Primal Endurance Podcast

This episode was inspired by a quote I read in a New York Times article about Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who, at only 21 years old, is at the very top of the world. This quote was one of the most impactful things I had ever heard about athletic training: “Jakob Ingebrigtsen estimates that he seldom pushes himself beyond 87% of his maximum effort in workouts. Yes, 87%, so he can preserve the best of himse...

Welcome to part two of this series on all aspects of overtraining. In this episode, you will learn about an assortment of symptoms that will help you get better at identifying the tenuous state of overreaching, and you’ll also hear about the various symptoms that are indications to your body when it is in a state of overtraining/burnout. Finally, I present a strategy for effectively recovering fro...

I’m pleased to welcome to the show Shelby Houlian—one of the greatest female distance runners in the world. She is an American record holder at 5000 meters, an 11 time US national champion, and an extraordinary competitor, so it’s going to be great to hear about her dedication, focus, and how she builds muscle mass. You will also hear about a highly-publicized and extremely dramatic setback she en...

Welcome to a three-part presentation that walks you through every aspect of overtraining. You will hear an overview of how the stress response occurs in the body, and how it affects it; as well as the ways that the nature and pacing of hectic, high stress modern life have resulted in a terrible disconnect from our human genetic expectations for health. You’ll also learn just how much our ruminatin...

It was a pleasure to connect with the legendary author and investigative journalist David Epstein (who wrote one of my favorite books ever, The Sports Gene) for this episode! Our conversation ranges from the validity of the 10,000 Hour Rule (you’ll hear David dispel the accuracy of the science behind the concept) to the role our genetics play in sports and performance to the concept of practice va...

Welcome to part 4 of a multi-part presentation covering 115 key insights about the Primal Endurance approach, divided into six categories: Aerobic Training, Periodization, Primal Eating, Strength and Sprint Training, Complementary Movement And Lifestyle Practices, and Recovery. To read the complete list, download the free eBook at PrimalEndurance.fit.  In this episode, I cover items 1-25 under the...

Get ready for a conversation with a very high energy human, Peter Park! Peter is a highly regarded personal trainer and a legend in the fitness industry who has worked with countless professional athletes and everyone from elite businessmen and Hollywood types to younger athletes. He has a great facility in the beautiful Santa Barbara area, Platinum Fitness, and you will hear all about his interes...

Welcome to part 3 of this multi-part presentation covering the 115 key insights from the Primal Endurance approach, which fall into six categories: Aerobic Training, Periodization, Primal Eating, Strength and Sprint Training, Complementary Movement And Lifestyle Practices, and Recovery. The insights outlined in this show will provide you with an overview of the content in the Primal Endurance book...

You’re going to love this rebroadcast of a discussion Mark Sisson and I had about the very complex issue of doping in sports. You won’t find a more knowledgeable and free-thinking expert than Mark—he served for a long time as the Chair of the Anti-Doping commission for the sport of triathlon and this issue has continued to pervade sports till this day. It’s such a controversial subject, one that i...

I first met this episode’s guest, elite professional ultra-runner Zach Bitter way back in 2016, back when he was first starting, getting himself on the map and dreaming of a career in ultra marathon running—and now look at what’s happened to his career! Besides being the national 100k champion and holder of many other titles and records, Zach was an early pioneer in the ultra running scene, and is...

In part 2 of this multi-part presentation covering 115 key insights about the Primal Endurance approach, we discuss the next 15-24 items under the category of Aerobic Training (part 1 introduced the six categories: Aerobic Training, Periodization, Primal Eating, Strength and Sprint Training, Complementary Movement And Lifestyle Practices, and Recovery). In this episode, I continue to provide some...

I caught up with one of my favorite athletes to talk to ever for this episode—someone who has a record six victories at the Hawaii Ironman and ten victories at the Nice, France World Long Course Championship. His name is Mark Allen, and he’s also known as the greatest triathlete in history, but today, he is a popular triathlon coach at MarkAllenCoaching.com , a TV commentator, corporate speaker, a...

Dave Scott is a prominent and well-regarded health coach and 6-time IronMan Hawaii champion. Highly informed about exercise, training strategies, coaching, diet and physiology, you can’t get any better than Dave when it comes to a knowledgeable source for triathlon training. In this episode, we go deep into important topics like finding a healthy balance between being driven and obsessed with peak...

It’s time to cover 115 things you need to know as a Primal Endurance athlete! The 115 things on the list have been divided into six categories (Aerobic Training, Periodization, Primal Eating, Strength and Sprint Training, Complementary Movement And Lifestyle Practices, and Recovery) that will be presented in a series of shows. If you want to see the full list, head over to PrimalEndurance.fit to d...

I am outnumbered 2-to-1 by Canadians in this episode as Olympic gold and silver medalist Simon Whitfield joins me and my co-host Andrew MacNaughton for a conversation about pursuing goals, changing our mindset towards success, and training. In this episode, Simon talks about the most important things he has learned from his long career at the top of the sport, sharing some of the most unique memor...

Ryan Baxter is a part-time Primal health coach, father to two young kids, a full-time software engineer, and an athlete. In this episode, Ryan joins host Brad Kearns to discuss training strategies, effective recovery methods, and his experience with embarking on a personal experiment to consume more calories and more carbs. Ryan offers incredible insights about training and recovery in this show,...

Welcome to part two of this show detailing the seven essential habits of highly effective endurance athletes. In this episode we cover the importance of aerobic efficiency, why following Dr. Maffetone’s method is so crucial, why the best benefits actually come from slowing down, and the seven habits to incorporate into your life in order to become a highly effective endurance athlete. Enjoy the sh...

In this episode, Mark Sisson and I talk about the origin of the fat-adapted athlete approach in contrast to the carb-dependent endurance athlete, which represented our main experience in endurance sports for those early years and decades. This show will give you a nice overview of the rationale and the benefits of transitioning from being the typical carbohydrate dependent  endurance athlete to be...

In part one of this two-part show, I cover a key takeaway from Primal Endurance : the seven habits of highly effective endurance athletes. What are the seven habits? In part one, we’re focusing on the first three: 1) Sleep, 2) Stress/Rest/Balance, and 3) Following An Intuitive and Personalized Schedule. You’ll learn why sleep is number one and the next frontier of performance breakthroughs in all...

Welcome to the return of the Primal Endurance podcast! This is your host Brad Kearns, and we are going on a journey towards a kinder, gentler, smarter, more fun, more effective way to train for ambitious endurance goals. You can check out Primalendurance.fit to join the community and also enroll in a free video course! In this premiere episode, I share a bit about my background and athletic career...

Future Primal Endurance shows will be published on the Primal Blueprint Podcast channel. Please subscribe and enjoy the diverse content on this thriving channel. You'll see the Endurance shows designated accordingly for quick access at a glance. You'll also enjoy feature interviews from ancestral health leaders, shows dedicated to keto, and narrations of MarksDailyApple.com posts.    In this fast-...

Brad welcomes back popular Australian guest Andre Obradovic to go off script and talk about real-life matters not related to workout strategy, but of critical importance to your happiness and effectiveness as a parent, partner or career person. If you caught Andre's previous shows, you will love his colorful, hard-hitting commentary about what it takes to succeed as an endurance athlete and his im...

After the awesome big picture show about healthy living and avoiding the manipulations of today’s mainstream media and marketing forces, Brad welcomes Dr. Maffetone back for a show on the usual popular topics of endurance peak performance. First, Phil discusses the amazing marathoner Eluid Kipchoge, and how he can finally hit the magic 1:59 barrier. First, running barefoot would achieve a signific...

Dr. Phil Maffetone returns to the show and we take a few steps back to cover some big picture items. First, the tremendous amount manipulation and hype we are exposed to each day with mainstream media is destructive and unhealthy. Phil disengages from this stuff! Realize how we make impulse decisions based on primitive brain function, or alternatively can get over-analytical. Better to cultivate o...

Brad welcomes Logan Schwartz of AustinVitalityCoach.com to discuss evolved concepts of athletic training within the context of healthy living. It's time to reject the flawed and narrow focus of the traditional athletic training approach, where the focus is on work output connected specifically to your athletic goals. Logan, like other thought leaders, places the emphasis on overall daily movement...