Finishing every workout doesn’t tell you whether the training is making you better.

Coach and Troll Training co-founder John Wessling shares how he explained away the warning signs during a year of overtraining, and why being motivated can make it difficult to recognize when more work isn’t helping.

We explore the difference between doing training and absorbing it, the challenge of eating enough for long endurance days, and finding a workload that still leaves you able to enjoy the rest of your life. John also shares his Leadville mountain-bike preparation, his preference for racing rather than simply surviving an event, and why one bad wearable score doesn’t get to decide how a race will go.

It’s a conversation about getting better at the things we enjoy, without assuming the next step always needs to be more hours or a longer race.

Links

• John Wessling / Troll Training: https://www.instagram.com/jrwessling/
• Deepish Conversations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz35DCAJXu0CKvb08y2uvcNKSahc5A3eJ
• Brian - Substack: https://brianpierce.substack.com/
• Brian - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woodybepierced

Thanks for listening to Deepish Conversations, a podcast for people who enjoy good stories, a little humor, and learning something along the way.

Support the show

Choosing your next fitness challenge starts with knowing what you want from it: a better result, a shared experience, or confidence in what you can do.

Greg Hammond of Concept2 joins me to explore why we test ourselves, what different fitness events offer, and how to balance performance with staying active for the long run. CrossFit, HYROX, and the Tactical Games give us the setting, but the questions apply whether you compete or simply enjoy training.

In this conversation

• How CrossFit made fitness measurable across different movements and durations
• Why everyday athletes seek out fitness competitions
• What HYROX and the Tactical Games offer participants
• Community, shared challenges, and discovering what you can do
• The difference between training for health and elite performance
• Balancing strength, endurance, and changing goals as you get older

Links

• Greg Hammond / Concept2: https://www.instagram.com/concept2greg/
• Deepish Conversations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz35DCAJXu0CKvb08y2uvcNKSahc5A3eJ
• Brian - Substack: https://brianpierce.substack.com/
• Brian - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woodybepierced

In this episode of Deepish Conversations, Brian Pierce sits down with Kelsey Martins to talk about growing up on antidepressants, navigating withdrawal, and finding yourself beyond the labels that have become part of your identity.

Kelsey started Zoloft at 12 and now shares her experience through Unmedicating Me, where she offers coaching and peer support. She describes both the help she experienced on medication and the difficulties she encountered when she wanted to come off.

Our conversation centers on a question that reaches beyond medication: when something has explained how you feel for years, how do you make room for a different understanding of yourself?

In this conversation:

• Growing up with anxiety and starting medication
• Kelsey’s difficult first discontinuation experience
• Separating what you feel from who you are
• Acceptance, rest, and the pressure to fix everything
• Getting to know yourself before the process is finished

Both of us share from experiences that are still unfolding. This is not a tapering guide or a claim that coming off medication is the right choice for everyone.

Links

Kelsey / Unmedicating Me: https://www.instagram.com/unmedicating_me/
Deepish Conversations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz35DCAJXu0CKvb08y2uvcNKSahc5A3eJ
Brian on Substack: https://brianpierce.substack.com/
Brian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woodybepierced

This is a personal conversation, not medical advice. Discuss medication changes with a qualified prescribing clinician.

Thanks for listening to Deepish Conversations, a podcast for people who enjoy good stories, a little humor, and learning something along the way.

Support the show