Miller Human Performance

🦌 20km year 2️⃣
1:50:01
36/479

Completely different race - literally. Modified route due to rain accumulation and/or massive fallen tree, ankle deep mud across multiple stretches. Yet significantly faster this year, and so much more fun 😂

Fuelling was aggressive, so due to either low mileage coming in or insufficient hydration, battled constant threats of cramps through the final 3rd. Unfortunately stopped me from hitting the negative split I had intended on. There was a lot more to be had even with the rough terrain.

Will certainly be back for more next year (potentially in the form of the relay? 👀).

10km road race around the corner, then I shift my focus back to speed & power for the summer alongside a probable fall half marathon prep. But the priority this summer is barbells and sprints ⚡️⚡️⚡️

It’s okay (wise, actually) to identify secondary benefits, but you better have one stated outcome in mind.

That pistol squat is cool, and can be good for a couple things, but don’t claim that you’re doing it because of how strong your quads are going to get from it.

One of the most common questions/push backs I get from clients is “why do I have to hold support while I do this?” I explain it’s not a handicap, it’s actually about to make this movement MUCH harder.

An RFE split squat with DBs vs with a safety bar & hands on the rack for support? No competition.
We can do some single leg balance stuff later if that’s important, but we don’t our meatloaf and carrots getting mixed together on the plate.

Some stair climber meditations that have nothing to do with endurance 🧠

Listened to someone who’s highly regarded in an unrelated field talk a little too confidently about diet and exercise. Respect diminished. But reflecting on this lead to an improvement to the midwit meme with the addition of “the curious.” A feat I’m proud of.

The midwit giveaway: They borrow big terms and pre-packaged ideas, never analyzing an idea themselves or applying layers of context.

But this is what dominates the social media landscape and what you’ve probably consumed the most of, because the messages are simple and convincing. High virality.

It’s forgivable to be ignorant or curious in fields that aren’t your specialty, but avoid being the midwit at all costs. Because the difference between the midwit and the curious is the curious is smart enough to know what they don’t know and has the integrity not to pretend otherwise.

Last slide is blank for your own use & examples. Let’s see em.

Weeeell this was a rollercoaster.

After missing/modifying a lot of my front squat sessions due to hip troubles across the 3-months, I was counting on deadlift and bench to make up most of my progress here. But then I tested deadlift on Saturday when I wasn’t quite healthy yet. Felt there was more to give.

Then my front squat testing went very poorly 😂 failed 295 (again), so went right into back squats. Which I haven’t even trained since 2019 when I herniated a lumbar disc. Those were much more successful.

Tbh after the deadlift result, I thought 1000 total was out of reach. But we got there, as grindy as it was haha.

I almost want to re-test deadlift, but I’m more excited to get into this Olympic lift focused power phase.

On to the next!

In theory… There’s enough time to give each goal a meaningful run, with either a complimentary effect (strength -> power -> speed) or a gradual enough build to accommodate conflicting qualities. But, we will just have to see won’t we?

I’m both excited for each of these outcomes, and for the training required for each. Plus there’s a real puzzle to be solved in balancing such wide ranging outcomes. Elite combo for motivation, this whole pursuit is going to be fun.
Plus, with .official on the scene, there’s finally something to train for. This will essentially build to a solo test to see where I stand! And I’ll eventually have to make it out to a live event, of course.

If you’re interested in pursuing similar goals, you can actually follow along (minus the endurance components) through the Seasonal Method program on TrainHeroic, it’s literally what I’m following so obviously I swear by it.
As a matter of fact, I’ve just launched the recently completed Hypertrophy block as a standalone, start anytime, program. So you can either hop on the live strength block with me, or go from phase 1 at your pace.
SEASONAL30 for 30% off Seasonal Method, HYP30 for 30% off the standalone hypertrophy block, valid through the end of January!

If you’re interested in specific running/endurance programming, shoot me a message. I’ve got a couple athletes getting run-specific coaching via TrainingPeaks.

I feel like there’s a lot of lessons in this visual that goes well beyond footwear.

A lot of the answers you seek are in the extremes. Many will try to sell you the middle, the one solution for all. “If you just do this, you’ll get everything you desire.” That’s always a false promise. Even if you only had one specific goal, there’s a complex and undulating path to get there. Not to mention those seeking multiple outcomes at once (hello friends 👋)

There’s no shoe that’s going to give me everything I’m looking for. The barefoot shoes are unreal for most lifting and being on my feet coaching all day. Giving me an intentional lack of support so my feet and lower legs stay involved and strong.
But if I simultaneously want to put in a good amount of running volume in a week, a shoe that protects me from the concrete (not a natural surface in the first place) serves those goals.
I get strong feet/legs, plus an aerobically fit system and running efficiency. There’s no singular approach that will give that result.

The real answer to “what’s best?” is more of a decision tree than a direct answer.

(Also, it may be worth noting the difference between this and “the extremist” - the person that will tell you barefoot shoes are the answer to everything)

Social media has everyone playing in the extremes. Get off the damn pendulum.

I spent the weekend doing the non-productive thing, attacking some of the “bad actors” around us. Do here’s my productive drop in the bucket.

If the memes speak to you, you know what you gotta do. Link in bio.
We start a year of beast-building on Monday 😈