Are You Neglecting The Most Important Workout For Longevity?

Welcome to a new series on the B.rad Podcast called “Bradsplaining,” where I provide tips, insights, and commentary on distinct subjects, giving you shorter episodes with actionable insights and takeaways.

The first episode explains why I quit jogging after 40 years—and why you might want to, too.

I was an extreme endurance machine from ages 15 to 55, but today I am a sprinter and a high jumper in the 60+ age division of Masters Track & Field. This is quite an unusual athletic transformation, as I’ve gone from competing in events lasting nearly nine hours to participating in events that last just a few seconds.

As you’ll hear, I was completely immersed in the endurance training lifestyle from ages 15 to 30. I basically spent my life eating, training, and sleeping, and was actually asleep for half of my career!

In this show, I explain why I quit endurance training in the hopes that it will help broaden your perspective on what it means to be fit for life, especially if your fitness pursuits currently skew toward endurance (which is what the vast majority of fitness enthusiasts are doing). I also reveal the worst-kept secret of the mainstream fitness scene, why the vast majority of runners should not be running, the importance of rejecting the struggle-and-suffer mentality, and how to introduce true sprinting into your training.

TIMESTAMPS:

Brad explains why he quit endurance training after 40 years and maybe you should consider it. [01:01]

Chronic cardio is a pattern of steady state cardiovascular workouts that are stressful and cause injury. [06:20]

True sprinting is a very brief all out anaerobic effort using the fast twitch muscle fibers. [09:38]

It is not that easy to reject our long ingrained habit patterns and cultural programming toward the no pain, no gain philosophy. [12:51]

Move frequently at a slow pace, lift heavy things and sprint once in a while. [15:00]

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