In our final podcast of 2013, we return to the round-table with listeners Chris Jones, Billy McDonald, and Greg Miller. With topics ranging from para-cycling, nutrition, periodization and the top news headlines of 2013, you won't want to miss out! 

Also on the podcast, we bid a sad farewell to local MTB legend Scott Scudamore, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in September. "Scud" to pretty everyone who knew him, was one of the nicest people I've ever met and embodied the XTerra Spirit Award he so often handed out at races. In honor, we've featured Roger Cline's tribute song Mekong.  

Special thanks to our 2013 sponsors including, Rudy Project, Honey Stinger, and Stan's No Tubes.

~ Run time: 1:36:00

* Note, due to issues with our Skype reception, we must apologize for the sound quality. 

The ESP TipCast covers quick tips for the latest health, fitness, nutrition and training science.  On our final Tipcast of 2013 I review my article series on periodization and how to make the most of your season with the right plan!

Thanks to our sponsors: Rudy Project, Honey Stinger, and Stan's No-tubes.

Special Thanks to Damian at the Semi-pro cyclist for the inspiration to finally revisit this topic.

On the first podcast of the fall season behavioral scientist Dr. Susan Swithers from Purdue University will be joining me to discuss new concerns raised about artificial sweetners. Forget the cancer warnings, scientists are questioning the impact that artificial sweetners (NNS) on both our body’s response to sugar, but also our brains ability to determine what to do as food comes in. NNS appear to increase our risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseseases, like diabetes, and do little to aid in weight loss. What is worse, thin people, like athletes, may actually be at greater risk than overweight individuals. If you’re interested in health as well as fitness, you’ll want to stick around for our discussion. 

Also on the podcast, Dr. Swithers and I discuss how perception of sweetness can be applied to exercise and whether you really do need to drink that sports drink to benefit from it.

We also want to remind everyone to head over to iTunes and write a review! 

ARTIFICIAL SWEETNERS PRODUCE THE COUNTERINTUITIVE EFFECT OF INDICING METABOLIC DERANGEMENTS. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Don't miss our next podcast and article series where I update the latest on periodization!

Approximate show time: 1:04

In the final installment of our three past series covers five tests you can and should do yourself to optimize your performance. Rather than focus on testing for marginal gains, like functional threshold, ESP recommends addressing the bottlenecks. Some of the most important assessments include:

• Movement Screening

• Assessing strength specific for good movement and balanced muscle development

  Estimating maximum 30 sec and VO2 max (run) pace or (bike) power

  Sweat rate

From this list, you can easily see that the last three can be easily ascertained during actual training sessions. 

Not all test facilities and services are created equal. On part 2 of our three part series, I discuss the questions, and answers, needed for making the best choice for testing services. Don't be fooled by flashy websites, lots of scientific lingo, or athletic prowess. The fact is the best testing is done by qulaified professionals with both the education and experience to test. When in doubt, err on the education side because anyone with money can buy and use expensive equipment, very few are skilled enough to analyze and advise from the data you provide. Some important things to look for include:

• An M.S. or Ph.D. in exercise physiology, physiology, kinesiology, or similar degree
• ACSM HFS or NSCA CSCS certification
• 300+ hrs of hands on experience working a human performance lab; very few B.S. grads have this experience
• Actual one on one test experience with athletes and non-athletes
• CPR certification

If your test center cannot provide at least 4 of 5 listed, its best to look elsewhere.

With fall approaching and off-season planning coming to fore, many athletes begin thinking about if, when and how to test their fitness. There is often a great deal of confusion on testing, including what tests to run, how often and where to go for testing. In part one of this three part series, I breakdown the basic reasons for testing, what to test and when including:

• Testing after the season
• Testing during the off-season
• Testing before the season
• Testing during the season

On this TipCast we discuss our top 5 tips for winding down your season to help enhance your off-season.

1. Assess - what worked, what didn't. What goals did you achieve?

2. Test - if you don't test, compile all your data for review later

3. Plan - an off-season plan is essential

4. Recover - recovery is active, rest is passive. Stay active!

5. Train

Guess my finish time and win a FREE Stan's No Tubes 29er tubeless conversion kit. Here's how it works:

Post your guess either under the comments on the WEBSITE or on Facebook along with your country*. The person who guesses closest wins! If you post on our webpage please email us as well!

Things you should know:

• The race is on September 7, 2013.
• I have not had more than two weeks to prepare
• I have never run a true half marathon, but I have run 21 k and 50 k trail races
• The race is largely flat, but on a fine crushed gravel surface
• My 5 k PR this year was 17:55 in March
• The race will be held in VA and will start at 7:30 am

*Non-US listeners may enter, but will need to cover international shipping charges via PayPal, sorry.

On this TipCast we discuss when to wind down your season. While this can be a difficult decision, six things should drive this decision:

1. Was this in your original plan? If not, you’re training plan probably was not built for a late season push. 

2. Did you hit most or all of your goals, or is this race going to make up for another goal?

3. What value will this race bring you? 

4. How much will this cost you in time, family, work, health? 

5. Can your body do it? i.e., does your data support it, or are you barely holding on to your fitness?

6. What is/are your long-term or next season goals? 

The ESP TipCast covers quick tips for the latest health, fitness, nutrition and training science. On this TipCast we discuss how a little resistance training can reverse a nagging pain or issue before it can become a full blown injury.

On our 40th podcast we talk with evolutionary biologist and Harvard researcher Dr. Dan Lieberman. Best known for his research on barefoot running, and reference to that research in the best selling book, "Born to Run", Dr. Lieberman's research extends well beyond running shoeless. With publications in Nature and citations by numerous other authors, Dr. Lieberman's work has been instrumental in understanding why the human species may be the greatest athlete the world has ever seen.

Also on the podcast, I recap the last couple months of racing by our RVA XT team, including my XTerra World's Qualification, and my top 5 tips for prepping for your next race, no matter how your most recent race went!

Finally, we have more Stan's No Tubes Clinics coming up, and a new podcast project in the works!

The podcast wants to thank our great sponsors:

Stan's No Tubes

Rudy Project

Honey Stinger

Gu Energy

Lucky Foot

Run time:~1:35:00

On this month's podcast we chat with USA Cycling's VP of National Events, Micah Rice, on USAC's rationale for enforcement of UCI article 1.2.019, what it means for US racing, and what separates USAC from other event permiting organizations. We also talk about USAC's efforts on cycling development and doping. If you're a cycling fan and either love or hate USAC, you won't want to miss this interview.*

Also on the podcast we discuss the kick off to the XTerra season, why I still think XTerra's idea combining NE and Atlantic regions sucks, is incredibly short-sighted, and smacks of USAC's SoP, as well as how you can apply my experience to your training!

Finally, we have been working through a HUGE back log of product reviews, so this month we're featuring THREE great products, my final impressions of the Stan's No Tubes Alpha 340 team wheelset, Sidi Wire shoes, and the long overdue review of Bobby McGee's Run workouts for runners and triathletes running book. We will also be posting full written reviews of each of these and more throughout the week. So sit back and jack in!

*Note: due to the time constraints of posting this podcast and the length of the interview, we have not booked the show as thoroughly as usual. Your playback position will be remembered, and there are basic chapters set up.

Run time: ~1:30:00

On this month's podcast we are going rogue in honor of April Fools and opening up for a group discussion with three athletes of completely different backgrounds. Chris Jones, sorry if you were fooled on this one, is a cyclist and student at VCU. Gary O'Brien is an independent publisher and podcast host himself, as well as a Type 1 diabetic. Finally, Ryan Barnett is a former pro cyclist, now paracyclist after suffering a spinal cord injury in 2008. We hope you enjoy the broad discussion of training!

Also on the podcast, I update some of the new products I'm using this season, including Stan's Alpha Team wheelset, Sidi Wire Carbon shoes and Rudy Project Windmax helmet (235 g!).

Finally, be sure to check out our new website, courtesy of Jon Hall of Flybox Media, and our upcoming guests, Micah Rice (April), Dr. Dan Lieberman (May), and Tom Swensen (June).

This is a long one, so sit back and relax!

I will in the next month be working to bring both my FB page and the blog together with a series of short articles on training. I'll also be announcing the next Tipcast for Feb and we should be releasing our next podcast with Tom Swensen early March.

For now here's a recent email I received from Graeme Street. Yeah, I like to subscribe to lots of stuff, some of its useful, then other stuff is, well wrong. First, I REALLY HATE THE TERM <em><strong>METABOLIC TRAINING</strong></em>. Its just non-sense. First, everything is metabolic; our metabolism involves the burning of fat, carbohydrate and protein either using oxygen directly (aerobic) or indirectly ("anaerobic"-this term is itself misleading, but that's another topic). The idea that we're doing metabolic training should mean anything. Second, there are many ways to burn fat, but all things aside, expending more calories will ultimately leading to more fat loss. However, what about that email I mentioned? Well, here's the truth and fiction of what I read:

Now, let's get "Metabolic" with your training!

These are "advanced techniques" and never replace the need for
consistent training or good nutrition--BUT THEY HELP A LOT!

Nothing advanced about this. At least if you read the literature and associate with good coaches/trainers. 

  TIP 1:  When possible, use the HIT30 workouts in the morning before
  you have any food, on an empty stomach.  This will allow more use
  of stored sugars, and further use of stored fat--AFTER the workout. 

MAYBE. Performing HIT glycogen depleted has been shown to enhance endurance training adaptations at the mitochondria, but not conclusively. Most of this research has used a two session per day training model which has been criticized for perhaps showing the benefits of training twice daily. That said, I believe that it has a lot of merit, but not eating wil not likely impact fat burning after training any more than HIT normally would.

  TIP 2:  Use water only, no sugar during the workout.  This may take
  a few times for your body to adjust for this, but we want INSULIN
  NOT PRESENT, so your body can use stored energy and elevate Growth
  Hormone production, the gateway to getting you leaner!

Ha ha! No this really did make me laugh. FIRST, insulin is NEVER not present, and second, SECOND, it REALLY DOES NOT increase during exercise. Ever wonder why a Type 1 diabetic has a dangerous HYPOGLYCEMIC crash? Its largely because they have mistimed their insulin. If insulin increased during exercise we would all likely die. Seeing that does not happen its safe to say this claim is bogus. Furthermore, the reason we advise athletes to refuel within the "glycogen window" is because we DO NOT even need insulin to take up sugar around activity. As for growth hormone, that increases during training, and increases most during HIT.

That being said, if your workout is under 1 hr you don't need any carb drinks.

  TIP 3:  After the workout, delay food coming in for about 15-30 minutes
  if possible.  This will allow your NATURAL GROWTH HORMONE to stay
  elevated from the workout and increase your metabolic rate for longer.

Again, this is non-sense, and, there is actually published research that suggests the opposite. Studies abound relating to resistance training that show that a combo of protein and carbs increases protein synthesis after exercise. Waiting an extra 15 or 30 min isn't going to do sh!t if you don't have the building blocks to build from! Moreover, remember insulin? Well it turns out the insulin is highly ANABOLIC and when combined with hGH, it has a synergistic effect on protein sysnthesis (that one is pulled right out of Guyton's Textbook of Medical Physiology). How do you get insulin to spike (it will go up anyway in recovery)? Sugar helps and adding protein increases uptake into the cell.

  TIP 4:  You can do the same for the TRAINER and CORE workouts, but the
  HIT 30 workouts are the secret to training your metabolism to be more
  "fat burning efficient."

I don't think anyone who listens to my podcast would believe this last one!

ESP PODCAST

"If you're not thinking ahead, you're falling behind!"

On this month's podcast we are kicking off the New Year by talking with a man who resolved to change everything he was and possibly save his own life in the process through cycling. Ernest Gagnon has a achieved a bit of a celebrity status, including an interview on NPR's All things considered. Ernest talks about overcoming depression and obesity by riding his bike! This is an interview that will inspire anyone to achieve their goals.

Also on the podcast, I recap some of my product pics from 2012, including my latest equipment procurement, the Gaerne Kona MTB shoe and Swim Speed Secrets by Sheila Taomina. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Finally, be sure to check out our new website, courtesy of Jon Hall of Flybox Media, and our upcoming guests, Dr.'s Tom Swensen (Feb) and Allen Lim (Mar).