Qt2 Systems Podcast Center!

This audio overview, titled "Under the Hood: Mapping Muscle Fiber Utilization to Training Zones" is a deep-dive overview where we explore the physiological anchors that define the QT2.0 training system. Rather than focusing on arbitrary percentages, we examine how Critical Power (CP) and Critical Speed (CS) serve as the definitive asymptote and boundary between physiological stability and instability.   We break down the transition of energy systems from the steady-state recruitment of Type I (slow-twitch) muscle fibers in Z1 to the Type IIA Oxidative and Type IIA Glycolytic fiber recruitment that characterizes the move through Tempo (Z2) and Threshold (Z3).   Finally, we look at what happens when you "raise the roof," moving into maximal aerobic intensities that recruit Type IIX fibers and draw from your finite anaerobic tank, known as W′ or D′.   Discover how understanding these internal shifts allows you to move beyond "no-man's-land" training and toward a truly deliberate and intentional approach to perfo

This audio overview, titled "Raise Your Ceiling or Raise the Roof," provides a deep dive into the Athletic Architecture model used by QT2 Systems to determine an athlete's ideal training focus. The episode explores the critical relationship between an athlete's sustainable threshold - their "ceiling" - and their absolute high-end capacity - their "roof". The discussion centers on how the ratio between Critical Power/Speed and power/speed at VO2 Max defines an athlete's physiological state and dictates which of two primary training paths will offer the highest return on training investment: Raising the Ceiling: The hosts explain that for athletes in an Anaerobic physiological state (ratio < 85%), the "attic space" is too large. In these cases, the priority is a Build/TH block designed to lift the ceiling closer to the roof, making more of the athlete's existing capacity usable for longer durations. Raising the Roof: Conversely, for athletes in an Aerobic physiological state (ratio > 88%), the "attic" has beco

Welcome to the QT2 Podcast Series Race Recap. For this series, we have invited our athletes to come and talk about their race day experiences. We'll cover their journey to the starting line, course details, pre-race and race day logistics, travel and expenses, and more. Episode 3 takes us to the 2025 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Marbella, Spain. Listen on as QT2 athletes Gretchen Cooney, Chelsea Conway and Ryan Zelinski tell you about their experiences racing on this beautiful and challenging course. Hear about how they qualified, their travel experiences getting and staying in Marbella, training guidance and more. Stay to the end for some valuable tips from these experienced and accomplished triathletes. Learn more about QT2 Systems at www.qt2systems.com

Welcome to the QT2 Podcast Series Race Recap. For this series, we have invited our athletes to come and talk about their race day experiences. We'll cover their journey to the starting line, course details, pre-race and race day logistics, travel and expenses, and more. Episode 2 takes us to the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon. At nearly 60,000 finishers, the TCS is the largest marathon. And also one of the most difficult to get into. Listen on as QT2 athletes and NYC marathon veterans Howard Voletsky and Terry Alexander tell you about their NYC marathon experience, from securing your entry, to tackling all of the pre-race and race day logistics, to racing on the iconic course. The application process for the 2026 NYC Marathon starts in February - be prepared! Learn more about QT2 Systems at www.qt2systems.com

Welcome to the QT2 Podcast Series Race Recap. For this series, we have invited our athletes to come and talk about their race day experiences. We'll cover their journey to the starting line, course details, pre-race and race day logistics, travel and expenses, and more. Episode 1 takes us to the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona. Listen on as QT2 athletes Lauren Magin, Nancy McMahon and Jennie Hansen tell you about their experiences on the big stage from travel tips to training guidance to crossing the most storied finish line in all of triathlon. Learn more about QT2 Systems at www.qt2systems.com

Why Mindset Matters in Endurance Sports and How a Coach Can Help Navigate the Minefield - Episode 6 - Maintaining a Larger View/Managing a Disappointing Result In this podcast series, QT2 Owner and Head Coach Tim Snow shares his views, informed by more than twenty years of racing and coaching endurance sports, on how an athlete's mindset can have a profound impact on performance. What happens when you nail your training, but fall short on race day? It could be for so many reasons. In this final episode of the series, Coach Tim talks about the race debrief, and why it's such an important conversation to have. It's always important to try to understand what happened and why - often the answer is not the training. Learn more about QT2 Systems at www.qt2systems.com

Why Mindset Matters in Endurance Sports and How a Coach Can Help Navigate the Minefield - Episode 5 - Coping Visualization In this podcast series, QT2 Owner and Head Coach Tim Snow shares his views, informed by more than twenty years of racing and coaching endurance sports, on how an athlete's mindset can have a profound impact on performance. In episode 5, Coach Tim delves into Coping Visualization. As we mentally prepare for race day, we so often visualize the perfect day. Perfect weather. Perfect execution. But in the world of endurance sports, a race is seldom perfect. A real race day includes uncontrollables, and how we respond (and not react) to them will be what makes or breaks the day. In this episode Coach Tim describes coping visualization and discusses how a coach can help the athlete practice various scenarios, and teach the mind how to respond on race day, even to something not practiced. Learn more about QT2 Systems at www.qt2systems.com

Why Mindset Matters in Endurance Sports and How a Coach Can Help Navigate the Minefield - Episode 4 - True Goal Setting In this podcast series, QT2 Owner and Head Coach Tim Snow shares his views, informed by more than twenty years of racing and coaching endurance sports, on how an athlete's mindset can have a profound impact on performance. In episode 4, Coach Tim explains the differences between goals, targets and outcomes. Goals are things over which you have near total control - e.g., your hydration intake. Targets are things over which you have some level of control, but not total control - e.g., race pace, power, heart rate. Outcomes things over which you have very little control, and often have to do with the performance of other people - e.g., whether you stand on the podium. A coach can help the athlete by remaining objective, and assisting the athlete to define his/her goals and develop strategies for how to accomplish those goals. Learn more about QT2 Systems at www.qt2systems.com

Why Mindset Matters in Endurance Sports and How a Coach Can Help Navigate the Minefield - Episode 3 - Recognizing Your Controllables & Uncontrollables In this podcast series, QT2 Owner and Head Coach Tim Snow shares his views, informed by more than twenty years of racing and coaching endurance sports, on how an athlete's mindset can have a profound impact on performance. In sports, as in life, there are always things that you cannot control. The list is seemingly endless. But, what you can control is how you respond, If it's hot and humid on race day, how will you respond? If you get a flat tire on the bike, how will you respond? If you get hit on the head in the swim, how will you respond? In this episode, Coach Tim walks you through how to identify what you can control and what you can't control. He then discusses strategies on how to subjectively respond to the uncontrollable conditions and also the importance of objectively evaluating performance based on those uncontrollable conditions. Learn more ab

Why Mindset Matters in Endurance Sports and How a Coach Can Help Navigate the Minefield - Episode 2 - Setting & Managing Appropriate Expectations. In this podcast series, QT2 Owner and Head Coach Tim Snow shares his views, informed by more than twenty years of racing and coaching endurance sports, on how an athlete's mindset can have a profound impact on performance. In Episode 2, Coach Tim takes a deep dive into the first strategy for altering mindset - setting & managing appropriate expectations. This strategy is written to the athlete who anytime they lace up expects a PR and/or the athlete who loses sight on where they are in a training process. Training plans are written to target a specific race at a specific time. If an athlete wants to race earlier in the training cycle, the athlete will not be at 100%. Should they still race? Yes, if, but only if, expectations match their training status. Learn more about QT2 Systems at www.qt2systems.com

Why Mindset Matters in Endurance Sports & How a Coach Can Help Navigate the Minefield - Episode 1 - What Is Mindset? In this podcast series, QT2 Owner and Head Coach Tim Snow shares his views, informed by more than twenty years of racing and coaching endurance sports, on how an athlete's mindset can have a profound impact on performance. In Episode 1, Coach Tim sets the framework for the rest of the series, defining Mindset as the lens through which we we see the world. How we see a situation defines how we approach a solution to the problem, or even if we can see a solution. But yet, Mindset is often ignored. In the following Episodes, Coach Tim will take a deep dive into Mindset Strategies an athlete can use to identify "potholes" and come up with solutions to enable an enhanced performance on race day. Five Strategies to Alter Mindset *Setting and Managing Appropriate Expectations *Recognizing Controllables and Uncontrollables *True Goal Setting *Maintaining a Larger View/Managing a Disappointing Resul

My First Triathlon. In this five part series, we are joined by veteran QT2 coaches Jackie Miller and Eric Kahl. Collectively, they have helped 100s of people get to the starting line of their first triathlon. Jackie and Eric share their insights on everything a beginner should know before lining up for their first race.  Episode 5 is all about Race Day. Jackie and Eric walk you through what the day looks like, including race morning logistics, transition set up, race strategy for the swim, bike and run, and post-race celebration. Learn more about Coach Jackie at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-jackie-miller Learn more about Coach Eric at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-eric-kahl

My First Triathlon. In this five part series, we are joined by veteran QT2 coaches Jackie Miller and Eric Kahl. Collectively, they have helped 100s of people get to the starting line of their first triathlon. Jackie and Eric share their insights on everything a beginner should know before lining up for their first race. Episode 4 focuses on the final weeks and days leading up to race day. This is the time to make your lists and pull together your plans for race day. It's also an opportunity for final race prep sessions, practicing your transitions and reviewing all of the course details and race rules. Come race day, there should be no surprises. Learn more about Coach Jackie at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-jackie-miller Learn more about Coach Eric at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-eric-kahl

My First Triathlon. In this five part series, we are joined by veteran QT2 coaches Jackie Miller and Eric Kahl. Collectively, they have helped 100s of people get to the starting line of their first triathlon. Jackie and Eric share their insights on everything a beginner should know before lining up for their first race. Episode 3 dives into the heart of things - how do you train for your first triathlon. Coaches Jackie and Eric discuss everything a beginner needs to know, including how long your training cycle should be, where to start and how to build, what a typical week looks like, what the focus of the workouts should be, and how to stay on track if you get injured or you miss workouts. Learn more about Coach Jackie at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-jackie-miller Learn more about Coach Eric at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-eric-kahl  

My First Triathlon. In this five part series, we are joined by veteran QT2 coaches Jackie Miller and Eric Kahl. Collectively, they have helped 100s of people get to the starting line of their first triathlon. Jackie and Eric share their insights on everything a beginner should know before lining up for their first race. Episode 2 focuses focuses on the equipment you will need to train for and race your first triathlon. Coaches Jackie and Eric break it down by sport - swim, bike and run, walking through the must haves and the nice to haves. They also provide invaluable tips on how to kit up without breaking the bank. Learn more about Coach Jackie at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-jackie-miller Learn more about Coach Eric at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-eric-kahl

My First Triathlon. In this five part series, we are joined by veteran QT2 coaches Jackie Miller and Eric Kahl. Collectively, they have helped 100s of people get to the starting line of their first triathlon. Jackie and Eric share their insights on everything a beginner should know before lining up for their first race.  Episode 1 dives into the factors to consider in picking your first race - from distance to location to timing to course specifics. Jackie and Eric also discuss the importance of building your support network - a necessary piece to a successful race experience. Learn more about Coach Jackie at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-jackie-miller Learn more about Coach Eric at https://qt2systems.com/pages/coach-eric-kahl  

Want to race faster? Finish stronger? Stand on the podium? Tune into QT2's podcast series 10 Tips to Crush Your Next Triathlon. In this series, we will be joined by our coaches to talk about all that goes into performing well on race day. For Episode 10 - Keep Your Calm, we welcome QT2 Systems Coach Anne Basso. It's race time! Over the past several months, you have put in countless hours of training. You've made smart nutrition choices, invested time and money to support your goals, and likely made personal sacrifices to get yourself to the starting line. All of a sudden it's almost race time and the reality hits. With this often comes feeling pressure to nail the day and try to make sure that nothing goes wrong. But the thing is, in the world of triathlon, it's very unlikely that everything will go perfectly. The key is how to prepare for potential hurdles and how you respond if they happen. In this episode, Coach Anne provides some valuable tips on how to stay calm and minimize stress during race week and o

Want to race faster? Finish stronger? Stand on the podium? Tune into QT2's podcast series 10 Tips to Crush Your Next Triathlon. In this series, we will be joined by our coaches to talk about all that goes into performing well on race day. For Episode 9 - Perfect Your Taper, we welcome QT2 Systems Owner and Head Coach Tim Snow. You've trained hard for the past few months, methodically following your training schedule, and now your A race is just weeks away. It's taper time! In this episode, Coach Tim talks all things taper. What is it? Why is it important? How does it impact race day performance? From a practical standpoint, what does a taper look like? Is it the same for all athletes, for all race distances? For an athlete with multiple races, how often should the athlete taper? With building fitness comes fatigue. The taper is about lifting the veil of fatigue to allow you to access the fitness gained from months of specified training. Without a proper taper, you will not be able to access your fitness. Lear

Want to race faster? Finish stronger? Stand on the podium? Tune into QT2's podcast series 10 Tips to Crush Your Next Triathlon. In this series, we will be joined by our coaches to talk about all that goes into performing well on race day. For Episode 8 - Nail Your Race Fueling, we welcome QT2 Systems Coach and The Core Diet Registered Dietician Anne Rollins. On race day, you are in 100% control of what you eat and drink. Race fueling can make or break your day. Yet, for so many triathletes, this is a neglected area. In this episode, Coach and RD Anne talks about the essential elements of race fueling - fluid, electrolytes and carbohydrates. Why your body needs them, and what happens when you don't take in sufficient quantities. Anne also discusses the importance of knowing what's on course (so you can decide whether to use those products and/or carry your own), modifications to make based on temperature/race conditions, how to rebound if you are unable to/do not take in your proper fueling, and the importance

Want to race faster? Finish stronger? Stand on the podium? Tune into QT2's podcast series 10 Tips to Crush Your Next Triathlon. In this series, we will be joined by our coaches to talk about all that goes into performing well on race day. For Episode 7- Don't Skip the Strength Training, we welcome QT2 Systems Coach Jennie Hansen. As a physical therapist, long time athlete and experienced coach, Jennie knows the importance of strength training from every angle. Strength training improves tendon stiffness and strength, bone health and muscle strength, and is vital both for preventing injury and improving performance. In this podcast, Jennie talks about the benefits of strength training, how to make it fit in your schedule, key exercises, and the importance of proper technique. Learn more about QT2 Systems at www.qt2systems.com If you are interested in a exploring a Functional Strength and Mobility Analysis with Jennie click on the link for more information - www.qt2systems.com/products/functional-strength-and-