Episode 23: Coaching Masters Athletes with Nicole Armbrust

01/24/25 • 45 min

In this episode, host Rick Prince chats with coach and physical therapist, Nicole Armbrust – owner of Jump Start Running, based out of Boulder, Colorado. Nicole specialized in working with female masters athletes and as such, this podcast discusses her decision to focus on working with masters athletes, as well as various aspects that are pertinent to masters athletes.

1. Tell us about your background

2. Your current focus is working with female masters runners. Why?

3. As a PT, are there any common issues that you see amongst master runners versus younger runners?

4. As a generalization, with respect to endurance sports, aging is often associated with increased – or at least not diminishing endurance, while youth, is often associated with speed and quickness... and quick recovery. Do you find this generalization to be true?

5. What are some of the most important considerations when working with masters runners?

6. I think a lot of masters athletes are concerned about becoming slower. How do you tackle this subject with your athletes and moreover, are there any main things to focus on?

7. As a masters athlete myself, I often reflect back on how I was faster when I was younger and I find myself comparing myself to that person – which inevitably leads to frustration. How do you deal with athletes like myself in this regard?

Do you find that masters athletes are more susceptible to injuries?

1. Tell us about your background

2. Your current focus is working with female masters runners. Why?

3. As a PT, are there any common issues that you see amongst master runners versus younger runners?

5. What are some of the most important considerations when working with masters runners?

6. I think a lot of masters athletes are concerned about becoming slower. How do you tackle this subject with your athletes and moreover, are there any main things to focus on?

Do you find that masters athletes are more susceptible to injuries?

Previous Episode

Episode 22: Is There a Toxic Dose of Exercise?

In this episode, host Rick Prince chats with respiratory and exercise physiologist, Dr. Nick Tiller. Rick and Nick discuss if there is a toxic dose of exercise and if so, what it is. Dr. Tiller has established himself as a well-known resource with respect to addressing health and exercise-related myths head on. In that vein, Dr. Tiller is the author of the book, ‘The Skeptic’s Guide to Sports Science.’

1. Tell us about yourself?

2. Endurance sports seem to be trending toward longer distances. Is this a good thing from a health perspective?

3. Let’s talk about it with respect to a bell curve, would you say that with respect to exercise volume, the health benefits of exercise more or less follow the normal distribution?

4. Training is typically viewed through the lens of increasing performance, however it’s rarely also viewed through the lens of health. Are these two things sometimes at odds with each other and why do you think that the health aspect is often not considered with respect to training?

5. Could you discuss some of the things that might be considered toxic with respect to too much cardiovascular exercise?

6. It’s been my experience that with a lot of endurance athletes, especially those that participate in ultra-distance events, they overprioritize volume over intensity. Have you also found this to be true?

7. Is what could be considered a toxic level of cardiovascular subjective and different for each person?

8. With respect to ultra-athletes, are there are guidelines that you recommend with respect to staying out of the ‘toxic’ zone?

When discussing ‘toxic’ levels of exercise, is it specific to a particular type (ie, cardiovascular, strength, etc...), or is it a culmination of all areas of training with respect to overall training load?

Next Episode

Episode 24: Training and Racing as an Elite Masters Athlete with Guest Laura Van Gilder

In this episode, host Rick Prince chats with former professional, and current elite masters cyclist, Laura Van Gilder. Laura is a former elite criterium champion, the winningest female US cyclist in history and the current UCI gravel world champion (60-64)... in addition to other national and world titles. In this podcast, Laura discusses many things, including her beginnings in the sport, her rise to becoming a professional cyclist, and how she manages to keep things fun and still race to this day! Laura is a legend in the sport of cycling and whether you’re a fan of cycling or not, this is an intriguing conversation.

1. Could you tell us more about your sport background and some of your many accomplishments

2. How many years have you been competing?

3. You’re known as a sprinter, but you live in a pretty hilly area. Have you found that training in a hilly area has given you an advantage over other sprinters on rolling/hilly terrain?

4. As you’ve progressed through your cycling career, how has your training changed/evolved?

5. With respect to various aspects of fitness (i.e., endurance, strength, explosiveness, etc...), how have these changed, if at all?

6. What keeps you training and racing?

7. How has your nutrition changed over the years of your career, if at all?

8. What advice would you give to other master’s athletes?

9. Given the popularity of gravel racing/riding, do you find yourself doing more gravel riding than road riding these days?

10. Given all your experience, if there is one thing that you’ve learned that you wish you knew when you were in the infancy of your cycling career, what would it be?

What cycling goals do you have for the upcoming year?