1 % Better - Hidden Stories in Sport

In our episode this week the guys discuss some of the changing landscape of sport; be it the body changing in response to strongman, the evolution of trailrunning, projects vs racing or U20 progression through to open racing. They briefly discuss the use of exogenous ketones, the benefits of group training and of course debut September’s 1% better challenge.     (00:00) Introduction (00:35) Exogen...

In addition to answering a listener question about the impact of technology on sprinting, this week we discuss the use of theming in coaching. We also talk about the NYC marathon elite field, with many backing up from the Olympics and implications for this and we look at a paper quantifying the impact of steroid use. In response to requests we also discuss marathon training for Xylon in a little m...

In our 25th weekly episode, we cover some crazy performances from the sporting world before diving into some research on immunity with nutrition. We then touch on muscle memory and some of its implications for doping. As usual we finish with a look at the Doctor’s office, the 1% Better Challenge for August and what we will be watching.    (00:00) Introduction (00:48) David’s Training for Cardiff H...

Our focus this week is on people who have GOAT arguments and the super subs who stepped up at the Olympics. We also discuss Olympic medals and happiness as well as discussing some listener questions, our 1% Better challenge for August and a visit to the Doctor’s Office.    (00:00) Introduction (00:56) David’s polarized training in Chamonix  (02:08) Xylon’s Cape Town Marathon Training  (03:08) The...

Show Notes: In this bonus episode, we talk to Hannah Walker. Hannah is a sports broadcaster and commentator who specializes in cycling. She has covered all of the major tours, including being one of the inaugural commentators for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.  In addition to this she has commentated on the World Championships and was the lead commentator and podium announcer for the common...

Show Notes: This week’s episode see’s Xylon recounting his experience at the Paris Olympic Games while David flew to London to run with a gold medalist.    (00:00) Introduction (00:36) David’s crazy last 24 hours (03:00) Xylon’s travels are becoming exorbitant (03:43) Xylon was in Paris at the opening night of the athletics (04:25) Shoutout to a silver medalist we have a loose connection to (09:20...

This week’s episode see’s both Xylon and David on the road, but getting their training done. They also chat to Sean Seale about preparing a Crossfit athlete for the Crossfit Games.    (00:00) Introduction (00:31) David Being a Guinea Pig for Science (01:03) Xylon’s Recent Travels (02:18) Xylon’s Running (03:43) David’s Running (05:00) Nutrition in Rebuilding Volume  (07:00) Community Shoutouts (07...

Off the back of Biniam Girmay’s historic performance at the Tour de France, Xylon and David discuss African cycling as a means to further discuss talent identification, cultivation and cultural challenges in sport. They also chat to professional cyclist Merhawi Kudus, one of the first black Africans (along with Daniel Teklehaimanot) to ride in the Tour de France, about African cycling, Biniam and...

In this episode we cover peaking in sport, whether going to live sporting event is good for your health and changes to the qualifying through the rounds of the Olympic Track Events. We then quickly visit the doctor’s office which is full of Sprinboks before discussing Carbon Monoxide in sport, how it works, is it performance enhancing and should it be banned?  (00:00) Introduction (00:34) Xylon’s...

This week has a heavy focus on the Olympics and running. The guys touch a bit on Jonas Abrahamsen’s story of weight gain for performance gain before transitioning to discuss Olympic selection, Sifan Hassan’s crazy schedule and then some crazy running at Paris Diamond League and at Challenge Roth. It’s July so they also have a new 1% Better Challenge for you.  (00:00) Introduction (00:28) Xylon’s T...

David briefly reviews Lavaredo and shares some strange things he saw and Xylon’s not running as much as he thought. They then discuss race medals, and some community shoutouts. They cover some happenings at the Tour de France, the crazy fast day at Western States 100 and then return to the second half of the interview with Eloise du Luart covering her Myocarditis and how things progressed through...

Race week for David looms as Xylon gets back into training. The guys discuss Christiano Ronaldo’s longevity and what the world was like when he debuted, alongside some interesting ethical considerations in the world of doping in track and field. The finish off with part one of an interview with professional triathlete Eloise du Luart about her use of technology in helping her solve some performanc...

Hannah Walker is a sports broadcaster and commentator who specialises in cycling. She has covered all of the major tours, including being one of the inaugural commentators for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.  In addition to this she has commentated on the World Championships and was the lead commentator and podium announcer for the commonwealth games.  Hannah formerly worked as communication...

Xylon’s sick and David explains why post event sickness happens and what you can do to prevent it all as he is tapering for Lavaredo. They then discuss how to maintain performance when injured, the benefits of course knowledge and changes to the Tour de France course. Following this they discuss Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track, the Spring Energy gel drama and the Euros. Finally they touch on ch...

Xylon and David cover indoor vs outdoor training in the main portion of this episode after touching on all the regular segments. Usain Bolt enters the doctor’s office, and the guys discuss some NCAA track & field, tennis, skateboarding and cycling.      (00:00) Introduction (02:17) Recovery Discussion (06:52) David’s Lavaredo Preparation (11:12) Community Shoutouts (13:51) Parker Valby’s Recen...

In this bonus episode David and Xylon dissect and recap Xylon's Comrades Marathon effort. We dive into learnings, feedback, thoughts and advice for those planning to run the Comrades or do any endurance event. (00:00) Introduction (01:18) Post race sleep and vibe (02:01) Supporting and crewing vs racing (02:30) Race Debrief (06:54) Nightmare happenings on race morning (08:37) Xylon’s pacing bu...

Xylon and David cover trends in sport this week. We discuss tapering in light of Xylon’s Comrades taper, recovery from major events and Xylon’s fueling plan for the Comrades. We then answer a listener question and get to what’s come across David’s desk including the announcement of World Athletics Ultimate Championship and a discussion about changing coaches in sport and injury plagues. We then go...

Hot off the press, this episode is all about heat and heat training with guest, Dr Jamie Stanley. We briefly catch up about training and some potential upcoming topics before we dive straight into our interview.  (00:00) Introduction (01:09) David’s training and USA trip (02:08) Psychology and Metric vs Imperial units (06:36) Xylon mentions Kona (07:10) Xylon’s Comrades prep (08:01) Manchester Uni...

This week is all about rules. Some athletes and teams are good enough to make the sport change them, others break them and some sports are evolving and changing them. We also have our regular segments including our 1% Better Challenge and some listener questions.  (00:00) Introduction (02:20) David’s Brooklyn Half Marathon Efforts (04:32) Xylon’s Training and Carrying Fatigue (07:07) Comrades Mara...

This week’s episode is a big one on shoes and choosing shoes. We touch on a listener question about nutrition during taper before diving into our interview with our guest Michal ‘Nitta’ Nitschke. He joins us and explains all things choosing shoes, injury risk and how shoes have evolved.  (00:00) Introduction  (00:24) Xylon complains about heat training  (01:35) Dave’s Running Plans (03:57) Communi...

This week we discuss the health benefits of mass participation sporting events and their risks, we touch on Kylian Mbappe racing Usain bolt and finally Red Bull’s acquisition of Bora-Hansgrohe before we talk about the use of nicotine in sports in response to a listener question.  (00:00) Introduction  (01:54) Xylon going Rogue on his Training (05:15) Chicken Liver and it’s Health Benefits   (07:08...

Xylon and David cover some NIL news out of high school, they discuss how absurd the Kenyan Olympic marathon teams are and some strange doping news out of China. They briefly touch on IM Texas results and get to quite a bit of injury news between Bell’s Palsy, a rib stress fracture and some cardiac arrhythmias. They also debut some new branding and May’s 1% Better challenge. (00:00) Introduction (0...

After some recapping of the Marathon majors and a potential for an Olympic Duathlon, the guys talk about the prevalence of underfueling in endurance athletes, reviewing a recently released paper.  (00:00) Introduction  (00:43) Cycling Feed Zones and Crashes  (03:59) Xylon’s lack of Training  (07:16) David’s Training  (09:00) Community Shoutouts  (11:32) Why is the Women’s only Marathon World Recor...

Episode 7 sees us review Xylon’s Two Oceans run, premier a new segment and briefly review the T1-00 Singapore before diving into the main part of the episode, a timely review of the latest in research on Supershoes.  (00:00) Introduction (00:25) Xylon’s Two Oceans Review (08:41) David’s training update  (11:21) Community Shoutouts  (12:08) Update on Wout van Aert  (13:26) New segment announcement...

This week’s episode sees us discuss the new world club rugby cup, some research on chest fairings, transitioning from rugby 15s to 7s, the hardest geezer and Team Visma-Lease a Bike’s ongoing crash headaches.  (00:00) Introduction (01:14) Dave’s running and time at altitude (02:45) Dave’s Berlin Half Marathon review (05:15) Xylon’s pre for Two Oceans ultra marathon  (08:05) Community Shoutouts  (0...