“Can you actually just run faster without running more, just sleeping better? My answer to that is always absolutely yes.” – Chu Zhu on The Extramilest Show #136
We’re running “Back to Basics 30” right now in the Personal Best Program, a 30-day Accountability Challenge helping runners build consistent habits around sleep, daily movement, nutrition, and strength. The progress people are seeing has been real. Join here: https://www.skool.com/
Chu Zhu is a sleep expert who has worked with Tour de France winners, Olympic athletes, and elite endurance performers. In this episode, he breaks down why sleep is a 24-hour process, the biggest levers for improving sleep quality, and how better sleep can help you run faster without running more.
Click HERE to watch the full video with Chu Zhu.
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Topics covered:
- 0:00 — Can better sleep help you run faster?
- 3:11 — Why sleep is an underrated performance tool
- 5:53 — Seeing sleep and recovery as training
- 6:39 — What happens when athletes don’t sleep enough
- 9:46 — Why sleep is a 24-hour process
- 13:39 — The biggest levers for improving sleep quality
- 17:27 — What an ideal sleep week looks like
- 19:34 — How late-night training affects sleep
- 22:28 — How better sleep can improve running performance
- 24:57 — Floris’ first marathon on very little sleep
- 25:50 — Chu’s personal shift in how he views recovery
- 27:50 — Why temperature is such a powerful sleep lever
- 30:43 — How body temperature changes through the night
- 32:24 — Building Somnus Lab and developing sleep cooling mats
- 35:24 — Testing cooling mattresses with athletes and users
- 38:18 — The future vision for Somnus Lab
- 40:49 — Chu’s real-life sleep routine
- 45:58 — Naps and sleep cycles strategy
- 52:04 — Food timing and its impact on sleep
- 53:25 — The one sleep habit every runner should improve
- 55:46 — How chronotypes change
- 57:54 — How to become a stronger, healthier, happier athlete
- 1:00:10 — Chu’s future adventure goals
A few quotes from my conversation with Chu Zhu:
- “Better sleep can help you access more of the fitness that you already earn from the hard training.”
- “Once I started seeing recovery and sleep as training, it completely changes the mindset shift too.”
- “Sleep is not a bedtime activity. It is a 24-hour process.”
- “It’s the training where we start the process, but the recovery is where the super adaptations happen.”
- “Sleep is not something that starts when your head hits the pillow. By the time you go to bed, a lot of what determines that night of sleep has already happened.”
This episode is brought to you by Somnus Lab! Chu Zhu and I have been using his sleep cooling pad for a while now. I can genuinely tell a difference in the quality of my sleep and my recovery. If you sleep hot or just want to give your body a more consistent thermal environment overnight, this is worth trying. Check it out at somnuslab.com and use code FLO for 10% off.
Hope you enjoy this new video, CLICK HERE to watch it.
Cheers,
Coach Floris Gierman
P.S. I know how important quality sleep is, actually getting enough of it is sometimes easier said than done. That’s part of why I’m running “Back to Basics 30” a 30-day accountability challenge inside our Personal Best program, focused on building healthy habits together, things like:
- a consistent evening routine and bedtime
- daily movement, even on busy days
- nutrition, mobility, and strength training
I’m personally guiding and supporting everyone in the challenge, day by day. Watching the group hold each other accountable to the same goals has been really cool to see. Join us HERE.
