Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast

So much is unpredictable right now, but as triathletes, we've been training for this. We have solved thousands of little problems through training and racing and those are valuable lessons. The human survival loop goes like this: Trigger, behavior, and reward. If that goes Fear, worry, anxiety, we need to figure out how to break the pattern. Today, we get into going from fear ----> productive/positive behaviors that are usually short term sacrifices that create long term gains. 

The best laid plans coming apart at the seams, so now what? Race cancelled? Should you ramp up or cut back? It's a stressful time, but also one for opportunity to evolve, grow and transform. Working at home, eating better, no pool, rejuvenating. Today we look at how broken routines can be a great opportunity with the right approach. 

How do we respond when faced with uncertainty? There are a lot of unknowns at the moment and today we get back into the moment and focus on what we can control. Coach Robbie shares his change of plans and how he turned a negative into a positive. We look at the gut punch of cancelled races and the reality getting a better grip on our perspective. 

Today we look at the coaching philosophy from Dan Lorang who helped make Jan Frodeno and Anne Haug BOTH Ironman Champions in 2019. We don’t always talk about pros, but amateurs can take a LOT away from these approaches to training and racing. The discussion was ignited by this article in from 220 Triathlon. We’ve been talking about a lot of this along the way, but today take a deeper dive into each of the elements both Frodeno and Haug said helped them become champions in Kona.

Molly Seidel qualified for the Olympics in her first marathon. She's since talked about how she was training for the long term and "added" the Olympic trials. We talk about this lesson as it relates to being healthy, energized, and relaxed. We also get deep into how to taper, understanding how Garmin interprets your fitness, and how to use Best Bike Split. There's also bike handling, training with positive stress, and recovery.

We've always been big on the mind/body connection and showing yourself grace in training and life. Today we look at what it takes to combine the physical and mental aspects of triathlon with a spiritual approach. This is about having faith in the process, giving right effort, paying attention, staying focused and learning through experience to gain wisdom.

Are you pushing your body beyond its adaptive threshold? It's a fine line and often the difference between burnout/flatline and real, sustainable improvement. Today is about "simple" but often neglected daily reasons you may not be improving. So, how do we break the cycle of little habits that are holding us back? 

We just hit the 1 Million download number and today we use our "Just Show Up" analogy and translate it to training. We dive into questions like, "Why do we constantly face the challenge of getting over the hump to train today?" We also talk about the trouble of setting hard goals and learning to have fun in the process. It's not about the end game as much as it is about doing something now that is moving you in the right direction. 

Today, we open the podcast to listener questions from our Facebook Group (search Crushing Iron Group). They range from bike periodization, to maintaining fitness without a race scheduled, to benefits of training for time vs. mileage, handling missed time due to illness, short course vs. long course training, pilates, how each discipline helps the others, 70.3 nutrition and marathon training, strength training . . . and more.

Is your happiness connected to contingency events? “If I get this, then I will be that?” The key to getting the results you want is building the little habits and not looking back with the idea that you “should have” done this or that." We are all in the process of life and training. Success doesn’t equal safety. Today, the art of creating your own reality to face triathlon with a positive and fun attitude that adds purpose to your training and ultimately leads to ongoing success.

Most of us aren't in our 20's anymore, but we tend to think like that when it comes to speed work. Today, we look at the Aerobic Base Phase of training and explain how it is the key to getting faster in triathlon. We hit on the 80/20 rule, track workouts, what happens when you skip progressions. When is going hard actually worth it?

It’s not about who’s fastest, it’s about who slows down the least.You need energy to be motivated and self-imposed stress sucks the life out of you. Today we talk about trending vs. tracking your training, banking sleep, and remembering to play like a kid. Also, the anxiety from attachment, looking at data from the wrong perspective and why getting slower isn't really a thing. 

It's hard to always stay motivated yet easy to slip off the rails. And one of the biggest traps is comparing ourselves to others. Today, Mike talks about how this has happened to him since his father passed, but also how it's help remind him that we shouldn't take health and fitness for granted. The guys open up about intention and struggles in an effort to find the best ways to appreciate training as a process. You can never be "the old you" so embrace where you're going. 

Today’s podcast is all about how workouts link together and why life outside of training is an important factor in the decision process. Your mind and body aren’t always telling the same story, so it’s important to truly understand effort and its relationship to the big picture. When you trust the purpose of today’s workout, that sets you up for more consistency tomorrow and the week, which leads to more success in both training and racing. Managing stress is at the core of happy and healthy trainin

How do you prioritize Endurance, Strength and Speed training for different courses and races? It should be a balance, but not always in even proportions. We look at priority and periodization based on goals. Why big gears aren't just strength work. Overusing muscles. Return on your swim stroke investment. Why you get sore arms while swimming and sore legs on transition runs. Connecting endurance, strength and speed training.