Alec Blenis
coach
Alec is a competitive athlete, strength & conditioning coach, and science nerd.
With a decade of industry experience, he has worked with thousands of athletes around the world (in-person and remotely). His roster has included collegiate & national level endurance athletes, powerlifters, fire/police/military personnel, and OCR athletes, as well as business executives, busy parents, weekend warriors, and first-time athletes.
I believe world class coaching and fitness education should be accessible to all.
Alec’s credentials include a B.S. in Physics from Georgia Tech and specialty fitness certifications including CSCS, CES, PN2, among others.
If you want to improve your strength, endurance, and power at the same time, you need to have well-structured training, good nutrition, and a good recovery.
@alecblenis will help you understand what it takes!
He also shared his favourite foods, macros split and we answered questions from the audience about hitting vegan protein or what is more important – training or nutrition?
Hope you enjoyed this episode and make sure to reach out to Alec or to me if you have any questions.
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Alec Blenis follows a fully plant-based or vegan diet, a lifestyle he has maintained for over 15 years, since he was 13 or 14 years old.
His approach to nutrition has evolved over time:
- Shift from “Clean Eating”: When he first considered performance nutrition, he tried to eat “super super clean,” which he found often came at the expense of getting enough calories, making it difficult to put on muscle mass while engaging in high-volume endurance events. He has since moved away from this “orthorexic” mentality, which he describes as being overly limited in what qualifies as “good enough” or “clean enough”. This shift has made it much easier for him to fuel himself appropriately and perform at his best.
- Mental Health and Nutrition: He rarely thinks about his nutrition for more than a few minutes a day, finding it mentally healthier and less stressful than constantly worrying about whether he ate enough or if something was “healthy enough”. He views his eating habits as ingrained into his lifestyle, allowing him to dedicate mental energy to other pursuits.
- Incorporating Processed Foods: For hybrid athletes with extremely high caloric needs (e.g., 5,000-6,000 calories a day), relying solely on “clean” foods like kale and black beans can lead to excessive fiber intake, causing digestive issues and potentially negatively impacting hormones. To meet these high caloric demands, he suggests that allowing some processed foods, a little sugar, or even a pint of ice cream can be a practical way to consume necessary calories without the negative effects of too much roughage.
Regarding his specific intake and food choices:
- Macronutrients (Macros): He has a general, intuitive idea of his macros based on past tracking. He consumes approximately 200 grams of protein, 500-600 grams of carbohydrates, and around 150 grams of fat daily. He notes that his calorie needs are “really really high” due to his active lifestyle, which includes 20,000-30,000 steps most days, commuting by bicycle, and 1-2 hours of structured training. He finds it takes extra effort to maintain his current muscle mass, as he would naturally be a “really skinny” person if he didn’t pay attention to his intake.
- Eating Strategy: He primarily eats to hunger. When trying to build muscle and gain weight, he aims to eat until he’s “a little bit over full,” scoring around an 8 or 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 for fullness (where 10 is uncomfortable). He finds this approach intuitive for himself, but acknowledges that others might need more structured tracking initially to understand their hunger and fullness cues.
- Staple Foods and Preferences:
- Convenience Foods: He relies on protein shakes and smoothies during busy workdays due to their simplicity and ease, as cooking and meal prepping every meal is not always practical.
- Restaurant Foods: He enjoys Indian food and Thai food, often asking for extra protein portions like double tofu or extra beans when dining out.
- Carbohydrates: Potatoes and rice are among his go-to carbohydrate sources.
- Occasional Treats: He admits it’s hard for him to turn down a good side of french fries.
Alec Blenis’ Overall Training Philosophy
Alec started coaching at 18 and has been in the strength and conditioning industry for 10-12 year.
Early Years: He initially gravitated more towards running and calisthenics. His early strength training was volume-intensive and high-rep, which he now feels was misguided for supporting long-distance running.
Seasonal Fluctuations: Over his career, he has had periods where he biased strength more and others where he biased endurance. Overall, he has probably been more of an endurance athlete in terms of total time commitment. In his mid-20s, he intentionally pulled back on endurance to build more size and strength. For the last two to three years, he has been deeply focused on running again.
Never Drops Below Maintenance: A key philosophy is to never let any quality he cares about drop below a maintenance level, even when shifting emphasis. This prevents significant regression and allows for consistent long-term progress across all aspects of hybrid athleticism.
Why Consistency is the Key to Alec’s Success
Alec’s approach to training is rooted in consistency and quality over simply chasing arbitrary volume or “optimality”. He believes that while there’s a degree of interference between endurance and strength training, a lot of the perceived negative effects (the “nocibo effect”) are in people’s heads. His current routine is not something you just start doing; it’s the result of 15 years of developing his aerobic capacity and gradually building up his training volume and intensits.
He advocates for training hard and finding ways to deliver the necessary stimulus for adaptation, even if it means some workouts aren’t “optimal” on paper. His long-term dedication has allowed him to build a robust aerobic capacity, which he considers crucial for handling his high workload and aiding recover.
He advises beginners to start with a “minimum effective dose” of both strength and endurance and build from there.
Current Training Week
Alec’s current routine is designed around his marathon preparation, with a bias towards endurance.
Endurance Training:
Alec trains approximately 10 hours per week total, comprising about 50 miles of running and several hours of cross-training. He averages 1.5 to 2 hours of cardio most day.
He incorporates a good mix of flat running, uphill running (on an incline treadmill), and cross-training to maximize quality without excessive wear-and-tear on his body. He particularly values incline running as a “cheat code” for accumulating high-quality volume with less mechanical stress.
He practices heat acclimatization training a couple of times a week by wearing a heat suit or full winter gear during some runs or cross-training sessions. Heat is a potent stressor, which allows him to get more benefit with limited volume. It also lowers the mechanical stress of the workout while still providing a strong cardiovascular stimulus, aiding recovery for subsequent gym or quality sessions. Heat training is a pottent stressor and should be used with caution!
Alec prioritizes high-quality training over hitting arbitrary mileage targets. If chasing miles means his intensity or high-intensity sessions suffer, he’ll adjust his approach, opting to fill gaps with cross-training or incline work to maintain quality.
Strength Training:
Alec follows a higher frequency, lower volume approach, training six days a week with a lower/upper body split.
Workouts are typically shorter and more focused, around 40 minutes.
Intensity: Most working sets are pushed “full send” (to failure or very close to it), with only a few exceptions for exercises where he deems it not “worth the squeeze”.
Volume per Session: He performs two working sets, sometimes even just one working set per exercise.
Emphasis: Alec emphasizes lower body training, stating he “won’t miss a leg day,” even if it means missing an upper body session due to high endurance volume.
Key Lifts: Alec prides himself on unilateral movements like a 405 lb reverse lunge (2.5x body weight) and hitting seven plates for reps on a single-leg landmine deadlift (double body weight). He also does weighted pull-ups (140-150 lbs) and Jefferson curls (300 lbs). His bilateral back squat is in the mid-400s, but he doesn’t focus on it as much.
Session Stacking and Scheduling
Alec usually stacks his strength and cardio sessions on the same days, with his long run day being the only exception.
Preferred Timing: Ideally, he prefers to separate sessions by at least four or five hours, allowing time for a snack. His general preference is to do cardio in the morning and then strength in the afternoon.
Alec acknowledges that logistical demands (job, life, family) often dictate his schedule. For example, on Fridays, he runs intervals in the morning, has about an hour for a protein shake, and then hits the gym for leg day, even though it’s not ideal. He found that after a few weeks of this, his numbers returned to baseline, proving that “practical beats optimal”.
Programming and Autoregulation
Alec’s training is mostly planned out in advance.
Rigid Core: Key sessions, such as speed workouts and long runs for marathon prep, are planned up to 16 weeks ahead, and he rarely deviates.
Flexible Adjustments: He autoregulates easier sessions, like incline running, cross-training, and heat training, based on his recovery. For strength, key lifts are planned, but accessories might be adjusted based on how he feels or the gym he’s at. He also remains flexible enough to train with friends occasionally.
Recovery
Given his intense workload, recovery is critical, though he doesn’t engage in many “special recovery hacks” like saunas or massages
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