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Juliet and I just got back from Vancouver and 27 straight days of back-to-back conferences. The shift at the YPO Health Summit from two years ago was striking. The conversation has moved from mitochondrial supplements to something more basic: are you doing the fundamentals? We call this third wave fitness, and it finally feels like we are cresting into it.

Romania's football federation just introduced a Black Card for youth soccer, and it is unlike anything we have seen before. Referees can now permanently end games because of how parents and spectators are behaving. No rematch, no restart, just over. There are also silent game days where adults cannot cheer or coach at all. The whole platform is built around joy, respect, and optimism in youth sports. With Outplay finished and heading to shelves next fall, we are paying close attention.

EC Synkowski's A Good Nutrition Book dropped October 1st. We wrote the foreword to the book because her work and thinking around nutrition have been genuinely transformational for us.

And finally, the University of Liverpool just published the longest randomized trial ever run on diet drinks. The results are going to surprise you, or at least give you permission to enjoy your crispy Diet Coke in peace. We have opinions, a bedazzled can, and an unhinged passion that we can't totally explain.

• Why the YPO Health Summit felt fundamentally different this year and what the return to basics actually looks like in high-level wellness spaces
• What first, second, and third wave fitness means and why the shift matters now
• What's in EC Synkowski's A Good Nutrition Book and why the 800-gram challenge changed how Kelly and Juliet think about nutrition
• How Romania's Black Card system works for youth soccer sidelines and whether something like it could take hold in the US
• What the longest randomized trial on diet drinks found about weight loss and potential harm

(00:00) Intro

(00:24) Empty nesting and an overbooked fall

(01:43) YPO Health Summit Vancouver: the back-to-basics shift

(05:01) First, second, and third wave fitness

(06:32) Rope flow for 100 CEOs, forgotten anniversaries, and 16 years of Mobility WOD

(08:21) Outplay: manuscript submitted

(11:06) EC Synkowski's [A Good Nutrition Book](https://a.co/d/0519vMrI) and the [800-gram challenge](https://thereadystate.com/trs_podcast/ec-synkowski-sustainable-nutrition/)

(13:38) Romania's [Black Card](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7586821/2026/09/12/football-black-card-referee/) for youth sports sidelines

(19:15) The diet drink study and the Diet Coke debate

(25:21) Wrap

View This Week's Show Notes

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What if the fitness metrics you’re obsessing over aren’t telling you what you think they are? HRV. VO2 max. Resting heart rate. Zone 2. Wearables have given us more data than ever… but do you know how to use it to inform your training?

In this episode of the Ready State Podcast, Kelly and Juliet Starrett sit down with renowned strength and conditioning coach Joel Jamieson to cut through the noise around cardiovascular fitness, recovery, and resilience. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience coaching UFC champions, Olympic athletes, special operators, and professional sports teams, Joel explains why a higher HRV isn’t always “better,” what Zone 2 training is really trying to accomplish, and why your aerobic engine matters even if endurance sports aren’t your thing.

They also explore how to balance low, moderate, and high-intensity training, practical ways to measure whether your conditioning is actually improving, and why stress outside the gym has to factor into how you train. The takeaway? Better fitness isn’t about chasing a perfect score – but about understanding what your body can handle, how well it recovers, and how to train accordingly.

• Why a higher HRV doesn’t always mean you’re better recovered
• What Zone 2 training is actually trying to accomplish
• Why cardiovascular fitness is important for improving resilience
• How to balance low, moderate, & high-intensity conditioning
• Why stress outside the gym should influence how you train

(00:00) Intro: Joel Jamieson on HRV & Conditioning

(03:33) The HRV Problem for Midlife Athletes

(05:13) What Is HRV?

(09:41) The Evolution of HRV Tracking

(13:32) What's a Good HRV?

(16:18) Morning vs Overnight HRV

(20:49) Why Higher HRV Isn't Always Better

(24:00) HRV, Resting Heart Rate, & Heart Rate Recovery

(26:50) Chest Strap vs Wrist-Based HRV

(29:33) How to Improve Your HRV

(34:10) How Fast Cardiovascular Fitness Declines

(37:53) Training Intensity Zones Explained

(43:30) Low, Moderate, & High Intensity Training

(45:59) Why Low-Intensity Training Builds VO2 Max

(48:33) Is VO2 Max Testing Worth It?

(51:04) The Cooper's Test

(55:09) How Fast Can Conditioning Improve?

(59:55) Team Athletes & Recovery

(1:01:46) Life Stress, HRV, & Training

(1:04:00) Lifestyle Sets Your Gym Limits

(1:05:21) Infinite Shelf

Huge thanks to our sponsors,Momentous, LMNT, and BEDGEAR.

View This Week's Show Notes

This one's a first: Juliet and I are recording from different states. I'm up in Evergreen, Colorado, fresh off the Farren Summit in Boulder, where Juliet and I ended up in the same room as Robb Wolf, John Welbourn, and Andy Stumpf. Felt like CrossFit 2.0.

The American Society of Hematology just raised the diagnostic floor for ferritin from 15 to 30 ng/mL, and if you've ever been told your iron levels are fine while running on empty, this is a massive deal. Juliet shares her 30-year story here, including what finally worked.

Two landmark CTE studies dropped the same week: one out of Australia showing 61% of examined rugby league brains had CTE, and one from the US putting it at 1 in 4 NFL players. We get into what that means for families and youth athletes thinking about contact sports.

Plus a real update on Outplay, our book on youth sports performance for parents, which we are nearly ready to turn in.

• Why the American Society of Hematology raised the ferritin diagnostic floor from 15 to 30 ng/mL, and what the thresholds are for different populations
• How to tell if iron deficiency may be affecting you, low ferritin symptoms, and which tests to ask your doctor about (ferritin, TIBC, CBC)
• Why standard iron treatments so often fail, and what finally worked for Juliet after three decades of trying
• How CTE differs from a concussion, and what two new studies on rugby league and NFL brains actually found
• How families and coaches should think about youth contact sports in light of the new CTE research
• What the Outplay book covers and where it stands in the writing process

(00:00) Intro: first time recording apart, Kelly in Colorado

(00:40) Farren Summit recap and the Boulder trip

(01:13) Kelly's CU Boulder days and the shared senior thesis story

(04:48) CrossFit reunion: Robb Wolf, John Welbourn, and Andy Stumpf

(06:59) Fall travel: YPO Vancouver and the Brett Bartholomew conference

(07:57) Eudemonia with Momentous and the Antarctica trip

(10:24) New ASH ferritin thresholds explained: from 15 to 30 ng/mL

(11:38) Low ferritin symptoms and why standard treatments kept failing: Juliet's 30-year story

(14:35) What finally worked: iron infusions and menopause

(17:26) Which tests to ask your doctor for

(18:24) Kelly's concussion history and CTE intro

(19:24) New CTE research: 61% of rugby brains and 1 in 4 NFL players

(20:02) CTE vs. concussion: what's the difference

(21:37) Youth contact sports and how families should think about risk

(24:27) Guardian caps and other interventions; Eric Freitag episode on concussions, (https://thereadystate.com/trs_podcast/eric-freitag-concussions/)

(26:27) Outplay book update and the Outplay Way card deck

(30:50) Skateboarding as free play, shoutout to Lisa's son Fox:(https://www.instagram.com/p/DdiCvqzp1HL/)