Did you spend more money on your helmet than your bike fit? That could be problem number one, especially considering a bad bike fit can not only hurt your ride, it can destroy your run. It's easy to get sidetracked by the glitzy temptations of cycling gear, but there are many better options for your time and money. Today we discuss a smart and well-rounded approach to being a better cyclist. How To Not Suck At Cycling discusses:
- Choosing the right bike
- What results you need from a bike fit
- Solid Baselines for your training
- Understanding Zones 1-5
- Why you're likely making a common training Zone Mistake
- Training with RPE, HR, and Power Meters
- Picking the right helmet
- Buying a suit
- Hydration set up
- Race Wheels
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It's natural to get excited about triathlon, but when does it work against you? Mike and Coach Robbie recently read an article called "When Passion Becomes Destructive" by Brad Stulberg and it kicked off a lot of bad memories. Times when the only thing that mattered in their lives was their "A Race" and how that took them away from things that are really important. Today's podcast covers:
- The difference between harmonious and obsessive passion
- How we can apply lessons from the Super Bowl to our Big Race
- Cultivating long-term health, happiness, and performance while avoiding suffering
- Why we take training failures personally
- How to not get sucked into a never ending cycle of searching for satisfaction
- Why obsessive passion can lead to depression
- How to trade awards and rankings for mastering your body
- The number one recipe for distress and failure
Email us: crushingiron@gmail.com
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This is a podcast based off a TED talk by Julian Treasure. It's titled "How to speak so that people want to listen." Once we heard his 7 Deadly Sins of Speaking, we thought it really applied to triathlete talk, and more specifically the things we probably shouldn't be doing. We both agree that we have fallen into these traps, but want to approach it consciously moving forward and think it will benefit the sport, and the image of the sport to outsiders. We also offer ways to change thinking during these discussions.
7 Deadly Sins of Triathlete Speak
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It's easy to get excited when you sign up for your first race or an Ironman, but it's quite another to get into the groove in cold winter months. Today we dig into methods to regain a "love for the game" and to keep wanting more.
- A Swim Challenge
- A Run Challenge
- How to Design an Early Season Run Week
- Recognizing When To Turn it up a Notch
- Frequency Vs. Volume
- How To Finish Your Workouts Wanting More
- Why Consistency Rules
- You're Not Ready Now, So Don't Prove It
- Swim The Suck
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There are lots of tools to train by, but the most important feedback comes from your own body. Today's cast gets into:
- Finding a rhythm while swimming
- Running by feel to get faster
- How to find the right passion
- Being Consistently Recovered
- The best ways for long-term progression
- Why Lionel Sanders will skip Kona and why it's important
- Why taking a year off Ironman will make you better
- Bucket-listers
- Leadville 100 Update
LINKS:
- Training By Feel
- Steven Pressfield - Do The Work
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Today we hit on a ton of topics for the beginner and intermediate triathlete with our new "Ask The Coach" segment. These are questions (or versions of) we see all over the internet. This is one of our favorite podcasts to date. Enjoy!
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They say Nutrition is the 4th Discipline of triathlon, so we brought on Registered Dietician, Lizzy Miller to fill us in. There are tons of philosophies on the right ways to fuel -in and out- of the race and we're opening the dialogue. We also discuss a body image. More on today's podcast:
- How to get started on the right diet without blowback from your body
- How to teach your body to use fat for energy
- The easiest way to balance your diet
- How much should your meals vary?
- Anorexia and Bulimia
- Ketosis
- In race nutrition
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Triathlon has changed many people's lives, including ours. Many of us can't talk about it enough and one of the tricky parts is figuring out when and how to find connection with others who understand your journey. Today we go dive into things like why, after trekking 138 miles in an Ironman and every bone in our body hurts, we can be sad the day is almost over. We also talk about training APPS like Strava and how they can make you feel like you're in a continual race. Is that good or bad? How can we tell if triathlon is helping us grow or creating bad habits? And, of course, the quest for the ultimate high.
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We've committed to releasing a podcast every Monday and Thursday, but today's podcast is delayed because of a computer issue. We hope to post it later this afternoon or tonight, so keep checking back. Thanks for all your comments on iTunes and feedback through email at crushingiron@gmail.com.
Due to a huge reaction to Part 1 of How To Not Suck At Swimming, we're back with a companion piece. Coach Robbie lives and breathes open water swimming and he's back with another round of great insight to becoming faster, stronger, and more efficient in open water. Topics covered today are:
- Proper breathing - How and When
- Body Positioning and how to get it right
- Hand entry and exit - How and When
- How to deprogram from bad advice, including workouts that get you there
- How to structure a swim week of workouts
- Should you join a Master's Team?
- Swimming square and why you swim crooked
Coach Robbie also has a big announcement and we'll tell you which country is second in Crushing Iron listenership.
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Jumping into triathlon can be daunting. You have to decide which race, what do I need to buy, and most importantly, WHY you want to do triathlon. This is for beginners and intermediate, but there are tons of little nuggets for all skill levels including how you can plan for long-term racing success and make triathlon a better sport along the way.
Today's Topics:
- things to consider before signing up for your first race (location, brand, race management, time of year)
- what made you want to do a "triathlon" in the first place - finding your "why"
- items you HAVE to have, would be nice to have , and items that are just because you WANT to have them
- how to set up a plan for success
- how to know if you are ready to go to the next distance
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www.crushingiron.com
Please subscribe to Crushing Iron on iTunes.
Today, Coach Robbie grills Mike about what it was like to go from the couch to Ironman as a 50-year-old. The whole process started with a 5K and ended at Ironman Wisconsin 18 months later. They discuss the physical and mental components of changing a lifestyle in such a dramatic fashion and what was learned along the way. Some of the topics are:
- What convinced Mike he could tackle and Ironman
- The importance of recovery as you get older
- Turning points in Mike's belief system
- How Mike went from a 42 minute Olympic swim to a 1:20 Ironman at Wisconsin
- How to virtually guarantee a solid Ironman run
- Mike's longest run ever was 14 miles
- How Coach Robbie kept him focused over a long 9-month-plan
- Overcoming mental and emotional burnout
- The mind game Mike played with himself to assure a sub-12 Ironman
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www.crushingiron.com
Please subscribe to Crushing Iron on iTunes.
Triathlon has so many products it can make your head spin. But which are frauds and which are for real? Today we have in-depth and honest discussion on a lot triathlete's favorite gear, habits, and nutrition, including:
• Compression Socks
• Chocolate Milk
• Ice Baths
• Stretching
• Altitude Training
• Coca Cola
• Pull Buoys
• Massages
• Training Masks
• Windbreakers
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Reference Links from Podcast
Chocolate Milk
Stretching
Ice Baths
Compression Socks
Mike and Robbie track their 24 hours before bed until the Ironman finish line. These tactics apply to non-Ironman distance as well. If you've done (or never done) there's a lot of food for thought in this episode which discusses the following:
• Night before Race Meals
• Sleep strategies
• Wake up calls
• Morning of race meals
• Last hour before the swim thoughts/nutrition
• Tactics for the Swim
• Nutrition for first 10 miles of bike
• Gastro challenges
• The biggest mistake people make on the bike
• Prepping for run while on the bike
• Nutrition/Hydration strategies for the run
• Post-race fuel
• A great way to clean your top, shorts, and shoes
Email your questions, thoughts, topic ideas to crushingiron@gmail.com
www.crushingiron.com
In this episode we cover:
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The documentary Minimalism fueled a lot of today's conversation on the Crushing Iron podcast. We were curious how simplifying your training could help you be a better athlete and get more out of life along the way. So we discussed the following:
- Decluttering your workout routine
- Running with your dog, spouse, friends more often
- Simplifying your diet for more consistent results
- How cleaning your environment reduces stress
- All time favorite personal moments in triathlon (they're not the races)
- The 80/20 rule for successful training
- 3 Keys to life according to Adam Robinson from the Tim Ferris podcast.
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Dr. Oz would probably love this podcast. Mike and Robbie dig into how they've changed physically, emotionally, and spiritually since they started triathlon. They talk about addiction, delusional passion, and how triathlon can be a vehicle for a better life instead of living our lives for triathlon. They explore social media's impact on the health of the sport, the high of your first race, and the lows that come from a triathlon lifestyle. Listen to find out how you can win a free Crushing Iron t-shirt.
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As an age grouper I went from not being able to swim more than a lap to swimming a mass start at Ironman Wisconsin in 1:20. That process took less than a year following these principles. I followed that with a 1:06.
Coach Robbie has a strong swim background and focuses on open water. He's swam 53 minutes in Ironman and has a deep passion for helping his athletes be stronger, faster, and more efficient swimmers. Today he covers the following in detail:
1. Why drills are a waste of time.
2. Why building swim fitness should be powerful and purposeful.
3. The bigger your mesh bag, the slower you are committed to being.
4. The correct and most effective way to use paddles.
5. Why pool swimming and open water swimming are two different sports.
6. What an expensive wetsuit really does for your swim.
7. The power of the Pull Buoy.
8. The tools you need and the tools you don't need.
Plus, why Coach Robbie thinks IRONMAN should change the swim cut off from 2:20 to 1:40. He also gives two excellent (and customizable) workouts you can start using now to be a better swimmer next season.
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Mike and Robbie review the KONA Broadcast on NBC and it opened an interesting question: Should Ironman move the World Championships out of KONA? That conversation happens toward the end at the 25 minute mark and Mike was totally against it at first, but completely changed his tune. We also cover:
- The Jan Frodeno/Sebastian Kienle match up.
- Ryf and Rinny
- Men vs. Women and the future of pros at Kona
- The human interest, including the heart wrenching story of the woman burned in an ultra marathon.
- The oldest man to finish at Kona
- Advertising during the broadcast
- Why moving the World Championships off the island would be the best thing for the sport.
- Ironman World Championships in Madison, Wisconsin . . . or Chattanooga??
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Does ego disrupt your balance in Training? Do holidays throw you off? When you add Ironman to the mix it's easy to lose control. Today we look at a bunch of strategies to keep your life and training in balance with so much going on in your life.
- How To Handle Training While Sick
- Importance of Training in the Morning
- How Family Can Make Training More Purposeful
- Why Pro Triathlete Lionel Sanders Changed His Approach
- How Ego Can Disrupt Progress
- Why Morning Swims Are Critical
- Repetition and Frequency Are King
- The Power of Flexible Training Schedules
- Are You Forcing Training?
- Christmas Cookies
Here's a link to the Lionel Sanders blog post we referenced.
Have you been sabotaging your races? Are you hoping to move up from 20th or 30th to the podium? Back of the pack to mid-pack? This is the podcast for you. We look at great ways to take your training (and racing) to the next level. In this episode you'll find out:
- How To Win A Free Coaching Consultation
- How To Prep Your Body To Start The Season
- If Your Base Training Has Plateaued
- How to break through 15+ Slots In Your Race
- What it really takes to make an Ironman Podium
- To Prepare Your Body For the Next Phase
- If you're lost in the numbers
- To Break Race Prep Into Blocks
Are you running too fast in training? Probably! Today Mike and Coach Robbie look at the timeless run training method of Ernst Van Aaken. At the core of his theory is that we need to train in ways that make more efficient use of oxygen for our heart and cells. We'll take a deep dive into the theory of running slow.
Link to article about Ernst Van Aaken from The Science of Running
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The key to most things in life is learning from your mistakes and resolving them so they don't create anxiety in the future. This is absolutely true in triathlon. Did you have a bad swimming experience, but not address it? Afraid of flat tires because you haven't learned to change them fast? Afraid you might not finish your first Ironman? Mike and Coach Robbie discuss how embracing mistakes builds confidence in yourself and your race.
Is your coach listening to your needs?
In this episode, Mike and Coach Robbie talk about his Coaching Philosophy, including why it's important for a coach to really know their athlete and how motivation, creativity, and listening are huge elements for helping you reach your goals.
They look at general theory, plus each of the individual sports: swim, bike, run.
If you have questions, comments, or ideas for a future podcast, send them to crushingiron@gmail.com
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How do you prepare for race pain?
Topics include:
Preparing for the pain of an Ironman Run
A mentally daunting run workout
"Relaxing Away" the pain
De-hydration and inflammation
Simulating the pain in workouts
Using oxygen in a more efficient way
Is it pain, or discomfort?
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