Easy Days & Hard Sessions: How to Train Smarter

·50 min·5 clips

Why elite endurance athletes have a massive zone two and a small zone three, unlike most amateur athletes.

The episode begins with host Ryan Kent and co-host Meg Jacoby discussing personal updates, including Ryan's pregnant wife due in April and Meg's recent trip to Dubai for workshops and training. They transition into the challenges of adapting training for the HYROX elite race in Glasgow, which is held on a Wednesday, forcing Ryan to restructure his entire program. The conversation shifts to a critique of fitness influencers promoting questionable HYROX training substitutions, with Meg arguing these are dangerous for beginners and lack scientific backing. Meg emphasizes the importance of specific station practice over generic swaps. The hosts then delve into training principles, stressing the need for easy days to be truly easy, often in zone two, to build aerobic endurance and aid recovery. They explain that most amateurs train too hard on easy days, falling into the 'gray zone' (zone three), which limits performance gains. Meg details the physiological benefits of a large zone two base for mitochondrial development and endurance. Ryan and Meg discuss how to apply these principles to HYROX, noting the added intensity from ergs and strength work necessitates extra care with recovery runs. They touch on warm-up strategies, advocating for specific movement prep to prevent injury. The episode concludes with a preview of upcoming RMR Training programs and encouragement for athletes competing in Glasgow.

As heard by us

A clear, practical case for judging coaching by race preparation, running progression, and the structure behind hard work.

The episode pushes back on a common training trap: confusing exhaustion with race readiness. Its argument is clearest when it separates hard workouts from actual coaching, with coaching framed as the work of structuring a week, periodizing training, building running progression,…

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Why you'd press play

You want a training week that knows when to push running, when to blend stations, and when less can do more.

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