This show is brought to you by Treeline Endurance LLC. Ascent Kinetics is your weekly quick-hit of the new science of exercise for health and performance. We dive into the developing bridge between exercise for health and exercise for athletic performance. We explore the emerging relationships between exercise and human physiology. Our listeners are athletes and aspiring athletes. Whether committing to an exercise routine for the first time, or planning for an ultramarathon next month, we cover insights relevant to you.
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Our guest for this episode is Matt Farina, CSCS, who began his career in the Armed Forces as an artillery Marine, serving deployments to Afghanistan and Japan. Today he's the founder of Farm League Strength and Conditioning, as well as a rugby and ROTC coach for Texas A&M University.
In this conversation with Matt, we dive deep into the practices that he's regularly using as part of Farm League Strength. We discuss unilateral versus bilateral strength training, and how he recommends we use smartwatches in managing training. We also give time to why he chose to become a strength coach, and discuss what sport has done for him personally.
Chapters
01:01 Welcome & Guest Introduction
03:57 From Montana to Texas A&M
06:25 How Coaching Started: High School & CrossFit
10:05 Coach Dan & the Weight-Loss Journey
11:35 Joining the Marine Corps
14:46 Life as an Artilleryman
17:38 Why Bozeman & Montana State
19:17 Discovering Research
23:22 What Made Dan's Coaching Work
24:51 Certifications: OPEX, CSCS & TSAC-F
27:38 Starting Farm League Strength
30:27 Coaching Philosophy: Start With the Individual
38:17 Case Study: Strength for a Trail Runner
46:33 Training Foundations Across Sports
52:29 Unilateral vs. Bilateral Strength
59:49 Optimization vs. Letting the Dog Out
01:04:48 Wearables, Gut Instinct & Hard Efforts
01:09:04 Planning When to Push
01:13:15 Confidence & the Mental Side of Training
01:19:20 Measuring Progress Beyond the Numbers
01:24:12 Communicating With Clients
01:28:20 Matt's Role at Texas A&M
01:30:31 Wrap-Up & Where to Find Matt
Instagram accounts:
@farmleaguestrength
@matt_farina
19 Oct 2026
The Psychology of Consistency
This podcast episode delves into the psychological and social factors that influence adherence to exercise routines, exploring key themes such as motivation, self-efficacy, and the importance of social support. The discussion highlights the 5 pillars that can improve exercise consistency and overall health outcomes.
Chapters
00:00 Understanding Exercise Referral Schemes
08:26 Psychosocial Factors Influencing Exercise Adherence
16:03 The Role of Motivation in Exercise
23:13 Self-Efficacy and Its Impact on Exercise
30:03 Psychological Need Satisfaction and Exercise
35:56 Setting Realistic Expectations for Success
39:21 The Importance of Social Support
42:06 Transforming Athletic Identity Through Exercise
12 Oct 2026
Ask Me Anything: Episode 1
In this episode, we answer listener questions from the past few weeks. How to fuel before, after, and during training sessions. Also, choosing shoes, energetic cost versus oxygen cost, and coaching methodology.
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Timestamps
00:00 Pre-workout fueling
07:01 Post-exercise protein for recovery
12:02 Fueling long endurance sessions
15:53 Bicarb: when, how, and why to use it
23:18 Prepping for high altitude at low altitude
26:37 Finding the right running shoe
32:36 Shoes, Injury, and Performance
34:45 Fitness plateaus
38:21 Coaching and scientific evidence
41:53 Energetic cost vs. oxygen cost
5 Oct 2026
Why One Shoe Doesn't Fit All Strides
We all know super shoes make runners faster, but why do some athletes see a massive 5% boost in running economy while others barely gain a 1% edge? The answer lies in a biomechanical blind spot: high-tech footwear isn't just returning energy, it's rewriting your running form in real-time. In this episode, we unpack new research revealing how stack heights and space-age foams interact with your unique stride. Tune in to find out if the future of the sport means retraining your gait just to unlock the true speed hiding in your shoes.
Further reading:
Connick, M. J., & Lichtwark, G. A. (2025). Individualization of Footwear for Optimizing Running Economy: A Theoretical Framework. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 41(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2024-0109 (https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2024-0109)
28 Sept 2026
Injury Prevention and Running Shoes
40 years of research around the globe have worked to provide clues about how running shoe design can reduce our risk of injury. Scientific paradigms and culture trends have been adopted and dismissed. We look at what the science tells us in 2026 so that you know what to think about the next time you look at the shoe wall in a running store.
Also, some mythbusting.
Further reading:
Agresta, C., Kessler, S., Southern, E., Goulet, G. C., Zernicke, R., & Zendler, J. D. (2018). Immediate and short-term adaptations to maximalist and minimalist running shoes. Footwear Science, 10(2), 95–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/19424280.2018.1460624 (https://doi.org/10.1080/19424280.2018.1460624)
21 Sept 2026
Cory Terzis - How to Run Leadville 100
Cory Terzis joins to share what it was like to train, plan, and run the Leadville Trail 100 as his first ever one hundred mile ultramarathon. We cover what is inspiring about Leadville, practical guidance for managing a busy schedule while training for an ultra, managing altitude, and prepping your race crew. Terzis share how to run your first 100 with just eight months of prep.
14 Sept 2026
Is Apple Watch’s Heart Rate Really the Best?
In this episode, we pressure-test Apple’s new claim of “the best heart rate accuracy in a wearable” by looking at their new white paper, comparing their to existing science and clarifying why heart rate data accuracy is important for everyone.
References to papers discussed:
Apple 2026: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.apple.com/health/pdf/Heart_Rate_Accuracy_Study_2026.pdf (https://www.apple.com/health/pdf/Heart_Rate_Accuracy_Study_2026.pdf)
Paluch 2024: https://apcz.umk.pl/QS/article/view/55350 (https://apcz.umk.pl/QS/article/view/55350)
7 Sept 2026
How Running Shoes Affect Women
In this episode, we review what we've covered in the past few weeks, and what we have coming next. We take a step back to ask how science should be used in coaching, training, and exercise prescription. Our main topic is the 117-page study that discovers how all kinds of shoes affect the way women run.
31 Aug 2026
The Expiration Date on Your Strength Gains
In this episode, we discuss muscular endurance training protocols, a coaching feud, and how fast muscles de-train strength, according to some new research.
24 Aug 2026
The Myth of Mitochondrial Density
The evolving coaching landscape, the 80/20 rule of training, distinguishing training and overtraining, and the new science that puts an asterisk of the benefits of mitochondrial density.
Key Topics
Mitochondria and their role in energy production
The 80-20 rule in endurance training
Overtraining and its effects on mitochondria
New research on mitochondrial function and location
Impact of training load on metabolic health
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the episode and main topics
02:09 The evolving role of coaches and athlete-led training
03:51 The 80-20 rule in endurance training and its flexibility
05:51 Mitochondria's role in energy production and performance
07:57 Study design: training protocol and muscle sampling
08:53 Findings: effects of intense training on mitochondrial density and function
10:06 Implications of mitochondrial dysfunction for health and performance
10:57 Recovery, mitochondrial health, and training strategies
11:58 Key takeaways and practical advice for athletes
12:59 Closing thoughts and listener engagement
17 Aug 2026
Trail Running Super Shoes
In this episode of AKP, we cover the new science of advanced running shoe technology, and whether or not it can revolutionize trail running like it has for road and track racing.
6 Aug 2026
Mission + Why Fitness Scores Fail
In this episode, we introduce the Ascent Kinetics Podcast by explaining the purpose of the show and diving into our first topic: fitness apps and fitness scores. We cover how "Fitness" in apps like TrainingPeaks and Strava are calculated, what they miss, and how we can do better.
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