Posts by stevemagness
New Years Reflections and Anti-Resolutions
This year was a good year for me. I was fortunate enough to have a lot of very good things happen, as well as a few trials and tribulations that are necessary stressors that make you grow, adapt and develop as a person in ways that I doubt I could have predicted a year ago.…
Read MoreWhy BulletProof Diet/Coffee is based on BS.
I apologize to those who come here for good track or athletic related training advice. Bare with me for this post as I take on something that has been bugging me for the past few weeks. Once again, it’s from someone who makes claims that running the crazy high mileage of 50mpw is unhealthy, but…
Read MoreUncertainty, Randomness, and Over-control in Training
Control the Contrallables It’s what we preach in coaching and in life. Don’t sweat the small things that don’t have an actual impact on our well being or life. It’s one of the simplest and most profound lessons one needs to learn. And it makes perfect sense. But like most things, can we take this…
Read MoreEverything you need to know about Doping Scandal in Track and Field
It’s been quite an interesting few days for the IAAF I imagine. Track and field has finally joined the ranks of cycling in terms of perceived doping and corruption issues. In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, let me catch you up on the past few days. ·German TV station drops bombshell…
Read MoreTracking collegiate runners- sleep, stress, soreness, recovery and performance
I have a reputation, perhaps deservingly so, a scientific coach. The irony is that while I use principles and blend knowledge and science into my coaching practices, it’s not like we’re sitting here measuring VO2max, or even caring about it honestly. As a person, I love crunching the numbers and the data that comes with…
Read MoreYour Brain on Altitude- How altitude can cause or prevent depression?
Altitude has this great mystique and allure in the world of distance running. The mystique has grown over the years. It started when we saw the impact altitude had on performance at the Mexico City Olympics. But it really took off when the East African onslaught of records occured, where we saw the impact training…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Mechanics of Fatigue
When we think of fatigue, we generally think of burning muscles, lactic acid building up, and several other descriptors that have rightly or wrongly entered the lingo of endurance athletes and coaches over the years. In essence though, fatigue is all about slowing down, or preventing that from happening. From a coaching standpoint we often…
Read MoreWhy every person matters- Motivation Contagion
As a coach, I tend towards obsessing over the workout details and my first love has always been the physiology behind those details. The workout planning and details are what initially drew my to coaching. However, in a team environment, these details matter little unless everyone buys in and stays motivated to pursue the end…
Read MoreResearch Review- ACSM 2014
Every year I try to make it a point to go through all of the ACSM abstracts to see if anything stands out. If you can’t actually get to the conference, it’s a great way to at least get a glimpse of the latest research people are doing well before it ever comes out in…
Read MoreCoaching Conversations- Interview with coach Adam Didyk
I’m starting a new segment on the blog that I’m really excited about. I’ll be having conversations with some of the top young coaches, exercise scientist, and generally smart people in our sport. One of the things I’ve loved about expanding my coaching/science network is the talks I’ve had with some smart people. Whether it’s…
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