When I took up the hobby of triathlons about three years ago I did it with incredible enthusiasm. I also did it with the help of Meet Mediocrity podcast guest Taren Gesell, also known as Triathlon Taren. Taren’s YouTube channel, his podcast and his social media posts gave me a ton of valuable information that I needed as a new triathlete. I leveraged a lot of his information in preparing myself for my longest triathlon, the Half Ironman Atlantic City Triathlon in 2019. This was a 70.3 mile journey where I actually competed
in the same field and crossed the same finish line as Taren. Taren‘s videos were so helpful to me that to be honest, he became a bit of an idol of mine.

However, despite his help, I found long distance triathlon training to be incredibly grueling and not particularly fulfilling for me personally. Triathlon training left me lonely, because I was not riding my bike and running with my friends. I found it to be narrow, because training like yoga and strength training, which I enjoyed, were not a big part of the training program for the triathlon. Triathlon training was predominantly focused on swimming, bicycle riding and running, which of course are the three main events of triathlon. In short, while I felt like I was accomplishing an amazing feat by competing and
finishing a half ironman triathlon, I did not find it personally satisfying nor did I feel like it contributed to the overall, well-rounded fitness I was hoping for.

This is why I was incredibly excited to hear how Triathlon Taren had changed his brand. In late 2021, Taren started MOTTIV, which is an overall wellness and fitness program that Taren created. MOTTIV is a personalized fitness and wellness program that is customized depending on your personal goals and
make-up. MOTTIV is based on scientific studies concluding that the intense cardio vascular training that endurance athletes focus on when training for endurance events like triathlons was not good for well-rounded fitness and health. In fact, the intense cardiovascular activities alone can cause incredible
stress on our bodies internal systems. Taren’s change of focus was something I completely related to and was excited about. Taren’s MOTTIV method focuses on cardiovascular exercise, but also on important things like stretching, yoga, meditation, strength training and enjoying fitness activities with your friends.
I brought Taren back onto the Meet Mediocrity podcast episode for a second episode together, and it was incredibly fulfilling for me because Taren’s message and his MOTTIV method completely resonated with my personal fitness and health goals. One thing Taren and I discussed was how to train for being a mobile person in my 80’s. This is something that’s over 20 years away for me, but it’s the type of long term goal that I believe I can stay focused on.

I’ve really enjoyed my conversations with Taren and I’m appreciating his new YouTube and podcast materials. I now consider Taren to be a personal friend of mine and I look forward to continuing to seek his advice regarding my overall fitness and wellness – and I recommend you do too!