“There is no greatness that’s ever been achieved by staying in the lines. Ever. Nobody.”

Growing up in the punk-rock scene of Orange County in the 1980’s gave Brian Mackenzie an unexpected edge later on as an endurance athlete and coach. After shifting from skateboarding and BMX biking to becoming a triathlete and ultra-distance runner, those movement skills learned on the SoCal streets had surprising application in the endurance sports world.

Co-Author of the New York Times bestseller UnBreakable Runner and Power Speed Endurance, Mackenzie is an innovator of the endurance, strength and conditioning paradigm. 

He has studied performance and movement since 2001 with altitude, hypoxia, breathing mechanics & methods, along with heat and cold exposure. 

The basis of Mackenzie’s groundbreaking work came from realizing that having a cache of skills outside your chosen sport is essential. You need variety to overcome performance plateaus and cultivate sustainable fitness for the long-term.

But he doesn’t stop there. He’s also a master of overcoming: overcoming addiction, self-limiting  beliefs, and your own physiology. So instead of backing down, you skillfully step up to the challenge at hand.

Listen to the conversation with Brian Mackenzie and Tune Up blog editor Ariel Kiley to gain insight on how to prioritize training skill over volume, the wisdom of “self-experimentation” and what Bruce Lee and baking bread have to do with it.