Author: Crushing Iron

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How To Not Suck At Swimming – The Ultimate Guide To Open Water Swimming

Triathletes and swimming often don’t mix, but Crushing Iron Triathlon thinks that should change! Yes, swimming can seem complicated, but Crushing Iron Swim Coaching gives you ways to make it easier and more enjoyable. And let’s face it, standing in line to start a triathlon is a lot more fun if you are confident and don’t have open water swim anxiety.

Crushing Iron has now over 125 podcasts and has released a Four Part Swim Series designed to make you a more powerful and purposeful open water swimmer. We believe pool swimming and open water swimming are two different sports, so it’s important to train for race conditions so anxiety and fatigue don’t destroy your best race before you get to the bike.

Below, you’ll find four podcasts focused exclusively on being a better open water swimmer. We recommend starting with How To Not Suck At Swimming – Part 1 and work through to Part 4. Dozens of athletes have not only become better swimmers, but have begun to love swimming in general because of this podcast series. You can love the water, too!

Don’t be one of those triathletes that think the swim doesn’t matter because it’s only a small percentage of the time you’ll be racing. Having a solid swim that warms you up instead of sucking your energy is the first solution to having a great race.

We’ve kept it simple, sort of like the Rosetta Stone of swim coaching, but if you can’t seem to grasp the technique we offer an excellent personalized Swim Analysis that can save you hours of wasted practice. We also offer general triathlon coaching and will be happy to connect you with current athletes to see why they are so happy with Crushing Iron Triathlon Coaching. You can also check out our Swim Specific Camps located in Nashville, TN that are sure to up your comfort in open water, make you faster, and more confident.

As always, thank you for listening to the Crushing Iron Podcast. If you have any questions about coaching or a personalized swim analysis, feel free to contact Coach Robbie at [email protected].  Happy Swimming!

  • Are Swimming Tools like a Drag chute right for you?
  • How many days in pool to see faster times?
  • How to avoid bending at knees while kicking?
  • Need to bilateral breathe?
  • How to stop crossover arms? Drills?
  • Importance of stroke cadence… what to measure and wis it important? why? confused about speeding up stroke
  • The Truth about Total Immersion swimming?
  • Strength work outside of the pool?
  • What muscles should we target?
  • When and why to use stretch cords?
  • How to practice sighting in a pool
  • Master’s Swimming Rant?
  • Beating Drag. What to do about Sinking Legs –
  • How do you beat periods of Breathlessness in a race?
  • Fixing incorrect kick timing after years of doing it wrong
  • How much kicking is ideal to “save legs” vs. going faster
  • Is your kick actually slowing you down?
  • How to get into cold water? inch in, use ladder, jump in?
  • Benefit to using other strokes? breast, back, butterfly?
  • How to beat goggle fogging?
  • Flip turns? Beneficial?
  • What’s the ticket to speed?
  • Proper breathing – How and When
  • Body Positioning and how to get it right
  • Hand entry and exit – How and When
  • How to deprogram from bad advice, including workouts that get you there
  • How to structure a swim week of workout
  • Should you join a Master’s Team?
  • Swimming square and why you swim crooked
  • Why drills are a waste of time
  • Why building swim fitness should be powerful and purposeful
  • The bigger your mesh bag, the slower you are committed to being
  • The correct and most effective way to use paddles
  • Why pool swimming and open water swimming are two different sports
  • What an expensive wetsuit really does for your swim
  • The power of the Pull Buoy
  • The tools you need and the tools you don’t need

The Crushing Iron Podcast releases every Monday and Thursday. We have over 125 Episodes, including several that focus on the journey of our athletes. Please subscribe to the Crushing Iron Podcast on iTunes or sign up for the Crushing Iron Newsletter on this page.

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Andrew Starykowicz Interview – Crushing Iron Podcast

By Mike Tarrolly

A couple days ago the Crushing Iron Podcast had the opportunity to interview professional triathlete, Andrew Starkywicz, and he did not disappoint. Andrew’s not only one of the best cyclists in triathlon, but an interesting and charismatic guy with a deep passion for the sport and life.

I’ve raced head-to-head with “Starky” four times, and somehow, each time he has beaten me. I like to blame it on his better starting position as a pro, but he says it comes down to being blessed with long femurs for cycling.

The first time I ever saw him, he was blowing by me in the other direction at Muncie 70.3. It was actually the first time I’d seen a pro triathlete on the course and it was a bit intimidating.

He just seemed so solid and fluid compared to me, my neck pain, and constant saddle shifting. The other thing I remember was . . . the sound.

I could hear him coming at me. Legs pumping like pistons while he snacked on something I imagined as a higher level of fuel than I was privy to on his way to a 28 mph bike split.

I told my buddies about it later and they said, “Oh, that’s Starky, he won today.” Then they added, he doesn’t hold back, including what he says.

Here’s an interview about his “brash” personality.

Since that day in Muncie I’ve been on the course with Andrew another time at Muncie, once at Rev3 Knoxville, and this year at Ironman Louisville, where he rode 27+ mph for a full and led the race wire to wire.

We’ve never officially “met” but the other day we had the privilege of interviewing him for the Crushing Iron Podcast. He talks about his riding philosophy, goes in-depth about the little things he does to win, and tells us how he thinks we can all improve the sport.

The interview is below. You can follow Andrew @starykowicz on Twitter, @tri_starky on Instagram, or AndrewStarykowicz.com

Over 100 more Crushing Iron Podcasts can be found here. Thanks for listening!


 

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Turning Inspiration Into Action

By Mike Tarrolly

When you have your own business and work at home, motivation can go south in a hurry. So, Sunday night I made a commitment to do something productive outside of the house every day this week. It took one night to ignite inspiration.

Nashville is absolutely loaded with options these days and Monday night I decided to hit the once-a-month gathering hosted by Nashville Creative Group. They were having a “show and tell” event where creators get three minutes to share what they’re working on. About 15 people signed up to share and I sat comfortably in my isolated chair near the back.

The third person on stage was a guy in a black suit with a handle bar mustache wearing a top hat. The look was captivating, but the story was even better.

He started by saying he had a stroke 7 years ago. He was a chef at the time but the stroke stole his memory of how to cook.

One of the therapies was to sit down and write in an effort to restore his ability to think. It was a painful process that took years. But eventually his cognition started coming back and over time he wrote a book which he proudly displayed in front of the audience. I spoke with him at the end of the night and he said it was difficult to write the book because he always forgot what he wrote the day before. But he pressed on with action and because of this book he landed a 7 book deal with his publisher.

In my heart I know this is the kind of inspiration that is waiting around every corner when I step out of my comfort zone. But inspiration isn’t action and that has been a difficult concept for me to tackle. That night I came home and pulled out a few books to really zone in on my “dreams.” But sometimes I feel like I’ve read enough, or watched enough videos on YouTube and it’s time to “make something happen.”

I think this is a very common problem, actually. Someone once described it to me as “premature optimization.” We want to “learn” everything before we do anything.

But more times than not the best way to learn is to just do it. Dive in, make mistakes, push your body to the limits. That’s how we learn and grow. That’s what triathlon is all about.

On Tuesday night a friend brought me to his professional group to see a speaker, and it turned out to be the Iron Cowboy, James Lawrence.

If you’re not familiar with James, he’s the guy who completed 50 Iron distance triathlons in 50 days in 50 different states. He talked about a few of the toughest moments, but I have to imagine there were hundreds or thousands of “I’m just going to quit” thoughts he had to overcome on his journey. As it turned out, his 12-year-old daughter may have saved the entire quest. She came to his side at a pivotal moment early in the streak. He was out of it, wobbly and trying to find a reason, any reason to quit. But she made a commitment with him, saying she would run by his side for part of every day. It was her own “50 5K’s in 50 Days,” and she wasn’t a runner.

So, this brings me back to how does inspiration intersect with action? I kinda think that inspiration germinates inside and someone (or something) else turns those desires into action. It’s really the genesis of Crushing Iron. I started writing about this journey as a novice Ironman in training and it went on periodically for years, but it took a collision of that passion with Coach Robbie to turn it into what it’s becoming. We committed to releasing podcasts on Monday and Thursday and haven’t missed one in a year. We have hosted 3 camps and coach a growing group of amazing athletes who have become the motivational force to keep creating action.

This is the topic of our latest podcast. Thank you for listening and we hope on some level we have helped you do what you’ve done for us.

Check out the “Turning Inspiration Into Action” Podcast

Speaking of Inspiration . . . if you’re looking for a great way to prepare for an Ironman or other big race in 2018, check out the C26 Triathlon Camps. We have a few spots left in each and they are sure to make you better and more confident in your racing. Four days of excellent instruction, beautiful venues, and great people. Here’s a video from one of last year’s camps. Dates are below.

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Embracing The Slow Burn

By Mike Tarrolly

I don’t know about you, but I have had a tendency to get ahead of myself in triathlon. I like to think about races and even “races after races” . . . which is exactly when I know trouble is brewing.

For example, I have Ironman Louisville coming up in about 50 days, but more than once I’ve thought about signing up for Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga and even a possible return to Louisville, Wisconsin, or Chattanooga for a 2018 Full Ironman.

It’s hard enough to stay in the moment with training for one race, let alone 2 more next year. Not only that, it makes me wonder about my motives.

Races can tend to be quite a buzz. It’s so tempting to sign up and feel the rush, talk about the rush, fly with the rush. But eventually that buzz subsides and reality sets in. That’s when I ask myself a question: Am I loving the training process?

If that answer is no, I know signing up for another race is a bad idea. It’s like being in a band and starting another band just for the thrill of “the possibilities.”

The other thing that happens is, I totally neglect a major opportunity to get better. Many triathletes I know do the same thing by virtually ignoring training from October through February. “Ah, there’s plenty of time to get ready for my May race!”

But those months are the perfect time to work on my weaknesses. I know this, and own this, but I rarely do this.

I’m not saying I have to hammer the off season like I do my main training, but it’s a great time to experiment with “relaxing training.” Things like mountain biking, hiking, etc.

What this all comes down to is living day to day. Doing things I enjoy and not always setting up future fantasies that can give me another rush of dopamine. It’s about being in the moment with training and life.

I often think of Ironman as a microcosm of life. Beginning, middle, and end. It’s a slow burn that dives deep into every fiber of your being. It makes you shout and doubt. It makes struggle and persevere. It makes you who you are in each and every moment.

———

This is sort of the topic of today’s podcast. Thanks for listening. As always, if you enjoy listening to Crushing Iron, you can support us with a small donation at www.patreon.com/crushingiron

Check out our daily videos as we train for Ironman Louisville.

Like Crushing Iron on Facebook

http://crushingiron.libsyn.com/87-embrace-the-slow-burn

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"100 Days to Ironman Louisville"

It’s far less than 100 days away, but Mike and Robbie have been recording video documentation of every training day on their way to Ironman Louisville this October. Videos can be found at the Crushing Iron page on YouTube. Here’s a sample of what’s been going on.

We also headed out to the River Bluff Triathlon in Ashland City this past weekend for an Olympic and had four C26 Athletes on the podium. Across the country we were 6 for 6. Great racing everyone!

riverbluff podiumsWant to dial in your swimming before your next race? Check out the C26 Coach’s Eye, which has been helping people get remarkable short-term return on their swimming. Check out the video to see how easy it is to fix your swim stroke.

There’s a lot more going on, along with a new website coming soon. And the podcast is really taking off. Click picture below for a link to our latest podcast, or find us on iTunes under Crushing Iron Podcast

train smart

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Inside the Mind of a Race Director (Part 2)

If you’re looking for inspiration and deeper reasons for doing triathlon, look no further than this podcast. Steve DelMonte joins us again and is as fired up as ever. (Podcast embedded).70DelmonteIG

Steve DelMonte is a full-time Race Director. He has incredible passion for the sport, but he’s more concerned about athletes enjoying their lives. We get into a lot of things with Steve, including: planning a race, cancelling a race like Alcatraz, changing the swim at Wisconsin, dealing with upset athletes, and getting the most out of your race. It’s a great and inspiring conversation that will have you ready to get outside and fall back in love with the tough parts of triathlon.

– Cancelled Swim at Escape from Alcatraz
– The story behind Escape the Cape
– Why they really changed Ironman Wisconsin’s swim start
– How race directors should treat their athletes
– Working behind the scenes with city leaders, businesses and churches to secure swim, bike, and run courses
– What it’s like to have two races in a row cancelled by weather
– Race insurance
– Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City news
– How to race with gratitude and excellent thoughts on how athletes can better enjoy their day

Learn more about Steve DelMonte at www.delmosports.com
Follow Steve on Twitter: @DelMoSports
Please subscribe to Crushing Iron on iTunes
Comments or questions: [email protected]

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C26 Triathlon Camp Information

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Nashville, Tn
C26 Triathlon Camp
July 13-16, 2017

Swim location -Anderson Road Beach
*pictured above 

Skills that will be taught and demonstrated include:

  • Dealing with anxiety
  • Sighting
  • Beach and mass swim starts 
  • Swimming in a straight line
  • Cornering buoys 
  • Breathing  techniques 
  • How to deal with swimming in a crowd
  • Drafting
  • Entry and Exit
  • Fast wetsuit removal
  • OWS specific technique 
  • How to train in the pool for OWS
  • Plotting your course 

*will offer group and 1 on 1 sessions Fri/SunScreen Shot 2017-05-31 at 9.00.10 AM
Cycling location – Natchez Trace Parkway
*pictured above 

https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through three states. It roughly follows the “Old Natchez Trace” a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, “Kaintucks,” European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents. Today, people can enjoy not only a scenic drive but also hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping along the parkway. The Natchez Trace is a designated cycling route allowing cyclists to have the entire lane and cars are encouraged(mandated by law) to pass only in the other lane. 

We will begin at mile marker 441 of the Trace and you can expect challenging hills, rolling terrain, perfectly paved roads, long downhills and great scenery. We will spend the majority of our Saturday on The Trace. We will work on your position, climbing, descending, pace lining, and most importantly we will get in a lot of awesome riding with plenty of elevation gain. These are the absolute safest roads you will ever be on. Full SAG support will be provided along with extra hydration at the rest stops. 

**depending on time and demand we may make our way to the lab to work on more cycling specific skills on Friday afternoon 

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Running locations:

– Percy Warner Park (top) 

– The Infamous “Lab” (bottom)

We will have run workouts and run clinic in the LAB on Friday afternoon after our long open water session.  We will start the clinic by going over form, dynamic movements, strides, the lunge matrix, posture, and more.  After a good warm up and some one on one time we will conclude the clinic by heading out on the connected greenway to work on our new form and log some easy miles.  Saturday we will have a real treat as we descend onto Percy Warner Park for some post-ride miles. Again, here we will have a quick form check-in and then run on some of the most beautiful paved trails that Nashville has to offer. 

Itinerary- 

Thursday – 6:00pm-9:00pm 

Dinner/Meet and Greet/Live Podcast with Q&A from campers

*Location TBD

Friday————————————————————————————-

 6:30am- 9:30am

Open Water Skills at Anderson Road Beach

9:30am-1:00pm

Break

1:00pm-2:45pm

Run clinic and workout at THE LAB

3:00pm-4:30pm

**optional bike skills work at THE LAB

***We will get together that evening for dinner

Saturday———————————————————————————

6:30am-10:30am

Cycling skills and long ride on Natchez Trace

10:30am-12:00pm

Break

12:00pm-2:00pm

Run workout at Percy Warner

2:00pm-4:30pm 

Break (NAP)

5:00pm-6:30pm

Presentation and Q & A on race strategy, execution, nutrition with Coach Robbie and C26 Alumni Elyse Gallegos. Elyse is a multiple 70.3  Worlds and Kona qualifier who currently races for Team Timex.

Sunday (Final Day)————————————————————

7:00am-9:00am

Open Water Skills Refresher and workout

9:30am-12:00pm

Group long run!!!!

12:00pm- 

Depart home a faster, fitter and more confident triathlete having established friendships that last a lifetime!

Cost:

C26 Athletes and/or Alumni – Before June 15 – 250.00   After June 15 – 285.00

C26 Forum Members -Before June 15-  350.00   After June 15 – 400.00

All other athletes – Before June 15 –  400.00    After June 15- 450.00

*Please send payment via Paypal to [email protected] to reserve your spot. This camp will be capped at 20 athletes. 

*If you can only attend a portion of the camp please email me for a quote on a pro-rated registration fee

*if you have ANY questions at all regarding payment or different options PLEASE do not hesitate to email me at [email protected] . All inquiries are welcome.

*We have another camp tentatively scheduled for Aug 3-6. If you are interested in attending that camp please email us. 

What IS included:

– All workouts, instruction and presentations

  • Dinner on night 1
  • SAG support and nutrition
  • a 30minute session w/ Coach Robbie to go over topics of your choice.

*if you need assistance choosing the right hotel or would like to be put in contact with some of our local athletes for a homestay please email me at [email protected]

What you should be comfortable completing:

  • Swim approximately 500-750 meters without stopping or 10-15 minutes of continuous swimming.
  • Can complete an “endurance” ride of at least 2:00
  • Run an easy 1:15-130.

Who should attend?

This camp is going be filled with both beginner athletes and seasoned veterans. One of the special aspects of this sport that I love is the diversity among athletes. We can all learn from each other. We all started as beginners. I think it is incredibly beneficial for beginners to see where they can get and also for the veterans to remember how far they have come. It all comes full circle.  No one will be held back nor will anyone be pushed inappropriately beyond their abilities. If you are looking to get in some more volume, with instruction, feedback, and meet some other amazing people along the same journey then this camp is for you.

Best,

Robbie Bruce

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The Bond of Sport

By Mike Tarrolly

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Pete and Me at one of many Badger weekends

It’s probably impossible for a college athlete to understand the impact they have on an older generation, but I think I may have figured out a way to put it in words. Last week I lost one of my best friends, Pete, and I’m almost certain we wouldn’t have been as close without Wisconsin Badgers basketball.

Pete and I were in the same dorm our freshman year at UW-LaCrosse . . . way back in 1981. He was on the basketball team and we were as tight as it gets, but after a year he transferred to UW-Whitewater where he eventually played on their NCAA Division 3 National Championship team. This was in “the days of home phones” (that were usually disconnected) and while we promised to stay in touch, we didn’t.

Three years later I went to Whitewater with our college “club team” to play in a lacrosse tournament. I’d never played the sport and after 2 games of getting my ass pummeled, our team shifted to party mode.

After 6 hours in the bars we landed at a house party. At 2:00 in the morning I was filling my beer when in through the back door comes . . . Pete.

I said, “What the hell are you doing here?”

He said, “This is my house!”

He’d just finished bartending and I’d unknowingly found his kitchen.

We promised again to stay in contact but fell out of touch aside from a few random encounters. Fast forward to about 5 years ago when he reached out on Facebook to see if I wanted to go to Indianapolis for the Big 10 tournament.

I jumped on the offer and it turned into a run of great memories, including two Final Fours, that won’t be forgotten. The main thing I’ll remember is lots of laughter.

Pete’s buddy was a big donor at Wisconsin who hooked us up in a big way. Pete and I always joked about being “high rollers” and got huge laughs from something as simple as putting on a ticket lanyard, or seeing  someone like the Wisconsin AD, Barry Alvarez hanging in the hotel lobby. “Yeah, Barry’s playing it cool, but he knows we’re big time greasers.”* Or this time (much to his chagrin) when I had to photo bomb Bo Ryan to get his picture. IMG_9361

I’m not gonna lie, we often acted like we were still college freshmen on these weekend jaunts. Somehow we got on this thing about zooming our phones to take unflattering pictures of opposing team’s fans. One of my favorites was the sulking Iowa fans wearing Carhartt hats sitting next to us that talked shit all night until they lost.

 

We’d even do it to each other and the whole point was to create the anti-glamor-shot.

Me at the losing end of Pete's "extreme close up"
Me on the losing end of Pete’s “anti-glamor-shot”

Another year Pete was telling anyone who would listen that I was an “arm-wrestling-champion” and I promptly lost 10 matches in a row to older men.image4

The second time we played Kentucky in the Final Four at Indianapolis, Pete and I were jacked. We sat with our other Badger buddies Pack and Marty and it was a tight game. At one point Wisconsin made a couple questionable moves and Pete was getting hot under the collar. I looked at him and told him to “RELAX and QUIT CRYING” while I made that “crying move” with my hands on my eyes. We didn’t talk the rest of the half. Well, Wisconsin came back and won that game, and over the next couple years I’d randomly open my text messages to this pic.IMG_9359

There were hundreds of moments like that on our Badger trips and if I had a chance I’d thank guys like Josh Gasser, Ben Brust, Nigel Hayes, Sam Dekker, Frank Kaminsky, Bronson Koenig, and dozens of other Badger basketball players helping make them happen. It was in large part due to them that two, once-young-college-buddies, were re-connected and became tighter than ever after 20 years.

We always looked forward to the weekend in Indianapolis (or Chicago) and the trips delivered some of the best times of our lives. Win or lose, Pete and I cultivated a deep and real friendship with no boundaries. We went to watch kids play basketball and it gave us back our youth.

Jerry Jones in the background at Final 4 in Dallas.
Jerry Jones in the background at Final 4 in Dallas.

That 5-year-reconnection-mark was also the time when I was beginning my life transformation through triathlon and Pete was a huge supporter. He was there for three of my Ironman races and even drove 7 hours to Muncie one time for a half. I think it inspired him and his support surely inspired me.image5

I’m sure a lot of players don’t understand the vigor of some “older” fans, but the simple answer is, it’s a common cause that creates some of the most important and enjoyable memories of our lives. I love Wisconsin basketball, and I definitely love me some Pete. RIP, buddy.image7

*Greaser was a term we used for having big money.

 

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Finding "Peak Performance" with Brad Stulberg

Our 59th Crushing Iron podcast is out and we interview health and human performance writer, Brad Stulberg. Brad co-wrote “Peak Performance” with Steve Magness (an earlier guest on the podcast) and these guys hit a home run.

When we started the Crushing Iron Podcast, our goal was to find passionate people and help inspire others in triathlon and life. We didn’t really know what we were doing, but obviously something is connecting, and having guys like Brad and Steve share their incredible insight is thrilling.

PEAK PERFORMANCE – BY BRAD STULBERG AND STEVE MAGNESS

41peNvWGh8L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_“Peak Performance” is a manual for modern life. Brad and Steve combine scientific evidence with eloquent storytelling to explain many things we may already feel in our gut but don’t quite understand.  They take a deep dive into the theory of STRESS + REST = GROWTH and deliver clear answers on how to be a better athlete, along with a more focused, productive, and purposeful human being.

Coach Robbie and I highly recommend the book to anyone who is looking to find another level in their performance or get to the bottom of bad habits that derail your progress. The book is out June 6th, but we’d like to encourage you to help these guys by pre-ordering if you think this is for you.  Here’s the pre-order link with some cool giveaways.

Below are some quotes and notes I pulled while reading this fascinating book, “Peak Performance.”

  • There is nothing more gratifying or fulfilling than setting a goal on the outer boundaries of what we think is possible, and then systematically pursuing it.
  • David Epstein, a well-respected investigative reporter who covers doping, dug deep into the world of performance enhancing drug (PED) use among weekend warriors. What he found isn’t pretty: He says that some $120 billion are attributed to “anti-aging,” much of which is the peddling of steroids to middle-age men. This market is only destined to grow as baby boomers, with their disposable incomes and desire to stay young and competitive, grow older. Epstein sums up the sit- uation in the report’s title: “Everyone’s Juicing.”
  • Economists Daniel Hamermesh and Elena Stancanelli found that 27 percent of Americans regularly work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and 29 percent of Americans do at least some work on the weekends.
  • Resisting Cookies is a Dangerous game
  • Stress isn’t just harmful, it can also serve as a stimulus for growth and adaptation. But if the stress is too large or last too long the body fails to adapt.
  • Skills come from struggle
  • Growth comes at the point of resistance
  • “For 99% of us, effective multi-tasking is effective delusional thinking.”
  • “Instead of trying to calm yourself down, ‘reappraising your pre-performance as excitement’ is often advantageous.”
  • The good idea comes in the moment of rest.
  • How to warm up to give you the best shot at getting “into the zone.”
  • Be fully intentional on how you spend your most precious resource: time.
  • Is fatigue all in your head?
  • How people break through the limits of “self” and find the power of purpose through minimizing ego.
bradley-stulberg-bio
Brad Stulberg, co-author of “Peak Performance”

“Peak Performance” is loaded with insight and solutions that will help you get on your right path. I really like it because it isn’t a typical “self-help” foray that leads with a “trust us” attitude, instead “Peak Performance” explains “why” you feels certain ways, and how science has given us a roadmap to help you get more connected with your body, mind, and spiritual centers.

Here’s the podcast with Brad Stulberg, please spread the word on the Crushing Iron podcast if you enjoy what you hear. Follow Brad on Twitter @BStulberg

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Solving The Healthcare Crisis

By Mike Tarrolly for Crushing Iron

It’s unbelievable how people can blabber for years without actually doing anything to solve a problem. Health Care is one of those things, so I thought I’d throw out a few thoughts on how to fix this mess.

The problem starts at the top, but I think the best way to solve it is from the bottom.

The combination of Congress and Big Pharma make Pablo Escobar look like a high-schooler selling weed on the corner. The money involved in this legalized drug ring is legendary and the only real way to stop it is by shutting down demand.

The body is dying to heal itself and but we continue to “hack” the symptoms.

In most cases it’s as simple as fertilizing the body’s landscape and letting miracles of nature happen . . . over time. Here are some ways I think we can do it while actually saving money on health care.pills

Get Real With Prescription Drugs

Doing Ironman races has taught me something very valuable: Pain isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Pain is a clue telling us something is out of whack. By taking the right steps, the human body can fix a lot of our pains. We can swim, bike, run, walk, and/or rest through it. Pain often goes away when you do good things for your body and don’t obsess over it. We don’t need to chase a pill every time our ankle, belly or head hurts. And don’t get me wrong, an occasional pill isn’t the problem, it’s what happens when that pill becomes our first thought.

Make Gym Class Mandatory for Life

We’re all wrapped up in having the government pay for health care, but I think they should take a prevention approach with exercise incentives. Can we incentivize exercise?  I know that’s a tricky one, but if we put some thought into it and employers got on board with flex-time I think we’d all be a lot happier and more productive. Besides, most people don’t work a full 8 hours anyway.

Make Water More Attractive

I realize some countries don’t even have drinking water, but the US has plenty. The problem is, it is often polluted with prescription drugs (see above) and who knows what else? There has to be ways to make out drinking water more plentiful and pure. Maybe installing filters becomes a tax write off. If the government is serious about health, this is one major step they can take to save them money in the long run. Water and sodium are the keys to creating electrical impulses in our body. If an organ or cell doesn’t have enough water, it becomes defective or dies. The body naturally protects the heart and brain first, but if dehydrated, other parts of the body suffer and eventually meet the scalpel of a hungry doctor who wants to hear nothing about water.

I’ll Sleep When I’m Alive 

I personally think lack of sleep is the cornerstone of our obesity problem. Poor rest is the beginning of the carb, caffeine and simple sugar cycle. You wake up tired, pound a bunch of caffeine, reach for a donut or two to soak it up, then grab a Snickers and Coke in the afternoon. I know because I’ve been there (and often still am) but I also realize it’s a problem. I know when I’ve slept well because I will literally forget about coffee and sugar for the first hour or so. I’ve learned the best way to combat this cycle is to exercise more than normal so you’re actually tired when you go to bed.

Food Is Not Medicine . . . But It Is

I saw a post recently touting things like Avocados, Celery, and Spinach as “Medicinal Food” and I almost puked. I can already see it coming, they are turning food into medicine so they can sell it for more. I retweeted it with a scoff because, I mean, how long have we known food is the best medicine? I kinda feel like I’ve known that for, oh, 40 years? Who doesn’t know that we are what we eat by now? It’s ridiculous and I’m not sure where the problem is, but the food most people eat (including me often) isn’t even food. Here’s the thing, though, I realize eating “right” all the time is difficult, especially when changing your diet in a major way, but the body is an amazing machine. I just think if we maybe ate less, drank more water, and had some fruit and vegetables on occasion we’d all be better off.

All I Need Is The Air That I Breathe

Ahh . . . take a deep breath, man. If you listen to the podcast, you know I’m a big fan of Wim Hof. He’s done some amazing human feats. He’s run desert marathons with no water, climbed Mt. Everest in shorts, and sat in a tank of ice water for nearly two hours while raising his core body temperature with mentally induced adrenaline. He claims most of them are possible because of his deep breathing and cold exposure practices. In essence his philosophy is to get the most possible out of the human body and he says oxygen is the key. It’s about getting oxygen into all your cells to make them function right. I don’t want to paraphrase but he’s doing it all with science and they are now proving breathing exercises and cold water therapy are “curing” many modern day ills. His style can be intense, but even deep, purposeful breaths do wonders.

Don’t Let Health Bankrupt 

Personally, I think most of this country has a major drug addiction problem and it’s fueled by doctors who have to make tremendous amounts of money to pay off med school. And of course health insurance is the biggest of businesses and the cost to insure families (or yourself) is insane. Can we start with a way that insures we’re not going bankrupt is something serious like some kind of accident that requires surgery happens? I don’t want to go into disease because I think that whole thing is out of control and much of it can often curtailed by the above points. I’m talking about the real stuff like saving lives in the moment. Bike crashes, whatever. Can we get that part covered?

All of this sounds nice, but as many of the wisest people have said, “If you want the truth, follow the money.” I’m not really sure these are realistic solutions unless a boat load of money can be made with a preventative approach and I’m pretty sure there’s more profit in pain killers than water filters.

The only real solution to huge problems like this is to start with one person at a time. And usually, that one person winds up being yourself.

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