Magness & Marcus On Coaching

The title says it all: we need coaches! Why? Coaches are there to not only motivate but to provide perspective. Whether you coach at the high school, college, or professional level, coaches spend more time with athletes than that athlete spends with any teacher, professor, or anyone else outside of those they live with. The…

Periodization sounds complex, but it’s really just how we plan and organize our training. Do you build a big base and then go short and fast with speedwork? Or employ a blended or mixed system? In this episode we break down periodization and discuss how to use it not only when things are going well,…

Hard days hard, easy days easy. How much validity does that saying have? How hard should our hard workouts be? Should we jog slowly on recovery days or make them steady? In this episode, we dive into the balance between hard workouts and recovery days. Steve & Jon Resources Mentioned in the Podcast The Stress…

What’s it mean to be fit? What about to perform? Is there a meaningful difference? In this episode, Steve and Jon explore the continuum from fitness to performance. As we make our way from fitness to performance, the psychological demands shift. From high control to low. From low threat to high. Give this episode a…

What’s it mean to improve the lactate threshold? What about lactate buffering capacity? In this episode, John and Steve take you down the rabbit hole of workouts designed to improve every part of the lactate curve. You’ll learn why traditional tempo runs push the lactate curve up, but you can also pull the curve. You’ll…

The NCAA and college sports are in disarray. Facing a mass pandemic, postponement and cancelation of fall sports, and a growing understanding by the athletes the leverage that they have. With many of us wondering what in the world is the future of college sports, this week we brough on an expert, Dr. Roger Pielke…

The Middle Distance Events. That combination of speed and endurance makes them one of the most enjoyable but also challenging events to train for or coach. In this episode, we dive deep into the challenges of training for the 800m and 1,500m.We walk you through: The wisdom of Percy Cerutty on coaching the mid-distance events.…

It’s time for a deep dive into training. This week begins a multi-part series on the development of an athlete. We start with the intake process and deciding where to go with the athlete, and move on to what kind of training the athlete should do. For this week, we focus on the 5k and…

Fartleks, the wonderful invention of Gusta Holmer in the 1930’s, is something we are all familiar with. Run hard for a minute, jog for a minute, repeat twenty times. But in today’s world where everything is measured and coaches rely on that feedback to adjust workloads, the fartlek is becoming a lost art. In this…

Do the fastest athletes always win? The ones who come in with the best seed time. The athlete who threw down that fast mile at Mt. Sac or a blazing 5k at Stanford? If not, how come? In episode 114, we explore the world of racing. What does it mean to be competitive and can…

“He’s really fit! They’re going to run really well!” How many times have you heard a coach excitedly proclaim that, only to see their athlete perform poorly? It happens to all of us. We’re left scratching our heads after the race. They were crushing workouts, we might think. How could they not put it together?…

One of my pet peeves when discussing endurance work is the concept of losing speed. In the middle distance world, this concept of losing speed is widespread. Go to any coaching conference, hang around enough coaches, or just talk to your athletes and you’ll hear this concept over and over. It’s used as an argument…

Highly motivated athletes are the best to coach. You don’t have to worry if they got their run or workout in, they are always eager to train, perform, and do what’s necessary to get better. But, there are pitfalls that even the most well-intentioned athletes need to be aware of. The higher the motivation, the…

Should we start with speed first or endurance? Do you start with a large base of easy running before layering on the speed work, or do we start with running fast before extending it? Those are the questions we tackle during this weeks On Coaching Podcast. Highlights include: What lens are you seeing training through?…

Are you serious, committed, willing to put in all the work? If so, you’re a coaches dream. But your commitment can hold you back if it comes from the wrong place. In episode 109, we discuss the difference between being serious and obsessive about your craft and how that impacts your long term development. Topics…

In episode 108, we dive into what it takes to become a championship level athlete, whether that championship is at the high school state meet, the NCAA championships, or a national or international title. covered include: The importance of developing the athlete, the person staring back at you. Raising the Floor versus Ceiling It matters…

In episode 107, we dive into what the sport will look like when we emerge from our current pandemic, and how it will have to change. We dive into a slew of topics, aimed at re-imagining our sport. Major sports (NFL,NBA, MLB) change their rules and playoff structures while keeping their history intact, how do…

In episode 106, we bring on author Ben Cohen to have a discussion on streaks, the role of science and expertise in decision making, and our propensity to see patterns where they may not exist. His new book, The Hot Hand, is a fantastic read. We hope you enjoy the discussion, as it’s filled with…

Normally running is an achievement-focused sport. We’re trying to win races and run PR’s. We’re not going to have any achievement opportunities for the foreseeable future. How do we frame running and keep athletes motivated when achievement isn’t on the horizon. In this podcast we discuss: Adopting the “Old” model of racing and competition. How…

Adversity, challenge, tough times; all experiences that we proclaim sport teaches us how to manage. Well, now is the time to put that experience into action. While we’re talking specifically about dealing with the cancellations, shut-downs, and disruption of life caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19), in this episode we want to explore how we can…