The B.rad Podcast

Welcome to a new series on the B.rad Podcast called “Bradsplaining,” where I provide tips, insights, and commentary on distinct subjects, giving you shorter episodes with actionable insights and takeaways.
The first episode explains why I quit jogging after 40 years—and why you might want to, too.
I was an extreme endurance machine from ages 15 to 55, but today I am a sprinter and a high jumper in the 60+ age division of Masters Track & Field. This is quite an unusual athletic transformation, as I’ve gone from competing in events lasting nearly nine hours to participating in events that last just a few seconds.
As you’ll hear, I was completely immersed in the endurance training lifestyle from ages 15 to 30. I basically spent my life eating, training, and sleeping, and was actually asleep for half of my career!
In this show, I explain why I quit endurance training in the hopes that it will help broaden your perspective on what it means to be fit for life, especially if your fitness pursuits currently skew toward endurance (which is what the vast majority of fitness enthusiasts are doing). I also reveal the worst-kept secret of the mainstream fitness scene, why the vast majority of runners should not be running, the importance of rejecting the struggle-and-suffer mentality, and how to introduce true sprinting into your training.

TIMESTAMPS:
Brad explains why he quit endurance training after 40 years and maybe you should consider it. [01:01]
Chronic cardio is a pattern of steady state cardiovascular workouts that are stressful and cause injury. [06:20]
True sprinting is a very brief all out anaerobic effort using the fast twitch muscle fibers. [09:38]
It is not that easy to reject our long ingrained habit patterns and cultural programming toward the no pain, no gain philosophy. [12:51]
Move frequently at a slow pace, lift heavy things and sprint once in a while. [15:00]

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
BradNutrition.com
B.rad Whey Protein Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet!
B.rad Superdrink – Hydrates 28% Faster than Water—Creatine-Charged Hydration for Next-Level Power, Focus, and Recovery
NEW: B.rad Real Rad Gummies - Creatine + Nootropics for Focus, Motivation, Performance, and Recovery!
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes
Podcast with Mark Sisson
Dr. Doug McGuff

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
Recover Faster: B.rad Superfuel helps with fat loss, longevity, immune function and athletic performance with a potent combo of grassfed whey protein and creatine. A five-star bestseller on Amazon, or order direct and save! Get 20% OFF your first order with code BRAD20
Strengthen Your Feet: Peluva five-toe minimalist shoes naturally strengthen and realign your feet to perform better, relieve pain, and achieve full functionality. Use code BRADPODCAST for 10% off
Online Education: Immersive learning to transform your diet in 21 days, endurance train the right way, prepare Paleo meals for the whole week, get started the right way the therapeutic cold exposure, and custom-design a morning movement routine.
Slipstream Swim Machine: Smooth, adjustable, battery-powered swim current generator. Swim, or run, in place against a powerful current! Save $250 with the code BRAD @SlipstreamSwimMachine
Somnus sleep system: An advanced, water-based mattress pad that uses intelligent, dual-zone temperature regulation to optimize your micro-climate for deeper, more restorative rest. Use code BRAD for $200 discount on SomnusLab.com
Clean Your Indoor Air!: The Jaspr Air Scrubber is an ultra high-performance, automatic-sensor unit that will address the often-disregarded health concern of indoor air quality. Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD
Explore B.rad Nutrition, online courses, and my favorite gear at: BradKearns.com/Shop

Enjoying the podcast?
Please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts—it helps more people discover the show. Thanks for your support!

#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, I'm taking you through my latest blood testing with Vitals Vault and sharing the biomarkers I pay the most attention to for health and performance.
I explain why I track triglycerides-to-HDL ratio, fasting insulin, vitamin D, and especially testosterone, free testosterone, and SHBG—and why I've tested my testosterone about 30 times over the past six years.
I also break down how training stress can affect testosterone, why chronic cardio can work against testosterone optimization, and the lifestyle factors I focus on to keep my levels in a healthy range. Plus, I explain why total testosterone, free testosterone, and SHBG all matter—and share one surprising factor that can affect testosterone and longevity: your love relationship!

TIMESTAMPS:
Brad talks about the ease and importance of getting blood analysis regularly to maintain your health. [01:01]
Triglycerides should be under 100 and you usually have to request fasting insulin and Vitamin D. Also important is the overall sex hormone level. [04:34]
If you're metabolically unhealthy and you're carrying around visceral fat, and you take outside testosterone, you are likely to aromatize that extra testosterone, and that means converting it into estrogen. [07:30]
Sleep is a great way to elevate the testosterone level. You have to get the junk food out of your diet. Make sure your exercise is in the best way. Chronic cardio is known to tank testosterone. [11:49]

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
BradNutrition.com
B.rad Whey Protein Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet!
B.rad Superdrink – Hydrates 28% Faster than Water—Creatine-Charged Hydration for Next-Level Power, Focus, and Recovery
NEW: B.rad Real Rad Gummies - Creatine + Nootropics for Focus, Motivation, Performance, and Recovery!
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes
Vitals Vault

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
Recover Faster: B.rad Superfuel helps with fat loss, longevity, immune function and athletic performance with a potent combo of grassfed whey protein and creatine. A five-star bestseller on Amazon, or order direct and save! Get 20% OFF your first order with code BRAD20
Strengthen Your Feet: Peluva five-toe minimalist shoes naturally strengthen and realign your feet to perform better, relieve pain, and achieve full functionality. Use code BRADPODCAST for 10% off
Online Education: Immersive learning to transform your diet in 21 days, endurance train the right way, prepare Paleo meals for the whole week, get started the right way the therapeutic cold exposure, and custom-design a morning movement routine.
Slipstream Swim Machine: Smooth, adjustable, battery-powered swim current generator. Swim, or run, in place against a powerful current! Save $250 with the code BRAD @SlipstreamSwimMachine
Somnus sleep system: An advanced, water-based mattress pad that uses intelligent, dual-zone temperature regulation to optimize your micro-climate for deeper, more restorative rest. Use code BRAD for $200 discount on SomnusLab.com
Clean Your Indoor Air!: The Jaspr Air Scrubber is an ultra high-performance, automatic-sensor unit that will address the often-disregarded health concern of indoor air quality. Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD
Explore B.rad Nutrition, online courses, and my favorite gear at: BradKearns.com/Shop

Enjoying the podcast?
Please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts—it helps more people discover the show. Thanks for your support!

#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I made a post the other day stating that people over 50 should be banned from running marathons, and was greatly amused to see all the savage, critical comments coming back at me.
Fair points made by those of you who are thriving in the endurance community, but what I am really talking about is the inherently stressful nature of training for extreme endurance events, like marathons and IronMan. Many people can be drawn into this deeply committed community, and end up training in an inappropriate and overly stressful manner, leading to breakdown, burnout, illness, and injury. I’ve heard enough from the folks at the front of the pack with their longevity badges and chips, but what I am concerned about is the people who are burning out, even though they are engaging in well-intentioned exercise.
Furthermore, when you dedicate so much to extreme endurance training, you—by definition—are neglecting by far the most beneficial workouts for longevity: strength training and especially sprinting. What I am advocating is a broadening of your perspective of what it means to be fit for life.
I am enthusiastic about this subject because I have had an awakening of my own after having been an extreme endurance athlete, on the professional triathlon circuit decades ago, and then continuing to train like an endurance athlete in the decades that followed—only to realize that I was falling apart and getting old. I threw my back out, tore my meniscus for no reason and realized: Wait, I do not have the full body functional fitness and power, strength, and mobility that I should.
That is when I started redirecting my compass over towards sprinting and high jumping—which I found were so much more fun, rewarding, and challenging than just shuffling along towards another distance finish line.
There is a lot more out there, and if you are not a serious competitor, and just doing something because you think this is a way of staying fit and healthy, then this show will help you broaden your perspective on the safe, low impact methods to push yourself and stimulate the anaerobic system (which gets completely neglected by most forms of mainstream training).
Tune into this episode if you want to learn the essence of an efficient sprint workout, how to feel energized and invigorated instead of fatigued and depleted after workouts, and how to effectively age gracefully!

TIMESTAMPS:
Some people are staying active in their later years with well-intentioned exercise, however some are burning out by overdoing their endeavors. [02:02]
Brad is suggesting sprinting and weight training as a goal. [03:35]
Many of the exercise patterns people are doing do not build the anaerobic system. [04:25]
Sprinting involves much rest in between bursts. [06: 10]
Falling is the number one cause of death in Americans over 65. Sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) and dynapenia (age-related loss of muscle power and explosiveness) are the conditions. [08:00]
The sprinting routine that is recommended is 8 to 15 seconds with extensive rest of a minimum of a minute. [11:55]
When you get through with exercise, you want to feel energized and invigorated instead of depleted and exhausted. [12:30]

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
BradNutrition.com
B.rad Whey Protein Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet!
B.rad Superdrink – Hydrates 28% Faster than Water—Creatine-Charged Hydration for Next-Level Power, Focus, and Recovery
NEW: B.rad Real Rad Gummies - Creatine + Nootropics for Focus, Motivation, Performance, and Recovery!
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
Recover Faster: B.rad Superfuel helps with fat loss, longevity, immune function and athletic performance with a potent combo of grassfed whey protein and creatine. A five-star bestseller on Amazon, or order direct and save! Get 20% OFF your first order with code BRAD20
Strengthen Your Feet: Peluva five-toe minimalist shoes naturally strengthen and realign your feet to perform better, relieve pain, and achieve full functionality. Use code BRADPODCAST for 10% off
Online Education: Immersive learning to transform your diet in 21 days, endurance train the right way, prepare Paleo meals for the whole week, get started the right way the therapeutic cold exposure, and custom-design a morning movement routine.
Slipstream Swim Machine: Smooth, adjustable, battery-powered swim current generator. Swim, or run, in place against a powerful current! Save $250 with the code BRAD @SlipstreamSwimMachine
Somnus sleep system: An advanced, water-based mattress pad that uses intelligent, dual-zone temperature regulation to optimize your micro-climate for deeper, more restorative rest. Use code BRAD for $200 discount on SomnusLab.com
Clean Your Indoor Air!: The Jaspr Air Scrubber is an ultra high-performance, automatic-sensor unit that will address the often-disregarded health concern of indoor air quality. Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD
Explore B.rad Nutrition, online courses, and my favorite gear at: BradKearns.com/Shop

Enjoying the podcast?
Please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts—it helps more people discover the show. Thanks for your support!

#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost everything the average sports fan believes about doping is wrong.
The “dirty cheaters stealing medals from clean athletes” story almost never describes what actually happened. Instead, we’ve had dirty sports, Cold War dynamics, and athletes faced with the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” devil’s bargain. In this show you’ll learn why doping has been cleaned up significantly from past eras, where the problem remains, and why professional cycling is perhaps the most glaring example.
You’ll also learn surprising insights about the physiology of doping: Steroids don’t actually magically make you bigger, stronger, or faster. Training does. Doping alters your body chemistry so you can recover faster and train harder. Doping can’t transform an ordinary person into an Olympian, which is why doping up a bunch of retreads and has-beens at the Enhanced Games resulted in pedestrian times in comparison to the world’s elite.
We’ll cover EPO, the Goldman Dilemma, the Eastern Bloc origins of Olympic doping, and crazy scandals from Lance Armstrong and BALCO to the heartbreaking case of Shelby Houlihan’s controversial four-year suspension.
We close with a discussion about the morality and philosophy of what it means to age gracefully - questions I’ve been asking myself as I strive to be the best 60+ athlete I can be. Is this more honorable than trying to dope myself into a fake 30-year-old? Or should we consider taking advantage of modern pharmaceutical advantages to be the best we can be? If so, do we push the envelope of, “has self-optimization become permission for unbridled narcissism?”
Get ready for a heavy show that will leave you never thinking the same way about doping in big time sports again, and also reflecting on the implications of anti-aging and biohacking therapies differently than you may have before!

TIMESTAMPS:
For decades, doping in Olympic and professional sports has been a huge concern, controversy, headline stories, and it has been hugely misunderstood on many levels by the average sports fan. [02:42]
Myth number one is that doping is commonplace in Olympic and professional sports. [04:57]
One of the reasons these suspicions persist is marketing hype and propaganda. [11:38]
Why do these suspicions about doping persist? [15:38]
Back in the 70s and 80s the western athletes were losing to doped up competitors. What did they tend to do? [20:48]
From that point there was much testing and continuing use of steroids, then sport got boring until baseball got into players hitting the ball out of the park. [27:28]
The BALCO scandal in the early 2000s was when some undetectable steroids that were not on the banned list were invented. [30:06]
In the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, there was an incident where two of the favored athletes did not appear for their tests right before the opening ceremonies. [35:21]
Today we have more sophisticated testing and are even able to freeze some samples to test later when more advanced testing becomes available. [39:21]
A big game changer that came in the 90s was the discovery of EPO, a natural substance secreted by bone marrow and stimulates the production of red blood cells. [41:28]
There are several countries involved in state-sponsored programs as well as small impoverished nations that are poorly regulated. [46:14]
In baseball and other sports, they have penalties that aren't very severe. [56:12]
There is another category of athletes that are perhaps ,toward the end of their careers, who might want to go out with a bang and have little to lose. [01:00:56]
There are many young athletes who develop their skills and break records, but are not necessarily suspected of doping. [01:04:55]
There are many instances where athletes have been tested for substances that don't necessarily enhance performance, but do cause the athlete a problem. There is metabolite, nandrolone that appears in some tainted meat. [01:11:05]
One of the myths that pervades around the performance enhancing drugs is that they are dangerous and bad for your body. Brad describes his drug free endurance career. [01:19:23]
The destruction caused by the extreme training was, Brad would argue, much worse than doing the exact same thing with all the doping protocols available to you. [01:23:44]
The myth that taking steroids is going to make you a super athlete, is not technically how it works. It's more about talent. [01:24:47]
Lance Armstrong was extremely fit and genetically gifted, and trained hard, but as he emerged into this dirty sport, he pretty much had to join them. [01:29:08]
Brad talks about the history of the manufacture of these performance enhancing drugs. [01:35:00]
We should have the moral obligation to try to do the best we can to live the best healthy and energetic life. [01:39:25]
Visceral fat accumulating around the abdomen is a sign of metabolic disease. [01:41:30]
The fears and warnings you've heard are not necessarily holding up. [01:46:37]

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
BradNutrition.com
B.rad Whey Protein Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet!
B.rad Superdrink – Hydrates 28% Faster than Water—Creatine-Charged Hydration for Next-Level Power, Focus, and Recovery
NEW: B.rad Real Rad Gummies - Creatine + Nootropics for Focus, Motivation, Performance, and Recovery!
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes
Podcast with Shelby Houlihan
How Lance Does It

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
Recover Faster: B.rad Superfuel helps with fat loss, longevity, immune function and athletic performance with a potent combo of grassfed whey protein and creatine. A five-star bestseller on Amazon, or order direct and save! Get 20% OFF your first order with code BRAD20
Strengthen Your Feet: Peluva five-toe minimalist shoes naturally strengthen and realign your feet to perform better, relieve pain, and achieve full functionality. Use code BRADPODCAST for 10% off
Online Education: Immersive learning to transform your diet in 21 days, endurance train the right way, prepare Paleo meals for the whole week, get started the right way the therapeutic cold exposure, and custom-design a morning movement routine.
Slipstream Swim Machine: Smooth, adjustable, battery-powered swim current generator. Swim, or run, in place against a powerful current! Save $250 with the code BRAD @SlipstreamSwimMachine
Somnus sleep system: An advanced, water-based mattress pad that uses intelligent, dual-zone temperature regulation to optimize your micro-climate for deeper, more restorative rest. Use code BRAD for $200 discount on SomnusLab.com
Clean Your Indoor Air!: The Jaspr Air Scrubber is an ultra high-performance, automatic-sensor unit that will address the often-disregarded health concern of indoor air quality. Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD
Explore B.rad Nutrition, online courses, and my favorite gear at: BradKearns.com/Shop

Enjoying the podcast?
Please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts—it helps more people discover the show. Thanks for your support!

#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could optimizing your circadian rhythm be the most important health intervention of all?
In this show, I take a trip around the 24-hour clock, exploring fascinating ideas about light, leptin, metabolism, sleep, and circadian biology. We’ll look at why direct outdoor light in the morning matters, why eating after dark can cause more fat storage than eating the same number of calories at a different time, and how our modern use of artificial light may be extending “summer” throughout the year.
I also explain why the hours from midnight to 3:00 AM are so important for darkness, leptin, human growth hormone, and the body’s overnight repair processes—and why these issues may be especially relevant for post-menopausal women.
I wrap it all up with four simple ways to get your circadian rhythm working in your favor: mellow evenings, a dark and cool sleeping environment, energetic mornings, and napping when you need it. I explain why caffeine can override the sleepiness signal your body is trying to send you, and why insufficient sleep can make you 20% slower at everything you do—while making you less aware of it.
I’ll also share emerging research on sunlight and immune regulation, including the fascinating field of photoimmunology, plus the sleep-cooling technology I’m currently enjoying with the Somnus Sleep System.
The big takeaway? Before you chase complicated health protocols, make sure you’re respecting the biological rhythms that have governed human health for far longer than artificial light, smartphones, and Netflix queues.

LINKS:
Brad Kearns.com
BradNutrition.com
B.rad Whey Protein Superfuel - The Best Protein on The Planet!
B.rad Superdrink – Hydrates 28% Faster than Water—Creatine-Charged Hydration for Next-Level Power, Focus, and Recovery
NEW: B.rad Real Rad Gummies - Creatine + Nootropics for Focus, Motivation, Performance, and Recovery!
Brad’s Shopping Page
BornToWalkBook.com
B.rad Podcast – All Episodes
Peluva Five-Toe Minimalist Shoes
Morning Exercise Routine Course
Can Sunlight Cure Disease? — Apple News
A Circadian Rhythm 24-Hour Tour — Part 1
A Circadian Rhythm 24-Hour Tour — Part 2
Dr. Jack Kruse — Cold Thermogenesis 7

We appreciate all feedback, and questions for Q&A shows, emailed to podcast@bradventures.com. If you have a moment, please share an episode you like with a quick text message, or leave a review on your podcast app. Thank you!
Check out each of these companies because they are absolutely awesome or they wouldn’t occupy this revered space. Seriously, I won’t promote anything that I don't absolutely love and use in daily life:
Recover Faster: B.rad Superfuel helps with fat loss, longevity, immune function and athletic performance with a potent combo of grassfed whey protein and creatine. A five-star bestseller on Amazon, or order direct and save! Get 20% OFF your first order with code BRAD20
Strengthen Your Feet: Peluva five-toe minimalist shoes naturally strengthen and realign your feet to perform better, relieve pain, and achieve full functionality. Use code BRADPODCAST for 10% off
Online Education: Immersive learning to transform your diet in 21 days, endurance train the right way, prepare Paleo meals for the whole week, get started the right way the therapeutic cold exposure, and custom-design a morning movement routine.
Somnus sleep system: An advanced, water-based mattress pad that uses intelligent, dual-zone temperature regulation to optimize your micro-climate for deeper, more restorative rest. Use code BRAD for $200 discount on SomnusLab.com
Clean Your Indoor Air!: The Jaspr Air Scrubber is an ultra high-performance, automatic-sensor unit that will address the often-disregarded health concern of indoor air quality. Save $200 on your unit with code BRAD
Explore B.rad Nutrition, online courses, and my favorite gear at: BradKearns.com/Shop

Enjoying the podcast?
Please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts—it helps more people discover the show. Thanks for your support!

#bradpodcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.