Jason’s Journey to Athletic Fulfillment in a Time-Starved Life
The Athlete:
“When I live a life with sport, the correct and effective amount of sport, I am better at every other title or role I do in life.”
Jason Steinbrunn is juggling a lot of roles in life — being a father, husband, executive -- with his passion for being an athlete. Jason let sport take a backseat for nearly 20 years due to his busy schedule and perceived lack of time. Despite having a demanding job, busy home life, and a few grey hairs here and there, he reignited his athleticism and competed in the 2019 Santa Cruz 70.3.
Time and advanced age were no longer valid excuses. To Jason, sport isn’t just some hobby; it’s a way of life. Deep down, Jason knows that the best version of himself in all the roles he plays is one that leaves room for training. Unfortunately, it took Jason a few go rounds to figure out how to be effective in sport with his available time.
The Challenge:
“Time with family and time sleeping were the usual sacrifices.”
The tug of war for time and attention that occurs with time-starved athletes was all too familiar for Jason. And, what extra hours he spent training didn’t seem to bring results, making him feel like he was wasting time he could be spending with his family. Nonetheless, he kept cranking way alongside , athletes with more time to train, younger bodies, and the same drive to reach the finish line.
To make up for this, Jason would lose sleep trying to cram his training where he could. He couldn’t take any more time away from his family, and there was no hope of his hours at work budging. Plus, spending the extra time training made him feel like he was selfishly leaning more into his role as an athlete than as a father or husband.
Jason’s challenge was to train smarter and organize his schedule more efficiently. To put it simply, he needed to start from scratch, abandoning the outdated notion that more hours training meant more results.
The Solution:
“Before Purple Patch, I found that I was building my schedule in the wrong order and my training sessions were longer than needed, and without a specific focus.”
The priority here was optimizing Jason’s training schedule. This meant choosing dynamic workouts with a specific focus, targeting the Purple Patch pillars. With Squad training, smart scheduling, and integrated coaching, Jason could prioritize sleep, family, and health, without cutting into his precious time. Jason’s training approach could be broken down into three categories. Training, education, and community.
Training
The Squad training program introduced Jason to a smart training program built around an immersive and interactive experience. The extensive library of supplemental workouts and recovery sessions could be quickly scheduled into his busy days, changing up his usual swimming, biking, and running with integrated strength and recovery in mind. With smart scheduling, Jason ensured every training session had a purpose and closely tracked his progress.
Education
Education has always been one of the most effective ways to enrich every aspect of how we train. Everything from race strategy to daily nutrition requires learning new things and reimagining what we thought we knew. Jason used the invaluable resources provided to the Squad community to learn everything he could, training his mind like he trained his body. Juggling his many roles in life meant he needed to do things smarter.
Community
Although Jason has always enjoyed training solo, interacting with the Squad community and training in group sessions were just the motivation he needed to push through those pivotal moments where he was on the brink of giving up. He was reminded of how he was not alone and that if others could succeed, so could he. The Squad program gave Jason access to a global network of athletes through interactive virtual sessions, meetups, and forums.
The Results
“I have more energy, more happiness, and am in better health than I have been for 20 years.”
Jason’s results have been astounding. He reports feeling better throughout the day and is enjoying a rebound in health that he hasn’t experienced in two decades. But, Jason’s improvements are more than just feelings; you can see it in the numbers too.
2019 was his first IRONMAN 70.3. Fast forward two years with the Squad, and Jason was able to shave an entire hour off his time, seeing improvements in every portion of the race. Jason knows he still has a long way to go, and the dynamic workouts and educational resources continue to play a role in his life.
With a sound body, mind, and soul, Jason continues to thrive in his roles as a father, executive, athlete, and proud member of the Squad community. This case study is a prime example of how advanced age and a lack of spare time don’t have to spell the end of our athletic passions. Jason Steinbrunn’s story is more than just a case study. It’s an inspiration to everyone in the endurance community, showing us that we can push through our perceived limits and find that successful balance between sport and life.