Latest Magness Podcast Episodes
Episode 187: The Power of the Barbell Strategy: Why protecting against the downside will protect the upside
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - October 24, 2022 12:30 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsIn Nassim Taleb’s book Antifragile, he introduces the concept of the barbell strategy. At one end of the barbell, you’ve got low-risk low-reward, don’t he other end high risk, high reward. Taleb believes that you stack a bunch on the low risk/reward side and take strategic shots on the outliers, ...
Episode 186: The New Laws of Lactate Dynamics and Its Implications for Training
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - October 17, 2022 13:16 - 58 minutes ★★★★★ - 343 ratings“Lactic Acid” is horribly misunderstood. It’s been cast as a demon for far too long. It’s time to set the record straight. In this episode, Steve and Jon break down new research that shows lactate’s true rule in the body. Hint: It’s not harmful, but helpful! Study: Tracing the Lactate Shuttle Ste...
Episode 185: Marathon Training: Surveying the Little Things That Can Add Up to Big Results
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - October 10, 2022 13:28 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsWe all know about the big things you have to worry about for marathon training: the long run, the mileage, the longer tempo runs, but what are the small things that make a difference? In this episode we go over fueling, strength training, sprinting, pacing, and recovery; The ‘small’ things that c...
Bonus Episode: The Mike Smith Tapes- Part 1
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - September 28, 2022 09:25 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsAn exclusive interview with NAU coach Mike Smith! This is part 1 of a 3 part series. Part 2 and 3 are exclusive to our running scholar program. If you’d like to listen to them (and get access to courses, discussion groups, and more!) join today and receive $10 off your first month! Use the…
Episode 184: Fitness Measurement Fallacy
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - September 19, 2022 10:30 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsDoes your belief in your fitness feel like a ping pong ball, bouncing back and forth wildly, dependent on whether your latest workout went well or not? In this episode we cover the fallacy of equating a single workout or measure as the be all end all marker of whether we are ready to go…
Episode 183: The Secrets to Becoming a Great Coach
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - September 12, 2022 10:57 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsWhat’s it take to become a great coach? In this episode, we breakdown three essential skills for great coaching:1. Thinking and Observing 2. Problem Solving 3. Collaboration If you haven’t yet, check out Steve’s new book: Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and The Surprising Science of R...
Episode 182: What We Learned.
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - September 05, 2022 10:50 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsIn this episode, we reflect on what we’ve learned over nearly two decades of coaching. What did we think was important but quickly realized wasn’t? What actually matters in preparing athletes to perform? We cover all of this and more in today’s episode. Topics covered include: Building Buy-In Sta...
Episode 181: Flux Training: The Magic Bullet Workout?
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - August 22, 2022 07:28 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsWhat’s new in training? Not much! But, alternations, flux training, lactate dynamics, natural fartleks…or whatever you call it is underutilized in modern training. In this episode, we break down the physiology, psychology, and history of emphasizing and manipulating the recovery portion of the wo...
Episode 180: Avoiding Training Dead Ends: Methods to Restoring the Winning Balance
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - August 15, 2022 07:40 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsTraining is about balancing opposing demands: speed and endurance. What happens when you mess up the balance? It’s often a disaster. In this episode, Jon and Steve go through how to find the balance point, and what to do to correct it. If you haven’t yet, check out Steve’s new book: Do Hard Thing...
Episode 179: The 10 Timeless Guiding Principles of Distance Running Training
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - August 08, 2022 09:21 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsWe often get lost in the details. Arguing over the final 1%, whether we should run at lactate threshold or critical velocity? Whether 200s or 300s are best for milers? In this episode we outline 10 timeless principles that stand the test of time. If you follow these, you’ll succeed! Nail the basi...
Episode 178: The 10 Timeless Guiding Principles of Distance Running Training
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - August 08, 2022 09:21 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsWe often get lost in the details. Arguing over the final 1%, whether we should run at lactate threshold or critical velocity? Whether 200s or 300s are best for milers? In this episode we outline 10 timeless principles that stand the test of time. If you follow these, you’ll succeed! Nail the basi...
Episode 178: Running Half Truths: Advice to Be Ignored
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - August 01, 2022 08:56 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsEvery sport has the items that many of us seem to believe, that are ingrained in the history of the sport, that have no foundation or backing. In this episode, we explore those half-truths. We’re aided by a pamphlet written fifty years ago, with insight that we’ve forgotten. If you haven’t yet, c...
Episode 177: Sympathetic Overdrive- How to Get Out of Stressing Out!
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - July 18, 2022 09:45 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsAthletes stress out…a lot! And once you are in stressed mode, it’s hard to get out of it. You can’t sleep hours after competing because your mind is still racing and your body is still buzzing. You can’t let go of the tough loss. It lingers. In this episode, we talk about how to move…
BONUS: Sink or Swim, Survive or Thrive
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - July 14, 2022 18:19 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsWelcome to this special bonus issue. Steve does his best revisionist history impression, telling you the story of Paul Bear Bryant’s famous Junction Boys football camp, while discussing the origins of ‘old school toughness.’ This is adapted from his new book Do Hard Things, which you can check ou...
Episode 176: Individualizing Training in Larger Settings
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - July 11, 2022 07:45 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsIndividualizing training is easy at the professional level. You’ve got a handful of athletes, all very good, and can adjust as needed. In larger settings, it’s much more difficult. The athlete’s abilities are spread out, there’s only one of you, and practice can be more akin to herding cats. In t...
Episode 175: Fast Losers-Racing vs. Time Trialing
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - July 04, 2022 07:32 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsRacing is a skill. How do we get comfortable in a pack? Running from the front, or perhaps stuck in the back? How do you deal with the rising tension of a tactical race? Steve and Jon discuss all of this in more in helping your athletes develop the skills of racing! If you haven’t…
Episode 174: How to Do Hard Things: The Art of Suffering
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - June 20, 2022 08:59 - 59 minutes ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsHow do you handle pain, fatigue, and discomfort? Do you look for a hole to step into or do you work your way through? In this episode, we discuss Steve’s new book Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and The Surprising Science of Real Toughness. The book is out and available now! If…
Episode 174: How to Do Hard Things
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - June 20, 2022 08:59 ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsHow do you handle pain, fatigue, and discomfort? Do you look for a hole to step into or do you work your way through? In this episode, we discuss Steve’s new book Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and The Surprising Science of Real Toughness. The book is out and available now! If…
Episode 173: The Difference Between Extraordinary and Mediocre
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - June 13, 2022 07:32 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsWhat game are you playing? We all may think we are all running the same race. A 1,500m race in high school is the same as in college, and the same as in the pro’s. That’s incorrect. In this week’s episode, we use an obscure book on tennis, written by the developer of Intercontinental Ballistic…
Episode 172: The Importance of Leaving Room to Grow
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - June 06, 2022 07:18 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsOne piece of advice I always give coaches is: Always have somewhere to go. The younger your athletes, the more important this is. We should leave room to develop and grow. In this episode, we take on the debate on whether we should maximize everything, or if we should leave something in the tank ...
Episode 171: The Headcase phenomenon: Stop Blaming Athletes for Poor Performance
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - May 31, 2022 06:56 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratings“He’s a headcase!” We’ve all heard it as coaches. Maybe we’ve even said it. In this episode, Jon and Steve discuss why this is the wrong approach to take. It’s a self-limiting mindset, that allows the coach to blame the athlete, shirk responsibility, and in doing so defer their responsibility to ...
Episode 170: Everyone is an Outlier
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - May 16, 2022 09:07 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsWe are all an experiment of 1! We often talk about individualization in coaching. In this episode, we talk about the contrast between applying your training program to a group, versus adapting your training program to the individual. We discuss how to let go of your preferred philosophy and try s...
Episode 169: Developing Performance Flexibility: How to prepare adaptive athletes to deliver when it counts
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - May 09, 2022 08:38 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsIf running is going bad do you feel crushed? In this episode, we discuss the importance of letting go, of diversifying your sense of identity, in order to free you up to perform. Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The Scholar Program is our one-stop-shop for all things coaches education. And we’ve add...
Episode 168: The Dunning-Krueger Effect on Steroids: How a Narrow World View Holds You and Your Athletes Back
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - May 02, 2022 08:54 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsHow does your viewpoint impact your coaching? In this episode, we discuss how sometimes we get comfortable employing the same style of training, and it makes it where we aren’t open to considering or exploring new ideas. In this episode, we talk about how to keep open-minded, to adopt an explorer...
Episode 167: What’s worth doing even if you fail? — How to be brave, take risks, stretch your comfort zone, and avoid manufacturing certainty.
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - April 18, 2022 10:44 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsOften, in racing we play it safe. We don’t take the risk. We focus on times instead of competing. In this episode, we talk about how to be brave in racing. How do we train athletes to take appropriate risks, to go for it, to attempt the breakthrough. Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The…
Episode 166: Everything we got wrong coaching Women. And a few things we got right.
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - April 11, 2022 10:30 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsIn this episode, we take on an important but difficult topic: the differences between coaching men and women. In this episode, we cover differences in biology and psychology, and how that impacts what you do in training. From handling bodily shifts and changes and creating appropriate expectation...
Episode 165: The Rocky Road to the Top: Embrace the Mess of Training.
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - April 04, 2022 10:19 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsTraining is messy. Progress is not linear. In this episode, we get real. We talk about the messiness of training. How do we handle setbacks, what do we do when things go wrong, and when a workout is going rough? We cover it all in this week’s episode! Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The…
Episode 164: How much of your training should not be running?
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - March 21, 2022 06:52 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsIn the 1960’s Percy Cerutty made the claim that 1/3 of your training should be non-running. Does this hold up or not as a useful heuristic? In this episode, we examine the training aspects outside of running to see where they fit in, and what they may entail. From weights to hills to bounding to…
Episode 163: Biggest Bang for Your Buck: Training and Workouts that Build You Up Without Breaking You Down
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - March 14, 2022 06:43 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsWhat workouts give you the biggest bang for your buck? In this episode, we go through the best workouts for the mid-distance, track distance, and long distance races. What workout has the biggest bang for your buck for aerobic or anaerobic development? We’ve got you covered. Learn why Jon says, “...
Episode 162: Dumbification Immunization — How to not be a dumb coach & why it’s important
Magness & Marcus on Coaching - March 07, 2022 07:28 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 343 ratingsHow do you know what’s right? Do you buy into a particular program or coaching style, neglecting anything that runs counter? Or do you get lost in the complexity of training? In this episode, we go back through history, looking at how coaching and training evolved so that we can better understand...