Coached

Many amateur runners use hope as a strategy. It's not.

They guess their easy pace.
They guess their marathon target.
They guess their heart rate zones.

No wonder they hit the wall on race day, or that they're constantly dealing with fatigue.
Guessing is not a strategy.

If you want to train properly, you need to know your exact numbers.
We built a suite of free calculators on our website to do exactly that:

Pace Calculator: Turn distance and time into precise pace targets per kilometre or mile.

Running Race Predictor: Estimate realistic race outcomes based on your actual recent fitness, not hope or hype.

Training Zones Calculator: Set training zones that make sense for your body, so you stop running in the grey zone.

Know your numbers.
Hit the link in our bio to use them for free. 🔗

Many athletes think they’re training easy.
They're not.

I see this constantly. Runners associate a slow pace with an easy effort.
But pace does not reflect effort.

If you are unfit, carrying deep fatigue, or stressed, you can be running very slowly and still be working hard physiologically.

On the flip side, a well-conditioned athlete can run at a significantly faster pace while keeping their heart rate low and remaining at a genuinely easy effort.

Your body doesn't care what your watch says your pace is. It only cares about the internal stress it's under.

To get the best out of yourself, you need to train at an effort that matches your actual fitness level, not an arbitrary pace you decided was "slow".

Stop assuming slow means easy.
Start measuring your actual effort.

Read the full breakdown on the blog to find out what running in the grey zone is actually costing you. Link in bio. 🔗

Your heart rate doesn't care about your ego.
It doesn't care what pace looks good on your feed. And it definitely doesn't fit into a generic formula you found on the internet.

This week's Ask Coach Ben is all about Zone 2 and heart rate. Five questions. Straight answers. Swipe through.

Want training built around your actual physiology? Start your 14-day free trial of Coached. Link in bio. 🔗

You do not need to rush your training.

Fitness doesn't disappear if you pause to change your shoes. The physiological benefits aren't lost if you stop for a breather on a long run.

I see this all the time. Most amateur athletes aren't rushing because they're disciplined. They're rushing because they're anxious.

They haven't been doing this long enough to trust the process. So every session carries too much weight. Miss a rep, lose the gain. Stop for a drink, ruin the session.

It doesn't work like that.

Pros trust the training. They aren't precious about how a session looks. Too hot outside? Jump on the treadmill. Need a break? Take it.

Performance comes from years of accumulated work. Not from a perfectly uninterrupted Tuesday interval session.

Take the pressure off. The job is the job, however it gets done.
Read the full article on the blog. Link in bio. 🔗

Amateur runners love to overcomplicate things.

You chase an arbitrary cadence of 180 because you read it in a blog.
You turn your long runs into races because you are terrified of running slow.
You skip sessions because an algorithm on your wrist told you that you need 72 hours of recovery.
You don't strength train because running is your sport.

Stop guessing.
Stop overthinking.

In today’s post, I break down 5 of the most common training questions I get asked every single week.

The truth is usually much simpler than you think.
Consistency always beats intensity.
Your body knows more than your watch.
And yes, a 30-minute run is always better than sitting on the couch.

Swipe through to read the answers.
Which one of these traps have you been falling into? Let me know in the comments. 👇

Ready to stop guessing and start training with actual purpose?
Start your 14-day free trial with Coached today. Link in bio. 🔗

I hate the word cardio.

It is one of the most useless words in fitness.
When you say you did "cardio," I have no idea what you actually did.

Was it a 90-minute easy run?
Or a 20-minute threshold effort?
Both get called cardio, but they're not even close to the same thing.

I think in terms of intensity.
Two buckets: Low and High.

Low intensity builds your engine and burns fat. Most athletes don't do enough of this because they think it feels "too easy."

High intensity produces lactate and burns sugar. It forces adaptation, but it demands real recovery.

The problem with the "cardio" mindset is that it tells you nothing. No intensity. No purpose. No direction.

Language shapes how you train.
Name the intensity, and suddenly the session has a specific job to do.

Next time someone asks if you do cardio, tell them no.
Tell them you train, and you know exactly how hard.

Read the full article on the blog.
Want to know your exact training zones? Start your 14-day free trial with Coached today. Link in bio.

Winging it might work for a sprint, but not for an Ironman.

Natalie balances a demanding full-time job and a busy family life.
When she signed up for her first full Ironman, she realised her random, unstructured training was a problem.

She needed a real plan.
So, we changed the approach.

We gave every single session a clear purpose.
Especially the easy ones.
We built the structure around her actual life.
Because if a plan isn't realistic, it simply won't get done.

At first, she doubted whether just hitting the prescribed easy work was actually enough.
But as the sessions ticked off, the progression became undeniable.

The results followed:
• She crushed her first full Ironman.
• She podiumed in her age group at multiple local races.
• She qualified for and raced the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Twice.

Training stopped being random and started being consistent.
Confidence replaced doubt.

You can do epic things, even with a demanding schedule.
You just need the right structure.

Read Natalie’s full story and see how we work. Link in bio.

More miles do not automatically make you faster.

If your easy runs are too hard, and your hard runs are too easy, you'll struggle to progress.
You're just accumulating fatigue.

Every week, I get asked the same questions from frustrated runners.

They want to know if they should listen to their Garmin when it says "unproductive."
They want to know how to "catch up" on missed sessions.
They want to know why they are putting in massive effort but not seeing the results on race day.

The problem is usually the same.

You are letting an algorithm dictate your effort.
You are trying to cram fitness instead of consistently building it.
And you are guessing your intensities instead of actually knowing your numbers.

I answered 5 of your most common questions in today’s post.
Swipe through to see how many of these traps you are currently falling into.

Stop guessing. Train with clarity.
Start your 14-day free trial. Link in bio.