The Infirmary | Fixing Broken Endurance Athletes

What if the most sophisticated training tool you have isn't your power meter, but your ability to feel the difference between sustainable and unsustainable effort? Kolie Moore launched Empirical Cycling in 2015 after noticing a gap in how coaches approached endurance training. With a background in biology, biochemistry, metabolism, and physiology from Boston University, plus his own experience as a national championship medalist in track cycling, Kolie recognized that most coaching focused too much on training plans and not enough on the biological processes actually driving adaptation. Nearly a decade later, Kolie’s Empirical Cycling Podcast is known for its, uh, thorough explanations of exercise physiology—but also for its human approach to applying that knowledge. The Expanding Brain Meme: From RPE to Power and Back Again, Kolie's first and favorite meme, illustrates the training evolution most athletes experience. You start by training to RPE because you don't know any better. Then you discover heart rate and power-based training. Finally, if you stick with it long enough and pay attention to what works, you end up training to RPE again—but this time with the wisdom to know why it matters. The problem isn't that power meters and heart rate monitors aren’t useful. The issue is that athletes get so fixated on hitting prescribed numbers that they ignore what their bodies are telling them. Your brain integrates signals that no device can measure—life stress, environmental conditions, recovery status, total accumulated fatigue. When you override those signals to complete a workout exactly as written, you might be digging yourself into a hole rather than building fitness. We also talk about the assessment that has become known as the "Kolie Moore FTP Test," although Kolie is somewhat uncomfortable with this title. The test emerged from his realization that WKO5's power duration modeling was excellent at finding inflection points in the 30-80 minute range, and that the best predictor of performance is performance itself. Rather than suffering through a traditional 20-minute all-out effort and applying a mathematical discount, why not just ride at threshold by feel? We talk about how training plans should be flexible, not rigid, what makes Professional World Tour cyclists different from the rest of us, and our favorite books that have shaped our coaching methods. A HUGE thank you to Kolie for coming on the show—please go and listen to his!Learn More: Check out the Empirical Cycling Podcast at https://www.empiricalcycling.com/podcast.htmlFollow @empiricalcycling on Instagram for weekend AMAs with shorter answersJoin us at an upcoming Campfire Endurance training camp: https://www.campfireendurance.com/training-campsReady to work on your training? Book a consultation: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/f0ceda55/appointment/63067352/calendar/any?appointmentTypeIds[]=63067352

“Zone 2” training has become incredibly popular in endurance sports, but most athletes misunderstand what it actually does and why it feels so frustratingly slow. In this episode, we debunk the misconceptions to explain how this training intensity establishes your aerobic infrastructure, why comparing yourself to professional athletes derails your progress, and how to embrace slow work now so you can do harder and more effective training later. You'll learn about the physiological adaptations that happen at this intensity, why a monoculture approach to training never works, and how years of consistent aerobic conditioning create the physiological infrastructure that supports faster racing. If your “Zone 2” pace feels slow, this episode explains exactly why that is and what to do about it.Campfire Endurance Coaching: campfireendurance.comBook a FREE 45-minute training consultationInstagram: @campfire_enduranceEmail me: chris@campfireendurance.comFrontiers in Physiology Article

Over the past six weeks, Norwegian athletes have take four of the six podium spots at the Ironman World Championships in Nice, France, and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. We sat down earlier this year to talk with Brad Culp, author of The Norwegian Method: The Culture, Science, and Humans Behind the Groundbreaking Approach to Elite Endurance Performance. Brad points out both in his book and in this interview that many Norwegians actually bristle when they hear their manner of training described as “The Norwegian Method,” because the way they train is fairly old-school: all of the principles they adhere to were set decades ago by athletes and coaches from a variety of cultures and ethnicities.“The Norwegian Method” is, in fact, simply a “high-volume, low-intensity program with threshold sessions controlled by lactate measurement.” It flies in the face of “no-pain, no-gain” training, and requires commitment, consistency, and control over a long period of time. Listening to this episode (and reading Brad’s book!) will help you stop training too hard, reset your timeline for success, and start moving effectively in the direction of your goals.If you’d like to get in touch with us about training, you can book a free 45-minute training analysis with head coach Chris Bagg here.

Josh Monda raced as an age grouper for 17 years before turning professional at 40—displaying a patience you don’t often find in endurance sports. Josh’s story includes a five-year hiatus from the sport, personal struggles with addiction, and a long-term approach that eventually unlocked elite-level performance. Now racing for the On Your Left Professional Triathlon Team, Josh shares the training, mental, and tactical insights that enabled his late-career breakthrough.Josh's story shows that athletic development doesn't follow a universal timeline. His patient approach, willingness to step away when necessary, and focus on consistent, sustainable training over the long haul offers a blueprint for long-term success in endurance sports—regardless of when you start or restart your journey.Free training consultation: https://tinyurl.com/mu8d8tuxJoin our Discord community: https://discord.gg/3Uq989QFX4Website: campfireendurance.com

Chris sits down with retired professional triathlete Lauren Brandon. An elite swimmer to triathlete success story, Lauren shares how her NCAA All-American swimming background and 2008 Olympic Trials qualification shaped her approach to professional triathlon training and racing. Lauren talks about swimming misconceptions, focusing on the critical catch and pull mechanics that most age-group athletes struggle with. The conversation explores the emotional and practical aspects of professional coaching, both receiving it and now giving it herself as one of Julie Dibens' coaches. Lauren discusses how Ironman training consistency became more important than high-volume approaches, especially as she learned to manage injury prevention strategies after transitioning from swimming's high-volume, low-impact training to triathlon's multi-sport demands. As someone who worked with sponsors throughout her career, Lauren provides advice for current and aspiring professionals, emphasizing relationship-building in the sport's small community. Her insights into the female professional triathlete experience address unique challenges including balancing career goals with life transitions and managing the emotional toll of endurance athlete burnout.

This interview with sports psychologist Brian Baxter reveals how mental training techniques can transform athletic performance at every level. Baxter, who has worked with athletes for over 20 years, breaks down the essential mental skills that separate good athletes from great ones, showing why anxiety management and confidence on the playing field or race course are just as crucial as physical preparation.Baxter explains the well-known "control the controllables" philosophy that helps athletes focus their energy on what actually matters: effort, attitude, preparation, and present moment awareness. Brian explains how the endurance sports mindset functions differently from other sports, addressing the unique challenges that come with long training blocks and extended competition periods that can trigger pre-race anxiety strategies.The conversation explores practical techniques, including energy management, showing how athletes can adjust their arousal levels for optimal performance; how to achieve flow state in sports more consistently; and why proactive mental training beats reactive responses to difficult moments during competition. Brian demonstrates how sports mental skills coaching addresses the thoughts -> emotions -> physiology performance formula that determines success on race day.Whether you're struggling with performance anxiety or looking to take your mental game to the next level, this session provides actionable psychology tips and athletic performance mindset strategies for triathlon or any endurance sport you pursue. From understanding when anxiety becomes excitement, to learning visualization techniques that actually work, these insights will help you build the mental resilience that elite athletes use to achieve peak performances.The interview includes real-world examples of how proper mental training helped Chris overcome a race penalty to achieve one of his best performances, illustrating how athlete confidence building through controllable focus creates unshakeable mental toughness during competition.You can learn more about Brian at Amplify Sports Performance.

This comprehensive swim technique presentation reveals what really holds swimmers back and why swimming improvement is so different from cycling or running progress. As a Swim Smooth certified coach, Chris breaks down the five major swimming technique faults that prevent triathletes from swimming faster, demonstrating why swimming drills for adults require a completely different approach than other endurance sports. Learn about the six Swim Smooth swim types and discover which category fits your current stroke patterns, from Bambinos struggling with anxiety, to Arnies trying to overpower the water, to Overgliders who want to TALK about swimming, rather than swim. This triathlon- and open-water swimming tips session covers essential techniques like proper catch and pull mechanics, fixing the dreaded crossover swimming fault, and developing effective bilateral breathing technique for open water conditions. Chris talks about common mistakes like straight-arm catch-and-pulls that act like brakes, bringing the hands forward too soon during recovery, and poor kick mechanics that waste energy. Chris demonstrates proven swimming drills and ankle mobility exercises that address these issues, showing how the Swim Smooth coaching method focuses on individual swimmer needs rather than copying elite swimmer techniques. Whether you're preparing for your first triathlon or looking to break through a swimming plateau, this session provides the technical foundation every adult swimmer needs. From understanding why swimming ankle mobility matters to learning proper freestyle swimming technique, these insights will transform your approach to training in the water.This episode is quite visual! If you want to see everything that’s going on, check out the video on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/1hbj52I7sQs