Episode

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#17 – Mike Trevino: life-lessons from ultra-endurance, mindset, hard work, and removing limitations

Peter Attia

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TL;DR

The four things you'd lose by not watching

4 items

TL;DR

The four things you'd lose by not watching

4 items

Mike Trevino ran 43 miles fasted on his birthday — starting after dinner the previous night, no calories, just water — demonstrating that true fat adaptation lets you sustain sub-8-minute miles for 6+ hours on stored fat alone.

RAAM sleep strategy: minimize total sleep to 2 hours per day, time wake-ups to the end of a REM cycle (watch eyes stop moving) so you feel rested in 90–120 minutes rather than groggy after interrupted deep sleep.

Trevino backed into nutritional ketosis accidentally — first from carb-loading failures, then from a 10-day fast to eliminate Himalayan parasites — and found his training performance was higher fat-adapted than it had ever been carb-fueled.

The single biggest mental unlock for endurance athletes is eliminating self-imposed limits: 'change your perspective on what you think you can do, just throw it out the window' — Trevino applied this from football lineman to 24-hour world-record runner.

Protocols

Concrete recipes — what, when, how much, and why

7 items

Fasted ultra-endurance runs (43-plus miles, zero calories)

WhatRun at moderate ultra-endurance pace (sub-8 min/mile) for 5-plus hours using stored fat as the sole energy source. Carry water only; have a small emergency fund for worst-case. Pre-plan all water refill points on the route.

WhenOnly after achieving robust fat adaptation (RQ consistently below 0.8). Not appropriate for athletes still glycogen-dependent.

Dose43 miles (~6.5 hours) successfully completed with zero calories in Trevino's test. Attia notes glycogen depletes at 2–3 hours at this intensity; the remainder is entirely fat-powered.

For whomHighly trained, fat-adapted ultra-endurance athletes looking to simplify event nutrition or test metabolic flexibility.

WhyAt RQ below 0.75–0.8 the body can oxidize fat at rates sufficient to fuel moderate ultra-endurance paces. Fat stores (even in lean athletes) represent 50,000-plus kcal — essentially unlimited for the distances involved. Eliminating caloric stops simplifies logistics and maintains forward momentum.

CaveatsRequires years of fat adaptation. Electrolyte and hydration management is still critical. Not appropriate for high-intensity intervals or threshold work — only sustainable at ultra-endurance pace.

Trevino: 'I knew in terms of optimizing performance it should be part of your strategy but you only get one shot at it. If you're doing a hundred you better know what you're doing because after that if you're gonna take a Mountain Dew don't do it at mile 20 because it is at that point all bets are off — your body is now shifted into a completely different world.' The fasted birthday run: dinner and a beer at 5 pm, sleep 9–10 pm, up at 4 am, started at 5 am, finished at noon. He was not hungry when he arrived at the family brunch.

I left with a couple crystal light packets for flavor on hydration and 20 bucks to buy worst case buy a banana at a 7-eleven or something like that and I pulled it off.

REM-cycle-timed sleep for multi-day events

WhatBefore a multi-day ultra event, chart your personal REM cycle length by having a partner observe sleep and time the transition out of REM (eyes stop rapid movement, then stage 1 or 2). Use this REM length as your sleep unit during the event — wake only at cycle end, never mid-REM.

WhenPre-race: track REM architecture 2–4 weeks before the event. During race: enforce the REM-unit-based wake protocol through a designated crew member.

DoseMinimum 2 hours per day (at least 1 full REM cycle). Standard RAAM optimal is 2–4 hours per day sleep. If REM is 90 minutes, one cycle is sufficient for next-day performance; if REM is 2.5 hours, cutting it short causes sleep inertia.

For whomCrew members and athletes competing in multi-day ultras (RAAM, 24-hour events, unsupported record attempts). Also relevant for shift workers or anyone whose sleep is fragmentary by necessity.

WhyWaking mid-REM causes sleep inertia and significantly impairs subsequent performance. A complete 90-minute cycle — even if it includes only one REM phase — is more restorative than 3 hours that ends mid-cycle.

Pete Penseyres (transcontinental speed record: 15.4 mph average over 8.5 days) used his wife's REM-charting as a competitive protocol. 'She would watch him sleep and time it... she would wait till his eyes stop moving, bring him out, he would feel rested even though it was two hours.' He credited this as one of two decisive RAAM variables (the other being sustainable all-day speed). Trevino describes the consequence of not sleeping: 10.5 hours total over 8.5 days, clinically delusional by day 6–7.

Mechanism

REM sleep is critical for memory consolidation, motor pattern encoding, and cognitive recovery. Interrupting REM elevates cortisol and adenosine, producing sleep inertia that can persist 20–30 minutes. At ultra-event pace, 20–30 minutes of degraded cognition translates to navigational errors and slowed decision-making.

She would wait till his eyes stop moving bring him out he would feel rested even though it was two hours. And he said look if your REM is ninety minutes instead of two twenty you know two and a half hours you're gonna win.

Pre-workout 2000-calorie liquid recovery smoothie (whey plus glutamine plus glucosamine plus flaxseed oil)

WhatPost-morning-workout recovery shake: whey protein isolate plus glutamine plus glucosamine plus flaxseed oil blended and frozen the night before. Consumed slowly over 6 hours post-workout while sipping at the desk. Total approximately 2000 kcal.

WhenEvery training day, prepared the night before. Retrieved from freezer post-run, carried in bike pack to office. Sipped from 6:30 am to noon.

DoseApproximately 2000 kcal per shake; consumed over 5–6 hours at ambient temperature. Serves as the primary recovery and re-fueling window following a 3 am training block.

For whomAthletes with high-volume training loads and compressed schedules. Relevant for anyone stacking aerobic training at unusual hours with demanding workday commitments.

WhyTrevino was training at 3 am (12-mile run plus bike commute to work by 6:30 am) while working 60-hour weeks. A slow-release liquid meal meant continuous nutrient delivery through the recovery window without interrupting work or requiring dedicated meal time in a compressed schedule.

CaveatsFlaxseed oil oxidizes; keep frozen until consumption. Glutamine and glucosamine dosing not specified. This was Trevino's experimental protocol from 2001–2004 — not a clinician-supervised prescription.

Trevino's daily schedule in peak years: up at 3 am, 12-mile run, bike commute to Qualcomm, shower, at desk by 6:30 am with frozen smoothie. 'From 6:30 to noon I would sip on a smoothie that was super cold and eat over time — those would be my main 2000-calorie shake essentially.' The glucosamine and glutamine were recovery-targeted; the flaxseed oil was an early fat-as-fuel experiment. He also used Celtic sea salt in teaspoon doses and coconut oil as a training fat source.

I'd have that in the freezer come back from my run grab that throw it in my pack jump on the bike and then from 6:30 to noon I would sip on a smoothie that was super cold and eat over time — those would be my main 2,000 calorie shake essentially.

Celtic sea salt loading plus electrolyte protocol for extreme heat events

WhatDeliberately consume Celtic sea salt (trace mineral-rich) in teaspoon doses throughout training and racing. Supplement magnesium and potassium alongside sodium. Use grams of salt per day during heat-acclimatization blocks. Add tablespoon doses of coconut oil as concurrent fat energy source.

WhenThroughout Badwater preparation and during the race itself. Applied during hot-weather training in San Diego.

DoseTeaspoon doses (approximately 5g NaCl equivalent) multiple times per day. Broader electrolyte stack includes magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Coconut oil (tablespoon) used as a concurrent fat energy source.

For whomUltra-endurance athletes competing in extreme heat environments. Anyone with high sweat rate consuming high fluid volumes and needing to avoid hyponatremia.

WhyBadwater requires pushing maximum fluid volume in 125-degree heat — essentially becoming a human water filter. Without commensurate electrolyte replacement, hyperhydration leads to hyponatremia. Salt loading is the mechanism allowing absorption and processing of the required fluid volumes.

CaveatsCeltic sea salt chosen specifically for trace mineral content. Straight NaCl table salt may not provide the same mineral spectrum. Trevino's dosing was experimental — no clinician-supervised protocol is described.

Badwater (135 miles, Death Valley to Whitney Portal, 8500 ft elevation gain) starts at 100-plus degrees and peaks around 125 degrees surface temperature. 'If you run the white line it's 10 degrees cooler — the surface gets really hot.' Trevino learned to love salt through experimentation: 'I fell in love with Celtic sea salt that I found and it just felt like electricity put it in your mouth.' His hydration and nutrition strategy aimed to make them one of the same — salty liquid nutrition that simultaneously hydrated and fueled.

I learned to love salt so I would actually find it kind of became a salt geek so I would find different salts with trace minerals and elements I fell in love with Celtic sea salt and it just felt like electricity put it in your mouth and I would actually just do teaspoons of that so I would do grams of salt.

Sauna plus Jacuzzi heat acclimatization for Badwater preparation

WhatDuring Badwater-specific build phase: mid-workday sauna sessions to artificially elevate core temperature, followed immediately by Jacuzzi for contrast, while consuming maximum water to stress fluid-processing capacity. Goal: expand plasma volume and acclimatize to heat stress.

WhenDuring the Badwater-specific build phase. Trevino ran over at lunchtime from his Qualcomm office to a nearby fitness facility.

DoseSession duration not specified; goal was to raise body temperature and process as much water as possible. Jacuzzi contrast used immediately after sauna. Back to work within the lunch window.

For whomAthletes preparing for extreme-heat endurance events who cannot train in the target climate.

WhyBadwater is a heat event above all else. Repeated elevation of core temperature stimulates plasma volume expansion, increases sweat rate efficiency, and improves cardiovascular response to heat stress — the same adaptations achieved by living in a hot climate. Maximal fluid intake during sessions trains the gut fluid-processing capacity.

CaveatsElectrolyte replacement is critical during and after sauna sessions to avoid hyponatremia. Trevino paired this protocol with his salt loading regimen. Sauna alone without mineral replacement creates hyponatremia risk.

Trevino describes the protocol matter-of-factly: 'When I was training for bad water I learned that it was all about becoming a human water filter because you have to push so much fluid in that water because you sweat so much that I would go and do sauna time... focused on raising my body temp — sit in a sauna and then go sit in the jacuzzi and just pound waters and go back and work for a few hours.' This was a lunch-break intervention, not a dedicated session. He did it while simultaneously doing morning run-and-ride training blocks.

I was training for bad water I learned that it was all about just becoming a human water filter because you have to push so much fluid in that water because you sweat so much that I would go and do sauna time — just focused on raising my body temp so I'd sit in a sauna and then go sit in the jacuzzi and just pound waters.

Resting heart rate as objective daily training-readiness gate

WhatCheck resting heart rate on waking each morning before training. Establish personal baseline over months of consistent training. If resting HR is elevated above baseline by approximately 5–8 percent, do not train that day — stay in bed. The day is classified as recovery regardless of training plan.

WhenEvery morning before any training decision. Baseline calibration requires 4–6 weeks of consistent measurement.

DoseThreshold: Trevino baseline 37–38 bpm; abort-training threshold 40 bpm (approximately 5–8 percent elevation). Single measurement on waking before rising.

For whomHigh-volume endurance athletes without a coach who need an objective daily readiness metric. Athletes prone to overtraining or always-training mentality.

WhyElevated resting HR reflects incomplete recovery, sympathetic activation from prior training stress, illness, or systemic stressors. Training through this state causes adaptation failure and cumulative overtraining — particularly dangerous during high-volume weeks.

CaveatsRequires well-established personal baseline — the threshold is individual, not universal. Trevino's baseline (37–38 bpm) reflects elite aerobic adaptation; a recreational athlete baseline may be 55–60 bpm and the same percentage threshold applies. Does not capture all recovery dimensions (HRV, sleep quality, mood) but is a reliable single metric.

Trevino was logging 130 weekly running miles simultaneously with 150-plus cycling miles and working 60-hour weeks at Qualcomm. No coach, no HRV monitor — just a simple HR measurement. Attia acknowledges: 'The hardest decisions were the days when I pulled back on training — struggling with your own demons.' The resting HR rule removed the emotional variable: above 40, you do not go, period. Trevino applied the same binary logic to mountaineering: if I am not where I need to be by 2 pm I turn around. It is not summit day.

The morning metric that I used to make a decision about whether I was gonna run or train was my heart rate and my resting heart rate used to be 37 38 and if it was ever above 40 I would just stay in bed — it wasn't adapted and there was no point in stressing myself further because I would break into overtraining.

Crew-chief protocol for multi-day ultra events (single chain-of-command, no negotiation)

WhatDesignate one crew chief for any multi-day ultra event. That person has unilateral authority over all decisions — when the athlete sleeps, when nutrition changes, when the athlete is pulled for safety. No negotiation, no appeals. Support crew must understand this is non-negotiable before the event begins.

WhenPre-event: crew composition and roles defined, crew chief authority established explicitly. During event: crew chief decision is final, especially once athlete becomes sleep-deprived.

DoseContinuous for the duration of the event. The crew chief must also monitor their own sleep — Trevino notes his crew was breaking down by hour 45, contributing to chaos in his 2004 RAAM.

For whomAthletes preparing for RAAM, 24-hour events, or any multi-day unsupported challenge. Also applicable to ocean swims, multi-day mountaineering, or any event where progressive cognitive impairment is expected.

WhyAfter 40-plus hours without sleep, ultra-athletes become clinically delusional. They cannot safely self-regulate pace, nutrition, or safety decisions. The crew chief is the external prefrontal cortex. Multiple decision-makers or democratic crew structures produce conflicts at the worst possible moments.

Trevino on his 2004 RAAM crew: 'My crew in 2004 when I did it only one was a cyclist — I had massage therapists, a doc, one cyclist and a software engineer my sister — a really mixed team, none of them except for one knew how to change a tire on a bike, and I figured we could teach him that.' The cross-functional composition was intentional: problem-solving requires diverse expertise. But the crew broke down by hour 45 — his crew chief and the crew chief's brother got into a fistfight. Attia draws the analogy to marathon swimming: 'There is one and only one boss on that ship — they are the ones that pull you out of the water if they think you are failing.'

Crew dynamics is the biggest part of all of it. When you're talking about eight nine days — I've seen world-class racers bail before they even hit Arizona because their crew blows up.

Also said

“There is one and only one boss on that ship and everybody does what they say no matter what the shit is going on — you have to trust that person with your life.”— Attia's formulation of the crew-chief authority structure from his marathon swimming experience — applicable to any multi-day ultra.

What's new

Personal practice updates, fresh positions, predictions

5 items

Fat adaptation allows multi-hour ultra-endurance without any caloric intake

~10 min

Trevino ran 43 miles at sub-8-min/mile pace with zero calories, relying entirely on stored fat after an overnight fast. Attia notes that at that output (~600–700 kJ/hr) glycogen would be depleted in 2–3 hours — the performance is only possible if fat oxidation fully covers the remainder.

Why this matters: Challenges the standard sports-nutrition doctrine that endurance events require continuous carbohydrate intake. A fully fat-adapted athlete can sustain moderate-intensity ultra-distances on stored fat alone.

Background

Trevino had been fat-adapting for years, backing into the approach through carb-loading failures and a therapeutic fast. The 43-mile birthday run was a deliberate test of the hypothesis — 'a new experiment.'

Attia frames the science: the question is respiratory quotient (RQ). At RQ below 0.75–0.8, fat oxidation can cover the energy demand at ultra-endurance paces. Trevino's fasted-run experiment confirms this in practice. Trevino kept two 20-oz handhelds of water, knew all the drinking fountain locations on his San Diego route, and carried $20 as emergency banana money — never needed. He met his family for brunch at the pier at noon and 'wasn't even really hungry when done.'

I thought it was in good shape and decided to try the run no calories so self supported but no calories just to see if I could pull it off so I left with a couple crystal light packets for flavor on hydration and 20 bucks to buy worst case buy a banana at a 7-eleven or something like that and I pulled it off.

Also said

“You're probably expending somewhere in the neighborhood of six to seven hundred kilojoules per hour and you know if you were trying to get access to that just from glycogen I mean you'd be done in probably two three hours at most.”— Attia's quantitative explanation of why glycogen alone cannot support a 43-mile run — fat oxidation must carry the load.

REM-cycle-timed sleep as RAAM performance variable

~70 min

Pete Penseyres, the former transcontinental speed-record holder, taught Trevino that the decisive RAAM variable (after raw speed) is the length of your REM cycle. His wife charted his sleep before races and would wake him precisely as REM ended — allowing 90-minute sleeps that felt fully restorative. A 90-minute REM cycle vs. a 2.5-hour cycle could decide a multi-day race.

Why this matters: First-principles sleep engineering applied to ultra-endurance competition — not just 'sleep as much as possible' but 'know your REM architecture and exploit it.'

Background

Standard RAAM strategy is 20–22 hours on the bike with 2–4 hours of sleep. Penseyres held the solo transcontinental speed record at 15.4 mph average over 8.5 days (on-bike speed ~20 mph). His wife's eye-movement charting protocol was his competitive edge.

Trevino explains the logic: waking mid-REM leaves you groggy and impairs performance. Waking during stage 1–2 after REM allows the rider to feel rested despite minimal total sleep time. Penseyres told him 'if your REM is 90 minutes instead of two and a half hours, you're gonna win.' Trevino applied the reverse — by not sleeping at all for stretches over 40 hours in his 2004 RAAM, he inadvertently stayed ahead of competitors caught in a Midwest storm. He slept only about 10.5 hours total over 8.5 days.

She would watch him sleep and then watch when he would come out of REM and she would chart it and they would do this before the RAM... she would wait till his eyes stop moving she would wait till as I stop moving bring him out he would feel rested even though it was two hours. And he said look if your REM is ninety minutes instead of two twenty you know two and a half hours you're gonna win.

Therapeutic 10-day fast eliminated Himalayan parasites and accidentally induced fat adaptation

~100 min

After returning from Everest base camp with tapeworms and other parasites, Trevino combined Western antiparasitic medication with a 10-day fast on warm water only. By day 3 he noticed profound sensory clarity; by day 7 he was training again while still fasted and felt fantastic. This inadvertent ketosis experience convinced him fat adaptation was real.

Why this matters: A rare first-person account of therapeutic fasting producing metabolic adaptation — and specifically demonstrating that athletic training is possible during extended fasting once fat-adaptation kicks in.

Background

Trevino spent time in Tibet at altitude in 2002, eating yak meat. He returned with parasites diagnosed in 2003. His dual-track treatment — medical plus fast — was prompted by learning that ancestral approaches to parasites involved starvation.

Trevino: 'By day three I just — whatever — a hundred and seventy degree vision went to I could see around myself. I could feel stuff, I could smell stuff and it just turned into this journey.' He was developing exercise-induced asthma and food allergies — all symptoms of immune activation from the parasites — which 'all went away in oh three by fasting.' He resumed training on day 7 of the fast and noticed performance was higher, not lower. This is the moment he committed to fat adaptation as a competitive strategy.

I started training again by day seven I wasn't eating but I started training again and I felt fantastic and that's when I realized like holy cow like it was accidental but between the fat and understanding that that's a component of performance and then the fasting which was again just to get rid of parasites I realized I can actually perform even better.

Sleep deprivation causes clinically significant delusion in multi-day ultra-events

~115 min

Trevino describes the progression in RAAM: normal then illusions then hallucinations then full-blown delusions. After 6–7 days on approximately 10.5 hours total sleep he believed his crew van was a spy vehicle, bolted to a cemetery, and put his bike between himself and his crew as a weapon. He retained full memory of the episode the next day in daylight.

Why this matters: Documents the neurological stages of extreme sleep deprivation in a real-world setting — relevant to anyone designing support protocols for multi-day events.

Trevino: 'I literally didn't know why this van was following me and I somehow concocted this whole story about being chased and thought they were spies and I was truly delusional and I was paranoid and I would try to get away from him.' He eventually got off the highway, entered a cemetery, and put his bike between himself and his crew as a defensive barrier. The crew was terrified. The next morning he remembered everything. He also came close to fighting a 220-lb friend 60 miles from the finish.

There's a sequence of mental states that I think you go through in these things and call it normal homeostasis and then you move to with sleep deprivation you move to illusions hallucinations people talk about that laugh about it they're funny but you're still with it and then you get truly delusional — this is when you're mentally insane.

Also said

“Sleep is more important than food and hydration when it comes to thermal regulation and muscle glycogen restoration and synapse repair — literally when I was clinically insane by the end of that race fully delusional by the end of that race but I just kept hammering.”— Trevino's own ranking of sleep above nutrition and hydration for multi-day ultra performance.

Resting heart rate as daily training-readiness gate

~80 min

Trevino's training-readiness criterion was simple: resting heart rate on waking. His baseline was 37–38 bpm. Any morning above 40 bpm meant staying in bed — no workout. This pre-empted overtraining across years of 130-plus mile running weeks combined with 150-plus mile cycling weeks.

Why this matters: A single objective biomarker replaced the subjective question of whether to train. The threshold was narrow (just 5–8% above baseline) demonstrating how sensitive the metric is when baseline is well-established.

Background

Trevino was logging 130 weekly running miles and 150-plus weekly cycling miles simultaneously while working 60 hours a week at Qualcomm. He had no coach — the resting HR rule was his self-regulation mechanism.

Attia: 'The hardest decisions were the days when I pulled back on training — struggling with your own demons: am I good enough, my opponents out there training.' Trevino's framework bypassed that emotional struggle by making it a measurement, not a judgment: the number is above 40, you do not train, period. He calls this 'being objective with yourself' — same framework he applied to mountaineering turnback decisions: if not where I need to be by 2 pm, I turn around.

Recommendations

Products, supplements, and tools mentioned in the episode

4 items

Climbing Light and Fast (Mark Twight) — fat-adapted fueling at altitude

Book

Documents how alpine climbers in the 1990s used fat-adapted fueling strategies including shots of olive oil at altitude when cooking was impossible and caloric density mattered more than carbohydrates. Trevino used this as early evidence for fat adaptation in extreme endurance.

Trevino: 'There's a great book called Fast and Light — there's a mountaineer named Mark Twight who was doing all kinds of stuff in the 90s and... taking a shot of oil at altitude was better than eating a bowl of spaghetti and it's written about and that's where I learned sometimes it's better just to take a shot of olive oil.' He transferred this insight from mountaineering to ultra-cycling and ultra-running years before fat adaptation became mainstream endurance doctrine.

There's a great book called it's called fast and lighter — there's a mountaineer — Mark Twight — taking a shot of oil at altitude was better than eating a bowl of spaghetti and it's written about and that's where I learned sometimes it's better just to take a shot of olive oil.

Find Climbing

Celtic sea salt (trace-mineral electrolyte replacement)

Product

Trevino's preferred electrolyte source for Badwater and extreme heat training. Chosen for trace mineral content beyond NaCl — described as feeling like electricity in your mouth. Used in teaspoon doses throughout training days.

Standard table salt provides sodium and chloride only; Celtic sea salt retains trace minerals from the evaporation process including magnesium, potassium, and other electrolytes. Trevino's felt-sense of electricity likely reflects the broader mineral profile that straight sodium chloride cannot provide. His salt-geek period preceded most commercial electrolyte supplement products — he was improvising a trace-mineral stack before it was a commercial category.

I fell in love with Celtic sea salt that I found and it just felt like electricity put it in your mouth and I would actually just do teaspoons of that so I would do grams of salt — I mean of course other things magnesium and potassium etc so without a doubt salt was a big part of it.

Find Celtic

Judgment Day Belgian Quad (Lost Abbey Brewing, San Marcos CA)

Product

Endorsed as a widely accessible substitute for their actual favorite Belgian quad (a private reserve from a small Belgian brewery they decline to name). Described as a dense 10-plus percent ABV strong Belgian quad. Available at the brewery in San Marcos, CA and selected specialty retailers.

The recommendation is lighthearted — Attia's framing: 'For those of you interested in great beer, we will give you a little tip at the end.' The actual best beer is never named to protect supply. 'Judgment Day is up there — so it's a strong Belgian quad. There are a few others — Chimay Grand Reserve and others — but Judgment Day, it's a local brewery, it's the closest thing.' Lost Abbey Brewing in San Marcos, CA. Approximately $10 for a large format bottle.

vs alternatives

Attia also names Chimay Grand Reserve as a comparable widely-available Belgian quad. Cask-aged Judgment Day equivalents from Lost Abbey are also mentioned as excellent but can be too smoky or oaky.

Judgment Day — Lost Abbey Brewing San Marcos California. Judgment Day is up there so it's a strong Belgian quad as they call it — there are a few others Chimay grand reserve and others but the Judgment Day it's a local brewery it's the closest thing.

Find Judgment

Weekly training-partner ride as social anchor and mental recovery

Practice

Attia describes their weekly 40km Sunday ride as among the most cherished things he does outdoors — particularly valuable because most of his training (lifting, Peloton, Wahoo Kicker) is now done alone. The ride functions as friendship, mental recovery, and accountability.

Attia: 'So much of what I do is now alone — I lift weights alone, I ride my Peloton or my Wahoo Kicker alone — and this is kind of the one time a week when I get to go and be with somebody else for an hour, 75 minutes, and I value it greatly.' Trevino got Attia back on the bike after a 3-year hiatus. The social dimension of the ride is explicitly described as the value, not the fitness — a rare acknowledgment from a high-performance optimization context that social connection is itself a health intervention.

These weekly bike rides on Sunday mornings which are usually when we do them are among kind of the most cherished things that I do outdoors anymore. I value it greatly.

Find Weekly

Notable quotes

Lines worth pulling out — contrarian, specific, or perfectly phrased

5 items

I love ultrarunning and the follow-up question is why — and it's the only time I feel normal and I like to feel normal. I feel normal when I'm out there doing that stuff.

Trevino's own psychology of ultra-endurance: the extreme is his baseline, not an escape. Reframes the 'why do you do this' question — it is not masochism, it is finding one's home state.

Sleep is more important than food and hydration when it comes to thermal regulation and muscle glycogen restoration and synapse repair — literally when I was clinically insane by the end of that race fully delusional by the end of that race but I just kept hammering.

Trevino's hierarchy of recovery priorities from hard-won RAAM experience: sleep above nutrition above hydration for multi-day events.

We all have the physical ability — we're all natural-born athletes. Some people may have better genetics or better biomechanics but I was heavy and a jock football player and I'm not the best endurance athlete — I was able to engineer myself, kind of hack my way to positive outcomes and if I can do it I think anybody can.

The central thesis of the episode: athletic performance is primarily engineered, not born. From 200-lb offensive tackle to 24-hour world-record ultra-runner by deliberate design.

It's a privilege to do what I do. I love doing what I do. It's fantastic. It's not a sacrifice — if it was a sacrifice I wouldn't be doing it.

Reframes the 'how do you sacrifice so much' question entirely. When the activity is intrinsically rewarding, sacrifice is a category error.

Never give up — it's that simple. When training you get a lot of adversity but don't give up — it's usually the person that keeps moving. If you don't win the race you'll finish the race. Just keep moving.

Trevino's distilled life and business philosophy, derived from 20 years of ultra-endurance competition.

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Topics covered

ultra-endurance-cyclingultra-endurance-runningfat-adaptationfasted-trainingrace-across-americasleep-engineeringrem-cycle-optimizationbadwater-135heat-acclimatizationelectrolyte-strategysalt-loadingnutritional-ketosisovertraining-preventionresting-heart-ratecrew-managementmental-toughnesssleep-deprivation-effectspacing-strategymindset-and-limits

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Educational summary of the cited expert source — not medical advice. Open the source recording linked above and consult a qualified physician before acting on any protocol.