Host Brad Kearns dusts off the age-old dilemma for endurance athletes: the relative benefits and contribution of intense efforts versus a commitment to aerobic base building to deliver best results. Brad reflects on his recent show with Dave Scott,...

#135: Intensity vs. MAF

Welcome to The Primal Endurance Podcast, where we challenge the ineffective, overly stressful conventional approach to endurance training and provide a refreshing, sensible, healthy, fun alternative. Going primal frees you from carbohydrate dependency and turns you into a fat burning beast! Enjoy interviews from elite athletes, coaches, authors and scientists on the cutting edge of endurance training and performance.

Health & Fitness

In this show, we’re focusing on what easy workouts and rest days really mean for us mere mortals trying to improve our performance—not only in endurance sports, but in all manner of athletic endeavors. 
Tune in to hear me discuss the great Eluid Kipchoge and some stunning revelations that have come forth from detailed analysis of his training logs that he has published for all to scrutinize. If you want to hear some fantastic tips based on the meticulously detailed training logs and most effective methods utilized by the greatest marathoner of all time, this is the episode for you!
 
TIMESTAMPS:
Eluid Kipchoge has published detailed training logs for the public to learn his proven methods. [00:24]
For example, Kipchoge performs at 80% capacity on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then at 50% capacity on the other days, week in and week out. [02:39]
This may sound crazy, but if you are trying to condition your body for marathon, your overall training program should include walking for a huge chunk of your weekly running mileage. [06:59]
The harder you train, the more you desperately need rest time. [10:16]
 
LINKS:

Primal Endurance Mastery course (FREE bag of Whey Protein Superfuel if you sign up for the full course, just email us!)
Cynthia Monteleon
PrimalEndrance.fit
Brad Kearns.com
Brad’s Shopping page
B.rad Whey Protein Isolate Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet! Available in Two Delicious Flavors: Vanilla Bean and Cocoa Bean

 
We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A; shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:

Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Mito Red Light: Photobiomodulation light panels to enhance cellular energy production, improve recovery, and optimize circadian rhythm. Use code BRAD for 5% discount!
GAINSWave: Enhance sexual function with high frequency shockwave therapy. Buy 6 and get one treatment free with code: BRAD
Schwank Grills: Portable gas infrared grills for the juiciest steak you’ve ever had! Cooks in minutes at 1500 degree heat. Save $150 with code BRAD150. 
Wild Health: Comprehensive online health consultation with blood and DNA testing, personal coaching and precision medicine. Get things dialed in! Use discount code BRAD20 for 20% off!
Plunge: Sensational custom-designed home cold plunge with filtered, circulating water, custom temperature setting, and sleek design. Save $150 with code BRAD. Also enroll in my Cold Plunge online course!
B.rad Whey + Creatine Superfuel: Premium quality, all-natural supplement for peak performance, recovery, and longevity. New Cocoa Bean flavor!
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!
Male Optimization Formula with Organs (MOFO): Optimize testosterone naturally with 100% grassfed animal organ supplement

Brad's Favorites on Amazon
I have a newly organized shopping experience at BradKearns.com/Shop. Visit here and you can navigate to my B.rad Nutrition products (for direct order or Amazon order), my library of online multimedia educational courses, great discounts from my affiliate favorites, and my recommended health&fitness; products on Amazon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Honoring Easy Workouts And Rest Days (Inspired by Kipchoge)

It’s time to talk about polarized training—a popular training concept often referred to as the “80/20 principle.” 
Unfortunately, many athletes have misinterpreted and misapplied this strategy, so we will be reviewing this training philosophy in this episode. Tune in if you want to learn what polarized training truly entails and the benefits of this practice, the research behind the effects of 80/20 training, how you can practice this method correctly, and more!
 
TIMESTAMPS:
The leading endurance athletes in the world do the vast majority of their training at comfortable paces. [01:32]
You can monitor your exercise heart rate using the talk test by reciting the alphabet or talking to a friend. [03:43]
The 80-20 concept means that 20% of your workouts are characterized as high intensity or difficult session. [05:00]
 
LINKS:

Primal Endurance Mastery course (FREE bag of Whey Protein Superfuel if you sign up for the full course, just email us!)
PrimalEndrance.fit
Brad Kearns.com
Brad’s Shopping page
B.rad Whey Protein Isolate Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet! Available in Two Delicious Flavors: Vanilla Bean and Cocoa Bean

 
We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A; shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:

Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Mito Red Light: Photobiomodulation light panels to enhance cellular energy production, improve recovery, and optimize circadian rhythm. Use code BRAD for 5% discount!
GAINSWave: Enhance sexual function with high frequency shockwave therapy. Buy 6 and get one treatment free with code: BRAD
Schwank Grills: Portable gas infrared grills for the juiciest steak you’ve ever had! Cooks in minutes at 1500 degree heat. Save $150 with code BRAD150. 
Wild Health: Comprehensive online health consultation with blood and DNA testing, personal coaching and precision medicine. Get things dialed in! Use discount code BRAD20 for 20% off!
Plunge: Sensational custom-designed home cold plunge with filtered, circulating water, custom temperature setting, and sleek design. Save $150 with code BRAD. Also enroll in my Cold Plunge online course!
B.rad Whey + Creatine Superfuel: Premium quality, all-natural supplement for peak performance, recovery, and longevity. New Cocoa Bean flavor!
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!
Male Optimization Formula with Organs (MOFO): Optimize testosterone naturally with 100% grassfed animal organ supplement

Brad's Favorites on Amazon
I have a newly organized shopping experience at BradKearns.com/Shop. Visit here and you can navigate to my B.rad Nutrition products (for direct order or Amazon order), my library of online multimedia educational courses, great discounts from my affiliate favorites, and my recommended health&fitness; products on Amazon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How To Correctly Polarize "80/20" Your Training

Endurance athletes are back with an assortment of interesting questions and fabulous success stories to share!
Questions and stories like: The importance of doing a bit of warm up before your micro-workouts; a young runner wins the state title honoring the Primal Endurance principles of monitoring heart rate carefully, avoiding processed food, getting tons of sleep, adding some strength training, and making intuitive decisions to manage stress and rest; the folly of counting calories instead of just focusing on natural, nutritious foods and managing one’s overall stress level; the importance of getting metabolically and hormonally healthy before trying to lose excess body fat; advice for older females to avoid chronic cardio and add sprinting; listening to your body instead of obsessing about biofeedback numbers; the rationale for prescription medication versus lifestyle change; emphasizing both Zone 2 and Zone 1 cardio. 
 
LINKS:

Primal Endurance Mastery course (FREE bag of Whey Protein Superfuel if you sign up for the full course, just email us!)
PrimalEndrance.fit
Brad Kearns.com
Brad’s Shopping page
B.rad Whey Protein Isolate Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet! Available in Two Delicious Flavors: Vanilla Bean and Cocoa Bean

 
We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A; shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:

Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Mito Red Light: Photobiomodulation light panels to enhance cellular energy production, improve recovery, and optimize circadian rhythm. Use code BRAD for 5% discount!
GAINSWave: Enhance sexual function with high frequency shockwave therapy. Buy 6 and get one treatment free with code: BRAD
Schwank Grills: Portable gas infrared grills for the juiciest steak you’ve ever had! Cooks in minutes at 1500 degree heat. Save $150 with code BRAD150. 
Wild Health: Comprehensive online health consultation with blood and DNA testing, personal coaching and precision medicine. Get things dialed in! Use discount code BRAD20 for 20% off!
Plunge: Sensational custom-designed home cold plunge with filtered, circulating water, custom temperature setting, and sleek design. Save $150 with code BRAD. Also enroll in my Cold Plunge online course!
B.rad Whey + Creatine Superfuel: Premium quality, all-natural supplement for peak performance, recovery, and longevity. New Cocoa Bean flavor!
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!
Male Optimization Formula with Organs (MOFO): Optimize testosterone naturally with 100% grassfed animal organ supplement

Brad's Favorites on Amazon
I have a newly organized shopping experience at BradKearns.com/Shop. Visit here and you can navigate to my B.rad Nutrition products (for direct order or Amazon order), my library of online multimedia educational courses, great discounts from my affiliate favorites, and my recommended health&fitness; products on Amazon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Q&A: Getting Healthy Before Losing Weight, Making Intuitive Training Decisions, And Excelling As A Young Runner

I welcome Tawnee Gibson, longtime host of the Endurance Planet podcast, to the show for an honest, open conversation that takes us on a timeline through her own experiences as an athlete, her struggles, and what she has learned from health journey. 
Some of Tawnee’s revelations will be particularly relevant to female athletes, and some others—such as not feeling ready to correct course even when you know better—will be relevant to all. Tawnee also talks about what actually happens to your body as a result of having an overly stressful lifestyle, the importance of evaluating your attitude and your disposition and how it relates to stress, the pros and cons of the massive influx of technology in the endurance experience and the importance of using your intuition to navigate this new technology, why she and her husband decided to leave her home state of California to settle in a rural area in Idaho, and more!
 
TIMESTAMPS:
Tawnee talks about all the particular aspects of being a female endurance athlete. [00:32]
Tawnee grew up in southern California and resettled in rural Idaho living an extremely different life. [04:03]
Brad and Tawnee talk about how they now realize the stress they were putting on their bodies as they reflect back to their competitive days as triathletes. [06:28]
Fighting an eating disorder and amenorrhea were part of her beginning as triathlete. [10:24]
Listeners need to hear the experiences of these two former triathletes and think about what you goal is and how to avoid the roadblocks that are there in your way. [23:46]
REDS is relative energy deficit in sport. Stress of all kinds can get you there as well. [27:20]
You need the discipline to know when you need to rest and sit back when you are at an exciting place. [34:18]
As you realize your performance is changing, accept where you are, be grateful for what your body can do.  [43:50]
How do today’s training methods and technologies differ to make today’s athletes bring in better times? [53:49]
People over complicate things that are rather simple. [01:03:07]
What is the Underpants Run that occurs during the Kailua Kona Iron Man Week? [01:06:31]
 
LINKS:

Primal Endurance Mastery course (FREE bag of Whey Protein Superfuel if you sign up for the full course, just email us!)
PrimalEndrance.fit
Brad Kearns.com
Brad’s Shopping page
B.rad Whey Protein Isolate Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet! Available in Two Delicious Flavors: Vanilla Bean and Cocoa Bean
Tawnee on Instagram
Endurance Planet Podcast
Coach Tawnee.com
Determine
Mass Made Simple

 
Join Brad for more fun on: 
Instagram: @bradkearns1
Facebook: @bradkearnsjumphigh
Twitter: @bradleykearns
YouTube: @brad.kearns
TikTok: @bradkearns
 
We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A; shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:

Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Mito Red Light: Photobiomodulation light panels to enhance cellular energy production, improve recovery, and optimize circadian rhythm. Use code BRAD for 5% discount!
GAINSWave: Enhance sexual function with high frequency shockwave therapy. Buy 6 and get one treatment free with code: BRAD
Schwank Grills: Portable gas infrared grills for the juiciest steak you’ve ever had! Cooks in minutes at 1500 degree heat. Save $150 with code BRAD150. 
Wild Health: Comprehensive online health consultation with blood and DNA testing, personal coaching and precision medicine. Get things dialed in! Use discount code BRAD20 for 20% off!
Plunge: Sensational custom-designed home cold plunge with filtered, circulating water, custom temperature setting, and sleek design. Save $150 with code BRAD. Also enroll in my Cold Plunge online course!
B.rad Whey + Creatine Superfuel: Premium quality, all-natural supplement for peak performance, recovery, and longevity. New Cocoa Bean flavor!
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!
Male Optimization Formula with Organs (MOFO): Optimize testosterone naturally with 100% grassfed animal organ supplement

Brad's Favorites on Amazon
I have a newly organized shopping experience at BradKearns.com/Shop. Visit here and you can navigate to my B.rad Nutrition products (for direct order or Amazon order), my library of online multimedia educational courses, great discounts from my affiliate favorites, and my recommended health&fitness; products on Amazon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tawnee Gibson: Female Eating And Stress Dangers, Adopting Healthy Mindsets, Avoiding Tech Obsession, And The Kona Underpants Run

In this Q&A;, I share the story of an ultra-endurance athlete who improved their health and lowered blood pressure by adding meat to their diet, if we need to consume fat (bacon and avocado!) during ultramarathons (short answer: no!), and whether or not I recommend eating fruit and high protein every day, regardless of athletic goals?
I also share the story of a couple who lost lots of excess body fat in two months by using keto and intermittent fasting and talk about the importance of looking at the big picture of heart disease risk factors and doing further testing if necessary. Finally, should longtime extreme endurance athletes consider a CAC (coronary artery calcium scan), and can fit, older athletes add five beats or more to MAF heart rate? Maybe, but as you will hear in this episode, it’s also important to be conservative with MAF.
 
TIMESTAMPS:
Joe is asking about the changes he has made in his diet and what they brought about. 
If he is doing marathons, ultras and Ironman, it is not a good idea to introduce fasting into his regimen as he might not be getting enough protein. [00:24]
If you are concerned about weight gain, remember that protein calories are not going to add body fat. [04:18]
Participation in high endurance sports, even for 25 years, can bring high blood pressure, but you can find it decreases by adding red meat into the diet. [05:19]
Joe is asking Brad if he is recommending fruit and protein every day no matter where you are in your training cycle? [07:10]
Remember that snacking during endurance activity is not the best time to digest foods because the blood is diverted from your digestive system into your working extremities. [09:10]
Chris shares how he and his wife found amazing changes in their lives after following Brad’s information on diet. [14:13]
Ideally your body measurement should look at waist to height ratio. We want the waist circumference to be less than half of your height. [17:07]
Scott in Palm Springs talks about one’s heart disease risk factors. He is recommending the CAC, Coronary Artery Calcium scan, especially for long time endurance athletes. [20:04]
Brian, a cyclist, is asking about adding five beats to your maximum aerobic heart rate in certain circumstances. [24:36]
Fat Max is the point where you are burning the maximum number of fat calories per minute during exercise. [29:46]
Brian asks about what should he do when sprinting about keeping his heart rate under or over maximum heart rate.  [32:42]
 
LINKS:

Primal Endurance Mastery course (FREE bag of Whey Protein Superfuel if you sign up for the full course, just email us!)
Brad Kearns.com
Brad’s Shopping page
Keto Cooking for Cool Dudes
Carnivore Cooking for Cool Dudes
Maffetone.com 
PrimalEndrance.fit
B.rad Whey Protein Isolate Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet! Available in Two Delicious Flavors: Vanilla Bean and Cocoa Bean

 
Join Brad for more fun on: 
Instagram: @bradkearns1
Facebook: @bradkearnsjumphigh
Twitter: @bradleykearns
YouTube: @brad.kearns
TikTok: @bradkearns
 
We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A; shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:

Peluva: Comfortable, functional, stylish five-toe minimalist shoe to reawaken optimal foot function. Use code BRADPODCAST for 15% off!
Mito Red Light: Photobiomodulation light panels to enhance cellular energy production, improve recovery, and optimize circadian rhythm. Use code BRAD for 5% discount!
GAINSWave: Enhance sexual function with high frequency shockwave therapy. Buy 6 and get one treatment free with code: BRAD
Wild Health: Comprehensive online health consultation with blood and DNA testing, personal coaching and precision medicine. Get things dialed in! Use discount code BRAD20 for 20% off!
Plunge: Sensational custom-designed home cold plunge with filtered, circulating water, custom temperature setting, and sleek design. Save $150 with code BRAD. Also enroll in my Cold Plunge online course!
B.rad Whey + Creatine Superfuel: Premium quality, all-natural supplement for peak performance, recovery, and longevity. New Cocoa Bean flavor!
Online educational courses: Numerous great offerings for an immersive home-study educational experience
Primal Fitness Expert Certification: The most comprehensive online course on all aspects of traditional fitness programming and a total immersion fitness lifestyle. Save 25% on tuition with code BRAD!
Male Optimization Formula with Organs (MOFO): Optimize testosterone naturally with 100% grassfed animal organ supplement

Brad's Favorites on Amazon
I have a newly organized shopping experience at BradKearns.com/Shop. Visit here and you can navigate to my B.rad Nutrition products (for direct order or Amazon order), my library of online multimedia educational courses, great discounts from my affiliate favorites, and my recommended health&fitness; products on Amazon.
  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#135: Intensity vs. MAF

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