
Hosted by Paul Weber · EN
Every week, I cover a topic for fitness competitors and hybrid athletes.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we cover the nutrition hierarchy and why some factors are higher order than others. Here's an overview:ConsistencyEnergyMacronutrientsMicronutrientsTimingSupplementsFor each category, we cover underlying biological mechanisms and best practices.*This is adapted from Dr. Eric Helms’ Muscle and Strength Pyramid with added context for CrossFit competitors and hybrid athletes.---Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:Book an Intro Consult: This is the next step for athletes who want to work with me 1:1. My coaching is for CrossFit competitors and hybrid athletes who want to see what they're capable of. Once you book, you'll get a link to complete an intake form, which will give me some context before our first meeting. If you decide to hire me, the fee will get put toward your first month of coaching.Training deep dives: Join hundreds of coaches and athletes who have upgraded their training for strength, gymnastics, conditioning and competitive fitness.Programming Mentor Meeting: For coaches and athletes who want to get clarity on their training. Know your training priorities, measure meaningful metrics, and make real progress.Business Mentor Meeting: For in-person coaches who want to learn how to get online clients.

Send us Fan MailFitness competition is more popular than ever.More people participate in bodybuilding shows, triathlons and hybrid fitness competitions every year.Of these three categories, hybrid fitness is the fastest growing by a significant margin, largely due to Hyrox's explosive growth.The 2011 CrossFit Open was the first mass participation, hybrid fitness competition, with 26,000 participants.Today, hybrid fitness competitions include the CrossFit Open, Hyrox, ATHX, Xenom, DEKA, Turf Games and Wodapalooza. Collectively, participation has grown by over 30x.The future is bright for fitness.---Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:Book an Intro Consult: This is the next step for athletes who want to work with me 1:1. My coaching is for fitness competitors and hybrid athletes who want to see what they're capable of. Once you book, you'll get a link to complete an intake form, which will give me some context before our first meeting. If you decide to hire me, the fee will get put toward your first month of coaching.Training deep dives: Join hundreds of coaches and athletes who have upgraded their training for strength, gymnastics, conditioning and competitive fitness.Programming Mentor Meeting: For coaches and athletes who want to get clarity on their training. Know your training priorities, measure meaningful metrics, and make real progress.Business Mentor Meeting: For in-person coaches who want to learn how to get online clients.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I tell stories about the value of coaching.---Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:Book an Intro Consult: This is the next step for athletes who want to work with me 1:1. My coaching is for fitness competitors and hybrid athletes who want to see what they're capable of. Once you book, you'll get a link to complete an intake form, which will give me some context before our first meeting. If you decide to hire me, the fee will get put toward your first month of coaching.Training deep dives: Join hundreds of coaches and athletes who have upgraded their training for strength, gymnastics, conditioning and competitive fitness.Programming Mentor Meeting: For coaches and athletes who want to get clarity on their training. Know your training priorities, measure meaningful metrics, and make real progress.Business Mentor Meeting: For in-person coaches who want to learn how to get online clients.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we cover:TermsThe autonomic nervous system - anatomy and functionsAutonomic balanceSympathetic toneTypes of Exercise and How each Affects Autonomic Balance Acutely and ChronicallyAerobic exercise (with some key differences between low intensity and medium-high intensity)Resistance exerciseThe Athlete's Autonomic Nervous SystemThe Phases of OvertrainingSympathetic overtrainingParasympathetic overtrainingKey TakeawaysThe goals of chronic training — from an autonomic nervous system standpoint — are to:deepen resting parasympathetic dominancesharpen the acute sympathetic response to exerciseaccelerate post-exercise autonomic recoveryHRV monitoring over time is the most accessible tool athletes have to track whether training is achieving those goals or not.---Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:Book an Intro Consult: This is the next step for athletes who want to work with me 1:1. My coaching is for fitness competitors and hybrid athletes who want to see what they're capable of. Once you book, you'll get a link to complete an intake form, which will give me some context before our first meeting. If you decide to hire me, the fee will get put toward your first month of coaching.Training deep dives: Join hundreds of coaches and athletes who have upgraded their training for strength, gymnastics, conditioning and competitive fitness.Programming Mentor Meeting: For coaches and athletes who want to get clarity on their training. Know your training priorities, measure meaningful metrics, and make real progress.Business Mentor Meeting: For in-person coaches who want to learn how to get online clients.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we discuss the evolution of fitness sport over the last 10-15 years. We cover:professionalization - the maturation of the fitness sport ecosystemeducation - understanding of sport-specific demandsindividualization - the coaching industryearly specialization - pros and constechnology---Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:Book an Intro Consult: This is the next step for athletes who want to work with me 1:1. My coaching is for fitness, hybrid and tactical athletes who want to see what they're capable of. Once you book, you'll get a link to complete an intake form, which will give me some context before our first meeting. If you decide to hire me, the fee will get put toward your first month of coaching.Training deep dives: Join hundreds of coaches and athletes who have upgraded their training for strength, gymnastics, conditioning and competitive fitness.Programming Mentor Meeting: For coaches and athletes who want to get clarity on their training. Know your training priorities, measure meaningful metrics, and make real progress.Business Mentor Meeting: For in-person coaches who want to learn how to get online clients.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we answer these common questions:Should I focus on bodybuilding/hypertrophy?How much can I condition and still get stronger/build muscle?How much Zone 2 should I do?What specific skill work do I need?Should I bulk or change my nutrition?How much, if any, metcons should I actually do?If I am doing metcons, should I separate them from strength training?---Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:Book an Intro Consult: This is the next step for athletes who want to work with me 1:1. My coaching is for fitness, hybrid and tactical athletes who want to see what they're capable of. Once you book, you'll get a link to complete an intake form, which will give me some context before our first meeting. If you decide to hire me, the fee will get put toward your first month of coaching.Training deep dives: Join hundreds of coaches and athletes who have upgraded their training for strength, gymnastics, conditioning and competitive fitness.Programming Mentor Meeting: For coaches and athletes who want to get clarity on their training. Know your training priorities, measure meaningful metrics, and make real progress.Business Mentor Meeting: For in-person coaches who want to learn how to get online clients.

Send us Fan MailMost competitors know they need an offseason, but what does that really mean?In this episode, I cover the process I follow with my athletes every offseason.Key Takeaways:Most people show up to fitness sport with a variety of training ages. If you have <4 years of experience anywhere, bring that area up to speed.From there, offseason training should allow you to stay consistent year after year. The things that kick people out of the cycle of training and competing are:Orthopedic issuesHPA Axis dysfunction —> health degradationUsually that means the off-season will look like training stuff with longer development timelines, longer residuals, and later peak biological ages:aerobic endurancehypertrophy and basic strengthgymnastic strength and movement efficiencyOffseason training usually also involves:More easy trainingMore cyclical work (machines)Less dynamic eccentrics (fewer sport-specific movements)More isometrics (holds, carries, knee prep)Less competing (~4 times a year is good)In the rest of the episode, we cover:Evaluation of the SportMovement AnalysisMWGMovement PatternsEquipment SelectionPhysiological AnalysisIntensity DomainsDose-ResponseReview workouts and resultsWhere did the separation occur?What limited you at that point in the workout?Review preparationIf you had another 6 months to prepare for this comp, what would you make sure to do in training?How did your previous cycle of training prepare you for this comp?Assessment of the AthleteKey physical characteristicsKey performance characteristicsLong Term Athletic DevelopmentTraining AgeCharacteristics with Long Development and Residual Timelines, late peak biological agesExtensive to intensive trainingPre-requisites to performanceWhenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:Book an Intro Consult: This is the next step for athletes who want to work with me 1:1. My coaching is for fitness, hybrid and tactical athletes who want to see what they're capable of. Once you book, you'll get a link to complete an intake form, which will give me some context before our first meeting. If you decide to hire me, the fee will get put toward your first month of coaching.Training deep dives: Join hundreds of coaches and athletes who have upgraded their training for strength, gymnastics, conditioning and competitive fitness.Programming Mentor Meeting: For coaches and athletes who want to get clarity on their training. Know your training priorities, measure meaningful metrics, and make real progress.Business Mentor Meeting: For in-person coaches who want to learn how to get online clients.

Send us Fan Mail"XENOM™ is the Decathlon of Fitness™, a 10-event, stadium-scale global competition that standardizes and scores total human performance on a points based index, creating the first repeatable global benchmark for CrossFit® athletes."In this episode, we cover:What Xenom is and who is behind itThe nine announced Xenom eventsMovement AnalysisMWGMovement PatternsNotable OmissionsPrediction for the final TBA eventPhysiological Analysis:Time DomainsIntensity DomainsDose-ResponseImplications for training for XenomFor more info, check out: https://www.xenom.global/

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we cover:The shift in programming trends for Quarterfinals and the AGOQWorkout Approach 101The 25% RuleTime requirements and work requirementsHow to approach workouts with tiebreakersWorkout execution and order

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we cover how nutrition goes deeper than "calories in, calories out."The body is governed by more than just physics, it is also governed by chemistry.Our goal is to fuel high amounts of training (eat, digest, utilize, eliminate) while minimizing side effects.We cover:Biology of the GutDysfunctions of the GutThe athlete's gut microbiotaHow gut microbiota impacts performancePerformance-oriented fueling strategies and their effects on gut healthAvoiding fat and fiber pre-competitionCarb-loading and preference for simple carbohydrates at the exclusion of complex carbohydratesHigh protein dietsNutrition Best PracticesFood varietyFiber (25-40 g/day)Protein diversityLong term approach to increasing fuel - "train the gut"Managing food volume and food residue in times of high energy needPolyphenol-rich foodsLifestyle Best PracticesFood hygieneStress managementSleepHydrationSupplementation support for:SalivaGastric EmptyingGut MicrobiotaMucosal LiningImmunityMotilityReferences[1] Intestinal Microbiota Interventions to Enhance Athletic Performance—A Reviewhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11432184/#sec3-ijms-25-10076[2] Exercise-induced stress behavior, gut-microbiota-brain axis and diet: a systematic review for athleteshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5121944/#Abs1[3] Fueling Gut Microbes: A Review of the Interaction between Diet, Exercise, and the Gut Microbiota in Athleteshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8634498/[4] Dietary Patterns, Gut Microbiota and Sports Performance in Athletes: A Narrative Reviewhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11175060/[5] Gut Microbiota, Probiotics and Physical Performance in Athletes and Physically Active Individualshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7599951/[6] The athletic gut microbiotahttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7218537/[7] International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Probioticshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6925426/[8] Polyphenols—Gut Microbiota Interrelationship: A Transition to a New Generation of Prebioticshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8747136/