Magness & Marcus On Coaching

Do you try out workouts before you give them to athletes? In this episode, we talk about the importance of experimenting on yourself as a coach. It’s not about the speed of the workout, but that doing something difficult gives you an appreciation for what it feels like. Which then allows you to coach it…

Often in coaching, we obsess over the physiological and the physical. We go over and over the workouts. In this episode, we go in the other direction, talking about holistic improvement as a person. It’s time to talk about the soft side of development. Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The Scholar Program is our…

Coaching is the people business! We have to help individuals see their capabilities and put them on the journey towards achieving their potential. But, people are complex. Sometimes we don’t always click. In this episode, we talk about the hardest thing of all: dealing with and helping people. Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The…

How do we improve the finishing kick? In this week’s episode, we give you a framework for developing your athlete’s kicks, along with specific workouts designed to help out. We cover everything from the energetics to the muscle recruitment pattern that impacts the finishing kick. Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The Scholar Program is…

What do you do when you take over a program that’s in need of help? In this weeks episode, Jon and Steve go over how to change the culture, what to focus on, how to get people to join the team, and more. Changing culture is hard. But it is possible. Time to explore how…

What is speed endurance? In this weeks episode, Jon and Steve go over this vital but often misunderstood ingredient to your training. Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The Scholar Program is our one-stop-shop for all things coaches education. And we’ve added a new feature! The Scholar Clubhouse is an interactive chat system that gives…

Arthur Lydiard once said, ‘There are champions everywhere.’ And for good reason, his most famous pupils were local athletes. In this episode, we explore how to give your athletes a chance to reach their potential. And why it’s so important that we give everyone an opportunity to do so, instead of pigeonholing athletes. Steve &…

This week we break down a classification for training, from general to specific. What is general training? How does it set the foundation for training? How does each level of training connect to the next? We break it all down! Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The Scholar Program is our one-stop-shop for all things…

Vo2max work! 800s at 3k pace, 1ks at 5k down to 2-mile pace. We all know the workouts. We include them all of the time. In some training programs, especially for high-school, they are the bread and butter of the program. In this episode, we discuss why this doesn’t have to be the case. We…

What do you suck at as a coach? In this episode, we go over identifying your weaknesses and shoring them up to allow you to become the best coach that you can be. Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The Scholar Program is our one-stop-shop for all things coaches education. And we’ve added a new…

Have you ever done a workout where you went to the absolute well? That’s a ‘see God’ workout. Going until there is nothing left. An exploration of what you are capable of. These workouts are meant to shift your perspective. Are they necessary or reckless? Time to explore on this weeks podcast. Steve & Jon…

Norway has had a lot of endurance success lately. From the Ingebrigtsen’s to triathletes winning major events, the small country of Norway has taken the endurance world by storm. We break down their threshold-influenced training, going all the way back to the work of Marius Bakken (13:06 5k runner). We travel back to the message…

Jon and Steve take on popular ideas that have stuck around but need some updating. From energy system domination to various forms of training, we take you down a rabbit hole of what needs to be updated in the running coaching world. Steve & Jon Visit our Sponsor The Scholar Program is our one-stop-shop for…

In Nassim Taleb’s book Antifragile, he introduces the concept of the barbell strategy. At one end of the barbell, you’ve got low-risk low-reward, don’t he other end high risk, high reward. Taleb believes that you stack a bunch on the low risk/reward side and take strategic shots on the outliers, while staying away from the…

“Lactic Acid” is horribly misunderstood. It’s been cast as a demon for far too long. It’s time to set the record straight. In this episode, Steve and Jon break down new research that shows lactate’s true rule in the body. Hint: It’s not harmful, but helpful! Study: Tracing the Lactate Shuttle Steve & Jon Visit…

We all know about the big things you have to worry about for marathon training: the long run, the mileage, the longer tempo runs, but what are the small things that make a difference? In this episode we go over fueling, strength training, sprinting, pacing, and recovery; The ‘small’ things that can make a difference…

An exclusive interview with NAU coach Mike Smith! This is part 1 of a 3 part series. Part 2 and 3 are exclusive to our running scholar program. If you’d like to listen to them (and get access to courses, discussion groups, and more!) join today and receive $10 off your first month! Use the…

Does your belief in your fitness feel like a ping pong ball, bouncing back and forth wildly, dependent on whether your latest workout went well or not? In this episode we cover the fallacy of equating a single workout or measure as the be all end all marker of whether we are ready to go…

What’s it take to become a great coach? In this episode, we breakdown three essential skills for great coaching:1. Thinking and Observing 2. Problem Solving 3. Collaboration If you haven’t yet, check out Steve’s new book: Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and The Surprising Science of Real Toughness. Steve & Jon Visit…

In this episode, we reflect on what we’ve learned over nearly two decades of coaching. What did we think was important but quickly realized wasn’t? What actually matters in preparing athletes to perform? We cover all of this and more in today’s episode. Topics covered include: Building Buy-In Stabilizing Lifestyles Getting Comfortable with asymmetrical progress…