053 - Everything You Need to Know About the "Second Wind"

You're probably familiar with the phenomenon of the "second wind." You're doing something difficult, going all out, giving max effort, and just when you feel like you've hit your wall—BOOM—you get an unexpected surge of energy to push you to the finish line. It's great when it happens, which begs the question: why does it happen? And how can we make it more likely to occur again? Today, the guys break down the physiology and psychology behind the phenomenon, what we still don't know about it, and how we can increase our chances of catching it. (Hat tip to Mike, who emailed in a question about the second wind!) Plus: a George Orwell quote sparks a debate about the importance of ego and egolessness when it comes to excellence and performance.George Orwell Quote: https://x.com/oldbooksguy/status/1805650757502583096If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reading is a skill that we may not spend a lot of time trying to improve. But in an age of constant noise and distraction, being able to focus and go deep on a good book isn't just one of life's great pleasures, it's also a way to improve your attentional fitness (not to mention a great way to learn). On a year when he's not writing his own book, Brad can read 50 to 100 books. He shares his tips for starting (or restarting) and maintaining a deep reading practice: his note-taking process, why he always keeps a pad nearby (but no devices), and his one rule for quitting books.If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve, Brad, and Clay discuss a question posed by the writer and runner Sabrina Little in a recent article (link below) from Aeon titled "Performance-Enhancing Vices:" How do the personality traits that make for better competitors impact moral character? Is it possible that things like envy, selfishness, and pride—traits we'd likely label as "vices"—make us more competitive? Does good character hurt our performance? Using contemporary examples and drawing on their own experiences coaching, competing, and working with elite athletes, the guys explore the relationship between athletic performance and moral character. When does selfishness help and when does it hurt? Do you have to singularly obsessed to be great? How should we think about balancing life with ambitious goals?"Performance-Enhancing Vices" by Sabrina Little (Aeon):https://aeon.co/essays/does-it-take-a-bad-person-to-be-a-good-athleteIf you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all have hard workouts and hard days. Often, what makes them hard is there's a problem we need to solve. On today's episode, we're going into the FAREWELL archives to pull one of the great problem-solving tools from ultrarunner Courtney Dauwalter's killer toolbox. As you might imagine, many problems creep up when you're running 100+ miles, and Courtney has one visual tool that's proven particularly effecting at helping her win races. Plus: her favorite mantras, and the trick to unlock confidence and self-belief.Full Episode:Spotify -- https://open.spotify.com/episode/5RG8qJFrtmX9pbibmuQzHi?si=667003bf0d5144f7Apple -- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/001-inside-the-joyful-mind-of-elite-ultrarunner/id1505257676?i=1000640521579If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Bornstein is a fitness and nutrition expert who has worked with LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger and who came to the world of wellness after breaking his back (twice!) at a young age. It was the 1990's and doctors told him he'd have to change his athletic lifestyle—except for one, who put him through exercises that involved strengthened his core and focused on on functional, load-bearing movement. The (ultimately effective) regimen was unusual at the time but is now considered foundational to most physical fitness routines. It gave Adam an early lesson in the power and strength of the human body—and the shortcomings of fitness and wellness "experts." Which is why he's an ideal source to help us wade through all the misinformation of today's health and wellness world. He discusses why he thinks the health industry is getting worse, the critical mindset shift that will help you change your behavior, a better and more sustainable way to eat, what he's learned from Arnold and LeBron, and a better way to think about goal-setting and to-do lists.Adam Bornstein's book, "You Can't Screw This Up: Why Eating Takeout, Enjoying Dessert, and Taking the Stress out of Dieting Leads to Weight Loss That Lasts":https://www.harpercollins.com/products/you-cant-screw-this-up-adam-bornstein?variant=41096256552994If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the course of his basketball career, JJ Redick carved out a reputation as one of the game's best shooters. (Not to mention one of its smartest minds, which is why he's currently an analyst for the NBA Finals, and rumored to be a leading candidate for the next L.A. Lakers head coaching position.) To be that kind of shooter, you need an unflappable confidence. In 2020, Clay spoked with JJ about how he earned that confidence, and how he maintained it even during sustained shooting slumps. It's a masterclass in self-belief, and it's a technique you don't have to be in the NBA to be able to use.Original Interview:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nba-sharpshooter-j-j-redick-on-keeping-your-confidence/id1462693827?i=1000463893768If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In recent years, there has been a growing obsession with longevity and life extension: people interested in improving the quality of their health at the end of their lives (or extending their life altogether). Steve, Brad, and Clay use a recent story from The New Yorker—"No Time to Die" by Dhruv Khullar (link below)—to break down the quest to live longer. How worried should we be about longevity? How is it benefiting our societal health? How is it harming it? And, most importantly, how much should the quality of our end-of-life health concern us as we make choice about our health today?"No Time to Die" by Dhruv Khullar (The New Yorker)https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/04/22/how-to-die-in-good-healthIf you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every week, Brad Stulberg spends either Saturday or Sunday practicing a Digital Sabbath: he goes the day offline and without any of his devices (phone, computer, tablet). It's not because he's anti-technology, but because he wanted to make sure he still had access to many of the aspects of life that tech use can hamper: presence, creativity, silence, and emotional regulation, to name a few. On today's episode, he discusses the benefits he's experienced, how it works (hint: flip phone), and how anyone interested in spending more time away from their devices (even if it's just for an hour or two) can develop a digital sabbath that works for them.If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503 Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s a promise built into all the productivity and time management advice out there: that it’s possible, with the most efficient technique, to finally conquer that feeling that you have too much to do and not enough time to do it. But that’s a false hope, says today’s guest Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks, which is about why time management strategies so often fail. “You cannot optimize your way to peace of mind in a world where supply of things that are incoming is effectively infinite,” he says. Today, Burkeman presents an approach that willingly accepts our limits and finite capacity. Doing so won’t just improve our productivity, he says—it will make our life more meaningful, fix our adversarial relationship to time, and help us, in his words, start *from* sanity, instead of trying to strive towards it through productivity hacks. If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503 Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rebecca Rusch is an athlete whose feats of endurance have included two self-supported, 350-mile bike rides on the Iditarod Trail and led a magazine to once dub her the "Queen of Pain." On today's episode of The Coach Up, Clay pulls from a conversation he had with her a few years ago where she shares her surprising approach to mastering her craft. You'll learn about the Zen concept of "Beginner's Mind," the power of pessimism, and the perils of over preparing.Full interview here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-queen-of-pain-and-ultra-endurance-athlete/id1462693827?i=1000465927851If you are enjoying FAREWELL, do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherGot a question, feedback, or ideas for the show? Email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (646) 893-9503 Find Brad, Steve, and Clay on Instagram: @bradstulberg, @stevemagness, and @clayskipper Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.