more, suppress melatonin and suppresses dopamine and can affect everything from mood to blood sugar
- Eg don’t check what time it is, read or scroll… instead check your breath and focus on getting back to sleep
- 3 more factors for good sleep:
- Go for a walk after dinner
- Have a consistent wake-up time to regulate sleep cycle naturally because we tend to use the same amount of energy throughout the day
- Waking up to pee?
- Drink sufficiently during the daytime, 8oz every hour for the first 10 hours of the day
- Reduce fluid intake at night (5-8oz between 10 hours after waking and bedtime unless super thirsty)
- Sip don’t gulp your final beverage of the evening. The speed in which you ingest fluid, and not just the total amount, helps dictate the urination response
8. Spiritual connection (religion or non-religious)
- Not here to tell you what the specifics of this should be just here to say it’s important factor in our health, and to follow what feels right in your life and needs.
- “Functional medicine recognizes the importance of the mental-emotional-spiritual connection to physical health and addresses these concerns as a core clinical imbalance of the functional medicine matrix. Through empathetic listening and retelling of a patient’s health story and recommending ways they might reconnect to their own purpose in life, addressing spiritual needs can strengthen the therapeutic partnership and open up new avenues of healing for the patient.” – IFM
- Tawnee and Julie share personal stories of where they are each at in their spiritual journeys and the role in their lives, very two different POVs.
9. Enjoyment / play
- At least an hour of unstructured, non-competitive, no-risk play
- Recreational sport, playing with kids, riding bikes to get ice cream, shuffleboard at a dive bar, doing a happy dance, climbing a tree, acting like a carefree kid, pickleball, waterparks… it doesn’t matter!
- “Joyful” – Play is a facet of Joy.
10. Environment
- Are you surrounded by toxic energy (people or otherwise?), where do you spend most your time and what is this place/ are these places like?
- Take an energy audit, did that person or place leave you feeling energized or depleted? And is that a pattern?
- There are a lot of human performance experts right now talking about how the only thing in life we can control is where we put our Attention. Feel like that could tie in to this one. Where is our attention going? And to whom?
- Build your community as we talked about in episode HPN 36.
The post
HPN 39 (Part 2): Wrapping Up Our Top 10 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine and Roots of Wellness first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
The second installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story. It is a story that many of us share, with different but similar details, and in sharing we hope to raise awareness around these issues to help more people, especially athletes and those who’ve battled eating disorders, on their healing journeys and to prevent similar issues in others.
For Part 1 click here.
In part 2 she tells the story of when her eating disorder continued into 2004-05 and the dark times that surrounded her struggle, all while trying to appear “normal” to the outside world. She was able to heal and break free from the worst of it but it was a long road still ahead. meanwhile, the seeds of entering endurance sports were being planted and a new passion was springing. One that would bring further healing, but also further dysfunction.
The post
OMM 16: The Autobiography Series, Part 2 first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-66342-w
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11427289/
Intro Banter
- Talking strength training
- Tawnee’s go to set: SL RDLs, KB windmills, Turkish Get-ups (TGU), Pullup bar (dead hangs + pull-ups)
- KB windmills are a bit tricky to get form right and do them safely, good tutorial here.
Questions
Recovery 101:
- We talk about our favorite underrated physical recovery tool(s)/strategies that more athletes can easily take advantage of.
- Scraping
- Gua Sha (side benefit as a beauty tool)
- Rest days
- 10-Day training week to allow for more rest days
AM vs PM Workouts:
- Is doing a hard interval workout at 6am equal in effectiveness to the same hard interval workout done at 6pm? In other words, does the time of day affect the usefulness of any workout?
- At the end of the day, workout when you can make it happen and be consistent.
- From there we outline the pros and cons of morning vs evening training, many things to consider.
- Chronotypes
- Why Tawnee broke up with early morning workouts.
- A case for working out when you feel sluggish and most tired.
- Research shows we should avoid strength work that includes significant spinal flexion in the first hour upon waking (eg no good mornings right away in the morning)
- Meanwhile, we may be able to perform our best in short-duration, high-intensity efforts in the evening (think track).
- Study: “Time-of-Day Effects on Short-Duration Maximal Exercise Performance.”
- “Short duration maximal exercise performance is affected by the time of day, peaking between 16:00 and 20:00 h. However, a similar performance may be achieved in the morning hours if exercise is conducted after: (1) short exposures to moderately warm and humid environments; (2) active warm-up protocols; (3) intermittent fasting conditions; (4) warming-up while listening to music; (5) prolonged periods of training at a specific time of day. This suggests that time-of-day dependent fluctuations in short-duration maximal exercise performance are controlled not only by body temperature, hormone levels, motivation or mood states but also by a versatile circadian system within skeletal muscle.”
Getting Back To It After Significant Illness & Antibiotic Setback:
Anonymous asks: You guys gave me the best advice this summer while I was training for 70.3- thanks so much!!!! I am switching from racing 70.3 to doing the chicago marathon in October and need to build a base after being pretty sick. I have had 6 (absolutely necessary) rounds of antibiotics in the last 6 months (4 in the last 2 months) and am a bit of a mess. 1.)in July- 2 antibiotics for UTIs due to training in the local reservoir (stay out of the Boulder Rez, kids) 2) nov 22- Dec 30- 4 rounds of antibiotics to kill two strains of E. coli and Giardia that I picked up on a trip to Morocco late September. The Giardia started “eating “ my muscles and I lost a lot of strength and speed, couldn’t complete even a 2 mile run less than 2 months after finishing Ironman 70.3, and couldn’t stay awake during the day. It was no fun. My body has been pretty effed up with all that it’s been through and I don’t take antibiotics lightly. Don’t worry Tawnee- I am very religious in getting in lots of prebiotics and probiotics 
I am looking for a gentle way to start to build a base with the goal of hitting it hard in May! I struggle to stay in Z2 when running (even pre-infections), often completing long runs at 150-160 bpm (but can totally sustain z2 on bike rides). I know that I would benefit from building a better aerobic base. I started MAF, but it is not a good match for me right now, as doing it on the treadmill at such a low MAF heart rate due to illness (128 -138 with the 10 extra bpm Lucho says we can have) is leading me to recreate a gait associated with an injury, which I worked for over a year to retrain. I felt acute pain in the injury area and radiating up my back on each run. My pace was 12:13. I don’t want to write MAF off and am interested in doing a block of MAF in march/ april when I can run outside and have more control over the mechanics of transitioning between walk to run, which is part of the issue on the treadmill. I’m not a non-believer!
In the interim, any ideas of ways to build more of a Zone 2? Right now I have worked back up to 13 miles a week, which is low, I know. Last week I completed 5 miles at 11:07 pace. Before Giardia etc , I was very comfortable at 8:30 pace, so it’s a hard pill to swallow but this pace is pain free and it’s where my body is! My heart rate starts in 120s and ends at high 150s over the 5 miles, with the average being 145 bpm. I plan to work on durability too, but am holding off to decrease stress on my system (is this right?). This whole approach is hard because I like intensity- Lucho said I was a neurotype 2 when answering another question for me! And I’m definitely judging myself for this loss of fitness.
What the coaches says:
- Don’t do the marathon this year, this was a significant setback for you. Let your body heal and once training naturally improves then start building momentum. Right now body still showing major red flags of recent issues, thus, not ready.
- If it’s hard to let go of a race, why is that? If this is trouble, often that’s a sign that we need to focus our efforts on this: why do we “need” a race on the calendar; why do we need a race to feel a certain way? Ideally, this should not be the case.
- Antibiotics – not just about loading up on probiotics but also addressing issues like biofilms, lifestyle, etc.
The post
ATC 362: ‘Underrated’ Recovery Tools and Strategies, Morning vs Evening Workout Pros and Cons (Don’t Do This Exercise First Thing), Plus: Healing Post Antibiotics first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
The first installment with host Tawnee Gibson sharing her life story. It is a story that many of us share, with different but similar details, and in sharing we hope to raise awareness around these issues to help more people on their healing journeys and to prevent similar issues in others.
In part 1 she tells the story of when her eating disorder began in 2003—the final trigger that was the catalyst to a disordered mindset—along with introspection into her younger years that influenced the development of an ED, the development of exercise addiction and more.
The post
OMM 15: The Autobiography Series, Part 1 first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Welcome to episode 39 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, a holistic health & endurance coach, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach and personal trainer, who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
There is so much goodness in this episode that we’ve decided to split it into two parts, today is part 1:
Jaclyn says:
HPN 38 // Follow-Up Comment on Bone-Density Factors
I’ve been a listener since I was a college track and cross country athlete in 2016. I would listen while working a cleaning job on the weekends haha. I am now a physical therapist and first time mom and continue to love your content. I especially love the balance between family, long term health, and athletic goals.
Anyways I am writing in follow up to HPN episode 38. I am in complete agreement with all of your recommendations and appreciate the well rounded response you provided. However I wanted to share a resource that has dramatically impacted how I think of and treat bone injuries and bone density. The podcasts and articles are specific to bone injuries but I had never had the science of how bone works explained to me like this. It brought a lot of clarity on why do runners often have issues with bone density and bone injuries when running is weight bearing (obviously energy deficiencies and overtraining play a role in many cases but I have also worked with individuals where these aren’t major factors). The variability of stimulus on the bone seems to be a missing piece in a lot of bone density/injury recovery plans.
The paper that outlines this:
Optimal Load for Managing Low-Risk Tibial and Metatarsal Bone Stress Injuries in Runners: The Science Behind the Clinical Reasoning
Par asks:
Timing of Supplements (Food, No Food, Combos and Circadian Rhythm)
Regarding supplements, such as Omega 3 fish oil, vitamine D and the usual suspects. Is there any way that is better or worse in how you take them during the day? And I´m not referring to sticking them up your butthole. Are you supposed to spread them out, take all at once, is there a common supplement that has to be taken alone or together with something?
What the coaches say:
- Supplement protocols can get very intricate and involved. Depending on the season you’re in this can be beneficial but in other times it can be too much to manage and stressful. So in this answer we’re just going to address some of the more common supplements that people are more likely to take regularly and ongoing:
- We buy most our supplements on Fullscript, shop through EP for a discount here!
- Easy rule of thumb:
- Fat soluble = with food (and together). This includes A/D/E/K/Fish Oil (or Rosita Cod Liver Oil)
- Spread out other supplements. Ends up being:
- Fat soluble AM
- Vitamin Bs, C, etc at lunch;
- Bs, C are water soluble but may cause upset tummy, so might be good to take around a meal (we usually do after lunch)
- Magnesium before bed, perhaps your probiotic, etc.
- Other forms of Mg may be taken at different times of day depending on form and its benefit.
- Overall, spreading supplements at certain intervals throughout so we don’t give the body too much to process at once and help with absorption.
- Tawnee says, “We typically do our fat-soluble vitamins in the morning with/after breakfast eg CLO or fish oil/A/D, we have pretty high-fat meals so that fits great, and gets it done with for the day. But also with the potential of Vit D to influence circadian rhythm it makes sense to do in the AM. Though sometimes we don’t take till lunch. Then, as we coffee, if we haven’t taken these vitamins by lunch time or around 12-1pm, I’ll usually skip them for that day.”
- Fish Oil
- Take with food, preferably at least 1 tsp worth of fat in the meal to maximize absorption, and preferably with or after your meal (not right before on empty stomach).
- Or try Rosita Cod Liver Oil (simplifying the number of supplements you take and food-first)!
- Vitamin D
- Take with a meal (fat). All fat soluble vitamins (ADEK) should be taken with fat.
- Vit. D is better absorbed with Magnesium, Vit K, and calcium. So can take it alongside some yogurt.
- Some evidence that taking Vit D in morning is beneficial for circadian rhythm and subsequently for better sleep, whereas taking before bed can interfere with quality of sleep.
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32156230/
- “Vitamin D has both a direct and an indirect role in the regulation of sleep.”
- “Vitamin D is also involved in the pathways of production of Melatonin, the hormone involved in the regulation of human circadian rhythms and sleep.”
- Consider that if you get adequate sun exposure to keep up Vitamin D levels (and labs reflect that) them maybe you don’t know to be supplementing so much with it, even in winter, as we can store it up in summer season, etc.
- Vitamin A
- Generally take with D and/or your fat solubles or get from CLO, beef liver, etc.
- Rosita Cod Liver Oil can be a natural alternative for fish oil, D, A – Tawnee’s family doing more of this as of recently and less reliance on synthetic forms of D, A, etc.
- Iron
- Better absorbed when paired with vitamin C and an hour away from caffeine or calcium.
- Magnesium
- Take 1-2 hours apart from any supplement containing iron, zinc, folate or fiber.
- Mg glycinate and some other forms of Mg best before bed for calming effect and sleep help.
- But know your form of Mg and its role!
- Eg, Smidge Morning Mag is something we have and it has 3 different forms (orotate, taurinate and malate with boron) that are good for taking in the morning (hence the name) as well as for heart and cardiovascular benefits;
- Designs for Health NeuroMag, with Magnesium L-threonate, can be taken daytime for cognitive benefits;
- or even LMNT has Mg malate for electrolytes, which most people probably take during the day.
- Still loving Crucial Four MagBicarb in the mix but also sticking with tried and true forms like Mg glycinate.
- Multi-Vitamin or Prenatal
- Take with food to prevent GI upset and optimal absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins.
- Some can be energizing so might be best to take earlier in the day.
- Creatine
- Take any time of day, but I like a little before and a little after a workout.
Lifestyle Medicine & the Roots of Wellness
Part 4: #8-10
First, a refresher (listen to these first is you haven’t already!):
Overall, our Top 10 Pillars are:
- Emotional health & self-awareness
- Resilience to stress
- Community
- Nourishing nutrition
- Physical movement
- Connection to nature
- Sleep, sun and circadian rhythm
- Spiritual connection
- Enjoyment / play
- Environment
Wrapping it up with the last few…
7. Sleep, sun and circadian rhythm
- Life is flat without this! Ties into the previous two (movement, outside/nature/sunshine)
- Circadian rhythm is not just sleep, it’s a 24-hr internal clock
- Regulates many bodily functions – hormonal secretions, metabolic function, immune system, etc.
- Start here:
- SUN! Morning light and UVA/UVB light!
- Sunlight in eyes (outside not thru window which blocks certain wavelengths) in the morning upon waking helps CAR (cortisol awakening response) and this is the healthy balanced kind of cortisol we want in the morning to set us up for success; I recommend to all my clients esp those with adrenal fatigue/HPA axis issues
- CAR is the swift elevation in cortisol level upon the first hour of waking. The CAR is integral in regulating circadian rhythms, as well as improving adrenal fatigue more quickly. Get outside shortly after waking up and expose yourself to the sun—even when cloudy or in the winter time. Even an overcast day will stimulate your body with the intended effect. For circadian rhythm, this morning sun helps set a timer in a way to help melatonin production later on for best sleep
- UVA rise, about an hour after sunrise and lasts 60-90min; has similar benefits
- Specifically when sun is 10-30deg above horizon
- Can help set up our skin for better protection against sun burning and damage… in other words, we can allow skin to adapt with proper sun exposure at the right times!
- Some people call this ability to better tolerate sun a “Solar callus” but medical fields do not recognize this term as something valid and some doctors will just say it’s made up Spring is coming, and after that summer…. I’d at lesat s=consider this concept if you plan to be in the harsh sun in peak summer hours this year, and see if building up your tolerance helps. Tawnee says, “I wouldn’t avoid sun! Just do it right, don’t go from 0 to 100!”
- UVB
- Get this during peak daytime hours
- Bright light is great, but not night! Not after sunset! Especially not after 10pm… and not at 3am lol…
- Circadian app helps detail these things specific to your location.
- It’s funny because we’ve been taught to villainize the sun and exposure to it… but, should we question this?
- Really cool podcast on more of this subject: Still Sick? The Sun Can Help
- Then nighttime and sleep itself:
- Beating a dead horse, so this time I want to read these stats from IFM: https://discover.ifm.org/sleep
- Set up the sleep hygiene routine almost nightly.
- Obsessed with lighting in our house, one of the first things I did at new home was change bulbs and set up red lights and dim lights for evening and night.
- And if I do wake up in the middle of the night (this happened a few times right before we moved!) I NEVER EVER look at my phone, that is the death of me and chances of going back to sleep
- AVOID UVB/Light exposure at night (between 10pm-4am) which will wake you up even more, suppress melatonin and suppresses dopamine and can affect everything from mood to blood sugar
- Eg don’t check what time it is, read or scroll… instead check your breath and focus on getting back to sleep
- 3 more factors for good sleep:
- Go for a walk after dinner
- Have a consistent wake-up time to regulate sleep cycle naturally because we tend to use the same amount of energy throughout the day
- Waking up to pee?
- Drink sufficiently during the daytime, 8oz every hour for the first 10 hours of the day
- Reduce fluid intake at night (5-8oz between 10 hours after waking and bedtime unless super thirsty)
- Sip don’t gulp your final beverage of the evening. The speed in which you ingest fluid, and not just the total amount, helps dictate the urination response
8. Spiritual connection (religion or non-religious)
- Not here to tell you what the specifics of this should be just here to say it’s important factor in our health, and to follow what feels right in your life and needs.
- “Functional medicine recognizes the importance of the mental-emotional-spiritual connection to physical health and addresses these concerns as a core clinical imbalance of the functional medicine matrix. Through empathetic listening and retelling of a patient’s health story and recommending ways they might reconnect to their own purpose in life, addressing spiritual needs can strengthen the therapeutic partnership and open up new avenues of healing for the patient.” – IFM
- Tawnee and Julie share personal stories of where they are each at in their spiritual journeys and the role in their lives, very two different POVs.
9. Enjoyment / play
- At least an hour of unstructured, non-competitive, no-risk play
- Recreational sport, playing with kids, riding bikes to get ice cream, shuffleboard at a dive bar, doing a happy dance, climbing a tree, acting like a carefree kid, pickleball, waterparks… it doesn’t matter!
- “Joyful” – Play is a facet of Joy.
10. Environment
- Are you surrounded by toxic energy (people or otherwise?), where do you spend most your time and what is this place/ are these places like?
- Take an energy audit, did that person or place leave you feeling energized or depleted? And is that a pattern?
- There are a lot of human performance experts right now talking about how the only thing in life we can control is where we put our Attention. Feel like that could tie in to this one. Where is our attention going? And to whom?
- Build your community as we talked about in episode HPN 36.
The post
HPN 39 (Part 1): Supplement Timing, Vitamin D and Circadian Rhythm – Is There A Link? Plus: Food-First Supplements, Magnesium’s Many Roles, and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
In this episode, Lucho and Tawnee go into detail about coach-athlete relationships based on their more than three decades of combined experience.
- Getting the most from a coach-athlete relationship.
- We describe how we do it in our own personal coaching practices and what we have found that works, including a good rhythm, communication, expectations, needs, goals, and so on.
- Long-term athletes–what it is like to coach someone for 14-19 years (we each have had athletes for that long!) and how this relationship between coach and athlete evolves over time.
- Short-term athletes—when someone comes to you with specific goals and a shorter-duration relationship.
- When athletes take downtime for an extended period without specific goals, and how coaching evolves during those times.
- How we as coaches have changed, inevitably, over time and how this affects our athletes (hopefully for the better).
- And many more personal stories from two long-time endurance coaches!
The post
ATC 361: Inside Coach-Athlete Relationships – From Long-Term To Short-Term To Downtime and Peak Times first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
- Happy new year! We took a much-needed and deserved break in December. Didn’t really plan it to be that way but that’s what we needed so that’s what we did. And to be honest? It is still hard to do after all these years even though we know we need that downtime. We have our weak points….
- What do you want more of on EP and on OMM shows? Would an AMA episode be good? Chime in! questions@enduranceplanet.com.
- What’s been on our minds? Influencer culture.
- Hard sell, in-your-face, unsolicited advice all over the place… have you noticed too? It’s getting a bit out of hand.
- What we want to instill: You don’t need strangers on the internet/social media telling you what you need to buy because it “changed their life” or whatever the pitch is…
- Instead, in this new year, let’s all be more trusting of our SELF, to go within when we are searching, to have confidence that we can find the answers and aren’t too easily influenced because someone else on social media is doing it.
- Find what works for you. Cultivate a following of trusted experts who can help you navigate your areas of interest/needs and who can genuinely benefit your wellbeing, give you the proper advice, etc. Meanwhile, cut the noise.
- Of course, here on EP, we do have affiliate relationships and advertisers on this show, it’s one of the few ways we can keep it going. But in doing this for more than a decade now (Tawnee started with EP in Jan 2011 – woot!) you will hear us recommend products, supplements, companies, etc, in an authentic manner while doing our best to not be pushy, annoying, relentless nor making extreme (or questionable) claims. We’re here to genuinely help, not for our bottom line. It’s ok when you pass up our recommendations no matter the reason.
- Influencer culture is NOT going away. It’s a booming, lucrative and very alluring industry for the younger generation and work-from-home type. On one hand that’s great people are carving a new path. but on the other hand? Proceed with caution. On who or what you let into YOUR space. Have boundaries as needed. We can appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit…. but also can we really trust what everyone says?
- And also, social media has some real gems so don’t totally drop it if it brings you glimmers of joy here and there.
- What’s up next? The biography series… it’s going to be special and quite a journey.
The post
OMM 14: We’re Back! first appeared on
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Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
We are joined by Caila Yates, a sports dietitian based in Boulder, CO, primarily working with endurance athletes. She has a dual speciality in sports training as well as eating disorders. She has clinical experience working with patients with eating disorders and has a deep understanding of behaviors, disordered patterns, recovery and much more as it relates to eating disorders, especially in sport. In her practice, Caila helps athletes understand their nutrition needs in every season so that they can show up to every practice or race and put their best foot forward. You can find out more about Caila and her services at steadystatenutrition.co, and give her a follow on IG @steadystatenutrition.
On this episode we cover:
-When Cailia reached out to EP she wrote to me that “I have seen countless athletes and coaches look the other way when it comes to underfueling”…. yet … “There is a disproportionate rate of disordered eating among the endurance athlete population.” And I agree. Let’s just start about here and bringing awareness to something so important and so missed in this space. Why do you think this is? I know I have my ideas and I don’t think it’s malicious intent by coaches or athletes, but I’d love to hear your take…
-Let’s talk about your story, what got you into endurance sports… sports dietician… clinical work with EDs and treatment? What led you down that path? Any personal history of those issues or related?
-What’s your focus in endurance sports and training?
-Before we get into our 2 main topics, let’s very briefly discuss:
- Define RED-S and why this is now the term to use over female athlete triad
- How one can identify RED-S symptoms in themselves or others (missed period is just one…)
- Debunking common myths around RED-S- what are the myths?
-We’ve talked a lot about RED-S amenorrhea HPA axis dysfunction Eds you name it… so today we’re going to revisit that overarching topic but focus on a couple issues that we have NOT covered in detail before:
1. How to avoid a relapse in disordered eating during an injury
- We’ve talked loads about understanding this condition and steps to healing… but then there’s a whole life after that! Let’s discuss…
- As we know, an injury that takes one out of their sport can be a triggering and devastating event. As an RD, I tend to see an unfortunate, yet common, pattern when athletes who have a history of disordered eating or an ED get injured. Hint: it involves a relapse in DE/ED behaviors. Many athletes believe that because they are sidelined, they don’t need to (or worse, don’t deserve to) fuel themselves. This leads to underfueling or restriction, therefore prolonging the healing process. In order to inform listeners and debunk this myth, I’d love to touch on the following topics during this episode:
- Energy needs during an injury (Hint: they can be up to 50% higher than baseline needs!)
- Macro and micronutrients needed to heal injuries, and HOW they work to rebuild muscle/bone
- Reframing the DE/ED driven thoughts that can lead to restrictive behaviors
- Preventing future injuries using nutrition interventions
- AND:
- I’d like to add, once training and injury-free again how do we avoid the mindset of using exercise/energy expenditure to justify eating. In other words, how do we shake this cycle that some of us have become so prone and addicted to?
- (I personally feel like I have been able to achieve 100% recovery with ED/Disordered eating patterns around exercise/training but I know not everyone believes this is possible, what’s your take on this Caila?)
2. Using athlete plates to eat intuitively while training
- For those who have a history of an eating disorder or disordered eating, counting macros and tracking intake may not be the best strategy, as it can lead to a hyper-fixation on food while disregarding hunger/fullness cues and cravings. It is possible to eat intuitively while still getting the nutrients necessary to fuel performance. Enter: Athlete Plates is a tool that focuses on the proportion of macronutrients on your plate rather than the grams of this or that that you are eating. For athletes who are looking for a structured solution to fueling without counting macros, we will focus on the following topics related to Athlete Plates:
- What are the three types of Athlete Plates, and when should you be using each type?
- The Athlete Plate link mentioned in our discussion: https://swell.uccs.edu/sites/g/files/kjihxj2576/files/2020-10/hard_%20plate_red_sept15-2017.pdf
- Tips and tricks for listening to hunger/fullness cues
- How to integrate things you’re craving into Athlete Plates, and how these things can actually fuel performance
- What does the research say about the effectiveness of Athlete Plates in training?
- How to build an Athlete Plate anywhere you go (i.e. traveling for a race)
- AND:
- How long do you like to use this + when to wean off Athletes Plates, eg when does one know if and trust if they are ready to fuel appropriately on their own? Following this forever doesn’t seem like a healthy solution but the timeline may vary?
- Any other food tracking tools or point in the healing journey in which tracking can help someone? ie further down the road of recovery is it worth doing a day or two of tracking to see if things are lining up in terms of energy balance or let the results speak for themselves? Again, I have my opinion here but love to hear your take!
-Also let’s circle back, if we DO see traits, behaviors, signs and symptoms of RED-S in a friend, fellow athlete, teammate, etc… how do we go about helping this person? What’s the right approach that allows for a gentle conversation to begin rather than driving someone away…
The post
Caila Yates: Revisiting RED-S – Myths, Relapse Risk With Injury, Athlete Plates and Intuitive Eating, And Initiating Tough But Helpful Conversations first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Brad Kearns of the B.Rad podcast is back on Endurance Planet for an unforgettable show!
Peluva Shoes – Unique Minimalist Footwear
- Tawnee and Brad catch up on the new minimalaist/barefoot footwear brand, Peluva, which was founded by friend and colleauge Mark Sisson.
- We share how Peluva is unique compared to other minimalist/barefoot shoe brands.
- Biomechanics of running, footwear and why minimalist shoes do us a lot of good.
- How to incorporate minimalist footwear beyond running, as some athletes may not do optimally with minimalist footwear in all of their running and athletic endeavors but you can still get the benefits of it elsewhere and we share how!
Fasting, Fueling, And Changing Our Minds and Approach
- Tawnee and Brad also talk about openness to changing one’s mind to best meet nutritional needs, specifically, as it pertains to diet and fueling practices.
- Brad was once a proponent of fasting particularly in the morning (skipping breakfast) but now at 58 years young he’s shifted his routine and makes it a priority to fuel his body first thing.
- It’s still and always about prioritizing nutrient-dense whole foods–and it’s not just steak and eggs, this includes honey, fruit, dairy, etc.
- How this has only helped his fitness goals and stress balance, and has not hurt him nor his metabolic health/body comp now many months into it.
- We both agree that fasting may be good for some folks depending on your season of life and metabolic/health needs, but for very active, high energy-burning athletes and individuals you may want to think twice about skipping meals and opt for that meal instead.
- Tawnee elaborates further on the topic and explain when and why she quit fasting or low carb/keto breakfasts and how eating well and avoiding within-day deficits has helped her globally in all the things,.
- Why this is particularly important for female athletes who may be experiencing or recovering from RED-S or any hormonal and energy imbalance health issue.
The post
Brad Kearns: From Fasting to Fueling The Morning (And Why We Recommend For Athletes), Peluva for ‘Natural Movement’ Lifestyle and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Be sure to check out our new clean-living “non-toxic” Living List at enduranceplanet.com/shop/products, where everything we’ve included are brands and products we own and use in our home and for our family. It will be an evolving list and it’s certainly not exhaustive, these are just some examples and things we have come to use and like. Check back for deals and shop through us to support the show! Some affiliate links included.
On this show we talk about:
- Ragnar New England 2024 is on! It’ll be May 17-18, 2024, on the East Coast, email us at events@enduranceplanet.com for details and to join the team for an unforgettable experience!
- Followup thoughts on recent episodes.
- Tawnee’s goals and intentions with this podcast: to inspire, uplift, encourage, bring together, and elevate in the name of health, wellness and fitness!
- Marketing tactics that cloud our mindset into thinking we need things when we may not actually need them.
- Case in point: Nike’s new baby shoes marketed toward “helping babies learn how to walk” and “promoting natural foot development” but in reality we don’t need shoes for all that, just our two feet and natural abilities! Of course these shoes are ok—better than mot baby shoes being that they are a minimalist barefoot style—but don’t be duped into thinking we need to buy something to replace what nature and our bodies are intended to do! Use shoes sparingly on babies and children!
- We like Vivobarefoot shoes for babies and kids but of course this can get pricey so ways to help with that: buy on sale, look for used, add to gift wishlists, etc…
The post
OMM 13: Marketing Tactics first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Be sure to check out our new Living List at enduranceplanet.com/shop/products with all the non-toxic products and products free of harmful chemicals that Tawnee has researched and uses for her family in their household for a healthier home environment and healthier family members. If you’re thinking of making some like changes to clean up your environment and supplies and goods used (from house cleaning to personal care and beyond) this is a great place to start!
Welcome back to episode number 359 of Ask the Coaches with Tawnee Gibson and Lucho.
On this episode:
Followup on ATC 358 —minimalist footwear (MF) talk:
- Lucho’s anecdotes of maximalist vs more minimalist shoes, and when he has used more minimalist when his knee is flaring up.
- MF is really promising for those with knee issues more than any other injury issue, from what the research indicates…
- Correlation between ankles and knee/glute wellness… Reduced ankle mobility/ROM correlates with reduced glute activation and knee issues (knee valgus, compensation, etc). So even though we mentioned that the MF requires more from the ankle (e.g. greater dorsiflexion and plantarflexion; higher loading at metatarsal and ankle joints), in the long run it seems like this is an adaptation worth making for one’s overall biomechanical wellness and injury resilience.
- On the flip side, a personal story from Tawnee: Postpartum with Emoree, I jumped into minimalist shoes and rough terrain (freezing temps/snow/ice) too fast and briefly suffered “stiff toe” or functional hallux limitus. Had to work on mobility in big toe joint, trigger point and massage for post tib, etc… given that, perhaps she should have used more cushioned shoes or avoided snow/ice in her running comeback? Probably… so it goes both ways!
Winter Mojo: Our Winter Routines
- Lucho and Tawnee share wisdom on mindset and routines that help us during the winter/dark/cold season.
- in HPN 34, Julie and Tawnee did a episode on ‘Holistic Winter Prep’ including use of sauna, red light therapy, hydration needs and protein needs.
- Also what Tawnee will be adding to her winter routine this season:
- Better lighting within the home to help with both winter blues and circadian rhythm, using a full-spectrum light bulb.
- Self-care and “me time”—during summer this comes as solo long runs or personal time in nature, but that is limited in this season and as a busy working mom she needs those moments where she puts herself and self-care first, in order to thrive for everyone else she helps!
The post
ATC 359: Winter Mojo and Mindset, Stories of Minimalist Shoes in Practice, Ragnar Teaser and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
A continuation of the clean living, non-toxic conversation. For previous shows leading up to today’s in-depth brand and product list, listen here:
ATC 357: Non-Toxic Insanity, How to Keep Your Cool and Healthy Balance + Budget Around Clean Living
OMM 11: Navigating ‘Non-toxic’ Part 1
Everything on our list can be found (ongoing, forever) at enduranceplanet.com/shop/products, and everything we’ve included are brands and products we own and use in our home and for our family. It will be an evolving list and it’s certainly not exhaustive, these are just some examples and things we have come to use and like. Check back for deals and shop through us to support the show! Some affiliate links included.
Cleaning Products
- All-purpose sprays; multi-surface:
- Clothing & washer/dryer:
- Cleaning washer:
- Dishes/kitchen:
- All-around/DIY:
- Handsoap:
- Other:
- Microbalance ec3 mold solution and laundry additive as needed /special circumstances
Personal Care – Skincare, Makeup, Oral, Kids, etc.
- Avoid: parabens, phthalates, fragrance (essential oils are generally ok), petroleum/mineral oil, aluminum, PFAS/PFCs/PFOAs, PEGs, to name a few big ones.
- Makeup:
- Skincare:
- DIME Beauty—pregnancy safe, has rewards program and deals
- Shampoo /conditioner:
- Under Luna—their Luna Clear safe for all ages (from babies up) and in our family we share. A little goes a long way and it lasts for a long time!
- Soap:
- Bronner’s—however, castile soap like in bronners can be drying and more harsh on skin; tend to avoid regular use especially in winter
- Goat milk-based soap—we like Bend Soap Co
- Probiotic soaps—we’ve tried clearwatercultures.com
- Skin, balms, salves and lips:
- Deodorants—Aluminum free natural:
- Lotions:
- Bronner’s—uses coconut oil; I like to avoid seed oils in lotions
- Toothpaste/Oral care
Kitchen, Cookware and Food Storage
- Cooking:
- Stainless steel—pots, pans, cookie sheets and muffin tins
- Ceramic
- Xtrema—we got their 10 quart pot to replace a crockpot
- Enameled cast iron
- Cast iron
- Glass pyrex
- Great for non-toxic baking
- Loaf pans
- We have glass, cast iron, SS (we use a variety)
- Food storage, accessories, cups, etc
- Glass
- Snapware, yes they have plastic lids but not worrying about it

- Pyrex for cooking and storage (larger volume meals, etc)
- Stainless steel
- Munchkin —for kids snack cups, drinking cups
- Hydroflask—SS drinkware (too many athletes use plastic too often!)
- Yeti—another option for SS drinkware
- PlanetBox
- Bentgo
- JaceBox
- SS food storage that we bought during our vanlife era when glass was too heavy and bulky
- Kitchen Aid accessories
- Often they include aluminum or paint-coated with appliances, we upgraded to SS for our stand mixer, which is something we use all the time
- Silicone, natural wood, bamboo—great non-toxic alternatives to plastic and when you prefer to avoid SS or breakable/fragile materials.
- SodaStream—DIY carbonated water with glass bottles
- Mason jars
- We use these for everything! All shapes and sizes (wide-mouth preferred); big glass jugs for bulk storage, liquids, general drinking glasses, etc.
Water
- Aquasana shower filter
- Drinking water (options we’ve used or are considering):
- Premier RO system
- SpringAqua
- Pristine Hydro
Home Goods & Healthy Home Environment
- A Healthier Home by Shawna Holman
- Look for OEKO-TEX label for cleaner items that have been tested for and are free of harmful substances
- There are different levels and categories of this but it’s overall becoming more widely prevalent making non-toxic more mainstream and accessible
- GOTS for top of the line
- Natural materials like wool, cotton (over synthetics, polyester, etc)
- Air filters:
- Rugs—try to get those without backing, made with more natural fibers (e.g. cotton, wool, jute)
Avoid
- Air fresheners, plug-in air fresheners
- Scented candles, go for beeswax and if needing scent EOs
- Plastic liners in crockpots or cooking anything
- Foil—use parchment paper instead, good for baking up to 420-450 deg F; or butcher paper
- Plastic wraps, try beeswax wrap!
This list will be updated as needed here.
The post
OMM 12: Navigating ‘Non-Toxic’ Part 2 – Lists and Products first appeared on
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On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
We are continuing our new series called “When Things Don’t Go As Planned” that will dissect your health and injury issues that come up when you least want them and can negatively affect your training and race season–how to heal, prevent and overcome going forward of common (and not so common) issues that athletes face. Listen to our first edition here. Send us your requests for topics!
When Things Don’t Go As Planned
Part 1: Ankle Sprains and Wellness
Some stats
- Injuries to the foot and ankle affect 40% of the population at least one point in their life.
- Incidence of foot and ankle injuries is even higher for runners: approximately 60% of runners will have one injury every 2 years.
- Foot and ankle injuries often lead to issues higher up the kinetic chain: knees, hips, back – even shoulders! Dysfunctional ankles affect the entire kinetic chain.
- Consider the importance of ankle’s tendons and ligaments and how the integrity of these can be tied to holistic health, hormones, etc.
- Proprioception is really one of the most important aspects of healthy, strong, resilient ankles.
Biomechanical notes
- Ankle dorsiflexion influences dynamic balance in individuals with chronic ankle instability. (International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy 2013)
- Ipsilateral hip abductors weakened after ankle sprains. (Journal of Athletic Training 2006)
- Hip weakness predicts ankle injury risk. (Journal of Athletic Training 2017)
- Any other correlations we see that you want to mention?
What kind of ROM do we need?
- ~30 degrees of dorsiflexion during walking
- ~35-40 degrees for more functional/athletic positions
Types of sprains
- Medial
- Syndermotic (high)
- Lateral – most common type of sprain – 85%
- 70% of ankle sprains have recurrent symptoms
Why are some of us more prone to ankle sprains and then recurrent ankle issues?
- ROM issues, joint mobility and stiffness.
- Proprioception or lack there of.
- Shoes, footwear and lack of going barefoot.
- What about role of hormones, stress, etc?
- Why are some people able to recover on the fly from rolling their ankle vs some people sustain to a full-blown ankle sprain?
- Proprioception–and the “preparation” going into circumstance (barefoot shoes).
- The ligaments’ ability to react quickly and dynamically.
- Structural integrity.
- Also nutritional and metabolic component: estrogen, cortisol and stress hormones.
From the lens of health & hormonal status
- More estrogen dominance these days
- Generally, we see men’s T levels are lower these days while estrogen on the rise;
- While women are not breaking down estrogen as readily (impaired detox etc);
- All this leading to estrogen dominance, and this causes ligaments to not respond properly.
- Research shows that female soccer plays have higher # of knee injuries during ovulation and late luteal, you also see it in carpal tunnel syndrome–all correlated to higher estrogen levels.
- Sometimes higher estrogen levels are totally normal ie during pregnancy.
- Elastin vs relaxin
- Elastin—protein responsible for stretching, shrinking and recoiling; what is found in ligaments and connective tissue. Estrogen affects this protein, and this affects both men and women, thus affecting proprioception and ligament integrity.
- Relaxin—hormone, mostly just during pregnancy.
- Women sustain more ankle sprains in women
- True and relative estrogen dominance
- What Tawnee has seen in recent DUTCH tests in her clients: estrogen dominance, normal to low progesterone, relative estrogen dominance, impaired methylation, impaired detox, etc.
- Progesterone deficiency can be tied to excess stress hormone (cortisol) production. Also contributing to relative estrogen dominance.
- Role of endocrine disruptors, xenoestrogens, etc.
- This can be a factor but in Steve’s opinion not 100% the cause; usually something else going on impairing the body’s ability to handle these types of things.
- Analogy of EMF and how things like this are almost never the “sole cause” of someone’s health issues.
- Detox & Liver health…
- Ways to gauge impaired liver health: AST & ALT are not enough! These can be influenced by other things and they will not show up in detox issues.
- Two pathways to be aware of for liver detox and breaking down estrogen:
- Sulfation
- Methylation: Folate, P5P/B6, B12, Mg, etc.
- Glucuronidation
- Mg, sugar handling, etc.
- Artichoke high in glucuronic acid
- Betaglucuronidase – enzyme that can upregulate and allow for reabsorption of estrogen, which tied into gut health overall. Impaired gut tends to have higher levels of this enzyme thus more potential for estrogen issues.
Healing protocol
- 70% of ankle sprains have recurrent symptoms
- Steve’s No. 1 piece of advice: DO NOT WEAR THE BOOT.
- “Horrible” orthopedic device.
- Does more harm than good… will mess up gait, hips and back.
- Gives a good barrier to avoid any further injury, but you lose proprioception and potentially introduce way more problems.
- Crutches are more active, boot is passive.
- Need load- and weight-bearing work to heal properly.
- Timeline of healing
- Rehab: ASAP
- It’s ok to endure some pain or discomfort in pursuit of healing.
- Every moment you rest and don’t do the work you lose valuable time to heal and re-train things the right way.
- We often want the “soft” route but that doesn’t get us far.
- Sometimes we do need to endure some pain and force to have a breakthrough. This is different than a “no pain no gain” mentality.
- Obviously all this is said within reason—don’t be stupid and go running and jumping when you have a sprain.
- Protocol should include:
- Neuromuscular/proprioception work
- Balance training; single leg balance work
- Restoring ROM
- Exercises for dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion, eversion
- Not static stretching alone but what are dynamic and mobilization examples?
- Foam roll? Trigger points? Where?
- Multiplanar strengthening
- Glutes, feet and toes!
- Myofascial release
- Ongoing maintenance:
- Test/re test
- Lateral step down test
- SL exercises
- Mobility
- SMFR
- Pre/post exercise assessment, eg do the rehab exercises then check squat, lunge, DL, etc, do you see improvement?
Part 2: Migraines
Definition
- What makes a migraine different than other types of headache?
- Migraine w/aura vs w/o – what is aura
- Vasodilation
- Photophobia
- Athletes who suffer from migraines can be sidelined from training or racing due to migraines. Can be debilitating!
- Tawnee’s husband John gets migraines on occasion; he had the onset of one with aura during a very grueling trail HM that he did this past summer, and he was definitely a bit depleted and underprepared for it going into the race….
- Generally, we don’t see a clear correlation of what else is happening when he gets them but it tends to be more times of high stress, screen time (blue light/bright light/intense work), dehydration.
- Has gotten better with diet improvements over the years.
- Tension headache more constrictive.
- Sometimes, how do we really know it’s a migraine? Maybe another category like TMJ headache.
- Dampening of sensory information tends to help ease migraine pain (visual, auditory, etc.).
In athletes, research says:
“Headaches in athletes”
- This article has some good general info and classifications of types of headaches
“The association between migraine and physical exercise”
- “It seems that although exercise can trigger migraine attacks, regular exercise may have prophylactic effect on migraine frequency.”
- “Possible mechanisms for how exercise may trigger migraine attacks, include acute release of neuropeptides such as calcitonin gene-related peptide or alternation of hypocretin or lactate metabolism.”
- “Mechanisms for migraine prevention by exercise may include increased beta-endorphin, endocannabinoid and brain-derived neurotrophic factor levers in plasma after exercise.”
Risk factors and triggers
- Hormonal tie in
- Females 3x more than men
- Estrogen/progesterone imbalances and/or estrogen dominance, just like with ankle issues.
- Cortisol levels that compromise progesterone levels.
- Women who suffer from migraines can often trace them to happening the same time of their cycle each month, during ovulation and late luteal (before period).
- Training stress/life stress—something is off, usually that’s when you will get the onset of migraine (or whatever issue you are prone to, e.g. cold sores, mastitis).
- Neurotransmitter or gut issue that is causing the imbalance and triggering a migraine.
- Abdominal migraine: serotonin levels of GI system are affected from inflammation (often related to food sensitivity, fungus, GI infection, dysbiosis, etc.)
- Sometimes there will be no GI symptoms (nausea), sometimes there won’t be.
- Enteric nervous system at work here, ie gut-brain axis or “second brain” affecting vagus nerve.
- Serotonin is needed, often parallels estrogen levels so those can affect one another.
- if your gut is affecting your migraines, as long as you’re not on an SSRI, the go-to would be St. John’s Wort. This is GREAT to restore serotonin levels.
- St. John’s Wort is the go-to herb here.
- 95% or more of serotonin made in the gut.
- St. John’s Wort can help when things go awry.
- Just improving the gut can help of course, but the issue is that can take a very long time, so with this idea of using St. John’s Wort, you can hit it both ways: Work on GI health but also use something like St. John’s Wort to help restore neurotransmitter levels, thus improve serotonin levels, which then will also help improve GI health and ultimately aid in migraine issue.
- If your gut gets “off” easily, this is a good go-to ensuring there are no contraindications for your personal health profile, other meds, etc.
- Other side effects: rarely it can cause anxiety, and depending on other medications you are on there can be side effects. Check first.
- Eye issues, light/brightness—can lighting alone trigger one?
- Correlation with the following: Posture, breathing patterns, muscle tension? … or even things like overworking/overtiredness, lack of sleep, lack of QUALITY sleep, etc…
Diet/nutrition
-
- Identify food sensitivities
- Look at it as an opportunity to overall clean up the gut and do a gut healing protocol.
- Consider in your diet:
- Omega 6/3 ratio?
- Inflammatory foods, seed oils, etc.
- Supplement with fish oil? Can be part of an overall health protocol but fish oil alone doesn’t seem to be a “magic pill.”
- SAD?
- Nutrient deficiencies? Depleted from overtraining?
- Supplements
- Curcumin/turmeric
- Understand that this is an anti-inflammatory compound that fights inflammation differently than omega 3 fish oil
- Omega 3’s work off eicosanoids like fatty acid balances and platelet aggregation (stickiness)
- Important for regulatory T cells to fight infections and support immune system.
- Turmeric works off NF kappa B, inflammatory compound your body makes (fish oil doesn’t do this) and also helps with inflammatory cytokine IL-10, important when you have autoimmune conditions, infections, allergies. Turmeric more specific for immune system.
- But overall, when you’re overcome your inflammation issue you shouldn’t and don’t need to continue taking it. Understand why you’re taking something! And go back to diet and training-stress balance first!
- Mg, Riboflavin, Zinc
- Mg: hormone breakdown
- Riboflavin: gut
- Zinc: immune system, progesterone & testosterone are made by zinc
Prevention
- What to do when you feel one coming on & what to do for overall avoidance of getting one.
- Very rarely is there a single pill that will improve something. Successful thing to treat but rarely one answer on fixing them from happening.
- Overall this goes back to a holistic lifestyle improvement.
- Body is always trying to heal and tell us what it needs… always a reason, be wiling to get uncomfortable to heal, while also giving your body the love it deserves. It’s not fighting against you.
The post
Sock Doc 21: When Things Don’t Go As Planned – Ankle Sprains and Migraines first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Requested by our audience in response to ATC 357, which addresses keeping your cool around non-toxic living, this episode dives into more on clean, non-toxic living, the mental health component and more.
- Terminology around clean leaving, and what does “toxic” really mean?
- Fear-including, fear-mongering, click-bait tactics.
- Advice and input from an attorney (aka John).
- Body overburdened? The signs:
- Skin conditions
- Fatigue more than normal
- Sick often
- GI issues
- Brain fog
- Headaches
- Conventional products or additives in foods, etc, may be harmful in the following ways:
- Endocrine (hormone) disruptors
- Carcinogens
- Neurotoxins
- Chemicals affecting mood, behavior and cognition
- Reproductive harms…
- Whether it’s trying to avoid endocrine disruptors esepcially in kids — as we are seeing a rise in early puberty — or avoiding chemicals that contribute to asthma, eczema, etc, it’s our job and duty to be mindful of these things. But not afraid.
- Evidence of chronic health issues in adults and children:
- Embrace the idea of less is more. We don’t need so much as we are told…
- We don’t need sunscreen most of the time (there are exceptions) if we are doing it right with food and our approach to sun exposure.
- We don’t need to be cleaning our homes with disinfectants every day, or really at all
- We don’t need 10000 beauty products.
- Our kids don’t even really need to use soap in the shower most of the time, as it can dry out skin and disrupt their natural oils and biome.
- Marketing these days will always tell you what you lack and what you need… critical thinking applies here.
The post
OMM 11: Navigating ‘Non-Toxic’ (Part 1) first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Intro Banter
Brian asks:
A Weird(?) Goal + ‘Do Anything Fitness’
Hi! I’ve been listening to endurance planet since (I think) 2015 when I started getting into distance running. I peaked and burned out on running in 2019/2020 when I ran my fastest times and the work I was putting in was… just felt too much work. I ran a 3:09 marathon in pouring, 80-degree rain, a 1:25 half marathon 2 weeks earlier and a few months later ran an 18 minute 5k and a 5:16 mile (without too much speed-specific training). But, it just stopped being fun. For durability: I got up to 70 miles a week in marathon training and loved it, I did a ½ iron in 2017 with 10-16 hours a week of training with no issues. No injuries at all.
I still love running, but mostly just 3-4x a week for 3-4 miles for enjoyment. I supplement it with a bit of swimming, biking, and lifting but without a plan; mostly intuitively for whatever my body wants that day.
Not related to the goal but absolutely my #1 priority is to build and maintain what I call “do anything” fitness. I love the idea of being able to jump into training for a triathlon, ocean swim, paddleboard race, or something else endurance-y and having a great base so I don’t have to spend a lot of time getting ready to train. This also includes a little durability to jump into something totally new (just an example, but something like playing tennis or soccer randomly even if I’ve never played) without risking injury.
So, to my weird goal: I’d like to make a really good attempt to run my best in every running event from the 400m to the marathon in 1 year (400, 800, 1600, 5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2). This doesn’t really mean PR because I don’t really want to put that pressure on myself, I want it to be fun. But, I want to feel like I made a really good attempt. I started running as a 26 year old (35 now) and went right for the marathon, so I’ve never done speed stuff besides the marathon-style speedwork (which for me was usually 400 repeats at the shortest).
The 2 goals sort of align bc I’m also someone that loves the slow-and-steady running and weight training (I do love hammering on the bike and swim though, not sure why). I sometimes love pushing 100m sprints in the backyard or doing burpees, but those days are few and far between. I realize that part of having “do anything” fitness means developing and maintaining some of those explosive or fast-twitch muscles, and having a more-concrete goal will help motivate me.
So, any advice on how to start building that “do anything” fitness, use the winter to prepare for an April start date for training for the “Year of All Races”, how to sequence the year (e.g., do I start short then train for long? The other way? A mix-up? I truly have no idea), and how to balance that (if possible) with the relaxed/intuitive training I’ve enjoyed lately (not necessary but a cherry on top).
For background: I am a 35 year-old male; 5’10” and 165lb (during running PRs I got down to 150-155 but it wasnt a sustainable weight). I have a home gym with a treadmill, bike trainer, free-weights, home-made TRX system, squat rack + Olympic bar. Despite that I don’t know if I could even squat my own weight (I don’t really do 1 rep maxes ever bc Im more concerned about injury than knowing what those #s are, but I could be wrong about that; it could be a good metric) and I can do maybe 8 pullups in a row and probably max out at 30 straight pushups… so strength is a weakness for me. Despite that I have no history of injury. I work from home with a non-demanding job (very much 9-5 and I take an hour for lunch with my wife every day), so time isn’t a major issue. I live in the northeast US so winter isn’t great for speedwork but I’m not against it.
thanks again for all your help, I absolutely love the podcast; it’s one of the few constants in my life in the last 10 years 
FOLLOWUP: Apologies! I also meant to include the 100 & 200; all the “endurance” events according to Lucho!
What the coaches say:
- Listen in for Lucho’s advice!
Research Review:
Minimalist Footwear For Runners—A Systematic Review of 23 Studies
- “The main findings were
- (a) the use of MF induces improvements in stride frequency and running economy in long distance events and allows a reduction in support time (i.e., foot support) during 5km distance races;
- (b) for biomechanical factors, MF can be useful to induce some benefits in the running cycle: greater ranges of ankle motion, increased stride frequency, and forefoot striking predominance as well as a reduction in knee stiffness; and
- (c) although the use of the MF does not reduce the impact forces in the meta- tarsus or ankle, it may reduce knee impact, indicating the interest in its use during rehabilitation processes.”
- Criteria?
- MF = shoe with a highly flexible sole and upper that weighs 200 g or less, has a heel stack height of 20 mm or less, and a heel–toe differential of 7 mm or less (5).
- Comments on shoes used in these studies and the “more extreme” minimalist shoes used.
- More details on findings:
- Running economy and stride frequency increased for long distance runs.
- “Because MF has shown a great predominance of landing with midfoot and forefoot (11,21,31), the use of MF has been shown to influence changes in the footprint. In addition, MF is more suitable than conventional footwear to enhance stride frequency (31,32). Hence, MF has demonstrated its benefits for improving the running economy and, subsequently, running performance.”
- Improves forefoot strike and decreases heel striking.
- Minimalist footwear has been shown to reduce impact forces at the knee joint but not necessary ankle, or foot.
- Decrease in O2 consumption with MF.
- Best for fast races? Minimalist footwear have the greatest impact on running economy and performance at fast paces.
- Greater dorsiflexion and plantar flexion = ankle ROM (but this comes with risks!).
- However, MF may increase injury risk at the ankle and tarsus according to research.
- Overall – if you are looking to increase SF and forefoot strike use MF in your tool box
- Furthermore, MF has demonstrated its influence on athletes’ injury incidence (14). For example, Hryvniak et al. (15), found that 69% of the participants reported an improvement in their previous knee, ankle, hip, and lower back injuries when using MF.
- Lighter shoes make a difference! Heavier shoes decrease economy:
- for every 100g that was added to the shoe weight, the athlete decreased their running economy by 1.11%. 2016 study ref
- What are the risks of MF?
- The transition into wearing MF matters. Don’t go too fast.
- One study showed: 86% of the participants suffered injuries in the conventional/Five fingers transition.
- Potential for:
- Flexor hallucis brevis stiffness.
- The loads with MF were higher in the metatarsal and ankle joints; however, they were lower in the knee joint.
- “Higher initial loading rate and plantar pressures may increase injury in this footwear condition in the early stages [8, 36]. This hypothesis requires further investigation as there is currently no high-level evidence of increased injuries in this period.”
- “Unless high-level evidence emerges, we have no reason to believe that the injury rates are any higher either during a transition to MFW or habitually wearing MFW when compared to running in CRS. There may be specific differences in injury trends amongst groups, such as increased foot injuries in the MFW group [89], but not in the rate of injury.”
- But overall MF can lend to stronger feet so if careful in the transition period, these potential issue may be mitigated in the long run?
- Making the transition safely!
- Article mention: Transitioning to Minimal Footwear: a Systematic Review of Methods and Future Clinical Recommendations (2017).
- The authors suggest that a transition period of no less than 4–8 weeks should be used because of general muscular adaptation to training, taking this period of time [43].
- “Given what has been observed with increases in bone marrow edema when running initially in MFW, we suggest that the initial overall running volume is decreased in the region of 10–20% in the first 2 weeks (Fig. 2), in order to reduce the risk of this bony injury from unfamiliar repetitive loading. This suggestion is based on consistent evidence that training volume is related to running injury risk [48, 49].”
- “Given the dramatic change in the demand of the foot structure and musculature with MFW use, a period of preparation could include some light walking and every day, non-uniform loading whilst wearing MFW or going barefoot may be of benefit before any running activity is begun [44–46]. In addition, foot muscle size may be important for transitioning safely [11].”
- “However, there are currently no studies that have evaluated whether this preparatory phase has any influence on overall injury incidence compared with a group that does not undergo a preparatory phase.”
The post
ATC 358: Minimalist Footwear For Knee Pain Relief and Boosted Economy – Current Research Findings and And How To Safely Transition To Reduce Risk, Plus: A Fit-For-Life Game Plan To Race Everything From 100m to Marathon first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Welcome to episode 38 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach and personal trainer, who you can find over at wildandwell.fit. On this episode:
Allison L. asks:
Building Bone Density (for a Masters Female Athlete)
First, a huge thanks for all the podcasts over the years. I have listened so much whenever I have a question I can hear you and Lucho discussing it in my head.
But here’s a new one for HPN:
I am a 60 year old female marathon runner who recently had a DEXA scan showing
SPINE RESULTS: T score at L1-L2 is -2.0 with bone density of 0.920 g/cm2. L3 and L4 excluded from diagnostic analysis because degenerative change artifactually elevates measured density at those vertebral levels. Technical quality of the study is good.
HIP RESULTS: Low bone density value at the hip is a T score of -0.5 and bone density of 0.967 g/cm2 at the right femoral neck. Technical quality of the study is good.
GENERAL COMMENTS: The patient has low bone mass by WHO criteria. Fracture risk is elevated. A T score of -2.0 at the spine corresponds to an increased risk of fracture approximately 4 times that expected when compared to a young adult reference population. There is significant discordance in bone density at the spine versus hip, a finding which can sometimes suggest the presence of occult medical contributors to bone mass loss. A careful search for correctable contributors to bone mass loss is therefore recommended.
I am guessing the 25 years of running 20 miles a week helps the hips, while swimming and biking do not hurt but don’t help.
Calcium 94
Vitamin D 64 ng/ml.
No history of REDS.
Height 5′-7″ weight 145
I am going to tr Dr. Fishman’s 12 poses for Osteoporosis.
Do you have any good exercises?
What the coaches say:
The yoga poses mentioned
- Based on this study:Twelve-Minute Daily Yoga Regimen Reverses Osteoporotic Bone Loss
- “Yoga poses were selected specifically to produce torque and bending of the proximal femur, compression of the pelvis, and twisting of the lumbar vertebral bodies. The choice was determined because these are the most common sites of osteoporotic fractures and the anatomical regions measured by the DXA scan. However, osteoporotic fractures frequently occur in the thoracic spine, the forearm, and the ribs. These sites were not studied and might not respond to yoga directed toward them in the same way.”
- Also, maybe an unintended “side effect” and uncontrolled variable of stress reduction via this yoga practice that helped on a biochemical level? (Nutrients, hormones, gut, etc)
Literature:
Osteoporosis: Exercise Programming Insight for the Sports Medicine Professional
- Bone loss may begin to occur after the age of 30 when the rate of bone remodeling begins to decline. In women, bone loss accelerates after the age of 45 when estrogen production slows and menopause begins usually at an average age of 51 (11). Women transitioning into or who have entered menopause have a much lower estrogen level, which can lead to a 2–3% loss in bone density in the first 5 years after menopause (41). (REF)
- Primary (type I) or “postmenopausal” osteoporosis is the most common type of osteoporosis which results in trabecular (spongy) bone loss (23,41,42). Estrogen deficiency is believed to be the main underlying cause for this form of osteoporosis (26), which is why women are 8 times more likely to get primary osteoporosis than men (25).
- Factors assoc. With primary/postmenopausal osteo (Q: how many of these does she have?)
- Also secondary osteoporosis can occur at any age and is often caused by chronic diseases, endocrinopathies, metabolic conditions, nutritional deficiencies or absorption disorders, alcoholism, and certain medications (Table 3) (23,26,32,41,42). often results from an age related vitamin D deficiency which leads to poor calcium uptake, increased parathyroid hormone release, as well as bone resorption (16). (Her D levels look good- however again blood levels may not tell the whole story of what is happening)
- E.g. ref this podcast ith Sock Doc on testing vit D levels in which he said: Vitamin D is another example that we can’ trust that one marker along- don’t jut test 25-hydroxy Vitamin D, also test the 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D to measure the balance between the two. But few people do this. If you see levels go up with supplementation then plummet back down after you stop supplementing, then that could be indicative of needing to test both. But then where does the testing end?
- Factors assoc with secondary.
Look at from a functional/holistic/nutrition perspective:
- Ca & D are important but more to bone than calcium and vitamin D
- Manganese (Mn) is also an important bone health mineral
- Manganese supplementation can increase both bone mineral density and bone formation [24] (ref)
- Eg) for healing Stress fx or bone injury, Your body needs a lot of Mn, eg up to 50-100 mg for a short period of time!
- Also: magnesium, copper, zinc, and silicon.
- EAs often have Cu deficiency, and we’ve talked about Mg deficiency being prevalent! Zinc… gotta be careful of chronic supp which can create imbalances, look to food form
- Silicon and bone health
- Calcium—a different perspective:
- Caution against supplementing with calcium! The issue is not often needing more Ca but rather, we need to stop stealing it from our bones. Even if blood levels are good, we could be stealing this mineral from bones.
- Body pulls calcium from bones when the blood and tissues are too acidic, i.e. excess caffeine, poor diet, chronically high cortisol issues/HPA axis dysfunction, overtraining syndrome, not resting enough, and/or too many other high stressors in life.
- Bottom line: again it goes back to addressing diet and lifestyle.
- Calcium, no evidence that you need more than a normal dietary intake.
- 1300mg/day? We get enough. Dairy, seeds (chia, sesame, poppy seeds), canned fish with bones, beans/lentils, whey protein.
- Bones are alive, they are constantly breaking down and building up and getting remodeled every day/week/month/year of your life depending on the stress and loads that they are exposed to or NOT exposed to.
- 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men over 50 will have an osteoporatic fracture in their lifetime.
- Consider this, from a research perspective:
Potential mechanisms linking psychological stress to bone health
Strength training thoughts
Effect of weighted exercises on bone mineral density in post …
- Results: The review revealed evidence to support the effectiveness of weight training exercises to increase BMD in postmenopausal women. The increases in BMD were site-specific and required high loading with a training intensity of 70% to 90% of 1 RM for 8 to 12 repetitions of 2 to 3 sets performed over one year duration.
- Conclusion: Weighted exercises can help in maintaining BMD in postmenopausal women and increasing BMD of the spine and hip in women with osteopenia and osteoporosis. The exercise program must be incorporated into a lifestyle change and be lifelong due to the chronic nature of bone loss in older women.
the effects of differing resistance training modes on the preservation of BMD in p
- Abstract: This meta-analysis synthesized current evidence from 24 clinical trials to evaluate the impact of different resistance training modes on postmenopausal bone loss. Exercise interventions were categorized into two training modes, namely resistance-alone versus combined resistance training protocols. The combined resistance training protocols were defined as the combination of resistance training and high-impact or weight-bearing exercise. The results suggested that the combined resistance training protocols were effective in improving bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck and lumbar spine.
- Results: Twenty-four studies were included in the overall analysis of skeletal response to resistance exercise. The between-study heterogeneity was evident for the hip (I (2) = 46.5%) and spine (I (2) = 62.3%). The overall analysis suggested that resistance training significantly increased femoral neck BMD (SMD = 0.303, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.127-0.479, p = 0.001) and lumbar spine BMD (SMD = 0.311, 95% CI = 0.115-0.507, p = 0.002) in postmenopausal women. However, subgroup analysis indicated that combined resistance training programs significantly affected both the hip BMD (SMD = 0.411, 95% CI = 0.176-0.645, p = 0.001) and spine BMD (SMD = 0.431, 95% CI = 0.159-0.702, p = 0.002), whereas resistance-alone protocols only produced nonsignificant positive effects both on the femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD.
- Conclusions: Combined resistance exercise protocols appear effective in preserving femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD in postmenopausal women, whereas resistance-alone protocols only produced a nonsignificant positive effect.
Example exercises
- 2 Pulls: rows and lat pulldowns
- 2 Presses: push-ups and OH or Chest press?
- Hips: deadlifts, RDLs, kettlebell swings
- Full Body: squat, hinge, lunge, UB press and UB pull, plyos? Proprioception/balance work to prevent falls/fractures?
Lifestyle Medicine & the Roots of Wellness
Part 3: #5-7
Our list continues…
5. Physical movement
- Consistency + moderation; for this crowd we can say that extremes ok as long as you’re healthy and taking time to recover from them.
- Discipline to show up; discipline to hold back. Depending on where you’re at, discipline goes both ways!
- Eg) movement snacks/strength training in kitchen and dining room while kids are eating. But also those high stress times when less is more… Figure it out!
- But on flip side if lots of red flags, don’t try to PR! Don’t force the physical exertion, maybe some gentle yoga and mobility and getting IN your body is preferred.
- Find your happy medium. Be INTUITIVE… not so stubborn and relentless, at least, this is the case when viewing as a lifestyle medicine standpoint.
- Also, don’t be AFRAID of the physical if it hurt you in the past. Trust you can do it wiser this time without the pitfalls and setbacks to health.
- For endurance athletes (obv): strength training super important in season and not just during the shoulder seasons. Low volume heavy weight to keep all your shit together as you enter that season of being in a catabolic state
- Def get to know yourself and know whether it’s time to go for it, time to dial it back, or time to take an extra rest day or 2 or a full week or 2 off. I had some early season burnout I talked about last episode and knew I had to scale back the miles, “running through it” wasn’t the way to getting my mojo back…and turns out you can still crush your race without training like a maniac! Hard work is super important and valuable in so many ways, but a lot of us tend to think “if some is good more must be better” and completely overshoot
- Fitness routines post-race.
- Fitness as a lifestyle is so critical to good health. Exactly what you said, find that happy medium. Something you look forward to most of the time, somedays do something really uncomfortable, and overall less sitting and more movement snacks over the course of the day!
6. Connection to nature
- No matter the season, we have to get in sunshine (even on a cloudy day), practice grounding, etc.
- There are ways to offset this in dark, cold season

- If you live in a concrete jungle consider this, how often are you getting outside of the city life? How do you feel in one environment vs the other?
- The thing is, there’s plenty of research on this topic and plenty of naysayers and claims of pseudoscience, so follow your intuition and test these things for yourself, no harm in trying… only the potential to help!
- Turn your phone off and go for a long hike or walk, must turn off “the switch” – listen to the birds, the creek, the waves, whatever noise nature is giving you
- What connecting with nature does for me – allows me to breathe again. During packed weeks I feel like I am living in a constant state of inhalation, all up in my traps. When I connect with nature I’m able to exhale and connect with myself again. And there is nothing better for our health then remaining in connection with ourselves
- Helps so much with perspective – “omg, the world is so big and I am so small…does it REALLY matter if the clothes are not folded correctly? Why am I stressing so hard on the small things when the world is this big and beautiful?”
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HPN 38: Holistic Approach To Building Bone Density and Lifestyle Medicine Part 3: A Fresh Perspective on Physical Movement and Nature Immersion first appeared on
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In this episode of On My Mind (OMM), Tawnee and John catch up after a big weekend of racing for their family. Tawnee finally did her half-marathon at 11 months postpartum, John ran a 5k and their daughter Cora participated in a 1k kids fun run. Hear their perspective and what’s been on their mind since this race weekend.
In this show, Tawnee shares insight on pacing a half-marathon and how her year of intuitive training has paid off and helped her in this 13.1-mile event. She also gives an emotional perspective of racing before kids and with kids and putting performance in perspective, while celebrating the opportunity to get out and do the things we endurance athletes love.
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Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Intro Banter:
- Lucho running Ragnar New Hampshire!
- Lucho’s boys continuing their MTB racing
- Endurance Conspiracy mention
Mark asks:
Gravel and CX specific workouts?
Hey guys! Cyclocross season is upon us, I’ve been dabbling in races the past couple years and feel like I’m falling short in these hard efforts. Basic question: what are a few key, specific workouts to nail these dynamic hard races?! Also for gravel racing, I’m looking to do longer events, so what prep would you recommend specific to this type of racing?
What the coaches say:
- Cyclocross fall/winter
- Make sure base on bike was trained leading up to the season
- Specificity now!
- Aspects of Cx racing:
- Run training–look at 400 and 800 training, not a lot of endurance just some 20-30min runs or hiking with some run intervals
- The run is not about running well it’s about not losing time and not letting the run hurt you
- Work on dismounts/remounts!
- Powerful bursts and sprints at high power.
- Dynamic courses, skill and technique.
- Skill level is often the biggest limiter.
- CX Races 45-60min
- Zero Z1/Z2
- All Z4/Z5–it’s vicious! Much of it at FTP or over.
- What to do:
- Practice drills like jumping off bike, run, jumping back on.
- Focus on getting technically proficient while running a very high HR.
- Example workouts/sets:
- Long tempo of 20-30min Z3, strong not hard + 3-5min of threshold
- 4 x 5′ upper Z4 w/ 30-60″ recoveries, this is the same, essentially, as doing a 20min effort
- VO2, for short punchy hills
- Eg) 5″-30″ to 40″ in Z5/Z6 above threshold and/or efforts up to 3min (to nail that VO2 specificity)
- Interval duration of 5”-30” @ peak power or up to 2-5’ high power – and repeating this… 3… 8… 10…15x
- Critical power workouts, 3-4 sets of 4 x 15″ max/peak power…repetition.
- Working on high cadence efforts, higher cadence is often necessary in these races on technical spots.
- Similar to MTB when going thru a technical spot when you can’t use a lot of force
- Find a hill, eg grassy park ,15 sec to 1min and ride chill interval ride up at 95-98% effort (Vo2), jump off at top, run down hill then remount bike as you’re going down, practice this all with high HR!
- Similarities with zwift racing as well so in regards of power intervals you could use that for crosstraining
- Power and strength!
- Make sure to get in the weight room, keep it simple.
- Planning races:
- On non-race weeks: Can do 2x shorter, intense workouts (Z3, Z4, Z5+) + a tempo/Z3 for a bit of a longer set.
- Then, be sure to cut back on intense workouts on race weeks.
- On race weeks, do your hard session on Tue/Wed then race hard on the weekend.
- Always, start with looking at life objectively, rest/recovery–how much recovery do you need? How’s your life load?
- Then work backwards to decide how much intensity/training you need/can handle.
- If having trouble with this, let technology help you eg an Oura ring.
- Gravel races:
- Just about a lot of time in the saddle, the terrain.
- Less high intensity VO2 work needed (especially if you did this for CX)
- Races start too hard, will you take the bait? need an adequate threshold and then the ability to recovery and bring it back down to Z2
- Muscular endurance is a big deal.
- Often hilly, rollers. Punch up to Z3/Z4 and do sets of 5′-20′ work for the inclines.
- Added fatigue from the terrain. Specificity. Grit. Bike maintenance.
- Volume is key. Can’t get away with 20min Z2 kinda stuff.
Grace asks:
How To Approach Non-Toxic Living With A Healthy Mindset
For Tawnee: How do you find the balance of pursuing non-toxic living while not losing your mind over all the toxic $%!& in our environment, all the options, all the claims, all the potential risks, etc etc?! It seems like a never-ending rabbit hole that can send us Type A’s spinning.
What the coaches say:
- It’s definitely a balance, just keep in mind the anxiety and stress over toxins, chemicals and keeping it clean can often be more harmful than the toxin/chemical itself.
- Kind of similar to that orthorexic mindset regarding food if you’re not careful, I definitely see it as a disorder to live “toxin free” and if not feel anxious about it… and being perfect just isn’t possible.
- When we’re not well or healing I find this to be the hardest time to have a healthy mindset as we tend to push harder for toxic free life.
- In one way, pursuing low toxin chemical free living is valuable, important and totally realistic, many of us need this relatively simple overhaul in our lives.
- But to your point there’s a lot of info out there, and it’s important to be educated, but if you go too far it’s just a lot of fear-inducing propaganda.
- Awareness is key.
- Perfection isn’t obtainable.
- Always assess/reasses how you and your family feel.
- Some basics to consider:
- Water–drinking water, shower/bath.
- House cleaning products, self-care products
- Consider the products used to dishes/silverware/anything food-related, look at food storage (no plastic), and kid’s lunchboxes (I love this one as well as this one)
- Choose organic when possible to avoid glyphosate but don’t freak out when you eat out or have to buy an alternative…same with all the things grassfed, non gmo, etc…
- Ewg.org clean 15
- Ewg.org dirty dozen
- Budget wise, it can get expensive so:
- Watch for black friday deals!
- Shop on Thrive Market, fir better deals, frequent sales.
- Brands I like/use:
- Branch basics–took a while to pull the trigger on this, not cheap up front but lasts so long and worthwhile.
- Seventh generation cleaner for extra dirty jobs only
- Air Doc air filters
- What about clothing?
- Often unrealistic to buy all organic chemical free clothing.
- Don’t lose sleep or stress over that which you can’t control (eg Tawnee isn’t worried about all the Lululemon “chemical” clothing she’s work over the years)
- Prioritize kids stuff: organic onesies for babies, PJs without flame retardants, etc.
- But also consider the greatest tool you have, your body, so take good care of it!
- Support detox pathways:
- Think liver, skin, GI tract, kidneys…
- Chronic constipation, poor diet, medications, alcohol, slow down our detoxification pathways.
- Our bodies are made to detox, and this can become impaired but generally we’re equipped with the abiluity to toelrate exposure to various toxins and be fine. This can certainly become imbalanced (which why checking the “big things” may matter) but it’s also an opportunity to trust your body and your environment… and live in harmony in this regard. Feeling stress and anxiety will only fuel the fire.
- If you can’t live in your ideal non-toxic environment you can at least control a lot as far as your body’s ability to detox.
The post
ATC 357: Cyclocross Season Workouts And Tips, Grinding Gravel, and Non-Toxic ‘Insanity,’ How To Keep Your Cool And Healthy Balance + Budget Around Clean Living first appeared on
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John and Tawnee are on for On My Mind episode 9. Tawnee shares a quick running update as she heads into half-marathon race weekend, and John also shares about his return to Zwift racing with his team.
Then we get into our main topic of the day: At-home gyms. This is something we first covered in detail on Ask The Coaches #228 with Lucho in Feb. 2017. Tawnee also wrote an in-depth post on at-home gyms with pricing and links to go-to items:
In this show we talk about what we’d update, change or do differently, looking back at the past 6-7 years. We also discuss price differences from 7 years ago till now and much more to help you dial in your at-home gym dreams!
What we’d keep (or re-buy):
What we’re updating:
What’s new (to us):
- More KBs–heavier and some weight duplicates
- Treadmill
- Salmon ladder
- Squat rack
- Battleropes
- Archery range
- Hatchet throwing
- Big tire + sledgehammer swing
What we’d omit or not prioritize:
- Resistance bands galore
- Weighted vest
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OMM 9: Building An At-Home Gym – Part 2, What We’ve Learned, What We’re Doing first appeared on
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Welcome to episode 37 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach and personal trainer, who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
Julie’s Big Win!
- The race: Palisades 50 Miler: Palisades, ID July 22nd. 11,000’ up/down. 14 hours, 2am-4pm. Hot.
- Result: 1st place female. Was in 7th/8th until mile 35 then steadily took the lead.
Things that went well:
- Scaled back pace after going out too hard.
- Let people pass and reminded “to run my own race,” there’s a wholeeee lotta miles left to make up ground.
- Started out fast, scaled back and focused on “enjoyment” from mile 5-35, then flipped on my competitive switch with 15 miles left.
- Kept my HR low
- Nasal breathing, slowing down.
- Pushed it when it felt good
- Saved having coca cola for the last aid station and then passed about 15 people going up the final climb at mile 35. 3,000’ in 3-4 miles at 12:00 in a section with no water and absolutely found my flow and rocked it. Favorite part of the race, truly felt so empowered and connected to myself and to the race.
- Dunked in every creek – kept cool!
- Stayed calm and was constantly on top of her shit…checking in: Eating enough? Drinking enough? What sounds good right now? What doesnt? What do I need at the next aid station?
- Training Wise/Prep: got the workouts, long runs, and easy runs in. 2 strength workouts. Ran a good amount of miles but didn’t sweat it if wasn’t running as much.
- Nutrition: tried for 250cals/hour…did well in the beginning with gels and chews and then just ate whatever and whenever; let go of the “plan.”
- Body: mostly feet hurt and were tired toward the end, they were ready to be done. Low-grade nauseous on and off all day, but always manageable. Body and mind felt good and strong for the most part!
Things that didn’t feel good:
- Ate a full breakfast RIGHT before the race. You gain 2,000’ in the first 2 miles so no time to digest it :)…BUT would rather be uncomfortable for an hour at the beginning then go into a long race without giving body fuel..no regrets.
- Shoes – felt like wearing high heels out there. Couldn’t get footing right, slipping all over the place and rolling ankles left and right…luckily had old shoes to wear for a while.
- Headlamp died after 1.5 hours so I had to use iPhone flashlight.
- Didn’t have enough salt. Body felt swollen and tender.
Lifestyle Medicine & the Roots of Wellness
Part 2: The Research and #4
In HPN 36 we shared our dimension of wellness #1-3…
We often are asked how to heal x,y,z or get better at x,y,z… then often hearing “I can’t heal or get better…” Maybe we’re looking too much at the surface and not enough at the roots. J, I know you and I are people who’ve dug deep to be well and we are reaping benefits in this season of life. So let’s think deeper than just a current fad or protocol, what does it take to get well and stay well? This is lifestyle medicine…
Healing and thriving is not just about supplements or a perfect diet. Holistic wellness is much deeper and intricate. If there are unhealed wounds or imbalances, no supp or diet will be a “magic pill.”
Before sharing our 4th key dimension of wellness, we briefly discuss some of the research and evidence-based resources to support this idea of lifestyle medicine!
Holistic Wellness Research
- Dimensions of wellness: change your habits, change your life – article from 2017
- “Wellness is a holistic integration of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, fueling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit (1). Although it always includes striving for health, it’s more about living life fully (1), and is “a lifestyle and a personalized approach to living life in a way that… allows you to become the best kind of person that your potentials, circumstances, and fate will allow”
- Wellness encompasses 8 mutually interdependent dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental
- Give attention to all (otherwise suffer) although doesn’t have to be balanced
- Find your own personal harmony, does not have to be perfectly balanced
- Change becomes much more achievable if you pay attention to who you are and insert routines that take advantage of your strengths, tendencies, and aptitudes. With self-awareness, you can cultivate the habits that work for you. Consider, for instance, differences in circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms reflect our natural tendencies for sleeping and waking and influence our energy and productivity at different times in the day (11). The odds of success to improve your fitness won’t increase if, for example, you decide to rise an hour earlier to exercise each day when you happen to be a “night owl” rather than “morning lark.” Self-awareness includes knowledge about other aspects of self as well, such as whether you are a marathoner, sprinter, or procrastinator; under- or over-buyer; simplicity or abundance lover; finisher or opener; and familiarity or novelty lover (8). It also includes whether you are promotion- or prevention-focused, and whether you like taking small or big steps (8).
- How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world
- Forming new habits
- The median time to reach 95% automatic mode with habits was 66 days, with a range from 18 to 254 days.
- The time it took participants to reach 95% of their asymptote of automaticity ranged from 18 to 254 days; indicating considerable variation in how long it takes people to reach their limit of automaticity and highlighting that it can take a very long time. Missing one opportunity to perform the behaviour did not materially affect the habit formation process.
- Clustering of Five Health-Related Behaviors for Chronic Disease Prevention Among Adults, United States, 2013
- From 2013, wonder what this is like today? these five health behaviors are critical for disease prevention:
- not smoking,
- regularly exercising,
- consuming moderate to no alcohol,
- maintaining a healthy weight,
- getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
- ***Only 6% of Americans include all five behaviors in their daily routine.***
- IFM’s functional medicine tree (chart) – awesome from roots to branches
- What I like in this is that it shows how our genetics don’t have to be our fate and what influences our genetic predisposition e.g. mental, emotional, spiritual influences (or lack thereof ie spiritual connectedness) + experiences, attitudes and beliefs. Shows the power of what we think… and a lot of the time I think our experience and attitudes/beliefs are the make or break point in onset of disease. Not always but I believe in a correlation.
- There also needs to be antecedents, triggers and mediators that lead to being unwell, ill or diseased.
- Disease is DIS-EASE.
- Of course, it’s not always in our control… environmental, trauma, relationship (behaviors/treatment by others), etc. We can try here but sometimes this is tough stuff.
- And this tree on integrative medicine
Our list continues…
4: Nutrition!
- Seems so obvious but there are so many layers of nutrition as it relates to holistic wellness and our nutritional needs vary so much as individuals.
- Consistent, good quality, nourishing nutrition is a foundation we must abide by to live well. Whether it’s 90/10 or 80/20, it has to be a priority, and there will be times when we stray from our go-to nutritional norms, that’s ok, just keep the foundation strong.
- Experiencing joy with quality nutrition.
- Finding and making the time to invest in this practice.
- When we stray.
- When it’s tied up in emotions and doesn’t serve us.
- Excuses, poor excuses (eg covid 15 weight gain).
The post
HPN 37: Sweet, Sweet Victory and Lifestyle Medicine Part 2 – Evidence-Based Wellness Practices first appeared on
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In this episode of On My Mind, Tawnee and John catch up about intuitive training and the process and progress Tawnee’s been making this year.
- Running slump—scaling it back for 3 weeks, not easy but felt it had to be done (talked about this on ATC 356).
- Struggle with resting.
- Recognizing patterns; push till over-tired then needing extra rest.
- The good stuff happens when athletes LISTEN and respond accordingly, even if that’s the uncomfortable rest they know they need. The not-so-good is when we override that and push harder.
- Intuitive training isn’t always easy, kind of like tough love with your self.
- ATC 342 reference—study on overtraining.
- Recovered & MAF test.
- Analyzing splits.
- Faster average than previous 2 tests this season.
- However, drop off in pace is obvious. When there is a wide range between mile times, what does that mean?
- Lacking a certain level of aerobic endurance.
- Problem solving.
- Breastfeeding is a strain on adrenals, sleep deprived is a big strain, and I’m just doing my best in the season to mind all the variables so I can show up how I want in life and for my family…
- Still signed up for a race in late September–flat and fast half marathon!
- Overall: this is a reminder that nothing beats taking downtime when you need it—no supplement will change that. Supplements are there to support but not be a magic pill.
- Check out our shop page, new additions:
- Rosita Cod Liver Oil!
- Most recently mentioned them on HPN 36, natural form of vitamin A, D with omegas – food first! Not just a supplement. It is a whole food. As the rosita founder says, nature creates everything in balance and harmony. This is what I feed my family
- Unadulterated, gentle extraction with no high heat processing to ruin the sensitive fatty acids. Also tested for purity and free from chemicals, heavy metals, etc.
- #1 on my list as went enter back to school, cold/flu season.
- SHOES!
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OMM 8: When Progress Isn’t (The Usual) Progress first appeared on
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Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Intro:
- Lucho and Tawnee share their “hangups” with training and the things they tend to grapple with, despite years of learning, knowledge and how they coach others (why are we this way haha?!).
- Lucho gets obsessed with mileage and volume, tracking via training peaks.
- Tawnee worries about health consequences of training too much and repeating past mistakes of lacking balance.
Todd asks:
Consequences of eating in a “sympathetic” state on digestion and GI health?
Listening to Endurance Planet is always a staple of my Saturday long run. Thanks for continuing to put out a show that is high quality and an enjoyable listen.
In ATC 355, near the end of the episode, Tawnee mentioned a condition in which a person thinks he/she is relaxed but in fact — by objective measurements — the person is really quite tense. The result, Tawnee said, is that the person really cannot digest food well, leading to GI and other issues.
Can you direct me to more information on this condition and how possibly to overcome it? It sounds like a condition that might be afflicting me, and I would like to find some relief. Thank you again for an outstanding show.
What the coaches say:
Sympathetic vs parasympathetic
- When we feel or are in a state of stress, anxiety, etc, the “fight or flight” response of the central nervous system is triggered, this is called a sympathetic state.
- In this process, the body’s response is to slow down or stop digestion (or in some cases speed up, e.g. diarrhea).
- It’s a primal survival type mechanism—our way to “save energy to run from the tiger” so to speak, it’s the body’s way of shutting down digestion so that more of the body’s energy can be diverted to the situation causing the threat.
- Hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol increase in sympathetic state.
- But cortisol, etc, has to lower for parasympathetic activation.
- This imbalance over time can lend to adrenal fatigue, for example.
- The problem of modern life is that many of us are stuck in hyperdrive sensing constant threats or being under attack all of the time. Sympathetic dominance results and we are unable to slip into a parasympathetic state, when it matters, like at mealtime.
- This can also result from past trauma or PTSD that hasn’t been properly dealt with.
Signs of sympathetic dominance:
- blood sugar imbalance
- brain fog
- chronic fatigue
- difficulty recovering
- sleep issues
- lowered immune function
- hormone imbalances
- ultimately over time: malabsorption, leaky gut, dysbiosis, opportunistic bacteria or pathogens, chronic inflammation, chronic disease
Re-training mind & body
Work on getting body into parasympathetic – known as “rest and digest” via:
- diaphragmatic breathing
- meditation
- anything calming
- vagal tone exercises – humming, gargling, cold water face splash
- positive thinking
As it relates to eating
- We see this issue a lot in athletes who are often ravenous, lacking routine or rhythm to eating habits, eating on the go, eating really fast, multi-tasking while eating mindlessly, etc…
- Sympathetic arousal and being in that state is an ADDICTION! It takes work, consistency and discipline to break this cycle and tap into parasympathetic state.
- Take the time to cook often and set a calm environment at mealtime, this helps start the process of relaxation and heck sometimes a little wine helps too
But try to establish a routine around food. Sit down at a table in a normal position not half off the chair, etc. Connect with your food. Breathe deeply before you eat. Light candles. Make the environment more conducive to relaxation!
- Seasons of life, just do your best, for example tawnee is in a season with small kids so mealtime isn’t always a relaxing “date night” vibe. She says she rarely gets to sit down and enjoy a whole dinner without interruption. Doing my best in the season I’m in. Awareness is key.
The post
ATC 356: Our ‘Hangups’ With Training, Roadmap to Track PRs, The Value of ‘Rest and Digest’ At Mealtime (But Why So Many Of Us Miss This and The Consequences) first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Enjoy this rerelease of a show from July 2016…
A special edition of Endurance Planet with Tawnee and her husband, John, who are interviewed by Lucho about their backpacking honeymoon! Click here for the full written recap of the trip on Tawnee’s blog that includes more photos, GPS files, and a detailed spreadsheet of their exact gear list (with brands), meal plan, HST itinerary, travel info and more.
- Background on why they did it and what they did (what is the High Sierra Trail)
- They wanted to create their own event–not participate in a structured event with rules
- Discussing the original conservative plan vs. how the actual timeline unfolded–finishing 2 days early!!
- Preparing for the trip (planning, shopping, training, mental, etc)
- Lessons learned: they could not treat this immense thru-hike like a race, and had to get over the “racing attitude” that’s usually ingrained
- The mental and physical of backpacking vs. endurance racing
- It’s not easy to backpack, it’s also not as hard as preparing for Ironman, it’s just different
- Having a new concept of what “a mile” means. And why it’s better to focus on time!
- Mileage was always off, couldn’t rely on trail or map numbers, just accept it and keep moving forward
- Having patience and a flexible approach
- Dealing with blisters
- The simplicity of being out in the backcountry: everything to live was on our backs
- Day 4: Tawnee deals with a visit from an “old friend” and how she managed
- Day 6: Climbing Mt. Whitney and feeling those old “pre-race butterflies”
- “Performing” at elevation, and/or feeling like death over 13,000 ft.
- Tying this into races at high elevation like Leadville, etc.
- Similarity of picking ultra pacers and picking your backpacking partner(s)
- The importance of TEAMWORK!
- Finding a routine in the mornings and evenings before and after they day’s hike.
- Backpacking vs. ultra (mindset)
- Feeling “free” without being addicted to the data–a shift from past ways
- Equipment highlights:
- Delorme – safety net in case of emergency
- Garmin watch – good backup for tracking hikes
- Trekking poles – and why they were the best decision ever to have these on the trail!
- Shoes and blisters – harsh realities
- Top experiences on the HST:
- Kaweah gap
- Getting completely on the same page with your mate
- Summiting Mt. Whitney
- Precipice Lake
- What would we do differently?
- Little mistakes: poor choice in mittens/gloves, accidentally brought multiple soaps yet not enough floss, no SD card in GoPro, bad socks, solar panel vs. battery packs, different shoes, etc.
The post
Rerelease: Endurance Tales: Backpacking the High Sierra Trail, Summiting Mt. Whitney, and Comparisons with Competitive Sport first appeared on
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Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
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On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
We are starting a new series called “When Things Don’t Go As Planned” that will dissect your health and injury issues that come up when you least want them and can negatively affect your training and race season–how to heal, prevent and overcome going forward of common (and not so common) issues that athletes face. Send us your requests for topics! Future episodes may include sciatica, rhabdomyolysis, GI issues, recurrent ankle sprains, migraines and so on.
Part 1: Tibialis Posterior Issues & Injuries
Post tib anatomy/connections/basic function
- Where is located?
- Tibia, fibula, foot arch, etc.
- Tendon – inner ankle, by medial malleolus
What it does
- Foot/arch support
- Natural pronation, shock absorption, natural rolling inward of your foot
- Its role in supination
Functions with/relates to
- Big toe
- Plantar fascia
- Medial arch
- Tibialis anterior
Questions
- Why so commonly injured in runners?
- Who’s most at risk?
- What warning signs should we be aware of on this issue? i.e. when there’s a little niggle/pain in that general area – when to take it more seriously, right away?
- Explain the role of post tib issues being from an imbalance between anterior/posterior?
Tie in with overtraining/excess stress:
- “Another significant and perhaps more common reason for muscle imbalances resulting in pronation/supination problems is overtraining. Yup, too much stress will have a dramatic effect on the lower leg muscles, particularly the tibialis posterior muscle that supports the main arch of the foot. There is a common connection between this muscle and the adrenal glands, which is where the major sdtress hormone cortisol is produced. So high levels of stress result in high levels of cortisol and tibialis posterior problems and then overpronation. Shin splints and plantar fasciitis are two common injuries that accompany this problem too.”
- The ROOT of INJURY: “You get injured from being too anaerobic and that could mean either the training is too anaerobic or there’s too much stress in your life creating anaerobic excess. And that’s really how people get injured. They get injured from basically trying to handle more than what they can. And that results in injuries along possibly with the wrong type of footwear.”
Treatment
Rehab/prehab/trigger point work:
- Things we can do at home ourselves!?
- Exercises and manual therapy/trigger points* — identify the spots to work on
- What about stretches? Or NO to stretching these issues? What if PF or stiff big toe is related- stretch/roll?
- Footwear recs? (And what to avoid here)
- Lifestyle recommendations to incorporate
- Preventing recurrence – ongoing “maintenance”
Part 2: Vertigo/Dizziness
Article: The Dizzy Athlete
- “Among patients who present with dizziness, vertigo accounts for approximately 50% of the cases. Furthermore, approximately 80% of these patients have peripheral vestibular dysfunction, whereas the remaining 20% have a central cause [28].”
The Right diagnosis
- “The first step in evaluation involves defining dizziness as either presyncope, vertigo, disequilibrium, or nonspecific dizziness.”
- What else would you look for and ask a patient?
- Self-diagnosing this for those who have symptoms but haven’t been to the dr (can it be confused with something else; is it safe for us to assume what it is and deal with on our own)?
What is vertigo?
- Spinning sensation, etc.
- Other symptoms?
- e.g. sensory issues, overwhelm, imbalance, migraines, hearing problems, vision disturbances, confusion, etc.
Types of vertigo
Peripheral
- The 80% with peripheral – the problem can be w/ the part of the inner ear that controls balance (the vestibular labyrinth or semicircular canals) or with the vestibular nerve, which connects the inner ear to the brainstem.
- Benign positional paroxysmal vertigo (BPPV) is 50% of peripheral causes and is due to stimulation of vestibular sense organs by canalith (define what this means)
- Let’s talk about BPPV and inner ear, etc?
Central –
- Way less common, e.g. tumors, MS, etc.
Reasons/causes of vertigo?
- Any particular profile of who’s most “at risk” for this?
- Inner ear/vestibular issues (crystals in ear and their role in proprioception/spatial orientation; explain this?)
- Can come after bacterial or viral infections
- Has there been an uptick since Covid – i.e. symptom of covid/post-covid infection?
- Neck tightness/neck alignment?
- Why would an athlete experience a sudden onset with seemingly no warning signs, i.e. during a race?
- Is vertigo also stress induced to some degree? (e.g. friend who said after a lot of travel and life stress was having vertigo symptoms)
Treatment
- Epley’s maneuver – what is this, is it effective and supported by functional/holistic practitioners?
- article says: BPPV treatment involves head rotation maneuvers to displace the canalith causing symptoms.
- Conventional/traditional treatment? most people probably go to their primary, what would they do? (ie prescription drugs/meds – of which I’m sure there are plenty of nasty side effects)
- On the other hand, what about holistic/natural treatments, what can we do or do with a functional/natural dr?
- Prevention / prevent recurrence? (especially if experienced previously)
- Supplements to consider?
- Lifestyle awareness – anything in particular?
The post
Sock Doc 20: ‘When Things Don’t Go As Planned’ – Tibialis Posterior and Vertigo first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Intro banter
- John has coffee with RD of North by Northwest Relays.
- Future relay team event for EP fans?!
- Update, we are back in a good flow with the podcast these days and receiving wonderful feedback—thank you, grateful!
- On curiosity and the urge to “dive deeper” in work, research and extracurricular things when life’s big stressors ease up.
- Fullscript now offering subscriptions for your favorite, most valued supplements—brilliant idea in our opinion! Subscribe and save via EP here.
- Tawnee still holding strong to her daily routine with Crucial Four Icelandic Sea Salt and MagBicarb. Grab your salt and more now for 10% off here.
Is your avocado oil rancid or unpure?
Research: “First report on quality and purity evaluations of avocado oil sold in the US” (Oct 2020)
- Currently no standards to regulate avo oil—quality/purity control not there, adulterated oils are a thing.
- Quality and purity were analyzed (details in article on what this means).
- Researchers even made their own avocado oil as a control.
- 22 samples purchased at a grocery store or online, majors brands though not specified, from extra virgin to refined.
- Key findings:
- Adulteration with soybean oil at levels near 100% was confirmed in two “extra virgin” and one “refined” sample.
- The majority of the samples were of low quality with five of the seven oils labeled as “extra virgin” having high FFA values and six of the nine “refined” oils had high PV (measure of oxidation). FFA, PV, and specific extinction in UV data demonstrated that these oils have undergone lipolysis and oxidation, respectively. This likely resulted from improper or prolonged storage, using damaged or rotten fruits, or extreme and harsh processing conditions
- Only two brands produced samples that were pure and nonoxidized. Those were Chosen Foods and Marianne’s Avocado Oil, both refined avocado oils made in Mexico. Among the virgin grades, CalPure produced in California was pure and fresher than the other samples in the same grade.
- Personal note: We’ve been avocado oil and products with avocado oil for YEARS! Will rethink what I’m buying.
Smoke point and how extra virgin olive oil stacks up against other cooking oils when heated, etc.
Research: “Evaluation of Chemical and Physical Changes in Different Commercial Oils during Heating” (May 2018)
- Research study evaluating the efficacy of smoke point and other traits of oils when heated to high temps, for long duration or repeatedly over time.
- Measured high quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), virgin olive oil (VOO), olive oil (OO), canola oil (CO), rice bran oil (RO), grapeseed oil (GO), and coconut oil (CoO).
- Key findings:
- “An oil’s stability against oxidation depends not only on the degree of unsaturation, but also on the antioxidant content present in the unsaponifiable fraction [25].”
- “Canola oil demonstrated a rapid increase in polar compounds from 150C to 240C (Figure 6), with its highest value of polar compounds (27,5%) above the limits permitted for human consumption, followed by grapeseed (19,3%) and rice bran (13.0%) oils.”
- “Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and other common cooking oils were heated up to 240C and exposed to 180C for 6 hours, with samples assessed at various times, testing smoke point, oxidative stability, free fatty acids, polar compounds, fatty acid profiles and UV coefficients. EVOO yielded low levels of polar com- pounds and oxidative by-products, in contrast to the high levels of by-products generated for oils such as canola oil. EVOO’s fatty acid profile and natural antioxidant content allowed the oil to remain stable when heated (unlike oils with high levels of poly-unsaturated fats (PUFAs) which degraded more readily). This study reveals that, under the conditions used in the study, smoke point does not predict oil performance when heated. Oxidative stability and UV coefficients are better predictors when combined with total level of PUFAs. Of all the oils tested, EVOO was shown to be the oil that produced the lowest level of polar compounds after being heated closely followed by coconut oil.”
- We are focusing more on animal fats for cooking: local raw grassfed butter, grassfed tallow, pork lard and duck fat.
The post
OMM 7: Avocado Oil Woes, EVOO Outperforms, and More On Cooking Oils and Fats first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
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Intro Banter:
- Recent episode with Phil Maffetone on music and NOT listening to music during exercise.
- How meditative a long workout can be when you keep the headphones off and tune into your body.
- Lucho shares about his recent MAF test comparison of running at altitude/hilly vs. running at flat sea level (and being 2min faster per mile at sea level).
- A reminder: we’re almost never the same athlete in harsh conditions (altitude, heat, humidity)… so don’t get down on workouts where you seem less fit but it’s the conditions that are likely to blame.
- Basal body temperature readings (BBT): regularly low BBTs under ~97F-97.4F can be indicative of hypothyroidism.
Jenn says:
Followup on Stroller Running Show
Thank you so much for putting your anecdotal “research” running with your stroller. Yes to single arms! We really need that rotation through the torso as postpartum women who’s pelvis & pelvic floor are healing. That rotation helps to decrease downward pressure (as well as leaning forward). Love this episode so much! — from a mom & PT who specializes in pelvic floor health
Anonymous asks:
Breaking Through a Run Plateau
I am a lifelong athlete who started triathlon last year and am training for my second Wisconsin 70.3 on Sept 9. My goal is to finish middle of the pack, having had a blast! I know that you may not be able to answer this in time for this year’s race, but I would love to incorporate your guidance next year or between seasons.
I have plateaued on my run! My current schedule is: one long run, a shorter Z2 run (or run off the bike), and a high intensity run workout. I am using a Training Peaks plan and get help from my triathlete friend who coached me last year. The seemingly obvious solution would be to change up my program and take a volume-based MAF-like approach, but there are two issues I am facing that may guide your advice and lead me to be hesitant about doing that.
First, is that long runs are currently a slog and adding more volume sounds awful! Historically, they were my favorite because I love jamming out to music in the beautiful area I live, while high fiving the regulars I see on the trail. However, due to injury, I have been working for 6.5 months to change my cadence from 150/160 SPM to 180spm and stop swinging my hips like a salsa dancer! Now, I run with a boring metronome, paying attention to my form, while my watch berates me for going under SPM target, especially after mile 6 when form starts falling apart without real effort. I sure hope it clicks soon! I also LOVE the intensity stuff! It’s always been my favorite and my SPM naturally increases, so I can listen to music, be in the moment, and just have fun.
The other is concern about a diet-based target. I have a 26-year, pretty significant eating disorder history that magically eased up a ton last year when I switched over to triathlon and simply couldn’t get away with skipping meals and not fueling during long workouts. My obsession with thinness has mostly shifted and I am all about being strong! While I do objectively eat quite healthily 80% of the time, for the first time in decades, I let myself have cookies or even a slice pizza without berating and punishing myself. Did you know cookies are delicious! I am trying not to consider any foods bad or harmful. So, trying an approach that leads me to hyper- focus on food or target fat-adaptation is really slippery for me; my brain likes lists of foods I can avoid. When I read the MAF food recommendations, that part of my brain lit up. I simply can’t go down that road again, I’m just too happy now.
Do you have any advice for the run plateau? Should I just be a slower runner who has fun (once I can get this cadence thing down) and reframes long runs as mental endurance practice? I love this distance, so don’t want to switch to short-course races.
Thanks so much!
-Anonymous, aprox 2,914 feet below Lucho
What the Coaches say:
- How are we defining a run plateau?
- In order to shake a plateau you have to change the stimulus.
- Add some intensity without adding volume, perhaps.
- Was it really an injury caused by cadence?
- Injury was peroneal tendinopathy, weak glutes, etc.
- Don’t try to bump cadence by ~20 strides per minute on long runs. Better to do the cadence work in much shorter drills–we learn best this way!
- Also, Born to Run 2 cadence drills (our podcast with the authors here).
- Watch alarms are so triggering and miserable for most of us. Don’t be miserable.
- Cadence may be lower on longer runs compared to faster runs, to some degree this is normal. Just like longer bikes there are natural variations.
- It seems like the stride frequency stuff – research is mixed on whether 180 target helps or not, it’s definitely not a certainty (like most things in science)
- Running injuries are multifactorial. SOme people can have horrible mechanics and never get injured. Others work on form all the time yet are constantly injured.
- Higher cadence CAN help BUT this piece is NOT a guaranteed way to prevent injury.
- So many other factors to consider like foot strike pattern, how hard are you pounding when running, etc.
- The idea of 180 bpm came from an observation by Jack Daniels of elite runners running very fast.
- Implement functional strength training beyond running: TRX elevated reverse lunge, jump roping, hopping, knee ups, Born to Run 2 drills, etc.
Multifactorial Determinants of Running Injury Locations in 550 Injured Recreational Runners
- 550 injured runners (49.6% female) with a medically diagnosed RRI were included.
- A logistic regression model was used to determine the association between the biomechanical parameters and RRI locations. Because injuries can be associated with age, sex, and body mass index, these variables were also entered into the logistic regression. Results: Strike pattern and peak vGRF = vertical ground reaction force were the only biomechanical variable distinguishing an injury from the group of injuries.
- Look at other variables: foot strike pattern
- In terms of cadence, a low step rate has been shown to increase the risk of anterior lower leg pain in competitive cross-country runners (17).
- No association between cadence or VILR Vertical instantaneous load rates and injury location or sublocation was found. VILR = the peak change in vGRFs over the linear portion of impact phase of stance (generally first 15% of stance).
- Bottom line: The researchers concluded that cadence did not correlate with injury occurrence.
Relationships between Habitual Cadence, Footstrike, and Vertical Load Rates in Runners
- No association between one’s natural cadence and injury risk (assessed via vertical load rates) in both injured and uninjured runners.
- “We found no relationships between habitual running cadence and vertical load rates. The highest load rates were in injured RFS runners, and the lowest load rates were in FFS runners, regardless of injury status. Future studies of gait retraining to increase CAD and reduce load rates should follow runners long term to examine this relationship once CAD has become habituated.”
The ED Factor & Diet
- Fixation on the cadence issue in running, correlation with personality type.
- The idea that triathlon can heal from an eating disorder—true to some degree, but not completely.
- Dr. Phil Maffetone episode that Tawnee mentions where they “debate” diet and Tawnee makes a case for food freedom when recovering from an ED or disordered eating.
- Do the MAF training you can ignore the diet component if it’s not relevant or healthy for your mental state (eg when recovering from an ED).
- Look holistically at Fit But Unhealthy.
- Objectively check in with HRV to measure stress, but don’t live by the wearables.
- In an injury context, consider: nutritional status, running form, training load, training progression, sleep quality, gut issues, other health conditions/illnesses, etc.
- But also food freedom… there is a growth where it turns into loving nourishment.
Jenny W. asks:
Training When “In Between” Races, and Adapting to Heat
I am 59 years old and have done mostly endurance training for past 10 years along with some triathlon races. I did some weight training to prevent or to rehab an injury. I used to put muscles on easily so I set consistent lifting aside while I spent a lot of time on endurance training. I started working out in my mid 40s, learning to swim and bike. I have not done any sports prior to then.
I am now losing muscles and I do not gain muscles as fast as I used to. I plan to spend more time on lifting heavy and do the endurances activities for the enjoyment.
I was in Mont Tremblant for IM 70.3 that was canceled due to smoke from the wildfire. Both the run and bike courses were hillier than I expected. I would like to complete the race sometime in the future.
My question is what I can do with swim, run and bike so I can get back into race training feeling strong when I am ready. Is it better to do some workouts to keep some strength in endurance or start fresh when I am ready? I plan to establish routine and lift five days a week while I take break from endurance training.
My next question is on heat. I do not do well in the heat. We were expecting sun and 85F for Mont Tremblant. The run course is hilly without any shade. I would’ve been running during the hottest time of the day and thought that walking up the hill might be my only option during the race. There weren’t that many hot days leading up to this race since this race is at the end of June. I heard of a few people who love hot racing condition. Is there a way to train to get to love the heat? How do I determine how much of heat training I should do for hot racing condition? Should I have over dressed for bike and run through out the training for the race? There were a string of hot days leading up to the race day. Should I have crammed in as many days of training in the heat?
Thank you so much for ATC.
What the Coaches say:
On heat acclimatization
- Very time-based, need exposure of 20-30min minimum that elevated HR e.g. sauna, but not a comfortable sauna session.
- Get in hot environment, ie train, at certain HR and you’ll see drop in pace/watts and that’s to be expected and shows the work is happening.
- Key point: When doing heat training, look for a drop in performance!
- 10-15min in hot water works as well, especially when paired with a workout.
- Point is, we’re getting body core temp over 100F, around 102F or so.
- Overdressing is one way but this can be tricky.
- We generate heat through movement, the more intense the more heat, even more so in hot weather–hydrating appropriately is critical to “survive” this.
- Heat adaptation helps blood volume, that’s one way we physiologically adapt and get stronger in heat.
- Know when to back off with the heat exposure–i.e. stress your body just enough, don’t go overboard with it.
- Takes at least 2 weeks of DAILY work to adapt to heat, sometimes 4+ weeks. Plan accordingly.
- Book mention: The Untethered Soul.
Training maintenance
- Podcast mention, OMM 6: Minimum effective dosage as an idea for endurance training maintenance between race periods while focusing on strength.
- Couple short workouts a week of each sport.
- Consider WHY you want to take a break, i.e. burnout or just placing focus elsewhere.
- Diet tie in.
- Tangent: looking at the immune system, 70% is in our gut, when gut is compromised we are compromised in so many ways.
- Don’t go from 0 to 5 sessions a week in strength training! Gradual build, space out recovery, adaptations when recovering.
The post
ATC 355: Run Plateaus, The Science on Run Cadence and Injury Rate (Hint: No Consensus), Triathlon Maintenance While Strength Building, Heat Adaption Protocols and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Micro-Dosing Strength & Endurance Training:
- Defined as the division of volume within a microcycle across frequent, short duration and repeated bouts, according to NSCA.
- This is basically like Dr. Phil Maffetone’s slow weights (and even movement snacks to some degree) but more scientific and structured.
- Can be a solution to lack of time without sacrificing overall quality and gains.
- Can allow for more autonomy; better adherence?
- Gives athlete power and flexibility to fit in workouts when they’re able and duration not so daunting
- Can improve motor learning.
- Not necessarily the same as minimum effective dose/maintenance (but can be) this is still about building.
- Less DOMS /residual fatigue.
- Potential greater improvements/adaptations in strength (especially when concurrent training)
- Offset negative effects of concurrent training (mixed signaling) due to frequency/duration piece
- Kilen et al 2015 found: Regarding possible negative effects of endurance training on muscular strength gains (8,11), the results demonstrate that strength gains can be achieved simultaneously with increased peak oxygen uptake and intermittent running performance. Thus, short, frequent training sessions aimed at either muscular strength or endurance adaptation seem to represent an efficient training strategy.
- When volume/load is matched, improvements are the same or potentially better (!)
- ie more frequent sessions, less volume per session
- UTILIZE WHEN STRESSORS ARE HIGHER!
- Use if stringing together a long season and wanting to stay in peak condition?
- Exceptions: If highly-trained endurance athlete, this dosage/stimuli may not apply to making improvements; however can helps with maintenance.
Adaptations to Short, Frequent Sessions of Endurance and Strength Training Are Similar to Longer, Less Frequent Exercise Sessions When the Total Volume Is the Same (2015) – Kilen et al
- 8 weeks, 29 subjects, military physical training (experience of 3 x 45min prior to intervention)
- “Micro training” performed 9 x 15-min training sessions weekly,
- Double days M-Th + AM Fri
- “Classical training” completed exactly the same training on a weekly basis but as 3 x 45-min sessions.
- For each group, each session comprised exclusively strength, high-intensity cardiovascular training or muscle endurance training.
- The 6.5% increase in peak oxygen uptake in MI demonstrates that short, frequent interval running sessions are sufficient to induce cardiovascular adaptation, which is in line with previous studies (6,20).
- Running intensity was prescribed as fastest possible average pace for the intervals: fixed speed was determined by the subject’s average running pace based on their current estimated best time for 5k or 10k to elicit a running speed close to the aerobic threshold.
- MI significantly increased peak oxygen uptake, grip strength, lunges performed, and distance covered in the shuttle run test, whereas CL significantly increased shuttle run performance. When comparing the groups’ response to training, there was no difference between groups in any measurements after the training intervention period.
Impact of low-volume concurrent strength training distribution on muscular adaptation (2020) Kilen et al
- Also showed that weekly distribution of low-volume concurrent training completed as either 8 x 15-min bouts or 2 x 60-min sessions of which 50% was strength training did not impact strength gains in a real-world setting.
- The 8 x 15 was further divided to 4 x strength, 4 x endurance (15 each)
- Pull-up performance can increase with as little as 15 min of specific training per week.
- However, Robust strength training effects requires a higher training volume than 1hr/wk for 9 weeks.
Maintaining Physical Performance: The Minimal Dose of Exercise Needed to Preserve Endurance and Strength Over Time – my old professor was author on this! (2021) Spiering et al
- when goal it to maintain during busy/stressful periods, during high competition (athletes), or even during a healing phase…
- review article of minimal dose of exercise (i.e., frequency, volume, and intensity) needed to maintain physical performance over time
- Endurance performance can be maintained for up to 15 weeks when training frequency is reduced to as little as 2 sessions per week or when exercise volume is reduced by 33-66% (as low as 13-26 minutes per session), as long as exercise intensity (exercising heart rate) is maintained.
- Strength and muscle size (in younger populations) can be maintained for up to 32 weeks with as little as 1 session of strength training per week and 1 set per exercise, as long as exercise intensity (relative load) is maintained;
- Strength in older populations, maintaining muscle size may require up to 2 sessions per week and 2-3 sets per exercise, while maintaining exercise intensity.
- Intensity is king! Exercise intensity seems to be the key variable for maintaining physical performance over time. (i.e. HR based training, is this MAF or LT, it’s relative, and for strength intensity refers to LOAD)
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OMM 6: Micro-Dosing Strength and Endurance (Research-Based Principles) first appeared on
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This episode is brought to you by the
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UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
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Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
We are excited to welcome back Dr. Phil Maffetone in this special episode where we branch off into the wonderful world of music, and what music can do to enrich our lives, our brains and our athletic performance—when used appropriately, as we’ll explain. Phil also shares more insight on his personal story and music has shaped his life so positively. All of this and much more can be found in Phil’s new book titled B Sharp available now. IN this episode:
Phil’s Story
- Phil’s early years with a brain injury and how music helped heal.
- Autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, amusia.
- Amusia—difficulty and confusion relating to music.
- Get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
- Phil’s epiphany and redirecting his career to one that involved music and song-writing.
- Working with Rick Rubin and living in LA.
Book Premise
- Building a better brain with music via neuroplasticity—stay sharp and expand your brain any time, any age.
- The lost arts—“Artistic passion is not encouraged and often repressed, de-emphasized in education, and no longer a respected endeavor.”
- Music for stress/HPA Axis: better adapt by influencing chemicals like oxytocin, testosterone, the estrogens, prolactin, endorphins and endocannabinoids.
- “Poor health, illness and disease can significantly impair alpha and theta, while both can foster the potential to be significantly creative and therapeutic.”
- Brain waves: Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta
- Music for alpha and theta brainwaves—helps for deep meditation state.
- “Music can powerfully manage the effects of our daily physical, biochemical and mental-emotional stress through the brain’s natural neurohormonal HPA axis.”
- Morning routines—don’t destroy that moment upon waking before you’re fully awake; ie don’t reach for device or screen. Instead when brain is half awake take that moment… linked to successful learning and creativity.
- Music can help encourage healthy mind-wandering during non-focused tasks.
- 5-minute power break:
- respiratory biofeedback
- Daily or even more frequently.
- Makes it easier to reach alpha, helping the brain get there more on its own, further adding to feeling more refreshed, relaxed, balanced and younger.
- Troubleshooting: falling asleep, too sleepy/carb intolerance
- Then there’s the: Five-Minute Meditative Dance.
- “Better than a runner’s high”
- Can you carry a beat?
- “The inability to effectively maintain even a reasonably consistent musical tempo can carry over to other areas. Many appear uncoordinated, clumsy, or have irregular walking or running gaits. Most are not athletic, and if physically active are less proficient and more injury prone. A simple approach called marching is used to address this cerebellar dysfunction. It requires a small handheld metronome (free apps for phones and other electronics can be downloaded from the Internet) that accurately sound each beat.”
- Avoid junk music, aggressive music/weaponized.
- Dancing!! If you wanna dance, it’s a great way to sneak more physical activity, fun and added brain benefits into your life, one song at a time!
Music And Exercise & Training
- Physical activity and music go hand in hand: however, it’s not so straight forward.
- DMN (alpha) state vs intentional focus (beta)
- Turn off the music and listen to your body!
- MUSIC CAN BE ERGOGENIC AID BUT…
- “Research shows that listening to appropriately selected songs exert a range of work-enhancing (ergogenic) and psychological effects on the body. The process underlying this auditory–motor coupling is called entrainment. Reported short-term effects include increased exercise intensity, distraction from fatigue and pain, improving arousal, mood and motivation, and inducing a sense of power.
- While some researchers have hailed these effects, likening them to illegal performance-enhancing drugs, especially when using loud driving rhythmic music, some clinicians are aware of potential long-term harms. Research shows that these ergogenic effects can eventually lead to reductions in health and performance.”
- So, can music be partially driving no pain no gain??
- Musical mentality can influence stress when not used correctly, lending to fit but unhealthy athletes.
- Are you dependent on music to workout or train? Explore this…misguided motivation, distorts messages to the brain
- Anecdotally, music listening correlated with higher injury rates.
- Bottom line: music can be distracting and interfere with effective physical performance—but there are exceptions!
- Solution: Music listening at specific times around exercise:
- Pre-exercise music: relaxing, calm, not too aggressive!
- During: silence is best.
- Post-exercise initiates recovery: easy-listening.
- If you still plan to listen to music during exercise here are ways to reduce the risks:
- Wear heart rate montior
- Slower-tempo music —may improve physical performance, lower the heart rate, reduce stress and encourage autopilot mode.
- Avoid playing music loudly.
- In addition, matching music to your workout can be very helpful.
- Example:
- WARMUP – 15min relaxing songs? not pump up songs? LOL
- MIDDLE – faster music but not louder, caution against too upbeat for overtraining risks
- What about using specific tempo ie 90 bpm cadence song to help with stride rate? As a drill only
- COOLDOWN – 15min
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Dr. Phil Maffetone 27: Music As An Ergogenic Aid (But…), Plus Its Role In Neuroplasticity, Nervous System Balance and More first appeared on
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On episode 5 of On My Mind (OMM) Tawnee and John recap their recent trail run races:
- Insight on goal-setting and being in alignment with your whole self & racing.
- Choosing race distances/events that are realistic with your whole-life picture/current stress in order to maintain health and wellness.
- The fear of getting back to it after overcoming health challenges and healing.
- That window in life of having baby and riding a fine line of adrenal fatigue.
- Support yourself in simple ways! Things like Crucial FOUR nutrient-dense Icelandic salt and Mag Bicarb have been Tawnee’s go-tos.
- Tawnee’s 5-mile race was short, and her old self would have likely opted for one of the longer distances to push limits, but this felt just right for where she’s at.
- John did the half-marathon and it was more demanding on him, fought off a migraine.
- Post-race fare: make it healthy?
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OMM 5: Alignment and Goals first appeared on
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This episode is brought to you by
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Skratch uses real food and real ingredients designed to help athletes perform and to create sports nutrition that you’ll actually want to eat. And Skratch guarantees their products will help you perform better. If they don’t, we’ll help you find something else or refund your purchase. It’s on us – no matter what – because we’re here to help.
Best of all: EP fans get 20% off everything Skratch offers on your first order, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET20 if you’re shopping at Skratch for that same 20% discount.
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Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
On this episode of Ask The Coaches with Tawnee & Lucho we take a deep dive into stroller running presenting the current research on this exercise and how that blends with practical, real-life application especially for endurance athletes who are going long!
Laura asks
Everything Stroller Running
My question is all things stroller running. One) what does it do to your body in a positive or negative regard (biomechanically speaking and energetic cost)? Is there specific strength training that will help? I constantly battle with sore intercostal muscles and out of alignment in my ribs/shoulder etc on my right side because I only push with my right arm. I have no control and it doesn’t feel safe with my left arm. Are there specific workouts that I can do with the stroller that will help my overall fitness or is running with the stroller enough. I guess I’m pushing right around 60lbs right now.
Also for my Question… workouts/ideas to increase speed. I’m current running 6-10 miles at a 9:15 pace avg HR is 151. I run hilly roads. Doing 2-4 stroller runs a weeks I’d say maybe 20% is above 160 bpm,
15-20 miles a week total.
When I race with the stroller about half the time, 47%, my HR is 158-165 and 5% above 165.
Training for 50k this fall.
What the coaches say:
Our top takeaways for stroller running
- Fixed front wheel always (we use the BOB, but many good brands!).
- I prefer one-handed running somewhat alongside, which seems to feel the best and most natural especially for longer runs.
- However, on hills (up or down)—double handed grip seems more secure.
- Use a wrist strap! Both sides even! Buy one (or additional one) if this is an issue when switching hands.
- Don’t hunch or round shoulders over bars.
- Don’t bend at the hips (ie folding body).
- Posture! Shoulders down and back, hips forward within reason (ie don’t lean back)—but still relaxed and loose.
- Personally I like the bar to be at a height that allows for about 90 deg at elbow.
- Most importantly, run in a way that feels most comfortable *and safe* for you and your child. There is no consensus on this topics and research is lacking for practical applications.
Addressing the intercostal muscle soreness & strength recommendations
- Intercostals – small muscles between the ribs
- The internal intercostals assist with exhalation by drawing the ribs downward and decreasing the space of the thoracic cavity.
- The external intercostals draw the ribs upward, increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity.
- Focus on core, diaphragmatic breathing (no shallow chest breathing), shoulders – serratus, lats, T spine mobility/strength
- Issue of rotation and twisting? And posture – hunching
- Exercises and movements:
- Mountain pose – Tadasana, contract at the end of inhale, contract at the end of exhale
- Supine spine twist, windshield wipers, pretzel
- Incorporate ROM exercises for trunk rotation to avoid adaptive stiffness
- Hip flexor exercises
- Healthy shoulder work/balance
Stroller running biomechanics article
- Take a wide grip, both hands, and push down slightly
- Bar is below waist! Shoulder-width grip, arms nearly straight
- When my foot is landing, I push down on the handle bars, just a bit, to “cushion my fall”.
- Run with a high cadence (take short, quick steps)
- Similar to what is seen in research on this topic!
- I typically run the stroller with a cadence of 100-105
- Long stride leads to quicker fatigue in this scenario he says
- Lean forward slightly
- promotes great biomechanics, i.e. foot lands below your body, naturally positions your upper body over the handle bar
- Do not swing arms (use a subtle torso rotation)
- One hand asymmetrical – right and left side of your body are loaded differently. This could lead to imbalances and/or injuries.
- Torso rotation requires minimal energy—this contributes to the “cheating” concept.
Current jogging stroller science & research articles with summaries*
*not an exhaustive list of available research on this topic
Run kinematics with and without a jogging stroller
- Study basics:
- 15 healthy adult recreational runners, no experience with stroller running
- 10kg weight in stroller
- 10 trials (5 with stroller)
- 3D kinematic analysis
- 16m indoor run (that was it!)
- Overall changes in biomechanics were small—conclude that more research needed to see if these changes persist, worsen or self-correct with time/experience.
- Also these runners were NOT running fatigued.
- Trunk kinematics changed significantly when running with the stroller. Forward lean was increased by 6.78 compared to independent running [95% CI (98, 4.68), p < 0.001]. Total trunk rotation in the transverse plane was significantly decreased by a mean of 11.48 [95% CI (14.88, 8.28), p < 0.001]. There was a significant decrease in trunk movement in the coronal plane of 2.98 with the stroller [95% CI (0.88, 4.98), p = 0.009].
- Anterior pelvic tilt was increased by 2.88 with the stroller; associated with a significant decrease in peak hip extension of 38 [95% CI (4.48, 1.58), p = 0.001] and an increase in hip flexion at initial contact of 2.68 [95% CI (1.38, 3.88), p = 0.001].
- This is correlated with injury and lumbo-pelvic hip complex and low back pain, due to increased lordosis and impingement of vertebrae – though lordosis not increaesd in the stroller running due to voerall increase in forward lean
- Work on hip flexor ROM mobility – tight!
- Knee flexion increased and ROM of knee in saggital plane decreased, but not significant
- No effect on ankles that reached significance
- Analysis of findings
Stroller running: Energetic and kinematic changes across pushing methods
- Only 800m, self-selected pace, not hard running.
- SR = stroller running.
- Sixteen individuals (M/F: 10/6) ran at self-selected speeds for 800m under three stroller conditions (2-Hands, 1-Hand, and Push/Chase) and an independent running control. Strollers loaded with a 16kg weighted infant model in order to simulate the presence of a 3 year-old child.
- the purpose of this study was to investigate the energetic and kinematic effects of 1) stroller running compared to running independently, and 2) commonly used pushing methods used during stroller running in recreational runners.
- Pushing method had a sig effect on speed but not HR or energetic cost.
- Changes in lower-limb kinematics were observed, as SR significantly shortened stride length in comparison with Non-SR.
- A significant decrease in speed (p = 0.001) and stride length (p<0.001) was observed between the control and stroller conditions, however no significant change in energetic cost (p = 0.080) or heart rate (p = 0.393) was observed. Additionally, pushing method had a significant effect on speed (p = 0.001) and stride length (p<0.001).
- Given that 69% of our participants and 51% of the observed stroller runners on public paths all preferred the 2-Handed SR, it seems this is an SR condition that results in the least perturbation of typical running behavior.
- Stroller running calculator:
- The models suggest that when speed is maintained, running with a stroller increases cost between 5–8% depending on the pushing method. As expected, the 2-Hands method is the most economical and the Push/Chase method is the most energetically costly. To predict the cost of a runner of a different mass, please go to https://tinyurl.com/stroller-running-calculator.
- Also noted in this study that: few studies have investigated biomechanical responses specific to SR, and there is no current consensus on how running speed and stride length are affected. Most recently, O’Sullivan et al. [8] and Smith et al. [6] observed no difference in stride length or running speed during SR compared to independent running, yet prior work by Brown et al. [5] noted changes in stride length. Differences in study design may have contributed to these confounding speed, stride length, and stride frequency results.
- More findings on grip type:
- Of the 16 participants, 11 preferred the 2-Hands, 4 preferred Push/Chase, and 1 preferred the 1-Hand SR condition to the other SR conditions.
- The Push/Chase and 1-Handed SR methods are the most disruptive to running kinematics, while the 2-Hands method results in a speed and stride length most similar to Non-SR.
Physiological and biomechanical responses of running with and without a stroller : sport and physical activity
- These women did run hard
- In this: 8 experienced female runners, self-paced 2.4 kilometre (km) running trials while pushing (JS) or not pushing (CON) a stroller on a concrete sidewalk. The time to complete the 2.4 km run was not different between JS and CON (687 ± 30 versus 660 ± 18 seconds).
- Mean steady state HR (173.0 ± 5.0 versus 167.0 ± 5.1 beats / min) and oxygen consumption (VO2) (40.1 ± 3.1 versus 36.1 ± 2.8 m l / kg / min) were higher (p<0.05) in JS than CON, respectively.
- JS resulted in a greater (p<0.05) number of steps taken (1969 ± 78 versus 1886 ± 74) and reduced (p<0.05) step length (1.24 ± 0.06 versus 1.29 ± 0.06 metres) compared to CON.
- The use of a JS resulted in an approximate 4% increase in HR and an approximate 11% increase in VO2, perhaps due to changes in the normal running stride pattern and the application of an external load from the jogging stroller.
Physiological and biomechanical responses while running with and without a stroller
- The longest run trial we could fin that was studied: these subjects ran 30 MINUTES.
- The 1st field test involved running at 75% VO2max for 30 minutes without a stroller and the 2nd involved running at the same speed with the stroller.
- These results indicate that pushing a stroller affects some indices of exercise intensity while running. Gait does not change. These data do not support an association between stroller use during running and an increase risk of orthopedic injury. Further studies should examine these variables at lower intensities that are run by most recreational joggers.
The metabolic cost of human running: is swinging the arms worth it?
- “Our findings support our general hypothesis that swinging the arms reduces the metabolic cost of human running. Our findings also demonstrate that arm swing minimizes torso rotation.”
Energetic Cost and Kinematics of Pushing a Stroller on Flat and Uphill Terrain
- “The increase in energetic cost of pushing the stroller was approximately threefold higher uphill than on the flat incline, and women were influenced more than men when running uphill at the highest speed (all p < 0.05).”
The post
ATC 354: The Science & Art Of Stroller Running – A Guide To Maximizing Your Time and Effort When Pushing Precious Cargo first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
On this episode of On My Mind (OMM) with Tawnee and John we talk about intuitive training in practice and how Tawnee has been applying this method to her return to training, when she does use data collection to monitor progress, etc.
Intuitive Training
Sample goals and approach:
- Start the day evaluating as you feel, honestly.
- HRV can be a tool, but HRV is not so black and white in determining recovery/readiness status.
- Defining intuitive training: match your rate of perceived exertion (RPE) with the actual effort you’re expending eg HR, pace, data point. Learning to read your RPE and have it match your body’s state.
- Guide intervals by effort not pace or HR.
- For interval workouts, don’t push these if body ain’t feeling it! If you still want to run opt for an easy volume day.
- For aerobic workouts don’t get greedy/competitive with self and run too hard (don’t race your local loop) I find this gets easy when you don’t have data however flip side is not having data to tell you to hold back when needed.
- Flexiblity with HR and understanding volume vs intensity (and overall life stress) in the training load:
- MAF days for most can go over MAF by prob 10 bpm… maybe even 15 bpm ie some tempo involved. But when volume is low that’s usually sustainable and still promotes aerobic gains. Meanwhile when very tired or pushing more volume be more diligent on easy days being easy and MAF runs being close to true MAF.
Research Study
- Individualized Endurance Training Based on Recovery and Training Status in Recreational Runners – 2022
- What they found: athletes who adjusted training based on how they felt had better training outcomes.
- This wasn’t true intuitive training as they were using metrics to gauge what workouts they did, but it’s a good example of adjusting the plan based on body’s state.
- 40 recreationally endurance-trained males (20) and females (20).
- “PD trained according to the predefined program, whereas the program of IND was adapted based on measured training and recovery data.”
- Eg) They compared the individually adjusted training prescription (volume and intensity) based on nocturnal HRV, perceived recovery, and estimated running performance VS a predefined training program.
- “The first 6-wk VOL period focused on the progression of LIT volume, whereas the second 6-wk INT period focused on high-intensity interval training (HIT).”
- HIT Eg) 6 x 3min on 2min recovery for intensity.
- Testing: Blood with free T, cortisol, creatine kinase when fasted. Incremental treadmill test (increasing by 1km/hr per 3min); also a CMJ and 10k run test.
- Adjusting training based on how you feel yields better performance results over time:
- “Both programs improved performance mostly after interval training. Although both groups had similar training characteristics on average, the change in the 10-km running performance was greater in IND. In addition, the proportion of high responders in the maximal treadmill and 10-km running performance was greater and the proportion of low responders smaller in IND compared with PD.A more individualized training plan (based on metrics they used to alter) may increase the likelihood of positive endurance training adaptations.”
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OMM 4: Intuitive Training, Flexible Planning and Making MAF Progress first appeared on
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This episode is brought to you by
Skratch Labs. Skratch Labs is here to help all athletes perform better with sports nutrition that is simple, delicious, and based on science. No non-functional additives, like artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners or preservatives –
Skratch uses real food and real ingredients designed to help athletes perform and to create sports nutrition that you’ll actually want to eat. And Skratch guarantees their products will help you perform better. If they don’t, we’ll help you find something else or refund your purchase. It’s on us – no matter what – because we’re here to help.
Best of all: EP fans get 20% off everything Skratch offers on your first order, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET20 if you’re shopping at Skratch for that same 20% discount.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Welcome to episode 36 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach and personal trainer, who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
Training updates from the HPN girls!
What kind of nutritional support, supplements, habits, etc., are prioritized to support the following two scenarios:
Julie – hormone-healing maintenance: continuing to support overall health/hormones coming off imbalances and also with an increasingly demanding job on feet as coach/trainer and longer distance racing (eg 50-miler).
Tawnee – 8 months postpartum: A mom who’s breastfeeding with small kids and getting back to consistent exercise/ training and even racing after a long time away from all that. Currently: Milk supply fantastic & generally feeling great too–how does TPG achieve this while pushing harder in training and seeing gains in fitness?
Most supplements and brands we mention can be found at Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount. When you shop through EP you save AND support the podcast, a win win!
- Julie
- Supplements:
- IRON 2x/day
- Rhodiola 5x/week – for stress and fatigue resistance
- Creatine 2.5g 5x/week – brain function, sleep, strength, recovery
- B6 in P5P form (thanks Tawnee!) – hormones, pms
- Chaste Tree Berry – hormone balance
- Fish Oil 1g/day – mood, cognitive function, blood sugar regulation, recovery
- Magnesium 5x/week
- Amino Acid Complex 1x/day
- Zinc or a Trace Mineral complex 4-5x/week
- Tawnee
- Supplements:
- The One by Quiksilver Scientific
- For adrenals & mitochondrial
- Has PQQ, CoQ10, Resveratrol, tocotrienols, adaptogens, botanicals
- Even astragalus for immune
- “Definitely felt a shift in my energy and recovery from sleep deprivation once I started this.”
- Stress B Complex and/or B6 in P5P form
- Iodine
- Needs increase in pregnancy and lactation; I’m not getting from salt and not a ton in my diet
- Benefits for both of us:
- Helps with my thyroid
- Helps with baby development eg brain/neurological
- Take a drop in water and can dose as needed, a few times a week
- Rotating probiotics/ regular fermented foods
- Had antibiotics in labor so really ramped this up postpartum for both of us, never saw any lingering negative effects on gut health
- Almost every day eating some form of fermented food, for baby too!
- ION Gut support
- Also gut support, different than probiotics
- Soil derived, trace minerals and amino acids
- Strengthen cellular or tight junction integrity – something that can be compromised with gluten, glyphosate, etc
- Redox signaling (mechanism)
- Mag Bicarb
- Cod liver oil or fish oil
- CLO brands: Rosita or Green pastures
- FO brands: Nordic Naturals or Biotics Research
- Vitamin A concerns? No. WAP – “We have pointed out that concerns about vitamin A toxicity are exaggerated. While some forms of synthetic vitamin A found in supplements can be toxic at only moderately high doses, fat-soluble vitamin A naturally found in foods like cod liver oil, liver, and butterfat is safe at up to ten times the doses of water-soluble, solidified and emulsified vitamin A found in some supplements that produce toxicity.(1)Additionally, the vitamin D found in cod liver oil and butterfat from pasture-raised animals protects against vitamin A toxicity, and allows one to consume a much higher amount of vitamin A before it becomes toxic.(1-3) ”
- Been leaning toward more natural forms of A & D lately, giving appropriate dosages to girls too.
Lifestyle Medicine & the Roots of Wellness
Part 1: Starting the conversation with #1-3
We often are asked how to heal x,y,z or get better at x,y,z… but then often hearing, “I can’t heal or get better…” Maybe we’re looking too much at the surface and not enough at the roots. Here we start the conversation on the real roots of healing and thriving buy thinking deeper than just a current fad or protocol, i.e. what does it really take to get well and stay well? This is lifestyle medicine…and there is science to support this.
IFM’s functional medicine tree
1. Emotional health & self-awareness
- Healing past traumas, releasing and letting go, desire to be well and not stay stuck… this is the HARD WORK. E.g. attitudes, beliefs, values, and intentions. Being stuck will often manifest and no it’s not your fault for manifesting an injury or whatever it is, this is just your body giving you the gentle (or not so gentle) nudge to dig deep and see what’s there. Often look to past and what needs resolving.Your injury has roots to something deeper than a biomechanical error, in most cases. It shows a larger imbalance… follow that! Same with weight gain/overweight or being too lean… what is the EMOTIONAL root? Not just the physical outcome.
- Must FIRST be open to change and doing the work..”nothing changes if nothing changes”This is my cornerstone pillar (physical health/exercise is a close 2nd) – everything is downstream of the state of my emotional health…I eat better, move better, sleep, better, connect better, work more creatively etc.
- Letting Go = “Drop the Rope”…is it something you can’t control? Drop the rope
2. Resilience to stress
- If exercising or sleep deprived or mentally unstable or whatever it is, must do all we can to offset that with daily habits and practices to build robustnessTargeted supplements and self-care practice – the discipline to be consistent with these little habits.
- “Catching Uncertainties” – name it, locate it in your body, see if through
3. Community
- Gotta have your people, social media – does it count? I don’t think so.
- We are social creatures, the need to belong is ingrained in our nature
- 5 Key Benefits of Community:
- Support and Safety: to help fight feelings of hopelessness
- Connection and Belonging: being a part of something Bigger brings meaning
- Influence: the uplifting effect of being surrounded by positive people
- Sharing: reinforces our sense of self and adds worth and value to the comm.
- Learning: finding people with different experiences to provide insight
- Tips for finding community: search for a group of like-minded people; share thoughts, ideas, books, meals with friends or neighbors; spend less time scrolling social media, and more time showing up in person; volunteer for a cause that means a lot to you; join a fitness group, dance class, art class etc.
The post
HPN 36: Supplement Plans for Postpartum vs. Hormone-Healing Maintenance, Plus Lifestyle Medicine Part 1 first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
On this episode of “On My Mind” (OMM) with Tawnee and John we talk about routines and daily habits–the little things that can add up in big ways for your health and athletic performance. We also discuss Tawnee’s recent SUP race and what factors helped her feel so strong getting back to racing after years away from it.
Daily Routines
- Basic adrenal cocktail
- Body brushing aka dry brushing
- Tawnee has two brushes, one with copper bristles that create a negative ion charge, similar to grounding effect, the negative ions help protect the body from free radical damage and stressors in our environment.
- Increased interoceptive awareness akin to meditation?
- Dead hangs
- As a movement snack; pullup bar in doorway so easy access to do whenever.
- Healthy shoulders—we argue this is a gateway to overall biomechanical wellness, especially for runners and triathletes.
- Magnesium bicarbonate
- Tawnee buys Crucial Four Magnesium Hydroxide to make her own Mag Bicarb.
- 10% off Crucial Four products here.
- So many forms of Mg from which to choose, many with different specific benefits.
- Tawnee has discussed and taken many form of Mg before. Mg glycinate is 2nd fave to bicarb now for bioavailability.
- Why Bicarb? Bicarb is found to be more absorbed and utilized. Magnesium is a mineral that supports many vital physiological functions, and we’re often deficient but hard to pinpoint this–symptoms fairly broad and far reaching.
- Magnesium bicarbonate is an electrolyte salt that exists only in water under specific conditions.
- Mitochondria support: bicarbonate acts as a transporter of magnesium into the mitochondria. Helps with creation of energy and its transport.
- Nervous system support.
- Supports healthy pH level, i.e. aids in alkalinity in both tissues and cells.
- This is a DIY supplement: formed through the reaction of dilute solutions of carbonic acid (such as sparkling or seltzer water) and magnesium hydroxide.
- Tawnee is taking about 3 oz or about 300mg/day while breastfeeding.
- Sleep prioritzation
- When you’re in a period of pushing limits—in this case working mom with two small children and now back to training—don’t slack on sleep!
- I could stay up late after kids go down but I can’t afford to sacrifice that rest time!
- Tawnee argues that the sleep piece is even far more important than light exposure (based on experience of living in North Idaho where winters are very dark, days short and often no sun).
- Toe spacers
- Great for foot health and biomechanics.
- Often our feet are in need of TLC these help!
- Doesn’t take a lot of money or work, just throw them on.
- Tawnee likes post-run, during strength or during daytime when barefoot or even when sleeping.
- During day she wears Primal Step Toe Separators or EarthRunner Toe Spacers.
- At night she wears Correct Toes.
The post
OMM 3: 6 Daily Habits That Add Up To More Energy, Better Form, Increased Self-Awareness and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by
Skratch Labs. Skratch Labs is here to help all athletes perform better with sports nutrition that is simple, delicious, and based on science. No non-functional additives, like artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners or preservatives –
Skratch uses real food and real ingredients designed to help athletes perform and to create sports nutrition that you’ll actually want to eat. And Skratch guarantees their products will help you perform better. If they don’t, we’ll help you find something else or refund your purchase. It’s on us – no matter what – because we’re here to help.
Best of all: EP fans get 20% off everything Skratch offers on your first order, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET20 if you’re shopping at Skratch for that same 20% discount.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Laura asks:
Puking at the Finish Line
I throw up at the end of nearly every running race I do, REGARDLESS of the distance — it can be 5k, 10k, HM or marathon, and it’s always the same, also regardless of weather. It usually happens in last 100-200 meters where I get so nauseous and next thing you know I am literally throwing up. I have tried everything from hydration strategies, nutrition, pacing, training at appropriate intensities, and so on… Of course, racing is always going to be different than training and you can’t perfectly replicate race day in a training sesh, but still, it is getting so annoying that this happens to me. What do you think it could be? What can I do to prevent this?
What the coaches say:
- First look at the obvious potential offenders: hydration, nutrition, weather conditions (e.g. extreme heat, etc.).
- Consider: Intensity, lactic acidosis, hydrogen ion concentrations.
- Training at appropriate intensities to properly prepare for race conditions and that final push.
- If that has all been addressed then go deeper…
- Nervous system dysregulation, hormonal imbalance.
- Address HPA axis function and health markers.
- Try breathwork and calming exercises pre-race; breathing during racing.
- Not all issues are obvious or easy to solve… keep digging, find that root cause and the imbalance leading to this outcome in racing.
Eddie asks:
Racing the Colorado Trail Race – Bikepacking and MAF
I have been an endurance mountain bike athlete for a very long time, 30+ years. Multiple 24 hour solos (single speed) and many 100+ mile races. I have been following the MAF method for many years now. This method has worked well for me. I recently started bikepacking and have completed the Colorado Trail Race. On my first attempt I had to quit after 300 miles due to complete loss of energy and fatigue. Going into this race I was following the MAF method both in training and in diet. High fat, low carb. This did not seem to fare well with the Colorado trail race. On my second attempt I introduced carbs during training and during the race. I also included more anaerobic training. I completed the race in 8 days and 15hours. My goal was to finish in 7 days but just to finish was a personal accomplishment for me. I want to attempt this race again this year in Aug.
I’m back on the MAF method for both training and diet. I’m feeling great on the bike and the energy is good. What do you guys feel about an event like this, 540miles, fully packed bike, self supported a lot of miles of Hike a bike (I estimated 100+) 76K feet of elevation. Avg elevation is at 10,500ft. I really would like to attempt this again and have my aerobic training and low carb nutrition work for me. What are your thoughts on the MAF method and an event like this? This race is really about recovery. Riding/hiking 17+ hours a day, 4-5 hours of sleep per night, constant calorie replenishment. I’m 60 years old now but never figure this into the equation other than recovery. I’m curious to hear your opinion.
What the coaches say:
- MAF focus for training is definitely appropriate here, but we advise doing so in more of a polarized training format so you are preparing for that percentage of time that will be high-intensity work, e.g. hike-a-bike sections, hills, etc.
- Low carb is relative! So for an event like this 200-300g/CHO day could still be on the lower-carb side of things and defiinitely appropriate. Any lower could run risks and especially if he’s tried LCHF and had a DNF why go back a format that didn’t work?
- Meanwhile, can periodize nutrition over the season to have periods of low carb during appropriate training loads, and build strong metabolic flexibility for health AND performance benefits.
- Metabolic function at altitude shifts especially that high up. Lucho mentions taking in 100g/CHO first hour of Leadville to get ahead.
JW asks:
Ashtanga Yoga & Marathon Newbie
Hey Guys, Hope all is well. Thx as always for everything you guys do. I’ve been listening since the start to ATC and have loved every minute of the journey.
Question:
I just began working with an athlete who is a devoted practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga for over a decade. They also enjoy running, want to do more, and signed up for a marathon in the fall(Marine Corps-Oct).(side note we live in FL and it’s already hot and humid and will be up to Oct)
I know you guys are familiar with Ashtanga Yoga, obviously very difficult and advanced and this person’s sessions are typically 90 to 120 minutes, two times a week (Mondays and Wednesdays). I’m not a yogi and can’t even imagine.
With the Yoga practice and other life responsibilities, they can do three to four days of running per week but are very busy(long days of work) on Saturdays and Sundays.
Their totally “free day” is Tuesday, which they had been using for their “long runs” of 6-8 miles to maintain fitness. (Obviously in the marathon build up we will be going much longer than that for long runs.)
I definitely have my own ideas on how to fit in the running, especially the long runs, around the yoga and even use the yoga/running as compliments to each other, but I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions and what a typical week might look like if you were setting it up for someone in this situation.
Any other suggestions or ideas you would have throughout the buildup/program or even the taper for this athlete?
Keep the long run on Tuesdays? Carve out time on a different day for long runs?
Run after/before a yoga session on the same day?
Etc etc?
Thanks and looking forward to hearing your thoughts/ideas.
What the coaches say:
- Someone this experienced at yoga may not be as impacted as a yoga newbie, i.e. not a huge energy toll or source of DOMS/soreness/fatigue.
- Experienced yogis also may be more in tune with their bodies and honor their limits on any given day.
- We still agree that the Tuesday long run is likely the best bet for this person’s schedule—BUT be willing to adjust on a weekly basis, i.e. skip the Wednesday yoga if really fatigued from the prior day run.
- Get used to working on microcycle (weekly) shifts not just the big picture. Flexibility and communication between coach and athlete!
The post
ATC 353: Nausea at the Finish (Outside-The-Box Remedies), Combining Marathon Training and Yoga, Nutrition and Training For Multi-Day Bikepacking, and More! first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Tawnee is back for a new episode of On My Mind (OMM), and due to popular demand we’re keeping her husband John on as a co-host to this new series! This episode’s photo is a throwback that ties into the conversation; it was taken in Whistler, Canada, in 2014 when John and Tawnee officially took over EP as a team.
On this episode:
- The history of Endurance Planet—did you know this podcast began in 2005 and has been running steadily for 18 years?!
- Back then the show was hosted by show founder Kevin Patrick.
- Around 2010 or so Ben Greenfield took over Endurance Planet and brought on Tawnee, who started as host in 2011.
- In 2014, John and Tawnee fully took over EP and to this day are the show “custodians” as John likes to call it.
- We’re getting back to four shows a month!
- We vow to keep the podcast mission of promoting health and wellness techniques for endurance athletes, sharing cutting-edge science and practices, and helping you train and race to your potential!
- We also will cover topics that may not be for everyone, that may be seen as controversial even, but maybe those topics and ideas are the exact things that some people need.
- Science is ever-evolving and changing, and we strive to keep an open mind, be willing to unlearn, to grow and to evolve… and we hope you do the same!
- We encourage constructive criticism.
- We encourage debate and healthy discourse.
- We understand our show isn’t for everyone, that’s ok, too.
- Why we think “cancel culture” can be dangerous.
The post
OMM 2: State of (and History) of The Podcast, Plus The Value of an Open Mind first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by
Skratch Labs. Skratch Labs is here to help all athletes perform better with sports nutrition that is simple, delicious, and based on science. No non-functional additives, like artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners or preservatives –
Skratch uses real food and real ingredients designed to help athletes perform and to create sports nutrition that you’ll actually want to eat. And Skratch guarantees their products will help you perform better. If they don’t, we’ll help you find something else or refund your purchase. It’s on us – no matter what – because we’re here to help.
Best of all: EP fans get 20% off everything Skratch offers on your first order, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET20 if you’re shopping at Skratch for that same 20% discount.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Our guest in this episode is Justin Frandson, an athleticism performance coach and founder of Athleticism.com and EMFRocks.com.
In this episode:
- Tawnee mentions she has owned EMF-harmonizing tesla rocks since her days as a vanlifer.
- Justin was hurt as a pre-collegiate elite athlete so ultimately went into a career in helping athletes in ways beyond agility training.
- Speed training, coordination drills, ambidexterity–incorporating rhythms, nonlinear movements, and ways to boost brain training, and help athletes get into flow.
- Get the body in the infinite flow of the universe.
- Don’t get stuck in one plane of motion–move dynamically!
- Brain waves:
- Sleeping: delta/theta brain wave state, which is <1 to 1-8 Hz.
- Theta: light sleep, relaxed and/or meditative state
- Delta: deep sleep
- Peak performance/flow state: alpha wave state, which is 8-12 Hz.
- When brain states rev low and slow, e.g. creative/visualization is theta, this is similar to Schumann resonance 7.83 Hz.
- Our brains will naturally rev closer to what earth is but when we have “monkey brain” activated or sympathetic state we leave that state–lose power.
- Eye-hand coordination, non-linear work, mindfulness, breathwork get us back to a flow state or alpha brain wave state.
- The value of Justin’s niche of work for endurance athletes:
- Why endurance athletes can benefit from fast-twitch muscle development.
- Proper gait, stride length/frequency, rhythmic body movement, coordinated movement for faster times.
- Injury resilience, bone density, more efficiency.
- Create new neuropathways and more easily get into flow state.
- Ambidexterity work to try: juggling!
- Athletic neurostacking–adding more and more to challenge the brain; stack the system during coordination exercises.
- Tie in with babies and toddlers–tapping balloons with both hands not just one so they aren’t so one-side dominant.
- EMF
- A big stressor that hinders performance and downregulate our nervous system
- Signal strengths keep increasing.
- Story of a paddler who went weak when wearing a smartwatch.
- Muscle testing.
- Endurance athletes and smartwatches/wearables
- Radiation from smartwatches (GPS, etc.) can have an impact.
- Technology–is it really the next best thing?
- Taking us away from our intuition.
- Use it for test/re-test purposes–those are the markers and data points that matter.
- Smart watches/wireless wearables: they are pinging at 2.45 billion waves per second of a one-directional wave form (for reference, as he mentioned, human body is used to operating at 8-12 waves/sec of unpolarized waves).
- But low levels of radiation, so is it significant?
- CDPH guidelines.
- Toxic world
- Is EMF just one more thing and tipping some of us over the edge.
- Zach Bush: #1 stressor on the body of the last 40 years is glyphosate.
- But EMFs have been around for even longer!
- Studies
- Dr. Martin Pall’s work including:
- EMF disrupts us at a physiological/cellular level: Voltage-gated calcium channels open up allowing positive calcium into a negative cell.
- Secondary, cell and DNA damage.
- Whenter low-level EMF or high-levels, there’s still a vibration effect that affects our body. Our body gets de-charged, loses polarity, leads to fatigue, dehydration, etc. (cite Pall).
- Meters can mesuare speed of wavelength:
- Milligauss is measurement unit.
- Electricity in home is a frequency around 50-60 Hz, and phones, etc increase exponentially.
- CDPH recommendations on cell phone use and health.
- Bioinitiative.org has set minimum standards.
- Coexist with EMF and avoid the fear-mongering
- How to keep your cool over these “invisible” threats like EMF so that you don’t create the exact problems you’re trying to prevent, e.g. nervous system dysregulation.
- Don’t give your power away! We can convert these wave forms.
- Establish proximity protocols.
- Use nature to ground us.
- Grounding inside the home.
- For athletes, work more on an intuitive approach to training and listen to your body! Don’t rely solely on wearables.
- Nature is healing
- Grounding.
- Body is a body battery.
- Negative charge from the earth.
- Positive charge from the unpolarized light of the sun.
- Breathe in minerals.
- Water for conductivity.
- EMF exposure and susceptibility to health
- When mitochondria disrupted we are a gateway for other challenges; lose polarity.
- Eyes, teeth, thymus, lower intestine all get de-charged.
- “Level 1” EMF symptoms: Cognitive such as fatigue, behavioral issues, increased stress, headaches, ringing in ears, lack of sleep.
- “Level 2” EMF symptoms: Severe headaches/migraine, bloody nose, non-trauma concussion symptoms, rashes.
- “Level 3” EMF symptoms: Cancer, diabetes, suicide, CV disease, infertility.
- Genetic component that makes some of us more susceptible?
- Rh positive are more sensitive to EMFs; Rh negative more resilient.
- How much toxicity we’re exposed to/toxic burden.
- Methylation status matters in whether we’re sensitive or not.
- Our biofields–does EMF get “stuck” within us?
- There are many ways to test things like methylation, toxic burden, etc.
- EMF in our homes and personal space and what we can do…
- Smart meters are big offenders. Is this by your bedroom wall where you sleep, or your kids?
- Smart devices of all kinds–from phones to home cameras, etc.
- Hard-wiring is an option to mitigate EMF issues.
- Some people will feel like their brain is being “pinged” all night long.
- Is your home a quiet resonance? At the very least, turn off wifi or even electricity at night when sleeping to regain low resonance.
- Particularly in the bedroom!
- Dirty electricity sources
- What is dirty electricity: Amps to volts and disconnection between that communication due to bad/improper wiring, frayed wiring, transformer issues, not being grounded, etc. Electricity that leads to static, sparks, etc.
- LED lights (incandescent is the better option)
- Solar–not easily grounded
- To measure dirty electric: Stetzer electric meter.
- Should be below 100. Most homes below 300. He’s seen homes 900+.
- Back to nature: touch your feet to the ground, touch/hug a tree if it’s cold/winter outside. Get in water.
- Technology: we’re so addicted we don’t even know what it’s like to feel better without it!
- When you lose your polarity, it’s hard to heal and get well/recover.
- A lot of this we don’t even have to spend a dime to try/change and see if we benefit or feel better.
- Grounding, earthing and EMF rocks
- What is grounding?
- Connecting to nature/the earth to re-polarizes our system.
- Negative charge from below; positive charge from above, etc.
- A system of feeding that wave form and resonance.
- For more: Eileen McKusick Electric Body Electric Health
- When we have that polarity via grounding/earthing, our internal chemistry hold stronger. Without out we lose life force energy (eg no connection to nature, all artificial light, high EMFs, etc.).
- At the end of the day get your environment back to the resonance of the earth, i.e. Schumann Resonance.
- Grounding mats are one option (but must be plugged into wall).
- EMFRocks.com: Justin’s company hand-mines crystals, creates a coherence between us and one-directional wave forms to dampen EMF effects.
- Manmade devices are an option but not from nature like the rocks are.
- Athlete tips!
- You CAN use something like the EMF rocks on your body to coexist with EMF radiation (i.e. mitigate negative effects) when wearing smartwatches, HR monitors, etc, when training (i.e. hold or wear the rocks).
- Cyclists, get that cell phone off your sacrum! That’ll shut down power source.
- Women, get that phone off your chest, do not store it near your breasts.
- If you must take your phone, ideally put on airplane mode, in a faraday bag.
- Also don’t put your phone or device in a stroller pocket that is right near your child’s head or body.
- Trifield EMF meter to test EMF levels in your home, bedroom, office, etc.
The post
Justin Frandson: Level Up Athletic Gains — Work Your Ambidexterity, Recharge With Nature, Coexist With EMFs, and (Gasp!) Ditch The Wearable?! first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Your host, Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, is embarking on a new chapter with Endurance Planet where she will be recording some solo, short-format epsiodes in a series called “On My Mind” or “OMM” for short. This is episode 1, and she’s already breaking the rules by featuring a guest, her husband, John Gibson, but for good reason: They are both coming off hosting and running in the SoCal Ragnar Relay with their two teams and on this episode they share some thoughts on the event, tips and more, including:
- When prep, life, and other variables make it difficult, mental strength comes into play more than ever and lends to success.
- Why Rangar is not the healthiest race to do, physically speaking, but the positives outweigh the negatives–what does that entail?
- If you’re going to train for one of these get your posterior chain in tip top shape—glutes, hams, calves and Achilles. Hams and calves flare up the most—likely from going form sitting to running to sitting to running, etc.
- Sleep deprivation… like heat, I don’t think you necessarily need to train for sleep dep, it just adds stress that’s unnecessary. A healthy body will handle it!
- It’s ok to have FOMO and bow out if you’re not ready though—it is quite violent and aggressive, do it in the season that’s right for you.
- What you eat matters. We provide food, clean and healthy, but may not fit everyone’s gut. Preparation to avoid GI distress! Even more than most races because the downtimes you risk “overdoing it” with foods that may not agree later.
- Be well… and celebrate that—a healthy body can take a beating and bounce back quickly (enough). A run-down overstressed body will struggle, especially in the weeks following. Know where you’re at. It’s ok to have limits and boundaries.
The post
On My Mind 1: Ragnar Isn’t Healthy, But It’s Worth It, Here’s Why (And Tips To Prepare) first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by
Skratch Labs. Skratch Labs is here to help all athletes perform better with sports nutrition that is simple, delicious, and based on science. No non-functional additives, like artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners or preservatives –
Skratch uses real food and real ingredients designed to help athletes perform and to create sports nutrition that you’ll actually want to eat. And Skratch guarantees their products will help you perform better. If they don’t, we’ll help you find something else or refund your purchase. It’s on us – no matter what – because we’re here to help.
Best of all: EP fans get 20% off everything Skratch offers on your first order, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET20 if you’re shopping at Skratch for that same 20% discount.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
On this episode, Tawnee and Lucho catch up after being together in April for the 2023 Ragnar SoCal Relay. They talk about the race, the (two) teams and more reflections. Following our Ragnar chat, we share thoughts on athletes—whether pro or amateur—who dope, integrity, the aftermath of cheating and more. Plus, for athletes who do choose to supplement with approved, legal and safe supplements, how and why we should be still cautious and discerning over brands we choose, sources and more. Lastly, we answer a question on a masters athlete (70+ years old) who’s looking to incorporate strength training for sprint training–what does a strength training program look like for older athletes? Enjoy!
The post
ATC 352: Ragnar Recap–Back For The Fifth Time! Plus: Thoughts on Doping and Integrity, Safe Supplementing, Strength Training for Athletes Over 70, and More! first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
On this episode we welcome professional triathlete Sarah True. Sarah is one of the few endurance athletes to reach the top of her sport at multiple distances—including two Olympic Games, top finishes at ITU WTS, and IRONMAN racing. She now focuses on Iron-distance racing, and she has finished as high as 4th place at the Ironman World Championships in Kona. Sarah is also a newer mom having had a baby boy in 2021.
In addition to racing professionally and motherhood, Sarah has been very open over the years about her struggles with depression and is candid about breaking the stigma and sharing behind the scenes.
On this episode we talk with her about everything from her approach to pregnancy and postpartum—with great insight and tips for all you mamas out there—to what tools have worked for her in healing from depression, how she’s been able to get herself out of some the darker chapters in her life, and the prevalence of depression in sport especially with professionals.
Article mention: The Athlete’s Paradox: Adaptable Depression.
The post
Sarah True: On Motherhood, Depression, and Professional Triathlon — Fine-Tuning the Juggling Act With Grit and Grace first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Article discussion:
Interoception in Athletes
- We examine new research on interoception in athletes, and an article in Triathlete Magazine that dissects it further.
- Study: Interoceptive differences in elite sprint and long-distance runners: A multidimensional investigation
- Article by Alex Hutchinson: The Case Against Listening To Your Body
- Interoception vs Intuition:
- “Interoception” – the felt sense; processing of visceral-afferent neural signals by the central nervous system, which results in the conscious perception of bodily processes. Your brain’s perception of your body’s state, transmitted from receptors on internal organs; i.e. cardiovascular system, lungs, gut, etc. Communication between brain and organs. E.g. being able to tell your HR just by feel without taking pulse.
- “Intuition” – an inner knowing; the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning; a hunch or also gut feeling generated by the unconscious mind (experience and cumulative knowledge aids)
- Hutchinson quote from the article: “It could be that training and competing actually interfere with interoception. Perhaps repeatedly pushing your body beyond its comfortable limits forces you to ignore all the distress signals bombarding your brain. Over time, ignoring them becomes a habit, and you’re less able to judge how you’re feeling. Or perhaps it’s only modern runners whose interoception is impaired, thanks to their reliance on external sources of feedback like GPS watches and heart rate monitors.”
- The study:
- Used world-class (ranked in the top 100) sprint and long-distance athletes, and non-athletes. Two questions were addressed:
- (1) whether sprinters, distance runners and non-athletes differ in their interoceptive abilities, and
- (2) whether elite athletes differ from non-elite athletes in their interoceptive abilities.
- Study 1:
- 213 subjects – 50 sprinters, 67 distance runners, 96 non-athletes
- 70 elite, 47 non-elite
- self-reported interoceptive attentional and regulatory styles via online questionnaire (Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) – 32 questions), included anxiety/depression question.
- Study 2:
- 29 athletes: 14 elite (top 100 national rankings), and 15 non-elite (outside top 100 national rankings). There were 17 sprinters (100m, 200m and 400m), 12 distance runners (800–10,000m) and 29 non-athlete controls. Only males?
- Heart beat counting task and a ‘gold standard’ Heartbeat Detection Task to examine differences in interoceptive accuracy, confidence, and metacognitive awareness.
- Two conditions: (i) in silence, and (II) whilst listening to pre-recorded crowd noise that simulated the live sounds of spectators during a sporting event.
- Had to report their felt heartbeats and not try to guess or use an exteroceptive aid (such as taking one’s pulse) [44].
- HDT: The task required participants to judge whether heartbeat sensations are or are not simultaneous with the circle presentation.
- RESULTS
- (I) compared to non-athletes, athletes (i.e., both sprinters and distance runners) had more confidence (Study 2) in their interoceptive percept, and reported trusting their body more, using it to self-regulate and having better attentional control towards their body (Study 1);
- (II) sprinters reported having better regulation of attention to internal sensations, more emotional awareness, better self-regulation, and a greater propensity to listen to their body for insight than both distance runners (Fig 3),
- (III) athletes (i.e., both sprinters and distance runners) were better able to maintain heartbeat detection performance when distracted compared to non-athletes (Fig 5), and
- (IV) elite athletes were characterised by lower emotional awareness, self-regulation, and body listening (Study 1), and were less accurate at counting their heartbeat when not distracted (Fig 4), and characterised by a higher interoceptive prediction error (Study 2).
- Good question that was asked by researchers: It should also be considered whether these are innate characteristics of sprint athletes, or a consequence of their participation in high intensity exercise.
- It’s complicated though:
- Inconsistent findings across studies in athletes.
- It’s so individual because it brings in a lot of life experiences.
- Interoception (accuracy and/ or awareness) might be related to self-regulation during exercise and athletes may have better interoceptive abilities than non-athletes, but conclusions are limited due to studies taking a unidimensional approach [25], methodological inconsistencies [31, 32]’, and the recruitment of college-level, rather than elite athletes [29, 31, 32].
- Why we would want to “turn off” the ability to feel our body, e.g. during a hard race where we want to check out or dissociate, to mitigate pain, etc.
- WHY IS INTEROCEPTION SO IMPORTANT? NOT JUST SPORTS PERFORMANCE
- There’s a link between compromised interoceptive function and psychiatric disorders, depression, anxiety, additicion.
- Mindfulness med improves insular functioning and connectivity to increase interoceoption
- Insular function correlated with increased empathy
- Gut feelings: interoceptive sensations, as GI tract responds to emotions and stress
- Maintaining hameostasis is an interoceptive process
- Interoceptive signals help us regulate emotional and physical states
Sarah asks:
“The gray zone”
Why does the gray zone (i.e. Z3 range) get such a bad rep if so many programs have us focus on race specificity especially as the goal race nears?
What the coaches say:
- What they say the problems are:
- Too easy to be useful and is too hard and too fatiguing
- When you spend too much or all your time in this zone as many do, esp those not aware of HR, effort/PE, zones, etc.
- Too much gray Z3 doesn’t help high end sprinting
- Harder than Z2/MAF so recovery is different—more of it needed, can lead to burout overtraining if too much here
- What is the Gray Zone:
- Z3 or tempo is ~2.0-2.5mmol which is quite mild! Put that into context for MOST people and running up a hill puts you in the “grey” zone.
- But the thing is:
- Too much Vo2 is also bad.
- Too much threshold is bad.
- Too much easy volume is bad.
- Too much of anything is bad. Duh.Depends on the race distance
- Depends on the base fitness
- Depends on how much time before race
- Everyone responds differently.
- To consider (the negatives):
- Athletes tend to do too much and plateau. Should only be ~20% or less of total run volume.
- For ultra athletes and marathon it is less effective, same as sweetspot. Works better for <70.3, <1/2 marathon.
- Not good if you use a TRUE polarized or MAF methodology
- The positives:
- More stimulation if you are time limited and plateau with the volume you’re able to run.
- Good mental practice
- Fun
- If used sparingly it is fine if you aren’t in a high quality focused block.
- If you’re very fit and limited on time available
- If you’re traveling and have very limited time
- Other Gray zone/Z3 concepts covered:
- Sweet spot podcast we did.
- Race specificity–what distances are benefited the most by training at Z3 or in the gray zone?
- When MAF becomes tempo?
- Used mostly in a final block as a “specific” intensity. Marathon pace/ effort.
- ZONES- if you are NOT measuring lactate then everything is on a spectrum. The shift from Z2 into Z3 is very subtle and there isn’t a definite line.
- Using lactate testing and the polarized method is the exception.
- No research showing Z3 is better or worse.
- Some evidence of an increase in mitochondrial density with SS training.
- Some evidence showing a drop in Vo2 if you do MOSTLY Z3/ SS
- Everyone responds differentlyBlumenfelt, Iden training ~85% in LT1 the remainder in LT2 or sweetspot/ tempo Still below MLSS
- ELITE athletes will elicit lower lactate levels at tempo/ Z3 than regular people.
The post
ATC 351: Know Thyself, How Well Can You Read Your Body’s Signals? Plus: The ‘Gray Zone’ – It Isn’t So Bad If Used Well, Here’s How first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
Intro Banter
Toxic, Chemical Concerns in Everyday Foods and More
- Kerrygold bummer
- Label is found to contain “forever chemicals” PFAS. Our take and butter choices moving forward… Read more here.
- Salt choices for lowest microplastics and metals, etc.
- What are the best types of salt to buy as far as those lowest in microplasctics, heavy metals, etc.
- Celtic Sea Salt, Himalayan Pink salt, etc.
- Is there really a concern as far as how much of the “bad stuff” is in these salts?
- Crucial Four is a new brand dense in minerals that Tawnee is trying for her morning adrenal-health drink.
- Where else are concentrated sources of chemicals in our daily lives–look there!
- E.g. city water or water source for your home, drinking water, clothing, etc.
- Any recommendations for a good bathtub water filter?
- A healthy body should be able to handle low levels of heavy metals, microplastics, etc., and detox that properly.
Holistic Hamstrings
Hamstring Basics
- Read Steve’s in-depth article on hamstring injuries here.
- Quick hamstring 101: hamstrings consists of 3 muscles, the motion they provide, bridge between glutes and calves, etc.
- Generally, hams are more often injured in running, jumping.
- Upper hammy are more often injured in endurance athletes/runners than lower (behind knee, which is usually a calf muscle issue).
- Upper hamstring more often a glute issue, often weak due to pelvic instability–hamstring is doing extra work to make up for glute weakness
- Steve’s philosophy of “don’t treat the hamstring” when hamstring hurts or is injured.
- Either coming from a different muscle or the hamstring function is being disrupted by some other muscle imbalance somewhere else in the body.
- Hamstring might be in spasm–gastroc, soleus (i.e. calves) or glutes are not working well and hamstring is compensating.
Upper Hamstring Injuries
- What is usually going on, what needs to be done? i.e. glutes, hips
- Glute test, do this BAREFOOT: stand on one leg, how well can you support yourself, stabilize pelvis, feel pain-free, etc.
- If super solid on both side for 10-15 seconds, try doing it with your EYES CLOSED.
- Basic balancing exercises to begin with.
- Sacrum is really important when talking about glutes due to sacrotuberous ligament–remnant of bicep femoris, embryological piece, integrates sacrum to ischium.
- SI nerve/joint issues
- Sciatic nerve can go above, below or through piriformis.
- With pelvis, glute medius (lateral, stability) and piriformis (hip rotator) are critical.
- Piriformis balance each other, eg fatigue on one side and pain on the other.
- Glute med and piriformis issue WAY more common than true hamstring issues.
- if hamstrings have to kick on too often or too much, they get over-worked, too tight and hurt.
- Why are these areas so often affected? Basic movement patterns, sitting too much, shoe choices (heel lift), etc.
- Low back pain
- Low back pain and anterior (front side) hip flexor connection. Psoas or even obliques, look for trigger points to help.
- Simple test for psoas (hip flexor) tightness: If you lie on your back and low back hurts or if you can’t lie on back without putting something under your knees or bending them, then you have a hip flexor problem.
Lower Hamstring Injuries
- Lower hamstring pain (at back/inside of knee): way less common! Almost always an upper gastroc issue or tibialis posterior instead.
- Tibialis posterior: probably the most important muscle of lower leg for movement: involves plantar fascia, link between tibia and fibula, affects how you pronate, how you absorb shock, toe splay, etc.
- Actually, is that really MCL or meniscus pain or something else…
- Pes Anserine–what is it, why does it matter here?
- People confuse this with MCL or medial meniscus pain when it is actually a weak hamstring muscle issue.
Adrenal Connection
- Muscle-organ relationship; applied kinesiology; biofeedback.
- When a muscle isn’t functioning properly is that muscle injured or is it an organ influence?
- Clinically: tibialis posterior, soleus, gastroc, sartorius, gracilis are very closely tied into adrenal gland function, more so on the right side of the body.
- Injuries include: plantar fasciitis, shin splints, medial knee pain, calf strain… tie in with over-stress happening in life (dysfunction in cortisol, aldosterone, DHEA, etc.)
- Muscle is not responding as it should, inhibited, instability, etc., when this over-stress is taking place (the organ connection).
- Then what will happen another muscle will over-compensate, leading to some kind of injury (e.g. hamstring, etc).
Shoulder Issues…. for Hamstrings?!
- Shoulders often the hidden source of lower-leg injuries.
- Two main reasons:
- Force closure–it’s how the hamstrings affects the SI joint through the coupled action of the latissimus dorsi; lats reach from sacrum to humerus.
- Our gait cycle, which is contralateral. E.g. As hamstrings fire on the left side, lats fire on right side and vice versa. Integration of flexors and extensors. Glutes/hamstrings with lats/traps (on opposite sides)… and it goes deeper (e.g. knee and elbows).
- Shoulder girdle and hip joint connection is huge.
- Shoulder issues often from lack of movement; how often do we even have to reach overhead? How about posture awareness.
- Many shoulder exercises often do more harm than good, e.g. bench press problems! Why we don’t like it…
- Start focusing on the fundamentals with rotator cuff, proper shoulder mobility (e.g. external rotation), etc.
Exercises To Do
- Steve’s philosophy on warming up…
- Single leg work, all of it! It starts with brain-body connection and reintegrating this back into our life. Get to the point of being able to close your eyes with SL exercises.
- SL RDL/SL DL with weights…. or SL RDL with knee drive (opposite side) and hop (with holding a weight if possible).
- Rocking… to crawling… etc.
- Dead hangs, scap pushups (protraction/retraction), scap pullups… take a video to know your form and work on it!
- Single leg work vs. something like a banded lateral monster walk.
- Caution with isolating muscles in your exercises; instead, think about using them as they are naturally used by the body i.e. functionally.
The post
Sock Doc 19: It’s Not The Hammy! For Hamstring Injuries, Look Elsewhere To Heal, Plus: Our Take on ‘Toxic’ Concerns with Butter and Salt first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Intro Banter
Ragnar SoCal!
- It’s coming and there’s still time to join the team for the race in Southern CA on April 14-15th, 2023. Email events@enduranceplanet.com for details.
Athlete Retirements
IM World Championships
- Our thoughts on the new race format with rotating locations and moving beyond just Kona.
Questions
Luke asks:
How High is Too High? (HR)
Hi
I’m 29 big fan of ATC.
Recently I did an olympic distance triathlon. It was hot, about 30 degrees Celsius on the run.
I took it easy on the first half of the bike and then pushed the 2nd half and was still feeling good going into the run, when I got out of T2 my heart rate was 196 on my Garmin. It’s only the wrist monitor(so could be wrong), but I was still a bit worried.
My legs felt fine though so I kept pushing it. At the end of the run I checked my stats and I had 195 bmp average with a max of 204. I was dead by the end but I didn’t think it was possible for me to run 50minutes at that heart rate.
In training I barely get up to that HR unless I am doing really hard running intervals. I am kinda fit, the race took me 2h35, and that was better than expected.
Should I have slowed down and waited for my HR to go lower how dangerous is it to hold that HR for that long ?
Cheers
What the coaches say:
- For quick & direct heart rate reading: Take your pulse for 6 seconds and add a 0 to get an immediate read and you can compare this against your heart rate monitor to gauge accuracy.
- Feeling your lactate threshold is usually very easy to do, as it is correlated with ventilatory threshold (shift in breath), but feeling “max” efforts or HR over 200 bpm has a different feeling.
- Couple ways to look at this:
- 1) Conditions:
- Heat + humidity–conditions make a difference.
- Are you a good sweater? If you’re not sweating well or efficiently you can overheat more easily (humidity impacts this because sweat won’t evaporate as well).
- 2) Heart issues in athletes
- Accuracy of heart rate monitors–they are pretty good at this point, usually not off by more than 1-2 beats for the latest technology.
- Garmin Forerunner 45s is what Lucho uses and finds that the HR readings are very accurate.
- Consider your HR in training vs. racing, fitness levels (e.g. how’s your MAF pace and aerobic bace? Are you training your high end, what do you see?)
- At the end of the day, it’s your heart, so if there is ANY concern then follow that and get it checked.
Dana asks:
To train or not to train?
Hey Team! I was experiencing extreme fatigue so I decided to get a DUTCH test. Let’s just say everything is low – sexy hormones (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone), DHEA, and neurotransmitters for dopamine and adrenaline. Also cortisol was off – my body is just not making enough which I was told is a later stage of adrenal burnout or HPA axis dysfunction. I have regained a period, but it’s irregular with difficult symptoms around the time I start (it’s typically every 35-60 days). I also have frequent anxiety and trouble sleeping.
The problem is MY MIND! I want to keep racing and I’m at a crossroads on what I should do… I am signed up for a marathon this fall plus some other small races prior to that, and I honestly don’t want to pull the plug and lose the fitness. I think I’ll feel a bit lost and also fearing having nothing on the calendar and not any real training. Also, I have dealt with a hamstring injury issue that I am keeping at bay but wouldn’t say they’re healed fully (low hamstring by the back of inner knee).
I know Tawnee gets this question quite often: how can i still train while working on healing?! HELP!!!
What the coaches say:
- Total (metabolized) cortisol vs. free cortisol–what is the difference. And looking at different cortisol patterns.
- When your body is not producing (making cortisol), it’s usually indicative of burnout in the form of HPA axis dysfunction or adrenal fatigue. Body depleted.
- Harder for athletes to recover, constant fatigue, low level depression, etc.
- DHEA is a steroid hormone and precursor, also aids in our immune function, bone health among other issues.
- The decision to make: do you push through and keep going with training? How effective, fun and quality will training even be?
- Dealing with our demons, and getting comfortable with letting go, if that’s what we need to do.
- When HPA axis dysfunction takes place we have largely lost touch with ourselves, our body and our needs.
- Part of healing is learning to reconnect with our body and getting our intuition back when we’ve lost the ability to do so.
- Adrenal issues often correlated with HIIT; thyroid can often be affected over a longer period time of chronic endurance.
- Volume & intensity–those are the variables that need to change.
- So we can still exercise and move, but understand that our body is starved–starved of proper nutrition, starved of parasympathetic activity, etc.
- An example of still training, as Tawnee did back in the day:
- Adhering to strict MAF Method about 90-95% of training (but also cap volume–you cannot be doing big big volume as MAF often is).
- E.g. 20-30 mpw max for run volume for a marathon, and allowing some crosstraining at healthy levels, healthy intensities that promote healing and building back up: walking, strength training (but not HIIT circuits), time/mindful activity in nature, and so on.
- Shut it down if red flags pop up, like a missing period.
- What about the signs between each period to look for?
- I other words if you still want to train for a marathon while healing these things let go of the idea of peak performance and even if you run your slowest time ever that’s ok, rebuilding your health is more important in the long run and you can get back to faster racing again.
- Adrenal/HPA Axis healing basics:
- Supplementing helps (adaptogens, bioidentical hormones, etc.) but the priority is lifestyle and nourishing yourself with nutrient-dense foods, stable blood sugar, etc.
- Get sunlight upon rising for cortisol awakening response (CAR).
- Stillness and full quietness at least 5 minutes a day, even if not meditating.
- Adrenal drink in the AM: high-quality sea salt or Himalayan salt with lemon in filtered water.
- Don’t sacrifice sleep! 8-9 hours is non-negotiable. Have good sleep hygiene.
- E.g. what lights are on in at night? Bright white/blue lights aren’t ideal.
- Look to nature, not your phone.
- Break the cycle that got you into this rut in the first place.
- Low neurotransmitters:
- We will be more likely to seek out activities that give us a dopamine hit, which just makes it harder for us to let go from our training and racing.
- Low dopamine and adrenaline often go hand in hand with low cortisol or later stage adrenal fatigue.
- Dopamine made in gut (~50%), so look at that as a factor.
- Don’t let yourself be addicted to exercise where you can’t even let go or shift how you do it for your own well-being.
- Overall, training/exercise while healing:
- You can give it up and go all in. That’s the fast track…
- Of you don’t have to give it up; Tawnee always exercised while healing, but also had many huge transformations and major shifts to her approach, and you’ll heal but it just takes time… up to a year or more.
- How long does it take? Just depends how hardcore you go with your healing; how “all in” you are or not.
- And once you heal, can you come back and train and race at a high or elite level?
- This process allows a self-discovery process. You gain self-awareness in this process, and that’ll serve you so well going forward! Will help prevent mistakes in the future or setbacks. Or if you do have a setback you can bounce back more quickly.
The post
ATC 350: To Train or Not To Train Through Hormonal Imbalances (With Healthy Comebacks), High Heart Rate Concerns, Heart Health Check, and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by
LMNT, a tasty electrolyte drink mix with everything you need and nothing you don’t. That means lots of salt — with no sugar. LMNT is formulated to help anyone with their electrolyte needs and is perfectly suited to folks following a keto, low-carb, or paleo diet. LMNT contains a science-backed electrolyte ratio: 1000 mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 60 mg magnesium. With none of the junk. No sugar. No coloring. No artificial ingredients. No gluten. No fillers. No BS.
Click on our link for a free sample pack with any purchase. The sample pack contains one packet of every LMNT flavor so you can find your favorite or share with a friend. And with LMNT’s no questions asked refund policy, there is basically no risk to you.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Welcome to episode 35 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, and Julie McCloskey, CPT, a certified holistic nutrition coach who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
Intro Banter
Ragnar SoCal 2023
- A spot opened up on our team! The race is April 14-15, 2023 in Southern California. To get more info and join the team email events@enduranceplanet.com.
What’s On Our Menu?
Julie and Tawnee share some of their latest happenings in their respective kitchens:
Julie – a day in the life:
- AM: coffee with collagen if I have it. Something sweet like biscotti or a graham cracker or a cookie.
- Breakfast: depends on my workout and time of the workout. Either oatmeal with chia, maple syrup, PB, ¼ tsp MCT oil, creatine, cinnamon OR eggs with salted cucumber and slice of bread
- Lunch: usually eggs if I didn’t have them for breakfast, or sometimes even IF I had them for breakfast. Dinner leftovers if I have them, but normally don’t. But it’s mostly been oatmeal for breakfast and eggs/toast for lunch.
- Snacks: bobo bites, EPIC bars, rice crackers with PB, deli meat, oysters, herbal tea on the reg in the afternoon (tulsi, licorice, throat coat if I’ve had a presentation)
- Dinner: start with an app of chips and salsa and then make a big bowl of veg, protein, and starch with a side of bread! Rotating proteins are chicken, beef, bison, salmon. Usually the sauce is a primal kitchen dressing
- Dessert: chocolate is eaten throughout the day and also before bed

Tawnee – assortment of current favorites:
- Homemade gluten free bread
- Using Happy Campers flour mix
- Cost savings and can make without seed oils!
- Love this bread for “salmon salad” sammies with Primal kitchen mayo + local spinach
- Vitamin C gummies with gelatin, tart cherry juice, raw local honey & camu camu
- About 5-8 mg C per gummy
- Fun to do with kids
- Using:
- Raw milk
- Finally made the switch! Local source. 5 bucks a gallon. Wow.
- Force of Nature meats
- Good grassfed/grass-finished meat can be hit or miss at the store
- Buying this in addition to a local farm source
- Go the next step for your meat/poultry!
- Also on oatmeal and finding a healthy balance & approach with a carb-rich breakfast (especially for breastfeeding mamas)
- Mention: Toxic chocolate?
Female Athletes Wanted!
New study aims to discover: Should women train with respect to their menstrual cycle? You can participate…
- Our friend and past guest Paul Laursen is looking for female athletes on new study taking place that he is part of with fellow researchers. This new study includes three novel technologies in an attempt to gather deeper insight to answer an important question for female athletes — should I train to my cycle? Triathlete Meredith Kessler is an ambassador for the study, and we’re collaborating with IOC expert in the area Professor Monica Klungland Torstveit. Their new blog explains more specifically why and what they are doing and what female athletes will get from participation.
- Criteria and what you gain (freebies!)
- If you are a female athlete and qualify based on above criteria, you can sign up for the study here!
New Article & A Discussion: Perfectionism
How much does perfectionism play a role in your life and influence your physical and mental health?
The Study (full text): “Cumulative lifetime stressor exposure and health in elite athletes: the moderating role of perfectionism”
- What this study did:
- In 2020, online survey 45min
- Examined how cumulative lifetime stressor exposure was associated with general mental and physical health complaints in elite athletes, and the extent to which these associations were moderated by perfectionism. Participants were 110 elite athletes (64 female 45 male 1 self-described, averaging ~29-30 years old; range 18-59)
- Competed at international or professional level
- In survey, assessed athletes’ exposure to 55 major life stressors, including their underlying dimensions (e.g., frequency, timing, duration, and severity) – this is rare. ALso, it only measured non-sport stressors and did not assess stressors experienced specifically in the sporting context
- What they found , according to the study:
- More severe lifetime stressors related to poorer physical and mental health.
- Self-oriented perfectionism moderated (even helped offset) lifetime stressor count + severity + physical health outcomes, in a positive way (but no effect on mental health).
- They said, that these results suggest that self-oriented perfectionism may attenuate or buffer the positive association between lifetime stressor exposure and physical health complaints. This finding is consistent with prior research in sport, suggesting that this dimension of perfectionism is more complex than the others and can sometimes be associated with adaptive functioning. (In contrast, no significant moderation effects were found for self-oriented perfectionism and mental health complaints.)
- Take-home message: address and assess lifetime stressor exposure and perfectionistic tendencies in order to improve athlete health and well-being. This includes youth vs adulthood, acute vs chronic stress.
- Previous research found:
- Relatively high lifetime stressor exposure fostered poorer health and well-being by promoting greater use of maladaptive long-term coping strategies, mental and physical health issues (depression, colds, respiratory infections).
- Especially chronic difficulties (not acute) and adulthood (not youth).
- What makes us more vulnerable or resilient (to stress-related diseases etc), though?
- Personality traits…mental health…
- PERFECTIONISM 101 as outlined in the article:
- Defined as “striving for flawlessness and overly critical evaluations of behaviour;” three main types:
- Self-oriented– Demand of perfection from the self. More ambiguous as far as neg/pos outcomes; potential to energise behaviour, which might explain why it is sometimes positively related to performance. IN this study, self-oriented perfectionism was found to moderate the relation between lifetime stressor exposure (count and severity) and physical health.
- Socially prescribed– THIS! Belief that others expect one to be perfect. Strongest positive corr with mental health outcomes (depression and disordered eating) as well as physical health (e.g., migraines, gastrointestinal illnesses, hypertension)
- Other-oriented– Demand of perfection from others. Positive corr but effects smaller
- Theoretical pathways through which perfectionism may affect stress according to the article:
- Stress perpetuation, refers to the tendency for those high in perfectionism to maintain a stressful episode via the use of maladaptive coping techniques (e.g., rumination over mistakes).
- Stress enhancement, refers to the tendency for those high in perfectionism to adopt self-defeating cognitive appraisals (e.g., threat, harm, loss), resulting in the magnification of stress (e.g., over-emphasising the importance of minor mistakes).
- Study flaw(s) according to the article:
- Small sample; not enough data to get a significant finding
- Bias or trying to hide the truth in responses to the survey
- Not a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study…
- Relevant points to consider:
- Threat vs challenge … what do we see it as when appraising potentially stressful situations
- Elite athletes = signs of perfectionism = Perfectionism = linked with ill health
- Perfectionism + adrenal health correlation
- What is driving us? How is this tied into our identity? What should we lean into and work on/shed?
- How can we apply all this to our own lives?
- Tawnee and Julie get very candid on their on experiences as perfectionist, what was driving their perfectionism, the roots of these traits, and how they manage perfectionism in their lives now (better awareness and eliminating negative effects that come with perfectionism as best as possible)
- Stress-reduction techniques for a perfectionist
- Podcast mention: Dr. Phil Maffetone on Self-Care During Uncertain times
The post
HPN 35: How is Perfectionism Influencing Your Health and Wellbeing? Plus: Stress Reduction Tips For Perfectionist Types, Inside Our Kitchen, DIY Foods and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by
LMNT, a tasty electrolyte drink mix with everything you need and nothing you don’t. That means plenty of salt and minerals–with no sugar. LMNT is formulated to help anyone with their electrolyte needs and is perfectly suited to folks following a keto, low-carb, or paleo diet. LMNT contains a science-backed electrolyte ratio: 1,000 mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 60 mg magnesium. With none of the junk. No sugar. No coloring. No artificial ingredients. No gluten. No fillers. No BS.
Click on our link for a free sample pack with any purchase. The sample pack contains one packet of every LMNT flavor so you can find your favorite or share with a friend. And with LMNT’s no questions asked refund policy, there is basically no risk to you.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
On this episode with Tawnee and Lucho:
Steven asks:
Competitive Master’s Runner – But Slow MAF, What Gives?
Started maf training 1 week ago. Was running avg. 7:50 pace which is moderate. I’m 59 and my pace with maf is 11:30. I literally can’t run slower. Problem I and my garmin hate this training. Performance condition is in the toilet every run. My V02 has dropped and training load went from maintaining to recovery to unproductive to retraining. My training load the last 2 days after 5 mile runs was lower than before the run. Garmin says fitness is dropping. I’m a very competitive runner high rankings and state records. Is this normal. I was expecting maybe 9:30 pace.
Marco asks:
Broken Big Toe Comeback
Hi guys,
Any tips about dealing with a broken big toe?I broke mine while moving some furniture (nothing to do with running). I’m off from running of course, even walking actually. I’m wondering what I could do when I return to running in 4-6 weeks of time.
Apart from going easy and increasing the volume progressively of course.A shoe with a rigid sole maybe?
Some exercises to regain strength in the foot?
Other tips?I’m an experienced sub-3 marathoner running 5-6 times a week. Also I’m afraid I cannot run like before. I’m qualified for Boston 2023, so I still have some time to prepare when I’m healed (around 11 weeks, a bit short but I have to do with it).
Par asks:
Snotty Snow Sports & The Energy Toll of Introversion
Just been cross country skiing here in Sweden and can’t help wondering why I’m covered in snot. As soon as I start skiing there is a constant outpouring of mucus. Why? Is it the same for you guys while training in the snow/cold?
Also, if you’d like to discuss: I’m quite introverted and have very little need for outward social interactions. I’m always very content being the listening one at a gathering or a party and when I make an effort of being more extroverted it always drains me . If a day at work has been full of meetings for example, my poor wife has to deal with me being quiet and introspective.
Now, listening to you fulfills my need of social interactions since my need is mostly listening to other interactions and it always recharges my social batteries. So I’d like to thank you for being there and making me a better person so that my social energy can be directed towards my wife.
I know that for most people this will sound crazy and otherworldly but it is the world some of us live in.
Do you guys have some introvert sides or know people that do? Would love to get your “take” on this topic. Thanks for being my distant friends!
The post
ATC 349: Humbled by MAF Training, Big Toe Rehab for Runners, Deep Dive on Introversion and Extroversion, and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by
LMNT, a tasty electrolyte drink mix with everything you need and nothing you don’t. That means lots of salt — with no sugar. LMNT is formulated to help anyone with their electrolyte needs and is perfectly suited to folks following a keto, low-carb, or paleo diet. LMNT contains a science-backed electrolyte ratio: 1000 mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 60 mg magnesium. With none of the junk. No sugar. No coloring. No artificial ingredients. No gluten. No fillers. No BS.
Click on our link for a free sample pack with any purchase. The sample pack contains one packet of every LMNT flavor so you can find your favorite or share with a friend. And with LMNT’s no questions asked refund policy, there is basically no risk to you.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
On this episode we’re joined by Christopher McDougall and Eric Orton, who just recently released their new book, Born To Run 2. Chris is a runner and author including the original born to run book, and Eric, who is a longtime coach of Eric Orton Running Academy.
Grab your copy of Born To Run 2 here.


Together they have teamed up to create Born To Run 2, a wonderfully informative and entertaining holistic guide to your running or endurance endeavors with similar to concepts often discussed on this podcast. Everything from nutrition considerations, exercises and drills to improve your running form, minimalist shoes and the barefoot approach, training plans, compelling stories, and much more.
In this episode we’re going to dive deeper into components presented in the book by Chris and Eric including:
- Footwear, bare feet and the minimalist shoe debate
- A friendly discussion: on minimalist vs. “mainstream” shoes. If going minimalist is so much better for us and as quoted in the book, “study after study has shown that running shoes did nothing to prevent injuries or improve running performance,” then how come shoes like the Nike vapor fly and alpha fly fare so well for runners and their performance?
- Injury prevention starting with back-to-basic type drills
- Wearing different kinds of shoes from minimalist to more cushiony
- The Altra story… and shoutouts to Xero, etc.
- Run-specific and healthy-feet drills to incorporate, including the concept of “Foot Core”
- The “five minute fix” – what is it, why do it
- Why you probably need to be running fast more often (and how this complements MAF training)
- Using music as a specific tool, specifically songs that are at 90 bpm to help with run cadence
- And also when to use music, when not to, and some personal philosophies tied in with this
- Chris’ go-to warmup before runs
- Running in winter condition as a “minimalist runner” with Eric’s experience living in Jackson Hole, Wy.
- What is the one-mile test and why you need to try it out.
- Stories of Chris’ running journey and working with Eric as his coach.
- And much more!
The post
Chris McDougall and Eric Orton: On Holistic Training, Healthy Feet, Minimalist Shoes and Why We Need To Be Running Faster in Training first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by LMNT
, a tasty electrolyte drink mix with everything you need and nothing you don’t. That means lots of salt — with no sugar. LMNT is formulated to help anyone with their electrolyte needs and is perfectly suited to folks following a keto, low-carb, or paleo diet. LMNT contains a science-backed electrolyte ratio: 1000 mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 60 mg magnesium. With none of the junk. No sugar. No coloring. No artificial ingredients. No gluten. No fillers. No BS.
Click on our link for a free sample pack with any purchase. The sample pack contains one packet of every LMNT flavor so you can find your favorite or share with a friend. And with LMNT’s no questions asked refund policy, there is basically no risk to you.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Intro banter:
Mentions:
Article: When is it too cold to run outside?
Winter wear for kids with PFAS/PFC-free materials
Our Top 5 in 2023:
- Unlearn technology—with the goal being to reconnect with your body, this includes listening to music!
- Barefoot strength—for ground up results, but don’t just abandon your shoes.
- More functional strength (transferable) work and true speed work.
- Adopt a de-stress practice/activity—as simple as a couple minutes of deep breathing (to better balance out sympathetic with parasympathetic); but also be mindful of how you’re breathing and responding to things around you and thoughts that come up.
- Try something new, pursue fit for life attitude! Don’t get stuck in the same routine with mediocre results.
The post
ATC 348: Our Top 5 For 2023 – Incorporate These Things For Better Results first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by
UCAN, the fat-burning fuel of choice for endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers steady, long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash and keeps your blood sugar steady. The perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete…
UCAN is offering a “training bundle” to give you an assor. EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.com for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Body Health’s PerfectAmino® 300-count Tablets are NSF Certified for Sport, so you can trust that they’re clean and free form contaminants and banned substances. What you see is what you get. Please note: at this time it’s just the PerfectAmino® 300 count bottles that are NSF certified but all PerfectAmino® is made under the same roof with the same standards.
PerfectAmino helps you fight fatigue, maintain and/or build lean muscle mass, and better sustain your training loads. It literally counts toward protein grams in your diet and vegan friendly. Buying PerfectAmino through us helps support the podcast and ensures that you are getting the highest efficacy and quality care in your supplements rather than risking old, poorly stored, less efficacious supplements bought elsewhere on the internet.
On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
In part 2 of this 3-part series we take a deeper dive into immune system function.
If you haven’t yet, listen to part 1 here.
Exercise options for optimal immune function
- Exercise- some is good, too much has negative effect.
- Thorne article: How Athletes Can Support Their Immune Function (with links to relevant studies)
- Equation of fitness isomer than just the exercise itself- so many other variables from sleep to work stress to family stress, diet and so on.
- Endurance athletes have a greater demand since the amount they mush themselves, and if not careful can be more susceptible.
- Overtraining runs system down (even if you’re not doing high intensity).
- Immune cytokines- some are inflammatory and other anti-inflammatory, this impacts immune system function and other systems in the body.
- Too much HIIT can put us into sympathetic overdrive – symptoms manifest in many ways and could include: skin issues like eczema, fungal infections (including toenail issues), you catch every cold going around, allergies and asthma, and so on.
- How to find our sweet spot with exercise for robust immune function?
- Trial and error: See how you respond to different exercise modalities and stimuli. Listen to your body. If you have cravings this could be a sign that things are off.
- If you had done too much long slow aerobic training and switch to HIIT with low volume helps, you may see better sleep, sharper cognitive function, and so on.
- If craving sugar, this could be a sign you’re burning too much sugar and not a great fat burner.
- If craving salt, this could be a sign you’re depleted in electrolytes and/or adrenal glads.
- Sensitivity to bright lights or sensitivity to sounds are a sign of sympathetic overdrive.
- Are you peeing during seeing hours? This is not a normal thing.
- What about people who have a lot of stressors that can’t just change everything, such as shift workers or people traveling to different time zones?
- Quality diet and training have a bigger positive impact than we may even realize- and those are well within all our control.
- Sleep habits as well.
Offseason, training in winter and vitamin D
- Should we worry about training too much in winter months when we’re not getting an immune boost through the sun?
- Not necessarily, it depends and shouldn’t negatively affect every single person. Why? You can still supplement with Vitamin D. And also when it comes to illness and things like seasonal affective disorder (SAD), there are typically other issues going on not just a low D thing.
- The “Vitamin D border” in winter
- The changing angle of the sun in the winter, and why the latitude in which you live matters.
- Above the 37th parallel where you won’t get D from the sun in winter months (can get D from the sun above that latitude in summer months).
- More info: Vitamin D winter by Sock Doc
- Shadow trick- what is it?
- D Minder app to monitor your Vitamin D status and more
Self assess & healing
- Blood markers discussed in detail in part 1.
- The path to healing and building a stronger immune system.
- So many speciality labs exist these days. But too much information can be overwhelming. Blood is a great way to start cheaply.
- Past that, measuring immune markers via blood even just basic Vitamin D.
- Vit D ideally in 50-80 ng/ml range.
- Labs are great to point you in the right direction but use caution to not be overwhelmed.
- Food sensitivity tests- Steve is not a big fan because of false positives. Not really addressing where the problem actually is.
- Hormone tests via saliva are more accurate than blood because you can see free levels more accurately for both men and women.
- In blood- there are a lot of issues that can affect hormone measurements that won’t give you the info you need. Saliva tests may be a better bet especially if symptomatic.
- If you’re seeing that you’re extra sensitive to minor things even smells of all kinds, chemicals or seasonal things (like pollen in spring), indication that immune system needs work regardless of what the bloodwork may say.
- Don’t try to just push through it or push harder, it’s ok to go easy and take care of yourself when you need it- listen to how you feel and function.
- Bloodwork is not going to tell you everything. Listen to your body.
- LINK And genetic testing? It’s not the be all end all. Our podcast with The Sock Doc on genetic testing here.
- He’s also not a fan of vitamin and mineral tests in blood because your blood is typically one of the last things to change when there’s an imbalance in the body. You could do a major chemistry analysis and it may not accurately reflect little imbalances, nor does it address why that imbalance is there and supplementing alone may not be the long-term effective answer. Maybe it’s major diet and lifestyle changes.
- Is it worthless to test those things? Eg B vitamins? No… just don’t rely on single lab tests.
- Vitamin D is another example that we can’ trust that one marker along- don’t jut test 25-hydroxy Vitamin D, also test the 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D to measure the balance between the two. But few people do this. If you see levels go up with supplementation then plummet back down after you stop supplementing, then that could be indicative of needing to test both. But then where does the testing end?
- The bigger issue is that we’re seeing less critical thinking and clinical observations, instead relying too much on labs and numbers not the thorough exam and history.
- A case for holistic healthcare and functional medicine.
Nutrition & supplements for immune health and overcoming illness
- Are there supplements we should take daily?
- Stick with the ones that are proven to support and improve T regulatory response: EPA/DHA, grassfed/grass-finished fats, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, zinc.
- Vitamins A& D
- Don’t need to fear Vitamin A. Not going to toxic taking it for a short period of time. High doses up to 100,000 IU have been used for certain illnesses.
- Throughout the winter a normal supplementing routine could include 10,000 IU Vitamin A to 2,000 IU Vitamin D (10:2 ratio), a few times a week. Half that for kids 12 years old and under.
- Based on your diet or sun exposure, you may not need to supplement that much with these.
- Warning signs off too much A: headaches, pressure behind the eyes, and others… it takes a while to actually reach toxic levels and poison yourself with Vitamin A.
- Forms of Vitamin A and what other ingredients are in your supplements?
- A lot of vitamin A is beta carotene, and just about 30% of that is converted.
- Buy Vitamin D in D3 form.
- Biotics Research is a good brand for these supplements.
- Ingredients and sources matter!
- Watch out for seed oils in your supplements and/or a long list of unnecessary ingredients added into supplements.
- You get what you pay for with supplements, don’t go cheap. Especially things like fish oil that can so easily go rancid, and don’t buy non-triglyceride form.
- Titanium dioxide was pulled from Europe’s safe ingredient list but has potential side effects, yet is found as an ingredient in MANY supplements.
- Buy from trusted sources like Wellevate, Fullscript, Thorne, and so on. They stand by their products and have great customer service.
- Why is Vitamin C perhaps isn’t as powerful or as necessary as we have been led to believe?
- Most comes from GMO corn. Over 500mg of ascorbic acid caused some DNA issues.
- In regulating your immune system better, Vitamin C is not even in that pathway.
- Vitamin C sacrifices itself when other deficiencies are present, i.e. C can make up for other antioxidant deficiencies.
- Zinc
- Astragalus
- Can aid in immune health in athletes.
- Anti viral and anti microbial.
- Can support immune system generally speaking and actually strengthen it; improves Th1 response in the body
- Anti inflammatory due to high concentration of flavonoids.
- It’s been used for diabetes, male hormone and sperm health, asthma, decrease mucus production, protect kidneys, anti-cancer properties, can even help methylation issues.
- Very few if any side effects; don’t take if on immune suppressants or lithium drugs.
- How it’s produced matters, herbs can easily be screwed up.
- A good source for quality herbs: HerbPharm
- Comes in powders, tinctures, capsule form- keep as pure as possible.
- Multivitamins or immune supplements stacks?
- Biotics Research Immune Support packs to cover a lot of your bases without going crazy picking and choosing a million different bottles.
- Elderberry
- Used with astragalus, works really well.
- Diminish viral replication.
- Sambucal syrup loaded with sugar isn’t it. Get a good quality tincture, locally made, used with a natural sweetener.
- Only use it when you are actively sick, great for that, won’t help just taking regularly to strengthen immune system (unlike astragalus is good to take regularly for oil support).
- Can use it pretty heavily when sick, especially in the early phases.
- Dilute your liquid herbs in water!
- Glycine
- Great to improve liver function, break down cytokines in the liver (diminish the cytokine storm and detoxify through the liver).
- Sweet tasting amino acid, and you can’t really overdose on it. Can take it throughout the day while sick.
- Quercetin
- Antioxidant, found in onions, lemon peels.
- Really good at repairing cell damage and improving IL10- the most important anti-inflammatory interleukin, thus improve immune system.
- Can also use to negate effects of NSAIDs and detox when NSAIDs were overdone.
- Safe to take.
- Things that get attention but are the worth it and necessary:
- Probiotics- ok to take but not something you shouldn’t need to stay on them long-term. You’re taking live cultures that should grow and thrive, to the point where you don’t need it anymore. When using a gut protocol go through the proper phases of cleaning up- kill phase to repopulate and so on.
- Oil of oregano- more so used to clean up gut, anti-fungal; good to take but not one that you want to stay on or take long term
- Digestive enzymes to support gut health – don’t take long term, could lower the bodies own ability to produce these enzymes so don’t keep taking them too much too long. You can become reliant.
- More on immune health support for athletes:
- Nieman D. Moderate exercise improves immunity and decreases illness rates. Am J Lifestyle Med 2011;5(4):338-345. doi:10.1177/1559827610392876
- Pyne D, Gleeson M. Effects of intensive exercise training on immunity in athletes. Int J Sports Med 1998;19(s 3):s183-s194. doi:10.1055/s-2007-971991
The post
Rerelease: Sock Doc 15: Your Immune System, Part 2 – The Exercise ‘Sweet Spot,’ Deep Dive on Immune-Supporting Supplements, Self-Assessing Your Needs, and More first appeared on
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Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. So let’s make sure you’re not running yourself into any deficits—this list is a good place to start:
Go ahead, click on each supplement if you’re curious to learn more about how these supplements may serve you. Maybe one of these or one of Thorne’s targeted bundles for sleep, stress, or performance, will complement your needs and round out your diet this season.
Thorne is always available to you on our Shop page, and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
In part 1 of this multi-part series we take a deeper dive into immune system function.
Immune system 101
- We’re in an era where research on the immune system is exploding, and ever-evolving
- Components of the immune system include
- Gut
- Spleen
- Thymus
- Lymph system
- Skin
- Point is, it’s not just one specific area
- Every organ may affect the immune system in one way, and vice versa
- The idea of practicing hygiene but also not trying to be overly sterile and germ-free. There’s a symbiotic relationship between
- The role of the gut in immune system- it matters, but so do other things
- Steve is seeing a strong need for other players too, and they’ve been minimized by our love for the gut. For example, he’s seeing a need to help spleen and thymus aide.
- Signs to looks for: If you’re constantly fatigued, get sick and have a really hard time kicking it (weeks+), or you have some ongoing subtle health issues
- Chronically high cortisol suppress thymus, therefore impairing
- If you’re stressed out very easily this cold indicate spleen or thymus issues.
Blood labs analysis
- CBC w/ Differential can direct or guide you on what is going on inside if you’re a bit unsure.
- Do not just rely on conventional ranges on these tests.
Here’s a helpful guide of functional ranges (for optima health) to keep around and help you understand your results:
- WBC
- 5,500-10,500 (5.5-10.5 mcL)
- Some normal ranges go down to 3.5 but, anything below 5 is a sign of being run down
- Neutrophils (eg Segs) 50-60%
- If these are high over 60% that could indicate bacteria infection or some cases could be a virus
- Also increase in a bad accident, etc.
- When these drop below <40% and lymphocytes go up >40%, this indicates folate or B12 deficiency or malabsorption type problem
- If MCV is also high, eg red blood cell is larger than it should be, this could also point to folate/B12 deficiency or malabsorption.
- FIGLU test- only accurate way to test for folate deficiency. Folate breaks down FIGLU, and this breaks down histadine. If don’t have 5MTHF you’ll have high FIGLU in your urine, and this indicates inadequate folate levels in the body.
- Lymphocytes 25-40%
- Monocytes 3-8%
- These get high when there’s a viral infection such as Epstein Barr, Hepatitis—but usually they are high after infection not necessarily in the acute illness phase
- Heavy metals can also cause monocytes to go high
- Eosinophils 1-2%
- If these are over 2-3% this can indicate allergies or systemic infection (2-9%)
- If they go high and stay high (>10%) it could indicate a parasitic infection
- Esophogitis and how these drive up eosinophils
- Basophils 0-1%
- Too high indicate allergies
Individual immune systems- why does it vary so much?
- Why are some people more robust, whereas others have weaker immune systems, and why is it that our own immune systems can change over a lifetime (eg developing autoimmune)
- Genetics play a role to some degree, whereas others are born with a compromised immune system and that carries forward with them through life.
- Is it healthy to get sick?
- If you catch everything that goes around and are often sick, that’s not great and indicates a problem.
- But if you’re always well and never get sick, that doesn’t mean you’re “better off”. Occasional sickness does help our immune system and it’s a part of normal functioning.
The rise of autoimmunity: why are we seeing this?
- It begins with T helper cells, these come from thymus, and suppressor cells.
- These cells “self-check” and help decide which way your immune system goes.
- These Cd4 cells have certain pathways, and they make T regularity cells, which make autoimmune cells.
- They make certain cells suppress or extenuate infections, they make cells that help you deal with allergies, etc.
- Th1 & Th2 cells – T helper 1 and T helper 2.
- Either end of a see saw- if they’re equally weighed you’re more in balance.
- When you have an infection, your Th1 gets more robust.
- When you have too many allergies, toxins, high stress, etc, your Th2 get more robust.
- Either way these things cause you to be out of balance.
- How about vaccines?
- Vaccines increase Th2 response, so it’s like putting a weight vest on that side of the seesaw (heavy Th2 light Th1) and this can exacerbate with more intervention.
- So now if you get sick your TH1 may not be as capable- it’s “too light” whereas Th2 is “too heavy” and this makes it harder to fight off viruses, bacteria, infections.
- Th2 response combines cytokines and can create an autoimmune response.
- More people have autoimmune because they’re living in an Th1/Th2 imbalance.
- This is becoming more common.
- Look at things you can improve in your own life: don’t eat things you’re allergic to or even sensitive to, clean up environmental toxins, etc.
- The other pathway to developing autoimmunity:
- And it’s not just a medical intervention like a vaccine. Autoimmune issues can happen independent of that.
- Th17 reaction- a more direct route to developing an autoimmune issue.
- Extracellular bacteria, fungi, candida, chronic yeast infections, allergies, food sensitivities, gut infection, or any other infection with skin and so on.
Toxins & chemicals in our environment, food and bodies
How do we know if these things are present and affecting us negatively?
- Mold:
- Some stats say that 50% or more homes in the US have a mold problem, and some people (maybe not everyone) seem susceptible to mold illness—how this fits into a immune function conversation.
- To some degree we can and should be able to live symbiotically live with mold because it exists everywhere. However, what about issues like living in a home with excessive or dangerous mold (something we may or may not be aware of)?
- individuality matters a lot here, as does the location of the mold (eg in a bedroom where you spend a lot of time).
- Basic mold tests are available online or in stores. Varying degrees of in-depth testing depending how deep you want or need to go with it.
- For example of a place with petri dishes for mold testing: microbalancehealthproducts.com
- Changing your health for the better can often drastically improve our tolerance to mold.
- It’s often more than just the mold! We don’t necessarily want mold growing excessively all over the place; however, often it is the case where someone who is reacting to mold is also having some other health issues going on.
- If you are having a chronic health issue, it would be wise to do a deep dive on your environment and clean up what you can.
- Mold needs a “food supply” (eg wood, etc) and water source.
- If you see a spot of mold, don’t just “paint over it.”
- Bottom line: Steve rarely sees it where it’s just a mold issue affecting one’s health. Usually there are other things going on too.
- And then there’s glyphosate
- Remove it as best you can, and don’t use it (i.e. RoundUp)
- Yes, its effects can be felt and add up in a negative way over time
- Ecoblend- a healthier alternative
- Monitoring the food you buy, and be weary of produce such as the “dirty dozen” (ewg.org)
- Cooking and eating at home as much as possible makes a positive difference, but don’t go overboard by being orthorexic or paranoid
- Environmental concerns like bee colonies dying off
- Other ideas:
- Use low/no VOC paints
- Personal care products with cleaner ingredients (even nail polish)
- You may see over time that you could be getting sick fewer times when you start cleaning up your life and environment more.
The post
Rerelease: Sock Doc 14: Your Immune System, Part 1 – What Is It, Blood Markers To Analyze It, How It Can Be Affected by Toxins and Our Environment, The Rise of Autoimmunity, and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. So let’s make sure you’re not running yourself into any deficits—this list is a good place to start:
Go ahead, click on each supplement if you’re curious to learn more about how these supplements may serve you. Maybe one of these or one of Thorne’s targeted bundles for sleep, stress, or performance, will complement your needs and round out your diet this season.
Thorne is always available to you on our Shop page, and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Announcements
- Endurance Planet is making a return to Ragnar SoCal in April 2023 and we had one spot open up, are you the runner who needs to be on our team?! f you’re interested in joining the Endurance Planet Ragnar Team, and hanging out with Lucho, Tawnee, Julie and the rest of the crew you can email us at admin@enduranceplanet.com.
- Send your questions to Tawnee, Lucho and the gang to questions@enduranceplanet.com.
Jeff asks:
Chronically low cadence
Hey guys! Besides the obvious of “pedal faster” what’s the best way to increase one’s cadence while mountain biking (and on the trainer)? I always seem to fall into a 55-65 rpm range, and it seems like the better place to be is about 75-85 rpms, but when I work on this my heart rate is more like tempo in the beginning and steadily creeps up if I continue to hold that cadence range. This is the case both on the MTB and the trainer, but heart rate even higher on the MTB.
Is it ok to be a slow cadence guy or is this something I really should try to improve? What drills will help? How long until I see drills pay off by sustaining those rpms at a more Z2 effort? A little about me: I’m 39 and mainly mountain bike plus I use the indoor trainer as supplementary training, mostly when I can’t be outside or tight on time. Riding about 3-6 hours a week. Race when it interests me but not a main focus; I mostly train and do all this for the personal enjoyment, time in nature and health benefits… Also, is there any strength training that can help with this?
Hanna asks:
Next steps in running career + social media monetization
I am wondering on how to take the next step with my running career. I consider myself with limited talent (I started after 6 years of soccer relatively late with 16 years) and did not break 5:20 in the mile (1500m: 5:00) and 18:30min in a track 5 k until I was over 18 years. However, through really awesome coaches and personal development (overcoming orthorexia, learning to live an athlete’s lifestyle, competing for Grand Valley State University, a top Division II program in the US from 2017-start of Corona Pandemic), I was able to improve steadily and quite a lot until now, this all while studying/working in quite advanced programs (Biomedicine B.sc., Master’s degree and now PhD). I am now placing in the Top 10 and even earning medals at German Championships and would be one of the top 5 distance runners in Switzerland if I was Swiss (I am training with the 2 best (and professional) Swiss runners right now in my group, Chiara Scherrer and Fabienne Schlumpf). I have just moved up to running about 60 miles a week (+ 2-4h of crosstraining on the bike/ swimming, plus core/strength work) and even with some frustrating injuries, I dropped my PBs in the last 4 years to 9:36 min (3000m), 16:25 (5000m), 34:33min (10k), 1:14,26h ( half- marathon and 3rdplace at German championships 2021) and have been selected for the German mountain running team to represent them for the first time in a major world championship. I am a quite versatile athlete I think and love everything from cross country, roads, mountains and usually, the longer the better I also have a multisports background and am decent at cycling, swimming, climbing, surfing, skiing (downhill, XC), gymnastics…). However, running is by far my favorite.
Now to my question: I am now faster/ performing better especially at championship races than some sponsored athletes here. However, I just got Instagram, I am unfortunately not super pretty, I don’t have a twin sister or am in any way “social media”-conducive. I dream of running marathons/ longer trail races and reducing my work to 50-60% after my PhD is done (probably 2-3 more years), because I really want to finally do what I am passionate about, which is competitive running and especially long- distances. I also think I have a lot more potential there as the “shorter” stuff is always harder for me than the long- intervals and long runs. I like research and work, but it is not my passion. But right now, I do not earn anything with sports, and my salary as a PhD student is also not high so I cannot save much.
Any advice? How can I make/ contribute to making a living with running.
The post
ATC 347: Ways To Increase Cycling Cadence, Branding Yourself on Social Media (And Overcoming Insecurities), and More first appeared on
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Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Sponsor:
Be sure to open Amazon via enduranceplanet.com—it’s just one extra click to link to Amazon through the ads on the sidebar banner or the Amazon search bar (to the right of the page); or click the Amazon links in the show notes. Thanks for supporting the show!
Announcements
- Endurance Planet is making a return to Ragnar SoCal in April 2023 and we had one spot open up, are you the runner who needs to be on our team?! f you’re interested in joining the Endurance Planet Ragnar Team, and hanging out with Lucho, Tawnee, Julie and the rest of the crew you can email us at admin@enduranceplanet.com.
- Send your questions to Tawnee, Lucho and the gang to questions@enduranceplanet.com.
On This Episode:
Tawnee and Lucho record for the first time since Tawnee gave birth to their daughter, Emoree Sol, on Oct. 8, 2022. Listen in for a fun, friendly chat featuring the story of Tawnee’s birth experience, Lucho’s latest training updates, 2023 training/racing plans, and more!
Mentioned on this show:
The post
ATC 346: Catching Up With Tawnee and Lucho – Baby News, Race Plans and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Sponsor:

B
e sure to open Amazon via enduranceplanet.com—it’s just one extra click to link to Amazon through the sidebar banner (to the right) or click the Amazon links in the show notes. Thanks for supporting the show.
Dr. Steve Gangemi, The Sock Doc, is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
Vagus Nerve 101
- What is the vagus nerve? What purpose does it serve?
- Longest cranial nerve in body, 10th.
- Parasympathetic activation; rest and digest.
- Helps to balance us from a nervous system perspective.
- We use this to look at someone’s overall parasympathetic tone
- Vagus in latin = wandering, goes to many parts of body:
- Pancreas, liver, gallbladder, spleen, heart, gut, etc.
- Where doesn’t if affect?
- Connects organs below neck to the brain.
- Transmit system.
- 80% afferent – gives brain signals back from organs.
- 15% efferent – brain responding back down to organs (crosstalk).
- 5% – 3-4% to vocal chords (exercises like gargling to stimulate); 1% a little bit of the outer skin part of ear (devices that can stimulate)
- When and how do we correlate a health issue we’re having (eg gut health) with a vagus nerve dysfunction?
Stress and Vagal Tone
- Chronic or acute stress can affect vagal tone.
- How vagal tone affects HRV.
- Breath in vs breath out to discern parasympathetic tone.
- Improve with breathing exercises.
- Mindful practices we can do to help vagal tone:
- Gratitude, appreciation and memorable events
- These three things and the thoughts and feelings we get form them, and feel in the heart, can positively influence HRV / vagal tone
- When we work on vagal stimulation, we influence diaphragm, affect stomach function (e.g. hydrochloric acid function and improved digestion), etc.
- Gut transit time can be an indirect measure of vagal tone—the longer it is, the worse our vagal tone.
- Chicken or the egg?
- Look at it as a system dysfunction (breathing, gut, cardio) sends feedback to vagus nerve and can cause diminished vagal tone
- We can’t hum or gargle our way through the day and expect that to work magic if we have a poor diet, poor breathing and other dysfunctional issues taking place (poor breathing), etc…
- Vagus nerve releases acetylcholine (which lowers HR).
- Poor focus, poor concentration, reading comprehension, trouble following directions, neuromuscular fatigue—all signs of low acetylcholine.
- Overtraining/chronic cardio uses up a lot of acetylcholine.
- Acetylcholine is the main neurotransmitter of the vagus nerve. If low diminishing function of vagus nerve, but if vagus nerve is always overstimulated then you can use up acetylcholine levels.
- Acetylcholine is made from choline, which we get from diet, mostly animal-based foods (pasture raised egg yolks, grassfed meats); hard to get from vegan diets (nuts?).
- Choline can cross blood brain barrier.
- Higher protein/fat diet helps us get and maintain sufficient levels of choline for improved vagal nerve functioning.
- If acetylcholine levels low, can contribute to uncontrolled inflammation.
- Enteric nervous system tie in.
Inflammation
- Chronic uncontrolled inflammation, dependent on a healthy functioning vagus nerve
- That 15% coming back down helps put the brakes on the inflammatory storm (the brain needs to tell the body to calm down the inflammation response, strong vagal tone needed for this to occur)
- If we then are inputting excess stress whether diet, over-exercise, life stress, etc… things can spiral.
- What about exercise? how do we monitor the level of exercise we’re doing to make sure we’re in a sweet spot for healthy vagal tone:
- Does inflammatory response of exercise (repeatedly) hinder vagus nerve function? Or, can chronic inflammation block the vagus nerve from doing its job?
- No special formula here. If you’re training too hard you’ll influence everything we just discussed above; never in isolation. Eventually that 15% that the vagus nerve does to send info back down from the brain, begins to struggle.
Benefits and Examples of Vagal Tone Exercises
- Are more people starting to see and feel the beneficial effects of vagal tone work? Lots more talk about it these days.
- Stress reduction techniques for vagal tone—how effective are they?
- If you just need a little vagal stimulation small things will work, but many people are more globally suffering from other systems gone awry; e.g. overtraining, over-stressed, etc—gargling won’t solve that.
- But a sound training plan, with plenty of time and healthy techniques won’t diminish vagal tone or cause vagus nerve issues as much, so in this scenario using the vagal tone exercises may help a lot more.
- If vagus nerve is already not working well, gargling or humming alone won’t fix digestive problems or something bigger happening.
- However, these vagal tone exercises are a gentle way into easing someone into a better, healthier internal environment with improved vagal tone and health—start small and feel the difference.
- And we DO recommend these vagal tone exercises such as cadence breathing, humming, gargling, etc.
- Look at it the other way: maybe you can’t handle the stress because you aren’t breathing well.
- Tie in with HPA axis and symptoms of being overstressed… the point is, you can incorporate enough of these tools to help but also in many cases looking at things holistically is what will lead to real change and healing.
- Visual indicator of your vagus nerve: check your palate!
- Your left and right side of your palate should be equal.
- If it’s imbalanced this is a good indicator of potentially other issues within the body.
- The lower palate side is the diminished vagal side.
- Check before/after exercise, hard workouts or when doing your vagal tone exercises like gargling or humming.
- If it’s worse after a hard workout, this could be an indicator of that you pushed yourself a bit too hard.
- Vocal cords and less range in your voice correlates with poorer vagal tone.
- Monotone voice as a symptom
- Ties in with that 3-4% as discussed—techniques that focus on the throat area can help here
- Tie in with disordered eating and learning to relax with food and meals and not be in a sympathetic revved up state when eating.
Other Related Topics
- Intermittent fasting—is it really right for the so many people who are doing it these days?
- More often than not it worsens people’s health—hurts metabolism, hormones, stuck in a sympathetic fight or flight starvation mode…
- Who SHOULD intermittent fast, a profile:
- Healthy person who’s ready to adapt to a different/next level of metabolic efficiency/flexibility; must be in a state of health that can sustain and tolerate the bit of stress that IF introduces.
- Not someone who’s just skipping meals for other reasons (like being busy, getting nauseous from food), etc.
- IF is usually counterintuitive to vagus nerve health.
- Eating 3-4 hours or 5-6 hours? Different schools of thought:
- Traditionally adrenal fatigue recovery protocols often recommend eating every 3-4 hours but does this contribute to dysglycemia?
- Chronic hormonal war by eating too often.
- Ideally, be able to comfortably go 5-6 hours between feedings.
- Blood sugar, continuous glucose monitors (CGM), and technology driven devices.
- When they make sense; when they’re overboard
- Another measurement that can be great but how much do we need to be technology driven? (at the cost of learning to be more intuitive).
- And also sleep apps: What we get from these types of things can go both ways, i.e. it’s not always a good thing but sometimes it can be.
- How accurate is it all?
- How much technology do you want in your bedroom?
- Blood sugar monitors don’t show how much is getting into tissues, and there’s not really a way we can measure that.
- Blood glucometer gives us just another reading, take into context with the whole person.
- CGM will show the patterns but not how blood sugar is being utilized.
- Having hypoglycemic episodes at night and upon waking?
- Stop keto and IF if you are, which is causing a chronic stress problem
- Metformin—not all it’s cracked up to be
Take-Homes on Vagal Tone Exercises
- Breathing*
- Gargling*
- Humming*
- *These increases nitric oxide, decreases carbon dioxide sensitivity, increases oxygen, increases GABA to naturally calm down and naturally improves vagal tone
- Cold immersion with controlled breath
- Or cold water splash on the face if not one who should do cold water total body immersion
- The “dose” with vagal tone exercises, breathing exercises—to really improve health issue often you need to do A LOT of work here.
- Lots of little bits can go a long way toward change, consistently… because often the destress work is often severely lacking.
- Build off that…
Supplements?
- Choline – great adrenal nutrient, can help fatigue, of course diet focus first
- Pantethine (B5) – used to make ATP
- Can’t out-supplement a bad diet or overtraining
- However, more people needing supplements due to stress issues and so on…
The post
Sock Doc 18: Destress Now, Be Healthy Later — Guide To The Vagus Nerve and More On Mastering Your Stress And Boosting Health Outcomes first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Intro Banter
- Tawnee shares about how dancing has been therapeutic for her during this season of pregnancy, and also really helpful for her body from a movement perspective, opening up hips, etc.
Julie’s Rut 50k Race Reflections
- After a great summer, the air quality (AQI) was really bad the day of The Rut 50k, adding another difficult element to outdoor endurance events.
- The day before–Julie was supporting her partner in her race the day before her own and the toll that took on Julie, as she shares, but why she wouldn’t change a thing.
- Motivation: On not being excited when she signed up for this race back in January. Her motivation was to learn from past mistakes and improve on her execution and results… but she learned that was not meaningful enough to keep her excited all year for the training.
- Even so, she stuck with it and had a really strong race, ran faster, climbed the rankings and had an overall much better experience (fitness-wise etc) than last year.
- In particular she was very strong in the second half of the race, which was new for her. This had her questioning whether she went hard enough and if she left anything out there? Perhaps this is just a sign maturing as an athlete and not going out there to just wreck herself.
- The biggest post-race struggle for Julie was not soreness or fatigue, but a mental hangup: She was more proud of herself last year than this year. We dissect that.
- On nasal breathing while racing and the benefits.
- Drinking coke and healing the disordered eating mindset: This year she was much less stressed about the food/drinks she was wiling to have on course, in particular being more open to coke and drinking it this year whereas last year she wouldn’t even allow herself to drink it.
Holistic Winter Prep
Light Therapy and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Different types of light can influence immune function, inflammatory response (can benefit), mood/depression and circadian rhythm. In winter, those up north especially but in general we lose a lot of natural light exposure and this affects us to varying degrees.
- Different wavelengths have different benefits.
- Sunlight exposure = helps serotonin production.
- More traditional SAD light boxes have blue light and/or full-spectrum light… but what about red light over white light in winter?
- SAD lamps can provide that extra light we lack in winter, but they are a big dose of blue light so running these all day may not be the best for your circadian rhythm, especially running them in evening.
- Meanwhile, white light from some light boxes is the full spectrum and may just be too much/overstimulate the eyes, is this actually unnecessary or even harmful?
- Maybe use SAD lamps more strategically like in AM to mimic early morning sun? but not all the time nor later in the day.
- Research showing us that red lights still provide the same kind of needed natural light w/o blue light issues.
- Red light = wavelengths that you would get from the sun, but without UV rays, and can help with things like SAD:
- More on SAD lamps vs red lamps, a comparison.
- Red light benefits beyond SAD
- Increase cellular energy: Mitochondrial health; when mito exposed to red led increased ATP – great for athletes!
- Healing
- Skin health (collagen, beauty, etc)
- Arthritis and other health conditions
- Helps eye health
- Gut health/microbiome restoration??
- Red Light Dosage?
- Doesn’t take much! Once a day, 3-5 days a week, or daily, for up to 20 min. That’s it and what the bulk of research indicates at this point.
- However, probably no negative effects if you did more. (Any day outside at the beach gives a much higher dose of full spectrum light (joules)).
- Can also work your way up; start with 5-10min and build.
- What about a combo of both lamps—both a SAD light box and red lamp??
- Start with the bright light early on in the morning/day then switch to a red light in the later hours as to not negatively affect circadian rhythm.
- Cortisol awakening response – getting bright light/sunlight first thing in the morning to help circadian rhythm, aids in adrenal fatigue recovery.
- Tawnee and Julie’s (limited) experience with red light therapy.
- Sauna can help with detox, retraining muscle mass in downtime—combine with red light?
- Study: Transcranial Photobiomodulation for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. The ELATED-2 Pilot Trial
- Photobiomodulation (PBM), a natural, non-invasive therapy that delivers beneficial wavelengths of light to your skin and cells.
- Transcranial photobiomodulation (t-PBM) consists of delivering near infrared radiation (NIR)—or red light—to the scalp of the patient, which penetrates the skull and modulates function of the adjacent cortical areas of the brain. PBM with red light and/or NIR appears to increase brain metabolism (by activating the cytochrome C oxidase in the mitochondria), to increase neuroplasticity, and to modulate endogenous opioids, while decreasing inflammation and oxidative stress.20–26 t-PBM penetrates deeply into the cerebral cortex,27–29 modulates cortical excitability,30,31 and improves cerebral perfusion32–34 and oxygenation.35 Studies have suggested that it can significantly improve cognition in healthy subjects,36–38 and in subjects with traumatic brain injury (TBI).
- What they did:
- Small sample size: 21 total in control and experimental groups, but several were lost along the way.
- 8 week intervention, 16 sessions, between 20-30 min each session (increased as study went on), applied lights to heads (lights literally wrapped around their head)
- The device used for this study emitted NIR at a wavelength of 823 nm
- The exposure time was designed to allow a fluence of 60 Joule per cm, despite relatively low power density (irradiance) of 33.2 milliwatt per cm.
- Lights exhibited anti-depressant properties in those with major depression; fairly well tolerated with none of the adverse events causing study discontinuation
- The beneficial effect of t-PBM (NIR) on brain metabolism is the primary putative mechanism for its antidepressant effect.
- Takeaway:
- There’s never just one thing that is going to change and fix all your problems, but red light therapy use is promising for many applications
- Next level: Vitamin D Lamps
- Another winter option for those who may benefit–these do have UVB rays not naturally generate vitamin D in the body, but may be overkill for most–are we actually depleting that much Vitamin D over the winter?
- Most of us probably don’t need a Vitamin D lamp, but there are situations when it may make sense for someone.
- Tawnee did a self-experiment on her own D levels last winter: measured in October and then again in March and D levels remained stable with some supplementation and no D from the sun for a long duration.
Hydration in Winter
- Thirst mechanism changes in winter.
- Lose water through respiration when outdoors.
- Baseline of hydration (before accounting for exercise): Drink 1/2 your bodyweight in ounces per day.
- Might not be drenched in sweat but you still need water and electrolytes! We lose water through respiration, urination and sweating. The dry, cold air causes our body’s fluids to evaporate faster.
- Indicators you are not getting enough water: dry skin, dry or chapped lips, dark urine, constipation, feeling faint or tired, low blood pressure, and decreased appetite.
- “As the temperature drops, we lose more water and heat through our lungs to humidify and heat the air we breathe. Specifically, depending upon the humidity, at 0˚C (32˚F), we can lose anywhere from 20-30% more water through our lungs compared to 20˚C (68˚F), and from 40-50% more water compared to when the temperature is at 30˚C (86˚F).” – Skratch Labs Article
- Lots of great electrolyte options on the market these days or make your own:
- Around 1/8th tsp salt* with 1 tsp maple syrup** in 16-20 ounces of water.
- (Equates to ~250mg sodium, ~5g carb and some potassium).
- *Himalayan pink salt, Celtic Sea Salt
- **Maple is lower fructose; can use honey if no fructose issues
- Can even throw in some coconut water.
- Supplement with magnesium at night as needed.
- If you’re not keeping up with your hydration in winter, try setting a timer to remind you when training or working out.
Protein Needs in Winter
- First off, it depends on what kind of winter/offseason you’re planning.
- Will you still be training for an early-season race in 2023? Are you focusing on a strength training program as you pause the endurance and looking to build lean muscle mass and/or lose fat? Or are you planning a full-blown offseason with minimal everything/maintenance?
- Even if you are planning a “sedentary” winter that doesn’t mean to follow RDA bare minimums for protein, as this is not necessarily what is optimal for health and athletes.
- Muscle protein balance
- The body requires 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight per day.
- Athletes, older people up to about 1.6 grams per kilogram bodyweight daily.
- Meanwhile the RDA is only about 0.8 g/kg/bw.
- RDA may prevent deficiency but it is not geared toward optimization.
- ISSN position stand: ”For building muscle mass and for maintaining muscle mass through a positive muscle protein balance, an overall daily protein intake in the range of 1.4-2.0 g protein/kg body weight/day (g/kg/d) is sufficient for most exercising individuals;” or about 20-40g per meal.
- Tracking?
- Our big “beef” with these guidelines/ranges is our disdain for food logging and/or measuring food. So how do we find a happy medium to ensure you’re getting enough protein without it being mentally detrimental?
- Food logging for 1-3 days may work some people, when they’re at a place of being more objective about it with a mindset of nourishing one’s self as needed (not seeing it as a means to restrict or cut)
- If you can food log for purely educational purposes and not be emotionally and subjectively wrapped up in the numbers that could work.
- Food photos can work when you’re working with a nutritionist or coach. It’s not “hard data” but gives a really good idea when you need the feedback.
- But there are times when someone is looking to heal, e.g. break up with their food log, and should not even be measuring protein in winter, for example… maybe it’s best to focus on the process of letting go of the food log, then down the line you can fine tune things like protein intake.
- LEUCINE & Essential Amino acids
- BCAAs as a whole may be a bit pointless, the more we learn, but not leucine, which is shown in research to be effective and “acute protein doses should strive to contain 700-3,000 mg of leucine and/or a higher relative leucine content while training;” or 2-4 g in offseason/general diet.
- However, Leucine likely won’t help preserve your muscle if inactive…
- Overall maintain balanced EAAs and you’re likely to be getting enough so you don’t need to measure these things.
- Add Vitamin D?
- Not only a lack in winter from lack of sun exposure, but D may help aid in MPS. Get levels checked to decide proper dosage needs. Thorne D3/K2 or Biotics Research D3 or D3/K2.
“Vitamin D inadequacy or deficiency is associated with muscle fibre atrophy, increased risk of chronic musculoskeletal pain, sarcopenia and associated falls, and may also decrease RMR.”
- Add omega-3?
- Lastly, protein is so grounding and therefore benefits mental health in winter… little things like sipping bone broth this time of year is a great option.
- This winter check out Fullscript to help your supplement needs (and receive an exclusive discount when you sign up through EP):
- Nordic Naturals
- Thorne Vitamin D3/K2 drops
- PerfectAmino
- Electrolytes
The post
HPN 34: Holistic Winter Prep — Light Therapy, Protein Goals, Hydration Needs and More, Plus: Julie’s Rut 50k Race Reflections first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
On this episode of Ask the Coaches with Lucho:
Nathan asks:
Overcoming Overtraining – Steps To Get Back To It
Hi Endurance Planet team,
Long-time listener but my first question. I have a question about getting over overtraining and how best to learn about this. I am recently coming off of a trail running cycle that I knew was time limited (training for a peak race in September really started in earnest in July because I was traveling all of June).
After my tune up races in July / early August I had classic overtraining symptoms (wired and tired at night, generally on edge, workouts always feeling okay but not great), and tried to reset it by taking a few days off cardio and moving my easy runs towards zone 1 rather than zone 2.
My last race was the Pike’s Peak Ascent a couple days ago, and I could tell I didn’t really have good legs. I had spend almost two weeks at altitude to “adjust” and “taper”, but I feel like that may have backfired given my recovery. I also had COVID in late August so it was a bit of a mess.
The questions I was wondering about are:
1. What do you recommend for resetting overtraining mid training cycle? How do you know when you’re past it?
2. How does this compare to recovering when you don’t have a race coming soon?
What the coaches say:
- Check out ATC 345 with an in-depth convo on overtraining syndrome (OTS) and looking at current research.
- Very subjective, is it really overtraining syndrome (OTS)? Or just overreaching? (Plus with covid recovery combined…)
- how long had this been building? If it was just a month or so might just be a period of overreaching and taking it too far with too much stress.
- True OTS can take months to years to recover from.
- Also, true OTS is actually hard to achieve–innate safety mechanism that can be protective.
- There are also usually other symptoms associated; e.g. he got COVID and maybe that was the sign to put on the brakes before it went too far.
- Either way you can treat it as OTS, and what works for recovery?
- Sleep! Focus on sleep hygiene.
- Integrate more rest. Yes, from training but also resting more from life in general.
- Stress management.
- Eat more. Eat smart.
- Avoid low carb–this can cause a surge or excess stress; meanwhile avoid junk food and excess carbs… finding a sweet spot e.g 100-200g/cho day?
- No diets.
- Nourish don’t deplete.
- Monitor HR data
- If you see resting HR 5-10 bpm higher than normal is a negative sign.
- Measure HRV regularly.
- Track training HR–it could be abnormally his or low, can go either way.
- If hormonal disruption suspected and in true OTS it likely will be, get testing e.g. DUTCH to check cortisol/adrenals and Sex hormones; implement healing protocol as needed from there.
- A good go-to while recovering from OTS/overreaching is sub MAF/MAF.
- Use 180 Formula; subtract beats while still recovering.
- Monitor progress via MAF tests and just generally how you’re feeling pre/during/post workout–it all matters as far as how you’re bouncing back!
- But it doesn’t just have to be about an improvement in MAF pace–if you start feeling better than you did before that’s an improvement.
- Consider limiting volume e.g. nothing over 1hr (this could be more important than limiting intensity–it depends).
- On intensity–don’t do too much, let it come intuitively (not forced) and strict rest day/off day after any slightly more intense workout.
- Training approach: maintenance, not building.
- Don’t convince yourself you feel better than you do; to improve, back off.
- Consider your reliance on coffee… try going without!
- Practice parasympathetic activity to balance nervous system (avoiding sympathetic overdrive).
- Cultivate intuitive approach… lots of lessons learned, adjust to them!
C. asks:
Carbon-plated shoes for a marathon?
I am planning on running the London Marathon this October and just bought a pair of carbon-plated shoes (Nike Vaporfly) to try out. I know the conventional thinking is to not do anything you don’t do during training. The question I have is given the limited shelf live of these shoes, what is the latest thinking of how much you should run in them before race day so you maintain the benefit of the shoes, while not subjecting yourself to a disaster for not having run in them enough before race day?
Thanks to both of you – I have been listening to your show for several years and really like you guys – great for long runs! Looking forward to hearing any wisdom you have on carbon-plated shoes.
What the coaches say:
- Carbon plate is non-factor, it’s there to provide stability.
- With super shoes, it’s all about the resiliency and nature of the foam itself, e.g. Nike Vaporfly and Alphafly.
- The heavier you are, the faster you will wear through them.
- Someone light could theoretically get 600+ miles out of them.
- Lucho says he can feel that foam give out after about 400 miles or so.
- Nike would likely say 300 miles per pair of Vaporfly; whereas Alphaflys are more like 100 miles.
- Foot plant: propulsive force.
- Do a couple 20 mile runs in them before you wear them in your race, that should be enough.
- Notice how your body reacts–they can be a stress on calves, quads, knees (cramping?).
- Worth every penny, Lucho says.
Gary asks:
Shifting Gears
I am 45 and wanting to transition away from “chronic cardio” aka LSD endurance training for Ironman distances and ultras, and get more into speed/power/strength work. Also, right now I want to put aside the swim/run and focus on strength training/bike (then eventually bring back swim/run).
My question is, for an average weekly training schedule with these goals in mind, what is the right amount of strength training + hard bike workouts + rest days? I plan to take 1-3 full rest days per week, which is more than I’m used to doing when training for long races. I’m thinking 3-4x a week strength training and 3-4x a week bike workouts…. but how do I fit this all in and still get the full rest days? Do I stack workouts for double days? Or are all those full rest days even necessary on a regular basis? I’m trying to mimic strength programs that give muscle groups a full day or two to recover between sessions…
My long-term goals include getting into more intense bike races from Zwift to cyclocross, and maybe eventually some short-course multisport races, like 5ks or sprint tris, but right now I want to focus on the bike stuff and packing on more muscle, a lot of which I felt I lost in years of chronic cardio. Thanks for any guidance!
What the coaches say:
- Periodize a plan to begin with a strength phase 12 up to 20(?) weeks while keeping the bike “light” then transition to strength maintenance while ramping up the bike training.
- Don’t launch into heavy strength and hard biking right away. Especially don’t stack hard workouts on the same day in the beginning (eventually may be ok).
- Rest day = growth day.
- Take your rest days seriously even if it feels like “nothing” it’s something.
- Hormonal system, nervous system, immune function all benefit.
- Still eat to gain on rest days–with the right metabolic health/profile this will only benefit (significant fat loss may require special circumstances with diet work, otherwise don’t cut calories or macros).
- Reserve two full rest days per week, so that means double days with bike.
- Do the priority workout first, so in the first phase that means strength train first and wait at least 3 hours (preferably more) before doing a bike.
- Type of strength–specificity for sport, not necessarily a bodybuilder program that lacks functionality.
- Crossfit program?
- Check out cycling-specific strength programs.
- If you need to make mass gains, that’s fine but ultimately, make sure there’s an athletic component to your strength program–transference.
- Start with basics, like single-leg exercises and see how you hold up.
- 3-4 days a week of strength training is enough.
- Example weekly schedule:
- Mon: off
- Tue: bike/strength
- Wed: bike (or rest)
- Thu: strength – go hard
- Fri: off
- Sat: strength – go hard
- Sun: bike/strength
- Redfine intensity and speed/power/strength–as a long-course guy this is different than short-course/sprint kinda guy.
- Too much fatigue is your energy with these kinds of goals.
- Eat a bunch, even on rest days.
- Exceptions would be if fat loss is a goal, in such case work with a professional.
- Protein: 1.5-2.0g/kg/bw PRO a day up to 3g/day.
- Nothing “low.”
The post
ATC 345: Is It Overtraining? Steps To Recovering From Overdoing It, Strength Build After ‘Chronic Cardio,’ Carbon-Plated Shoes for Marathons and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
On this episode we welcome Greg Wingo, race director of the Great Alabama 650, the longest annual paddle race in the world. This year’s event takes place Oct 1-11, 2022. This epic endurance event takes participants 650 miles down the Alabama Scenic River Trail, the longest river trail in a single state. In this episode we dive into the details of this paddle race, and much more. See below for links to live tracking and social media accounts to view more and follow along this October:

Greg Wingo, race director of the Great Alabama 650, and ultrarunner
What we cover:
- The basics of the event:
- Participants have 10 days to complete 650 miles down the Alabama Scenic River Trail Route. Fastest completed is in ~4 days.
- Mainly canoes, kayaks… does anyone actually do this on a SUP!?
- Greg’s ultra background.
- The history of this race and how it came to be.
- About the participants in this race—their experience, their abilities/what times are they doing (eg 100+ mile days), etc…
- Qualification criteria.
- What the full course is like, the race experience, and why it can get so intense (and also epically fun).
- A small race with epic race crew support and more.
- The dynamics of the river and how the scenery and vibe change so dramatically over the 650 miles.
- Finish line location is at the beach, Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay.
- Alligators? Water Moccasins? And other “obstacles.”
The post
Greg Wingo and The Great Alabama 650 — The World’s Longest Paddle Race first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands of choice of top-level supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
On this episode of Ask the Coaches with Lucho:
Questions:
Planning Your 2023 Season
What variables and factors should one consider in their training/fitness journey to decide on the # of races to do in any given calendar year? Or as your athlete asked, with triathlon being a lifestyle and training going on basically everyday, how much racing can benefit and enhance fitness v. detracting from overall goals.
What the coaches say:
- Things to consider in race planning:
- Race distance matters
- e.g. Doing Ironman Kona or something big/epic/championship? No more than 2-3 IMs a year, one in early summer + later season A race. This is for when you’re focused on a high-end pointy performance at end of the year.
- On the other hand, just having fun? Can race more…. but you always run the risk of racing too much.
- Cost of race
- Know: what’s your budget? Can you afford it? Family considerations, etc.
- Proximity of race to where you live
- Expectations
- Think you can race 10 times and win/perform perfectly? Chances are that’s a no.
- Have realistic expectations especially when you race more often.
- A, B, C priority races come into play here. Can’t race them all in top condition.
- The more often you race, the more often you race tired
- Every race requires some degree or rest/taper going in and some rest/recovery coming out, which can detract from training consistency for other, bigger key events.
- Racing twice a month? Not for everyone.
- What about athletes like in ITU? They are full-time athletes, fully funded. And even they have “off” days.
Jamie asks:
Marathon Key Long Runs
Lucho has said multiple times he loves it when an athlete can get to 20 x 20 mile long runs before a key race, which is incredible and a lofty goal to consider. On the other hand, what are some of your guys’ top long run workouts you’d like an athlete to check the box on in a training cycle for a marathon… and/or I’d love to hear a discussion on some of the key runs that some of the best coaches have proven successful for athletes (Daniels, Lydiard, Pfizer, MAF, etc).
Additionally, how do you know you’re ready to add various types of speed, pace work, tempo, etc to your long run vs. just sticking to LSD/get the miles in aerobically?
What the coaches say:
- Clarifying the 20×20 concept by Lucho. It’s definitely not for everyone (e.g. most athletes), it’s an outlier, and more arbitrary and not something he gives out often. Physically it’s not necessary. No magic to it.
- If you do do it, start it ~40 weeks out at least.
- 3 hours is enough for one’s long run for marathon training, regardless or miles or pace. (Unless you’re super durable.)
- Something to watch out for is a lot of information being presented online, in books, etc, is formatted toward more elite athletes who can cover many miles in 2 hours.
- Consider: how many miles a week are you running (weekly volume) and how often are you running (frequency)?
- Daniels says: Limit L run to 30% of weekly mileage for runners totaling <40 mph, for more than 40 mph L runs the less of 25% weekly mileage or 150 minutes, whichever comes first.
- Keep in mind this is for the general public not a custom plan taking into individuality.
- Some variables to consider when debating a “30% rule” type approach.
- Most of us simply need to focus on long run efficiency at a steady pace/effort without major fluctuations in heart rate–start there! Be capable of this to where it doesn’t wreck you… then graduate to more.
- At some point, tempo and hills can be mixed in (Lydiard was a big fan of hilly long runs that organically adds some intensity).
- HR control! Can you add intensity in the middle miles of a long run, but then finish easy with HR back at Z2/MAF?
- Prescribing long runs at pace per mile vs heart rate.
- Flat: pace is ok
- Hillier: focus more on HR/effort
- Pfitzinger says marathon pace (MP) is 79-88% Max HR
- Some beef we have: A lot of run efforts are prescribed by % of VO2max and % of Max HR, but how accurate, really, are your data points for VO2max and HR max?? We are skeptical of the accuracy of all this.
- Working with a coach allows you to more organically figure out heart rate ranges that fit you as an individual, just by building the data.
- Or something like the V-Dot calculator helps you better to find correct paces (however if you’re a strong 5k runner but weak marathoner this presents an issue with using V-Dot).
- Example of a Daniels long run with intensity: 13-14mi MP in a 20mi long run, or alternating M pace with T pace.
- e.g. 4E + 8M +1T+ 6M +1T + 1E — for athletes that can’t do that in under 2.5hr best to modify.
- ***Give the athlete an out*** e.g. offer a 1-2min easy recovery in between harder efforts in a long run.
- Minimal effective dose is good enough.
- Canova says: within 3% of goal pace was specific enough, or anything within 15 seconds. Point is, you don’t have to be on point with an exact pace. You’re still driving the physiological adaptation.
- Canova workouts that are gnarly:
- Warmup, 3mi MP, rest, 5 x 1min Vo2 on 1min easy, rest, 6mi MP, rest, 6mi MP…. VERY DIFFICULT!
- Double run as: 1st run- 6mi E, 6mi MP…. 2nd run- 6mi E, 6mi MP
- Lydiard was more about steady tempo rather than weaving in things like fartlek… steady state: build & hold it.
- If you’re pushing yourself really hard in a long run it may not be necessary so consider stopping that. You can really hurt yourself and cross past the point of diminishing returns.
- Don’t do too much or drain the tank too close to your goal race.
- Make sure you have time to recover if you dig yourself too deep… don’t wait till the race is super close.
- Have your longest run ~6-8 weeks out; biggest volume week 9-12 weeks out. This allows more time to recover and adapt, or deal with any issues/niggles that come up.
- The last 8 weeks should be reduced volume with increased rest and intensity. (Canova)
- E.g. 2 days after hard run are short and easy.
- Daniels breaks a marathon plan down into 6 week blocks that are periodization. Look at the type of intensity he recommends in each block–that’s the periodization you want to follow even if you modify it to your needs; make your own workouts.
- E.g. see what block he includes repetition workouts and apply them in that time range, not elsewhere.
- Maffetone says marathon pace is 10-15 seconds faster than your current MAF test pace. He doesn’t include a lot of outlined periodization in his plans, he leaves that to you and mostly making sure your HR can handle your goals.
- It’s ok to blend programs (e.g. Daniels and MAF).
- Type 3 neuro-type responds well to MAF training.
- Type 1 or 2, do Daniels with R runs early on.
The post
ATC 344: Dissecting Key Long Run Workouts For Marathon Training, HR vs. Pace For Training Runs, Tips On Planning Your 2023 Race Season, and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win. Thorne products are shipped around the world and they ensure quality control year-round.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps. Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is with Thorne—also over on our Shop page—and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
On this episode we welcome Lindsay Tuttle. Lindsay is a mom to three boys, family nurse practitioner, homesteader, and holistic living advocate residing in northern Idaho. She spent many years of her life as an avid runner and battled a decades-long eating disorder, as well as other health ailments which she candidly shares on this episode. But she went on to heal and redefine her approach to life–her self-healing journey is truly an inspiration! In this episode we discuss her need to run followed by a need to step away from it, how she overcame her ED, illnesses from Lyme and mold, finding a new pace of life, limbic system retaining, motherhood, postpartum health and so much more.
You can find out more about Lindsey, her business, what she offers as well as her life and wellness blog at www.lindsaytuttlenp.com. Lindsay also runs a business with Young Living in which she combined her medical background, holistic living and more to help her clients. She is also very active on social media: check out her page, @lindseytuttlenp, on IG and give her a follow for holistic living tips, health resources and so much more.
On this show:
- Developing an easting disorder at the tender age of 9.
- In and out of hospitals for an ED.
- Introduction to running in college and what that did for her mental health.
- Control issues with exercise–in addition to running and racing, lots of cardio and an obsession with the gym, food and body image.
- Amenorrhea and birth control.
- Getting married and getting off the pill.
- Regaining a period.
- Vitex i.e. chaste tree berry for hormonal support (available on fullscript for an exclusive discount).
- Conditioning from our western culture around menstruation, etc.
- Nursing school and pushing herself to extremes in school, exercise, etc.
- TDAP shot and an adverse reaction.
- Pain, insomnia, lost period again, immune health severely compromised.
- Mold exposure and illness, as well as Lyme disease.
- Likely correlated with vaccine reaction; Lyme reactivated? Hard to say for sure.
- A miracle: getting pregnant for the first time amidst a tough time in her health journey.
- Postpartum: back to a “toxic lifestyle” until ultimately changing her ways and approach to life and wellness…
- On developing healthier habits.
- A second and third pregnancy and a healthy, slower, more nourishing approach to life.
- Limbic system retraining as an essential tool to Lindsay’s healing journey.
- Pregnancy and postpartum tips.
- And more!
The post
Lindsay Tuttle, NP: Redefining Wellness — From Eating Disorder And Declining Health To Thriving, Entrepreneurial Mama first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get an exclusive discount off thousands off your supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for an exclusive discount off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
On this episode of Ask The Coaches with Lucho and Tawnee:
Intro:
- Endurance Planet is making a return to Ragnar SoCal in April 2023!!! Our first team is full and a second ultra team has one spot open but we are happy to convert that to second regular 12 person team if there is interest. If you’re interested in joining the Endurance Planet Ragnar Team, and hanging out with Lucho, Tawnee, Julie and the rest of the crew you can email us at admin@enduranceplanet.com.
Denay asks:
Embracing a Swimming Mindset (as a once non-swimmer)
Help with a swimming mindset….most specifically when a triathlete has no significant adolescent swim background. Swimming is hard and progress can be slow or non-linear or perhaps even out of focus for the athlete. Some ideas on how to put your current progress into perspective to keep showing up to the pool with a smile 
What the Coaches say:
- Pay attention to your thoughts, don’t just blindly “follow” and allow them. You are not your thoughts.
- Self-talk: There’s often a lot of negative surrounding the pool and swimming, observe this, are you feeding yourself the negativity?
- Consider how you’re dealing with anxiety and how you process that.
- If feeling anxious often this shows a fixed mindset, e.g. putting too much pressure on yourself to perform and losing sight of development, growth and evolution. Don’t fight against yourself or try to “defend” your image (e.g. silly words we feed ourselves that don’t serve us such as “I do triathlon therefore I need to be a good swimmer or I’m a fraud.”)
- Know your “why” and stay true to your goals; if you set a big goal that’s currently out of reach that’s fine but don’t get frustrated if the timeline isn’t as speedy as you wish.
- Realistic expectations–most of us aren’t elite swimmers and don’t train as such.
- Swimming is a great skill and even if you’re not super fast it’s a great thing to work on and to be able to revisit with ease, reflect on fondly in the triathlon journey.
- Act like a swimmer–don’t talk down in yourself and lack of experience.
- Appreciate your work toward being a well-rounded athlete and not just choosing to o single sport /focus on your strength.
- It’s ok that you’re not a natural or have adolescent experience—focus on your work ethic now and a growth mindset.
- Avoid a fixed mindset e.g. “I didn’t swim when I was young so I’ll never be as good” / don’t view your talent (at any level) as static—this hold true for very talented athletes too who are so focused on performing that they lose sight in continual development.
- You’re not constantly being evaluated by everyone and if you’re doing that to yourself every time you swim then learn to observe those thoughts, let them go and begin a new narrative “what went well today, I had fun, water felt great, I feel energized).
- It’s cliche to say, but struggle builds character.
- Feeling defeated only builds negative self-talk, poor self-image and hinders progress.
- Success isn’t just winning or being “great” at something, it’s learning, improving and getting the best from yourself.
- More is not always better. If you push too hard you may not see improvement. Learning more about you as an individual and what makes you thrive is a really special journey. Challenges of sports and balancing/managing it all are so healthy for the growth mindset… whereas getting greedy and just trying to do more relentlessly and in frustration won’t get you far in the long run.
- Also, don’t forget: nobody cares. Sure those who perform well are often praised but really it’s about who you are not your stats. So just enjoy the process and the journey.
Brian asks:
Mindset Cues When Returning to Ironman After a Difficult Injury
After a lengthy (years) and complicated injury, what would be some mindset cues to help an athlete get back into tri consistently and safely in a way that lends to positive progress. 15 years in IM 140.6 events and interested in getting back to competing at that distance….reasonable expectations and approaches? (…. I think this can also tie in to a tangent of being mindful/patient about giving yourself the appropriate-to-you timeline for a big race like IM and not rushing it.)
What the Coaches say:
- Practice patience.
- Take your time to build back, good aerobic endurance takes 3-5 years depending on who you talk to and how far removed you are from it.
- Don’t force a timeline to be ready for a race. Respect your individual timeline and don’t let others influence what you need.
- Too often we give into a “no pain no gain” to our own detriment.
- Longevity perspective.
- Train lower frequency, e.g. just 4 days a week with 3 days off.
- Avoid setbacks.
- Motivation, while great, could be a risk factor that leads you to do too much too soon, be cautious!
- Pay attention to how you’re moving. Monitor movement patterns not only in training but in daily living, especially having suffered an injury–make sure you’re moving your body well, e.g. good posture, healthy hips and spine, not sitting too much, or any quarks unique to your body.
D asks:
Why You Don’t Have To Feel Good To Run Well…
Help on a solid running mindset….specifically, that you don’t need to feel good to run pretty good. I use that nugget so often (again today), it’s one of my favorite mindset cues for hard workouts.
What the Coaches say:
- How terrible do you feel? There’s a difference between feeling like crap on a day when you just need to rest vs. feeling good to go for a workout but then feeling that “pain” that comes with a good, hard run–and embracing that!
- Look at metrics: abnormal HR (high or low), excessive fatigue (eg hurts just to walk down stairs), etc. These are signs to take the day off or go easy.
- Not feeling good can be a good thing! That’s how we get better!
- You have to break your body down to then rebuild and build greater fitness.
- It’s also great practice for what happens in racing: most of us feel terrible at some point in our races. Learn how to embrace this and get used to being uncomfortable.
- Type of run matters. Tempo, speed sessions, MAF, long runs, etc.
The post
ATC 343: Mindset Cues — Embracing The Swim, Returning After Injury, Hard Running and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Thorne Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win.
Whether you’re looking to heal from issues like gut dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances like low sex hormones or imbalanced stress hormones, or just looking to improve performance, maintain a strong immune system and get that extra edge, Thorne has so many formulas to fit you needs or bundles to cover even more bases. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. If you’re curious on what supplements might be a good fit for you, just ask us! Send us an email to questions at endurance planet dot com telling us about yrouself and where you think you might need to fill in some gaps.
Thorne now even offers health testing such as a convenient budget-friendly gut health tests!
So starting shopping with the best there is, you can find Thorne over on our Shop page, and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
On this episode:
Intro
Hormonal balance Julie’s seeing while up’ing her training for endurance (50k trail race)
- Cycle length more normal.
- Cramps have been less severe and mood more balanced.
- Revised supplement protocol:
- Thorne B6 complex 1x/day
- B6 is important for neurotransmitter regulation, and that’s a big gut thing
- Could also consider Thorne’s “regular” B complex with added P5P for a more bioavailable form of B6.
- Magnesium Bisglycinate 1x/day
- Omegas with COQ10 2x/day
- Chaste Tree Berry 1x day
- Shatavari 1x day
- Diet: even more flexibility and allowances
Study Discussions
Beetroot juice: a well-known performance enhancer BUT does it help the recovery process (after marathons)? And how does this compare with tart cherry juice?
- Research articles mentioned:
CHO periodization: can you make performance gains by restricting carbs for certain training sessions only (vs chronic low carb)?
- Research articles mentioned:
The post
HPN 33: Beetroot vs. Tart Cherry Juice For Recovery, Latest Research on Carb Periodization (And Is It Worth It To ‘Go Low’ Sometimes?), Plus More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
Athletes from all types of sports and levels are using UCAN these days, with top-level and pro triathletes, runners and even Crossfit athletes are using UCAN to fuel their best performances. But, UCAN is also a fantastic product for non-athletes and/or outside of training too.
Many UCAN products are offered in both plant-based and whey protein options, all with SuperStarch, including plant-based bar flavors cherry berry almond, salted peanut butter and chocolate almond butter, as well as a variety of energy + protein powders—great for those of you athletes looking to gain or maintain strength.
Best of all: EP fans get 15% off everything UCAN offers, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Fullscript is an online supplement dispensary with professional, high quality top-brand supplements from a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get 10% off thousands off your supplements.
Fullscript even carries PerfectAmino essential amino acids by BodyHealth—including the tablet form and powder form. Some other good finds on Fullscript include Vital Protein Collagen Peptides, Thorne products, Nordic Naturals fish oils, and other great, trusted brands such as Pure Encapsulations and Designs For Health. Fullscript has you covered on every aspect of health and wellness. Head over to Fullscript now by clicking the link, and get set up with your own personal account for 10% off your supplements. When you buy supplements from a trusted source you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
On this episode of Ask The Coaches with Lucho and Tawnee:
Intro:
- Endurance Planet is making a return to Ragnar SoCal in April 2023!!! Our team is nearly full and we’re open to building a second a team (maybe an ultra team). If you’re interested in joining the Endurance Planet Ragnar Team, and hanging out with Lucho, Tawnee and the rest of the crew you can email us at admin@enduranceplanet.com.
- Update on Lucho’s burnout post-Ironman and how he’s doing a couple months after IM St. George.
- On coaching youth: the importance of instilling knowledge on the fundamental concept of perceived exertion (RPE), and correlated data (HR, etc) and more.
Swim Erg (Vasa) Training:
Real-life Results in Racing?
A little anecdotal evidence on a couple of Tawnee’s athletes who almost exclusively used the vasa swim erg trainer for swim training for an ironman-distance race (2.4-mile swim). They started swimming in a pool once a week several months prior to the race, otherwise exclusively used the erg for more than a year. Their swim times were 1:20 & 1:14. We discussed swim erg training in detail on ATC 337, so this is a fun piece of evidence to add in favor of erg training (and stretch cords as Lucho swears by!).
Taylor asks:
Knee Pain During Slower MAF Runs?
Hey all, thanks for being such a great resource. Just started the MAF method to help train for my first 70.3 four months from now. Committed to being patient with it, even at 12+ minute miles. But I am finding that running that slow causes discomfort in my knees after my run is over. It feels like I’m just trudging along and there is more pressure on my knees and quads while running. Thoughts on how to reduce this discomfort? Or will this go away as I build aerobic base and can run at a faster pace again?
What the coaches say:
- Possible that the knee pain is actually stemming from a poor bike fit.
- If seat too low, you’ll feel pain under the patella in the front of the knee.
- If seat is too high, you’ll feel pain/add stress on the backside of the knee.
- Get a proper, professional bike fit!! Worth it!!
- Make sure it’s not runner’s knee / excessive quad dominance.
- One way to help quad/anterior dominance would be more posterior-focused strength training e.g. deadlifts.
- Cadence during MAF runs matters, it shouldn’t be too slow. Still needs to be 85+. Anything under 80 is trending low.
- Shorten stride length a bit to help this.
- Allow heart rate (HR) flexibility!
- You don’t need to stick to just strict MAF HR running to help pace to quicken and run more efficiently, up to 5-10bpm over your true MAF HR can be ok!
- A slightly higher but still aerobic (e.g. 5-10 bpm over MAF) often allows more “natural running” in your MAF runs when you’re starting out with this method and MAF pace is relatively slow. The slightly higher HR is still aerobic and usually without detrimental effects, allowing you to find more of a sweet spot of form efficiency and still progress your MAF training and pace.
- Incorporate intervals of “natural running” or a heart rate of 5-10bpm over that last 1/2 mile to 1 mile.
- Don’t wear worn out, old shoes! Especially if they are maximalist shoes, as they could contribute to an unnatural foot plant.
Study Discussion:
Diagnosis of Overtraining Syndrome (and recovering from OTS)
“In the present study, innovative tools were proposed for the diagnosis and prevention of OTS that yielded 100% accuracy in distinguishing overtraining syndrome from healthy states. This was done without the need to include the presence of decreased performance or exclude confounding disorders in this sample of athletes. These diagnostic approaches should be reproduced and validated as optional assessment tools for the diagnosis of OTS. Although OTS is highly heterogeneous, a combination of markers rather than a single marker appears to be more appropriate for the diagnosis of OTS, regardless of the proposed method.”
What the coaches say:
- This study was called the “Endocrine and Metabolic Responses on Overtraining Syndrome (EROS)” study.
- Identification of more than 45 novel OTS biomarkers.
- Only males in this study between 18-50 y/o.
- Athletes = training of at least 4x a week and >300min (just ~5hr a week).
- Suspected OTS = Underperformance of ≥10% of previous performance as verified by certified sports coach, or loss of ≥20% in time-to-fatigue, with self-reported increase in sense of effort in training relative to before OTS.
- Compared with healthy athletes and non-athletes.
- Novel findings:
- It’s not about training load alone…
- It’s never just one thing…
- Of course excessive training without adequate rest is a risk and/or a rapid progression in volume or intensity. However these researchers found that:
- “OTS occurred independently from excessive training, since insufficient calorie, protein, or carbohydrate intake, poor sleep quality, or concurrent excessive cognitive effort were the found to be prevailing predictors of OTS.”
- We think there’s a certain personalist type that is more susceptible to OTS, similar to the type of person who develops an eating disorder.
- Example of nutrition risks in OTS:
- Calories <32kcal/kg/day
- Protein <1.7g/kg/day
- This is not always easy to do, but an important habit to be mindful of when training.
- Carbs <5-5.4g/kcal/day
- Stigmas on body shapes between men and women, yet particularly male and female athletes are still at risk for thinking leaner is better (e.g. watts per kilo makes a difference).
- Should we food log? It really depends. Tawnee is not a fan of long-term food logging nor food logging at all for certain people; however, for some it can be helpful to highlight any deficits or use to fine tune and optimize nutrition intake.
- OTS usually resulting in a GAIN of body fat % and LOSS of muscle mass.
- Also risk factors that can contribute to OTS:
- Long-term extreme diets (including low carb and intermittent fasting / IF).
- Stressful work or study in addition to training (cognitive/physical effort concurrent to training).
- Poor sleep usually related to inability to disconnect from social media or TV.
- Focusing on sleep hygiene is not that difficult to do but can make a huge difference!
- A deep dive on binge watching TV shows and social media scrolling… what are these habits telling us? They are not inherently bad but they can become a negative influence in our lives.
- When some TV is ok, finding the right balance.
- Doing more than 7-9 hours a day of general life/heavy cognitive activities & stress were risk factors.
- Mood scores are also valuable, in this study they used the POMS questionnaire: “since the active self-perception of feelings and fatigue are underestimated by many athletes, as they tend to avoid perceptions of potential barriers to their trainings.”
- “Athletes affected by OTS experience a ‘hyporesponsive’ and ‘hypometabolic’ state, based on the findings of decreased basal metabolic rate and fat burning, paradox adipocyte saving in fat storages, impaired hormonal responses to demands, and decreased testosterone, T-to-oestradiol ratio and GH, and increased catecholamines. These findings suggest an anti-anabolic and pro-catabolic environment.”
- Standout biomarkers found to be altered in OTS:
- Creatine kinase (CK)—high; higher CK might have resulted from impaired and prolonged muscle recovery. CK is protein known as an enzyme, released by muscle. (Don’t confuse with creatine supplements, which increase creatine PCR in the cell.)
- Post-exercise lactate—abnormally lower.
- Exercise-stimulated prolactin, growth hormone (GH), cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) responses—blunted response.
- Total catecholamines—exacerbated; might have resulted from an attempt to maintain function despite energy depletion.
- Discussing the biomarkers unaffected by OTS vs. those affected by OTS.
- This study found some markers to be unchanged or not significant to the diagnosis of OTS, such as thyroid markers (TSH, Free T3), but for some athletes, these specific markers can still be affected and part of their unique presentation of OTS. Keep an open min when diagnosing.
- Most of the non-similar markers between the overtraining group and normal groups reflected losses of conditioning or adaptive processes that athletes typically undergo, or ‘deconditioning’.
- Top remarkable markers of ‘deconditioning’ in OTS identified were (quoted):
- Blunted and late GH, cortisol and prolactin responses to an exercise-independent central stimulation test, which may explain the loss of pace and performance during OTS.
- Reduced testosterone levels, which may explain the loss of muscle mass in athletes with OTS.
- Increased oestradiol levels without a concurrent increase in testosterone (reduced testosterone-to-oestradiol ratio), which could cause some of the psychological and body metabolism and composition patterns found in OTS;
- Worse mood states (particularly fatigue, vigour, depression and confusion), likely correlated with worse sleep quality and hormonal dysfunctions.
- Changes in body metabolism and composition (lower metabolic rate and fat burning, more body fat, less muscle mass and less hydration), likely due to a hormonal environment that leads to a muscle-specific catabolic state, and reduction of overall metabolism.
- Recovery from OTS:
- Researchers then held a 12-week interventional protocol in athletes with actual OTS, with interventions including:
- Increased food (calorie) intake;
- Transitory interruption of the trainings;
- Improvement in sleep quality;
- Management of stress.
- You can measure sleep and stress with many available apps these days to better understand where you’re at!
- What they did and found (quoted material):
- 50 parameters were assessed during recovery protocol, including hormonal responses to an insulin tolerance test (ITT), basal hormonal and nonhormonal biochemical markers, body metabolism, and composition.
- After 12 weeks of intervention, early cortisol and early and late GH responses to stimulations improved significantly. Cortisol awakening response (CAR) increased by two times, while nocturnal urinary catecholamines (NUC) and CK reduced by two to three times. Basal estradiol reduced while testosterone/estradiol (T:E) ratio increased.
- FreeT3 and IGF-1, which were not different than healthy athletes at baseline, disclosed significant increase, whereas ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (usCRP), which was also similar to healthy athletes, has an exacerbated reduction. While all basal parameters and early responses to ITT normalized when compared to healthy athletes, basal metabolic rate, fat oxidation, body fat, muscle mass, and hydration status had partial but non-significant improvements.
- In conclusion, athletes affected by actual OTS demonstrated substantial improvements after 12 weeks of intervention, in particular IGF-1, freeT3, CAR, estradiol, testosterone/estradiol ratio, CK and NUC, and early cortisol, early prolactin, and overall GH responses to stimulations. FreeT3, usCRP, and IGF-1 seem to be the sentinel markers of recovery from OTS.
- If in doubt? Things to monitor:
- Take a few days off more than you’re used to doing.
- Monitor intensity even if volume is low.
- Bloodwork if you can, when you can, but we know that’s not always realistic for everyone.
- Monitor the mental aspect—is your training feeling forced? Are you mentally wasted? How’s quality of life? Perceptions matter.
- Performance decline is HUGE. (Consistent and reliable testing helps a lot of track and monitor these things.)
- Are you a more scattered-brained and more clumsy than usual?
The post
ATC 342: Overtraining Syndrome – Novel Findings, Remarkable Markers and Recovery Protocol, Plus Knee Pain During MAF Runs and More first appeared on
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This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN Company, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash, keeping your blood sugar steady. It’s the perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete. Whether you’re racing fast short-course events or grueling Ironmans and ultra runs, UCAN products have grown so much over the years, as well, to fit your needs, with everything from drink mixes to their popular EDGE gels.
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Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs and we have everything Thorne offers available to you over at our shop page, endurance planet dot com slash shop or link through the show notes. When you shop through us you support the podcast, a win win.
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On this episode we welcome Andrew Hall, 36, an elite triathlete from Salt Lake City, UT. Andrew joins us to candidly share his journey from the health and hormonal issues he faced during his early years in triathlon to adopting a new approach and pursuing a level of healing that’s not only allowed him to fix the issues that ailed him, but also has led him to performing as a top amateur triathlete at the Ironman distance. Follow along with Andrew’s triathlon journey at @andrewtrihall.
Getting into sport, stepping up to 70.3s, being self-coached, slightly obsessed, probably taking the wrong approach to training and racing and noticing things were off by end of 2016.
What Andrew thinks he did that ultimately led to health issues, namely low testosterone and hormonal imbalances, dangerously low body mass, and more.
Signs and symptoms, how he became more aware of what exactly was going on, and what actions he took.
Working with sports med doctors at first, but then being coached by triathlete Matt Bach for a more holistic approach.
His approach toward healing and rebuilding what he’d lost, under Matt’s guidance.
Healing took about two years of work and trial and error. For a while, cut training by 2/3… meanwhile a heightened focus on sleep, strength training, etc.
What did he learn about himself during that time of intense healing?
The rebuild back into specific training, utilizing MAF, and then the pandemic and how that played a role.
With everything he’s learned, Matt shares his approach to balancing performance and health.
Tackling the Ironman distance with immense success at IM CdA 2021, as well as IM StG 2022.
And as promised in the interview, here is a breakdown of Andrew’s sports nutrition plan he uses for Ironman:
Ironman sports nutrition plan:
Breakfast:
2 serving of UCAN Lemon
1 serving of vanilla whey protein
Blueberries
Mixed in almond milk
Scratch lab hyper hydration mix
2 UCAN edge prior to swim
Bike*:
2x bottles with 5 servicing of UCAN with a salt stick pill and alt sur red tablet mixed in
1 bottle of UCAN hydrate
3x sis gels with 2 contain caffeine from 75-200mgs
Run*:
Water and other drinks (red bull/ Cola) as wanted/needed
2-5 Maurten gels as needed, usually not the full gel is consumed.
*Add more electrolytes as needed and based on heat/weather conditions.
The post
Andrew Hall: From Hormone-Depleted Triathlete To Thriving Ironman Amateur Champion, With Bonus Sports Nutrition Plan! first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN, the only sports fuel of its kind and a fuel that helps you thrive via stable blood sugar, metabolic efficiency and more. UCAN is powered by SuperStarch, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
- UCAN now offers a Superstarch-powered energy gel called Edge! This is not just any sugar-loaded ordinary gel. It has 70 calories, 0 grams of sugar and 15g of Superstarch equating to 19g of carbs; Edge is a hit among triathletes and runners looking for easy, healthy, clean-burning fuel. Get at ucan.co.
- UCAN also has delicious flavors of energy bars for you to try—chocolate almond butter and cherry almond—and equally yummy energy powders enhanced with your choice of plant-based pea protein or whey protein, each option packing 20g protein per serving!
EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
We
are excited to have partnered with Fullscript, an online dispensary with professional, high-quality supplements delivered to you by a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get 10% off thousands off supplements from hundreds to the top brand names like Nordic Naturals, Pure Encapsulations, Designs for Health, Seeking Health, Vital Proteins and so many more. When you buy supplements from a trusted source like Fullscript you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Intro:
- Further followup on Lucho’s recovery, physical and emotional, post-Ironman.
- We talked about Lucho’s full IM experience on ATC 340.
- Doing fun things after a huge race, including activities with your kids.
- Going into a race, especially after finishing one big race recently, making sure you’re in the right head space and mind and body are not at war.
Chris Dierker asks:
Moving to elevation & adapting
Hello, Hoping you can provide some input and guidance. We moved from 500′ above sea level (Illinois) to the high desert In Reno, NV in January and am struggling with adapting to 5,000′. I’m a 67 year old ultra runner. Have not been able to find any info on how to acclimate after moving, tips and training to expedite adaptation. Can you provide any guidance? Thanks,
What the coaches say:
- Not always just elevation, consider the weather conditions, in this case moving to a much drier climate.
- Breathing in dry air vs. humid air and the dehydrating effects of exercise in dry conditions.
- Hydration is key with electrolytes.
- Lucho drinks 4L a day at his home at 8,000 ft.
- Expediting adaption? Not really possible, but you can mitigate the negative effects taking place while adapting, eg more carbs, diligent hydration, etc.
- Higher elevation puts us more in fight or flight mode and more hypoxic state for a while.
- Bottom line is that we just don’t exercise as well at altitude as we do at sea level.
- That’s why “live high train low” is so popular in exercise physiology.
- Research studies mentioned by Lucho:
- Bassett, D.R. Jr., C.R. Kyle, L. Passfield, J.P. Broker, and E.R. Burke. Comparing cycling world hour records, 1967-1996: modeling with empirical data. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 31:1665-76, 1999.
- Peronnet, F., G. Thibault, and D.L. Cousineau. A theoretical analysis of the effect of altitude on running performance. Journal of Applied Physiology 70(1):399-404, 1991.
- You lose 1.1% of your aerobic capacity/O2 carrying capability just at 1,000ft alone.
- At 2000ft a loss of 2.2%
- At 5000ft loss of 5.6%
- 5,000ft elevation is not that extreme, best we can do is just work to get fitter than we were before to make up the deficit.
- Age plays a role here. Gets harder as we get older.
- Work on strength: Definitely incorporate strength training and VO2max workouts, as well as muscular endurance sessions.
- For Vo2max workouts: drop duration and increase rest. At least a 1:1 work:rest ratio, not less, but more if needed. (Don’t want to start the next interval still being hypoxic.)
- Holistic health check as well:
Sarah asks:
New mom MAF problems
Hi! My son is 20 months old and I’ve made a gradual return to training after an initial break from giving birth. Before pregnancy I was an avid triathlete and runner, not super competitive, but enjoyed everything from sprint & Olympic tris to half marathons. My MAF pace pre-pregnancy peaked at about 9:00 mile pace, but now even after 20 months postpartum and no longer breastfeeding (which we did for over a year), I can’t get my MAF to sub 10:00 pace. What gives? I feel like so often you hear of “super moms” but what about us who actually struggle a bit more after kids? I am also wondering if there are other health tests or blood tests I should consider, or ways to tackle this more holistically as I know from your show it’s not always just about the training. Thanks so much!
What the coaches say:
- We’re all unique in how we recover from birth so learning the art of self-care and patience for one’s self in a busy season of life is paramount.
- Tawnee shares that she was not a fast speedy mama returning from pregnancy and birth, but instead the positive was that her whole mindset shifted to appreciation for the art of balancing it all and getting that special “Me time” to run, and when I framed it that way pace and data became way less important.
- That said, if you suspect something might be going on:
- Thyroid
- Stats say 1 in 12 new moms may develop a postpartum thyroid condition often autoimmune. Up to 17% have some sort of thyroid condition. Checking this is critical. We’ve discussed this at length on our recent thyroid health series:
- Get in-depths lab and even if you had it tested before make sure labs are updated as we change rapidly after giving birth.
- I’ve personally seen more cases of hypo but I’ve seen a few friends develop hyper, it can go both ways.
- Also to check more general blood labs:
- Inflammation eg CRP
- Homocysteine (and prob B12, folate too)
- Vit D3
- Iron panel
- CBC with diff
- Suspect gut?
- First find a functional practitioner or health coach you like then order labs through him or her. It’s possible to do labs on your own but having an expert give you the analysis and protocol is worth the extra money. Avoid food sensitivity tests, go with something like a GI MAP, Genova, Doctor’s Data.
- If bodyweight and dieting are on your mind:
- Stop chasing the “old you” and your “pre-pregnancy body.” Instead give your body love and respect, with an emphasis on mental and emotional help.
- Honor where you’re at in life and your important role as a mom.
- Avoid fasting and keto, too much stress on the body
- What you can do is be more mindful of timing carbs for best blood sugar response and get in at least ~120g/day for most athletic women, more if breastfeeding is 100% normal and ok.
- On training, it may be best to:
- Start focusing more on strength aspect, see if diastasis recti is playing a role in core stabilization.
- Crosstrain on bike to allow more variety without added stress.
- If doing strict MAF consider adjusting and adding strides, moderate tempo, progression runs and even runs where you just leave the watch behind – may need to get legs to move a bit quicker to regain that efficiency.
- Nasal breathing workouts and nasal breathing in general.
- Maximize sleep even with a little on—do your best and don’t cut corners when you have the opportunity to sleep soundly.
Scott asks:
Follow up to ATC 339 on CTL & TSS
Hi Lucho and Tawnee,
A followup question for your recent show:
You mentioned having a TSS cap and watching ramp rates, etc. Is that only for cycling and running or do you also estimate for swimming and include it in the mix?
While less taxing than the bike and run, it seems that monitoring overall loading and fatigue that swimming would factor in, assuming a decent number of sessions and volume.
Thanks much and keep up the great episodes, Cheers from Zurich!
What the coaches say:
- Definitely include the swim in overall scores. Swimming can be very taxing, especially if you’re not a great swimmer.
- If you’re a great swimmer and you’re just maintaining, there could be a case for ignoring swim TSS, but best still to include it.
- How to measure swim TSS?
- Test! You have to test because it’s based off of threshold.
- Example test set with 300 repeats to get threshold pace.
- Set threshold swim pace in training peaks, and go from there.
- If you don’t think it’s that accurate, you can underscore it by 5-10 points.
- Try not to be too technical about it, and can assign swim TSS to your consistently done workouts. There’s not a lot of science, if any, on this, so it’s not going to be completely exact.
- Levels of data geek (and wearing a watch or not in the pool).
- Remember that TSS is a stress score, HR will be lower, no load bearing, so the overall stress effect is less, but the metabolic stress is huge for many of us–partly do to thermodynamics: water temp in pools is generally colder and we are working to generate body heat.
The post
ATC 341: Adjusting to Altitude and Dry Heat, Finding Peace with Postpartum Fitness, TSS For the Swim, and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by
UCAN, the fat-burning fuel of choice for endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers steady, long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash and keeps your blood sugar steady. The perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete…
UCAN is offering a “training bundle” to give you an assortment of their products for testing. EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.com for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
We
are excited to have partnered with Fullscript, an online dispensary with professional, high-quality supplements delivered to you by a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get 10% off thousands off supplements from hundreds to the top brand names like Nordic Naturals, Pure Encapsulations, Designs for Health, Seeking Health, Vital Proteins and so many more. When you buy supplements from a trusted source like Fullscript you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Enjoy this special re-release of a show that aired during the lead up to the 2016 Ironman World Championships!
Paul Laursen, PhD, is back already to discuss how to race well in the heat and avoid detrimental heat stress especially at a race like the Ironman World Championships in Kona. Paul is an adjunct professor at Auckland University, reseracher and has published more than 100 refereed manuscripts in moderate-to-high impact exercise and sports science journals, and his work has been cited more than 3,000 times. He’s very involved in helping athletes have success at races like Kona, with some pros using his strategies this year.
- Heat paralysis in racing and Jonny Brownlee in Cozumel
- Normally we think of this happening mostly in events like IM, but at the recent WTS GF in Cozumel we saw that this is not always the case: Jonny Brownlee
- What went wrong for Jonny from a physiological standpoint?
- Heat paralysis
- Intensity is the greatest source of heat (not hydration status)
- Afferent heat feedback
- Is this the world’s best example of overcoming central governor?
- On Alistar carrying him to finish
- Preparing for Hot Events
- Heat shock proteins
- Preparation in training helps to mitigate heat stress on race day – get hot! What to do before the race in training, the week of, etc.
- How much “heat training” is appropriate, i.e. overdressing or working out in a hot room, before it reaches point of diminishing return
- Using the sauna, and should you drink while in the sauna or avoid rehydrating for further beneficial adaptations?
- Enhanced sweat response when trained for hot conditions
- Hydration During Hot Events
- Is it really safe to recommend we drink to thirst and assume we’ll execute correctly?
- Diluting sodium concentrations by #1 over-drinking + #2 loss of sodium in sweat to varying degree may lead to hyponatremia. Overdrinking (not sodium loss) is the most likely cause. How about those who lose lots of sodium and do a race like Kona, increased risk?
- Max rate of fluid absorption is 400-800 ml per hour, best not to exceed this
- Drinking 1L per hour is overhydrating and risky!
- Tim Noakes’ Waterlogged
- Drink to thirst makes sense, but does that work for all? What about when our brains are “mush” during a race?
- Mention of Alan Couzens blog on hyponatremia
- Practice “drinking to thirst” in training, so you know how to stick to it and know your needs in racing
- Is knowing sweat rate “overrated”?
- Turns out, some dehydration ain’t so bad, i.e. 2-3% may be perfectly safe and ok
- We don’t need to keep the system in perfect balance when we’re racing!
- Can we adapt to mild dehydration?
- What qualifies as under-drinking to a point where hypohydrated state is a risk? i.e. at what point does it put us at risk for heat illness?
- On Fluid Temperature
- Why this is arguably more important than hydration, the research that shows how fluid temp matters, etc.
- Floe Bottle – a way to have an ice slushy, which is better at cooling than ice water. use for pre-cooling and during. Some pros will be using in Kona
- Research shows: 500 ml of an ice slushy 30min prior to exercise leads to performance benefits up to 20% increase
- Other Heat Topics
- Why cramping is not about fluids and electrolytes, and what it IS about
- Cramping due to sodium loss is a myth
- Cramp Killers podcast mention
- What makes Kona unique & how to handle these conditions, such as crazy winds on bike and higher energy cost
- Other factors affecting endurance performance in the heat
- Are there supplements we can take or avoid to alleviate heat stress? (Thinking more so as a way to “calm” gut)
- Glutamine, arginine, BCAAs
- NO NSAIDS (why to avoid)
Resources
The post
Rerelease: How To Race Well in the Heat, a Few ‘Tricks’ To Stay Cool with Paul Laursen, PhD first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN, the only sports fuel of its kind and a fuel that helps you thrive via stable blood sugar, metabolic efficiency and more. UCAN is powered by SuperStarch, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
- UCAN now offers a Superstarch-powered energy gel called Edge! This is not just any sugar-loaded ordinary gel. It has 70 calories, 0 grams of sugar and 15g of Superstarch equating to 19g of carbs; Edge is a hit among triathletes and runners looking for easy, healthy, clean-burning fuel. Get at ucan.co.
- UCAN also has delicious flavors of energy bars for you to try—salted peanut butter, chocolate almond butter and cherry almond—and equally yummy energy powders enhanced with your choice of plant-based pea protein or whey protein, each option packing 20g protein per serving!
EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. So let’s make sure you’re not running yourself into any deficits—this list is a good place to start:
Go ahead, click on each supplement if you’re curious to learn more about how these supplements may serve you. Maybe one of these or one of Thorne’s targeted bundles for sleep, stress, or performance, will complement your needs and round out your diet this season.
Thorne is always available to you on our Shop page, and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
On this episode of Ask the Coaches #340, we go into detail about Lucho’s day at Ironman St. George, the 2021 Ironman World Championships including a recap of his training leading up, race day and much more!
On this show:
- Training recap–weekly volume per sport and totals, including stretch cords as a sub for pool swimming.
- Did the same swim set consisting of 5 x 100 + 500 pull, always; lots of use of pull buoy.
- Swam a 1:05.
- Biking minimal until December 2021. But hated indoor riding so didn’t do too much of it.
- Snow tires on cyclocross.
- Only biked more than 5hrs twice.
- Training on the bike was tough and lacked, not the proper specificity for IM.
- FTP differences between outdoor bike vs indoor trainer, so he focused on HR instead.
- Race day he averaged 126 bpm on the bike–he went too easy out of fear of blowing up. But also what helped was that he spent all his time training at altitude much higher than StG. Plus he was rested and intentionally went easy, yet still had a solid bike split.
- Sold run training, which maybe had some transfer to the bike (eg many 20-milers).
- Article that says 1 in 5 dropped out of IM StG in May 2022.
- How to redeem yourself if you had a bad day at StG this year.
- The shocking thing was all the difficult climbs that weren’t the main two climbs near the end… constant up and down.
- Most important: don’t avoid hills, climb all the hills!
- What messed him up the most on the bike was neck and trap pain.
- The mental vs. physical…
- Mentally on the bike: this is where it got really tough for him.
- His family surprised him by showing up on the bike course when he didn’t expect it… and it all changed from there, he lost the urge to keep pushing hard, mentally he wasn’t in it, he was questioning why (while thinking his family was the only thing that mattered), and it was not just about finishing it and enjoying it.
- Compared to the past Lucho who was a pro with laser focus on competing and finishing at the top, this made IM StG a very unique race experience where he just cruised and didn’t worry about performance.
- the last time he raced an IM (as a pro) was about 15 years ago when his first son was only 6 months old.
- Ironman is the kind of journey that will teach you what really matters. For Lucho, it became so much about family… so what it means to “do your best” has changed from then vs now.
- Started the run solely focused on seeing his family again.
- Very difficult run course, just up and down and very little flat. Deceiving, exposed and hot.
- Started the run fast with low HR. Felt tight, hot, and realized that pushing it was more than he was willing to do and a place he just didn’t want to go, from both a health and mental perspective… he thought, why wreck himself? Been there, done that. No desire to do it on this day. So instead he took, yet again, the approach of enjoying it, chatting with fellow athletes and spectators, smiling, and more.
- And yet it was still very hard, hot and difficult. Because that’s Ironman… and that’s St. George.
- Succumbed to it and had red bull, and loved it, and even had some Gatorade instead of his maltodextrin drink.
- Overall finish 12:03.
- Goals and motivation… nothing aligned in the end for him.
- How it started (i.e. dreams of qualifying for Kona) vs. how it ended (i.e. not wanting to do Kona). There was some faking it along the way, but realized that faking it is not an effective strategy.
- So how he persevered through that and still did what he needed and honored his commitment to the race.
- At the end of the day, we are going to care what other people think to some degree.
- It also was about how this experience could be about bettering himself.
- Mostly only trained when it did not impact his family, difficult to do.
- On TSS.
- For athletes trying to work their training around family. And how relentlessly difficult it can be to manage a busy, demanding schedule.
- All in all, at the end of the day there were countless lessons learned and he found his WHY… and most of that took place in the year leading up to Ironman race day.
- Lucho says this was the hardest IM course he’s done.
- The role of the dry desert heat.
- People need to be more gentle on themselves when it comes to their approach to Ironman.
- Do we really need to be training all those hours that they say we need for Ironman? Lucho questions that more now…
The post
ATC 340: Inside Ironman St. George With Lucho – Lessons in Motivation, Self-Discovery, Perseverance and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by
UCAN, the fat-burning fuel of choice for endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers steady, long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash and keeps your blood sugar steady. The perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete…
UCAN is offering a “training bundle” to give you an assortment of their products for testing. EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.com for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
We
are excited to have partnered with Fullscript, an online dispensary with professional, high-quality supplements delivered to you by a verified distributor. When you sign up for Fullscript through EP you can get 10% off thousands off supplements from hundreds to the top brand names like Nordic Naturals, Pure Encapsulations, Designs for Health, Seeking Health, Vital Proteins and so many more. When you buy supplements from a trusted source like Fullscript you ensure higher efficacy and proper storage and handling. So check out Fullscript, your go-to online dispensary with a discount..
Welcome to episode 32 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
On this episode:
Homemade sourdough & more
- Tawnee talks sourdough with Julie; her husband John is baking it at their home now and it’s been a process to get it up to par but once it did, what a treat it’s been, even with a history of having to avoid most gluten.
- Talking long-fermentation sourdough and how the gluten content might be decreased in this form and easier to digest for those otherwise sensitive to gluten (Celiac is a different story though and GF is still recommended).
- Safety for patients with celiac disease of baked goods made of wheat flour hydrolyzed during food processing
- This study shows effects of sourdough that was fermented so that part of the gluten was degraded, or sourdough that contained only 8 ppm of residual gluten.
- Long ferment is usually around 30 hours; important to note that not all sourdoughs are baked this way or the same way, many are not long-ferment and more like regular bread.
- Julie shares about her food freedom and the occasional treat such as a hot-crossed bun on Easter that she had, but how those things are not.
Ari asks:
How “careful” should you be at restaurants?
Hi guys! Love the show. I am all on board with clean eating: eliminating seed oils, buying organic, grassfed, wild, etc., gluten free, and don’t do a ton of grains. My question is: How do you navigate eating out at restaurants? Namely, the oils they use to cook, whether organic or grassfed meat is used, that kind of stuff. Do you avoid certain foods if they don’t fit these criteria? Some proponents of healthy fats and oils recommend avoiding seed oils at all costs, but this feels like it could be a slipper slope. I don’t eat out much, maybe 1-2x a week, and I never really thought about it but now I find it constantly on my mind at restaurants.
What the coaches say:
- It depends, frequency matters.
- If you’re eating out a ton all week long, every week, then it may have a greater negative impact. But just a couple times a week or less may be insignificant to cause any problems.
- Reading ingredient labels is important but giving yourself permission to eat it anyway is ok sometimes, especially as athletes who should not be over-restricting 24/7.
- Eating out is something to be enjoyed not feared and has a lot of positives despite the occasional exposure to seed oils, etc. “Good enough” is often ok (not every single thing always has to be organic and grassfed).
- Social aspect of dining out together and letting go of the fear that would otherwise hold us back from those experiences.
- Go out and be with your community, don’t let fear rule you. We can’t control everything, and that’s ok.
- For many of us loosening the reigns is just what we need rather than over-obsessing and nit-picking every aspect of food and meals, especially those you aren’t preparing yourself.
- When is it time to be more strict with these things? If you’re suffering from chronic inflammation, obesity or another health ailment which may benefit and improve with a better quality diet then mostly eliminating things like seed oils, etc., may be in your best interest. People have made incredible health transformations in changing their diet to largely avoid these foods.
- Many of us, however, may be more prone to orthorexia and fear of foods.
- Most restaurants are not using olive oil, coconut oil, butter, etc., as their main oils, and are using vegetable and seed oils. But does that mean we live in fear and avoid going out? No.
- Awareness is helpful, but obsession is not healthy.
- How this ties into raising kids and teaching youth to have a healthy relationship with food; as parents and mentors we have a huge influence over the development of healthy habits surrounding food.
- Social media’s role and how “influencers” who avoid “toxic” ingredients anyhow this can actually be toxic for our mental health.
- Monitor your health, see if what you’re consuming is having a negative impact at all, eg seed oils and inflammatory markers.
- Last word on seed oil: If you are overdoing it with seed oils, you may find that your skin burns in the sun pretty easily… and in eliminating seed oils completely or mostly you may find a healthier internal state that leads to healthier skin which won’t burn in the sun so easily like it once did.
- Make these changes and make your choices from a place of self-nourishment.
Jamie asks:
Late luteal support?
Hi! Love the show. I am one of those women who really see the effect of sex hormones in my menstrual cycle, particularly about a week before I start my period. It’s ok that I’m not “optimal” during that time and I try to better prioritize recovery while avoiding too much HIIT, but is there anything I can do nutritionally to help me feel even just a little better during that time? Why do we actually feel so cruddy and moody in that week before starting?!
What the coaches say:
This time of month
- It’s fairly common to experience this, but it doesn’t have to be this way–or at least not so severe.
- The 4-season analogy with our menstrual cycle:
- Week 1 = Spring
- Week 2 = Summer
- Week 3 = Fall
- Week 4 = Winter
- Luteal phase include weeks 3 & 4 after ovulation.
- After ovulation hormones surge then in the last week progesterone and estrogen begin to decline in the last week, which can really trigger symptoms.
- Also, a lot of this is about the balance between estrogen and progesterone in that luteal phase, both the surge then the drop. If the ratio is out of balance you’re going to experience worse symptoms (usually caused by too high estrogen and/or low progesterone).
- Using bioidentical hormones can help balance out progesterone with estrogen.
- HRV can be affected in the luteal phase; usually HRV drops in that last week along with a drop in training quality, sleep quality and so on.
- Empower yourself by understanding your hormones and cycle, and doing what you can.
- Late luteal phase also contributes to more total body inflammation, now’s the time to watch your diet a bit more closely to keep inflammation low.
Nutritionally
- Food and behavior are linked. Managing blood sugar is especially important for managing your mood. Anti-inflammatory, nutrient dense diet. Whole foods. Balanced meals. Balanced snacks. Grounding foods like soups, stews, broths, meats, and fiber.
- Omega 3s up to 1g/day.
- Cruciferous vegetables contain something called Indole-3-Carbinol that help metabolize estrogen.
- Cruciferous vegetables also contain DIM that helps (or can supplement with DIM to lower estrogen).
- Water! It’s insane how dehydrated most of my clients are without even knowing it.
- Fiber! Fruits and veggies with the skin on. Chia and flax to help out.
- Gut heath – part of estrogen metabolism happens in the gut so having a good ratio of good guys to bad guys and making sure you’re not constipated will help get it metabolized and eliminated.
- Limit: added sugars, pastries, candy, fried food, cows milk (especially if you get acne)
- A study from Egypt revealed the positive association between PMS and excess intake of sweet-tasting food items. It also showed that other factors, such as intake of junk food and coffee, were significantly associated with PMS. Thus, making it evident that lifestyle factors have a significant association with PMS and PMDD.[3] Cheng et al. did a similar study among women university students for assessing the factors associated with PMS and revealed that dietary factors such as consumption of fast food, drinks containing sugar, deep-fried foods, and lifestyle factors such as less habitual exercise and poor sleep quality is significantly associated with PMS.
- The histamine connection: histamine response can happen more in the luteal phase.
- With histamine though, be sure to consider the role of the immune system not just hormones!
- Supplements with DAO to help histamine.
Supplements
- To help alleviate luteal phase symptoms:
- CoQ10 – acute: boosts cardio, decreases oxidative stress; long-term: may increase time to exhaustion, enhances mitochondria, etc.
- L-Carnitine – helps maximize fat burning capabilities, boost energy, cardiovascular benefits, keeps blood sugar levels even and can also help minimize food/carb/sugar cravings and overeating.
- Tart Cherry Extract – shown to reduce pain perception during and post-exercise soreness, attenuates catabolic response, reduces inflammation.
- Beetroot extract – continue normal dosage.
- BCAAs or Perfect Amino.
Activities
- Organizing, creative projects, Me Time, walking, yoga, stretching, not planning anything huge.
- Orgasms!
- Reduce stress and anxiety, increase circulation to the pelvis, relieve migraines, better skin, improve your menstrual cycle. You release oxytocin which can counter the negative effects of cortisol.
- “Research has shown that women who have sex on a weekly basis also have more predictable mednstrual cycles. Women who don’t have sex regularly may have more sporadic cycles, which tend to be shorter, a possible indication of low progesterone and estrogen dominance, but regular orgasms can have a hormone-balancing effect. They also can hep relieve menstrual cramps because releasing oxytocin and other endorphins during orgasm may reduce pain.” – Dr. Jolene Brighton, Beyond the Pill
The post
HPN 32: Seed Oils At Restaurants, Tips To Alleviate PMS/PMDD in Your Menstrual Cycle, Sourdough Love and More! first appeared on
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Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. So let’s make sure you’re not running yourself into any deficits—this list is a good place to start:
Go ahead, click on each supplement if you’re curious to learn more about how these supplements may serve you. Maybe one of these or one of Thorne’s targeted bundles for sleep, stress, or performance, will complement your needs and round out your diet this season. Thorne is always available to you on our Shop page, and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN, the only sports fuel of its kind and a fuel that helps you thrive via stable blood sugar, metabolic efficiency and more. UCAN is powered by SuperStarch, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
- UCAN has done it again and come out with Edge, a Superstarch-powered energy gel! But this is not just any ordinary gel. It has 70 calories, 0 grams of sugar and 15g of Superstarch equating to 19g of carbs; Edge gels are selling so fast, so be sure to hop on their website at ucan.co right away and get yours.
- UCAN also has delicious flavors of energy bars for you to try—salted peanut butter, chocolate almond butter and cherry almond—and equally yummy energy powders enhanced with your choice of plant-based pea protein or whey protein, each option packing 20g protein per serving!
EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Dr. Steve Gangemi, The Sock Doc, is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
On this episode:
Introducing Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and other chronic viruses
- There are thousands of types of herpes viruses, about eight affect us as humans.
- With EBV, which causes mononucleosis, up to 90-95% of the adult population has this and not everyone will have even known they got it?
- Mono is not just caught from kissing, they can be caught more easily just with interacting with someone infected, and we may not even realize it.
- Also often a lot of misdiagnoses where mono is missed and treated as something else.
- Either way, the virus doesn’t leave our body after the initial infection.
- Why are some people horribly affected by EBV and having many flares, where others don’t even have any issues with it?
- Acute symptom would be: sore throat, fever, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, etc.
- Chronic cases: chronic fatigue type syndrome, sore joints, feeling feverish and run down; it can vary person to person but for each person their pattern tends to repeat and be consistent.
- The thing we want to know is what provoked it to flare? And what can we do to get it to calm down quickly?
- What things provoke it? It varies… Epigenetics, lifestyle, diet, general health, immune function, overtraining.
- A lot of people simply aren’t giving their body what it needs to improve and that is when epigenetic comes into play more. The thing to note is we CAN have a huge impact on these viruses and stop the vicious cycle of flares and feeling the persistence fatigue.
- But for many athletes, we’re constantly pushing ourselves and more worn down.
- Steve says during his time in school + training for Ironman World Championships he was more prone to cold sores than he is now with a more balanced, healthy lifestyle, diet and approach.
- Viruses are much more opportunistic than many bacterial infections. But there’s not always a direct treatment for viruses as compared to certain bacterial infections.
- It has to due with state of immune system, antioxidant issues and are you over-oxidized, inflammation and overall state of health all can affect the outcomes of a certain intervention treatment.
- So it’s more about getting health in order so body can more effectively deal with certain viruses.
- What can be confusing is that you can have high antibodies and high titers for EBV yet EBV may not be the cause or reason why you are feeling horribly. There’s no direct relationship 100% of the time. Partly because there’s no definitive to the bloodwork and a yes/no point; questionable cutoffs.
- You could also have hormonal imbalances, gut issues, another virus or infection and that can cause the EBV to flare up more–so it’s about finding what else might be going on.
- A lot of conditions, autoimmune and Lyme included, there’s no clearcut test, it requires some deeper analysis.
- Usually these viruses or things like Lyme only are flaring up a lot when there’s other notable health conditions going on, or trauma, and so on. Usually never just one thing–so ask, what else was going on in the years leading up?
- It’s interesting to dive more into the mindset of being sick with a condition and how the ego plays the role, and the importance of putting the ego aside to get real with what is going on/what was going on.
Testing
- Seems like testing is difficult to achieve, and often it takes a long time to get it narrowed down to EBV.
- You can go test crazy, but is that necessary?
- With EBV, distinguish is it active or reactivation? Antibodies can stay high and even stay chronically elevated long past the infection or flare. You may feel better and have definite improvements in symptoms but antibodies may stay high.
- So labs are only part of the picture; build a whole profile of the patient.
- Some docs say, if your antibodies are 5-10x higher than normal range that could be a reactivation of a certain virus, but that doesn’t mean you are having a flare or reoccurrence.
- Current or older infection data and how antibodies fall into place.
- E.g., they will say if the IgG (longer term antibodies for someone who had the infection a long time ago) is greater than 10x the upper limit, that’s a positive result, ie reactivation. But the question to ask is, are there symptoms, how is the person feeling?
- Anti-VCA IgM appears early in EBV infection and usually disappears within the early weeks. In testing for VCA, if it’s 5-10x higher that’s more of an active infection now.
Dissecting this further
- Study mention: Clinical investigation of athletes with persistent fatigue and/or recurrent infections
- “Recent studies have indicated that reactivation of non-primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a common cause of oropharyngitis in young adults and may be associated with the symptoms of URTI in competitive athletes. New tests for EBV reactivation were therefore included in the clinical investigation.”
- “Evidence of Epstein-Barr virus reactivation was detected in 22% of the athletes tested.”
- But correlation does not always mean causation, so even with that study finding a correlation, it does not mean that the EBV is causing the increased likelihood of illness in these athletes. It very well can be but not always certain.
- And, other studies have shown that athletes are no more susceptible than general population, perhaps? Study.
- Analogy of back pain and how the symptoms and physical presentation don’t always add up.
- Book mention: Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection, by Dr. John Sarno
- Address these things as a whole-person concept, and goes back to lifestyle, diet, etc…
So if it is EBV or another virus, how to deal
- If EBV or another virus is the issue and that’s what you’ve decided, you can address the virus specifically to help immune system; natural remedies include astragalus, etc.
- Athletes all know the concept of injuries, think of these viruses are like a systemic injury. So if symptoms coming on, build your go-to treatment.
- E.g., a lot of people take lysine for HSV cold sores. But you don’t want to over-use this and mess with amino acid pools. It’s ok to take for an acute onset of cold sore but not recommended to take ongoing/daily as a preventative.
- Lysine starves off arginine, lysine creates an imbalance and starves the virus of consuming higher levels of arginine.
- Viruses are opportunistic. Antioxidant status can have a significant effect.
- Steve is more of a fan of natural forms of Vitamin C (e.g. camu camu, whole food sources) over ascorbic acid.
Natural treatment options
- Astragalus overall great for improving immune system.
- Echinacea more anti-viral.
- Selenium inhibits viral replication.
- Olive Leaf is usually effective for EBV.
- Vitamin A too. (A traditionally used in high doses for measles treatment even in babies.)
- Using Vitamin A and selenium gives a bigger bang for your buck, rather than herbs alone.
- Whereas, conventional medicine uses prescription anti-virals.
- With shingles, another herpes virus, it also responds well to herbs.
- The amount of flare up someone gets correlates with oxidation in tissues, and that oxidation can prolong recovery.
- What about natural/more alternative treatment options such as ultraviolet blood irradiation?
The autoimmune connection
- Link between EBV and autoimmune – High percentage of people with MS, lupus, have EBV
- Can/does EBV trigger AI?
- Decreased antioxidant status, increased oxidative stress, immune activation – viral mutations occur more rapidly and that chronic immune response can then turn into an autoimmune condition. AI conditions often spur from infections, which varies greatly, provoking the immune system in some chronic way.
Further thoughts
- Don’t chronically chase the virus and lower numbers. You can still be doing great even if labs don’t change, don’t let that deter you!
- It’s hard because these viruses and chronically dealing with them can be traumatic, so how can we come to terms and be in harmony with our bodies?
- Cultivate more trust in our bodies, often our bodies are so good at dealing these things.
- Where do we draw the line on testing? It can be a tough call. If you do enough labs, you will always find something wrong. Sometimes it’s ok to not test more.
- Identifying with your illness, and the dangers of that. You are not your illness.
The post
Sock Doc 17: Epstein-Barr Virus and More – Managing Chronic Viruses in Athletes and Living Your Best Life first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN, the only sports fuel of its kind and a fuel that helps you thrive via stable blood sugar, metabolic efficiency and more. UCAN is powered by SuperStarch, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
- UCAN has done it again and come out with Edge, a Superstarch-powered energy gel! But this is not just any ordinary gel. It has 70 calories, 0 grams of sugar and 15g of Superstarch equating to 19g of carbs; Edge gels are selling so fast, so be sure to hop on their website at ucan.co right away and get yours.
- UCAN also has delicious flavors of energy bars for you to try—salted peanut butter, chocolate almond butter and cherry almond—and equally yummy energy powders enhanced with your choice of plant-based pea protein or whey protein, each option packing 20g protein per serving!
EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Sponsor:
Thorne supplements help athletes meet their unique needs. And many of Thorne’s supplements are NSF certified. So let’s make sure you’re not running yourself into any deficits—this list is a good place to start:
Go ahead, click on each supplement if you’re curious to learn more about how these supplements may serve you. Maybe one of these or one of Thorne’s targeted bundles for sleep, stress, or performance, will complement your needs and round out your diet this season. Thorne is always available to you on our Shop page, and like we say about all supplements: when you buy from the source you ensure higher efficacy and proper handling of your supplements plus you support the podcast!
Making Use of TSS & CTL: Pros and Cons
- Lucho is using these metrics on himself for the first time ever; there’s a difference between coaching them and feeling them
- CTL
- Stands for chronic training load.
- The accumulation of 6 weeks stress/42 days.
- Don’t aim for a certain CTL number because that will drive you to avoid rest.
- Rest weeks cause a drop in CTL.
- Ramp rate: how fast you want to bring CTL up.
- Is it not factoring rest enough?
- Doesn’t look at performance, per se; can’t guarantee results.
- It is useful to gauge the past 42 days and be mindful of the ramp rate.
- You can reach the end result in different ways, some ways more sustainable than others.
- Lucho isn’t going over 120 CTL for his Ironman training.
- TSS
- Crossover between using TSS as you would mileage
- TSS was developed for cycling, using wattage
- But there’s an art to adapting run TSS and swim TSS to the plan.
- Running is load bearing, and just different than biking in the stimulus provides.
- Good to use TSS to gauge trends, whether the end of the week or over more time, and can compare with total volume.
- Lucho is using TSS to push him that extra bit but not too much.
- TSS lacks the context of a workout’s structure; it doesn’t tell you how you got to X TSS.
- TSS isn’t that great for just looking at individual days, using it for trends over time is more useful.
- Also, use TSS as caps!
- Always always make sure you take into consideration other variables.
- With TSS, fatigue accumulation may make back-to-back subsequent workouts feel harder yet this is not reflected in TSS–there’s a correlation but not one that is official or measured.
- So use your holistic measures to gauge, this is the art of coaching and tracking athletes.
Michael asks:
Progressing Run Fitness with MAF, Using the Right Heart Rates and Methodology?
My age is just about 60. I have been an endurance athlete for over 20 years. Using 180-60 and adding 5 more beats, I am trying to target a 115-125 heart rate. However, my normal easy “all day” runs without looking at my watch are about 115 bpm. If I increase my pace so that I approach 120 or even 125 bpm, my actual running pace would enter tempo pace. I have the opposite situation that I’ve read from most people using MAF. I need to speed up to hit my HR target, not slow down. Any advice?
What the coaches say:
- MAF test looks great, he is fit, starting off in a great place. Very little drop off in pace in a 7-mile MAF test, which is good. Consider longer MAF tests to see when drop-off takes place (same goes for the bike).
- Don’t increase heart rate for MAF but add some intensity; do a more polarized approach on the run but not the bike.
- Run is the one discipline that has the most injury risk so no need to risk it for Ironman.
- Come at this more from a triathlete’s perspective not a marathoner’s perspective.
- Goal pace for the Ironman marathon matters in how you approach volume.
- Heart rate on the bike isn’t always the same- generally, the bike is about 5-10 bpm lower on the bike than the run due to less muscular engagement.
- Benefits of MAF are health and prevents you from running too hard, and the benefit will stay there even if you do different methods on the bike… but MAF alone on the run could be affected; just depends.
- Lower run mileage for Ironman training, maybe 30 mpw is the best? (Bike the most, run the second most, and swim the least—volume-wise).
- As you’re adapting to the bike and swim, stay at MAF on the run, and then when bike/swim fitness progresses you can add more intensity on the run.
- MAF range can be 110-130 bpm, this allows for individual variability on any given day; our RPE can change on a given day due to other factors (don’t micromanage).
- Vo2 max is the most important for master’s athletes (the thing we lose the quickest and easiest as we age) so make sure it’s not neglected over the course of the training program; can also do threshold.
- Save tempo for the final build up to the race.
The post
ATC 339: Using TSS and CTL To Your Advantage, Master’s Athlete MAF Progression, And More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN, the only sports fuel of its kind and a fuel that helps you thrive via stable blood sugar, metabolic efficiency and more. UCAN is powered by SuperStarch, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
- UCAN has done it again and come out with Edge, a Superstarch-powered energy gel! But this is not just any ordinary gel. It has 70 calories, 0 grams of sugar and 15g of Superstarch equating to 19g of carbs; Edge gels are selling so fast, so be sure to hop on their website at ucan.co right away and get yours.
- UCAN also has delicious flavors of energy bars for you to try—salted peanut butter, chocolate almond butter and cherry almond—and equally yummy energy powders enhanced with your choice of plant-based pea protein or whey protein, each option packing 20g protein per serving!
EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
Intro
Lucho updates us on his Ironman St. George training, now just about 8 weeks from race day. You’ll hear: How’s his motivation especially since training hard through a cold, snowy winter season? What is his training focus at 8 weeks out? What does he think about the 7500ft elevation gain on the bike? And more.
Tawnee shares some shoe insight she learned over this past winter, for any minimalist footwear lovers out there be sure to check out the Xero Alpine Snow Boots and Vivobarefoot Tracker II Fg for some warm and robust yet minimalist boots to wear in winter and beyond (no affiliation, just a fan).
Questions
Anonymous asks:
Dealing with online trolls
Hi, How do you or would you guys deal with hateful comments and trolls on social media (or maybe your podcast)? I am a female runner in my 30s and I enjoy posting about my journey training for marathons and other events. Usually it’s all good, and I don’t have loads of followers but most who do follow are supportive and kind. However, every now and then I get a troll who is just mean for no reason—I had one guy say I look nothing like an athlete, and I’m chubby and slow for how much I “train” and I should find another hobby. Someone else commented on my nutrition choices saying “what a joke.” Someone else told me all I care about is how I look in photos but I fail to hide “the ugly.” There have been more of these one-off type comments, but these are a few examples—I immediately block the trolls. I know I should let things like this roll off me, this is just how bullies are, but I can’t. It sticks with me, and makes me want to quit social sometimes and question my self worth. It’s like, I could have 100 nice comments and 1 mean one, and that one is the one that bothers me endlessly. Even the idea of a mean or judgey comment before posting something gets me anxious sometimes. How can I better deal with this stuff and still get joy from social media—so I connect with the community and good people— and not let it be constantly triggering for me?
What the coaches say:
- It’s often not about you the subject of the mean comments, but rather, it’s the person leaving the mean comments who is in turmoil. These “trolls” are suffering and in a weird way we can find a place to hold sympathy for that.
- If you must, it’s ok to take a break from social to work on yourself to the point where mean comments can roll off you and not affect your emotional state.
- Some of us are extra sensitive to hateful comments, that’s ok.
- Often, these things sting really bad at first but their impact fades with time.
- Using a negative comment to fuel you to post more, and use social media even more for the purpose you intended.
- Don’t engage: Blocking the troll and not responding to the comment(s) are key to getting past this! Even if you want to say something and defend yourself, it won’t change the person’s mind and their intention to hurt.
- You’re not alone, a lot of us deal with hateful trolls. The thing is, they don’t know you, the context, or anything about it… the people who do know you and support you, those are the ones to focus on; those are the people who matter!
- Put yourself first! Find a place of self-love, where you share your story authentically and without shame.
- Get to a place where you let the troll motivate you to just be you regardless of the jerks out there.
- Don’t forget, social media will always be a “highlight reel” of sorts.
- Don’t let the trolls harden you.
- As athletes we want to be accepted, let’s face it, and let’s evaluate our relationship with how important performance, time and our body image is. Athletes come in all shapes and sizes, and different speeds.
Matt asks:
Ironman: MAF and/or intervals
Hey! This question is mostly in regard to the hike but feel free to tie in thoughts on the run too. I am doing my first Ironman later this year. I’ve done plenty of short course races, sprints and Olympic, but not anything longer. In training for short course I’ve done my share of intervals and intensity. The difference with Ironman is obviously the distance and being prepared for that. Do you guys think a MAF approach is enough? Or are there intervals and intensity that should be brought in at some point on the bike, if so, what are examples of Ironman specific intervals/intensity in training? My main thing is that I don’t want to train too hard this year and I know MAF is what I need, but worry that it’s “not enough” if you know what I mean.. I’m sure this is an “it depends” answer and curious to what that entails! Thanks!
What the coaches say:
- MAF can always be enough for Ironman training, but it often depends on your goals, and volume needs to be there consistently.
- 6-7 hours a week may not be enough.
- Over 10hr/week is good, and 14 hours a week is an even better place to be.
- It’s not the end of the world to eliminate intensity, Vo2, etc, for Ironman training.
- The older you are the more intensity you tend to need.
- In 40s, brief period of VO2 max work at 10-12 weeks out. Just 9-18 minutes in one session, once a week for ~7 weeks.
- Threshold training can be beneficial. Low to mid Z4 can be enough.
- If you know intuitively MAF is what you need follow that.
- Test your MAF regularly, is your heart rate and pace lining up to a place where you’re efficient? Is it realistic heart rate and pace for an Ironman?
- Polarized training: is it getting a bit trendy right now?
- Context for this mode of training is critical. Athletes doing boatloads of volume are more likely to benefit from it (e.g. runners going 100+ miles per week etc).
- Periodizing this type of training at the right time of season makes a lot of sense; don’t do it year-round.
- A good time to do it is the last 12 weeks before your Ironman (a reasonable time to eliminate the middle zone).
- Using MAF as the foundation is a smart approach and sprinkle in various types of intensity throughout your training cycle.
- E.g. sweet spot, muscular endurance and work in Z3/Z4. Get those muscles prepared!
- Check out ATC 336 for in depth look at sweet spot.
- Ironman is about fuel usage / metabolic function, and MAF really addresses that.
The post
ATC 338: Dealing With Online Trolls, MAF and/or Intensity for Ironman, Minimalist Snow Boots, and Counting Down to IM St. George! first appeared on
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We’re rereleasing this classic episode. Enjoy!
Dr. Phil Maffetone is back for an instant classic on how you can maximize your fitness gains and longterm health simultaneously:
MAF Method refresher:
- It’s not just about the 180 Formula when you pursue MAF, it’s a holistic method for overall improved health, wellness and fitness.
- There are 8 steps to mastering MAF, which we discuss in detail:
- Carb intolerance
- Inflammation
- Vitamin D
- Folate
- Build the Aerobic System
- Manage Stress
- Build a Better Brain
- Healthy Aging
Study: Physically active white men at high risk for plaque buildup in arteries
- A recent study showed that white men who exercise are at a higher risk for plaque buildup in the arteries, and news has spread. View the article here. We get Phil’s take and what is missing:
- Calcification is clearly a dangerous sign, but a downstream problem. Two common causes are:
- Increased fat (especially pericardial)
- Low vitamin D
- Pericardial fat risks:
- When abdomen gets fat, the fat around heart also probably excessive – affects cardiac output, stroke volume and the athlete’s training and racing HR goes up, having a negative effect on performance and health.
- The importance of your waist-to-height ratio. Your waist should be no more than 1/2 your height.
- Study mention: American runners have never been slower
Phil’s new study on the overfat population (click link for full text!), and what they found:
- An increase prevalence of exercise among adults (up to 52%)
- But also a paralleled increase of overfat people (91% of American adults, and 69% of kids in the US).
- WHY is there this trend (i.e. more exercise but getting fatter)?
- How was being “overfat” assessed?
- Conclusion: you can’t outrun a bad diet.
What is a healthy body fat range to be in according to research and Phil?
- Normal ranges of body fat percentages–abnormally low, healthy, abnormally high:
- BF ranges
- Dangerously low
- <14% women (but even ~17% +/- could pose risks)
- <8% men
- Dangerously high
- Source: Lohman and Colleagues
- Phil says don’t exceed these following ranges; it’s where things start to go wrong:
- 29.8% for women
- 15.3% for men
The post
Rerelease: Dr. Phil Maffetone 22: The Eight Steps To Mastering MAF, Healthy Body Fat Ranges, and How Athletes Can Decrease Health Risks first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
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Body Health’s PerfectAmino® 300-count Tablets are NSF Certified for Sport, so you can trust that they’re clean and free form contaminants and banned substances. What you see is what you get. Please note: at this time it’s just the PerfectAmino® 300 count bottles that are NSF certified but all PerfectAmino® is made under the same roof with the same standards.
PerfectAmino helps you fight fatigue, maintain and/or build lean muscle mass, and better sustain your training loads. It literally counts toward protein grams in your diet and vegan friendly. Buying PerfectAmino through us helps support the podcast and ensures that you are getting the highest efficacy and quality care in your supplements rather than risking old, poorly stored, less efficacious supplements bought elsewhere on the internet.
Welcome to episode 29 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
On this episode:
Maryam asks:
Food Intolerance Testing & Healing for Intuitive Eating
I’m a fairly new listener & have been thoroughly enjoying binging on the endurance planet podcast! I don’t think this question has been asked & think it’s most appropriate for HPN but feel free to direct to another episode if warranted. I am a 33 year old female dealing with amenorrhea since coming off of the IUD 2 years ago. My question pertains to intolerances; testing, reintroduction, & symptom assessment. 4 years ago, I was experiencing significant digestive issues, most notably acne (cystic looking), bloating, constipation, and bloody stools. I was advised by a friend to have an IGG test done which indicated intolerances to egg whites, wheat, gluten, brewers yeast, mustard seed, dairy, and potatoes to name a few. For years prior, And following, I can now see that I was significantly overtraining with two workout days consisting of CrossFit, spin classes, etc and underfueling. I know now many of these symptoms to be attributed to hormonal dysfunction but at that time, I was on the IUD & blamed everything on food. Prior to this testing I had been eating mainly paleo-ish from Monday to Friday, was counting calories, & had eliminated processed sugar for fear of addiction & binging. Following this test, I eliminated all of the “high” foods, of course leading to more restriction. I’ve tried to add these foods in randomly following the elimination diet but would at least think that I had symptoms such as cystic acne. I can remember having an ice cream cone and having a headache & becoming irritable, blaming it in the sugar. I also remember having lactose free ice cream and whey protein which was noted as being okay, and experiencing acne symptoms days following. I felt okay with keeping these foods out and that it wasn’t worth the potential symptoms, so just opted to keep all of the foods out. After the last two years of amenorrhea, I’ve become more aware of the impact of hormones and question the symptoms that these foods supposedly caused. So my question, how do you know the difference in symptoms between an actual intolerance and just due to re introducing a food group you haven’t had in years? I know the advice is to add in one food at a time for 3 days and look for symptoms but is there reason to believe there may be symptoms that occur without knowing? Such as low grade inflammation in the gut or acne that pops up a few days later? What would you recommend for this protocol & how would you suggest one become more of an intuitive eater after having been reliant on the same foods & calorie tracker for so long?
I appreciate you both tackling this question! The restrictive diet has had a significant impact on my life and I’m trying to eat more intuitively & fuel for performance, with the tips and guidance provided on your platforms 
Again, thank you so much!
What the coaches say:
IGG Food intolerance testing & reliability
- Science and peer reviewed research on IGG testing is insufficient and not conclusive or determined to be reliable at this point.
- More about getting to the root cause rather than chronically eliminating foods.
- Results with IGG food modifications, must consider placebo effect + how sustainable this will be?
- If your gut is a mess you will react to many foods. And you CAN fix this (great news)!
- The majority of reactions are likely more tied into gut dysbiosis so consider instead investing in a high-quality GI test, which may be more beneficial in the long run for total healing.
- Some immune system reactivity is considered normal.
- A detectable immune response does not directly imply pathology.
- Study mention on IBS patients you tested food elimination based on IGG testing.
- More resources:
Other ways to heal from food reactions
- Gut healing, look at the 5R approach
- remove
- replace
- repopulate
- repair
- rebalance
- In the healing equation, yes, a healing process may require a special type of diet ie FODMAP, anti-candida, low histamine, SCD, AIP, gluten free/dairy free, and so forth…. either partial or full, but only meant to be temporary to heal and then allow for proper reintroduction. The other problem is that these temporary special diets are not considered in IGG tests yet are huge for so many of us.
- Always the goal should be to tolerate most if not all foods, unless a true allergy is present. and then the question is “what if i feel better when i don’t eat gluten” and i think this is fine, but the goal again should be able to tolerate some gluten without having significant reactions.
Acne
- Gut dysbiosis and hormonal imbalance is also often the culprit for skin issues like acne.
- Of course, dairy is a big culrpit/trigger for acne issues, but is it the chicken or the egg here when you are considering gut health?
- Also if there’s a history of being on BC, there can be a reaction when coming off that causes androgens (ie T) to surge, resulting in more incidence of acne
- It’s hard to say more specifically what the exact underlying presentation and situation is for you, but again it’s definitely something that can be addressed and worked with- keeping a loving heart and knowing you are worth it!
Holistic approach
- There is certainly a history with fear, worry and anxiety over food and imbalances within the body that have taken place (over exercising, underfueling, restriction of certain foods and so forth) and THIS is where the healing lies, to create a more calm interval environment and making peace with food+body to allow proper digestion and assimilation. Relax into your meals and see food as your friend, not the villain.
- Look for the root cause, e.g. body needs to feel safe for healing to occur.
- What led you to overtrain and undereat? Body image? Control? Societal pressure? Pressure for better performance? High expectations from self or someone else? Fear of gaining weight…and why?
- When overtrained we don’t sleep well which will disturb the whole system
- A tricky thing is healing gut dysbiosis and special diets when also coincidentally healing ED behavior and really it often comes down to being so DONE with the vicious cycle and adopting more self-love where the elimination comes from a place of love and abundance not from restriction and control. I’ve been through this and it wasn’t easy mentally, but it’s very possible and you also end up being that much more of a mental warrior in the process where you become empowered and like nothing can take you down! You got this!
Digestive issues when reintroducing foods
- The majority of absorption happens in the small intestine where you have these wavey finger-like projections that jut out of the small intestine known as Villi and microvilli.
- These are used to digest and absorb your food, and like other parts of digestion, they are affected by stress and reduced energy.
- When this happens, they atrophy – leading to poor digestion, bloating, constipation, and missing out on much needed nutrients you need.
- Goal is to heal the gut in this way.
- Also: slower transit time can occur when a food is brought back in. Could also affect bowels. These factors lead the person to believe these foods ARE bad and having symptoms confirms their fear. BUT this may just be a temporary response, the body is out of practice so continue to include the foods and digestion will improve.
Intuitive eating
- Bit by bit work on full permission and pay attention. Let go. Stop pushing. Patience and trust.
- Setbacks are a part of the process. Make peace with the worst case scenario. Giving full permission to eat all the foods throughout the week.
- When people begin to intuitively eat some lose weight, some gain weight, but most stay the same.
- Unfortunately, we live in this culture where we believe (have been hammered to believe) that gaining weight is the worst thing that could ever happen to us, therefore losing weight is the best thing.
- Honor the body for the work it’s doing at rest to keep you alive. Learn more about it. It’s always working FOR you.
- You have to love yourself if you want to make a change, you have to believe you’re worthy of better health. Cultivating a loving relationship with yourself/body and not only listening to it, but acting For and With it, will change your life.
Annie D asks:
More on Greens Powders + Hair Loss
Listening to HPN 30, which led me to two questions:
1) Athletic Greens – is that bad for a morning vitamin routine? Julie – you spoke against green powder, so not sure if that includes AG or not. I drink that before my coffee (w. heavy whipping cream nom). And of course get lots of veggies throughout the day. It doesn’t replace that. But am I a victim of podcast marketing (I think you’re the only pod that I listen to that doesn’t market AG ha!)?
2) Hair loss. I turned 40 this year, and have noticed significant hair loss – more in the form of breakage and thinning than actual bald spots. I just scheduled an appointment at LabCorp to get things looked at. But is there anything else that I could or should be doing? Maybe re-listen to the thyroid episode – ?
What the coaches say:
Greens powders
- If you’re bloated or feel weird from it, then yes it may be too many ingredients at once for your body.
- Limit these powders, maybe a few times a week or during stressful periods, low sleep, high exercise, traveling, when everyone around you is sick etc. Not necessary if you’re cooking at home and eating a whole food nutrient dense diet. I just like myself and my clients to get back to the basics and eat more simply. Whole foods instead of powders. Prioritizing cooking more and getting into the habit of meal prep.
- Yes on paper it looks like a “clean whole food” product and is fabulous for a lot of people, but not necessary.
- What is DONE to the food we eat matters. Using powders as supplements has a time and place and there are great ones out there, but should be used just as that, a supplement for when you’re under high stress, training, or in a food desert.
- Don’t need to throw these things out just understand that they may not be a cure all as these types of products are often hyped up to be.
- Podcasters and marketing are directed at general audiences and they may not know what YOU specifically need or don’t need.
Hair loss
- Definitely start with the full thyroid panel if you haven’t yet, what you describe certainly lines up more with a thyroid issue. For example, hair loss and present differently which can then tie it to different root causes.
- TSH, free T3, free T4, anti-TPO, anti-thyroglobulin, total t3, total t4.
- May also test cortisol and sex hormones, HPA axis (for this run a DUTCH test).
- Estrogen makes hair soft and silky while testosterone makes it thicker and coarser. Too much estrogen can make hair too thin and soft, and an oversupply of testosterone, unbalanced by enough female hormones, can make hair fall out.
- We need adequate iron stores to grow hair back so low iron and ferritin should be checked.
- B vitamins to repair as well as adaptogens especially if stress balance is off.
- Protein deficiency, excess dieting, and insufficient zinc and EFAs can increase hair loss
- Also consider stress, exercise and fueling- are you over training and underfueling? This imbalance can affect hair- hair loss, brittle hair that breaks easily.
- Also too harsh of shampoos can cause hair loss, so check what you’re using, how often, see if there’s a more gentle and natural option.
- Or if you really want to go out on a limb, here’s a personal testimony- Tawnee stopped using all shampoo and conditioner in January and there was a transition where hair gets really oily at first but then it balances out and I’ve noticed less hair loss when I brush and in general.
- Of course some hair loss is normal but we all kind of know intuitively when it’s more than our norm.
- Watch for “dirty” ingredients: parabens, silicones, sodium laureth sulfate, phthalates.
The post
HPN 31: Are Food Intolerance Tests Reliable for Healing? Plus: Identifying Root Causes, Intuitive Eating, Hair Loss Solutions and More! first appeared on
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Study Mention:
“Supplementary (i.e., concurrent) resistance training can enhance cycling performance among competitive cyclists. However, a lack of knowledge exists about the retention (decay profile) in mechanical muscle function and cycling performance after concurrent resistance and endurance training. The present exploratory intervention study investigated the effect of 6 weeks of resistance training cessation when preceded by 8 weeks of concurrent resistance and endurance training on mechanical muscle function and cycling performance in 9 male well-trained competitive cyclists (V[Combining Dot Above]O2max = 66 ± 7 ml·min−1·kg−1). Cyclists performed periodized resistance training targeting leg and core muscles for 8 weeks as a supplement to their normal endurance (cycling) training. This was followed by 6 weeks of endurance training only (retention period) leading up to the start of the competitive season. Maximal leg extensor power, isometric leg extensor strength (maximal voluntary contraction [MVC]), rate of force development (RFD), and long-term cycling performance (2-hour submaximal cycling at 55% of Wmax), followed by 5-minute max cycling were evaluated. After 8 weeks of concurrent resistance and endurance training, leg extensor power, MVC, and RFD increased by 12, 15, and 17%, respectively while mean power output (W) during 5-minute max cycling increased by 7% (p < 0.05). Training-induced gains in Maximal Voluntary Contraction and 5-minute max cycling power were retained after 6-week cessation of resistance training (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that competitive cyclists can focus on cycling training alone for at least 6 weeks leading up to competition without losing attained gains in maximal muscle strength and cycling performance achieved by preceding periods of concurrent resistance training.”
The question that athletes and coaches might have is “How long should I strength train during my training cycle, and/or when should I stop ST and focus on sport specificity?” This gives some valuable insight…
What the coaches say:
What this study investigated and found:
- Subjects were 9 competitive Danish male well-trainer sub-elite cyclists.
- Note: small sample size and no control
- “Although most research generally reports positive effects of concurrent resistance and endurance training on both short-term and long-term cycling performances, limited knowledge exists about the retention of mechanical muscle function and cycling performance when concurrent resistance training is removed from the training schedule.”
- What they did:
- 8 week strength training intervention.
- 6 week no strength (but maintaining cycle training).
- Strength sessions of 60 minutes including squat, abdominal crunch with olympic weight bar, unilateral leg press, back extension with handheld weight(s), and planks.
- “A rest time of 3 minutes between successive sets was used for squat and unilateral leg press exercises to emphasize the improvement of maximal strength and RFD because moderate to long rest intervals should demand heavier loads and faster concentric phases than using shorter rest intervals (11,20). By contrast, 1 1/2-min rest periods were used for the less strenuous exercises (abdominal crunches, back extension, and plank).”
- The volume and intensity of the endurance (cycling) training were kept stable throughout the study period.
- Results:
- They gained and retained a boost in 5-minute maximal cycling power coming off a 2hr submax ride.
- Another study looked at something similar but had different protocols and all the strength training gains that had been observed tended to decrease showing a detraining effect.
- “This study demonstrates that concurrent resistance and endurance (cycling) training can elicit improvements in mechanical muscle function and cycling performance, respectively, in highly trained competitive cyclists. Perhaps more importantly, maximal muscle strength and cycling performance may be maintained in this athlete population for at least 6 weeks after withdrawal of resistance training.”
- The practical implications are that coaches/ cyclists can choose to either maintain or remove resistance training when preparing for competition.
- The study authors note that a “single weekly session of heavy resistance training during 25 weeks of the competition season seems effective of retaining the positive effects from preceding periods (12 weeks) of a heavy resistance training intervention period among well-trained cyclists (41).”
- The subjects of this study did not gain body mass during the 8-week strength training intervention period, i.e. no muscle hypertrophy occurred. Instead gains seem in part due to increased neural drive.
- They also speculated that there could have been in a shift from type IIx to type IIa myofibers to led to gains that were retained without hypertrophy taking place.
- Type IIa are oxidative and more fatigue-resistant compared to type IIx fibers.
Some take-homes and limitations:
- Cyclists are a different beast than triathletes, runners, etc. So how would this carry over in different endurance sports?
Grace asks:
Swim erg vs lap swimming for real-life triathlon swim performance?
Hi guys! Ever since C entered our world swimming laps in the pool has become exponentially more difficult and a pain in the butt. Plus it’s just hard to get to the pool—as Lucho has talked about on recent shows, it ends up being such a trek!
I bought a Vasa swim Erg machine last year, and love it–and no, it is NOT an easy workout. I want to use this for the bulk of my swim training for triathlon this year, but is that a risk? In 2022, I plan to do a couple Olympic distances and at least one 70.3, all this summer. I’ve heard people say that the crossover is incredibly specific, and that the swim erg can be a solid substitute for actual pool swims, but how accurate is this? Should I trust that advice and feel comfortable mostly sticking to the erg for training and not stress over the pool so much? I still want to get to the pool on occasion but not like I would have before, when it was swimming 2-3x a week. Now it would be pool swims 2-3x a month + erg multiple times a week. What do you think? Is it a risk? Are there any studies or evidence in support of the swim erg for real-life crossover in swimming? Thanks!
What the coaches say:
- The swim erg has been around since late 80s / early 90s, but there is minimal literature on the effectiveness of a training intervention utilizing a swim ergometer for swim training crossover.
- Nothing on dryland can truly replace the sensation of water, but the erg gives a swim-specific strength workout.
- When options are limited training on something like an erg is better than nothing at all! Do what you can; control what you can.
- We’d suggest using the erg multiple times a week but still trying to get in the pool for a real swim once a week if possible.
2021 Study: The Effects of Anaerobic Swim Ergometer Training on Sprint Performance in Adolescent Swimmers
- Participants in the ERG group experienced a greater increase in the speed of the 4th 50m effort following the intervention period compared to the pool swimming (PST) group
- Participants in both groups experienced a significant increase in every measure of power output
- The similarity in training response to ERG and PST SIT over 4 weeks suggests that the swimming ergometer may be utilized as a dryland training modality in swimmers
What the erg can potentially do for your swimming:
- Increase stroke rate.
- Improve power and distance per stroke, with less effort.
- Movement pattern that translates to the water.
- Can help with technique, keeping high elbow and good form gives direct feedback.
- Allows you to work on biomechanics without having to struggle with breathing like some will in the water.
- How much is needed?
- Just 20-30min can be incredibly effective.
- Ideally a training regimen would include weekly volume of 2-4x @ 20-40min each.
- However, how does this translate to long-course endurance swims? We know that it can help power and short duration, but what about all the triathletes swimming non-stop longer distances in races? Evidence seems to be anecdotal.
- More resources:
Dave F. asks:
When you’re 18 weeks out…
Hi guys,
Firstly love the show! I am a relative newbie into triathlon this is my fourth year of training and racing.
My only race in 2021 was my first marathon (3hr10min) the beginning of December (avg; 60km/week training for 8 weeks).
Being 35 and with a young family, my wife and I have decided that if I would like to compete in an Ironman, now is the time! So I have signed up to Port Macquarie (Australia).
18 weeks out at the time of this email (sent 12/27/21), I have started following a training peaks program (10-15 hours per week). Would love a coach but we just can’t afford it right now.
Example week: threshold sessions (SBR) Monday and Tuesday; long run Wednesday; and two long rides + brick of a weekend to fit in busy schedule. I also do 2-3 strength sessions plus some easier swimming other days.
Going this pretty much alone, my question is around pacing. Having just completed the marathon, is it reasonable to say I will hold my run fitness doing avg. 40-50km/week. Is 3hr30min (5min/km) a reasonable target? Or should I be more ambitious?
I continued cycling 2 times per week during marathon build, but no swimming. Did a 160km ride week after marathon no problem. Plan this far out, would be to get fit enough to hold high zone 2 for the ride.
The swim, is the swim.
For reference:
70.3 pb 4hr35min
Slow swimmer
Cycling for ~8 years >300FTP
Played football growing up
Really appreciate all the help!
What the coaches say:
- This adjustment seems right (i.e. ~20min drop), but a lot of variables that can affect this so it’s impossible to predict.
- High Z2 on the bike affects the run more than low/mid Z2; tradeoffs.
- Running a 3:10 on fairly minimal training for the marathon was a fantastic result, shows running strength. (And that there is a lot more potential for a faster marathon performance in the future!)
- Make sure FTP is on point, Z2 is a % of FTP so the higher FTP is the higher your Z2 can be for better performance.
- 3:30 may no be competitive in this particular Ironman, would need <3:20; while a 5-hour bike is competitive.
- So in the race: bike more cautious, and go for it on the run! However, if you end up cooking it on the bike and go a too hard then you’ll need to dial it back on the run. All a juggling act.
- With Lucho: he is using mileage (not time) for his Ironman training.
- When running, look for the hardest sustainable effort for the distance remaining.
- Do a brick/big day of a 4-5 hour bike with high percentage at Ironman effort followed by a 1-hour run at about 20 seconds faster per mile; 10-15 seconds faster per km from your IM goal pace (for him 5:00/km).
The post
ATC 337: Swim Erg vs Lap Swimming For Triathlon Performance, When Can You Cease Strength For More Sport-Specificity (and Still Maintain Gains), Marathon Transfer To Ironman Run, and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:
Be sure to open Amazon via enduranceplanet.com—it’s just one extra click to link to Amazon through the ads on the sidebar banner or the Amazon search bar (to the right of the page); or click the Amazon links in the show notes. Thanks for supporting the show!
Sponsor:
Body Health’s PerfectAmino® 300-count Tablets are NSF Certified for Sport, so you can trust that they’re clean and free form contaminants and banned substances. What you see is what you get. Please note: at this time it’s just the PerfectAmino® 300 count bottles that are NSF certified but all PerfectAmino® is made under the same roof with the same standards.
PerfectAmino helps you fight fatigue, maintain and/or build lean muscle mass, and better sustain your training loads. It literally counts toward protein grams in your diet and vegan friendly.
Buying PerfectAmino through us helps support the podcast and ensures that you are getting the highest efficacy and quality care in your supplements rather than risking old, poorly stored, less efficacious supplements bought elsewhere on the internet.
Dr. Steve Gangemi, The Sock Doc, is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
This is Part 3 of our 3-part series on the immune system and how you can get healthier and stronger immune function. If you’ haven’t yet go back and listen to Part 1 & Part 2 first. On this episode we tie it all together and cover mental stress, neurotransmitters, nutritional protocols to support your immune system in general and before/after vaccines, the question of vaccines/boosters and individual responses and approaches, athletes who seem prone to getting sick and more…
Part 1
Role of mental stress on immune function
- How tangible is the effect of mental stress on immune function? How can we better check and monitor or stress levels?
- Triangle of health: Structural, chemical, mental/emotional, e.g. this shows how mental stress can be just as detrimental as other types of stress.
- Gut-brain connection:
- Nearly all serotonin made in your gut and this affects how we feel.
- Up to 55% of dopamine is made in the gut as well and this affects our emotions and how we feel.
- When we’re injured or sick for a long time there’s a lot going on- we can get angry etc and this can be tied into HPA axis, cortisol, etc., and affect mood and emotions.
- Chinese medicine meridians
- Meridians affected by emotions and vice versa.
- Emotional turmoil can affect organs.
- Liver is affected by or contribute to anger and frustration, lung correlated with grief, kidney/ low back pain with fear.
- The journey of healing is never over, what better time to address our mental and emotional health?
Neurotransmitters and their role
- Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit signal from one nerve cell to another, or muscle or a gland.
- Eg histamine, to some degree, it’s a neurotransmitter
- Most people think of serotonin as the thing that “gets you to the race”, whereas dopamine “gets you to win the race.”
- Neurotransmitter levels can go both ways: If you’re someone who’s always in a funk for no specific reason, you could actually create a serotonin imbalance which could then affect gut health (motility, etc)- it’s not always about something else outside or a gut issue in itself that is causing deficits and imbalances in neurotransmitters.
- If you’re anemic or having hormonal issues (sex hormones, stress hormones), or even blood sugar regulation—these issues could influence neurotransmitter dysfunction.
- An ongoing cycle:
- WBC are thought to tag neurotransmitters as they’re being made and there’s a memory that’s created.
- If you’re overwhelmed with an infection and neurotransmitters are imbalanced, your body can get an imprint of that and tag WBCs. This can impact how immune system then affects emotions even after the infection!
- Eg if serotonin levels are not functioning properly, the immune system gets an imprint and then after the infection is cleared, you can kind of get stuck in a similar pattern as when you were sick/imbalanced- i.e. serotonin symptoms of depression.
- Receptors aren’t being activated properly due to the imbalance.
- How to fix neurotransmitters or get out of a rut/cycle as mentioned above?
- Starts with diet.
- Check exercise, stress, breathing, cortisol levels (are they through the roof? this matters).
- Check gut health- are you making them, and enough?
- SSRIs: they can help but they don’t help your body make more neurotransmitters; instead, they help what you do have stay active; i.e. they can help but not fixing root cause.
- So a lot of people aren’t making sufficient amounts- goes back to methylation (and folate, B12, et- methylated nutrients), iron/anemia, gut health.
- Women end up on meds more than men, tied into hormonal issues and even more incidence of iron/anemia etc.
- Fix/control what you can fix: diet, exercise routine, etc. These things are often at the root cause. Work on 2 sides of the triangle.
Nutritional protocol to support Th1/Th2 and vaccine support
- Refer back to Part 1 for a more detailed rundown of the Th1/Th2 responses in the immune system.
- Th1 is supported by astragalus, olive leaf, vitamin A, vitamin D.
- Covid specific: What is helping includes elderberry, astragalus, A, D, zinc.
- Th2 is supported by OPC from grape seed phytosomes, and we’re seeing that this has been really helpful to support the Th2 response from a vaccine or otherwise.
- OPC info:
- OPC is showing to be helpful to support your body when getting the vaccine.
- This compound is found naturally in apples, raw chocolate, blueberries, strawberries
- We recommend Thorne brand of OPC.
- You can take OPC in advance or after the shot; so far we know more about it when taking it after the shot.
- When taking after the shot – if using Thorne, take 3 capsule 3x a day for 3 weeks, and this helps with immune overstimulation that happens.
- Vaccine can lead to an overabundance of Th2 cells.
- Th2 supported by antioxidants—helpful foods and nutrients include: tomatoes, carrots, watermelon, quercetin, onions, kale, resveratrol, green tea extract.
- But sometimes the food form isn’t enough and supplements really help for a bigger boost.
- Are vaccines throwing off our Th1/Th2 balance? it seems like it results in being Th1 deficient with heavy Th2.
- Vaccines and breakthrough covid infections, what’s going on here? Or is it just that the immune system is very overwhelmed from these interventions, etc?
Part 2, Listener Questions
Suzanne asks:
Based on your latest podcast I would love to hear Steve’s thoughts on how to support your immune system to prepare for Covid booster shots. (Perhaps I should search his sight first for more information.) I recently had mine not sure how I feel about it but each time I’ve had a pretty significant response. The second go around I actually got shingles. I do you have underlying autoimmune condition (Raynaud’s) I don’t consider it severe enough to be a concern with the vaccine. Perhaps I am wrong. it’s hard to know what the right thing is to do these days. There just isn’t enough information available to make a solid decision. Im trying to good for my community and I have potential high exposure at my job as a massage therapist. Ugh!
Intellectually I agree with science and vaccines. But my gut disagrees.
What we say:
- Discussing the value and validity of trusting your gut and intuition.
- Don’t lose your intuition, this means we lose our own compass.
- Being in alignment and true to yourself, our purpose, etc.
- Uncertainty or indecision affects large intestine (going back to Chinese medicine).
- If an autoimmune condition is present that should be a red flag when deciding to get a vaccine.
- IL-4 is the predominant cytokine of the Th2 response and when you combine that with TGF-beta, this leads to a Th9 response, which is another pathway in which someone develops autoimmunity.
- If we provoke the Th2 pathway excessively (can happen with allergies, asthma, parasites, vaccines) you’re more susceptible to developing or worsening autoimmunity.
- Shingles is a sign that immune system set off, this condition is the reactivation of the virus for many of us (as it lives dormant in us usually), and the Th1/Th2 imbalance at play in leading it to surface.
- What about “mild” autoimmune cases or those in remission from autoimmune conditions?
- If it’s present and an issue, even minor, that is considered a risk factor.
- Remission is another issue and a deep question.
- Recent data indicates that the vaccine may only diminish transmission/reduce exposure for 3 weeks.
- The vaccines for covid aren’t lasting very long but what they are doing is hoping to reduce severe cases.
- What about natural immunity? Herd immunity? And helping to end the pandemic.
- Typically vaccines don’t last as long as natural immunity for many viruses (i.e. viruses other than covid).
- And with covid we just don’t know everything yet for one reason: time.
- So bottom line: how do we prepare and support my immune system for a better Th2 response when getting a vaccine or booster?
- If you want to get the booster and more shots going forward: support immune system, A, D, OPC are high on the list to support.
Emily asks:
Just discovered endurance planet a couple of weeks ago and have been gobbling up the episodes. Thanks for your important perspective on the whole person not just the performer. I am striving for balanced and health-focused marathon training if such a thing is possible.
I’m a mother of two and my kids and marathoning are my joys.
I’m a 4x marathoner and have progressed from 3:20 (2014) to 2:56 (2019) with a baby born in 2016. My second was born March this year.
Nothing inspires me like the marathon and I overperform at it relative to my other distances. I know I should probably take a season or two to run shorter distances but whenever I do that I often lose motivation and don’t enjoy myself.
I’m a huge fan of building up to 100km weeks I like to hold for about 10 weeks each cycle. My workouts are fairly light — I rarely go to the well and focus on threshold and hills for power— and love the long run.
However every build my limiting factor is illness. I have mild asthma that flares up with respiratory infections. When I train and race through these infections, I know I potentially damaging my lungs by prolonging the infection and exacerbating my asthma symptoms. I’ve worked with a naturopathic doctor in the past and I’m not sure the supplements help if I only take 3 days off instead of waiting for the illness to subside. I usually get very antsy about losing fitness. I have taken up to a week off but find it very difficult. I am getting better with a meditation practice and improved perspective at listening to my body.
I’ve moved to a new area and made fast friends with other runners also running marathons this spring. I promised myself I’d put health and family first but am so tempted to run Boston 2022 for social reasons and to do what I love. Somehow I still qualify from 2019. I have not run it before. It feels “right” but daunting.
My first race post partum (8 months post partum) was to be this weekend (nov 8). I didn’t line up because my two sons got ill earlier this week and I got sick beginning Thursday. Scratchy throat, dry cough keeping me up at night, and runny nose. Not major but I’m just not interested in it developing into an upper respiratory tract infection so I DNSed. So far asthma feels controlled.
I’ve been running 60k a week with little strain and lots of enjoyment and think I could easily build to 85k and maybe 90-95 by January.
OTHER LIFESTYLE FACTORS
My baby sleeps better than my first but sleep and diet are definitely some areas I could improve. When babys not teething or unwell I usually get 4-5 hr stretches once 3-4x a week. My partner works shift but for the next few months will have all weekends off which will allow me to train with friends for every long run on Sundays. It’s much less stressful than my normal training cycle where I sometimes and doing my 35k long runs at 7pm.
My naturopathic doctor has me trying out an elimination diet for 4 weeks because I also had iron deficiency and low hemoglobin through my pregnancy. I’ve had chronic anemia and needed to supplement on and off for a decade and we suspect a gut issue. I got iron infusions due to my pregnancy January 2021.. We are eliminating alcohol, dairy, gluten, and added sugar for 4-6 weeks and adding a probiotic. A decade ago I had an eating disorder but I truly feel released from it. I can eat a variety of foods without issue now, fuel very well when I train in particular, and know I need to eat nutrient dense food and put away the junk. I eat about 70/30 whole to processed foods.
Questions!
- Is it foolish to train for a respectable Boston (I’d love to run sub 3:15) given my current lifestyle of young kids, less than ideal sleep, and susceptibility to illness?
- What is your thinking on training through mild illness or maintaining fitness without overall stressing the body or is total rest required?
- Any other tips for runners prone to illness? Nutrition, supplements, or lifestyle? It’s complicated for supplements bc I am breastfeeding and plan to continue for another 6 months most likely.
I love marathoning but also know I may need to be patient.
Much thanks.
What we say:
- The concept of “runners who are prone to illness”—the key here is, we shouldn’t be prone to illness. It’s ok to get sick on occasion but it’s how those illnesses affect us (severity, duration, etc). But if you find yourself catching everything, especially as an athlete, there is a clear imbalance between health and fitness, and something needs to change.
- If the training is too much and heavily weighted in one’s life, i.e. having a negative effect on ability to recover or stay balanced, then that will show itself in the illness and allergies, etc.
- Aerobic system is dependent on iron; iron is tied with T-reg cells.
- And vitamins A, D, copper, glutathione—these all needed for T reg cells.
- Iron helps make superoxide dismutase, which is a powerful antioxidant right up there with glutathione.
- So back to the training, is it worth it? Is it foolish? Yes but….
- We’ve all done dumb things like training and racing when we were sick and prolonging that illness.
- Thorne article and facts on the J curve with exercise, with more that we discussed in Part 2 of this series.
- Fit but unhealthy? Refer to Maffeotone/Laursen article.
- We also discuss more on fit but unhealthy in this podcast.
- More tips and considerations:
- Athletes are a bit stubborn and tend to train/race even when worn down and/or sick.
- Also, in being a mom, is your ability to parent and show up for your kids negatively affected?
- Total rest isn’t necessary, you don’t have to quit running.
- Asthma resources by the Sock Doc:
- Better understanding of asthma
- Asthma and athletes
- The idea here is: What if you can make your lungs stronger and not just manage the deficiency? So you can train and race and get rid of this condition and catch fewer respiratory infections.
- With medications, how are these affecting you, what is the mechanism taking place? Important to dive deeper on this.
- Last word: The races will always be there… it’s ok to hold off on having to everything right now.
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Greg asks:
Sweet spot training: How much and how far out for Ironman?
Hey guys! I am curious to hear Lucho talk more about sweet spot training on the bike for Ironman. I am 42 with a cycling background and have done some triathlons but starting training for my first full Ironman in 2022 and feel like sweet spot training makes sense for me on the bike, but I can’t find much information on this approach and just wanted to hear more from you guys.
When you should start this in the training cycle? How much time spent in this sweet spot zone per week? What other bike workouts complement this type of training? Are there times it should be avoided? Thanks so much for any input!
What the coaches say:
- Sweet spot on the bike is applicable to athletes who need lower volume training.
- e.g. 8hr/wk or less on the bike; or if you’re training for Olympic distances races
- It’s not for everyone- it does add a strong stimulus and added risk for some!
- Look at TP TSS- if you’ve 1hr to bike, is Z2 going to stimulate you if you’re already pretty bike fit?
- Sweet spot is
- Mid Z3 and higher, don’t go over Z4.
- It is 84-97% of FTP
- If you’re doing Z3/Z4 sweet spot- must realize the stress is higher than usual Z2 training.
- It’s like tempo-plus, higher stimulation of muscle tendon than pure tempo.
- Meanwhile not much muscle stress at Z2- so volume matters to get the stimulus, i.e. 3hr minimum if doing Z2 but less with sweet spot.
- Can implement sweet spot in the base period.
- Weekday rides could be: 45-60min high Z2/low Z3 into sweet spot but not over Z4; weekends 4-6hr Z2 ride.
- Sweet spot is supplementing Z2 work, it’s slightly harder effort but still aerobic.
- Don’t fear tempo/sweet spot; it is not true intensity nor will it mess up your fat burning or base training.
- When should you start this in training cycle?
- Immediately if coming in fit….
- But if not that fit, you can tweak it and still achieve the goal: Can be as simple as 10 x 1 min /1 min off at sweet spot watts (a lower risk workout).
- Watch TSS- only bumping it a little bit not crushing yourself.
- So, do sweet spot in base, not mid-season build, and it is for time-crunched athlete
- Caveat: sweet spot not good for run training or runners.
- Running too hard is the biggest mistake we make (however, tempo ok!)
- How much time spent in sweet spot?
- You can try to predict it but we’re not some machine so there’s an intuitive nature to it.
- When getting into a sweet spot workout: you can be a bit tired and its still ok, but adjust intervals, if you don’t feel good back it off.
- Don’t get locked into trying to hit a data point if it’s not the day!
- With sweet spot, train to fatigue- i.e. do as much as you can…
- For example of a 3-day block of descending intensity:
- Get on the bike and do as much as you can, hold watts till “it sucks” then back off, and repeat intervals.
- Next day, that feels too hard? stick to Z3/tempo but not as hard as sweet spot.
- 3rd day now just do Z2- and this is more quality because you’re tired now.
- You can use fatigue to complement the next workout.
- How much time per week at this zone?
- As much as you can handle without it screwing up the rest of your training!
- Word of caution: Sweet spot the day before a run can screw up a run.
- Complementary bike workouts:
- Z2 rides, sweet spot will increase FTP- don’t mix sweet spot with FTP, Z5,Z6.
- However if you want to raise FTP to raise sweet spot wattage, this is not a complement to your current sweet spot training.
- Sweet spot WILL increase FTP in itself, so don’t overdo it by doing quality more than this.
- When you reach your IM build period (after base):
- Back off sweet spot a bit, and edge more toward a polarized approach as training goes on (z1/Z2 and Z5-Z7 or VO2 power).
- A traditional linear periodization training cycle is about 8-week blocks that include:
- Base: 18-26 weeks out and the time to do sweet spot if coming in bike fit (20-28 weeks with longer taper).
- Build: 10-18 weeks so now do less sweet spot, start work more polarized with more time in either Z1/low Z2 or Z5/Z6- can still do sweet spot just be on top of recovery (and also things like not running hard).
- e.g. Lucho says he is not running or swimming hard at all, all Z2/MAF focus in those sports.
- In this build you can stimulate VO2 but not crush it, don’t need to wreck your world.
- *minimal effective dose- VO2 max 8-9 minutes TOTAL.
- Specificity: The last 10-12 weeks abandon polarized/Z5 and go back to sweet spot because this is still considered specific and complements IM wattage/Z2.
- Is the “gray area” really that bad?
- Not if you’re using data to guide you! You will be forced to back off and not get stuck there.
- Nutrition considerations:
- If you are going to do sweet spot, you better factor in calories… as well as other markers of holistic health, don’t start this kind of training if you’re drained and worn down already.
Jennifer M. asks:
53 and MAF—help!
I’ve been dabbling in endurance training and triathlons for the last 10 years or so, basically ever since my kids were older and I had more time to myself again. For a long time I’ve been training by pace and grit while ignoring HR but realizing my training and racing heart rates were just so high (I would see HR in 170s in training and even over 180 in races like half-marathon!). I started working with a coach who applied zone training to my workouts, based off lactate threshold, and my Z2 was set at 140-155. I was running an ok pace at this zone and getting the training done, but not recovering well and still worn down, so after some research I came across MAF method and have been dabbling with my 180-age HR (a whopping 127- yikes!) and I’m STRUGGLING. This has me at a 13:00+ pace on average, usually with walking to keep HR down. I am not signed up for anything this year and self-coached at the moment, but have my heart set on doing an Ironman before I turn 60! I have time, so should I just stick to this low HR and hope for the best? Or with a higher heart rate that I’ve seen in the past should I adjust my MAF? How much run mileage/week would you recommend for someone in my age group? How long should it take till I expect results with MAF, before adjusting the HR or training? Also- if I’m looking long term at Ironman, what tips now would you have for getting my bike up to speed, I can go all day but I’m sloooow and probably on the weaker side.
What the coaches say:
- Testing lactate threshold, how was that done?
- If you’re doing a 20-30min run TT (or bike TT too), you have to subtract- e.g. Take 95% and subtract 10 watts for the bike
- These numbers are pretty arbitrary and can be wrong
- For her, she can stick to MAF if everything else in life feels good and balanced
- However, it might help to split the difference and set your modified MAF zone at 130-145 HR, that will fulfill that goal and keep it fun and enjoyable!
- Don’t look at the physiological aspects in a vacuum—if you hate it it’s not going to work
- Start from a point of building confidence and gaining satisfaction
- For example regardless of how useful it is, if it’s not sustainable and you hate it, it’s useless
- It’s not like 140-150 bpm is completely anaerobic
- How long till you should expect to see results? Give it 3-4 months of this.
- Along the way you will see subtle increases and training benefits that may not be as obvious as faster pace per mile, pay attention to your body and the signs. For example, just getting less tired for the same training load. Something that once was hard maybe isn’t as hard anymore—that’s a boost in fitness even if not easily measurable!
- Monitor recovery… does it improve at this new, revised range?
- How is nutrition, be sure to think outside the box in how your training is progressing—it’s more than just heart rate and mileage.
- Maybe not “go all day” on the bike at this point and give the run a shot first. You can still bike just not to the point of draining you and negatively affecting the run.
- Use data and auto regulation to guide training and not overdo it!
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On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
In part 2 of this 3-part series we take a deeper dive into immune system function.
If you haven’t yet, listen to part 1 here.
Exercise options for optimal immune function
- Exercise- some is good, too much has negative effect.
- Thorne article: How Athletes Can Support Their Immune Function (with links to relevant studies)
- Equation of fitness isomer than just the exercise itself- so many other variables from sleep to work stress to family stress, diet and so on.
- Endurance athletes have a greater demand since the amount they mush themselves, and if not careful can be more susceptible.
- Overtraining runs system down (even if you’re not doing high intensity).
- Immune cytokines- some are inflammatory and other anti-inflammatory, this impacts immune system function and other systems in the body.
- Too much HIIT can put us into sympathetic overdrive – symptoms manifest in many ways and could include: skin issues like eczema, fungal infections (including toenail issues), you catch every cold going around, allergies and asthma, and so on.
- How to find our sweet spot with exercise for robust immune function?
- Trial and error: See how you respond to different exercise modalities and stimuli. Listen to your body. If you have cravings this could be a sign that things are off.
- If you had done too much long slow aerobic training and switch to HIIT with low volume helps, you may see better sleep, sharper cognitive function, and so on.
- If craving sugar, this could be a sign you’re burning too much sugar and not a great fat burner.
- If craving salt, this could be a sign you’re depleted in electrolytes and/or adrenal glads.
- Sensitivity to bright lights or sensitivity to sounds are a sign of sympathetic overdrive.
- Are you peeing during seeing hours? This is not a normal thing.
- What about people who have a lot of stressors that can’t just change everything, such as shift workers or people traveling to different time zones?
- Quality diet and training have a bigger positive impact than we may even realize- and those are well within all our control.
- Sleep habits as well.
Offseason, training in winter and vitamin D
- Should we worry about training too much in winter months when we’re not getting an immune boost through the sun?
- Not necessarily, it depends and shouldn’t negatively affect every single person. Why? You can still supplement with Vitamin D. And also when it comes to illness and things like seasonal affective disorder (SAD), there are typically other issues going on not just a low D thing.
- The “Vitamin D border” in winter
- The changing angle of the sun in the winter, and why the latitude in which you live matters.
- Above the 37th parallel where you won’t get D from the sun in winter months (can get D from the sun above that latitude in summer months).
- More info: Vitamin D winter by Sock Doc
- Shadow trick- what is it?
- D Minder app to monitor your Vitamin D status and more
Self assess & healing
- Blood markers discussed in detail in part 1.
- The path to healing and building a stronger immune system.
- So many speciality labs exist these days. But too much information can be overwhelming. Blood is a great way to start cheaply.
- Past that, measuring immune markers via blood even just basic Vitamin D.
- Vit D ideally in 50-80 ng/ml range.
- Labs are great to point you in the right direction but use caution to not be overwhelmed.
- Food sensitivity tests- Steve is not a big fan because of false positives. Not really addressing where the problem actually is.
- Hormone tests via saliva are more accurate than blood because you can see free levels more accurately for both men and women.
- In blood- there are a lot of issues that can affect hormone measurements that won’t give you the info you need. Saliva tests may be a better bet especially if symptomatic.
- If you’re seeing that you’re extra sensitive to minor things even smells of all kinds, chemicals or seasonal things (like pollen in spring), indication that immune system needs work regardless of what the bloodwork may say.
- Don’t try to just push through it or push harder, it’s ok to go easy and take care of yourself when you need it- listen to how you feel and function.
- Bloodwork is not going to tell you everything. Listen to your body.
- LINK And genetic testing? It’s not the be all end all. Our podcast with The Sock Doc on genetic testing here.
- He’s also not a fan of vitamin and mineral tests in blood because your blood is typically one of the last things to change when there’s an imbalance in the body. You could do a major chemistry analysis and it may not accurately reflect little imbalances, nor does it address why that imbalance is there and supplementing alone may not be the long-term effective answer. Maybe it’s major diet and lifestyle changes.
- Is it worthless to test those things? Eg B vitamins? No… just don’t rely on single lab tests.
- Vitamin D is another example that we can’ trust that one marker along- don’t jut test 25-hydroxy Vitamin D, also test the 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D to measure the balance between the two. But few people do this. If you see levels go up with supplementation then plummet back down after you stop supplementing, then that could be indicative of needing to test both. But then where does the testing end?
- The bigger issue is that we’re seeing less critical thinking and clinical observations, instead relying too much on labs and numbers not the thorough exam and history.
- A case for holistic healthcare and functional medicine.
Nutrition & supplements for immune health and overcoming illness
- Are there supplements we should take daily?
- Stick with the ones that are proven to support and improve T regulatory response: EPA/DHA, grassfed/grass-finished fats, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, zinc.
- Vitamins A& D
- Don’t need to fear Vitamin A. Not going to toxic taking it for a short period of time. High doses up to 100,000 IU have been used for certain illnesses.
- Throughout the winter a normal supplementing routine could include 10,000 IU Vitamin A to 2,000 IU Vitamin D (10:2 ratio), a few times a week. Half that for kids 12 years old and under.
- Based on your diet or sun exposure, you may not need to supplement that much with these.
- Warning signs off too much A: headaches, pressure behind the eyes, and others… it takes a while to actually reach toxic levels and poison yourself with Vitamin A.
- Forms of Vitamin A and what other ingredients are in your supplements?
- A lot of vitamin A is beta carotene, and just about 30% of that is converted.
- Buy Vitamin D in D3 form.
- Biotics Research is a good brand for these supplements.
- Ingredients and sources matter!
- Watch out for seed oils in your supplements and/or a long list of unnecessary ingredients added into supplements.
- You get what you pay for with supplements, don’t go cheap. Especially things like fish oil that can so easily go rancid, and don’t buy non-triglyceride form.
- Titanium dioxide was pulled from Europe’s safe ingredient list but has potential side effects, yet is found as an ingredient in MANY supplements.
- Buy from trusted sources like Wellevate, Fullscript, Thorne, and so on. They stand by their products and have great customer service.
- Why is Vitamin C perhaps isn’t as powerful or as necessary as we have been led to believe?
- Most comes from GMO corn. Over 500mg of ascorbic acid caused some DNA issues.
- In regulating your immune system better, Vitamin C is not even in that pathway.
- Vitamin C sacrifices itself when other deficiencies are present, i.e. C can make up for other antioxidant deficiencies.
- Zinc
- Astragalus
- Can aid in immune health in athletes.
- Anti viral and anti microbial.
- Can support immune system generally speaking and actually strengthen it; improves Th1 response in the body
- Anti inflammatory due to high concentration of flavonoids.
- It’s been used for diabetes, male hormone and sperm health, asthma, decrease mucus production, protect kidneys, anti-cancer properties, can even help methylation issues.
- Very few if any side effects; don’t take if on immune suppressants or lithium drugs.
- How it’s produced matters, herbs can easily be screwed up.
- A good source for quality herbs: HerbPharm
- Comes in powders, tinctures, capsule form- keep as pure as possible.
- Multivitamins or immune supplements stacks?
- Biotics Research Immune Support packs to cover a lot of your bases without going crazy picking and choosing a million different bottles.
- Elderberry
- Used with astragalus, works really well.
- Diminish viral replication.
- Sambucal syrup loaded with sugar isn’t it. Get a good quality tincture, locally made, used with a natural sweetener.
- Only use it when you are actively sick, great for that, won’t help just taking regularly to strengthen immune system (unlike astragalus is good to take regularly for oil support).
- Can use it pretty heavily when sick, especially in the early phases.
- Dilute your liquid herbs in water!
- Glycine
- Great to improve liver function, break down cytokines in the liver (diminish the cytokine storm and detoxify through the liver).
- Sweet tasting amino acid, and you can’t really overdose on it. Can take it throughout the day while sick.
- Quercetin
- Antioxidant, found in onions, lemon peels.
- Really good at repairing cell damage and improving IL10- the most important anti-inflammatory interleukin, thus improve immune system.
- Can also use to negate effects of NSAIDs and detox when NSAIDs were overdone.
- Safe to take.
- Things that get attention but are the worth it and necessary:
- Probiotics- ok to take but not something you shouldn’t need to stay on them long-term. You’re taking live cultures that should grow and thrive, to the point where you don’t need it anymore. When using a gut protocol go through the proper phases of cleaning up- kill phase to repopulate and so on.
- Oil of oregano- more so used to clean up gut, anti-fungal; good to take but not one that you want to stay on or take long term
- Digestive enzymes to support gut health – don’t take long term, could lower the bodies own ability to produce these enzymes so don’t keep taking them too much too long. You can become reliant.
- More on immune health support for athletes:
- Nieman D. Moderate exercise improves immunity and decreases illness rates. Am J Lifestyle Med 2011;5(4):338-345. doi:10.1177/1559827610392876
- Pyne D, Gleeson M. Effects of intensive exercise training on immunity in athletes. Int J Sports Med 1998;19(s 3):s183-s194. doi:10.1055/s-2007-971991
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On this episode of Ask the Coaches with Tawnee and Lucho:
Intro
- Lucho updates us on Ironman St. George training and making the effort to get out the pool, making it a multi-tasking outing.
- Tawnee and Lucho give some quick followup thoughts from the last show, ATC 334, on transitioning from endurance to a heavier strength training phase.
- Tawnee says once she backed off endurance training/heavier run volume, and increased strength training and power workouts (eg kettlebells, rowing machines), that she got significant results with low volume, minimal equipment and without having to use very heavy weights.
- Maybe the challenge for many of us is in the shift in training itself (i.e. from running to strength training focus) and how that affects us mentally. It doesn’t have to be about adopting the most extreme training plan.
- Lucho’s Instagram account, follow along: @runnerlucho.
Andy asks:
Ultrarunner tackling Ironman & making the mental shift to a new way of training
My name is Andy. I signed up for my first triathlons this coming summer 2022. I am an ultra runner and I am struggling with changing my mental outlook towards training. I have been absorbing as much info on triathlon training as I can. I understand that I need to train totally different than I have been but find myself wanting to train for the swim and bike like I would train for an ultra. I usually would run around 50-60 miles a week in a normal training block heading into a shorter ultra like a 50k and increase that amount if I was training for a 50 miler or 100k. I find myself wanting to swim and bike at least the amount of miles the race will be a week. Like Lucho I always feel better if I destroy myself in a workout and have to work hard mentally to put in the easy miles for recovery. I know that I need to approach the marathon differently focusing on building speed with intervals and fartleks and don’t need to have the long runs I would normally do. Training for ultras I would do back to back long runs and usually run race distance a few times before the race. I was wondering if I swim much further than 2.4 miles in training a few times or ride over the 112 miles a couple times is that going to negatively effect my training. Or is it ok to push myself and get some long rides and swims in in order to make the race distance feel easier. Currently I am swimming 3 times a week and running and cycling 5 times a week. I have been doing high intensity intervals on the bike and swimming mixed with long rides and swims. Same thing with running. And doing brick workouts. I run after every bike session and ride after every run using the latter as a cool down.
What the coaches say:
- Don’t change who you are. Don’t change your mental outlook, this is part of who you are and what drives you to
- Make the training work for your mental outlook.
- Follow your gut intuition and what makes you feel good and confident.
- Ease off on the run a bit.
- The run training for ultra has added a massive amount of durability. Durability is everything to avoid injury and setback.
- Your ability to absorb load will be greater due to previous run training; don’t shy away from cycling volume (way less stress on the body
- You could totally do the race distance(s) each week.
- Doing 112 mile rides is totally reasonable, even more.
- Don’t do your biggest workouts 4-5 weeks out, it’s too risky and too close to race day.
- Starting 20 weeks out start you can be doing your longest rides, relates to the 20×20 idea.
- Drive cycling volume safely because non-load-bearing.
- Defining performance?
- You don’t need to be doing speedwork in the run for Ironman; too non-specific. If you do do speedwork, make it 20+ weeks out from the race.
- Just remember- when you come off the bike in Ironman your run mechanics are going to not be the same as when you’re running fresh or doing shorter races.
- Ditch speedwork for run-specific strength workout: long tempo runs and threshold runs.
- Too many athletes focus on the last 5%… but what about the volume that matters e.g. 40 weeks of 40 mpw.
- For this athlete, run less (e.g. 30-35 mpw) and boost the bike and swim!
- Then ~16 weeks out can add the threshold-type stuff (not traditional speedwork).
- Two-hour trainer rides have value.
- Be realistic with a good kind of hurt vs a bad kind of hurt when you’re in a workout.
- Fins metrics/data to guide duration and intensity of a workout. E.g. watch your HR and don’t over-stress yourself. Don’t bike yourself into “useless puddle.”
- If you do destroy yourself, take the next day EASY or off (hop into the pool if you must do something).
- Triathlon swimmers: It’s OK to use the pull buoy and paddles (with a caveat on the paddles)!
- But also don’t always use toys a crutch.
- Wetsuit similarities to a pull buoy.
- If it helps you enjoy the swim more to use something like a buoy, maybe that’s not such a bad thing! Especially if it helps you swim more without problems or loss in good form.
- Ironman Cozumel mention: Kristian Blummenfelt and Dede Griesbauer- amazing performances!
Mel asks:
Using UCAN and other sports nutrition ideas for Ironman-distance racing
Hi, I’m wondering if you could address using Ucan during a full IM race. I’ve been using Tailwind for years with success, but would like to get off using so much sugar and natural flavorings. Ucan plain flavor doesn’t have any electrolytes added in…do I need to worry about that? If so, can I just add some pink Himalayan sea salt to my mix and be good, or would I need to also take nuun or the Ucan hydrate for a successful day? I’m more of a mid packer so I’m not biking or running at a really high HR so not sure how important the electrolytes are for me. ? I get really hungry on the bike, so I also fuel with some dr. Lim style sushi rice cakes that are more on the savory side. Would love your thoughts on a ideal IM race fuel strategy. Should I let go of the sugar drinks, or stick with what’s working?
Thanks!
What the coaches say:
- General tips
- Look at using more than just one product like UCAN to round out your race fueling plan.
- Caution against highly concentrated sports drinks (e.g. cramming a bunch of scoops of any sports nutrition mix into one bottle is risky).
- Mistakes with nutrition are much more likely when using concentrated bottles.
- Don’t always focus on what other people are doing. If you do go this route, find people who race similar times as you.
- We’re a huge fan of Dr. Alan Lim’s nutrition philosophy and his rice cake recipe(s), and Skratch Labs drink mix.
- Start practicing your sports nutrition plan as early as you can to refine and dial it in so there are no questions come race day.
- And if you’re still confused, talk to a sports nutrition professional or RD who works with Ironman athletes.
- Keep it simple because you’re brain will be fried! Maybe “boring” is the key to success.
- Don’t let media hype have you question what works for you!!!
- How many calories per hour do you need for an Ironman, if you are a fat-adapted triathlete, on the bike and run? These numbers are fairly general; may want to tailor further for fat-adaptation levels, needs and more:
- Smaller people (<150lbs)
- 300 calories per hour on bike
- 200-250 cal on run
- Bigger people (>150lbs)
- 400 calories on bike
- 300-350 cal on run
- UCAN-specific tips:
- Longer than 3 hours, it’s recommended to include some variety of carb sources and solids too:
- Variety of CHO sources may help because different carbohydrates are transported into cells with different transporters becoming the energy we need and use.
- ISSN recommends a “variety of calorie-dense foods. Consideration must be given to food palatability, individual tolerance, and the increased preference for savory foods in longer races.”
- ISSN says: A central aim of any periodized ultra-marathon training program should be to maximize capacity for fat metabolism, thereby sparing muscle glycogen for the latter stages of competition.
- Carbohydrates (CHO)
- On bike:
- ~300-400 calories an hour
- CHO: 60-70g/CHO per hour (240-280 calories from just carbs) on the bike is usually the upper limit
- Some people can handle up to 90g/CHO hr, or 360 calories from CHO, and if you are one of these people try it on the bike not the run
- UCAN plain = 1 scoop = 90 calories with 22 CHO (basically pure CHO but as we know that is CHO in the form of super starch- low-glycemic, complex carbohydrate that doesn’t affect blood sugar)
- So you could do 1 scoop mixes with 8-12 oz water or other drink; consider adding with a low osmo drink like 1 serving Skratch?
- Refer to ATC 330, where we discussed sports drinks & osmolality in detail; the short: don’t pack too much in!
- On run:
- ~200-350 calories an hour
- 40-50 g CHO/hr (160-200 calories from CHO)
- This is newer to the scene but if you’re using UCAN can try UCAN EDGE gels instead of mixed bottles.
- UCAN Edge gel is 70 calories with 19g CHO. Does have some sugar alcohols that some people may find they’re sensitive to, so test test test.
- Then add in what else works for you
- Fat
- Factoring your CHO needs and metabolic efficiency to then determine fat during racing.
- Fat is a worthy fuel source (oxidation of glycogen provides only ~2500 kilocalories of energy before depletion, whereas oxidation of fat provides at least 70,000–75,000 kilocalories of energy, even in a lean adult [31]).
- Fat needs can be subjective and a lot of variables like what your gut can and will tolerate. For some people they can safely include MCT oil, for others this may send them to the port-o-potty.
- Protein?
- With ultra endurance events, you want to get in a source of protein/amino acids to prevent muscle breakdown + help with recovery.
- Protein: approximately 0.25 g/kg protein per hour when taken along with carbohydrate is recommended by the ISSN to minimize potential muscle damage [9]. – so for 150lbs this is 17g/PRO/hr (can sub supplements like PerfectAmino)
- ISSN recommends: 5-10g/PRO/hr.
- On protein and central governor:
- “Branched-chain amino acid supplementation still may help endurance athletes via central governor theory modulation [13]. BCAAs compete with tryptophan for transport across the blood brain barrier, and increased tryptophan may increase serotonin and contribute to feelings of fatigue [13].”
- We like PerfectAmino.
- Hydration and electrolyes
- Fluids: ~400-800 mL per hour; not over 1L per hour.
- ISSN: 450–750 mL/h− 1 (~ 150–250 mL every 20 min)
- Electrolytes
- Sodium: 300-600mg/hr if high sweater or 500-700 mg/L of fluid (32 fl. oz.). Some say salty sweaters: up to 1,000 mg/L (32 fl. oz.)
- Lucho’s Ironman nutrition plan:
- 2 bottles on the bike each with 2 scoops; same bottles ready in special needs.
- Plus a gel flask diluted with water.
- He likes to stay as self-supported as possible in racing.
- However, in Leadville he was forced to go lower on calories jut logistically speaking.
- References:
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ATC 335: Ironman Fueling Plans with UCAN and More, Transitioning from Ultras to Ironman – Mindset and Training Style Adjustments, and More Fun! first appeared on
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On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
In part 1 of this multi-part series we take a deeper dive into immune system function.
Immune system 101
- We’re in an era where research on the immune system is exploding, and ever-evolving
- Components of the immune system include
- Gut
- Spleen
- Thymus
- Lymph system
- Skin
- Point is, it’s not just one specific area
- Every organ may affect the immune system in one way, and vice versa
- The idea of practicing hygiene but also not trying to be overly sterile and germ-free. There’s a symbiotic relationship between
- The role of the gut in immune system- it matters, but so do other things
- Steve is seeing a strong need for other players too, and they’ve been minimized by our love for the gut. For example, he’s seeing a need to help spleen and thymus aide.
- Signs to looks for: If you’re constantly fatigued, get sick and have a really hard time kicking it (weeks+), or you have some ongoing subtle health issues
- Chronically high cortisol suppress thymus, therefore impairing
- If you’re stressed out very easily this cold indicate spleen or thymus issues.
Blood labs analysis
- CBC w/ Differential can direct or guide you on what is going on inside if you’re a bit unsure.
- Do not just rely on conventional ranges on these tests.
Here’s a helpful guide of functional ranges (for optima health) to keep around and help you understand your results:
- WBC
- 5,500-10,500 (5.5-10.5 mcL)
- Some normal ranges go down to 3.5 but, anything below 5 is a sign of being run down
- Neutrophils (eg Segs) 50-60%
- If these are high over 60% that could indicate bacteria infection or some cases could be a virus
- Also increase in a bad accident, etc.
- When these drop below <40% and lymphocytes go up >40%, this indicates folate or B12 deficiency or malabsorption type problem
- If MCV is also high, eg red blood cell is larger than it should be, this could also point to folate/B12 deficiency or malabsorption.
- FIGLU test- only accurate way to test for folate deficiency. Folate breaks down FIGLU, and this breaks down histadine. If don’t have 5MTHF you’ll have high FIGLU in your urine, and this indicates inadequate folate levels in the body.
- Lymphocytes 25-40%
- Monocytes 3-8%
- These get high when there’s a viral infection such as Epstein Barr, Hepatitis—but usually they are high after infection not necessarily in the acute illness phase
- Heavy metals can also cause monocytes to go high
- Eosinophils 1-2%
- If these are over 2-3% this can indicate allergies or systemic infection (2-9%)
- If they go high and stay high (>10%) it could indicate a parasitic infection
- Esophogitis and how these drive up eosinophils
- Basophils 0-1%
- Too high indicate allergies
Individual immune systems- why does it vary so much?
- Why are some people more robust, whereas others have weaker immune systems, and why is it that our own immune systems can change over a lifetime (eg developing autoimmune)
- Genetics play a role to some degree, whereas others are born with a compromised immune system and that carries forward with them through life.
- Is it healthy to get sick?
- If you catch everything that goes around and are often sick, that’s not great and indicates a problem.
- But if you’re always well and never get sick, that doesn’t mean you’re “better off”. Occasional sickness does help our immune system and it’s a part of normal functioning.
The rise of autoimmunity: why are we seeing this?
- It begins with T helper cells, these come from thymus, and suppressor cells.
- These cells “self-check” and help decide which way your immune system goes.
- These Cd4 cells have certain pathways, and they make T regularity cells, which make autoimmune cells.
- They make certain cells suppress or extenuate infections, they make cells that help you deal with allergies, etc.
- Th1 & Th2 cells – T helper 1 and T helper 2.
- Either end of a see saw- if they’re equally weighed you’re more in balance.
- When you have an infection, your Th1 gets more robust.
- When you have too many allergies, toxins, high stress, etc, your Th2 get more robust.
- Either way these things cause you to be out of balance.
- How about vaccines?
- Vaccines increase Th2 response, so it’s like putting a weight vest on that side of the seesaw (heavy Th2 light Th1) and this can exacerbate with more intervention.
- So now if you get sick your TH1 may not be as capable- it’s “too light” whereas Th2 is “too heavy” and this makes it harder to fight off viruses, bacteria, infections.
- Th2 response combines cytokines and can create an autoimmune response.
- More people have autoimmune because they’re living in an Th1/Th2 imbalance.
- This is becoming more common.
- Look at things you can improve in your own life: don’t eat things you’re allergic to or even sensitive to, clean up environmental toxins, etc.
- The other pathway to developing autoimmunity:
- And it’s not just a medical intervention like a vaccine. Autoimmune issues can happen independent of that.
- Th17 reaction- a more direct route to developing an autoimmune issue.
- Extracellular bacteria, fungi, candida, chronic yeast infections, allergies, food sensitivities, gut infection, or any other infection with skin and so on.
Toxins & chemicals in our environment, food and bodies
How do we know if these things are present and affecting us negatively?
- Mold:
- Some stats say that 50% or more homes in the US have a mold problem, and some people (maybe not everyone) seem susceptible to mold illness—how this fits into a immune function conversation.
- To some degree we can and should be able to live symbiotically live with mold because it exists everywhere. However, what about issues like living in a home with excessive or dangerous mold (something we may or may not be aware of)?
- individuality matters a lot here, as does the location of the mold (eg in a bedroom where you spend a lot of time).
- Basic mold tests are available online or in stores. Varying degrees of in-depth testing depending how deep you want or need to go with it.
- For example of a place with petri dishes for mold testing: microbalancehealthproducts.com
- Changing your health for the better can often drastically improve our tolerance to mold.
- It’s often more than just the mold! We don’t necessarily want mold growing excessively all over the place; however, often it is the case where someone who is reacting to mold is also having some other health issues going on.
- If you are having a chronic health issue, it would be wise to do a deep dive on your environment and clean up what you can.
- Mold needs a “food supply” (eg wood, etc) and water source.
- If you see a spot of mold, don’t just “paint over it.”
- Bottom line: Steve rarely sees it where it’s just a mold issue affecting one’s health. Usually there are other things going on too.
- And then there’s glyphosate
- Remove it as best you can, and don’t use it (i.e. RoundUp)
- Yes, its effects can be felt and add up in a negative way over time
- Ecoblend- a healthier alternative
- Monitoring the food you buy, and be weary of produce such as the “dirty dozen” (ewg.org)
- Cooking and eating at home as much as possible makes a positive difference, but don’t go overboard by being orthorexic or paranoid
- Environmental concerns like bee colonies dying off
- Other ideas:
- Use low/no VOC paints
- Personal care products with cleaner ingredients (even nail polish)
- You may see over time that you could be getting sick fewer times when you start cleaning up your life and environment more.
The post
Sock Doc 14: Your Immune System, Part 1 – What Is It, Blood Markers To Analyze It, How It Can Be Affected by Toxins and Our Environment, The Rise of Autoimmunity, and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
Sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by the
UCAN, the only sports fuel of its kind and a fuel that helps you thrive via stable blood sugar, metabolic efficiency and more. UCAN is powered by SuperStarch, the fat-burning fuel of choice for metabolically efficient endurance athletes and health enthusiasts.
- UCAN has done it again and come out with Edge, a Superstarch-powered energy gel! But this is not just any ordinary gel. It has 70 calories, 0 grams of sugar and 15g of Superstarch equating to 19g of carbs; Edge gels are selling so fast, so be sure to hop on their website at ucan.co right away and get yours.
- UCAN also has delicious flavors of energy bars for you to try—salted peanut butter, chocolate almond butter and cherry almond—and equally yummy energy powders enhanced with your choice of plant-based pea protein or whey protein, each option packing 20g protein per serving!
EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.co for that same 15% discount.
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Richard L. asks:
How many times per week should I incorporate strides into the end of my MAF runs?
From a neurotyping perspective, I’ve loved MAF and not loved speed work. However recently I’ve discovered that when I’m fully warmed up (40-60 minutes of MAF), I crave strides. The other day I was listening to EDM and timed some intense strides with the beat drop of the songs after an hour of MAF and it felt incredible. I want more of this but don’t want to overdo it.
I’ve also noticed that I tend to take a much longer time than others to warm up, 20-50 minutes before I can shift gears and enjoy pushing hard. Is that normal? In my half marathon I had to drop behind the starting pack for the first half an hour but then spent the rest of the race chasing down the person in front of me. Is this normal?
What the coaches say:
- Neurotyping background: The Neuro Type Workouts
- Use neurotyping not to lock into one way, but rather to better understand where you’re at and how you’ll excel.
- Particularly useful for coaches to help guide an athlete in a way they’ll prefer and what hormones are dominantly driving their personality type.
- For example:
- Type 3 has high adrenaline and are highly stimulated, so they need to chill.
- While a Type 1 is going to go hard and listen to hard music.
- But it doesn’t have to be all or nothing with your neurotype.
- You may shift and change based on your goals, and goals evolve.
- Longer warmups are normal but more so in those who are overly tired (whether from training, life or both)
- Switch up your warmups to something that will include more muscle activation—jogging, then walking lunges, air squats, hopping, 7-way hips, plyo-type jumps, followed by more jogging then strides. This will help prevent the long, slow warmup slog or those times when it feels like forever before you’re ready to go.
- How many strides per week? it depends.
- Strides are not a workout in itself, they are not meant to push you into fatigue.
- Even 20 second strides is a bit long, but this is ok if you are gradually building into each effort.
- Stride sets differ depending on whether you’re doing them for warmups vs neuromuscular development/running economy.
- Strides for economy development:
- 10 x 20 second strides with the first 5 being warmup, more relaxed, as body loosens up push the speed… by the 5th or 6th build to top end speed and hold it for the rest.
- But if you’re tired, then DO NOT do them for increasing fitness and run economy, skip them on the days you’re very tired.
- Strides at the end of the workout or toward the end of a heavy week shift in what they are achieving, and they become more about muscular endurance.
- You can’t really do them incorrectly unless you go too long… or if they hurt you in some way, but everyone is different here though in how they’ll respond.
- Strides are unlikely to have a negative effect especially in a MAF program and when done in a non-fatiguing way.
- Don’t force strides, let them happen.
- Risks vs. benefits of barefoot strides at the end of a workout.
Molly asks:
Female runner tackling strength program this winter
I am looking to take a full 4-5 months off from structured run training and get into heavier strength training. I have always strength trained and I move well with no injuries or issues right now, so my question is, for a “skinny” female endurance athlete, what would you recommend for a fall/winter strength training program to add lean mass and see what I got as far as building strength and lifting heavy weights? I’ve been looking at 5×5 model, but it just seems like they only have you doing a few different exercises (squats, DLs, press, etc), what are your thoughts on that? What about kettlebell-focused programs? Lastly, what role does more functional low-weight or bodyweight training have here or is it a waste of time in a heavier lifting program?
What the coaches say:
Takeaways
Getting strong isn’t hard when:
- You do it consistently
- You don’t do excess endurance
- You lift heavy enough
- You eat well
- Taking 4-5 months off isn’t necessary to make gains unless you’re actually ready for a break from what you’ve been doing and perhaps this can also become an education opportunity to study strength training and different programs and experts.
- Perhaps look to your neurotype to help guide a plan, while even resources like T-Nation is a wealth of knowledge on everything strength training.
- 5×5 strong lifts
- This method may or may not be necessary for her profile and goals.
- 5×5 came about in the 60s and 70s.
- It includes 5 multi joint barbell lifts a week, done 3x a week.
- Starting point is generally 50% of your 5-rep max for each lift.
- A/B split program format, always a squat, usually only 1 set of 5 DLs.
- Goal is to increase the weight you lift by ~5 pounds each workout and/or week.
- Not going to failure.
- It’s low maintenance from an equipment perspective, with no machines.
- Modify as needed to fit your time frame (i.e. workouts can go long, like 90 minutes, but you can modify to fit your schedule).
- Downsides?
- 5×5 format can be hard for some endurance athletes to sit around and take that much rest between sets.
- It may not be the best place to start for a newer strength athlete who doesn’t need such a “loaded” program.
- Not everyone does well with heavy squats or deadlifts so that could be something to consider if you need to omit those movements.
- Are squats risky? They can be, every body is different. Some people just need to avoid them and their knees can’t handle them, but other people thrive off them. Same for deadlifts. Try and see, and make sure you learn good form before lifting heavy.
- At some point you may need/want a bit more complexity or different stimulus, so maybe a modified 5×5.
- Limited exercises. We always recommend functional stuff that may or may not include weights. as well as other complex exercises like cleans, push press, KB swings, etc.
- Easy Strength training program by Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline
- Easy Strength program utilizes the same lifts per day 5 days a week, with a lower intensity (lower % of 1RM than 5×5) and was found to be an effective strength training program.
- It could be a great starting point!
- What they do here is:
- 40 workouts total (ie 40 days of training), 8 week program consisting of five training days in a row followed by two days off. Loads based off 1RM.
- In it, you never go close to failure or even struggle.
- Exercises include:
- squat
- bench
- DL
- pullups
- loaded carry
- ab wheel
- “The most likely mechanism for the strength gain was neurological adaptation. With the same lift performed on a daily basis, neurological adaptation will lead to increased “skill” at performing the movement (Tsatsouline 1999; Tsatsouline 2004). This could lead to higher motor unit recruitment or more synergistic motor unit recruitment (Duchateau, Enoka and Semmler 2006).”
- “The lower percentage of 1RM, resulted in a low daily volume, helping to prevent excessive muscle fatigue and allowing for a faster recovery and adaptation (Tsatsouline 1999)…. but, the weekly volume for each lift was relatively high because subject worked out 5 days a week.”
- Speaking of Dan John there’s an online article by him on T Nation that discusses the simplicity of strength training, and building your own straight-forward program for gains.
- This really embodies how simple it can be and that too light of weights or chasing fatigue are NOT the answer.
- Other ideas for strength training:
- A more circuit-style of training with high reps and lower weights, which may fit an endurance athlete’s personality type better.
- PAVEL Tsatsouline STRONGFIRST kettlebell training or classes.
- An Olympic lifting program where you learn these lifts with a coach.
- Lastly Charles Poliquin can’t be forgotten- if you want to go further down the strength training rabbit hole and be a student of lifting I’d definitely look at his resources, such as this.
Brad P. asks:
How not to slow down in a tough 100k ultra?
Hey Tawnee and Lucho!! Thanks so much for your great shows, I love the podcast and learn a ton from both of you. I have a question about attempting my first ever 100K ultra next year: How do I modify my training to be able to run strong for the duration of a 100K ultra on a tough technical course with lots of elevation gain?
A quick bit of background on me:
- I have completed multiple 50Ks and two 50 mile ultras, along with a bunch of halfs, 25Ks and marathons
- Primarily trained by HR (maff style) fo most of those ultras and focused mainly on high volume for those races (i.e. no outside work lifting weights, hardly any speed sessions, etc)
- My first 50 mile finish was on an easy but muddy course, and I finished in 10:42. My other 50 miler (actually 52 miles) was at the Superior 50 in northern Minnesota. The course is super technical, with about 12,500 feet of ascent. That race took me 13:43
- Woodstock 50 race data https://www.strava.com/activities/707748497/overview(10:42 finish) & Superior 50 race data https://www.strava.com/activities/1179748837/overview(13:43 finish)
- Looking at my data from both races, I dropped way off pace wise in the last half of the race. I think my pace was way worse in the last half of superior because my stomach went south at mile 25 and I could not suck down any more Ucan; which is all I had trained with and also used on the previous 50 miler. I switched over to just taking 1 gel each hour, due to my stomach and I know I shorted myself on calories really badly. I think the thing that jumped out at me for the end of the superior 50 mile race was that my HR was not the limiter, my legs were just dead.
The 100K race I am targeting is called the Wild Duluth 100K and it takes place on a different section of the same trail system that the Superior 50 miler was on, so it will also be very hilly and technical. What do you think I need to add/modify in my training, as opposed to just volume volume volume? I have attached a screenshot of my training for superior 50 so you can see the volume, maybe I overdid it?
What the coaches say:
- Shift the big block of training (peak mileage weeks) to earlier in the training cycle so it’s not too close to the race itself (finish biggest block at least 4 weeks before the race, not any closer, and even further away is ok too).
- Any signs of a calf strain should be dealt with immediately and not let it drag on until it’s a bigger problem.
- Maybe a bigger emphasis on recovery weeks and lowering volume even more on those weeks.
- Being mindful of overall life stress and its role in recovery and fatigue.
- No weighted packs for this type of training.
- Figuring out nutrition—this is key and it was a monster red flag in what killed his last race (i.e. not being able to eat after 25k).
- He definitely did enough, and the back to backs were awesome, but was it too much? Unlikely too much, but maybe it just needs to be modified a bit (i.e. enough rest in the weeks leading into the race).
- Strength training will help if he’s willing to add.
- Why does nutrition go south in a race for so many of us? Pacing… hormonal response… stress… GI issues due to going too hard (or going too hard too early).
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Welcome to episode 29 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
On this episode:
More on Cold Thermogenesis (CT)
Male and female differences
- We did a deep dive on CT in HPN 29 with caution against those who may want to steer clear of CT.
- This episode we mention of more research on male vs. female differences:
- One study on gender-specific cold responses found crucial differences between male and female participants:
- Women’s peripheral temperatures were colder than the men’s, though internal temps were the same for both.
- Metabolic heat production and shivering were greater in men.
- This implies that the male body is better at warming itself up and, in so do, increases metabolism and fat-burning. Women just get (and stay) cold!
- Men also exhibited larger changes in neuroendocrine and immune responses. So again, this implies that men (not women) experience improved adrenal function and immunity in response to cold exposure.
More research on CT
- Metabolism. 2009 Apr;58(4):552-9. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2008.11.017.
- Ross Fiziol Zh Im I M Sechenova. 2015 Feb;101(2):145-62.
- J Appl Physiol (1985). 1999 Aug;87(2):699-710.
- Obes Rev. 2011 Mar;12(3):167-88. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00756.x.
- Free Radic Biol Med. 1994 Mar;16(3):299-305.
- Cryobiology. 2014 Aug;69(1):26-33. doi: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2014.04.015. Epub 2014 May 6.
- Cryo Letters. 2015 Mar-Apr;36(2):120-7.
- J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Apr;97(4):E584-90. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-2246. Epub 2012 Jan
Low(ish) Carb Lovin’
New research discussing low(er) carb, high(er) fat diets with our take-home messages for our audience, as this info gains more mainstream attention
Takeaway messages
- Moderate/low carb can be effective in reducing the markers in type 2 diabetes, obesity and CVD.
- We don’t have to worry about consuming saturated fat like we were once told.
- Obesity prevalence was 42.4% in 2018.
- 34 million Americans have diabetes, 90-95% of them with type 2; that’s 1 in 10 people.
- We need to work on getting healthier vis diet, exercise, etc, and how we can help those around us who may benefit even if our own body is dialed in.
Insulin resistance 101
- Quick overview of how we end up with chronically high blood sugar.
- If you know someone who is obese, has type 2 diabetes, and/or is at risk for CVD then a low-carb diet is a really effective way to manage and reverse it.
- It doesn’t have to be extremely low carb or keto.
- Start with something as simple as tracking and slowly eliminating junk food and replacing with healthier options in a way that will be sustainable.
Carbs & saturated fat: time for updated recommendations?
- We don’t have to fear fat, particularly saturated fat, and US guidelines may be outdated.
- We now are seeing that saturated fat isn’t the demon we once thought, so be sure to include these solid fats but also eat other types! Nature doesn’t make bad fats. Switch up the types of food you eat and you’ll nail it. A balanced plate.
- Not demonizing carbs, just promoting a whole foods diet. Increasing the quality and percentage of whole foods on your plate will increase the quality of your health.
- As with most things, the dose makes the poison.
- How many carbs were they eating in these diets that were studied?
- “The Test diets, with protein controlled at 20% of total energy, were designed to vary in proportions of carbohydrate and fat by 3-fold (Low-Carb: 20%, 60%; Moderate-Carb: 40%, 40%; High-Carb: 60%, 20%). Saturated fat comprised 35% of total fat for each diet.”
- Keep protein stable, and adjust carbs and fat as needed.
- Does not have to be keto or super low carb!!!
- “As reviewed below, a clear theme emerges — compared to low-fat diets, low-carbohydrate eating patterns result in equal or superior weight loss as well as the improvement of multiple established risk factors associated with IR and CVD [28,29,51].”
Sports Nutrition & Wellness Trends—2021 and beyond!
Overview
- Sports Nutrition Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product Type (Sports Drink, Sports Supplements, Sports Food), By Distribution Channel (E-commerce, Brick and Mortar), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 – 2028 (Published May 2021)
- Coming out of Covid, more consumers focused on self-care, preventive medication and fitness.
- But meanwhile, as of 2019, 463 million adults between 20-79 years old were suffering from diabetes.
- Estimated to increase to 700 million by 2045.
- Rapidly increasing demand for nutritional products with plant-based ingredients and immunity-enhancing benefits.
- We talk about pros and cons of greens powders and whether we need them, or when?
- Mintel Health ingredients to watch in 2022 – Oct 13 2021
- Mintel, a global market intelligence agency, with this data just presented at Vitafoods in October 2021. What people want more of in their products:
- Immune health: Growing interest in natural ingredients and specifically botanical ingredients with immune benefits, e.g. ginger, turmeric, garlic.
Spotlight on the growing popularity of postbiotics
- The rise of postbiotics
- What’s the difference between prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics?
- Pre– fibers that feed good bacteria, e.g. resistant starches or foods that the body can’t digest so they pass through your GI tract to become food for the bacteria and other microbes
- E.g. garlic, green bananas, onions, asparagus, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and chicory root.
- Pro– live beneficial bacteria that will be found in the gut and things we can supplement with to build populate gut or eat via fermented foods
- Post– what probiotics produce by feeding on prebiotics, i.e. metabolites produced by good bacteria,
- Examples are SCFA and supplement would be Designs for Health Tributyrin Supreme, available at fullscript.com.
- We are seeing fantastic results in supplementing with postbiotics in clients when we keep hitting road blocks with healing!
- DFH blog on postbiotics:
- Certain SCFAs represent some of the most commonly produced postbiotics. Most widely studied of these is butyrate — “has the most evidence supporting beneficial effects on gut health and functioning of other body systems, including the brain and central nervous system. Butyrate occurs naturally in high-fat dairy products (butter, cream, cheese, etc.), but this diet-sourced exogenous butyrate is primarily metabolized in the stomach and small intestine. The endogenous butyrate, resulting from bacterial fermentation, is synthesized in the colon; therefore, its effects—particularly those localized to the gut—may be distinct from the biochemical or physiological properties of food-sourced butyrate.”
- Postbiotics and Their Potential Applications in Early Life Nutrition and Beyond
- “Postbiotics are functional bioactive compounds, generated in a matrix during fermentation, which may be used to promote health. The term postbiotics can be regarded as an umbrella term for all synonyms and related terms of these microbial fermentation components. Therefore, postbiotics can include many different constituents including metabolites, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), microbial cell fractions, functional proteins, extracellular polysaccharides (EPS), cell lysates, teichoic acid, peptidoglycan-derived muropeptides and pili-type structures”
- Other highlights of postbiotics:
- Supports leaky gut & tight junctions
- Gut motility
- Heal mucosal layers
- Healthy histamine and healthy mast cell levels
- Weight management
- Chronic diarrhea
- “One study investigated the effect of heat-killed Lactobacillus acidophilus LB in adults, 16 years and over, compared to living L. acidophilus LB on chronic diarrhea. From the second week onwards, stool frequency was significantly lower in the postbiotic group, as well as improvement in clinical symptoms. This indicates that the postbiotic product was more effective than the living L. acidophilus LB in the treatment of chronic diarrhea.”
Mental wellbeing
- Using natural supplements to support mental health:
- Magnesium
- Viewed as the “mindfulness mineral.”
- 4th most abundant mineral in the body.
- Cofactor for more than 300 enzymatic actions in the body.
- Key mineral for optimal brain function.
- Works to calm the nerves and relax the muscles, which in turn can help people fall asleep. Signs of low magnesium can include constipation, muscle cramping or pain, nausea, headaches, fatigue, brain fog, depression, irritability, anxiety, mood disorders, PMS, insomnia, and more.
- Different forms can achieve different results, and some are more bioavailable than others.
- Try glycinate for a good go to for relaxation, sleep anxiety, female cycle help (pms relief cramps), cravings and overall wellbeing.
- For a brain boost try: magensium L-Threonate
- This form crosses blood brain barrier to help in memory and cognition; learning; depression and anxiety.
- Study: Enhancement of Learning and Memory by Elevating Brain Magnesium (Cell 2010)
- “Here, we show that increasing brain magnesium using a newly developed magnesium compound (magnesium-L-threonate, MgT) leads to the enhancement of learning abilities, working memory, and short- and long-term memory in rats.”
- Tawnee mentions using DFH NeuroMag recently.
- From DFH: “Researchers at MIT concluded that elevating brain magnesium content via supplementation with magnesium L-threonate may be a useful strategy to support cognitive abilities and decrease common age-related memory decline.”
- You can overdo it with Mg, and Julie shares her experience with this and signs to watch out for such as night sweats.
- L-Theanine
- Offers calming benefits; may reduce stress and anxiety.
- Stimulate alpha brain wave activity.
- Promote relaxation without drowsiness.
- Can boost your meditation practice, anecdotally speaking.
- Used to increase mental performance and attention.
More trends
- Sports nutrition grows up: Behaviors, trends, ingredients, and advancements driving today’s sports nutrition products – Sept 14 2021
- Between 2019 and 2020, the global sports nutrition market declined by 32.1% primarily due to COVID-19.
- That said, the “global sports nutrition market size was valued at $10.7 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9% from 2021 to 2028.” accd to a recent market analysis report.
- Trend: choosing products and dietary changes to support healthy aging rather than solely athletic performance
- “More than 20% of consumers seek performance products that offer value-adds, such as anti-inflammatory effects or support for cognitive, vision, or bone and joint health.”
- SPECIFICS:
- Increasing emphasis on clean-label statements
- Demand for plant proteins
- Focus on pre-workout formulations
- Mintel’s data suggest that most consumers between the ages 18-54 believe that performance and nutrition drinks contain “too many artificial ingredients.”
- Collagen continues gaining traction
- Green powders and beverages
- Medicinal mushrooms
- Replacements for morning coffees and tea. Supplement form. Everywhere these days. Few examples:
- Lion’s Mane – neurotrophic factors, which promote the growth and differentiation of neuron; aids in brain function & neuron regeneration
- Reishi – immune support, sleep/calm, stress relief (so don’t combine with caffeine)
- Cordyceps – energy aid, ATP and mitochondrial support/protection, anti-aging, performance.
- Couple different types that target different things (Cordyceps sinensis and Cordyceps militaris)
- Athletes take note of this one!
- In TCM used for lung function, asthma or allergies
- Chaga – antioxidant, immunity, liver, digestive aid
- Turkey tail – immune support, in TCM used for lung disease
-
- Perluxan instead of ibuprofen?
- Perluxan softgels is derived from hops = “unique botanical anti-inflammatory agent that has been clinically demonstrated to quickly relieve minor joint pain.”
- Study: randomized, double-blind, parallel-design trial compared Perluxan vs ibuprofen.
- 19 subjects were randomly assigned to receive either
- 1) 400 mg of ibuprofen 1x day,
- 2) a softgel containing 450 mg of the hops resin 1x day, or
- 3) a 300-mg capsule containing a powdered form of the hops resin 4x per day, for 14 days.
- Both hops formulations inhibited COX-2 as well as ibuprofen starting nine hours after the initial dose; however, the hops formulations did not inhibit COX-1, while ibuprofen did.
- Of note- the hops resin softgel was only administered once over 9 hours but was as effective as ibuprofen.
- Shows promise.
- Our takeaway: We have hesitancy with all anti-inflammatories due to blunting the bodies natural process, but they have their place if used occasionally as needed. Good for the short-term, but often the healing is delayed and you’ll be suffering for longer.
- Other anti-inflammatory options: fish oil and wobenzyme.
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HPN 30: Sports Nutrition and Wellness Trends in 2021 and Beyond, LCHF Diets Gain Traction, and Much More! first appeared on
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On this episode of Ask The Coaches with Tawnee and Lucho:
Intro:
- Tawnee shares a few cute mis-pronunciations that Cora is saying these days.
- Lucho shares some innovative ideas and tweaks he’s making to his Ironman training.
- Sweet spot—how and why it’s useful, works and is ok for seasoned athletes but also making sure you don’t get into trouble with it.
- What he’s doing:
- Sweet spot on the bike
- MAF/polarized on the run
Kara asks:
Lucho’s Doing the Ironman World Championships, Say What?!
You guys, I’m pretty sure this is the most important question ever: Did Lucho have some sort of insider info where he knew that his Ironman comeback would end up being the freaking Ironman world championships?! Seriously, what the heck!? Haha. (And in all seriousness, how do you guys see this mix of races unfolding? Lucho how does this change things for you if at all?)
What the coaches say:
- We discuss the recent news that Kona 2021 is postponed again and how the Ironman World Championships will unfold in 2022 with two world championship events—the first in May at Ironman St. George and the second in October in Hawaii.
- How the May IMWC race in St. George impacts racers.
- Thoughts on racing in Hawaii these days and what must go into it, i.e. cost!
- Our thoughts on this decision.
James asks:
Pass the Salt?
I’d love for Tawnee and Lucho to elaborate more on eating salt, which was mentioned in the last episode–where Lucho said he doesn’t salt his food and Tawnee was a bit shocked by it, from what it sounded like and told him to have some sort of other “salt and mineral cocktail”. I know this isn’t a sports nutrition show, but love your guys’ take on things and some good banter

Basically: Does lower sodium intake result in better health? Or is that idea outdated? How much is too much? How little is too little?
What the coaches say:
- We draw our answer off this new open access review article, which you can read too:
- Sodium Intake and Health: What Should We Recommend Based on the Current Evidence?
- Below are quotes pulled from this scientific review article:
- Sodium and Cardiovascular Events: Randomized trials to specifically determine the effect of low sodium intake (i.e., below 2.3 g/day) compared to moderate intake on clinical outcomes are still not available.
- Sodium Intake and Blood Pressure: The impact of sodium intake on BP has been evaluated in numerous clinical trials. Most were short-term trials (95% with less than 6 months duration) with relatively few participants [22,23].
- Several health organizations recommend low sodium intake (<2.3 g/day, ~1 teaspoon of salt) for the entire population [1,2,3], a level that has not been achieved by any modern population in the world.
- Fewer than 5–10% consume below 2.3 g/day.
- Most people (95%) around the world consume a moderate range of dietary sodium of 3 to 6g/day.
- Globally looking at 187 countries: the mean intake of sodium was estimated at 3.95 g/day [7].
- In the United States, mean sodium intakes for the eight population samples ranged from 4.1 to 4.4 g/day in men and 3.0 to 3.5 g/day in women.
- Current evidence from cohort studies suggests a J-shaped relationship between sodium intake and cardiovascular events, and suggests that the lowest risk of death or cardiovascular disease occurs in populations consuming an average sodium intake (3 to 5 g/day) [9,10,11,12,13].
- 3-5g/day = This level of intake is associated with the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality.
- The risk of adverse health outcomes increases when sodium intakes exceeds 5 g/day or is below 3 g/day.
- The evidence linking sodium consumption with cardiovascular disease has been inconsistent, with no study reporting lower risk of cardiovascular events with low sodium intake (below 2.3 g/day).
- In the majority of people with normal kidney function and blood pressure (BP), the kidney is sufficiently able to deal with wide variations in sodium intake, without eliciting increases in BP. However, in some individuals, moderate changes (1 to 2 g/day) in sodium intake can result in marked increases in BP, a concept called salt sensitivity [18]. This can be mitigated by a high potassium diet [19].
- Sodium restriction is increasingly shown to activate the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS), which itself is associated with increased cardiovascular risk [20,21].
- Observational study on BP: The largest international study of sodium intake and BP was the PURE study [35], which included more than 102,000 adults from 18 countries. PURE reported a positive, threshold association of sodium intake with BP (2.11/0.78 mmHg increment in BP per 1 g daily increase in sodium), which was only statistically significant for sodium intakes above 3 g/day and was strongest in those with consumption exceeding 5 g/day (2.58 mmHg increment in BP per 1 g increase in sodium) [35].
- In addition, targeting a very low sodium intake may have implications for overall dietary quality. An analysis of the NHANES cohort suggests that achieving an overall high-quality diet is more difficult with sodium intake of below 2.3 g/day than with higher sodium intakes [69].
- PURE also showed that in those with high potassium intake and higher-quality diets, the association of high sodium and cardiovascular events was mitigated [47].
- Collectively, there is no robust evidence that lowering sodium below an intake of 3 g/day is likely to lead to a lowering of cardiovascular disease or death compared to a sodium intake of 3 to 5 g/day. There are, however, concerns that sodium intake below 3 g/day may be associated with a higher risk of death compared to intakes between 3 and 5 g/day.
Christian asks:
Long-Time Gut Issues, Finally Ready To Heal This…
Hey Tawnee and Lucho!
Long time listener and question asker here! I’ve been listening since the very beginning! It has been a fun transition in my endurance journey of short to long triathlon to ultra running, back to fast 5K’’s and now back to Half and full marathon distance.Throughout the whole process I have struggled with gut issues. I switched to gluten-free nearly 8 years ago which has helped a lot. I still constantly battle leaky gut and stomach distress when my heart rate and intensity increase. My goal is to run a sub 1:35 half at the end of November (12 weeks away today).I would really like to get my gut fixed long term. I know that occasional alcohol drinking is not helping me as well as other sugars. I’m willing to really hunker down and be committed to a cleaner diet and lifestyle leading up to this important race and a marathon and or 50K I plan to do in January to celebrate my 40th birthday. I want to still run fast and not settle for slower speeds because of my stomach.I know that you’ve done quite a bit of info on leaky gut and stomach issues. I have never found the magic bullet. This is a journey that I’ve been on for almost 10 years trying to get it figured out. Help! Thank you for all you do! And you have improved my running and triathlons so much over the years!
What the coaches say:
- No magic bullet exists. Hard, consistent, intentional work (and moderation!) lead to success.
- First! Look to mental health and stress management. Healing won’t effectively take place if you’re too stuck in the sympathetic fight or flight or parasympathetic freeze state. Healing only takes place in a relaxed body and vagal tone is adequate. May require some time off from training if that is putting body over the edge with stress and depletion.
- Check breathing- are you nasal breathing?
- Test don’t guess, is always our first recommendation but if you can’t afford testing right now you can still do some things to help including:
- Avoid NSAIDs and whenever possible avoid antibiotics, medications that can affect GI health
- ION Gut Support
- Soil-derived mineral supplement that strengthens the gut wall.
- Not a probiotic.
- Defends from environmental toxins (antibiotics and pesticides etc) and diversifies your gut microbiome naturally.
- Communication network that gives our bodies the tools to create their own bacterial ecosystem again.
- Helps good bacteria flourish.
- Probiotics
- Either supplement or whole food types (eg fermented foods).
- Can take a few different kinds of probiotics.
- Sally Fallon Nourishing Traditions.
- Colostrum
- Colostrum acts as passive immunity and can enhance your GI health.
- Can help heal leaky gut issues, which is common for most athletes to experience to some degree, often severe. Growth factors stimulate the gut to heal and “patch up” the holes.
- Recommended: Mt. Capra Colostrum
- Also watch your diet—minimize inflammatory foods, junk foods, sugar, alcohol, etc.
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ATC 333: St. George Becomes World Champs, The “Sweet Spot” With Salt (And Why Too Little Isn’t Good), Plus: A Quick Gut Health Protocol first appeared on
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Welcome to episode 29 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
On this episode:
Julie’s 50k Debrief
Training:
- Kept her menstrual cycle normal through 5 months of intense training!
- Ate more overall especially post workout.
- Took 2 full non-running days per week.
- Prioritized sleep.
- Self-care: chiro/acu/massage for nervous system support.
- Sports nutrition and hydration:
- Went from not eating much to eating every hour, and not using many electrolytes during my run to having a bottle of Skratch and preloading with Precision Hydration the night before and morning of a long run. Also was way better at eating ASAP after runs and not starting a run hungry.
- Strength work and specificity training:
- Julie’s legs were MVP. Not even sore the following week?? They carried me through without a peep while my entire upper half was screaming in discomfort.
- Mentally speaking Julie shares that these changes were super positive for her wellbeing but they were difficult to do.
Racing:
- Race feels and nutrition:
- Got nauseous fairly early in. Mile 13 started to feel sick, swollen, difficulty breathing, and off. Appetite disappeared. This was new, didn’t happen in training. Stuck to her plan until she literally couldn’t anymore. Goal was 200-250cals/hour and of that it consisted of 60g/CHO/hr.
- Mindset/attitude:
- Difficult day, accepted it, and did her best to manage her condition. Had to keep a quiet and calm mind because even too much internal chatter made her want to puke. Stayed calm and responded in both a disciplined and compassionate way.
- Crisis management and problem solving came into play—practiced a lot of mindset training prior to race and that helped.
- Was only 15min from goal time despite adversity.
- An example of knowing one’s self and following that self-awareness to guide forward.
Areas to improve upon in the future:
- Body’s oxygen transport system
- Altitude was a crusher. Mix of intensity, smoke, heat, and altitude—pain!
- Couldn’t eat or drink for the last 5 hours of the race.
- Tried nasal breathing, keeping calm, and basically just focusing on the breath.
- Possibly went out too fast, but it wasn’t anywhere near blazing.
Cold Thermogenesis: Who should avoid this practice?
What is it?
- Thermogenesis is the process by which your body produces heat.
- So cold thermogenesis is the process by which our body generates heat to keep us alive when expose to cold.
- Body will pull out all the stops to stay “normal” at 98.6 degrees.
- When it’s exposed to cold it accelerates various metabolic processes such as muscle activity, fat burning and energy production to keep us warm.
- 3 mechanisms that protect us from the cold:
- Vasoconstriction
- Shivering
- Non-shivering cold thermogenesis – activation of brown fat to keep us warm
Pros of CT
- Increase immune function
- Increase in muscle recovery/improve performance
- Reduce inflammation
- Increase activity of antioxidant enzymes
- Increase in mood and cognition
- Relief in depression symptoms
- Increase in caloric burn
- Increase in metabolic processes
- Increase in energy
- Can be used in treatment of obesity and metabolic diseases
- Mental toughness, resiliency
Cons
- Can be too much for a compromised system/ some pre-existing conditions.
- Eg) Low thyroid because you already have a decreased tolerance to cold.
- Norepinephrine release which does a lot of good, but constricts blood vessels so can be too much for people who struggle with conditions such as Raynaud’s.
- Caution with going from hot to cold as big blood pressure changes can be dangerously quick.
- Can add to stress when not used appropriately.
- Can be taken too far, especially for more sensitive individuals.
Conditions in which to avoid CT
- Hypothyroid/thyroid autoimmunity .
- Severe HPA axis dysfunction (including cortisol issues or amenorrhea).
- Low progesterone.
- Overly stressed out- While it can help you manage stress, in the wrong setting it is an added stress and if you don’t tolerate well it just creates more stress.
- Timing with cycle: May need to avoid ~8-10 days before period when body is working hard to create progesterone (signs of low progesterone- anxiety, poor sleep, hair loss).
- Any chronic ailment/condition- weigh the pros and cons. Will cold therapy help or hurt? If any chance it can hurt then don’t do it. Prioritize healing, nutritional deficiencies and sleep. Direct that energy toward healing not heating the body.
- Also- if using it as a “hack” to lose weight, this is the wrong approach.
Summary
- Tawnee and Julie share personal experience and histories of cold exposure.
- Intensity of the cold and duration matters.
- For some of the population it is a really healthy lifestyle behavior but must be used with caution and start slowly.
- Who shouldn’t do it? People who have a low tolerance to cold and generally unhealthy people (focus on your specific healing needs first and get a good baseline of health).
- How do you know? Observe your body closely—excessive shivering? Dizziness? white/pink/blue skin? Taken too far.
The post
HPN 29: An Ultra Story Of Minding Menstruation and Health, Plus: Cold Thermogenesis Is It Right For You? (Hint: It’s Not For Everyone) first appeared on
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Intro:
Polarized Training Chat
- What it is and isn’t:
- Setting & following the zones:
- Stephen Seiler says basing zones of LT is less accurate than using a data point like max HR.
- Many LT tests are inaccurate to that actual threshold value.
- Seiler uses a protocol to test max HR.
- Polarized coaches like Seiler also recommend just getting “close enough” with HR zones.
- Many percentages used in training, so just get close.
- Often as athletes we feel very obligated to stick to strict HR zones, and maybe we don’t need to be so precise.
- So- start with precise and then branch out.
- Wide HR ranges allow for you to then go with the flow of how you feel on that day. Feel great? Go to the top of the range; feel like junk, keep HR a bit more conservative.
- Working with a coach can serve as stress relief when you don’t know if the HRs you’re using are “right” on a given day.
- More:
- Don’t be a slave to overly specific structure in workouts. Get close. Enjoy. Build intuition!
- Polarized can be healthy for those athletes overcoming slumps or in more of a healing phase.
- Then, branching off from polarized training, there may be a time and place for tempo workouts especially based on training distance.
- Beware of your ego pushing you too hard if you do adopt a polarized training model.
- Lucho’s rough HR data collection:
- He saw a max HR of 185. Multiply 185 by x .77 (high end of polarized Z1) = 142 HR, whereas he’s using 130-140bpm for MAF. This shows how the two can line up!
- Learn more and geek out at the Fast Talk Labs podcast (check shows with Stephen Seiler, Hunter Allen, Andrew Coggan)
Peter W asks:
Marathon Pacing/A-Race Question
Hi – First off, let me say thank you for this really wonderful podcast. You guys have helped change many people’s lives – many of whom you have never, and will likely never meet – extremely grateful for this podcast, and all of the insights. So a big Thank You is in order!
My A-race is the NYC Marathon this year (11/7) . I’m looking to break 3 hours for the first time. I’ve completed a TON of MAF training over the years and my MAF range is 145-153 (I’m 33) which is typically in the mid 7min pace range or there abouts. I find it hard holding race-pace, or race-pace -20 seconds for an extended period of time however. For example at around 6:30 pace, my HR will be around 158-162bpm depending on conditions, but I can typically only hold that for 20-25 minutes throughout a progression run, or throughout a series of drills. I actually find it hard to get my HR above 165. Do I need to work on the mental side of racing? Have I overtrained MAF?? Any favorite drills to improve that ability to hold these higher-end paces come race season?? Feel free to answer this question on the podcast and my information is listed below.
PS: Huge fan of the UCAN energy gels and would highly recommend them!!
What the coaches say:
- Look to previous best marathon for more insight and setting the new goals.
- For this person’s goal, it would be good if his MAF was a bit faster.
- Time for him to start doing more intensity, i.e. about 8 weeks out from the race.
- Use the VDOT calculator to find your target paces for workouts with intervals, reps and more intensity.
- 2 workouts a week
- 1 @ marathon pace (MP)
- 1 @ threshold or above, eg 5 x 1000m (standard VO2 workout), or if this is new territory and your current training hasn’t included high intensity then instead try 8 x 400m at 5k pace (use Jack Daniels VDOT chart for pacing).
- Progression of this workout can be: 8 x 400 > 3 x 1000 > 4 x 1000….etc..
- Very difficult to hold 5 x 3’ VO2 for most athletes, so keep in mind: getting to 9-12 minutes combined intensity at VO2 is good, don’t need ot push it if you can’t hold it, that’s ok!
- As you fatigue decrease the duration of the intervals
- Another workout option: tempo and sweet spot needs to be drilled in. Hold for 25 minutes and build from there.
- Mental component is huge! If fatigued from training, this SHOULD feel hard. That’s ok. If too hard, break up workouts into double days for example eg 6 mi in the AM, 6 mi in the PM…
- Don’t give too hard of workouts, especially long ones, to a tired athletes.
- STRIDES should always be mixed in.
- Maffetone says: when your MAF test plateaus, that’s when you add speedwork. You can modify this for your race timeline.
- Tip: The day before a hard workout, try dropping your MAF HR (for Peter down to 135) and go easier; drop volume too before quality sessions. This will help you show up in better form on the difficult day!
- His MAF pace is so good that it’s ok to ease up on it and do more sub MAF especially before quality runs.
- Don’t get in the trap of chronic hard training (even at MAF- when MAF gets dialed in, its hard!).
- Hill work – not critical to train specifically for hills but at least choose rolling hills and hillier routes at times.
- Build longer run with goal marathon pace efforts till 3 weeks out then chop it.
Vicky asks:
Dialing in Bike Tour 2022 plans (and figuring out numbness problem)
Hi Tawnee and Lucho!
You’ve done a great job answering some questions in the past, and I have a completely new one for you!
I’m 62, and have been a runner/triathlete since my early 20’s. Recently I was on a local racing team for 5 years until I totally burned out. I raced until I finally achieved my ultimate goal which was to earn 1st place in my age group for the year long Grand Prix competition. After all that racing, it was time for a break. It also coincided with the Pandemic the following year, so good timing on my part!
On to other things, I’ve been trying to heal some injuries and take care of some other health issues that can’t wait any longer. I have meniscus surgery next week, which I hope will enable me to run. I haven’t run since early February, but I’ve been biking and swimming with no issue. Surprisingly, I haven’t missed running like I thought I would!
So on to my questions. The background is that my husband Jim and I are going to do a grand tour of the US next year. I will do it on a bike, while he puts along in an RV with our dog Luna. The plan is to start at Ocean City State Park, Washington on May 1st, and bike to Jacksonville Beach, FL, arriving sometime at the beginning of August. Total miles: 4300
Here are the issues. I bought a new touring bike, a Surly Disk Trucker, and have been training on it for a few weeks now. Although it seemed remarkably comfortable compared to my high end tri bike, I’ve discovered that once I get close to 15 miles, my hands and butt start to go numb. I’ve tried not staying in any one position very long, constantly shifting, but it doesn’t seem to help (I really miss the tri-bars!). I’m wondering if this is just something I have to build up an endurance for, or do I need to look at adjusting my positioning on the bike? In the past when I bought a new tri-bike, I got them professionally fitted, but my husband thinks that’s just silly and we should be able to get it right ourselves. I’d appreciate your input.
The other question is about training. My goal is to ride enough prior to May 1st that the first two weeks don’t really suck cause I need more conditioning, but not so much that I’m burned out on riding before I even leave. My prior training always included around 20 minutes of intervals (1 minute hard/1 minute easy) in my weekly rides (not in my long ride), and I’m wondering if there’s any benefit to it now? I’ll admit, I’m a bit concerned about all the mountains I have to climb on this trip. I’m in Northeast Florida where we have short inclines (4% to 7% grades) but that’s about it. Should I do intervals on the inclines to help me prepare?
My course for the trip will follow the first 3/4 of the TransAmerica Trail and then turns south through Kentucky and on to Florida. I’ll be going through Colorado, so if Lucho wants to join me for some training, that would be fantastic (he’ll just have to spin most of the time since I’ll be moving slowly!).
Last question for Tawnee. A few years ago I switched from mostly tap water to mostly filtered water. Considering the tons of water I’ll be going through each day (I’m a heavy drinker!), is it worth seeking out better water for the trip?
I plan to document the trip with a Youtube channel. I haven’t started it yet (too soon!), but it will be called: Vicky, Jim and the Lunatic – Coast to Coast. If you can remember, check it out next year!
What the coaches say:
- On numbness:
- Numbness often correlated with the wrong saddle for your body type as well as position and how you’re sitting on it.
- Don’t tilt saddle down, causes loss of energy and efficiency because you’re spending energy to correct self on saddle.
- Get into the gym and workout on total body strengthening- want body to be stable and strong for this adventure.
- Some saddles you can return these days; point is try different ones and experiment to find your fit.
- Strong arms are key!
- Nerves in wrist/hand area – ulnar and median
- Riding on hoods for many is ideal, keeps a neutral wrist.
- Even though this is a touring ride, it’s ok if you want to put on clip on aero bars to change position.
- Less about being aero, more about being able to change positions (and maybe some aero advantage).
- If that doesn’t work, get a professional fit.
- More: Hand Numbness While Biking: What to Do
- Female specific cycling issues
- On water
- Hands down, drink good, filtered water! Even on the road!
- Water quality talk in this recent episode: Sock Doc 13: Thyroid Health, Part 2 – Hidden Risks, Nutrient Needs, Training Ideas, Self-Care and More
- Get and RV water filter attachment to use when you fill up your RV tank- Here’s an example of one you can get for a good price.
- Buy refillable jugs, gallon or so, and refill at stores with RO water, and this costs less than $1 per gallon.
- RO removes everything so add back in trace minerals
- Product recommendation: ConcenTrace Tace Minerals– cna find at health stores, or on our dispensary at Fullscript.com with your personal account.
- Lucho doesn’t eat salt, what?!
- Maybe incorporate a bit higher quality salt like Celtic or Himalayan salt.
- Lastly on training:
- Add in core, posterior chain and upper back strength training to stay stabilized.
- Also add in a bit of running, wont’ burn you out if in moderate.
- Look to build endurance not performance based fitness.
- Don’t worry about interval workouts so much like she was questioning.
- 60-70 rpm grinds but not necessarily intervals.
- Go in a bit underdone, the beginning of the trip will be added training.
- Work on metabolic efficiency and fat burning to maximize your body’s potential for these long days.
The post
ATC 332: Those Final Weeks To Nail A Marathon PR, Numbness on the Bike, What Polarized Training Can Offer, and More first appeared on
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On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
In part 2 of this 2-part series we take a deeper dive into thyroid health. If you haven’t already,
Thyroid Recovery Outside the Box
Putting aside medications since we talked about that last episode, from a more holistic and natural perspective what are areas we can look at to help promote healthy thyroid function and/or things to avoid in your environment that have an association with thyroid hormone disruption:
- Study mention: Environmental Exposures and Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
- Water quality
- Safety, water testing and water filtration starting in our homes
- Water can be a “slow poison” that doesn’t show harmful effects for decades
- Everywhere on earth you can now find polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs)—even places you may not expect like newborns and breastmilk. Comes from Teflon.
- The halogens: chlorine, fluorine and bromine compete with iodine and displace it; iodine won’t be available to make thyroid hormones T4 and T3.
- Drinking clean water is vital but testing isn’t always straight forward.
- You can find companies that check for pesticides, metals, bacteria, hardness, pH, iron, silica, nickel, etc… and these run about $200-$300.
- But PFASs tests that run 13+ substances isn’t as cheap usually. Steve used Babcock labs and these tests can be a bit more tricky for personal home testing.
- Why Steve chose to test the well water at his home right away upon moving in.
- Not all filters are created equal and won’t filter out everything; different filters work on different substances. So testing is key and find out what you’re dealing with before choosing what kind of filtration system you need.
- How to troubleshoot if you find out you’ve been drinking, using, consuming poor-quality water that has some kind of contaminant or so.
- If drinking “contaminated” water, it depends on how it’s manifested in your body and health (what are your symptoms?). Look to improve immune function, liver detox and in-depth health tests.
- When evaluating home health, look to what would be the biggest offenders first like water and other things like personal-care and hygiene products. In other words, in this case BIG and then taper down to the small things. Eg) start with water, cookware, personal care/hygiene then down the line look to cleaning products, home materials, and so on…
- Fluoride in water and dental products
- Study mention: Impact of Drinking Water Fluoride on Human Thyroid Hormones: A Case- Control Study
- Discussing fluoride’s effects on thyroid, and a correlation between higher fluoride and higher levels of TSH.
- Fluoride is byproduct of certain types of industrial work and mining, and can be a major contaminant. And worse, this source of fluoride is also sold and used… but it’s not the same as naturally occurring fluoride that you will find in some foods and naturally in water.
- Personal care products
- Stinky body odors is mineral deficiency or liver detox issue
- Beware of: Aluminum, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, etc.
- Also be weary of antibacterial products especially those with triclosan, with known risks associated.
Thyroid-Friendly Nutrition
- Generally speaking
- Needs to be individualized and a case-by-case approach on finding best diet practices.
- Start with eating clean, fresh foods, less processed foods.
- Cruicerferous veggies aren’t as “dangerous” for thyroid as they were once thought to be.
- Insulin will repress thyroid so foods that will better manage insulin, glucose levels are key.
- Monitor caffeine- not too much.
- Test for gut issues as well as make sure any food senstivity, intolerance and/or allergy is addressed because that food can wreack havoc (unique to everyone).
- When it is on the autoimmune spectrum, then removing some of the big offenders and allergenic foods like gluten, dairy, soy, corn, wheat, etc, can be beneficial.
- Gut, hormones and nutrient deficiencies
- Birth control, HRT and even copper IUDs can be problematic.
- Elevated cortisol, elevated estrogen, elevated insulin is the trifecta that plays a hugely negative impact on thyroid.
- Gut issues can affect how we are metabolizing thyroid hormones that can contribute to issue.
- How can we better metabolize thyroid hormones and everything else? Find out the big offenders that are slowing down your natural ability to detox and optimize health. Like water.
- Look to stress, medications (BC, HRT), etc…
- Nutrients that can HELP thyroid
- Zinc
- Selenium
- These combine with iodine to make thyroid hormone and help T4 to convert to T3 and prevent conversion to RT3.
- Lots of zinc deficiency these days.
- Supplementing with selenium needs to be a bit more conservative than with zinc.
- Steve explains more on our body’s natural balance of nutrients.
- If you’re deficient in something, you have to fill in the reserve 5-7 fold just to get back what you were low in, plus what your body normally needs, plus how that nutrient is helping you heal from something.
- Also fully understanding your own body’s ratios of nutrients is difficult to achieve. (Moral is, don’t worry too much in most cases.)
- Bottom line is- with supplements you have a pretty big room for error as long as you don’t have some kind of co-morbidity, ie causing new imbalances isn’t as easy as one might tell you.
Listener Questions & Training Tips
Suzanne asks:
I just listened to your thyroid episode with the Sock Doc and am looking forward to the next one! I’m hoping I can sneak in this question:
Quick background: 40 years old female being treated for Hashimoto’s for the past 10 years. I’ve been “stable” taking 88mcg synthroid and 5 mcg cytomel for my Hashimoto’s after a few rollercoaster years where I was over-medicated and constantly having my medication doses adjusted. I feel better than I felt a few years ago but I also feel like I’m “settling” health-wise, and that something is still off. My TSH is usually around 1.1 and the labs refuse to test my free T3 and T4 these days (in the past my fT3 was always on the low end). I have lingering fatigue, sluggish digestion and always feel like I need a back massage. I was really into running in the past but seem to feel better with light strength work, HIIT type workouts and walking these days.
I’ve heard multiple times that having poor iron status will affect thyroid functioning and I’m wondering if this is my missing link. But what can I do if I simply can’t get my ferritin up? I take iron supplements religiously every second day and have tried many different formulations over the years and pay careful attention to when I take them and how. I eat almost completely gluten-free, with tons of veggies, meat several times/week and I even choke down some liver once in a while. I was tested once for celiac a few years back and it was negative. My periods are a little on the heavy side but nothing crazy. I also had some other gut testing with a naturopath last year and nothing really came up. I sometimes wonder whether I should stop taking iron supplements since they don’t seem to help but I’m worried about becoming full-on anemic in that case…Any advice?
Thanks so much for the work that you do. I hope you have a fabulous summer!
What we say:
- Lab testing and doing it out of pocket if you have to.
- On the Synthroid T4/cytomel T3 medication that she’s on…
- 12:1 is a healthy T4:T3 level, but often too much T4 is given.
- Ferritin/iron
- This is always a tough one to balance; too much can be very toxic, though many women are too low.
- Body naturally makes hydrogen peroxide.
- H2o2 combines with iodine and other minerals like iron and makes thyroid peroxidase and goes on to make T4
- In other words iron helps to make T4 thyroid hormone. (we also make antibodies to thyroid peroxidase that can lead to autoimmune thyroid issues).
- Check trace mineral levels.
- Check co-infections:
- An infection like Lyme can “eat up” your iron so more testing is usually warranted if numbers aren’t going the right direction, ie find out the root problem.
- Pondering the correlation between anemia and thyroid issues and the importance of testing thyroid regularly if you are dealing with anemia… and on that: why aren’t thyroid labs more commonly added to basic blood labs.
Katherine asks:
LOVED Part 1! Thank you thank you!
Great info – I appreciated the in depth explanations behind the general knowledge.
Question: Can you please address the effects of Intermittent Fasting and/or Time Restricted Eating on thyroid and hormones, particularly for peri/post menopausal women?
I think I really screwed mine up. What can I do to help it recover?
(I’m currently on 125mcg synthroid daily and TSH / T3/ T4 all come back “normal”. But I don’t feel normal – still foggy minded and slow in the mornings and having a hard time dropping any weight. I take great vitamin supplements, eat healthy and also take an SSRI antidepressant, duloextine.)
Background:
I’m a 53 year old runner who has been hypothyroid since I had my kids, 25 years ago. I also suffer from SAD and clinical depression – which became issues around the same time as the hypothyroidism hit – which I manage as well as I can through diet/nutrition, exercise and stress management (journaling and yoga). Love summer – struggle in January and February here in the Dakotas!
I grew up as an athlete and gained weight in my 40’s from stress and poor lifestyle/food choices.
At age 49/50, in 2017, I lost 92 pounds through nutritional changes and was able to start working out again. I was eating 6 times a day, portion controls, and felt like my thyroid was finally healed. In 2018 I started to run and workout regularly. I ran a 10K and things were great. In late 2018 I started experimenting with IF (black coffee and water only until noon). I work out in the mornings, ran fasted, and was in great shape (high LBM, 18% bf and running half marathons) in 2019 and first half of 2020. Then came an overuse injury…. Less exercise, and a fast 40 pound weight gain from Oct ‘20 – April 2021.
Last fall, I was trying to keep the weight off by restricting my eating even further to 2pm-8pm after the injury, and then just felt even worse and lost nothing but gained more. In April – after starting to work with Julie (wildandwell), I started eating a little again in the mornings and cut out coffee.
Thanks again for covering this topic!!!
What we say:
- Go back to health, diet and training history and see what you were doing when things were working and body was at it’s best.
- In this case when she was eating smaller more frequent meals that is when she tended to be at her best.
- IF and time-restricted eating can often be too stressful on the body and “more is better” doesn’t always apply here. Can result in other disruptions like excess cortisol and stress imbalance (HPA Axis).
- High cortisol can contribute to elevated estrogen/estrogen dominance, but also affecting serotonin
- High estrogen can hinder conversion of T4 to T3, and can hinder serotonin production (i.e. contributes to neurotransmitter imbalance).
- Estrogen imbalance contributes to serotonin imbalance most likely from high cortisol or high stress to body (caffeine, IF).
- Addressing estrogen dominance is key because this also has an effect on weight gain, and more downstream effects, especially in menopausal women. Test don’t guess.
- On training:
- Monitor training intensity and levels—sometimes what we think seems like the best plan may not be for our current situation.
- In this case: MAF/chronic high volume endurance training isn’t always a great fit if sex hormones and thyroid hormones are out whack or healing still. Too many hours even at aerobic levels may be counterintuitive at certain times in one’s life and health journey. In this case, instead consider less volume and more HIIT type workouts, strength training and gentle walking.
Monitoring Thyroid Going Forward
- If a past history or making adjustments to get to more optimal – no shorter than 6 weeks (or every 2-3 months).
- Otherwise, if just monitoring, checking annually is fine.
- Other things to monitor and watch for:
- If doing MAF, a regular MAF test is telling
- Monitor sleep quality… if up a lot, that tells a lot
- Overall energy and snappy
- Cravings: sugar, salt, caffeine (no need to avoid these things, but if craving them likely crazy that’s a different story)
- These things align with adrenal health/HPA axis function…
- If adrenal glands are stressed out for too long, your thyroid will naturally “drown itself” (naturally suppress itself)—whether protective or secondary issue
- How blood tests need to be carefully planned because of acute fluctuations in markers we test (thyroid, testosterone, etc).
- Testosterone tangent.
Have questions? Want a part 3? More on peri/post menopause? Email us at questions@enduranceplanet.com!
The post
Sock Doc 13: Thyroid Health, Part 2 – Hidden Risks, Nutrient Needs, Training Ideas, Self-Care and More first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
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This episode is brought to you by
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UCAN products are powered by SuperStarch, a unique, low glycemic complex carbohydrate that delivers steady, long-lasting energy with no spikes and no crash and keeps your blood sugar steady. The perfect complement for the healthy metabolically efficient athlete…
UCAN is offering a “training bundle” to give you an assor. EP fans get 15% off UCAN, click to activate your discount and shop now. You can also use the code ENDURANCEPLANET2021 if you’re shopping at ucan.com for that same 15% discount.
Intro Banter
Tawnee and Lucho catch up on their current training—Lucho is in the thick of pursuing his Ironman training with 20 hrs a week of training, still including plenty of strength training, and transitioning out of base training already. Meanwhile Tawnee has cut back to low volume and is switching it up to more focusing on fitness for health and workouts that complement busy momlife.
Richard asks:
Help for middle-aged male with low-T, high-E woes
Hi, I am a 47-year-old male endurance athlete and I recently confirmed what I thought to be true—I have low T, estrogen dominance and high cortisol. My doctor hasn’t been able to help me for these issues in the past (because here I am with the same problems!), so I’m seeking your advice for a couple reasons:
- What kind of practitioner or coach should I hire for this? I know you guys can’t give me personal medical advice but could you point me in the right direction?
- I’m nearing 50 and I’m sure that makes fixing this more difficult but not impossible, so, what lifestyle, exercise and diet/supplement tips do you have for me? (I know Tawnee is good with holistic health and nutrition advice, whereas Lucho is a master of all and can speak from experience as a dude around the same age—how does he do it?!)
- Fasting or no fasting? Keto or no keto? I’ve tried both these techniques before—like, I went all in—but, again, here I am in the same mess.
I do want to note that I’ve cut back on my endurance training and racing over the past year, and am doing more HIIT type exercise these days + lifting, but is the damage done and is it too late? Also, I am almost always super tired and flat feeling (sometimes wired usually before bed), and have excess body fat in all the wrong places, despite my best efforts. I have a demanding, stressful, on-my-feet job and can’t just sit around meditating, sleeping in or relaxing like a probably need to be. Thanks!
What the coaches say:
Lucho’s T experience
-
- Lucho shares experience in how he’s maintained normal T levels as an endurance athlete male approaching 50.
- He has no symptoms of low T despite.
- Personality type helps Lucho build and maintain healthy T.
- Gravitates towards hard, heavy, painful workouts and he tends to shy away from chronic aerobic exercise these days.
- He has been incredibly consistent over time, and knows his baseline to keep a good homeostasis. May slip up here and there but can return to the baseline where he thrives.
- But (and a big but) Lucho also has a work-from-home job with major flexibility!
Lifestyle and T
-
- With T, context matters!
- Multiple profiles of men with low T, it varies a lot so know who you’re dealing with before making recommendations.
- First address the lifestyle and underlying root causes.
- HIIT and heavy strength help, but can’t just go all in and do too much if body is already very worn down and struggling with immense stressors.
- Recent ep with Brock had good recommendations of training in pursuit of health with exercise for health recommendations.
- What type and amount of exercise will help all depends on the person’s presentation and lifestyle factors
“T” take-homes:
- Age is not a guaranteed risk factor for Low T.
- Co-morbidities are more well established to affect T, so be extra mindful of your foundation of health! In particular: inflammatory issues, obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, CV disease, sleep apnea, autoimmune issues, prostate disease, cognitive disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, opioid use, etc.
- Check often if you suspect T issues (T can fluctuate acutely).
- Check SHBG – starts to gradually rise around age 30, and this binds to T to make it inactive.
- Check estrogen levels and aromatase enzyme—aromatase is an enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of estrogens, or conversion of androgens (T) to estrogens.
- Association between lifestyle and low T is HUGE—this includes gut, stress (physical stress, emotional stress), poor sleep, exercise choices, excess alcohol consumption, chronic inflammation even in athletes, and so on.
- Check root causes before starting meds or hormone replacement therapies.
- High cortisol can contribute to an upregulation of aromatase, converting T to E.
Aromatase increases with and adds to excess estrogen by:
- high alcohol
- low zinc
- Insulin resistance
- Inflammation
- obesity
- stress
- leptin
- aging
Lifestyle
- Look at your life more holistically and don’t latch onto a “quick fix” expecting that’ll save you.
- Have a functional doctor run a gamut of tests to investigate all possible root causes that is causing T to plummet; check for:
- Hypothyroidism- check full thyroid panel
- Gut issues, malabsorption
- Zinc deficiency
- Sleep deprivation
- Phthalates!!! And environ toxins, endocrine disruptors
Healing
- Mitochondrial support via diet:
- quality and high protein – up to 1g/lb/bodyweight
- low glycemic foods
- colorful foods- very common for this to be lacking in busy men’s diet
- antioxidants
- Micronutrients/Supps:
- detox support (glutathione, NAC), zinc, Vit C, Selenium, B complex, Mg
- Instead of going straight from stressor to stressor try healing practicies like:
- Sauna
- Remove environ toxins (eg glass over plastic)
- Cold therapy – daily cold water immersion even shower
T therapies?
- Testosterone replacement therapy only once you’ve exhausted and addressed all other issues involving lifestyle, diet, stress, etc.
Koby asks:
Longtime athlete, newby triathlete- help on running, priorities and more!
Good afternoon, I am 32 years old and 6’2 215lbs. I keep in solid physical shape and a well-rounded athlete. My background is basketball and tennis in high school and college so my cardio has always been more sprint based. I still play tennis 3-4 times a week and a few other niche sports to get my competitive fix. 4 months ago I got into hot power yoga as well to work on flexibility and for the challenge.
So I recently decided to start training in for a 70.3 in October “with absolutely 0 swimming or running intelligence” because I am always looking for new challenges. I am 2 months into my training and have a few sprint tris to get my feet wet. I have reached the point where the swim and bike is a non-issue as far as completing the 70.3 in a respectable time for me.
The run has been a huge issue. My calves were cramping after only a few minutes on runs which was embarrassing. I did some research and got a gait analysis and have worked on changing my rhythm and contact point which has helped soooo much but I still don’t have the endurance that I would want. My current plan has me doing a recovery swim on Monday then a long swim, a long run, a short run, 2 days of short bikes, and 1 long bike ride a week. With some weight lifting in there as well.
1) Am I doing too much? I don’t want to give up tennis since it is my true passion.
2) If I am doing too much any advice on how to rearrange or prioritize my week to get my run cardio and muscles to catch up?
What the coaches say:
- Stop doing concentric calf raises.
- Maybe replace one of the short bikes with a run for 3 runs a week instead of just two:
- 2 x 5-6 miles a week, this is about a good short run distance for 70.3 training;
- plus a long run 1x per week of 13-17miles.
- Don’t have to sacrifice tennis.
- Weight lifting can be cut down; ditch one session, replace with another run or rest.
- T runs: the difference of completing vs competing to win. How many you do depends on how competitive you want to be. Do enough to at least feel comfortable and familiar with the feel of a T run.
- Don’t discount the quality that tennis brings to training even if not specific.
- Tennis is refreshing cross training in a way.
- For many of us: Stop focusing on just the last 3% as an amateur who’s just in it to complete… in this case for most of us will benefit from ALL activity including non-specific crosstraining.
- Be sure to do 1-2 big days before the real big day. Check out Joe Friel’s Big Day training workout outline.
Shoshana asks:
ATC 330 followup – were you to quick to dismiss listener question on gender difference?
Hi Tawnee,
Love your show, especially your episodes with Lucho. As an aging and once elite runner, I have been watching my HR drop at the same effort with each passing year. This led me down the path of researching things like resting HR, where I discovered that the female resting HR is actually higher than their equivalent age/health male.
So, when your listener asked about the 180 minus your age formula and you were quick to say there is no reason that gender would impact this, I wonder if you too quickly went into defensive mode (thinking he was implying women were weaker). Perhaps the one size fits all MAF formula is just another example of women being treated as small men? If the female resting HR tends to run slightly higher, why wouldn’t their MAF range be just slightly higher too?
I would love for you to revisit on your next ATC show!
- In this question, we are discussing MAF thus speaking to a singular methodology, not general science.
- The 180 Formula
- Wasn’t designed with max or resting heart rates.
- Was designed based on metabolic principles to aid in fat burning.
- Other methods are based on more cardio-based criteria to build zone (eg LT, MHR).
- Gender plays a role, but:
- It goes further than that, it’s based on unique individuals.
- It’s a person-based methodology, not gender based.
- Will a higher resting HR impact MAF zones? Possibly but not guaranteed, so this is may be a mute point for some, though not for others.
- According to Maffetone, RHR may decrease for all populations with ongoing MAF training.
- When does RHR come up?
- RHR can be used as a marker of recovery, and monitoring it to note any changes against the normal trends, eg RHR may go up if not recovering well or overstressed.
- Try! If you need to adjust your MAF HR to best serve you then give it a shot! Note its affect on your fitness, recovery, etc.
- Bottom line: individualizing is important and ok to do to reap most gains from training while still minding recovering and health.
- Keep it simple! … Except when you don’t see results…
- Then it can get more tricky and you may have to look elsewhere than just the training and HRs during training, eg looking at health, diet, etc… uncover the roadblocks.
- More resources: Maffetone addresses women’s higher RHR in this article. This is another interesting article by him in response to a study saying women’s max HR were lower than men’s.
The post
ATC 331: Does Lifestyle Affect T More than Increasing Age? Plus: Newbie Triathletes Gettin’ The Run Done, and Female Athlete Heart Rate Considerations first appeared on
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On this episode we welcome MaryBeth Gangemi, who is an expert in holistic health, breathwork, strength training and natural movement. She promotes practical, real world applications of fitness and health for all levels and abilities. MaryBeth lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she and her husband, Steve Gangemi (aka The Sock Doc, who you may recognize from our show) have raised their family.
Some of her certifications include:
- Certified Buteyko Breathing Method Instructor
- StrongFirst school of strength level II certified kettlebell instructor
- Certified level 2 MovNat instructor
- Original Strength level II certified coach
MaryBeth is available through computer sessions as well as in-person at her North Carolina studio. If you are inspired to learn more about movement snacks and natural movements that you can integrate into your day, and/or learn more individualized breathing exercises, you can contact MaryBeth at:
In this show we discuss:
MaryBeth’s story
- A mom to 3 kids, and has homeschooled all of them (oldest is now 19).
- Background in social work for kids with special needs.
- Approached it as play therapy and took a holistic approach to helping kids involving family and more.
- Expert on human develop and therapeutic interventions.
- On homeschooling: it was a natural transition to take this approach for she and her family, and her approach to educating her children.
- In the next chapter of her career she got really into natural movement and fitness as a form of self-care and stress relief, tying in her background of learning and application of different modalities.
- Got into training, involved the family, made it about playing in dynamic ways in nature.
- Became certified and slowly evolved it into a business rather than just a hobby or family activity.
- Her philosophy involved finding creative ways to start and stick with training, for all people and all athletes and all goals.
Buteyko & Oxygen Advantage breathing concepts
- On the Buteyko philosophy and Dr. Buteyko from Russia who brought his training concepts around the world
- Value of switching from habitual mouth breathing to nose breathing
- Accessing the diaphragm
- Holistic lifestyle that even involves nutrition and how we eat
- Buteyko is a series of exercises to retrain your breathing
Dysfunctional breathing patterns
- What other dysfunctional breathing patterns do people exhibit, other than mouth breathing:
- Does breathing feel calm, subtle and relaxed? You will have a feeling if it does not.
- If you notice a lot of chest movement, this is a sign.
- Is breathing more vertical (huff and puff) or horizontal?
- Excessive yawning, signing, congestion (even when not sick).
- Issues like asthma, stress, anxiety, snoring, sleep disturbance—all signs of possible breathing dysfunction.
- Congestion can actually be caused by poor breathing itself. (There are breathing exercises to decongest the nose.)
- Waking up congested—theoretically this can be tied into how you’re breathing at night during sleep, e.g. mouth breathing.
- Anxiety can be caused by poor breathing.
- Structural problems like deviated septum are common and can affect breathing but that doesn’t mean you’re destined to be stuck with poor breathing habits.
- The way you breathe during the day will influence how you breathe at night. Working on daytime breathing helps with better sleep breathing.
- What is your tongue doing?
- It should be on the roof, three-fourths of it, for its resting place.
- Focus on the tongue and what it’s doing, and what is a dysfunctional tongue doing?
- Sometimes having a tongue pressing down and open mouth is incredibly subtle and the person may not even realize he or she is doing this and breathing poorly.
- Nose breathing: Slower flow of air through nose helps with whole body oxygenation.
- “Take a deep breath”
- Why this cue doesn’t help and may actually may be contributing to stress and the underlying problem.
- Instead: breathe in slow and low, coming in from the nose.
- Tawnee shares a breathing pattern she’s noticed in herself where she does a type of breath-holding while focusing on tasks like work, cooking, etc… what does this mean?
- Could be a sign or clue of over-breathing at other times. Pattern of sporadic types of breath holds when we over-breathe.
- Even if it’s not stressful, but the focus is just enough to disrupt the breathing pattern.
- Cue into other areas—mouth breathing at night? Waking up with a dry mouth? What’s the control pause or bolt score?
Control pause
- A way to check and see how you’re breathing and how your body is tolerating the CO2.
- How to do it:
- Do not do any prep or deep breaths to get ready. Take a normal breath in, normal breath out. On the out: pinch nose and time it until you feel the first definite urge to breathe again; it’s not stressful nor a max breath hold, just a subtle “it’s time to breathe again.” Resume breathing through your nose. Are you gasping or does it feel normal? It should feel very normal as you breathe again.
- Troubleshooting the control pause.
- Getting the control pause to increase is the goal.
- Anything under 25 seconds for your control pause is a sign of breathing pattern disorder. (Symptoms of asthma have been reduced when patients got control pause consistently over 25 seconds.)
- We want it to be more like 40 seconds.
- Keep testing yourself, noting subtle changes.
- Don’t be competitive. Be honest.
- One of the best times to do this is first thing in the morning. Tends to be lower, but also more accurate.
Breathing exercises for different populations
- Asthma and kids:
- How to approach breathwork with asthmatic kids for healing, with exercises and building your team to get children relief from this condition.
- Exercise that simulates altitude training:
- From Oxygen Advantage, this Sprinting and breath-holding exercise is easy to work into your routine.
- Control pause should be over 20 seconds. Not pregnant. No major health concerns.
- Breathe in, breathe out. Pinch nose. Walk… go faster… jog… run… let go of nose, and breathe in a reduced way for 5-6 breaths, then 12 regular breaths.
- It is a stress, so functional breathing needs to be in place.
- Helps improve aerobic base, use less energy/oxygen (better performance), increase tolerance to breathlessness, improved anaerobic capacity… with more research needed.
Are 6 breaths per minute optimal?
- Great goal to strive for and an exercise to get closer to it:
- Set aside 4 minutes for cadence breathing: 4 sec inhale, 6 sec exhale.
- Also helps with HRV, stress, etc.
- Usually harder to do the longer exhale.
Original Strength
- On Getting these new habits to stick and setting a new tone.
- They talk a lot about breathing and “pressing reset.”
- For example, when phone isn’t working your turn it off and restart it. We can do the same things with ourselves by giving our body a reset to move and feel better.
- Resets as needed to breathe better. Awareness.
Holistic living & natural movement
- Integrating more natural movement into our lives and becoming more connected to nature.
- MaryBeth’s philosophy:
- You need to be enjoying it.
- If you’re not enjoying it, shake it up; mix it up. Don’t force it. Move in ways that lift you up and that you like.
- A new awareness. Giving yourself space and time to explore new things outside of your average pace and heart rate on the last workout.
- Floor play
- Get on the floor and move around all the time… Tawnee shares a story of she and MaryBeth doing some fun movements when she was visiting her home, in this case it was high butt bear crawls and butt scooching across the floor.
- Check out Original Strength for a bunch of ideas.
- Flow. Play. Feel.
- Not set positions like yoga. This is exploration of movement.
- Being on the floor and tactical input is nourishing for nervous system.
- KEY POINT: keep it different and mixed up. Do a little at a time. Remove seriousness. Benefits and results are real.
- Try skipping, you can’t be in a bad mood while skipping. Not about doing a certain number of sets and reps, just go for however long it feels right to you.
- Don’t lose sight of PLAY.
- It doesn’t have to take away from a structured training program, it complements it.
- As you dive into this don’t forget about the breath & breath awareness. Be mindful of breathing patterns when you try something new, breathe through nose. Tongue on roof of mouth. Intentional approach to breath (e.g. only hold breath if it’s for a purpose).
Getting outside
- Being outside adds to your resiliency.
- The gym is great for a specific purpose, but make sure you can apply it in more dynamic and real-life situations.
- Health is both emotional and physical, and there is so much that is gained from immersion in nature. (E.g. forest bathing)
- Also with resiliency comes with learning about your environment and overcoming some of the fears of “what is out there.”
- Have respect and knowledge for the outdoor environment but don’t hide away and avoid it. Pay attention, learn and be smart about it.
- We are nature.
- Nature calms breathing (almost always).
- If you’re stuck inside, at the very least, commit to movement breaks.
- Small things add up.
Takeaways for holistic wellness
- Breathe through your nose.
- Get outside each day (and find your very own “sit spot” to visit each day).
The post
MaryBeth Gangemi: Have You Listened To Your Breath Lately? A Guide to Holistic Wellness Via Better Breathing, Natural Movement and More Time Spent Outdoors first appeared on
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On this episode of Ask the Coaches with Lucho and Tawnee:
Joel asks:
Down on CarboPRO?
Hi guys. Been listening to the podcast for years so thanks for continuing to produce it!
I got the impression from the discussion during ATC 328 that you are down on Carbopro. I have no affiliation with the brand but do use it. Is there something I should be concerned about? I don’t like Stevia products or sugary drinks. Carbopro has worked for me but I’m just curious if there is a reason not to use it.
What the coaches say:
Important points on sports drinks:
- Blood flow diverted away from gut during exercise, making digestion more difficult.
- This is why it’s so important to train your gut to tolerate fluids and calories, and find a good hydration/nutrition match not just wing it.
- Most sports drinks are designed to make you want to drink more, even if you don’t need or shouldn’t be.
- All the sports drink science matters but what also matters is YOUR UNIQUE NEEDS & N=1 trial and error!
- If a product has worked for you, truly, then carry on. But if not or if you’re at all questioning your approach to hydration in training and racing then go deep to find your right mix…
- Also, many sports drinks use a combo of different kinds of sugars to help optimize absorption. Check ingredient labels (more below).
Carb solution of common drinks/osmolality:
- Gatorade 6% (this means 6 grams CHO per 100ml or 60g per 1L) (360mosm/L)
- First Endurance EFS 8%
- Cytomax 6-7%
- Perpetuum 6-8%
- Accelerade 7-8%
- Skratch 4% (160mosm/L)
- Osmo 3.2% (260mosm/L)
Osmolality
- Osmolality is how many particles are in a solution. If your sports drink has too high an osmolality, especially from sugar(s), your body will likely dehydrate to some degree because these particles need to be transported by water- body draws from its other sources to pull more water into the gut to digest your drink, not a good thing.
- Depending on one’s hydration state, blood osmolality can range anywhere from 275 to 295 milliosmols (mOsmol) per kg of water.
- Too high osmolality in your drink can cause bloating, sloshing, gut rot and an inability to rehydrate properly. (Typical sports drink is 300-360 milliosmoles, including Gatorade; Powerade is 350-390!)
- Keeping the drink concentration lower than the osmolality of the blood helps better get fluids to blood and the muscles (this is known as optimize intestinal fluid exchange).
- Fluid absorption largely in the small intestine (95%). Gels, highly concentrated sports drinks, etc, will sit in SI = increase pressure = body responds by pulling more water into gut. Many people who have GI issues may feel extra worse especially in those with very common GI dysbiosis conditions like SIBO.
Breakdown of common sports drinks:
Carbopro
- 1 serving/scoop = 100 calories with 25g CHO.
- Ingredients: “glucose polymer extracted from identity preserved GMO free corn.”
- According to their website: “You need at least 200 calories (50g) per hour = 2 scoops mixed in 12 to 16 oz of water… It is low in osmolality even up to 15% to 20% solution in water (200 to 220) lower than body fluid osmolality (280 to 300). For example, the osmolality of sugar at 15% to 20% solution in water is approximately 800. Therefore, sugar at this concentration is too hard on the stomach. Relative to sugars, CARBO-PRO provides higher caloric density without exceeding osmotic balance.”
CYTOMAX
- 1 serving: 90cal, 23 CHO (12g added sugar).
- According to their website: “Mix 1 scoop into 8-12 fl oz water” (236ml-354ml) or mix 2 scoops into 16-24 fl oz water (473ml-709ml).”
- Ingredients in orange flavor: Maltodextrin, Crystalline Fructose, Dextrose, Alpha-L-Polylactate Blend (L-Arginine, Glycine, Lactic Acid, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium Phosphate), Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Natural Flavors, Turmeric Powder (added for color), Less Than 1% of: Malic Acid, Potassium Citrate, Silicon Dioxide (Anti-Caking Agent), Ascorbic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Caffeine Anhydrous, Dimethylpolysiloxane (Prevents Foaming), Magnesium Oxide, Calcium Phosphate, Stevia Extract, Monopotassium Phosphate, Carmine (added for color).
Skratch
- 1 serving: 80 calories with 21g CHO (19g sugar) and 400mg of sodium per 500mL (16.9oz).
- According to their website: “Our Sport Hydration Drink Mix has an osmolality of 160 mOsmol per kg of water, primarily because of the lower concentration of carbohydrate that we use and the absence of excess ingredients like coloring agents, flavoring agents, preservatives, and emulsifiers….Our experience that a 4% carbohydrate solution (4 grams of carbohydrate per 100 ml or 20 grams per 500 ml at 4 calories per gram) is the highest concentration of carbohydrate that we can have in our drink while still optimizing water or fluid transport across the small intestine.”
- Ingredients in Lemon & Lime flavor: Cane Sugar, Dextrose, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Magnesium Lactate, Calcium Citrate, Potassium Citrate, Lemon Oil, Lime Oil, Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).
(Verified Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan and Kosher).
- Take a deep dive on the science of sports drinks and hydration by the Skratch folks here.
Osmo
- 1 serving: 70 cal, 18CHO (16 sugar); Osmolality 260.
- Ingredients: Cane Sugar, Dextrose, Trisodium Citrate, Calcium Citrate, Organic Orange Powder, Citric Acid, Potassium Citrate, Magnesium Citrate, Ascorbic Acid, Inositol Hexanicotinate (Vitamin B3), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), D-Calcium Pantothenate (Pantothenic Acid), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Folic Acid (Folate).
- Stacy sims (founder) says: “From a science standpoint, the optimal pressure in there comes from a solution that’s 200 to 250 milliosmoles.” Too high is bad, but too low can cause dysfunction too she says.
Tailwind
- 1 serving/scoop = 100 calories, 25 CHO (25g sugar).
- Ingredients: Non-GMO Dextrose (Glucose), Non-GMO Sucrose, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sea Salt, Organic Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium Carbonate.
- According to their website: Mix 2-3 scoops with 24 ounces of water (this = 200-300 calories or 50-75 grams sugar per 24 oz/709ml).
UCAN (plain)
- 1 serving/scoop = 90 cal, 22 CHO (0g sugar).
- Ingredients in Plain: SuperStarch, complex carbohydrate of non-GMO corn.
- Also very low osmolality.
- An added bonus of sparing glycogen for fat oxidation; helping metabolic flexibility.
Meredith asks:
Bike training—80/20 with a MAF focus?
Hello! I started MAF training a few months ago and that is when I stumbled across your podcast. I’ve been listening to a wide variety of new ones and also doing the deep dive to some of your older ones. I love the information you share! I’m sure you have addressed this question plenty of times, so if you want to shoot me some episode numbers, I will start there.
My aerobic base has gone up considerably for running. I started MAF with a 17 minute mile. Yup. THAT slow. I’m now at about 11:30, so still a lot of room for improvement, but that is an insane amount of change in a few months. My main sport is cycling though. I really haven’t seen the improvement there. I’m still puttering away and I’m fine with establishing more of a base, but I have a 109 mile trail ride coming up in September. I did it last year and it was fine, but I want to go a little faster and also want to feel a little less wrecked afterwards. I do most of my training indoors on a Peloton (4 young kids, more than 40 hour a week job, and living in the country makes it the best choice). I recently started doing a Power Zone training plan to try to become a better cyclist. My heart rate is crazy high when I do most of the rides, but I’m starting to see myself improve finally. Do I switch to more of an 80/20 type training now and keep my runs super light and just move the pedals on off days, or do I stop this hard cycling for 45-60 minutes and work more on a better base by keeping MAF and just doing a lot longer sessions?
For the first time ever, I’m excited for winter to really work on getting my mile time faster while running and getting more miles in on the bike, but whatever I can do to help me out in my ride 3 months from now is definitely the path I want to go at this moment. Thanks so much! ~Meredith from South Dakota
What the coaches say:
- Based on run data, this athlete seems like a good MAF responder; don’t abandon this training method fully!
- May need to cut back on running while building bike fitness.
- Be cautious of too much intensity too often (eg on bike trainers with set workouts like Peleton or Zwift, this is more likely for some).
- 80/20 incorporating MAF as part of the “80%”—you usually can’t go wrong and should get the results you desire with time, but training VOLUME matters. MAF requires enough volume to stimulate fitness.
- For some, training at MAF heart rate on the bike may feel hard and more like a tempo effort. Getting comfortable with MAF as an aerobic Z2ish effort is a great thing.
- Long endurance events need that time in the saddle; most athletes can’t “hack” with HIIT and low volume.
- Utilize not just Z2 but also Z3 for aerobic training.
- A couple key quality intensity sessions a week will help a lot.
- Sometimes individualizing a Jack Daniels program (even for the bike) works well, cutting out the more intense sessions as needed, but his easy and T pace zones can be good on the bike too!
Scott asks:
180 Formula and are there HR training differences for women?
(note- this guy seems a bit confused on MAF and 180-minus age–this question is written in a way that makes it out as if they are different–so we can clear that up.)
Hi guys, this might seem like a very simple question but I am a runner and running coach. I have dabbled with MAF training but felt that it doesn’t necessarily work for me to train this way full time but I do prescribe to easy running being an important part of training, especially marathon training where I believe that easy running not only helps to build your aerobic engine but for runners like myself shortly approaching my 40’s, it is essentially for recovery so that I can perform in the big sessions.
I read somewhere that a good rule of thumb for easy runs was 180 less your age, + 5 for athletes with a good fitness level. At 39 I used this guide for my recovery runs the day after my speed sessions and long runs to make sure that my HR did not exceed 144 (180-39+5= 1). I also tend to stick to somewhere around this for any long run that does not contain marathon paced efforts too. So much so that I don’t even check my HR any more because I know what this pace feels like to run.
I coach my athletes to also follow this rule if they have a HR monitor but to varying success as some seem to be able to maintain a quicker pace than others at the same HR when they are relatively similar in fitness and in speed.
My questions:
- Is this rule of thumb just that? Ie, to get a more accurate easy/recovery run pace, there is a more complicated formula utilizing max HR or some other data?
- How does the 180-age rule of thumb compare for women? Ie should I be using a different number? This question might be answered in the above if there is a better formula that I can provide to my coaches.
I don’t like being too rigid on recovery runs so I prefer not to prescribe paces or HR. I just like to tell them to make it easy but some athletes are better than others at A) comprehending the difference between comfortable and easy and B) swallowing their pride and running at an easier pace than they would like to or are used to.
I hope this question makes sense and that you can help – it’s probably something you’ve covered at length before I’m sure!
Thanks for your help, Scott
What the coaches say:
Females and training through the menstrual cycle
Take home points:
- Each woman varies: understand how the woman with whom you’re working is affected by her cycle at various points and how she recovers.
- Sometimes optimal (usually during follicular)
- Sometimes it’s like fighting an uphill battle (usually during luteal)
- May not need rest week per se but just difference approach to training.
- May need lower intensity during 1) ovulation and/or 2) up to a week before period starts.
- Key workouts with intensity and/or fat adaption focus are best during:
- sometime after the beginning of her actual period for some;
- during the first two weeks, i.e. follicular phase pre ovulation;
- or for some post ovulation is fine too i.e. 3rd week of cycle.
- Usually the 4th week is a rougher week for most women.
Low hormone phase (follicular; days 1-14ish)
- The first two weeks leading up to ovulation.
- Great at using carbohydrate.
- Usually can hit best high intensity.
- Core temperatures lower (measuring BBT helps).
- For many women this is the best time to get in key quality training.
- Ideal time to race, fitness test, shoot for PBs.
Ovulation (days 12ish-16ish)
- Hormones surge, estrogen peaks.
- In some, this may disrupt the feel good training vibes & results.
- However, some women still feel amazing if not more amazing – discuss, test, see for each woman.
High hormone phase (luteal; days 14ish-28ish)
- Burning more calories- so eat more!
- Coordination can be off (Tawnee shares a personal story on this).
- Recovery can take longer.
- Estrogen inhibits carbohydrate utilization, but it does help with fat burning.
- Higher intensity may feel worse and more difficult.
- Core temp: Progesterone increases the core temperature; heat tolerance is less- keep measuring BBT in AM.
- Especially 4-7 days before period this is when most women feel like junk.
- But specific nutrition practices and recovery practices CAN help offset the junky feelings.
- MORE MAF during this time usually is an effective approach though some women may still handle intensity ok = communicate and individualize.
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Welcome to episode 28 of Holistic Performance Nutrition (HPN) featuring Tawnee Gibson, MS, CSCS, CISSN, and Julie McCloskey, a certified holistic nutrition coach who you can find over at wildandwell.fit.
On this episode:
Intro
All things summer & healthy balance
- Julie and Tawnee life updates, with Julie’s approach to healthy 50k training (more sleep, more food!)
Responding to criticism
- In the spirit of transparency, Julie and Tawnee share some feedback they got after the last episode (HPN 27) including some criticism. We are open to and appreciate all comments and critiques sent with love, as we continue to strive to do better for our community.
More on birth control & female athletes
New study looking more into oral contraceptive effects in women
Important points and stats
- “To the best of our knowledge, this study is one of the few, and to date the largest, to directly examine the effect of OCs on lean mass gains in response to a standardized RET program designed to promote skeletal muscle hypertrophy in young healthy recreationally active women.”
- “According to recent and historic reports, approximately 14 million women between the ages 15 and 49 use OCs in the United States, which are the leading contraceptive method in the younger, athletic (14–28) population (13,26).”
- “In addition, 82 percent of sexually active women in the United States had used OCs at least once (26), and OCs are commonly used for nonbirth control purposes, such as management of menstrual cycle, alleviation of premenstrual syndrome, and treatment of acne (13,19,26).”
What they did
- Examined the effects of OCs on muscle responses to a standardized resistance exercise training (RET) program.
- Two groups of young healthy women (18–29 years old, non-OC: n=38, OC: n =34) underwent 10 weeks of whole-body RET (3 days·wk, 3 sets, 6–10 repetitions, at 75% of maximum strength, 13 exercises). Measured DHEA), DHEA sulfate (DHEAS), IGF-1, and cortisol levels.
What they found
- OC impairs muscle gains but no differences in strength gains.
- Non-OC gained 3.5% lean mass vs. OC gained 2.1% lean mass.
- Plasma concentrations of DHEA, DHEAS, and IGF-1 were significantly lower, and cortisol levels were higher in the OC group before and after training.
Unintended consequences?
- Many women with amenorrhea or hormonal irregularities have cortisol dysregulation (e.g. HPA axis dysfunction), particularly too high cortisol. And this study shows that the OC use was correlated with increased levels of cortisol within the body.
- Meanwhile anabolic hormones were lower in OC users—not a desirable outcome for most female athletes.
- Takeaway: trying to fix something but creating a problem elsewhere.
Why did absolute strength remain the same between groups?
- “A possible explanation for this result would be that the absolute magnitude of the difference in muscle mass gains was not sufficient to induce strength differences. Muscular strength gains in a short-term training program involving untrained individuals are predominantly affected by neurological adaptations rather than changes in lean mass. Thus, it is suggested that these energy efficient neurological adaptations early in an RET program were minimally affected by OCs.”
Type and makeup of OC matters
- The type of progesterone, specifically the androgenicity, made a difference in gains or lack thereof too.
- The level of androgens in OC inhibits the anabolic hormones DHEA, testosterone, insulin, and IGF-1, which seem to be the big driver in impairing muscle gains. Higher androgenicity led to less gains.
Study limitations & takeaways
- Not much nutritional data taken during this study nor tracking of menstrual cycles.
- If you must be on an OC, look for one with low androgenicity.
- Or perhaps look for a lower risk alternative like IUD.
Morgan asks:
Former pro athlete, finally fixing hormones
For well over 10 years I have not had a period, at least not a natural one. About 8 years ago, the governing body of the professional sport I was an athlete with had us take birth control to “fix” the issue. I have competed, raced, and trained at a professional (multi sport) level for almost 20 years and I feel like, at 35, I can’t continue down this path. For my 35th birthday, I decided to devote my full heart and energy to healing both my body and mind.
So my question is, if an athlete came to you would you say NO TRAINING, NO FORMAL EXERCISE, until you get a period and healthy body weight back? Or would you suggest a few days a week of easy, short duration work? I really like lifting weights and any activity outdoors ( I live in Colorado) but I would love your opinion. If I was your sister…how would you advise this next year of life?
What the Coaches say:
- Tawnee begins by adding extra insight that Morgan shared, looking at the dynamics of the US Team she was a part of, including treatment of the female athlete triad and stigma around missing periods and eating disorders, all of which have had lasting negative effects on Morgan.
To train or not to train (in the more traditional sense)?
- Yes, take a year off from formal structured training.
- But exercise for health and wellness is fine, all while listening to your body to guide you and not exceed the healthy limits or boundaries you need during this time.
- Also: IT WILL VARY, CHANGE & EVOLVE. Sometimes you can do a little more and sometimes you drastically need to scale back and just rest. Getting more in touch with your body and truly listening to what it’s saying helps you navigate this.
- Connect with your body—this may be hard when you’re used to overruling what your body says in order to reach higher levels of performance especially at an Olympic level that Morgan was and had so many eyes watching her expecting her to perform—this took her out of her body and made it a lot about others’ expectations rather than her own needs.
The art of finding joy and letting go (with movement and exercise)
- Joy
- Do the things you love. The things that bring you great anticipation and excitement because stress doesn’t stand a chance in that environment. Just be extra supportive of your body during and give yourself full permission to turn around if you’re feeling off. Play. Be silly. Live with full permission to experience joy right now, not when you reach a certain goal. Right. Now.
- Letting Go
- Where do you find the most resistance? Could be food, could be exercise, could be another behavior you aren’t willing to address. Start there. Start slowly—ask for support, identify it, seek to understand it, and then try to begin the process of leaning into it until you’re through to the other side
- This quote from a friend whom I may have shared with you at one point. I was feeling stuck and overwhelmed by change — “maybe the wall isn’t there to stop you, maybe it’s there for you to lean on.”
Are logging workouts ok?
- It depends on how you as an individual handle that, mentally. If you can log workouts without it having being wrapped up in self-worth or something that can contribute to anxiety, obsession and fear of missing a workout or “not doing enough,” than this should be ok. But if it becomes an obsession and make you feel badly or like it’s defining you, especially if you don’t like what you see, then abandon it in this season.
Reconnect with your body
- Ask yourself: “How do I feel in my body?”
- The more we start to get IN our bodies and learn, feel our bodies the more we can listen to them, observe positive change, establish healthy exercise patterns. Understand that it’ll fluctuate.
- Continuing some level of exercise is crucial for mental health and a natural anti-depressant. Just ensure healthy, proper boundaries that make it about wellbeing, not training.
What can we do as coaches, humans, loved ones?
- Normalize the language of “period and menstruation.”
- Ask ourselves: What can we do to help female athletes not feel the stigma and shame if they don’t’ have a period. How can we uplift women around us to feel comfortable in their bodies regardless of its shape or condition.
- Change the narrative that “not having a period is bad” (many women let themselves believe that they are therefore a bad person if they don’t have a period). Not having a period is not “bad” it’s just not as efficient.
- Build relationships with young girls/teens that are rooted in trust and respect so they begin to open up and then later on in life, are able to share things more readily with people. They’ll be able to talk about the hard stuff instead of internalizing it and thinking it’s not okay to talk about. We need to talk about it!! And they need to see that it is OKAY. And that there is NOTHING WRONG WITH THEM.
- If you’re a male coach and are uncomfortable, hire a female to create a relationship with the girls on that level and have that woman speak about this stuff.
- Collegiately and after: Surround yourself with people who are open and uplifting. If none of those people are on your team, seek out positive mentors on social media until you are able to choose with who you spend your time.
- Bottom line: Everyone involved can and needs to do better and this starts with communication, education, acceptance, no shaming. We can feel so isolated, alone, scared, unworthy when we aren’t menstruating as a female athlete. End the stigma. We all have the power to help.
Anonymous asks:
How to love my new body?
Thanks for tackling my question from about a year ago now. I wanted to give you a bit of a life update as your podcast really was a pivotal point for me in my healing and health journey.
Since I wrote to you back in April last year, I began to notice symptoms hypothalamic amenorrhea – it really never affected my performance in triathlon so I let it go on for a long time as, frankly, I always felt really fit and fast in workouts – I never had major fatigue or other negatives that are listed as common. The symptoms that I did start to notice and that made me check myself was my over-obsession with the food I would put in my body, it was this constant need to be affirmed by people that I “looked” fit, and then there was my attitude and mood! I felt like I had the shortest fuse in the world. My husband would joke with me and instead of me receiving it as a joke, I’d blow up and get angry or throw a fit. I was becoming a terrible person to be around. My mood flipped in a second and I felt like my loved ones would tip-toe around me – but hey, I looked fit so all was good right? (insert face palm emoji here! haha)
Anyways, after listening to your podcast and then doing my own research on HA, working with a dietician, reading No Period Now What, and really changing my training (less volume and WAY less intensity) – I can say I am now fully in recovery (is that the right word for it?). I’ve had three periods (kind of regular?) over the last few months and have gained over 20lbs. I had these high hopes that when I reset my hormones and gained some weight that I would immediately see better bike power, faster run times, better mood, etc…while my mood has improved and I definitely feel more stable and like my old self again, my performance has taken a hit. I also just feel really big. I have this layer of fat on my whole body that makes me question my identity as an athlete some days. My run times have slowed significantly and while my bike numbers are going up that isn’t really translating to speed – you know watts per kg and all… anyways, clearly i still have some mental work to do but I wondered if you had any tips on accepting and loving your new body as it changes? Also does it ever stabilize? I feel like I am on a pendulum and swung to the other extreme. Just hoping to find balance in the middle but fully recognize that takes patience. With races around the corner (my first one St.George 70.3) I am hoping to gain a bit of confidence back but really would love to hear your thoughts on what it was like for you after seeing body changes, did it take some time to rebound?
What the Coaches say:
Identity & Presence
- Julie shares a narrative of a recent postpartum mom she knows well who always identified as the athlete and now has experienced anxiety as “less fit” in her postpartum healing phase.
- We are not alone here.
- Dealing with an identity, especially one that we have “lost” in some form, is difficult to deal with mentally.
- Lesson: You are so much more than “the fit athlete.” You have core values that have nothing to do with sport. Fully accept yourself as you are right now. You are worthy and complete. You are loved. Treat yourself as you would a dear friend you love.
- Don’t put things off an wait for another now. Live in the now. Experience now. Don’t wait for that thing you’re hoping you might achieve.
- Bodies change in different seasons.
- But for the recovering female athlete who feels like her body is all over the place, generally speaking weight will likely stabilize and find homeostasis on the healing journey assuming one’s baseline of health is well.
Ego
- Ego stories and ego reactions are that which your ego is feeding you. You are not your thoughts (i.e. you are not your ego or the thoughts/stories it feeds you).
- Instead of punishing yourself with internal dialogue, talk to yourself like a loving parent and pose compassionate thoughts and questions
- Ego grasps on to this identity that is based in past experiences
- When letting ourselves be ruled by that we get fixated and obsessed with these thoughts
- We become reactionary and defensive and unable to deal well with the here and now, i.e. reality.
- Finding comfort in your body now takes practice. Finding peace with what is takes practice.
- Carve a path for a new normal.
- Ego is so fixated on the past, leading us to ruminate over what we were and ego stories beat us up. Recognize that we are not those awful thoughts our ego tells us. We don’t have to be dictated by that.
- The key is creating new meaning around new experiences. This is uncomfortable.
Getting un-stuck
- Why do we get stuck and feel unable to have the self-compassion that we know we need?
- Because it’s uncomfortable and ego tries to step up to help us avoid that discomfort. But overrule that and allow the discomfort to just be.
- Shift our awareness to the now, not the ego stories of the past.
- We can choose new responses.
- Choose new beliefs.
- Harsh thoughts, bad thoughts don’t fully go away, we just get better at managing them and less fixated on them. We can choose to respond differently. Choose a different narrative.
- Start with a celebration.
- You are tremendously brave for taking the journey back to health, celebrate, don’t shame yourself. You are complete just by being alive. You are worthy just by being human.
- Give yourself positive affirmations.
- Say out loud “I am worthy.”
Choosing different: A new kind of training
- All this is brain training and specifically RETRAINING the mind and our habits and patterns. It takes practice just like sport. Constant, consistent, dedicated practice. It’s ok if it’s not perfect and linear, nothing ever is.
- If it feels awkward, funny, weird—this is a sign of positive progress. You’re doing something different that feels weird at first and that’s ok!
- Be gentle.
- It takes time. Decades of conditioning that we have to undo and change.
- You are just a listener of those thoughts; they are not who you are.
- Bottom line: Change is hard but change is possible. Change beliefs. This takes time. You have the power to do it. Practice. Patience. Noting the successes along the way, however big or small. Being grateful for this gift of personal evolution.
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Intro:
On this special episode of Ask the Coaches, Tawnee and Lucho are joined by former EP editor and co-host, Brock Armstrong. Brock shares about his new podcast and wellness program, and helps the crew answer this week’s questions.
The crew also chats about mental health and motivation, asking Lucho some questions about his recent return to Ironman training and working on his mindset.
For more information on Brock & his services offered:
Book mention: How To Do The Work by Dr. Nicole LePera
Questions:
Kasey asks:
From a health perspective: MAF or HIIT?
Hi guys, I am at a crossroads and think this question is fitting for your show. I realized over the past year of not racing triathlon that I don’t miss it so I’m going to take my fitness a different direction. I am open minded to what this will look like. I am 39, and the type of person who always likes to have a fitness routine and goals to work toward, but it doesn’t have to be anything insane. Background: high school sports, then about a decade of endurance training (running, triathlon, some bike races) and strength training mostly supplementary to the endurance but as a female also found this good for bone health and hormonal balance, etc.
Lately I am considering an even deeper dive into more health-based fitness goals. (I think Tawnee has mentioned something similar in her own journey recently.)
So I wanted to hear your take on which is superior for overall health and longevity: a low-volume program that incorporates strength, some HIIT and some shorter runs only (like 3miles) OR a more moderate volume MAF running program(like 20-30minles a week?)+ a little bit of strength training worked in. It seems like those who are in each camp claim their way is superior, so it’s hard to weed through opinions over facts…. if there are even any facts on this? Maybe it depends

What the coaches say:
Top Takeaways:
- Not an either or; do both!
- Not too much, not too little!
- Listen to your body! (Not about “no pain no gain”)
- Prioritize rest! (Focus on sleep and recovery)
- Nutrition can’t be ignored!
- MAF: Good for fat burning, increase mitochondria density and function, and metabolic health.
- Chronic endurance is a “slow burn” to health issues.
- HIIT: can improve glucose and fat oxidation, body comp, good “bang for your buck.” It doesn’t have to be as much as you think. Something like 5 x 30” sprints on 4’ rest.
- HIIT overtraining = more quickly see problems when doing too much, e.g. cortisol dysregulation, HPA axis issues.
- Phi Maffetone says: “Adaptation to oxidative stress improves health and fitness because it helps activate our natural internal antioxidant mechanism, an important part of our immune system. To encourage the body to better regulate this stress, we require good aerobic function and consumption of healthy foods. Too much or too little exercise, or eating junk food, reduces our ability to adapt to oxidative stress with dire consequences.”
- Exercise stimulates oxidative stress > increases antioxidant/immune activity > speeds recovery > improves wellness. Key – not too much, not too little.
- Primal Blueprint crew says: “Former endurance junkies;” from them we can learn how much endurance can mess you up and what a possible solution is for the motivated, fit-minded athlete/person:
- Tons of *slow* movement- but not in a training/tempo kind of way, more like just “slow aerobic” like even sub MAF.
- Lifting heavy
- Sprinting- but again not overdoing it (eg 60min HIIT classes 7 days a week is too much)
- Sleep! Before we even think of training style, we have to meet your rest needs first and foremost. If you’re constantly tired from lack of sleep and rest, no training plan will optimize your health (expect that perhaps training may help you sleep better- assuming not overtraining).
- Be outside/get sunlight
-
- Overall, high intensity showed to be more effective in improving cardiovascular health and cardiorespiratory fitness, whereas moderate intensity was superior in improving long-term glucose metabolism. In the process of personalized training counseling, health-enhancing effects of exercise training may be improved by considering the individual risk profiles.
- If already coming to the table fit from years of training and conditioning, something like HIIT may have negligible *new* health benefits according to this 2017 article:
- HIIT with preconditioning exercise training diminished any age associated difference in IGF-I between sedentary and master’s athletes, but induced small improvements in fat-free mass in both groups. If starting a new program from sedentary, HIIT can boost IGF-1
- Coaches give some training examples from their own lives; Tawnee outlines a week of her health-based fitness approach.
Paul Q. asks:
Dadathon or the fallacy of middle aged fitness
Hi guys!
I’m a big fan of the show especially ATC but just love listening and hearing of your adventures.
I thought of the term dadathon when i was out running one day, as in the idea of doing something just once just to prove it can be done as opposed to a long term investment.
Anyway I digress, heres my question—
I am 49 year old male.
Ran two marathons in 2019, finishing 4.10 and 3.59 (!).
I am about to start training for another in Oct the day before I turn 50.
I am following the “Runners World break 3.30 Program”
Previously my training has been pretty much 2 short and 1 longer run a week
and honestly i had no real clue about pacing, speedwork, etc. although I
did run a 47 minute 10 k during that training period.
My problem is that i play 5 a side soccer intensely for an hour twice a week
which i really love and i am wondering how or if even if I can incorporate
this into my training or should I just stop playing for the 16 weeks ?
I also do a couple of light strength/conditioning classes twice a week
which i will try to align to my “rest” days, but will I probably end up
with a lot of double days, i.e. soccer and running
is all this feasible at my age ?
Help me coaches!! Thanks and keep up the great work!
What the coaches say:
- No reason to give up soccer—your enjoyment matters.
- Focus on rest and don’t neglect recovery days or try to load up recovery days with other non-running things.
- Adjust a preset training plan to your personal needs.
- Don’t focus on the outcome (eg end result or 3:30 finish time) focus on the process and see where that’ll get you!
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On this episode we have The Sock Doc, Dr. Steve Gangemi, joining us. Steve is a natural health care doctor who founded and practices at Systems Health Care, an integrative wellness center in Chapel Hill, NC. Steve is also a longtime endurance athlete and is a wealth of knowledge for athletes looking to optimize wellness.
In this 2-part series we take a deeper dive into thyroid health and it’s such a big topic that it deserves two parts. In this first we cover:
Thyroid dysfunction basics: What’s going on? How common?
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- Thyroid issues are often confused or misdiagnosed ailments, especially when subclinical.
- Thyroid often is over-medicated leading to a hyperthyroid state.
- But also the opposite may occur, with hypothyroid symptoms that aren’t being well treated (can have side issues like sluggish liver and kidney function)
- Steve says up to 20% of his patients have a thyroid issue, and 50% of those taking medication for thyroid; he works jointly with MDs to adjust thyroid meds to best fit the clinical presentations
Thyroid issues and endurance athletes: are endurance athletes more susceptible?
- It seems to be that the LSD type training (i.e. long aerobic endurance training) in which you really tax the aerobic system tends to wear out thyroid as opposed to high intensity/ HIIT type stuff which tends to burnout adrenals, sex hormones.
- In other words, too much aerobic work over time can deplete thyroid.
- Some hypothyroid symptoms: Leanness turns into puffiness, sluggishness, fatigue, short term memory issues, loss of sharpness (could that be something else? The thing is- all systems are affected it’s just about which is being most negatively affected).
- Overtraining and LSD can run down thyroid.
- This is not an unhealthy body image issue, this is just physiology and understanding the changes in your body.
Why are thyroid problems often missed by mainstream medicine? Also What is typically checked by docs vs. what ideally should be checked?
- Tawnee shares a story of visiting a new OB and the OB only wanted to test TSH, Tawnee had to ask for more and also ask for antibodies, considering she has a history of hypothyroid and wants to be sure things are still going well.
- Free levels are most important – that’s what circulating in blood and active in tissues and what body’s paying attention to (T3, T4).
- TSH is “thyroid stimulating hormone” and it is a pituitary hormone. TSH alone shouldn’t diagnose a thyroid issue, nor dictate medication and dosage.
- Many doctors only test TSH even when the patient requests more, and with this thyroid issues are often missed or mistreated.
- TSH high – this means the pituitary is trying to thyroid to make more T4, which is classic hypothyroid, and a person might need more meds to help boost thyroid hormones.
- TSH low – this means the body is trying to lower feedback loop to thyroid, i.e. thyroid making too much hormones, classic hyperthyroid, and we would want to lower medication.
- You can also have normal TSH, or abnormal or high or low TSH, without the typical presentation so you have to dig deeper on markers.
- If doc won’t run labs you can fairly cheaply via online testing.
- Tawnee recommends this lab for thyroid panel if you need to do it on your own.
- This thing is, it’s not standard to measure these markers in typical endocrinology (ie you won’t see docs running Free T3, free T4, Abs, etc….unless there is a reason)
History and understanding “the why” of thyroid issues
- Goiter belt history- midwest, thyroid issues with iodine in soil dried up causing iodine deficiency. Thyroid enlarged to find more iodine in the body.
- These days they’re thyroid nodules (not so much goiter).
- T4 and T3 4 molecules of iodine attached to a thyroid protein.
- Need iodine and nutrients to make thyroid hormone.
- Thyroglobulin – thyroid protein made from tyrosine.
- Today: You don’t see too much hypothyroid due to low iodine, why? One) because we’ve iodized salt and two) people are eating more seafood even if not on the coast, etc.
- The #1 reason for hypo these days is autoimmune condition to some degree or another, i.e. this is the immune system attacking thyroid.
- Why does this happen? Many reasons:
- Gluten intolerance. Gliadin (protein found in gluten) triggers immune system to attack thyroid, strong correlation has been observed (but you can also be allergic to dairy, nightshades, etc, causing similar issues)
- Also: Food sensitivities/allergies, viral infections, fungal/bacterial infections can cause or contribute to autoimmune diseases, or even chemical and toxin overload.
- Can be exposed to toxic environments in workplace, can contribute to autoimmune conditions
- Graves – hyperthyroid autoimmunity.
- Hashimotos – hypothyroid autoimmunity.
- It’s not like your body throws in the towel. First, body musters up bursts of “energy” to try and normalize. Similar to how cortisol changes on the way to adrenal fatigue.
- “Respiratory bursts” – immune system attacking body at certain times followed by a retreat, and so on.
- Very rarely does thyroid go one way fast, eg TSH wont just jump or tank.
- TSH should be between 1-3.
- Immune system – we just don’t know that much nor are we taught about the level of intricacies it involves.
- Often with thyroid we need to look more at the immune system, not just the thyroid or lab values.
- Stereotypes for thyroid conditions that can often not be the case! (Don’t go by these alone):
- Hypo: fatigue, gaining weight, losing hair, depressed, lethargic
- Hyper: string bean, overly skinny, bulging eyes, anxiety
- …Don’t believe that is how it has to be, it can present differently as far as symptoms are concerned. Body does interesting things as a protective mechanism.
- The major commonalities with hyperthyroid conditions:
- When you’re making too much thyroid (in particular with meds), you are not going to fall asleep well at night and you can hear your heart thumping on your pillow. Very hard to fall asleep.
- Case study example of a woman in her 50s who had her symptoms change drastically as medication was adjusted
Understanding T4 and T3, etc. Plus: thyroid medications, and the adrenal connection
- Make T4 in thyroid and it’s converted to T3, 60% of this happens in liver (needing good liver function), and also a little in kidneys, GI tract , thyroid itself and peripheral (eg adipose tissue).
- Feedback loop: if not converting well, you will see a jump in TSH.
- Reverse T3- not converting T4 to T3 efficiently so it’s pushed to RT3 (associated with liver conditions and deficiency in selenium and zinc).
- If low in selenium and zinc, might not be making enough active T3.
- Synthroid (prescription drug) – T4, most widely used to treat hypothyroid (when presents with high TSH trying to push up T4 level and lower TSH).
- What happens with you use meds to the point where TSH is pushed down to <1?
- Supports this notion that they want to pituitary out of the way, and just a way to control the thyroid markers (T4, T3) directly via medication – but this doesn’t usually resolve symptoms nor the overall condition and can result in hyperthyroid conditions.
- Presents as hyperthyroid in this case because suppression of the pituitary.
- Reference to our recent episode with the sock doc on adrenal fatigue and tie in with adrenal gland issues.
- It is likely that we can heal and improve an adrenal fatigue situation more quickly and easily than a thyroid dysfunction condition.
- Thyroid- it takes a while to “dig the hole” and also a longer while to “dig yourself back out.”
- Steve’s experience shows: working on thyroid issues often has the effect of clearing up adrenal issues. However working on adrenal issues doesn’t necessarily clear up any thyroid issues (usually needs a separate treatment)
- Also, it’s a stretch to think that we create an adrenal autoimmune condition from trashing adrenals (ie HPA axis dysfunction); however, trashing thyroid can more easily turn into an autoimmune condition.
- Tawnee shares her experience of how her health and lifestyle choices over the course of a decade or so eventually.
More on medications
- Armour – desiccated pig, often a good alternative to Synthroid that many people do better with.
- Armour is a 4:1 ratio T4 to T3.
- Natural thyroid is 12: 1 ratio; Armour will make up the difference.
- Cytomel – prescribed in 5mg doses for hypothyroid, which can be combined with another medication to find the right ratio and fix for someone’s thyroid needs.
- Nature Throid- this med is desiccated beef and there have been a lot of negative outcomes reported by patients. There has also been a recall on it. Overall, seeing a trend that people don’t do as well on it.
- Why? Seems that patients feel worse due to conversion issues, hyperthyroid symptoms, liver detox issues, etc.
- Take home: If any med isn’t working for you, then talk to your doc and change it up! You often have to adjust medications to fit the right ratio for best outcome.
- Take thyroid medication in the morning!
- Not before bed. Usually between 6-8am (not earlier because that’s still technically nighttime).
- Why are functional docs so much more supportive to thyroid meds compared with other prescription medications?
- When thyroid is in rough enough shape, medication really helps to get them out of that hole.
- Also when you’ve been on a thyroid medication for long enough your body isn’t necessarily good at making it on its own anymore and you’re committed to continuing it to experience the balanced health. If you have to stay on thyroid medication, it’s not the worst one to be on ongoing, very little risks or side effects. Very few problems with long-term thyroid medication and they don’t generally screw up the body in other ways compared with other meds that have much higher risks and side effects.
- If you want to get off meds fully, it can be done, but it’s a huge commitment. Not easy.
- Interesting fact: Oxygen advantage research says- when you increase your blood oxygen lactate threshold (BOLT) or CP, you improve breathing and carbon dioxide sensitivity, which has the effect of improving thyroid health! If on medication, monitor closely so you don’t go hyperthyroid (often able to lower meds or get off them).
Sex hormones and their role + male vs female differences
- Why are women more susceptible to thyroid issues?
- Hypothyroid Antibodies: Thyroid peroxidase enzyme (TPO), thyroglobulin protein(TGB) – most common ones that are elevated with hypo.
- Hyperthyroid Antibodies: Thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) Ab, Thyroid receptor antibody (TRA).
- Progesterone – stimulates TPO enzyme production which makes and increases T4 and T3, thus you need adequate progesterone to stimulate actual production of T4 and T3.
- On flip side thyroid hormones sensitize your body’s cells to progesterone, sluggish thyroid may give symptoms of low progesterone.
- Sluggish thyroid could decrease progesterone.
- Usually presents as normal progesterone but body not using it effectively but body not using P effectively because tissues are desensitized to P due to low thyroid hormone.
- Testosterone does NOT have that effect.
- Estrogen is good at making T3 into reverse T3 (inactive form), so now a thyroid conversion issue.
- Excess estrogen – could be either high estrogen overall or an estrogen/progesterone imbalance aka perceived high estrogen in relation to low progesterone.
- Thinking of this sex hormone tie in – we can further see the relationship between HPA axis dysfunction (sex hormone imbalance) and thyroid dysfunction and how the two relate, eg how low progesterone can affect thyroid.
Coming next, thyroid health and optimization, part 2……
The post
Sock Doc 12: Thyroid Health, Part 1 – The What, How and Why of Thyroid Problems, Testing, Medications and The Impact of Thyroid on Health and Performance first appeared on
Endurance Planet.
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On this special edition of Ask the Coaches we hear all about Lucho’s decision to sign up for Ironman St. George in 2022, his first full Ironman-distance race in over a decade! Tawnee in Lucho go into great detail about how Lucho plans to train with being mindful of a healthier approach than he says he did in the past—and what that means specifically—as well as details about his overall idea on how he’ll periodize his training for 140.6 miles of swim bike run, his race goals (Kona!), thoughts on recovery, nutrition, and much more. Lucho has made it no secret: He wants to qualify for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships at 50 years old—making a grand return to Kona—and this episode outlines the plan to do his best to make that happen!
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ATC 328: The One Where Lucho Returns To Ironman Racing first appeared on
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