Influencers: Phil Maffetone

Recently one of the athletes I coach, Jason Evers, asked "so was my blog "Headroom and Heart-Rate" like Maffetone's MAF Method?  

My first reaction was wow I haven't heard that name in 25 years, and then I told him EXACTLY!

It truly is a small world.  In the mid  1990's I was 100% focused on bike racing and got in a bad bike accident.  I had two compression fractures, one in my back and one in my neck.  The buzz from the local athletes was that I should see Peter Gorman a Chiropractor in Westchester County, New York.

Gorman was a big help in my recovery and before I knew it he had me on his trainer in the office doing lactate threshold tests!  His business partner was Phil Maffetone and they took a keen interest in my athletic potential.  They shared an office and over a several year period they ingrained a lot of information about heart rate training and nutrition.   Their holistic approach was natural, I tried it and it worked for me!

Back then they were coaching Tim DeBoom and his brother.  The DeBoom's would have training camps based out of Maffetone and Gorman's office and I shared with them the best places to ride.  Tim went onto win the Ironman World Championships in 2001 and 2002.

It's been 25 years, so to prepare for this blog I did a little research to see what Maffetone has been up to.  I was surprised to learn that before the DeBoom's he coached 6X Kona Winner Mark Allen!  Back then I was so focused on bike racing I really wasn't too clued into what the tri world was doing.

Of course Mark Allen went on to form a very successful coaching service.  There is a good interview with Mark Allen where he talks about Maffetone.  Here is an excerpt:

TC: Is Maffetone is relevant today?

MA: Phil is relevant because the guy is a genius at what he does. He knows how to keep somebody’s body working at peak performance better than anybody I have experienced in this sport. He will have you training right and eating right and keeping all the energy systems at peak performance and in the right balance.

Here is another good story Phil wrote about Tim DeBoom.

I live mostly in the moment and don't spend too much time reflecting how I got to this point, but I have to say Maffetone and Gorman were huge influencers in how I train and race.  And of course I pass on the good stuff to the athletes I help out.

Check out Maffetone's website for more info.  There is a free book you can download so some great diet information.

Ciao!  See ya on the road.

GP