Rugged Athlete Podcast

In today's episode Austin and Justin answer viewer questions including:What advice do you have for firefighters going into their first season?What nutrition tips do you have for at fire camp and on the firelineHow do you train for uphill hiking if you live somewhere where there are no hillsDo you do female specific training/research? How do you incorporate it into your training plans?Do you program anything specifically for bone health and bone density?If you like these Q&A style episodes let us know, and if you want your questions answered be on the look out for our next question drop on our IG stories @ruggedathlete

In today's episode Austin shares his presentation from the 2026 Wildland Firefighter Human Performance Summit.This virtual summit is 100% free and is delivered through the Rugged Athlete App.Tap here to register for the summitTap here to get a free trial of our Pro Membership on the appTap here to download our Physical Preventative Maintenance Course

In this episode Austin and Justin provide the complete blueprint to improving your hiking performance.Topics of discussion include work capacity development, biomechanical efficiency during hiking, how to pace and breathe correctly, the metabolic demands of hiking, and training principles to abide by to crush your next hike.Several hiking related resource were mentioned in the show which you can access below:Tap Here to Download our Free Program Design for Hiking ModuleTap Here to Download our High Performance Hiking CourseTap Here to download our free Work Capacity Development Mini-Course

In this episode Austin Womack and Justin DeMoss breakdown what human performance is, the difference between human performance and wellness, and share predictions on what the future of human performance in the wildland firefighter profession will look like.

This episode features our two nutrition coaches, Heidi Brackebusch and JJ Shelley.Listen to them share their stories about how they both transitioned from wildland firefighters to nutrition professionals, how they coach Rugged Athlete 1:1 clients through nutritional assessments and goals, and other topics such as food tracking.

Welcome to the Rugged Athlete Podcast! In this pilot episode we'll introduce ourselves, share the story behind why Rugged Athlete was created, and explain what our vision is for this podcast. This is where we'll have the longer form conversations that social media platforms aren't built for.