Action as Continuing Education
A note from Jim Vance: As the sun sets on another summer, athletes find themselves nearing the end of their endurance sports season, signaling the impending arrival of the…
David Warden ·
Articles
Training science, coaching, and the 80/20 method — from Matt Fitzgerald and the 80/20 Endurance coaching team.
Obsessive Lactate Measurement Is NOT the Reason Norwegian Endurance Athletes Are Winning
There’s a phenomenon that armchair psychologists refer to as shiny object syndrome. You won’t find it mentioned in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (at…
Matt Fitzgerald ·
Ego Death and Athlete Coaching
Every once in a while, an athlete I’m coaching will confront me with information that they’ve obtained from another source and that (at least in their perception) challenges what…
Matt Fitzgerald ·
What Are You Afraid Of?
I have a vivid memory of sitting in trigonometry class on a Thursday afternoon in the fall of my junior year of high school, sick with fear. I mean this literally.
Matt Fitzgerald ·
Separating Want from Need in Training and Racing
You want perfect weather conditions for your half-marathon PR attempt on Sunday. But do you actually need perfect weather conditions?
Matt Fitzgerald ·
Is Impatience Holding You Back as An Athlete?
A while back I wrote a piece titled, “If It’s Not Hard, It’s Not Hard Enough.” In it, I addressed the irony that people become endurance athletes because they want to do something…
Matt Fitzgerald ·
There’s No Such Thing as a Self-Coached Athlete
I learned recently that only 9 percent of triathletes have a coach. This struck me as a very small number—until I learned that just 5 percent of runners have a coach.
Matt Fitzgerald ·
Yes, But How Do You Feel? More Evidence That Subjective Training Metrics Have More Value Than Objective Metrics
Everything changed when the stethoscope was invented. Credit Rene Laennec, the 18th-Century French physician and flautist who invented this revolutionary device.
Matt Fitzgerald ·
Do As I Say, Not As I Do
In my late teens and early twenties I was a meathead, visiting the gym several times a week to toss around heavy things.
Matt Fitzgerald ·
Endurance Training Is Like a Veal Cutlet
“Believe in your system, and then sell it to your players.” —Billy Donovan I love the above quote from basketball coach Billy Donovan.
Matt Fitzgerald ·
