199: Training as a Time-Crunched Athlete, with Chris Carmichael

Fast Talk

Many of our listeners, in fact, most of the staff here at Fast Talk Labs, could be considered “time-crunched athletes”—people with only 6-8 hours to train each week. We’re athletes who, because of commitments like parenting and work, must try and find ways to fit training in around life, rather than the other way around.

And if you’ve heard that term before—the time-crunched athlete—it’s because of our guest today, who literally wrote the book on it. But before you jump to the conclusion that the prescription in the book is high-intensity intervals all the time, think again. That isn’t the case, and today we explore the specifics of the method, as well as the science that informs this training approach. We also discuss its limitations, and whether, as we are so often asked, if it can play nicely with the polarized approach.

Our featured guest today is, of course, Chris Carmichael, author, coach, and the founder and CEO of Carmichael Training Systems, or CTS, which now boasts 50 professional endurance coaches who have worked with more than 25,000 amateur and professional athletes since 2000. Chris was a member of the 1984 Olympic Team and the iconic 7-Eleven Pro Cycling Team, and is a bestselling author of more than 10 books on training and nutrition. He was also coach to the U.S. Olympic Cycling team in 1992 and 1996.

We're also joined by a host of other experienced coaches, including Menachem Brodie, Jared Berg, Julie Young, and Neal Henderson.

It’s time to explore training with limited time. Let's make you fast!

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