Read · Recommended
5 Substacks that shaped how I train
These are the five newsletters I read to make sense of my own training, from a world-class short-course coach to the scientist behind an HRV app.
Each one changed how I think about training, and several shaped how I'm building LOAD. For each, I've said why I recommend it, what it changed for me, and the best post to start with.
The five at a glance
| Newsletter | Author | Publishes |
|---|---|---|
| Real Coaching | Joel Filliol | Irregular, in bursts alongside the Real Coaching podcast |
| Mark Allen / Triathlon Writings | Mark Allen | Occasional numbered essays; some extras for paid subscribers |
| The Nature of Training | Manuel Sola Arjona | About weekly |
| HRV4Training's Substack | Marco Altini | Every week or two |
| Nexus Health & Performance | Dr David Lipman | Weekly, on Thursdays |
01
Real Coaching
by Joel Filliol
Why I recommend it
Joel's short-course athletes have won six elite world titles and more than 30 World Triathlon Championship Series races, and he has coached three Olympic medallists, including Simon Whitfield to silver in Beijing. He also coached Vincent Luis until 2025, before Luis was crowned Ironman World Champion in Kona this October. In a world of science, data, methods and metrics, Joel cuts through the noise. He gives clear principles and simple practices that any triathlete can apply, with the goal of building long-term, sustained performance.
How it changed my thinking
Coming back to Ironman competition (after a break to support my growing family of five!), a lot had changed. Running shoes and TT bike technology had witnessed a step-change; the success of Ingebrigtsen, Blummenfelt and Iden had catapulted the so-called 'Norwegian Method' into the limelight; new continuous monitoring devices like core temperature monitors and lactate meters offered unparalleled data. All this meant complexity and indecision for long-distance triathlon training. Joel's podcast and newsletter helped me focus on the foundations and make the right choices for me to build back to Ironman racing.
02
Mark Allen / Triathlon Writings
by Mark Allen
Why I recommend it
Mark Allen is a true legend of triathlon: six-time Ironman World Champion, and named by ESPN as the greatest endurance athlete of all time. If that's not a reason to check out what he has to say, then I'm not sure what is! Allen writes about the stories behind the sport: memories of his own experiences; his dispatches from being at major races; the emotional arc of competing in long-distance endurance events; and occasional tributes to athletes and coaches.
How it changed my thinking
I was born in the same week that the very first Ironman was raced in Hawaii, and I felt a kinship with the sport from the very first time I discovered it! I remember sitting with a good friend watching back-to-back official Ironman videos (yes, video tapes!) of the big races in history, including all the titanic Mark v Dave battles. I also read Mark's book, Fit Soul, Fit Body, written with Brant Secunda, on his spiritual thinking and how he applies it to his life and sport. He's been a big inspiration throughout my endurance sports life.
03
The Nature of Training
by Manuel Sola Arjona
Why I recommend it
Sola Arjona's starting point is that while traditional sports science treats the human body like a mechanical device, the problem is that it isn't. Life is messy, the human body is complex and available training data merely offers one source of information on how an athlete is progressing. His writing provides a reasoned look at where popularised training methods and metrics can misrepresent how an athlete is really absorbing training, along with where the value actually lies in using them. He advocates for a whole-life view and offers a new paradigm for endurance sports training. His book, La Naturaleza del Entrenamiento, sets the scene, and his blog shares the latest insights into how to apply his ideas to your own training.
How it changed my thinking
In my professional life I've become obsessed with systems thinking and how company building can be thought of through the lens of complex adaptive systems. Sola Arjona is the first person I discovered who speaks the same language, but has applied it to endurance training. I'd go as far as saying that his writing has been one major inspiration for building LOAD. My mission is to provide a bridge for athletes who cannot access this kind of guidance first-hand: a whole-life view on stress and load management offers a step-change from traditional methods, online training platforms and purely data-driven plans.
04
HRV4Training's Substack
by Marco Altini
Why I recommend it
Altini is the scientist behind the HRV4Training app, and the blog explores how to measure, read and act on HRV (heart rate variability) for training and health, with a strong evidence-based, slightly myth-busting tone. It's aimed at endurance athletes, especially runners, triathletes and mountain athletes, plus coaches and people who build wearable or training tools. It's useful if you care about using morning HRV as a readiness signal in a rigorous way.
How it changed my thinking
I must confess that I was initially rather sceptical about the accuracy of HRV readings, their value as an indicator of what's happening in your body beyond the typical training numbers, and the convenience of taking a reading every morning (hey, that's what having three kids will make challenging!). However, Altini's blog has challenged my assumptions and inspired me with insights into the human body and readiness to get the most out of training. He unsurprisingly goes deep on HRV measurement, but also covers topics like individualised race fuelling and metabolic flexibility, as well as cross-posts from other endurance podcasts and newsletters.
05
Nexus Health & Performance
by Dr David Lipman
Why I recommend it
Lipman describes himself as a health and human performance specialist who focuses on where health and performance overlap. I discovered him as the host of The Norwegian Method podcast, which quickly became a staple listen as he interviewed Olav Aleksander Bu, Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden on a wide range of topics: the science behind training, racing and achieving peak human performance in endurance sports. The core concept of his newsletter is where health and performance line up and where they pull in opposite directions. He writes about thinking frameworks, practical evidence-based breakthroughs, tech trends and broader life-related topics. He's very thoughtful and framework-driven, with a scientific bent but accessible for everyone.
How it changed my thinking
It's easy to get swept up in the latest trends for training, diet and nutrition, and to find yourself pulled too far towards pursuing performance gains. The risk is that short-term benefits might not support long-term health and wellbeing, and a lifetime of enjoying endurance sports (which I certainly want). I've found his podcast and writing have helped me synthesise a lot of the information that's out there, and make it practical and useful for me as an athlete and a father. I'm also a self-confessed data, tech and science obsessive, so his distillation of Olav Aleksander Bu's methods has been incredibly valuable as an age-grouper. Lipman was also gracious enough to reply to me before an Ironman when I ventured an unsolicited question about taper nutrition!
What they have in common
The common thread is that none of them treats the athlete as a set of numbers. They take the data seriously and then look past it, at the person, the season and the life around the training. That's the balance I'm trying to strike in my own racing, and in LOAD.
If there's a newsletter that's changed how you train, I'd love to hear about it: [email protected].