Alan Couzens

Physiologist, #Developer, Health/Fitness/Performance Coach for endurance athletes. Using #data #science & #AI to facilitate Max Athletic Development 🇦🇺#INTP

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

A warm welcome to the new followers 👋

Thanks for hitting the "follow" button 🙏

If you’re here, you probably care about improving your CV fitness &/or getting better at endurance sport - without the noise.

I’m Alan Couzens:
Coach.
Exercise physiologist.
Builder of things that try to make coaching scale.

For the last ~30 years I’ve worked with everyone from beginners → World Champions, mostly focused on one question:

What actually makes athletes fitter and faster in the long-term?

A few things you’ll hear me talk about a lot:

→ "Real" fitness is slow and laggy. If you can see it, it's not lasting.
→ Most athletes sabotage themselves by mixing volume + intensity too early
→ Easy training is a skill (and most people do it wrong)
→ More training isn't the goal. More fitness is.

I write deeper dives here in my online book (models, case studies, practical takeaways):
👉 https://t.co/CYgd4hQXTA
And we get into the weeds here with athletes & coaches:
👉 https://t.co/DqbWZ56ui8

If you're ready to think about training a little differently - Welcome!

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

The other key difference...

Generative models are trained to minimize cross-entropy: to get better at predicting what token is likely to come next. They pick common (boring) word pairings.

Good human writers often do the complete opposite...

Going along with the "jarring" above - talented human writers have a knack for choosing words that are completely unexpected - but that, when you reflect on them, make perfect human sense.

The best writers use words that, at the exact same time, shock you with their originality and resonate deeply with the common human experience.

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

The key difference between AI writing and good human writing (and something that I think is inherent in the nature of a *generative* model)...

A.I. writing diverges from a point.

Good human writing converges to a point.

A good human writer will take a bunch of seemingly disparate ideas and, over the course of a book or poem or film, will gradually weave them together in a way that the final point - when it hits - is jarring.

A.I., on the other hand, the longer it goes on, the further it drifts from the point. The 'wafflier' it becomes.

[Santiago @svpino]

I agree that most people are horrible at writing.

But I also have an immediate negative gut reaction when I realize that something was AI-generated. Maybe this shouldn't happen, but I can't control it.

I read something written with AI, and I immediately reject it. For some reason, it feels fake; there's no passion; it's disconnected from what makes us human, and therefore I'm not interested in it.

I don't know what the solution to this problem is. Maybe it's just me, and I'll have to adapt and learn to live in a world where many more people will use AI to write.

I suspect, however, that this AI slopification will give those who still stitch words together using their brains a big advantage.

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

Starting to get chapter 1 together...

Step 1: Get real!

About both the amount of strength & type of strength needed for your goals.

You're not Superman. You can't have it all.

Each type of fitness comes with a trade-off...

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

Apparently, writing one enormous book wasn’t enough…

I ran out of space to properly cover strength training in #TheEnduranceCode, so I’m doing it again...

Introducing The Strength Code: a complete system for developing stronger, more powerful, more durable athletes.

Join me (again 😊) to get first access to all of the early-release chapters below... 👇

One more rep. I've got this. 🏋️‍♂️

[Dan Go @CoachDanGo]

Humans used to walk 16-17,000 steps a day.

Today, the average American walks 4000 steps a day.

The easiest way to improve your health is to take a walk outside in nature.

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

@Ben_B_Moore Thanks, man 🙏

So many of our conversations over the years on all aspects of strength training - "Big Steel" blocks, muscle mass changes over time etc. will definitely be revisited 😊🙏

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

Apparently, writing one enormous book wasn’t enough…

I ran out of space to properly cover strength training in #TheEnduranceCode, so I’m doing it again...

Introducing The Strength Code: a complete system for developing stronger, more powerful, more durable athletes.

Join me (again 😊) to get first access to all of the early-release chapters below... 👇

One more rep. I've got this. 🏋️‍♂️

[Dan Go @CoachDanGo]

The fittest people I know have lives that look boring to the average person.

They go to sleep and wake up at the same times. They do the same workouts, eat the same foods, and limit alcohol.

A life that looks extreme to others helps them look and feel their best 24/7.

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

@clarityandease Thanks, Spherie 🙏

Yes, planning same approach as last time - write first draft in Substack then compile into a physical book when it's all done.

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

@heidijaneuk Hey Heidi, that's certainly the intent. I aim to cover all populations and all forms of strength training.

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

@PaulUpton1971 It's not extra if you don't buy the race shoes.

Priorities.

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

To the runners:

As someone who struggled with an eating disorder for years, one of the smartest things I ever did was start getting regular DEXA scans.

When “the number” is body weight, the perceived correct answer is always: lower.

When the numbers become fat mass and lean mass (and bone mass!), the goal shifts to balance.

And, in my experience, this shift in the goal also leads to a healthier, more balanced perspective &, ultimately, higher levels of performance.

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

@PaulUpton1971 Get out of here with that.

The type of people I'm speaking to here already gladly spend that amount on race shoes.

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

Developing strength is about much more than lifting heavy weights.

It requires movement options, control, capacity, force, speed - and the ability to keep doing these things under fatigue.

We’ll work through every component and, more importantly, how to integrate them into a practical long-term plan for developing the complete athlete.

Join us.

First post is live 👇

https://t.co/iEnDWcb6Gy

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

E.g...

From chapter 8 of my book (early release here... https://t.co/YTcUFsLucL)

While top endurance athletes have very low levels of body fat, most also have a reasonably high Fat-Free Mass Index...

For guys - 19+
For the ladies - 16.5+

That is, despite looking very lean, they still have plenty of muscle to move their frame at competitive speeds.

[ColoBrando @brandosm]

Folks: Train EASY! You get exactly the same benefit. Also known as @Alan_Couzens is right

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

@JamesRuport E.g. this one from Saris...

https://t.co/6y26NG5B9W

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

Doesn't take much...

Start ($):
- A bench (&/or stability ball)
- 3 pairs of Dumbbells (light/medium/heavy)
- A set of exercise bands
- A bike trainer

Upgrade 1 ($$):
- A kettlebell
- An olympic barbell + full set of plates 5->45
- A Hex Bar (don't need but nice to have)
- A pull-up bar (door-jam or freestanding)

Upgrade 2 ($$$$):
- A power rack w/cable attachment
- More weight (dumbbells and plates)
- A treadmill.

Even at the $$$$ level, when compared to monthly gym fees, it pays for itself pretty quick!

[isaac 🚵🏼 @_isaacspar]

@Alan_Couzens What’s the basic set of equipment you’d start with?

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

@JamesRuport A simple fluid trainer is tough to beat. You can get a good quality one for $~100.

[John Goldman ☀️ @JohnGoldman]

7 pillars of longevity -

"I wanna be 75 and killing it"