Primal Blueprint Thought-Leader Brad Kearns on the Keto Diet - EP005

Primal Blueprint Thought-Leader Brad Kearns on the Keto Diet – EP005

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Might as well face it, you’re addicted to carbs.

The conventional approach to endurance training promotes ‘chronic cardio’ and carbohydrate dependency. But there is a way to reset your metabolic clock with the keto diet, and today’s guest wrote the book on it – well, he co-authored it anyway!

Brad Kearns has been a well-known coach, speaker and author in the health and fitness realm for 20-plus years. During his nine-year career as a triathlete, he was one of the world’s top ranked professionals, amassing 30 wins worldwide on the pro circuit, and he still holds the Hawaii Ironman 18-24 age division American record at 8:57.

Brad has partnered with his former coach and fellow health and fitness authority Mark Sisson to lead the Primal Blueprint, a comprehensive ancestral health movement. Together they co-authored the 2016 release Primal Endurance, a guidebook that teaches athletes how to employ a stress-balanced, fat-adapted Primal approach to training. The duo has another book coming out this fall, The Keto Reset Diet. Today Brad joins Ali to discuss the basics of MAF training and his take on the relationship between peak performance and long-term health. Listen and learn how to leverage the keto diet to become a fat-burning machine and get free from carbohydrate dependency!

Topics Covered

[1:17] Brad’s partnership with Mark Sisson

Mark served as Brad’s coach 30 years ago
Introduced Brad to idea of balancing stress and rest
Developed Primal Blueprint together
Co-authored Primal Endurance
Releasing keto diet book this fall

[3:23] How Brad’s training evolved during his professional career

Overly competitive, Type A training early on led to injury, burnout
Learned from failures and good coaching
Eventually understood that health and fitness could be complementary

[5:09] The nuts and bolts of MAF training

180 – age = training heartrate
Emphasizes development of aerobic base
Prevents injury, illness and abuse of cardiovascular system
Improves health long-term
Training slow helps you go fast
Proven true by endurance athletes for past 60 years (i.e.: Peter Snell)

[10:12] How taking ego out of the equation was the gateway to success for Brad

Developing the discipline to slow down led to national championship
MAF training gave him a new appreciation for what endurance sports are about (i.e.: connection with nature, energy, health and longevity)

[15:17] How to track your improvement with MAF training

Test on same course, conditions using 180 – age formula
Log mile times
As you get more efficient at same heart rate, mile time will improve
If you’re regressing, examine other factors (e.g.: stress, poor diet, lack of sleep)

[21:38] The fundamentals of keto