The Limits of Endurance: Dr. Andrew Best on Running's "Metabolic Ceiling"

Dr. Andrew Best is a professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts where he focuses on evolutionary questions about human physiology. You can email him at andrew.best@mcla.edu . His latest study was titled " Ultra Endurance Athletes and the Metabolic Ceiling ." They looked at the maximum, sustainable amount of energy expenditure that can be done over a long time period. It answers the question, "what is the limit of human energy expenditure?" It's a metric that literally dictates how hard you can train. If you want sustainable performance, you'll love this episode. Fan of the podcast? Support our partners! Thank you MOBO Board! Invented by renowned physical therapist Jay Dicharry, MOBO helps you stabilize your stance with an innovative rocker board that's set up on two fins. The design effectively forces you to drive your big toe into the board to improve your stability. I was pretty arrogant going into my first session on the MOBO Board. How hard can it be to balance, right? Well, I was humbled pretty quickly! Even if you're a good runner, better balance, stability, and proprioception is going to help you have a more powerful stride and prevent more running injuries. You'll learn how to improve the efficiency of the kinetic chain from your hip to your big toe. Because as Jay likes to say, it's not just how strong you are, but how well you use that strength. I was recently at a weekend physical therapy workshop (lol I was the only running coach) and learned how important (and rare) this simple movement is. Save 10% with code STRENGTHRUN10 at checkout at moboboard.com . The Ultimate Training Bundle Dial in your running, weight training, nutrition, and mindset - with certainty. Strength Running's Ultimate Training Bundle is a collection of our six most popular training programs at a huge, 35% discount. Since 2010, we've helped runners in dozens of countries race faster, get stronger, and prevent more injuries with our evidence-based training programs. You'll get High Performance Lifting, Injury Prevention for Runners, Bodyweight Power, Mindset Mastery, Nutrition for Runners, and Team Strength Running (our group coaching membership community). These multimedia courses offer coaching lessons, video demonstrations, interviews, injury treatment protocols, and even coaching with Jason. And the best part? Once you're a member, you get any and all updates and additions at no cost. Once you're in, you're family. Give yourself the gift of certainty: of knowing that you're doing the right thing with your training, strength work, nutrition, and mindset. And if you're not sure, you'll have access to Jason as your coach. Sign up here .

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The Limits of Endurance: Dr. Andrew Best on Running's "Metabolic Ceiling" is an episode from The Strength Running Podcast by Jason Fitzgerald.

This episode is 01:05:21 long.

This episode was published on Jan 22, 2026.

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