Complete Human Performance Radio

Ariana, Alex, and Trevor try to work out how they'd rate the relative importance of 20 training priorities, from 1-20 (1=most important, 20=least important). In this hour they manage to discuss roughly 10, so expect a second episode for sure. The theme of today is "It Depends."

The 20 "Commonly Discussed Priorities" are as follows (and in no particular order, trust me): Individualised coaching, NEAT, Structured training, General nutrition, Intra workout nutrition, Sleep, Training periodization, Training volume, Training specificity, Extra recovery (cold plunges, saunas, thera guns, etc), Body work (self or massages), Stretching and mobility, Mental grit, Consistency, Training Intensity, Training environment, Equipment, Data acquisition tools (smart watches, power meters, etc), Basic supplements (creatine, stimulants, protein), Specific supplements (fat burners, beta alanine, testosterone boosters).

Discussed at length were: Extra Recovery, Sleep, Intra Workout Nutrition, Mental Grit, Consistency, Training Environment, General Nutrition, and Training Specificity/Volume/Intensity as a "blob" rather than truly separate entities. I know.

Thankfully for you, we all had very different opinions!  Keep your eyes open for episode 2.

Join Ariana as she chats with Matt Stevens, race director of Rally in the Valley, an incredibly fun and exciting hybrid competition held in Hurricane, WV every year since 2023. Matt is also the Head Judge at Hybricon Games, held at the end of October, and brings his rich military experience and experience as an athlete and gym owner (ShotFire Fitness) to the table for each event he's involved in.

Learn about what it takes to host a multi-day hybrid competition (a lot), how many people it takes to put one together, the need for strong sponsors in the hybrid space, and a recap of 2024.

Teasers for 2025, Geiger Training Camp 2025 (1 spot left as of recording)

 The importance of training in groups, especially for often solo hybrid athletes - training as a competitor, etc

Learning from mistakes, learning from failure

Designing a competition without a qualifier, with room for every athlete of every level (truly).

What does it take?

Reach Matt at his Rally In the Valley IG:

https://www.instagram.com/rallywestvirginia/

GET ON THE WAIT LIST for 2025:

 https://pr.fit/event/rally2025

Visit Shot Fire Fitness if you're in West Virginia:

https://shotfirefitness.com/

As always, like, subscribe, and share! 

With the safeties off.

Ariana and Alex discuss what he meant by "hybrid" the first time, how it's evolved (for better or for worse), what they think it means and who it refers to (and doesn't), which hybrid athletes they believe embody the spirit of hybrid the most, and why hybrid events are still heavily endurance (but getting better).

@completehumanperformance

@alex.viada 

Join Ariana Scalfo and Alex Viada as they do their first ever (???!! but first of many) podcasts of them just talking to each other about stuff they're doing, planning, building, and why they're excited about all of it. How did an offhand idea about deep-diving into Space Marines/metahuman supersoldiers train turn into a 100+ page protocol? And why are we turning it into a group training program? What does that look like? 

Largely just gabbing about what "hybrid" is, what it means to them, and what programming would look like for complete physical preparedness (not just "general". cpp?).

@alex.viada

@running_peaches

Coach Trevor Tartaglia takes the reigns of the CHP Podcast to chat with Alex Viada about the utility of TSS Scores (TrainingPeaks) and other "fatigue/stress" tracking algorithms for hybrid athletes. How they work, the pros, the cons, and how coaches can fully utilize these metrics (or similar) all included, as well as coaching insights from them both. 

Discussed: 

• What workouts are Trevor and Alex doing, and enjoying lately?
• How can athletes use TSS for strength workouts, if at all?
• What metrics can you use to overcome cons of TSS, as a mixed-sport athlete?
• Does TSS even have value for a hybrid athlete? Is it worth using?
• More about what TSS is, how it's calculated, and how to use it (if you want to)
• Various tangents

Follow Trevor and Alex on Instagram

Join Ariana as she chats with Tyler Koch about his time working as a Subject Matter Expert for the United States Air Force, overseeing Human Performance within the F-35 fighter pilot community.

He was also integral in founding the first ever Human Performance Initiative within Undergraduate Pilot Training. He has an M.S. in Exercise Science from George Washington University and prior to his role in the Air Force, he owned a gym, worked with professional athletes, and thoroughly explored the private sector of strength and conditioning. Currently, Tyler is training to become a Physician Assistant at Penn State’s Medical School.

Discussed:

Immediately, Ariana getting Tyler's last name wrong, even though she asked him how to pronounce it right before she hit record

What it takes to be a Fighter Pilot, what school looks like, and what training looks like

The purpose of the Human Performance Initiative, and its positive impact on the fighter pilot community

Testing to become a fighter pilot: how do you train to resist 9 gs of force? How do you physically resist 9 times the force of gravity while piloting a jet?

You can reach Tyler via his Instagram:

@twominutemechanics

Tyler (@twominutemechanics) • Instagram photos and videos

Or via email, [email protected]

Ariana and Trevor sit down and chat about the V3 template changes, what's next for CHP templates, and why they chose to push hard in this direction (app development aside). Plus, it's a general introduction into who Trevor is and how he ended up a military yoga teacher who also did CrossFit (it's true). 

New to CHP:

Strength + 5k

Strength + 10k

Trail + Distance

Strength + Half Marathon

Follow Trevor at @trevor.tartaglia 

Susan Lopez MS, RDN, CSSD, LD, TSAC*F is a Registered Dietitian working for a Special Operations unit, and boy does she have some fascinating insight for hybrid and tactical athletes.

Susan outlines the different strategies she uses for the two most common athlete archetypes she encounters in Special Operations, including approaching protein intake, total calories, supplementation, and working around their difficult and unpredictable lifestyles. Learn how she provides for her team by protecting their health and performance in the now, and designing their intake and supplement protocols to support their health and longevity in the military.

Follow Susan on In1stagram at @tactical.dietitian

Meet Jack Driscoll, self-proclaimed "overall fitness enjoyer," firefighter, coach, and phenomenal hybrid athlete. A guy who enjoys launching himself at a wide variety of fitness events, Jack burst into the competitive scene by winning Rally in the Valley, around the same time that he was tackling Hybricon Regionals, followed by a bodybuilding competition, and then an Ironman. Back to back to back. There may have been a powerlifting meet in there, too.

Jack discusses how he trained for a sub-3 hour marathon in 18 months, as a dude who "runs like a refrigerator" and doesn't even particularly like distance running. How did he trick himself into doing the long runs? How slowly, carefully, and sustainably did he start out? 

Fitness shouldn't be a punishment, and Jack finds joy in trying new things and developing his fitness in new ways. Jack of all trades, Master of none - with the unbeatable mindset that treats failure as a lesson and a challenge, not an end.

"Send it" with Jack as he trains for his 100-miler on Instagram at @jack.d_fitness

Vera Stepina is a lifestyle and nutrition coach, a hybrid athlete who was doing hybrid stuff before it was hybrid, a client of Alex Viada's, and a woman with 3 children who is rediscovering her potential after at least a year of considering it "dead in the water."

Listen to Vera and Ariana discuss the mindset required for massive lifestyle overhauls and shifts, the common roadblocks people experience (including themselves), the trials and tribulations of Kettlebell Long Cycles, and how Vera surprised the shit out of herself for at least the 3rd time this year. The good, the bad, the ugly, and some insights from long-time nutrition coaches who both came into their athleticism much later in life (after spending a lot of their lives considering athleticism entirely off the table).

See also: Why it's incredibly important to volunteer at events, why it's important to try new things, and be totally okay with being really, really bad at them. 

Follow Vera on Instagram at @vera_stepina

Follow Complete Human Performance @completehumanperformance