Primal Endurance Podcast

Host Brad Kearns talks about the importance of taking a break both physically and mentally from the grind of the competitive season. A physical break is essential to rebalance the body from the prolonged production of stress hormones resulting from the many hours on the road as well as juggling workouts around a full calendar of life obligations. Use the extra time in the off-season to nurture other hobbies or attend to matters that have been neglected during the competitive season. Remember that the effects of detraining are profound, but that you can regain your fitness in a very short time. When you emerge from a proper break period, you can then enter a period where you focus on complementary skills such as flexibility, mobility, and strength training. Vary things up a bit instead of just being obsessed with getting your odometer spinning again at the start of the season!

Why is a complete rest period at the end of the season so important? [00:01:03] 

What is "de-training?" Can one recover after rest? [00:05:36] 

What about weight gain? [00:10:36] 

How can one disengage from the mentality of competition? [00:11:22] 

What should one do when they are not training or competing? [00:13:18] 

Endurance athletes feel most comfortable when they are in a state of overtraining. [00:20:32] 

If you have a sore throat or your immune system is a little bit off, completely pull the plug on exercise. [00:24:47] 

VASA Swim Trainer

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In this episode, Lindsay talks to Dan Pardi, CEO of HumanOS. Dan’s mission is to develop health fluency, giving people the skills and knowledge they need to achieve maximum wellness. Lindsay met Dan at Paleo f(x) and ever since has been wanting to pick Dan’s brain about the idea of the quantified self: What kind of data can we collect about ourselves, and how can we use that information to inform the day-to-day decisions we make about diet, exercise, sleep, and so on? How do we walk the fine line between measuring and obsessing? What offers the best return on investment? Listen in for a thoughtful discussion about when, why, and how to self-assess, as well as some of the challenges that come along with trying to optimize health.

More about Dan: In addition to spearheading HumanOS and hosting the humanOS Radio podcast, Dan conducts research with the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department at Stanford, and the Departments of Neurology and Endocrinology at Leiden University in the Netherlands where he investigates how lifestyle factors, like sleep, influence decision making, cognitive performance, and metabolism. Dan also works with Naval Special Warfare and serves as Board Member for StandUpKids.org, among other health-related appointments. As you can tell, he’s an incredibly busy person, so we’re lucky to have him sharing his insights on health and wellness on today’s episode!

Dan talks about his evolution from a young athlete into his current interest in sports physiology, optimal lifestyle practices, and human performance. [00:03:52] 

Why should you do something? How should you do it? Ask if you are doing it and ask if it's working. [00:09:36] 

How do you empower people to take control of their health? [00:11:21] 

Only you can be the best expert with regard to your personal health. We have a lifetime to learn more information.  [00:14:28] 

What are some of the challenges we are confronted with in our attempt understand our health? [00:15:58]  

What types of metrics are available in terms of measurement, and how can those measurements be used to help reach our goals? [00:20:12] 

What about FitBit and Oura Ring? Is the Apple Watch affective? How can they help?  [00:24:23]

If you exercise and you don't lose weight, what does that mean? [00:28:15] 

The idea of being a healthy athlete involves the whole day and what you do with it, not just the periods of training. [00:29:28] 

How does tracking help support recovery?  [00:30:50] 

How does HRV work? What information does it give us? [00:34:22] 

Are subjective measurements the best way to decide what way to use your body toward your goals? [00:39:29] 

How to give yourself permission to say, "Today is not my day.” [00:47:21] 

How does one integrate the information s/he has to to attain his/her goals? [00:49:05] 

How does the Mediterranean diet compare with paleo? [00:51:49] 

https://humanos.me

Primalendurance.fit

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Brad Kearns tackles more interesting Q&A from Primal Endurance podcast listeners and book readers. Submit your questions at www.primalblueprint.com/endurance and they will get covered on the air.  While the questions relate to the specific needs of the individual, the answers are presented in a manner that applies to a broad audience. Listen and enjoy learning about the challenges and successes of your endurance peers, and come away with plenty of practical tips to help improve your training and competitive results.

Male, 44 year old who had his gall bladder removed twenty years ago says he feels great and has fantastic energy and weight loss. Should he make any changes around fat intake? [00:04:34] 

When Dr. Maffetone says that the goal marathon pace is around 15 seconds per mile faster than the results from the maximum aerobic test. The questioner asks: "Is this the first mile of your MAF test, the average of all the miles, or the slowest mile, or something else?" [00:06:14] 

Should one stay in the pack when running in something like the Ironman or a marathon even when you feel that you want to go faster? [00:09:02] 

This is a question from a person who has lost 90 pounds and wants to use an Elliptical for many runs during the week. Is this acceptable? [00:12:07] 

Matt asks: "What kind of primal lifting exercises do you recommend? How many sets and reps? [00:14:22] 

When should he switch up his routine? [00:16:09] 

41-year-old male who has been living the primal lifestyle since April 2016 and asks Brad's opinion on his desire to "go faster to improve his fitness." [00:21:16] 

Do 50-plus athletes need to stop the long slow intensity training and engage in high intensity exercise to maintain fitness? Also do they need to eat carbs? [00:26:37] 

Here is a question about expanding the intuitive nature to all training. Is it possible to all the training by feel? [00:33:58] 

Here is another question from a person who lives at sea level in the UK. He wants to know what adjustments he should make because he is going to be living in Colorado at 10,000 feet for a few months.   [00:38:07] 

This is a question from a listener who has been running for 25 years. Now he has experienced cramping and wonders why this happened.  [00:40:13] 

Brad Kearns Morning Routine

Tim DeFrancesco

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Host Brad Kearns catches up with the legendary Dave Scott, a 6-time Hawaii Ironman world champion and respected coach of both elite professional and amateur multisport enthusiasts. Dave is perhaps more steeped in the science of nutrition and exercise physiology than any other endurance athlete ever, so this show will give you insights on both cutting-edge science and also the competitive mindset of a champion athlete. Brad gives you a brief intro in case you’ve never heard of Dave, then they jump right into it. Dave describes his transition from a high carb pioneer back in the 80’s to his current support of primal/paleo/ketogenic eating patterns. He describes the science behind keto, and how it can protect your health and your heart from potential damage caused by strenuous training. On the long-standing topic of “intensity vs. volume” Dave sets people straight by detailing the huge mistake of going “kinda hard” on a regular basis. Not only will your burn out in performance, you are putting your health at serious risk. Instead, Dave details his unique methods of introducing an assortment of distinct interval patterns that help to cleanse the cardiovascular system, protecting it from damage caused by excessive kinda hard endurance workouts. Yes, Dave even advocates strength training year-round for endurance athletes! Dave talks about the problem of excess body fat on hard training endurance athletes and how to right this unfortunate trend. In the age of the internet and social media frenzy, lots of athletes and coaches are full of themselves. Dave is full or experience and wisdom so give this show your undivided attention!

When did Dave Scott get involved in Ironman? [00:01:23] 

How does Scott's record of twenty years compare with current triathletes? [00:02:41] 

How does the training differ from what Dave did in the early days? [00:04:45]

What was his thinking about fat adaptation? [00:06:48] 

Have there been long-term adverse effects to your body? [00:08:52] 

Elite endurance athletes who train at high volume are at great risk to the heart. [00:13:52] 

What are the thoughts on Maffetonne's assertion that you need to perform at a more comfortable rate? [00:16:24] 

What can happen when you over train? [00:19:23] 

When it is time to go hard, you go hard, but the pace has to be wisely monitored. [00:24:49] 

In strength training and in the Cross-fit world, the athletes need to be extremely careful with their form, balance, and symmetry to be safe. [00:27:44] 

Many of the elite athletes are not in the best condition, even though they are champions! [00:31:37] 

Why are so many athletes still suffering from excess body fat? Is it the fault carb dependence? [00:33:54] 

Ridding sweet juices from your life are a good place to start when shifting for fat adaptation diet. [00:37:20] 

How is the transition working from the mistakes we've made in the past? [00:39:26] 

Are we supposed to have a diet of no carbohydrates? [00:40:28] 

How has the scientific community's message changed about what is a healthy diet? [00:43:35] 

The current athletes are doing something right but can enhance their performance by dietary improvement. [00:51:16

Dave Scott

Organifi

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This week Lindsay helps athletes sort out questions about how to strength train while still following Primal Endurance recommendations, and she answers the burning question: Do I need an aerobic base if I'm not a competitive athlete? (Spoiler alert: yes!!) Plus stretching, elevation training, and more!

The question is: Are the benefits of building an aerobic base worth it for athletes that only have modest endurance goals?  [00:01:38] 

Would I ruin the purpose of an aerobic base-building block by adding in some lift heavy things? [00:04:18] 

David, age 49 asks: Don't you lose strength that you've built up when you stop strength training for a period of time? [00:10:05] 

Diane (29) from Bulgaria: She is training for her first ironman.  How can she build up her strength in the water portion of her workouts? What about rubber band training? [00:14:07] 

Also a question about stretching.  What are the recommendations about what kinds of stretches are best as well as when is the best time to stretch?  [00:18:12] 

Here's a question from a person who is planning to train for a 100 K ultra that has a massive amount of vertical gain. How is the best way to prepare my body for this? [00:22:34] 

 

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Host Brad Kearns talks to older endurance athletes about strategies that will help you preserve your health as you pursue ambitious endurance goals. One thing to emphasize is aligning your competitive goals with your age, dude! Perhaps the extreme ultra distance events are best left to youngsters? No offense intended, but you don’t see 50-year-olds in the NFL, so it’s worth considering. Maybe its a more sensible and honorable goal to try to improve your 10k time as you get older, or become a competent sprint triathlete instead of slogging out another season of half and full iron-distance events in a manner that can’t really be described as “racing.”

Everyone pays lip service to the concept that older athletes require more recovery, but in practice we see youthful egos constantly at war with the attached older bodies. One thing that might help is to develop a morning routine of flexibility/mobility to help you absorb and withstand the intense workouts that might occur less frequently with older athletes. Enjoy some interesting food for thought as well as practical tips in this program. 

Brad shares his thoughts on why it is important to stop and think about what reasons you have for participating in sports as well as what your long term goals are. Do you need to rethink what you are doing? [00:02:29] 

What are the considerations we, as athletes, should look for regarding protecting our health? How much exercise is too much? [00:15:00] 

What are some scary things we need to know about our heart if we continue to push our bodies? [00:21:44] 

What are the abnormal heart rhythms that can happen to us? What symptoms should we watch for? [00:28:51] 

One Running Shoe in the Grave

Run For Your Life, But Not Too Far

Running on Empty

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Lindsay Taylor tackles more interesting Q&A from Primal Endurance podcast listeners and book readers. Submit your questions at www.primalblueprint.com/endurance and they will get covered on the air. Some recurring themes are coming through with many questioners. In particular, the questioning how "180-age" aerobic maximum heart rate limit applies to real-life goals and the desire to open up the throttle now and then and get race ready. While the questions relate to the specific needs of the individual, the answers are presented in a manner that applies to a broad audience. Listen and enjoy learning about the challenges and successes of your endurance peers, and come away with plenty of practical tips to help improve your training and competitive results.

Kevin, age 43 asks about a 50-K race he has scheduled. "Do I begin the MAF training now and just run the race with whatever gains I've made or do I continue training as I have been and begin MAF following the race?" [00:02:49] 

What are the consequences if I went over MAF for one run? [00:09:20] 

Matthew, age 28 asks, "I've been running for about 17 years but only starting training by Dr. Phil when I had my ACL reconstructed about five months ago. As I recover from this, how do I know when I can push it back to my regular heart rate of 150?" [00:12:56] 

Two questions from a listener about eating primally. Does it matter what time of day one does an intermittent fast? [00:16:38] 

This person wants to know about running slowly asking if it is okay four to six months of Zone 2 training? [00:19:32] 

How high should my heart rate be if I am beginning my Primal Endurance training after a period of time off from training? [00:20:51] 

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Primal Endurance Chapter 11 - Hitting The Showers Host Brad Kearns covers the profound message in the final chapter of Primal Endurance, titled “Hitting The Showers”. The premise is that we have a given amount of battery power over a lifetime...

Host Brad Kearns talks about the importance of taking a break in the middle of a busy competitive season in order to refresh and restore for a strong finish. The cumulative stress of pre-season base building and then the introduction of intensity and...

Kevin, age 43 asks about a 50-K race he has scheduled. "Do I begin the MAF training now and just run the race with whatever gains I've made or do I continue training as I have been and begin MAF following the race?" [00:02:49]  What are the...