Choose the Hard Way

Choose the Hard Way is the show about how hard things build stronger humans who have more fun.  — One of my favorite comedians is Johnny Hilbrant Partridge, aka The PE Guy. His comedy operates at the intersection of private equity, hyper-conspicuous consumption, and radical insecurity. He is hilarious, and if you don't know his work, you soon will. — If you want to laugh go to @johnnyhilbrant, if...

Dr. Stephen Seiler coined the term polarized training and systematized the 80/20 method used by Tadej Pogacar, Kristian Blummenfelt, and the world's top endurance athletes.  — From the New York Times to the podcasts of Andrew Huberman, Peter Attia, and Rhonda Patrick, Dr. Seiler's polarized training method and zone 2 and vo2 max protocols have become an often misinterpreted cultural obsession. — I...

Graham Platner is a Marine Corps and Army infantry veteran with combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and a candidate for US Senate in Maine. He is also a lifelong student of fitness and strength whose training evolved from grunt-era running and calisthenics to CrossFit, Rob Shaul's Mountain Tactical programming, and Jim Wendler's 5-3-1. — He joins Andrew Vontz & Jonathan Kaplan on United Sta...

Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton / WEDU & Andrew Vontz breakdown Pog's big ride at the 2026 Tour of Flanders and share why their kids love riding the trainer.   — Andrew explains how he set up the Wahoo Kickr Core with Click & Cog so his kids could ride on Zwift + product feedback   —   And we discuss the forthcoming Boulder vs. Hope junior cycling rivalry when Spencer gets his Kickr Core set...

Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz in conversation with Wukar Fit founder Art O'Connor, a strength coach for pro cyclists including World Champion Keegan Swenson, Sofia Villafane, Chase Wark, and athletes of all ages & ability levels working to be strong for life. — Art is a former pro mountain bike racer and now races cold weather ultra-endurance fat bike events like the Iditarod Trail Invi...

Sharice Davids is a congresswoman from Kansas, a former White House fellow, a lawyer, and MMA fighter with 7 fights including two professional bouts. She joins Andrew Vontz & Jonathan Kaplan on United States of Sweat p/b Choose the Hard Way to share stories about training, fighting, and her hardest workout ever.  — United States of Sweat is the series where politicians and policymakers join us to...

Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz in conversation with Jeff Troesch, one of the most experienced mental performance coaches in elite sport. For nearly four decades, Jeff has helped athletes and teams win at the highest level, including the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, Olympic Games, and Grand Slams. — Special thanks to our title sponsor Blockchain.com , the most truste...

The dramatic JK Normatec addiction intervention, detonating Mt. Lemmon records, the Dan Swenson World Tour 2026 bid, traveling with SciCon bike bags, and the applied high performance practices of aging parents going big in the desert.  — Spencer Martin of WeDu / Peacock / Beyond the Peloton + Jonathan Kaplan of Riding With join Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz to debrief on their Abandon Y...

Tears, chamois cream, glory. Carb slurry was downed by the gallon and tears were shed in garages and at dinner tables around the world as the community collectively gave everything to secure midpack glory at select gravel major and minor races in mid 2026. — This episode is a conversation about the Abandon Your Family 30,000 experience with Choose the Hard Way & One Real Voice founder Andrew Vontz...

Jens Voigt raced the Tour de France 17 times, wore the yellow jersey, won stages in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, and set the Hour Record on the track at age 43. He joins Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz how crashing at 70 km/h changes you in ways the world doesn't see and the long arc of a life in sport. — This episode explores Jens' childhood and upbringing in the former East Ger...

Patrick J Murphy, First Iraq War Veteran Elected to Congress and Former Under Secretary of the Army — Patrick J Murphy was the first Iraq War veteran elected to the United States Congress and later served as Under Secretary of the Army. He joins Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz for a wide-ranging conversation on service, leadership and responsibility. — This episode explores what it means...

On day 8 of the Abandon Your Family 500, Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz, Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton, and Jonathan Kaplan of Riding With share stories of deep fatigue, angry families, and the kind of indoor training glory you can earn but can't buy.  — They explore the strain this challenge has placed on their friendship, and why they can't wait to do it again, slightly differen...

Chase Wark pounds Frosted Flakes & puts in 4.5 hours on a single bottle of water in his in-laws' 15-degree garage to pass the 760 km mark -- and Kip Taylor -- on the Abandon Your Family 500 leaderboard on day 6. — Art O'Connor, aka WUKAR Fit , strength coach to pro cycling's biggest names including Chase, World Champion Keegan Swenson and many more, reveals why Patrick Swayze is the secret to high...

Abandon Your Family 500 2025 Day 4 with Jonathan Kaplan and Andrew Vontz. Reflections on bad sleep, big carbs, and the skirmish between Front Range legends Andy Leach and Kip Taylor to top out first and complete #AYF500 in an FKT of under four days. — Day 4 sees the Kingpin, Big Spence, continue his secret training during the Boulder blackout. When will he switch his rides from "private" to "every...

Abandon Your Family 500 2025 Day 3 brings big drama when 100 mile-per-hour winds mean the power grid goes offline in Boulder and Big Spence has to skip the daily recording to keep banking secret miles to upload later at an undisclosed location. Meanwhile, Andy Leach powers over the top and dominates the leaderboard while Meg Volz enters the chat and shows her family what commitment looks like. Jon...

A deep dive on the big action and family fallout from day one of the Abandon Your Family 500 in a groundbreaking conversation with Andrew Vontz / Choose the Hard Way, Spencer Martin / Beyond the Peloton, Jonathan Kaplan / Riding With, and the front range legend Kip Taylor (of Kip's Corner fame) making his highly anticipated Choose the Hard way debut.   Andrew, Jonathan, & Spencer press Kip on his...

Nothing says I love you like abandoning your family to get in shape for your endurance sport. The Abandon Your Family 500 is a challenge to ride 500 km on planet earth or on a virtual cycling platform over the course of 10 days brought to you by Choose the Hard Way / Andrew Vontz, Beyond the Peloton / Spencer Martin, and Riding With / Jonathan Kaplan.  During the #AYF500, Andrew, Jonathan, & Spenc...

Choose the Hard Way is the show about how hard things build stronger humans who have more fun. This episode is about living that philosophy and how you can, too.   Choose the Hard Way & One Real Voice founder Andrew Vontz, Spencer Martin of WeDu / Peacock / Beyond the Peloton, and Jonathan Kaplan of the Riding With newsletter / pod discuss the history and lore of the Abandon Your Family 500. The #...

Former NFL linebacker & Texas Congressman Colin Allred joins hosts Andrew Vontz & Jonathan Kaplan on United States of Sweat, presented by Choose the Hard Way. Allred played at Baylor and for the Tennessee Titans before a neck injury ended his NFL career. He went on to earn a law degree from Berkeley, work in the Obama administration, and win a U.S. House seat in 2018. After a close Senate race in...

Pro cyclist Dylan Johnson & Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz on why you should always finish the races you start. Choose the Hard Way is the show about how hard things build stronger humans who have more fun. This conversation explores why Dylan Johnson walked two hours in road bike shoes on gravel to get to the finish line in the Big Sugar classic, the final race in the 2025 Life Time Gra...

Spencer Martin of Beyond the Peloton / WEDU / Peacock's Tour de France team & Andrew Vontz, co-host of the Beyond the Peloton podcast & creator of the Choose the Hard Way podcast & newsletter talk about why 15 minute training sessions count and how we get it done on the road, at the playground with the kids or at home. We're both dads, bike racers and recovering perfectionists who have found 15 mi...

Josh Turek knows how to win. A U.S. Senate candidate, current Iowa State Legislator, and two-time Paralympic gold medalist for Team USA, Josh joins Andrew Vontz & Jonathan Kaplan on United States of Sweat presented by Choose the Hard Way. This is the show where politicians and policymakers share stories about fitness, health and the sports they love playing.  Josh has faced adversity his entire li...

Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz ( @hardwaypod ) in conversation with pro cyclist Payson McElveen ( @paysonmcelveen ), Red Bull athlete and creator of the With Pace podcast & Riding with Pace YouTube channel.  In a sport filled with mustaches, Payson McElveen has the most famous mustache.  Payson's palmares includes a pair of wins at The Mid South, two marathon mountain bike national champ...

Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz in conversation with Steve Grant, author of the memoir MAILMAN: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home. With rave reviews in The New York Times, the Washington Post, The New Yorker and The Atlantic, the memoir MAILMAN: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home is one of the hottest literary debu...

Rahm Emanuel was the U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 2022 to 2025. Prior to that, he served as the White House Chief of Staff from 2009 to 2010 under President Barack Obama, and as the Mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019. He also represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009.  Welcome back to United States of Sweat presented by Choose the Hard Way where politicians and p...