If only we weren't as horribly weak and mentally deficient as we are. The neighbor's lawn is so much better than our own. If we just dig that little bit deeper and then a whole scale transformation will occur. Or maybe it won't. What makes it so tough for people to just train easy? Break on through.

Consensus is not proof of what can, or cannot be done. How can we determine the scale of improvement possible from training? Why does training lead to the adaptations that we see? How can we apply an understanding of why training can sometimes have a significant impact on fitness and sometimes no impact at all? Are the strategies most commonly used the most effective? Vox Populi, Vox Dei.

The three core questions for endurance sport training: how intense should my training be; how much volume of training should I do; how frequently should I train? We consider answers to these questions.

Fats and Carbs come up all the time when people talk about performance. These substrates are used to create ATP. ATP is, basically, energy used to move. The study of these two substrates relative to one another has been used to validated different training methods, particularly around higher intensity and multi-zone training. Here's why I disagree with this perspective and it's conclusions.

Lactate Threshold is lactate threshold. There is not a second lactate threshold. Critical power, which is questionable in it's own right, is confused as a second lactate threshold. Lactate threshold can't be identified by any prescribed 2 mmol or 4 mmol power. The conviction that there's this higher level limit or ceiling and training toward that intensity is the reason why there's so much injury, burnout, misery, unpredictable performance and tears in endurance sport. Turns out that when you train harder than is actually productive, it's overtraining, no matter what the group think leads you to believe.

60 minute fallacy. Maybe a better title - but let's call a spade a spade. FTP is stupid, any training system organized around FTP or a fractional value of FTP like sweet spot is stupid. You can't make lemonade 🍋 without shaking the lemon tree. Try something different for your new year's resolution. Dump your FTP based training and work on training based on lactate threshold. Or, keep on keepin' on. Maybe spending hundred of dollars a month to do training that isn't effective and takes away then joy of sport is just what makes you, "you."

What do I know? More than I used to. In this episode we consider the importance of asking questions and being able to truly verify our practice in training. Why are we doing what we do? We also consider my crackpot (unappreciated genuis?) ideas about lactate and how we can leverage that paradigm to make better training strategies. Never too early, or too late, to set new goals for the New Year. What do I know? Not as much as I should

How long can we be fast? Existential crisis or reasonable training consideration? What does the long run do, what questions are not answered by lactate threshold. If we can identify the actual benefit from the long run, do we even need to do them anymore?