alancouzens.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Unpopular opinion o' the day: Most athletes should use hrTSS as their default Training Stress metric. Most don't test frequently enough (or long enough) for power or pace based TSS to be accurate.

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

"I really believe that walking, coupled with 12, 15 minutes of mobility every day and one to four sessions of strength each week will give you all you need in life." - Inaki De La Parra Full podcast NOW live in link below 👇

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Always fun to chat with my buddy, Inaki de la Parra about the merits of the zone 0/1 for EVERY body - even Ultraman World Champions! "This shit works for performance. And it works for health!" Covered more in my last Substack (alancouzens.substack.com/p/your-whole...) with full podcast to come. 🙏

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

We underestimate the impact of 'little stressors' on our health. I took my citizenship test yesterday. I was confident. I don't fail tests😊 But still, my HRV was ⬇️ all week Now, one day post & my HRV is instantly ⬆️ 30ms! Your body is under more stress than you think.

submitted 3 days ago • 2 comments

Coming clean on our latest #MADcrew forum thread on "long ride nutrition"...🤷‍♂️☺️ forum.madcrew.app/t/what-should-…

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

My latest... Your whole day is a workout, and these are your zones! With deep credit to Nassim Nicholas Taleb for posting a simple idea that completely transformed how I approach exercise in my life... 🙏 alancouzens.substack.com/p/your-whole...

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

Man there's a lot of psycho-babble on the interwebs. No wonder everyone is stressed out about whether they're in the 'optimal mental state' Relax. Chill. Clear your mind. Focus on where you are and what you're doing right now And execute that. That's all you need to do. That's all you can do

submitted 33 days ago • 1 comment

The final case-study is live! Meet World-Class Wendy! Learn about what it really takes to race among the best in the world. In terms of training, nutrition, physiology, and way of life! Hope you love it! alancouzens.com/my_book.html

submitted 35 days ago • 1 comment

A frequent question hitting the #MADcrew forum at the moment... Should I include walking in my weekly TSS? 🚶 Short answer: If you're not an elite endurance athlete, yes! Longer answer: forum.madcrew.app/t/tss-for-wa...

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

New habit: Before opening social media, I picture the IQ bell curve in my head and remind myself - the entirety of that curve is represented here. It helps.

submitted 36 days ago • 1 comment

"The 'secret' is a progressive increase in training load over many years." "But what if I don't have time to increase my training load?" "The 'secret' is a progressive increase in training load over many years."

submitted 37 days ago • 2 comments

Want higher #HRV ? Learn to let go. That's all HRV is... turning down the constant "stress grip" that you have on your body and letting the breath do it's thing. Every exhalation creates (literal) space for relaxation. Go with that. Learn to let go.

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

Glycogen depletion is the real "pain" that separates the men from the boys.

submitted 45 days ago • 1 comment

An interesting discussion is happening on the #MADcrew forum right now around how to go about improving your #FatBurning. forum.madcrew.app/t/how-many-c...

submitted 45 days ago • 0 comments

It all begins with committing to show up. Over the years as a swimmer & coach I've seen kids with broken arms still show up... with a kickboard in tow! No matter what... Commit to show up!

submitted 47 days ago • 1 comment

Only four of the 21 robots in the race crossed the finish line, highlighting just how far humanoids are from keeping up with their real human counterparts. www.wired.com/story/beijin...

submitted 48 days ago • 24 comments

Before worrying about all the fancy stuff - your training intensity distribution, whether you're doing the magic workouts etc... Start by simply making sure you're checking the box on at least 1,000 kcal of work every day. All the fancy stuff comes after that.

submitted 48 days ago • 1 comment

It is time... It hit me the other day that I have now lived a greater portion of my life in the U.S. than Australia. This country has been very good to me, and I do deeply love it - the land and the people. It is home. 🏠 Looking forward to hopefully making it official 🫰

submitted 49 days ago • 5 comments

The mindshift that makes all the difference: Move from... Trying to get yourself as fatigued as possible in the shortest time possible. To... Trying to rack up as much work as possible while feeling as fresh as possible. Fatigue isn't the goal.

submitted 49 days ago • 1 comment

Hi Abd, I don't use "FTP", instead I set threshold in TP et al. to the actual threshold observed in a lactate test. A 20 min test can be "gamed" by improving the lactate tolerance of the athlete w/no change in aerobic fitness. More on my protocol in Ch 6 alancouzens.substack.com/p/chapter-6-...

submitted 50 days ago • 0 comments

There are two things you must get right if you're serious about becoming very fit: 1/ Make more time for training. 2/ Truly understand what “easy training” means. Most people are doing their easy training way too hard.

submitted 51 days ago • 1 comment

Alright, there's something quite interesting happening with Monday...

submitted 54 days ago • 0 comments

#BlackMirror you did it again. Eulogy... Wow.

submitted 55 days ago • 0 comments

It's the work. Never lose sight of the fact. To continue to build your performance over the long-term, you have to build your daily capacity for plain ol' work. (From chapter 10 of my book) alancouzens.substack.com/p/chapter-10...

submitted 56 days ago • 1 comment

Control breeds consistency. Consistency breeds champions.

submitted 58 days ago • 0 comments

As the gap between the influencer & those who actually know grows algorithmically wider by the day, you're going to need to actively seek out those with real world experience. Trust me, it's worth it.

submitted 59 days ago • 3 comments

Unpopular opinion of the day... The fundamental problem: The U.S. has gone soft. And it's not something that hiding will solve. We need to demand more from each other. Academically, athletically, the whole bit. We need to compete. An expectation for excellence is not abusive when it's voluntary.

submitted 60 days ago • 6 comments

Interesting discussion on #Sleep requirements for different levels of training going on on the #MADcrew forum at the moment... forum.madcrew.app/t/training-s...

submitted 60 days ago • 1 comment

Honestly, the thing that scares me the most isn’t a Depression. It’s the US Dollar losing its status as the de facto world currency. That status is built entirely on stability and trust. Once those disappear, the value of the US Dollar disappears too.

submitted 60 days ago • 8 comments

Psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, economists will study this lunacy for decades to come. If I wasn't living through it, it really would be fascinating.

submitted 60 days ago • 3 comments

Why aren't I fitter/faster/healthier? You're not fitter/faster/healthier because you're not Training enough Sleeping enough Eating right You're not doing those because you're too busy. You're too busy because you're prioritizing $ & stuff above long-term health and fitness. That's the problem

submitted 61 days ago • 0 comments

Don't spend your entire life distracting yourself from the real problem. Fix the problem.

submitted 61 days ago • 1 comment

Paradoxically, the better you become, the less you have to focus on the work & the more you have to focus on the response you're getting from the work. For a novice, "more miles" is generally a viable strategy. For the elite it's all about "better miles".

submitted 61 days ago • 0 comments

For many athletes, it's much easier to get to the top than stay at the top. There are 2 main reasons for this, with finance parallels... 1. Too many withdrawals, not enough deposits. 2. Losing track of your return on investment. In short, trying to live a champagne life 🍾 on a beer budget 🍻

submitted 62 days ago • 1 comment

We can get so stuck, swimming upstream, against the current. Going nowhere. In a constant fear of "If I stop battling, I'll be swept away." 🏊 Wasting our days, going nowhere. Stop. Turn around. Go with the flow. There's a whole river downstream just waiting to be explored.

submitted 62 days ago • 0 comments

A sneak peek of my upcoming (final) chapter on my Substack for the highest level of my case studies - "World-Class Wendy" It’s common to see great mid-range lactate, but lousy fat oxidation numbers with too much mid-range Aerobic work. When this happens, there’s only one solution - Back to Base!

submitted 63 days ago • 1 comment