I'm a big fan of podcasts and have been listening to them for years. Nearly all of them are free, and can be downloaded easily and all over the place. Personally, I use apple's iTunes store down download my podcasts, but one can also download podcasts on various websites. I like iTunes because it is easy to find podcasts and once I find something I like, I can "subscribe" to a podcast, which means that the podcasts that I subscribe to are automatically added to my itunes account on my computer and then automatically transferred to my iPhone or iPod when I sync them to my computer (one must turn on the automatic sync function on the iPhone or iPod for them to transfer). I follow a number of podcasts, including news (NPR, New York Times, 60 minutes), sports, fantasy sports (ESPN, CBS, the Fantasy Football guys), health and nutrition, music (including live concerts on NPR), workout music, video games, etc. I listen to the podcasts when I walk to work, when travelling, when exercising, on the subway, and whenever I can squeeze in a few minutes. I never have enough time to listen to a podcast end to end, but I still find that listening to my favorite podcasts even for a few minutes a day is enjoyable. If I drove to work regularly, I would be listening to podcasts even more.
Below are my current 2 podcast favorites
1. I recently came across a podcast called "Ben Greenfield Fitness", which is my current favorite podcast (I found it via a search for "triathlon" on iTunes). Ben Greenfield is an elite athlete, a personal trainer, a nutritional consultant, a coach, and an Ironman. He puts out a couple of weekly podcasts a week. It is top notch. He does a couple of segments each week. First, he usually has a few "announcements", where he talks about seminars/coaching sessions/other things he is doing. The list is impressive, he definitely gets a lot done. Second, he does a weekly reader Q&A section, which is great. People email or call in great questions, very often questions I have. The topics range from questions on heart rate, fat burning, workout intensity , cross training, training questions, vitamins, injuries, etc. For an athlete looking to learn about a well-rounded list of topics, the Q&A is awesome and I highly recommend it. Finally, he ends each podcast with a weekly interview with an expert on a variety of topics. Last week, he interviewed Robbie Ventura, a professional cyclist, coach, and Tour de France commentator on the VS. television network, which was great. I actually went to high school with Robbie and also was friends with his sister. Small world!
Below is a link to Ben Greenfield’s podcast and his website. I highly recommend this podcast. If you check it out, let me know what you think. I also follow him on Twitter. Ben is competing in the Ironman World Championship in Kona on 10/9/2010.
Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast #113 - Robbie Ventura Interview
Link to itunes for Ben's podcasts
Ben Greenfield on iTunes
2. The second podcast that I have been listening to regularly over the last month is called "Doctor Chopra Says: A Medical Minute". It isn't Deepak Chopra, it is Doctor Sanjeev Chopra. He puts out a podcast about once a week. It is great. I think Dr. Chopra published a book with various medical "facts and myths everyone should know about". So far, he has come out with 12 podcasts on Itunes (all free). Some of the topics include exercise, nuts (says that studies have shown that eating a few nuts a day can extend one's life by two years and reduce the risk of heart disease), cancer, coffee (he says that 3-4 cups of coffee is actually really good for you, even decaf), aspirin, fish, Alzheimer's, and even marijuana. I am naturally a skeptic, so I may not agree with everything he says, but overall, I love this podcast. I even bought some almonds and have been eating 4 almonds a day since listening to his podcast. I am also going to buy some walnuts, as he said that walnuts have omega 3 in them (I also take daily fish oil pills).
Here is a link to his podcast on iTunes
Doctor Chopra Says: A Medical Minute on iTunes
Let me know what you think if you listen to either of these podcasts.
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