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Training
Latest Blogs
Variety of Activity Inversely Associated with Mortality
In this episode of The Consummate Athlete Podcast, Peter and Molly discuss a recent study performed by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that associates the variety of movement done with a reduced risk of premature death, even at lower volumes...
Organize Your Gear So It Sparks Joy—And Speeds You Out the Door
In our book, Becoming A Consummate Athlete, I wrote a lot about the importance of editing (paring down) and organizing your gear. This isn't just so it looks tidy, this is to save you serious time getting ready to ride or run. If you think about how much time you...
Indoor Cycling – ERG, Boredom, FTP
In this episode of The Consummate Athlete Podcast, Peter and Molly discuss: ERG mode for smart trainers and where it can do you wrong adding variety and engagement to indoor cycling Setting threshold (FTP) for indoor cycling training indoor cycling mistakes Have a...
Training
How to Set Strength Training Goals
The best way to get into the strength training habit is to start strength training: especially if you haven’t done much in the past, you’ll start seeing results quickly, which will likely feed your desire to stick with it. Strength training is addictive when you start...
Who Do You Want to Be at the End of the Season?
We just had the incredible Erin Ayala of Skadi Sport Psychology on the podcast to chat about a range of topics including Self-Talk, process vs. performance, and of course, GOAL SETTING. My favorite moment? When she gave this prompt: Fast-forward to the end of your...
5 Ways to Improve Your Race at Paris to Ancaster
Ontario's Perennial spring classic, Paris to Ancaster, always has excitement extremely high in Ontario and beyond as one of the biggest early season gravel races around. The demands of the race are tricky: It has a few highly technical bits, some potential for serious...
Racing
A Few Vanlife / Car Camping Tips for Athletes Training + Racing Out of the Van
While #vanlife and racing seem like they'd be made for each other, that's not entirely accurate. We love our van, but here's the thing: Most #vanlife people aren't also trying to train big hours or race optimally. It's like tiny houses: When you live in one, having a...
A Few Tips for Quebec Singletrack Experience Stage Racers
We'll be heading to the Quebec Singletrack Experience 5-day MTB stage race in a few weeks, and so will a lot of Consummate Athlete coaching clients and podcast friends! We hosted a Q&A last night with riders we know who are coming, with a few of our clients who've...
Racing Sick & Race if You are Going to Race
We discuss the difficult decision to race if you are sick and how this relates to our 'race if you are going to race' concept of committing to race. A follow up on quick strength to avoid soreness and when doing a lot of endurance racing is also included. This Episode...
Cross-Training
Gear for Strength Training at Home
Today we discuss the common fall (and pandemic) question ... What do you need to perform strength training at home. We also go into why you might want to do it year-round, the benefits, and some rough ideas for what a routine could look like. Links Mentioned - Yoga...
Running Resilience & Strength – Jay Dicharry
Jay Dicharry is a Physiotherapist and Biomechanical expert and the author of Running Rewired: stability, strength, speed. He discusses common injuries and issues that athletes have running. TOPICS/LINKS Check out the book Running Rewired: https://amzn.to/34t9oU5 TOE...
Yoga Stretches to Target Common Athlete Issues – Video
We had such a great time chatting with The Valley Om's Sue Amato on the podcast a couple weeks ago that we wanted to bring her back in video form to address some of the specific athlete hotspots—from wrists to back to hips to knees—that are common pain points. In this...
Mindset
Yes, Training Smart is Boring—Embrace It!
Training, friends, is boring. We must not say so. … Or should we say so? It's base season for many of us, and as I was working my way through this weekend's longish run that follows my Saturday long run, I was—as poet John Berryman says, 'heavy bored.' But that isn't...
How Athletes Can Motivate With Healthy Self-Talk
What do you say to yourself when you run? For most of us, we aren't the nicest when the going gets tough. I realized this a couple years go after we talked to Rebecca Rusch on the Consummate Athlete Podcast and she dropped this knowledge bomb about self-talk that as a...
How to Handle Plummeting Motivation to Train
Motivation isn't all you need to succeed at work or in sport, but damn, does it make things a lot easier. Confession time here: I've been suffering a serious bout of low motivation / ennui / the blahs the past couple of days. Sure, I'm getting things done—workouts,...
Nutrition
Choosing the Right Whey (Protein)
Forgive the pun in the headline, but it's hard to avoid! Choosing the right whey protein seems simple, but if you're new to the world of sports supplements, there are a few things you should know about whey protein before purchasing. Why do you need whey? Whey can be...
How to Pick Your Pre-Race Rituals – And What to Avoid
My first race back after almost 3 years of not racing got me thinking a lot about pre-race rituals. It's easy to get a little too ritualistic about them, but at the same time, having them can make the day before your race a lot more simple. Ideally, the day before a...
Our Latest InsideTracker Experience (and a Black Friday Deal!)
*Note: This is a sponsored post but all opinions are our own. And yes, we actually use our own code here to save $$ when we order bloodwork! You may have heard up mention this on our podcast this week, but we are huge fans of InsideTracker over here at Consummate...
Lifestyle
5 Ways to Upcycle a Nuun Tube for Travel, Training + Food
I've talked a lot about nuun electrolyte tables lately because as temps rise, I'm relying on the electrolytes more than ever... and for camping trips where we'll be hiking and running a ton and filtering water as we go, you know that I'm bringing nuun to help get rid...
Our Best Athletic Gear Organization Tools
Here at Consummate Athlete HQ, one of our major tenets of the Consummate Athlete lifestyle is to be able to ride, run, hike, climb, camp, whatever at a moment's notice. That means having our gear organized and easy to access. Not only does it make packing for trips a...
A Few Vanlife / Car Camping Tips for Athletes Training + Racing Out of the Van
While #vanlife and racing seem like they'd be made for each other, that's not entirely accurate. We love our van, but here's the thing: Most #vanlife people aren't also trying to train big hours or race optimally. It's like tiny houses: When you live in one, having a...
Women Specific
Talking Increasing Visibility of Girls and Women in Cycling on the WISEAN Podcast
I was lucky enough to hop on the Women in Sport and Exercise Academic Network (WISEAN) Podcast with host and founder of WISEAN Jackie Forsyth to talk about all things Shred Girls, as well as my background in writing books like Saddle, Sore: Ride Comfortable, Ride...
Chrome Storm Seeker Women’s Raincoat Review—Paddington Bear Gets a Commuter Chic Makeover
Chrome is getting back into women's clothing (THANK GOD BECAUSE I NEED A NEW PASHA MERINO HOODIE) and I give them credit, they're doing it really methodically, versus rushing to get a huge lineup out so people can applaud. They're actually being really thoughtful...
Altra Women’s Superior 3.5 Trail Running Sneaker Review
UPDATE: Really disappointed with their customer service. After only a couple of weeks, the one shoe developed a small hole in the upper (which does happen, I get it), and trying to get it replaced is like pulling teeth. I'm still waiting to sort out what happens with...
Gear
Our Favorite Athletic Books to Gift This Holiday Season
Books are obviously something we love gifting to people, between the books that we’ve written, books by authors at Strong Girl Publishing, and books that are written by favorite podcast guests we’ve had on, and of course, books written by people we would love to have...
The Best Black Friday Deals for Athletes
Let’s be honest, Black Friday is rarely about gift-giving, it’s often more about grabbing a few things that you need (that maybe a partner or parent can then gift to you). Whether you’re shopping for yourself or an athlete in your life, here are a few of the sales...
Athlete Stocking Stuffer Gift Ideas for the 2024 Holiday Season
As we’re prepping for the holidays, we’re stocking up on stocking stuffers for our athlete friends. Personally, I love a literal stuffed stocking where I get a pair of bike or running socks and put a few of my favorite bars and gels into it as the gift, but of course,...
Videos
How to Ride Pump Tracks and Rollers on the Mountain Bike
Peter recently did a series of mountain bike skills videos with Canadian Cycling Magazine, and we're really excited about this first one: While you might not spend a lot of time thinking about how to ride a pump track or over a series of rollers (or woops), it really...
How to Get Started Riding the Rollers – VIDEO
When it comes to riding the rollers, it's tempting to start with a doorway or a wall and start by leaning a hand on the wall to get rolling. But that's not how you ride a bike outside--and it's actually making riding the rollers harder, not easier. Endurance coach...
Power Yoga: Video
I've been teaching virtual power yoga classes with Ontario Cycling the last few weeks and they've been kind enough to share them online so that anyone can follow along any time! Check out the latest 45 minute session and prepare to get sweaty. ALL our video resources...