The Natural Running Network

Breathing – Best practices for performance! Everyone has at one time or another, pondered the idea: What would be the best way to breathe while running?  There are so many opinions on the subject, it’s no wonder so many are confused.  Veejay Jones – Elite OCR athlete and I (Richard Diaz) thought it would be entertaining to discuss some of the popular theories on the subject and offer up our own opinions.  Are you a chest breather? Have you ever heard of diaphragmatic breathing?  Do you get cramps in your sides when you red line in competition?  It may very well be that the way you breathe is holding you back from your next best performance!  Is breathing exclusively through your nose a good idea? How about hypoxic training, simply holding your breath? Ever heard of the Wim Hof Method?We had some fun with this one.  Listen in and you may even learn how long Tom Cruise can hold his breath!

Coach Diaz and Elite OCR Athlete Veejay Jones share details of their OCR Performance Project a virtual group training program for aspiring Spartan competitors.  Aside from this, Coach Diaz also shares some insights into his freshly released book- TRAINING THE DARK SIDE. This book is a great read for any endurance athlete hoping to better understand RUNNING FORM and TRAINING THE ENERGY SYSTEM to develop unstoppable ENDURANCE and through an incredibly unique approach. We’re going to have some fun doing it! To see us LIVE visit this link! https://youtu.be/Y1GtcoR1f9s Be sure and subscribe to the YouTube channel while you’re there! Lots of great content. To learn more about the OCR Performance Project, visit this link: https://spark.adobe.com/page/WcxXdwd3rdh8l/

Veejay Jones (pro obstacle course athlete) and I Richard Diaz (his coach). Discuss current affairs, home exercise options and what's the best treadmill to buy for your budget.

The Dark Horse program is a highly innovative approach to training for CrossFit and other High Intensity competitions.  Behind the research Coach Diaz has invested in anaerobic metabolism and lactate tolerance training, the reveal is Dark Horse II an 8 week training program. The question is often raised, will this type of training be beneficial if I’m only interested in fitness or is it appropriate for the new Hyrox competition?  The big question was, why heart rate? Does heart rate really need to be part of my training and what benefit does it offer? These questions are answered along with more details on how it all came about along with the success of some of the best CrossFit Games athletes.  Be sure to check out the video on YouTube and follow Coach Diaz on Instagram to learn how to get access to this program @diazhp.

Who knew?  One day as I was surfing social media, I hear Ryan Atkins mention that Platinum Rig is bringing a 24 hour competition to the states!!!  Like most enthusiasts, I’ve heard of this line of rigs and how formidable they were. Does anyone remember Battle Frog?  They introduced some of these rigs in their events before they said goodbye.  As inquiring minds want to know, I reached out to these folks to learn more.  They kindly responded and set up an interview with one of their people.  Turns out Hélène Dumais is quite the endurance athlete herself and she shared the details.  This as you’ll find is quite a different approach to OCR as we know it.  I don’t want to spoil the details, you’ll have to listen to find out what’s on tap.  I will share that this event is claiming to be an OCR World Championship and is slated for August of this year on the East Coast!  For more details and registration visit www.platinumrigevents.com

Arguably the most reliable ass kick ass piece of cardio equipment, the Concept2 rower, has been embraced for decades in sport.  It has been a staple in Crossfit and now with 2 additional pieces, the Bike and Ski erg these devices are world renowned for delivering a workout that is… shall I say “setting the bar high” not only in Crossfit but now in Hyrox the new fledging OCR style indoor fitness challenge.  Because there has been so much scuttle butt on how to approach these devices to turn out the best performance, I thought, why not reach out to Concept2 and get some expert advice?  This episode is an interview with Greg Hammond who has been a part of the Concept2  family for over 23 years and a fierce competitor in his own right.  I wanted to know… * How do you approach the Ski erg to get the fastest times without imploding? * What is the best practice for setting the damper in competition?  * Which cardio piece should someone purchase for a great fitness tool? * All that and more! If you intend to compete in Hyrox or Crossfit, you’ll not want to miss this episode!

Veejay Jones and I discuss… * How the race season is shaping up* Training Secrets I won’t share* Spartan World Championship moves to Abu Dhabi* Hyrox, is it the new thing in OCR? Yes, we covered a lot of ground in this episode. How Veejay took down The Spartan LA Super and Sprint, the season openers for him. Lots of opinion, some cool heart rate training information and politics of the sport, all in all a pretty entertaining podcast… also an opinion.

Elite OCR/Fitness Athlete Ryan Kent Here we are at the conclusion of 2019 and change is in the air.  I can recall when Spartan Race first made a splash and inspired millions to get off the couch.  Is it possible that from this movement a new challenge has spawned from this rave?  Enter Hyrox, coined as a functional fitness challenge with multiple challenges divided by eight 1K sprints.  It seems perfectly suited for those who have wet their whistles on Obstacle Course Racing.  A product from across the pond that is gaining legs here in the US.  For my last episode in 2019, I asked Elite Spartan Athlete Ryan Kent to be my featured guest to discuss Hyrox the new rage in the OCR community.  Ryan, having won the the second event in the country is literally chipping away at the current world record. The Showdown in Chicago is the next event on the calendar promises to be an Epic battle between himself and Hunter McIntyre, winner of the the Miami event earlier this season.

Really enjoyed fielding questions during our Black Friday Q&A Show! As always, it’s hard to get to all of the many questions. Fear not! Some people that may have felt left out either got a private response to their questions or STILL WON A GIFT!  If your name or IG tag is in this list, send us your contact info (email will suffice) and we’ll see to it that you get your gift! During this episode VeeJay Jones and Coach Diaz spoke about Running injuries, Training volume, Black toenails and a whole lot more! Thank You to the great guys at https://vengaendurance.com/dhp/ for your support! List of winners! @MaryannBruce77 @buffetathlete @tragicomique @brinthastert @sarahjr7 @monty6007

Mark Falcone Ever wondered what it would be like to have Coach Diaz provide a Virtual Gait Analysis? With the permission of Mark Falcone, we share the experience with you! Unvarnished conversation between a real life client and Coach Diaz discussing the outcome thus far. Like Mark, a lot of Spartan Race Athletes identify that they have much needed work on their run game if they hope to get onto the podium. Mark decided to take a shot to see if in virtual reality can a good running coach/mechanic help him and make a difference. If this has been on your mind, here’s your chance to hear how it works and what to expect from a real client! Details for this service can be found b visiting www.diazhumanperformance.com

“Coach” Richard Diaz and his protege/client – elite Spartan Pro Veejay Jones. In this The First Episode, we discuss changes in Spartan Race course design leading into the 2020 season.  Big changes are afoot! Standardized distances and number of obstacles.  What are your feelings on this massive change? Are you for or against?  Once that’s done, we share thoughts on Off Season approaches.  Do you have an Off Season?  When and how do you approach it?  Two hot topics discussed by a well renowned coach and a highly competitive OCR athlete. https://youtu.be/XegyOlnqJfY We hope you enjoy it.  If you do, please leave us a comment, what would you like us to chat about, who would you like us to bring on and by all means … SUBSCRIBE TO GET MORE OF THIS!

If success is a measure of suffering, those who braved the course at the Spartan Lake Tahoe World Championships have much to be proud of.  Alison Haase was successful.  She did not only challenge herself by braving the Ultra beast in weather conditions that caused many to bow out, she went on to take the win!  You might be asking yourself… Alison who? Know she is not one of the high profile athletes on the circuit, she is just someone who put in the work, trained hard, followed direction and put her shoulder to the wheel and came out victorious and beyond even her own expectations.  This interview is uncommon.  Its more inspirational (in my mind) because given the right circumstances, it could have been you!

It is surprising how many athletes i know who are using CBD’s for a variety of reasons. The more I investigated the more I came to realize that CBD’s are nature’s anti-inflammatory solution and that is only the tip of the iceberg! This episode is a very in depth interview with Jay O’Hare founder of Venga Endurance an extremely high quality manufacture of CBD products and an Ultra distance runner who gets it. I know a lot of people who either shy away from the idea of taking a hemp based supplement in fear of being “dosed” with THC or just ill informed. This episode is for you! Once you’ve listened to what Jay and I have to say, you might want to circle back and chase the link: https://vengaendurance.com/ and use my promo code to get a price break! DHP10

Before you freak out, no, I am not turning tail on OCR or endurance training programs!  If you follow my work, you know that recently I developed a program in collaboration with Ryan Fischer an extremely talented CrossFit Athlete.  This program has been out for a mere 5 weeks and meeting with rave responses.  An OCR athlete would do well to consider this process as the theme of the project is “Winning the Battle with Fatigue”.  It so happens that an early adopter who has been in the program for said five weeks was kind enough to share his experience thus far.. It’s worth a listen because his results are extraordinary.  After you have a chance to hear his review feel free to reach out to him @mathewfreeman or pick up a copy of the program for yourself.  Here is the link: https://www.gymryan.com/pages/endurance-rich-diaz 

Charlie Engle is one of, if not the most entertaining guests we’ve ever had on this podcast and generally has incredible stories to tell. Story telling aside, Charlie Engle has hitched his wagon to The Spartan Trail Running Series. Few are aware of this trail running addition to Spartan Race. If you love to run trails and have a competitive streak, it may benefit you to listen to this episode because there are big bucks on the line come December this year! Listen for more details!