All Episodes
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 in total
Running, Racing, and Failure
In this episode, Paul and Howard discuss Paul's recent experience with a challenging 50K race at high altitude. Despite rigorous training and prior experience, Paul fa...
Paul's Race Training Diary: The Merits of Structured Training
In this solo episode, Paul shares his personal training journey since mid-April. He provides detailed statistics on his activities, distance covered, shoes worn out, a...
Inigo San Millán on Sedentary vs Active Human Metabolism
In this abridged preview, Paul and Howard discuss a recent paper by Inigo San Millán and co-authors titled 'Metabolic and Cellular Differences between Sedentary and Ac...
Joint Replacements and Young People
In this abridged episode, Paul and Howard discuss a recent Wall Street Journal article highlighting the surprisingly steep rise in knee and hip replacements among peop...
Returning to Exercise After Illness and Injury
In this abridged episode, Paul and Howard discuss Howard's return to trail running after a two-year hiatus. Howard shares his journey of overcoming long COVID, which l...
The Less You Move, the Worse You Feel
In this preview episode, Paul and Howard discuss the relationship between sedentary lifestyles and adult joint pain. They discuss a provocative image shared by Howard,...
Market Panics, Meniscus, and Loss Aversion
In this abridged episode, Paul and Howard discuss the widespread panic arising from a minor market downturn and the mass attempts to sell investments, resulting in cra...
Back Away From All the Surgery, Bro
Paul and Howard talk about the tendency of the healthcare system to overdiagnose and overprescribe treatments for non-severe conditions. Howard shares insights on comm...
Debunking Gym Myths: Ignore the Influencers
Debunking Gym Myths: Muscle Building and Aging ExplainedIn this episode, Paul and Howard discuss common misconceptions about resistance training and gym anxiety, empha...
Gear Talk: Shoes, Shirts, Shorts, Glasses, etc.
In this episode, Paul and Howard discuss their favorite running gear, covering everything from shorts and shirts to shoes and hydration packs. They share personal pref...
Staying Safe While Exercising in Heat
In this preview episode—the full episode is for premium subscribers only—Paul and Howard discuss the current heatwave affecting the West Coast of the United States. Th...
Poor Health Usually Isn't Just a Single Incident
Paul and Howard discuss the implications of maintaining fitness and health over time. They talk about Howard's recent tweet about how poor health often results from sm...
Knee Mysteries, and How ACL Repair is Changing
In this free preview, Paul and Howard start with Howard's recent viral tweet about ACL surgery and the discussions it sparked. They get into knee anatomy, focusing on ...
All the Movements Matter: Move More
In this free episode, Paul and Howard discuss the importance of movement. They highlight the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, some of which come from surprising sourc...
Your Knees Don't Hate You, and Other Fitness Myths
In this free preview, Paul and Howard discuss common misconceptions surrounding exercise and bodily mechanics, particularly targeting myths related to knee injuries, t...
The First Mile Sucks
Why does the first mile almost always suck? Whether you're biking, running, cross-country skiing, or almost anything else while trying to build fitness, the first bit ...
Hey, I'm Injured. FFS. Now What?
We train for life, we try to keep it simple, and we avoid doing silly things, but sometimes we still get injured. In this episode Paul and Howard talk about Howard's r...
Simplifying Resistance Training. Really.
In this free, abridged episode, Paul and Howard discuss how health gains and reduced all-cause mortality require cardio and strength training. But some people hate one...
VO2max is Simple! And ... Complicated!
The relationship between V02max—your maximum rate of oxygen consumption during physical exertion, adjusted for your weight—and almost all aspects of health, fitness, a...
Our Year in Simplifying Fitness, A Review
In this abridged episode, Paul and Howard discuss the last twelve months in simplifying their fitness. Topics include:What they've stopped doingWhat they've started do...
How to Read Medical Research Without Losing Your Mind (Free Preview)
This is a free public preview of our latest podcast episode, about how to "consume" medical research. We want you to be skeptical, but not cynical, and able to tell wh...
Fear: Why Everyone is Afraid of Everything, and What You Can Do About it
This episode (abridged from the full, premium version) discusses the widespread fear of health-related issues, particularly around medication, vaccines, and exercise, ...
Simplifying Simplicity: Back to Fitness & Health Basics
In this free preview of a premium episode, Paul and Howard discuss the paralysis caused by health & fitness information overload. Having too many options can leave peo...
Cholesterol, Residual Risk, and the Statin "Conspiracy"
Cholesterol, Residual Risk, and the Statin "Conspiracy"In this free preview, Paul and Howard talk about cholesterol management, its complexity, and the changing guidel...
The Role of Lifelong Exercise in Aging: A Conversation with Scott Trappe
The Role of Lifelong Exercise in Aging: A Conversation with Scott Trappe (Free preview)In this free preview of a longer premium discussion, Scott Trappe, a professor a...
The Physical Activity Paradox: Why Leisure Activity Helps, But Work Activity Doesn't
In this abridged "newsletter-to-podcast" episode, free subscribers can listen to an excerpt from our new post about the "physical activity paradox". The paradox descri...
The Case of the 92-Year-Old World Champion Rower
In this latest episode, Paul talks to Dr. Lorcan Daly, a sports physiology researcher and the co-author of a recent paper about a 92-year-old, four-time world champion...
Zone 2 Training: The Mechanics (Abridged)
Zone 2 Training: The MechanicsThe most frequent questions we get about low-intensity training aren't generally about the benefits. They are about the mechanics, i.e., ...
Running, Knees, and Osteoarthritis
Paul and Howard talk running, knees, and osteoarthritis.Topics:Does running cause arthritis? Can I run if I have degenerative osteoarthritis? Biomechanical models of t...
Unlearning Medicine: Reversals, Placebos, and Natural Experiments
Paul and Howard discuss how medicine is changing, and how some common procedures and ideas that were once accepted practice are being abandoned. They also talk about t...