What age is too old to start strength training? (Spoiler alert: You're never too old.)

Dr. Karl Knopf is an author and college professor who has been involved in the health and fitness of older adults and people with disabilities for more than 40 years.

Over the decades, he's worked in almost every aspect of the industry, from personal training and therapy to consultation.

We talk about:

• Misconceptions about strength and age for runners
• Functional fitness, cross-training and active rest for longevity
• The impact of poor posture on runners
• Strength training for different age groups
• Sarcopenia and how to prevent muscle loss
• The impact of being sedentary
• Benchmarks and assessments for strength training

Share this episode with a runner who wants to keep running through all stages of life.

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Karl’s new book: The Strength Training Bible for Seniors
• Karl on LinkedIn
• Hear from top track, road, and ultra runners on how they stay healthy.
• Get an invite to my upcoming live mental toughness training.

Thank you to 2Before!

We are supported by 2Before, a powerful sports supplement made from New Zealand Blackcurrants designed to increase endurance, manage inflammation, support immunity, and promote adaptation. 2Before helps to boost performance by increasing blood flow, making it more efficient for the body to pump oxygenated nutrient-rich blood into the muscles.

So, if you want to try to boost your performance and immune system, use code JASON for 30% off 20 packs and multi-serve packs at 2Before.com.

Thank you to 2Before for supporting Strength Running!

Thank you DrinkLMNT!

A big thanks to DrinkLMNT for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. They are offering a free gift with your purchase at DrinkLMNT. And this does NOT have to be your first purchase. You’ll get a sample pack with every flavor so you can try them all before deciding what you like best.

DrinkLMNT's products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

If you’re not familiar, LMNT is my favorite way to hydrate. They make electrolytes for athletes and low-carb folks with no Sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. I’m now in the habit of giving away boxes of LMNT at group runs around Denver and Boulder and everyone loves this stuff.

Boost your performance and your recovery with LMNT. They’re the exclusive hydration partner to Team USA Weightlifting and quite a few professional baseball, hockey, and basketball teams are on regular subscriptions. So check out DrinkLMNT to get a free sampler pack and get your hydration optimized for the upcoming season.

This could be the most important skill set for any runner to develop.

Dr. Lara Pence is a licensed clinical psychologist and MBA specializing in elite and professional athlete development to optimize wellness and performance both in sport and in life. She works with a wide range of athletes, from NFL players to trail running champions and from PGA tour members to Olympic medalists.

Lara is the founder of The Coaches Collective, a program that teaches ambitious sport coaches how to coach from a whole-person, psychologically grounded perspective.

We talk about:

• The "3Rs" framework of mental toughness: Recover, Rebound, and Reignite
• The surprising pieces of mental toughness that don’t always come to mind
• Positive problem solving tools to use on the run
• The mental similarities between pro and everyday athletes
• Why being curious is a huge advantage to runners
• Individualizing mental toughness training
• How to effectively use mantras while running

Got a friend signed up for a race next year? They’ll thank you if you send them this episode!

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Lara’s next Coaches Collective
• Lara on Instagram
• Get an invite to my upcoming live mental toughness training.

Previnex’s new Gut & Green Superfoods powder is my new go-to. It has organic barley and oat grass, alfalfa, spirulina, chlorella, kale and broccoli… and that's it. Their ingredients are backed by clinical data and contain three specific gut fibers that help promote GI health, digestion, reduced inflammation, and a better microbiome.

And, best of all, it actually tastes good. Try it for yourself here at previnex.com and be sure to use code “JASONGREENS” to save 15% off your first order. Don’t tell anyone, but if you put Gut & Green Superfoods powder in your cart, then the 15% off discount will work for anything else you add into your cart as well. Thanks Gut & Green!

We are supported by 2Before, a powerful sports supplement made from New Zealand Blackcurrants designed to increase endurance, manage inflammation, support immunity, and promote adaptation. 2Before helps to boost performance by increasing blood flow, making it more efficient for the body to pump oxygenated nutrient-rich blood into the muscles.

So, if you want to try to boost your performance and immune system, use code JASON for 30% off 20 packs and multi-serve packs at 2Before.com.

Thank you to 2Before for supporting Strength Running!

How much protein do you actually need, and how should you get it?

Claire Shorenstein (MS, RD, CSSD) is a board-certified sports dietitian with over a decade of experience working with teenage and adult athletes from the recreational to elite level.

Claire is a longtime distance runner herself and hosts The Eat for Endurance Podcast.

We talk about:

• How protein needs have been rising for athletes and what that may mean for you
• The factors that influence individual nutrition and why RDA isn't everything
• Protein's impact while injured or recovering
• Why you need to consider all macronutrients and not just protein
• Practical strategies to increase protein intake
• Considerations for plant-based athletes around protein

If you learned a helpful tip about protein, send this to a friend who could benefit too.

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Claire on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook
• Claire's free nutrition downloads
• The Eat for Endurance Podcast
• Want more running nutrition info? Get our free nutrition myth busting resource.

We are supported by 2Before, a powerful sports supplement made from New Zealand Blackcurrants designed to increase endurance, manage inflammation, support immunity, and promote adaptation. 2Before helps to boost performance by increasing blood flow, making it more efficient for the body to pump oxygenated nutrient-rich blood into the muscles.

So, if you want to try to boost your performance and immune system, use code JASON for 30% off 20 packs and multi-serve packs at 2Before.com.

Thank you to 2Before for supporting Strength Running!

After resisting most supplements for the better part of my life, I’m cautiously changing my tune. I’m now a Masters runner and in my personal life, I’m optimizing for longevity. I want to be my healthiest self for as long as possible and I’m excited to partner with Previnex to make that happen.

Previnex uses the most bioavailable, clinically tested ingredients, the optimal form and dose of each ingredient, pharmaceutical grade manufacturing, testing of raw ingredients and finished products. For every purchase you make, they also donate vitamins to kids in need.

Their new Muscle Health Plus is something I'm now taking. Turning 40 - and having a thin frame - has made me realize that I need to prioritize lean muscle mass to stay healthy and age well. Muscle Health Plus has creatine, essential and branched chain amino acids, and it's designed in a way to maximize protein synthesis and the absorption of amino acids.

Muscle Health Plus will help you prevent muscle damage, which is particularly important for aging runners who want to protect themselves from muscle loss and recover faster after hard workouts. As is true for all of their products, Previnex adheres to the highest of standards: their ingredients are clinically proven to do what they say they’re going to do.

Previnex offers a 30-day money back guarantee. If you don't feel the benefits of their product, you get your money back no questions asked. With their focus on quality and customer satisfaction, I hope you’ll try it! Use code jason15 for 15% off your first order at Previnex!

Wish you could ask a coach about injury risk, building back fitness after illness, common training errors, and more?

I collected popular running questions from our YouTube community and am answering these questions:

• What exactly is supercompensation?
• How can you build back your fitness after getting sick?
• What are some pitfalls and traps around beginner runner progressions?
• Should I count myself as a novice or more advanced runner?
• Is there any benefit for longer duration of the same mileage between two runners?
• When in a weekly schedule is a good day to do specific strength training?
• What are examples of effective core work, strength training or mobility training post-run?

Send this episode to a friend who has a big running goal for 2025 so they can start the next year healthy.

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Subscribe to the Strength Running YouTube channel to see my home gym, ask questions for a future Q+A episode, and more.
• Check out High Performance Lifting as a program to help fit in effective training during the busy holiday season.

Thanks to 2Before!

We are supported by 2Before, a powerful sports supplement made from New Zealand Blackcurrants designed to increase endurance, manage inflammation, support immunity, and promote adaptation. 2Before helps to boost performance by increasing blood flow, making it more efficient for the body to pump oxygenated nutrient-rich blood into the muscles.

So, if you want to try to boost your performance and immune system, use code JASON for 30% off 20 packs and multi-serve packs at 2Before.com.

Thank you to 2Before for supporting Strength Running!

Thank you DrinkLMNT!

A big thanks to DrinkLMNT for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. They are offering a free gift with your purchase at DrinkLMNT. And this does NOT have to be your first purchase. You’ll get a sample pack with every flavor so you can try them all before deciding what you like best.

DrinkLMNT's products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

If you’re not familiar, LMNT is my favorite way to hydrate. They make electrolytes for athletes and low-carb folks with no Sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. I’m now in the habit of giving away boxes of LMNT at group runs around Denver and Boulder and everyone loves this stuff.

Boost your performance and your recovery with LMNT. They’re the exclusive hydration partner to Team USA Weightlifting and quite a few professional baseball, hockey, and basketball teams are on regular subscriptions. So check out DrinkLMNT to get a free sampler pack and get your hydration optimized for the upcoming season.

What drives us as humans to push our physical and mental limits in endurance events?

Michael Crawley is a 2:20 marathoner, professor of anthropology at Durham University, and author of the new book To the Limit: The Meaning of Endurance From Mexico to the Himalayas.

We talk about:

• The collective nature of running culture
• Why we voluntarily sign up for exhausting endurance activities
• An evolutionary perspective on running
• Technology's role in modern running
• Incorporating endurance into daily life
• How Michael's personal endurance approach has changed through his book research

Send this episode to your running friend who's also a history or culture nerd, and make sure they subscribe to the Strength Running Podcast!

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Michael's latest book, To the Limit: The Meaning of Endurance from Mexico to the Himalayas

• His previous book, Out of Thin Air

• Follow Michael on Twitter, Instagram, or Bluesky

• Get a free mindset training for runners.

Invented by renowned physical therapist Jay Dicharry, MOBO helps you stabilize your stance with an innovative rocker board that’s set up on two fins. The design effectively forces you to drive your big toe into the board to improve your stability. I was pretty arrogant going into my first session on the MOBO Board. How hard can it be to balance, right? Well, I was humbled pretty quickly!

Even if you’re a good runner, better balance, stability, and proprioception is going to help you have a more powerful stride and prevent more running injuries. You’ll learn how to improve the efficiency of the kinetic chain from your hip to your big toe. Because as Jay likes to say, it’s not just how strong you are, but how well you use that strength.

I was recently at a weekend physical therapy workshop (lol I was the only running coach) and learned how important (and rare) this simple movement is. Save 10% with code STRENGTHRUN10 at checkout at moboboard.com.

After resisting most supplements for the better part of my life, I’m cautiously changing my tune. I’m now a Masters runner and in my personal life, I’m optimizing for longevity. I want to be my healthiest self for as long as possible and I’m excited to partner with Previnex to make that happen.

Previnex uses the most bioavailable, clinically tested ingredients, the optimal form and dose of each ingredient, pharmaceutical grade manufacturing, testing of raw ingredients and finished products. For every purchase you make, they also donate vitamins to kids in need.

Their new Muscle Health Plus is something I'm now taking. Turning 40 - and having a thin frame - has made me realize that I need to prioritize lean muscle mass to stay healthy and age well. Muscle Health Plus has creatine, essential and branched chain amino acids, and it's designed in a way to maximize protein synthesis and the absorption of amino acids.

Muscle Health Plus will help you prevent muscle damage, which is particularly important for aging runners who want to protect themselves from muscle loss and recover faster after hard workouts. As is true for all of their products, Previnex adheres to the highest of standards: their ingredients are clinically proven to do what they say they’re going to do.

Previnex offers a 30-day money back guarantee. If you don't feel the benefits of their product, you get your money back no questions asked. With their focus on quality and customer satisfaction, I hope you’ll try it! Use code jason15 for 15% off your first order at Previnex!

If you had the chance, would you sign up to run 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 different continents?

Becs Gentry is a popular One Peloton instructor, the 4th place finisher at the 2021 UK Olympic Trials, a former Nike Run Club Coach, and a 2:32:01 marathoner.

She’s getting ready to start the Great World Race on November 15, 2024.

We talk about:

• Whether Becs expects more challenges physically or logistically
• How Becs intends to approach each of the 7 days
• The recovery strategies Becs will implement throughout the week
• Expected challenges of the Antarctica marathon
• Becs’ goals for the weeklong race
• The months of preparation and training involved in the attempt

Send this episode to a friend who you think would run the Great World Race!

• Becs on Instagram
• My VO2 Max test results
• Get recovery and injury prevention tips from 9 elite runners.

After resisting most supplements for the better part of my life, I’m cautiously changing my tune. I’m now a Masters runner and in my personal life, I’m optimizing for longevity. I want to be my healthiest self for as long as possible and I’m excited to partner with Previnex to make that happen.

Previnex uses the most bioavailable, clinically tested ingredients, the optimal form and dose of each ingredient, pharmaceutical grade manufacturing, testing of raw ingredients and finished products. For every purchase you make, they also donate vitamins to kids in need.

Their new Muscle Health Plus is something I'm now taking. Turning 40 - and having a thin frame - has made me realize that I need to prioritize lean muscle mass to stay healthy and age well. Muscle Health Plus has creatine, essential and branched chain amino acids, and it's designed in a way to maximize protein synthesis and the absorption of amino acids.

Muscle Health Plus will help you prevent muscle damage, which is particularly important for aging runners who want to protect themselves from muscle loss and recover faster after hard workouts. As is true for all of their products, Previnex adheres to the highest of standards: their ingredients are clinically proven to do what they say they’re going to do.

Previnex offers a 30-day money back guarantee. If you don't feel the benefits of their product, you get your money back no questions asked. With their focus on quality and customer satisfaction, I hope you’ll try it! Use code jason15 for 15% off your first order at Previnex!

Thanks to AG1!

We’re also supported by AG1, the greens superfood mix. This is a category-leading greens mix that has 75 vitamins and minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants, and adaptogens. It’s recommended by professional athletes and has over 7,000 positive reviews.

One scoop per day is what I’ve been doing to help me fill in any nutrition gaps in my diet. It also provide a nice boost of energy and focus throughout the day. With all 3 of my kids in school, I know I need to support my immune system or else I’m getting sick and can’t train.

I also love that AG1 has changed over the last decade. They’ve made 53 improvements to the formula based on the latest research to make these nutrients more absorbable and rigorous with the 3rd party testing that they do.

For our listeners, they are offering a year’s worth of free Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs of AG1 with your first purchase. You can sign up for single shipment or for a monthly drop – the choice is yours. Check out AG1 to redeem your offer today.