Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast

Races are not expiration dates. This is about a never ending journey to be and get better. Today we look at some of the things that wedge their way into consistency with training. Whether it the Devil and Angel on your shoulder, or biting off more than you can chew because you feel good one day. We talk training outlines, recovery, and general perspectives on how you can find a groove and stay in...

This title comes from two things: The strategy behind days off and cherishing the ability to do what you do before you can't anymore. How good perspective can minimize stress and increase enjoyability. There's also TONS of cycling talk, including power, cadence and riding against the wind, and how to taper/prepare for two races that might wind up close together. Toward the end we discuss an awesom...

Are you being too hard on yourself right now? We start with a look at adjusting your workouts for success. Then get into why FTP tests may be the most overrated thing for long course racing. Can you get away with doing your own bike fit? Bike injuries that affect your run. Unsupported races. The most useless things in triathlon. And how to ride intervals when you're outside.  Topics:  Too hard on...

Remember that time when you got done with a workout and said, "I suck?" Get out of that place. Today, we look at a never ending positive process. We talk about the challenges of social distancing and isolation for triathletes. Depression and the immune system. How do you respond to challenges and turn them into race and life wins?  Topics:  We're all carrying a bigger weight than we know The probl...

This is the story behind the podcast . . . the community . . . and how Crushing Iron almost didn't happen because of a bad hangover. Mike and Robbie talk about the early days of their athlete/coach relationship all the way through a humble morning in a Nashville coffee shop that laid the groundwork for what would become the Crushing Iron podcast. Alcohol recovery, healthy career changes, and an ep...

Communicating the right messages to athletes. Dealing with tough questions and situations. Today, Coach shares what he's talking about with his athletes during this time and gives his perspective on how to find optimism. We look at why races shouldn't matter. What's most important. And dealing with the voice inside trying to talk you out of it. When life throws you a curveball, sit back, wait, and...

You work so hard, but can't seem to find that speed you want in the water. You're still dragging, gasping, and not seeing much return from your investments. It's time to use the water and not let use you. Swimming doesn't have to be so hard. Today we break it down in the simplest terms and make the swim stroke easy. We dive into the reach/entry, catch along with early vertical forearm, a solid pul...

Today's guest is The Voice of Ironman, Mike Reilly. Like everyone else, he's just waiting and anxious to share more special red carpet moments and say, "You Are and Ironman." Mike has seen it all and shares his patient wisdom about our current situation, along with his optimism for the future. He also talks about the finish line and what it's like to be a part of so many life changing moments.  To...

Are you quick to pull the "relief plug?" Training for long course triathlon (and living in uncertain times) demands the ability to "stay with the pain" and go through it. Life, and triathlon are saddled with "uncomfortable moments" and the best way to remove the sting is to go through them with control and confidence. As David Goggins said, "Build calluses on the brain." How all this applies to li...

We've all seen the fan get upset with the coach in the first quarter, only to see the team slowly dismantle the opponent over the long haul of the game. It's that mentality, that strategy, that patience that we all have to focus on now. Smart triathletes are managing their body and mind for the long game because no one really knows when racing will start again. What are you doing now that will pay...

Today we turned things over to athletes from our Facebook group to guide our discussion. They asked us about maintaining base fitness and mental stability. Live Zoom podcasts. Too much core work? Emerging from this as better humans. Virtual racing. Ethical debates of training outside. Time based vs. Distance training.  Topics: The Pulse of our community It was race season, now it's like holiday se...

How are you talking to yourself these days? Does the body buy in with the mind's strategy? Today, we continue to look at the positive and what's going on in our own backyards. We talk about the accumulated fatigue of life, the future of endurance sports, having a true understanding of Zone 2 (and why it's so important), heart rate comparison between cycling and running, when and how to test heart...

Today we open the podcast to Athlete/Listener Questions from our Facebook Group. We hit on how to adjust when your race is canceled, swimming challenges and open water training, and hit on one of Coach's rants about over-dependence on Training Peak graphs and numbers. Meditation. Yoga. Critical thinking. Questions covered below.  Topics: You Know your body better than anyone Ask yourself these que...

Often our biggest breakthroughs come at a time when we're about to throw in the towel. Now is a great time to learn about yourself and build experience for later. Today we talk about building little wins that pay off down the road and help you become better athletes and humans. There is opportunity in all situations. Topics: Everything is fragile More gratitude at races now? Hopeful for more conne...

So much is unpredictable right now, but as triathletes, we've been training for this. We have solved thousands of little problems through training and racing and those are valuable lessons. The human survival loop goes like this: Trigger, behavior, and reward. If that goes Fear, worry, anxiety, we need to figure out how to break the pattern. Today, we get into going from fear ----> productive/posi...

The best laid plans coming apart at the seams, so now what? Race cancelled? Should you ramp up or cut back? It's a stressful time, but also one for opportunity to evolve, grow and transform. Working at home, eating better, no pool, rejuvenating. Today we look at how broken routines can be a great opportunity with the right approach.  Topics: An introverts dream come true Don't be afraid but be sma...

How do we respond when faced with uncertainty? There are a lot of unknowns at the moment and today we get back into the moment and focus on what we can control. Coach Robbie shares his change of plans and how he turned a negative into a positive. We look at the gut punch of cancelled races and the reality getting a better grip on our perspective.  Life changes - Race Reality Check Robbie's 50 mile...

Today we look at the coaching philosophy from Dan Lorang who helped make Jan Frodeno and Anne Haug BOTH Ironman Champions in 2019. We don't always talk about pros, but amateurs can take a LOT away from these approaches to training and racing. The discussion was ignited by this article in from 220 Triathlon . We've been talking about a lot of this along the way, but today take a deeper dive into ea...

Molly Seidel qualified for the Olympics in her first marathon. She's since talked about how she was training for the long term and "added" the Olympic trials. We talk about this lesson as it relates to being healthy, energized, and relaxed. We also get deep into how to taper, understanding how Garmin interprets your fitness, and how to use Best Bike Split . There's also bike handling, training wit...

We've always been big on the mind/body connection and showing yourself grace in training and life. Today we look at what it takes to combine the physical and mental aspects of triathlon with a spiritual approach. This is about having faith in the process, giving right effort, paying attention, staying focused and learning through experience to gain wisdom. Faith – When most people talk about faith...

Are you pushing your body beyond its adaptive threshold? It's a fine line and often the difference between burnout/flatline and real, sustainable improvement. Today is about "simple" but often neglected daily reasons you may not be improving. So, how do we break the cycle of little habits that are holding us back?  Sleep Make the time It's the littlest big thing This is where recovery happens How...

We just hit the 1 Million download number and today we use our "Just Show Up" analogy and translate it to training. We dive into questions like, "Why do we constantly face the challenge of getting over the hump to train today?" We also talk about the trouble of setting hard goals and learning to have fun in the process. It's not about the end game as much as it is about doing something now that is...

Today, we open the podcast to listener questions from our Facebook Group (search Crushing Iron Group). They range from bike periodization, to maintaining fitness without a race scheduled, to benefits of training for time vs. mileage, handling missed time due to illness, short course vs. long course training, pilates, how each discipline helps the others, 70.3 nutrition and marathon training, stren...

Is your happiness connected to contingency events? "If I get this, then I will be that?" The key to getting the results you want is building the little habits and not looking back with the idea that you "should have" done this or that. "If I get this, then I will be that" is a dicey way to live. We are all in the process of life and training. Success doesn't equal safety, because there's never gon...

Most of us aren't in our 20's anymore, but we tend to think like that when it comes to speed work. Today, we look at the Aerobic Base Phase of training and explain how it is the key to getting faster in triathlon. We hit on the 80/20 rule, track workouts, what happens when you skip progressions. When is going hard actually worth it? Topics: Base phase conversation starts at 12:00 Is Robbie going V...