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Steve Magness Profile picture
Steve Magness
@stevemagness
Author of the NEW book WIN THE INSIDE GAME: https://t.co/WulsorBAuV Performance Coach Other Books: Do Hard Things, Peak Performance
15 subscribers
Dec 12 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
How should you exercise if your goal is health and longevity?

There's a lot of BS and nonsense out there.

All sorts of acronyms that when it comes to health...don't matter.

Let's outline what actually works: While maximizing performance in a specific sport requires complexity and nuance, when it comes to health & longevity, the best way to exercise is actually pretty simple.

This might be a surprise. But the truth is: People overcomplicate it online.
Oct 12 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
You should NOT do these workouts as written

The disconnect between what’s done in the real world and what’s spread on social media is crazy

Why?

All out or as hard as you can workouts are RARE even in elites

The intensity is too high & isn’t the right stimulus Especially with the first & third workouts where recovery is short

What should these workouts be?

Tabata- at 1mile pace
Wingate- depending on the goal, around 800 to 600 pace
1min on-off: Depending on goal: between 5k and 1mile pace.

Intervals should be purposeful not all out
Oct 4 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
As I prepare to turn 40 soon, my fitness goal is to be able to beat freshman in high school Steve...

That's not an easy task... (I ran 4:21 in the mile as a freshman), but I'm getting there.

How? Here's my old man training philosophy: 1. Don't do anything stupid. Focus on consistency. Take what my body gives me.

Injuries are the enemy. What used to take days to recover from now takes weeks.

So... I stop at the first hint of something wrong. Take time off when needed. And make very gradual changes.
Sep 27 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Don't do this workout as written.

Do NOT try 4min MAX efforts.

For experienced: that workout should be at 5k-3k effort. NOT max
Novices: Better to break into sets of 1min pickups/rest @ 5k effort

Signed: Person with a 76 Vo2max
(more importantly an actual coach) The problem with many inexperienced athletes is, as with Bryan, they can't distinguish efforts/paces.

Everything is thrown into "Max effort" or easy.

Part of getting fitter is understanding the nuance of effort/pacing.

It's a skill. But you have to be intentional on developing
Aug 26 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
This is how you know a book was written by someone who has no clue about running.

No, top women aren't faster than top men at 100+ miles. The ultra records show us this.

Let's stop comparing women's performance to men. There's an obvious difference. And that's okay. The only reason I call this out is because it's a longtime misconception that won't disappear.

And it's sad to see it in a popular, NY Times best selling book that otherwise seems solid.

Again, lots of ways to disprove, but the easiest is just look at the ultra records: Image
Aug 13 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Update: One of the boxers own trainers confirms DSD.

The trainer reports they went to an endocrinologist, who said: "There is a problem with her hormones, with her chromosomes, but she is a woman."

Translation: DSD.

Just as expected. No Russian conspiracy The IOC needed a clear DSD/Sex category policy and did NOT have one.

They created this mess. And everyone suffers.

What we still don't know: What type of DSD, but it's clear that it is one where T is elevated. So she'd have the advantage of going through male puberty
Aug 11 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
An inside look at the physiology of elite performance.

A lactate test on Olympic Marathon 4th placer, Emile Cairess.

What's going on here? Let's break it down. Image First, this test was provided by coach Renato Canova. It took place in the build up during May.

And consisted of 6x2k with short rest (35-45sec) + a faster 1200 to end.

Why this test?
Aug 3 • 14 tweets • 2 min read
Michael Phelps does not produce half the amount of lactic acid than everyone else.

That claim is going around. So here’s the debunk…

And even if he did, it wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing.

Oh…and lactate is good, not the enemy. So first off it’s lactate, not lactic acid.

Second. It doesn’t cause fatigue. It’s good. It’s a fuel. Our muscles and brains run on it.

Lactate is the way our body shuttles fuel from one muscle to another through our body.
Aug 2 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
If I hear one more time about Phelps' wingspan/lactic acid or Wembenyana's height, I'm going to tear my hair out.

Sorry to be harsh, but making that argument shows you don't have any understanding of sport or performance.

It falls apart based on a minute of critical thinking. If you'd like to understand why, I've outlined it in the thread and linked piece on Semenya:

Aug 2 • 17 tweets • 4 min read
So much information on the Algerian Boxer.

Let's clear up the mess in this thread.

1. They are NOT trans
2. The The IBA says she failed eligibility to compete as a female. We do not know test specifics.
3. If this is accurate, she is likely DSD (intersex).

What does this mean? 4. If she is DSD, it likely means she is 46 XY ARD. That's the most common in elite sport, as it retains the androgen advantage.

There are other DSDs, but nearly all that we see in sport except for complete androgen insufficiency, retain the androgen advantage.
May 15 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
I've spent a decade working with Olympians and pro athletes from every major league during their biggest moments.

Here are 8 lessons on handling pressure better that we can all use: 1. Get to the gun going off.

Our nerves dissipate once we move from waiting to action.

Why? The action shifts our focus. It's something we've done before. We're often experts at it.

Fill the space with routines, warm-ups, etc. to just make it to the gun going off.
Apr 20 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
What the research actually says? It’s not Vo2max.

It’s fitness. It’s speed you get up to during an exhaustive test that correlates with longevity.

Vo2max is a part of but not the whole thing.

Don’t train to increase your Vo2max. Train to get fit holistically. Also there is nothing special about the “Norwegian workout.”

You’re better off varying your interval training length, speed, and rest period.

And it’s definitely not sprinting like it says in the thread. 🤦‍♂️
Apr 11 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Lots of talk about VO2max for longevity.

What we miss:

-It's one of the least trainable components
-Even in elites, it plateaus well before performance does
-A focus on Vo2max often pushes to short term interventions (HIIT)

Your better at focusing on performance over long haul 1st: Research typically shows, even with training, you only get a 10-20% bump

There are outliers, but it generally plateaus fairly quickly after increasing training

Performance in any event keeps improving, because other contributors are more responsive to training
Mar 29 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
We are at peak health and fitness Guru.

They are everywhere. Slinging supplements and protocols to fix every problem.

And much of it is BS...but it's easy to fall for it and hard to sort signal from noise.

Here are 7 ways to detect Guru BS: 1. Non-stop complicating.

Popular science and self-help should not sound like academic writing, because it’s not.

If they make everything sound complex to a lay audience, they are likely trying to fool you.

True experts should be able to explain things simply.
Feb 8 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
For the longevity people who are hyping Vo2max:

If you care about longevity, don't focus on raising your Vo2max.

Focus on improving your endurance performance. Choose a distance (5k,10k, half marathon, marathon). Get better at that.

That will help you more. Why?

It's likely that endurance or general aerobic abilities are what drives the connection to longevity.

Vo2max is just the easiest & most frequently measured one of those variables.

So it makes sense to use that in a broad population...
Jan 30 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
Most people miss out when they do zone 2 training.

They make a crucial mistake.

They get stuck...thinking they must stay in that zone. And if they don't, the workout is messed up.

And they miss out on getting better.

Here's why: Whenever I 1st trained with East African runners, it reminded me of high school

A distance run started very slow. We'd jog. Gradually, it got a little faster. For a while, we'd settle into a still easily manageable pace

Then over the last few miles, we'd pick it up to the end
Jan 1 • 20 tweets • 5 min read
Only 8% of people stick with their New Year's resolution.

We love setting goals. But often the wrong kind.

Our goals backfire, acting as reminders that we aren't good enough or succeeding.

10 evidence-based rules to set goals that help instead of hinder: First, let's start with where we go wrong.

There are 3 big traps with goals:
1. You become too attached to them
2. You fail to achieve them (becoming despondent)
3. You achieve them and subsequently become complacent or lost.
Dec 14, 2023 • 18 tweets • 4 min read
The health and performance space is filled with so much nonsense.

Let's cut through the BS and cover what actually works. Here are...

5 principles for living and working
6 practice for physical performance
7 practice for mental health & performance Principles:
1. Consistency over Intensity: Small steps compound for big gains. Ditch heroic efforts

2. Real Toughness over Fake Toughness:  Out with the machismo acts of strength and power; in with knowing how to make the right decision in the moment when under distress.
Dec 6, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
The Taylor Swift workout is actually really good. I did a variation of this when competing (without the singing…)

“Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud. Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs”

Here’s why: It’s a fartlek workout, alternating hard and easy where you get to decide and adjust the effort of each as you go.

You get a hard workout but with flexibility built in.

But what I love about this is the uncertainty and variability…
Nov 29, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
This is like buzzword bingo for exercise fads…

And so I can contribute something worthwhile:
-8x 20sec ALL OUT with 10 seconds rest is the dumbest workout known to mankind. Just for clarity:
If it truly is all out effort.

Then by #3 your legs should feel like so much lead that you can barely walk

It’s dumb as prescribed. If you attempt it, you’re practicing dying. And digging yourself a hole.

If you did the workout at say mile pace, not so bad
Oct 27, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Does an intense halftime speech improve performance?

With basketball teams, researchers found an Inverted-U relationship with the intensity of the speech and performance.

There was a Goldilocks of just the right amount of intensity. Image Why?

Researchers theorized:

A moderate amount of intensity redirects attention to solving problems and giving effort.

Too much: Diverts attention away. Likely pushing us into protect, avoid, and defend mode. Decreasing effort. Image