Coaching

10 Differences Between Road Racing and Ultramarathons

I’m not going to lie – prior to creating the UESCA Ultrarunning Coach Certification with ultrarunning coach, Jason Koop, I must admit, I fell into the group of people that more or less viewed an ultramarathon as just a ‘long marathon.’ As such, I deduced that in order to create an ultrarunning program, all you … Read more

Reverse Periodization

Periodization is a pretty common term and training practice within the realm of endurance sports. When most endurance athletes think of periodization, they think of a pyramid; with the lowest intensity/highest volume at the bottom and the highest intensity/lowest volume at the top. This pyramid is typically designed to peak for one event per year, … Read more

Know Your Worth

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Throughout my career as a personal trainer, I would often get asked for free fitness programs, advice, or my ‘opinion’ on a variety of fitness-related questions. As an example, and on the surface, a question such as, “What is a good core exercise?” … Read more

GUIDE: Strength Training for Endurance Athletes

The History Ahh yes, strength training – the nemesis of any endurance athlete… or at least that is what we are often led to believe. For starters, despite being debunked many many years ago, the myth that lifting a weight or doing a lunge will automatically add pounds of muscle still persists to this day. … Read more

Lactic Acid vs. Lactate: What’s The Difference?

If you’ve been involved with endurance sports for even a short amount of time, you have no doubt heard or read that the ever so fun muscle burn that you experience is caused by a thing called ‘lactic acid.’ This obviously must be correct as so many sources cite lactic acid as the nemesis of … Read more

The Science of the Warm-Up

Whether it was your 5th grade soccer coach, your college track coach, or your running group buddies; if you’ve been participating in sports of any kind, you’ve likely heard the phrase, “You gotta warm up!” While this is a common understanding, the science of the warm up is less understood. While the general rationale for … Read more

7 Steps to Create an Annual Running Training Program

As the 2021 calendar year is winding down, it’s time for most of us to plan our own and our athletes’ training programs for the upcoming year. This post primarily focuses on the coach/athlete relationship but the content is just as applicable to self-coached athletes. While there are many different ways to construct a training … Read more

Minimizing the Chance for GI Distress in Ultramarathons

You’ve probably seen the commercials with someone having a bad case of indigestion and dropping a few white tablets in a glass of water to create a magical, fizzy concoction that is supposed to alleviate the bloat and stomach issues … or the goopy, pink soup-like drink that helps with similar multiple stomach ailments. While … Read more

Want More Power On The Bike? Start With Your Ankles

There was a time not too long ago, if you wanted an accurate assessment of your power output while cycling, you had to head to a physiology lab – not so anymore. Nowadays, on-the-bike power meters are as ubiquitous as heart rate monitors used to be. Due to this, there are endless articles and resources … Read more