Lactate, Anaerobic, Aerobic Threshold? What do any of them mean and are they useful training zones? In this episode Jon and Steve break down what in the world threshold actually means for coaches. In addition, we debate whether or not we should sped much time training at marathon pace or if it is a “grey”…
This week, we are all about winning! When it comes to racing, there are two kinds of racers: The active participants and the passive ones. 75% of the people in any track meet are simply role players. Even if they are fit enough to compete, they defer control of the race to the active…
This week, we welcome a very special guest and good friend, Alan Webb. As many of you know, Alan is the fastest American miler to ever walk the planet. He’s run the fastest mile in the 21st century. To reach that level, he and his coach at the time, Scott Razcko, had to break new…
This week, we have a special guest, Lauren Fleshman. Lauren is a modern day polymath, excelling as a runner, activists, entrepreneurs, business owner, and of course, a coach. In this episode, we dive into Lauren’s coaching. We can’t thank Lauren enough for bringing a fresh perspective and valuable insight to the podcast. My notebook is…
This weeks episode is all about recovery! No, not ice baths, protein, compression boots, and all of that nonsense, but on how much recovery time should you take during workouts? Should I take three minutes between my mile repeats or four? Jogging or standing? How about some exercises in between? We delve into our own…
It’s time to talk the 5k. We cover everything, from how to approach the training of it (Is it a speed or endurance event? What’s the best type of intervals to improve your 5k?) to what the best race tactics are. In this sprawling conversation, we delve deep…
In this episode, Jon and I delve into our coaching blunders with middle distance athletes. What mistakes did we make early on and what have we learned from them? Topics covered in this episode include We dive into the misconceptions on speed and power development. How we both messed up plyos when we first introduced…
As promised, we’ve brought back NAU coach Mike Smith to give us insight on how his team won the NCAA Cross-Country Championships. As he did in our previous episode, Mike delivers numerous pearls of wisdom and shows how he has grown and evolved as a coach. He walks us through the week leading up to…
“Don’t jog! Only High intensity interval training!” Outside of the distance running world, these phrases are often thrown around when it comes to development of endurance in team sports or non-running individual sports. Whether it’s the fear of creating slow athletes, or the myth that you can get all of your aerobic bang for your…
This is a MUST listen episode. In this weeks On Coaching with Magness & Marcus, we bring in NAU coach Mike Smith to talk about team culture and training. In this wide ranging and deep episode, we dive into a number of topics. Starting with how Mike took over a team that was the defending…
Welcome Back! In this episode of On Coaching with Magness & Marcus, it’s time to take on one of the important concepts in coaching: Change! How have we as coaches evolved in our thinking? Jon and I take you through the methods of coaching that we used to hold true to our heart but have…
In this episode of On Coaching with Magness & Marcus, we delve into a concept Jon calls “The Discernment Spectrum,” which is: Smart—Intelligent—Sophisticated As we learn a subject or skill, we exist somewhere on this spectrum. Smart only exists in duality– right or wrong–so it represents a basic level of understanding. To be intelligent means…
In this episode of On Coaching, we discuss the amazing book Athletics: How to Become a Champion by Percy Cerutty. Cerutty was the coach of Herb Elliott who was the 1960 Olympic 1,500m Champion and held the world record in the mile at 3:54. In How to Become a Champion, Cerutty wrote a classic text…
In this episode of On Coaching, Jon and I discuss the often skewed coach-athlete dynamic. Traditionally, coaches have been the information purveyors, the power holders, distribtuing knowledg in a one way direction; Coach to athlete. When this dynamic remains, we lose an opportunity to learn. We get stuck in certain patterns; repeating the same types…
On this weeks On Coaching Podcast with Magness & Marcus, we have a special treat for you. We’re bringing you a real conversation. When we were at the US championships, Jon and I sat down at a local coffee shop in Sacramento and pushed record. We recorded a real conversation, nothing manufactured or artificial, no…
Are you a collector of knowledge or a master of application? Take a look at your favorite coach. Chances are if you follow their twitter stream, you think “Man, they have it figured out,” as the coach drops profound insight after insight. Or perhaps, you sat in on their hour long power point presentation, detailing…
Should we be a generalist or a specialist? Do we coach to the individual or the average? Do we want to be a one-trick pony or a master of none? In this episode of On Coaching, we take on these buzz words and the models they rely upon. We start with the basics, answering the…
Big concepts get thrown around a lot these days; Marginal Gains, 10,000 hours, the 80/20 rule, the 1% rule. Everyone has their own phrase or concept for helping take performance to the next level. In this episode of On Coaching, Jon and I take a look at two similar, but slightly different concepts. Using Ross…
Are you coaching the person or are you coaching the work? In this episode of the On Coaching Podcast with Magness & Marcus, we delve into the difference between coaching people and the system of running. One is about seeing each athlete as a living, breathing, emotional mess of a person, and the other is…
It’s time to talk about the marathon! The mysterious race that causes more problems than all other races combined. In this episode, we discuss the intricacies of the marathon. How does training change from the track to the marathon? Do all we need to do is extend our long runs and tempos? NO! What’s the…
Racing is a skill. It’s not something you get thrown into and hope to figure out, it’s a skill that needs evaluated, dissected, and improved upon. In this episode of the Magness & Marcus Podcast On Coaching, we discuss just how to develop the fine art of racing. Starting with a discussion on why we…
We’re back with the first Magness & Marcus Podcast on Coaching of 2017. In this episode, we have a long and frank discussion on interval workouts. What are they, what do they do, are there magical interval workouts, and should everyone should get over Tabata sprints? When it comes to interval workouts, we tend to…
For the end of 2016, Jon and I take a look forward. What is the state of track and field in the world and where do we go from here. We get things started by asking what each of our utopian track and field worlds would look like, before delving into the problems with our…
What in the world does the term “High-Performance Coaching” mean? It’s a phrase that is thrown about in the sports world, so we brought on coach Vern Gambetta to discuss his views. As always when we bring Vern on, we cover a wide range of topics. We start by discussing the role of performance data…
The seasons done, the races have been run, and the outcomes are determined. Whether they were good or bad, we have to move forward. As a coach and athlete it’s about figuring out what lessons to learn, and how to re-energize yourself (and your team) for the next goal that awaits. In this episode of…
“He’s a competitor!” We’ve all had athletes that exemplified the act of competing. They show up on race day, run their guts out, rise to the occasion when it’s asked of them, and put their teammates on their back, instead of only being concerned with themselves. What makes up this ability? Is it innate? Research…
This week, we take on the big question of mastery, particularly in regards to coaching. Beginners tend to mimic. It’s ingrained in us; mimicry is the way we first learn how to make it in life, as we copy our parents when we are just toddlers. In coaching, this might mean copying the training plans…
In episode 41, we bring in Mario Fraioli to discuss the state of the sport. We start with a different kind of Olympic overview, one which takes a deep dive on the problems that arose and the potential way forward. We talk about how to take control of the narrative of our sport, instead of…
What’s the point of sport? In this episode, Jon and I make the case that it’s about education and learning. The culture of coaches used to be educators. They came from a background of using athletics as a means to help student athletes grow and develop. As the top side of the sport professionalized, there’s…
What defines success for a coach? Is it wins and losses? Championships won? Leading athletes to new personal bests? Having one athlete win an Olympic medal while destroying 20 of them? These are the common notions that we associated with success. But is it the best way? In this episode of the Magness & Marcus…
