Two Percent with Michael Easter
Embrace the Heat To Get Stronger, Happier & More Resilient This Summer
04 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: Why should we embrace heat for better health?
Welcome to 2%. I'm your host, Michael Easter. We're getting into the summer. Things are heating up. Now, the thing is, is that when it gets hot, most of us, we stay indoors. We stay in the comfort of temperature control. We live and exercise at 72 degrees. Here's the thing, this is very new in the grand scheme of time and space. Humans evolved outdoors in the heat.
In fact, the heat shaped our biology, our physiology, and we can still use it to improve our health, to improve our mindset, and to get better. Which brings me to today's episode. First, we're going to talk to Ashley Paulson. She's an ultra runner who set the course record at the Badwater 135, which is the hardest, hottest ultra marathon in the world.
So she's going to talk to us about tactics for exercising in the heat, some of her insane records, and why going out and doing hard things in the heat can totally change your mindset and how you see yourself in the world and act. Then we're going to talk to Bill Gifford. He is a veteran health journalist. He just released a new book.
It is called Hot Wired, How the Hidden Power of Heat Makes Us Stronger. And we're going to get into all the details about why exposing yourself to the heat, whether getting outside on a hot day this summer or even using a sauna, can improve your health and can improve your mental health as well.
There is some fascinating new research on heat and depression, and he's going to give us some good tactics on how to use it and use it well. Let's get into it.
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It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for.
Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breathe?
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Chapter 2: What insights does Ashley Paulson share about ultra running in extreme heat?
So it's just mixed in and it's really, really condensed. So I'm not tearing over gels because have you ever been like hot and sticky?
Yeah.
Sweaty hands. Yeah. I don't want to have anything to tear open. It's just all in a little bottle. And each bottle will have like 400 calories in it. So I'm just able to down it pretty easily. And then I always follow it with water. But I'm never... I preload all of that stuff before. So my... The crew doesn't need to worry about how many gels I need. They just know when to give it to me.
And so it's already out there. My carbs try to get in about 70 to 90, depending on how many ketones I'm taking that hour or protein, 70 to 90 carbs per hour. And then ketones I take every two hours to kind of just dual source the ā you know, the fuel there and protein just because it's easy calories and it hits my stomach so good. Like I crave that by the end.
Really?
They have to, oh, they have to force me to drink my carbs. I'm like, just give me more of my protein. Give me more of my protein. And so yeah, they've definitely forced me, which I'm grateful for. But at the time I just want to slap them. Yeah. What were the mental swings like? Like what was your lowest point mentally? And then what are the highs?
You know, the second year that I did it, I didn't, gosh, we had to get in the car for a part of the section because there was a flood. So every athlete had to get in the car for about 12 minutes to drive through the next stop to make it 135 miles. And this is so silly, but like it was the first time I'd ever like, I'm so embarrassed to even say this. did I say this?
It's my first time I ever like craft my pants in a race. So that was a pretty low moment. I'm like, my body denied me and I'm in the car. I'm like, throw it away. I mean, but that one, it was like, it wasn't even like a physical thing. Well, it was, but it was just kind of a low embarrassing moment, but that I felt so good that entire race. Um, I mean, obviously, it hurt.
But I felt in control that entire race. We started off in a pack. There was about eight of us. And they've never seen anything like that. And we had just a slight tailwind pushing us. And I remember when the group, there's three guys that kind of took off a little. And I started to slow. And my goal wasn't to win outright. That was not my overall.
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Chapter 3: How does Bill Gifford explain the benefits of heat exposure?
That was not my goal to begin. I'm like, run my race. That's how I have to go. Yes, it was great to run in a group because it felt where I needed to be at that time. But when I saw these three men starting to take off, I'm like, just let them, just let them. And I had one of them yell back and he's like, come on, Ash, come up.
And I was like, as much as I wanted to, I was like, that's not smart for me right now. And you just have to be like... You put your pride away. Could I have stayed? Yeah, I could have for the moment, but would have damaged me later on in the race.
And I'm so glad I did pull back and listen to like what my race plan was, not what their race plan was to stay with a group and to pull back and be like, OK, I won't be able to maintain that. for the long run. So being smart instead of prideful and being like, just stay with the boys, just stay with the boys.
And sure enough, a few hours later comes the sun comes up and we're starting to climb up the hills. That's when I start seeing those guys again and start chipping away and passing them one by one. But like for an absolute low, it really wasn't like any, I felt so good
for the most part like so in control so it was a dream race and you don't get those very often yeah you know you there's a lot of um races that i feel like i'm way more prepared for than this and they just you know everything blows up in your face so you gotta just be ecstatic about these and Why do you think that was? Is it just some like random magic or was your mindset different going in?
Because maybe you hadn't tried to perfect everything that you're just like, all right, just follow the plan and run.
Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, Nick? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas.
We invented a podcast?
Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.
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Chapter 4: What are the physiological adaptations to heat training?
I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force.
From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Echavarri, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great.
A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture.
I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull. It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though.
Are they the only ones that don't like that?
Actually, nobody likes that.
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Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place.
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Chapter 5: How can heat exposure improve mental health?
people that didn't believe that I did it, people that were accusing me of cheating. There was, I don't know if you knew any of that back history on that, but it was a lot of negative. And I remember loving the race so much because it's just something that is like, it's just right in my alley. I love the heat. I love to run far. And I love that there's, it's on the road and the hills.
And so everything about that race, I loved, not just because I won it that year. It was so great. But then it came with such negativity after, um, That it was really hard because I wanted to do that race again. But I didn't ever want to do that race because I was trying to prove myself to anybody. I knew what I did. My team knew what I did. And I didn't need to prove to anybody else what I did.
And so I made the decision that I wasn't going to do Badwater unless it was... For me, not for anybody else. Because people are like, well, go prove it, go prove it. I'm like, that's not why I do any race. I want to continue to challenge myself and show up because I tick off of positivity and not the, I need to show this person, whatever. Some people thrive off of that, which is great.
So I waited until probably the last hour to register or to apply for the race. Because I was like, I just... Is my intention real, or do I want to do this really for me, or do I need to prove something? So I just had to shut out all of that. But maybe some of that lingered, and it gave me that extra power. I don't know.
But the fact that the race director, he had a camera on me almost the entire time. Not because he didn't believe me, but he told me, he's like, I want to prove to the world that you did it. I'm like, I'm not trying to prove anything to the world. But he had a camera on me, and I'm like, I'm in front of a camera all the time for my job.
And so I was like, I don't know if part of that was just like, you know, he's telling me people that are encouraging me, cheering for me from all over the world. And all of that lifts my soul.
Yeah.
And so, I mean, from mile, you know, 100 miles to 135, I've got Chris out the window yelling, you know, this person's this or you're on live here and and they're filming. And I'm like, what in the world? Like, this is so great. I do have such great support. Yeah, there's some negative out there. Sure. But you're always going to get that. But I really feel like that.
helped me even though that's not why he was doing it at all um and then he had people out um officials just assigned to me um which sounds really like he didn't believe me but it was because he wanted to show the world that um because he he saw what i did the year before and he believes me but He wanted to make sure. Yeah, he doesn't doubt you.
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Chapter 6: What practical hydration tips can help during summer workouts?
Um, because I just felt like I had this cheering squad the whole time. I have an amazing crew and then I've got people all over the world cheering me on. And, and I'm right there and, and, you know, seeing them, their names pop up and then yelling out the window on certain things. And, um, so that, that fuels me for sure.
Did you have a sense you were moving that fast or was it like you end it and then you're like, Oh my God, what just happened?
Yeah.
No, not at all. That was not the pace we were going for. My goal was a sub 24. So I wanted to beat my time by like 14 minutes, you know. And my husband, he wouldn't tell me where I was at. He'd just be like, okay, you know, that was, you know, that was slightly faster than we'd planned. And then, like, as we kept going, he's like, that was slightly faster than we planned.
Well, you really moved through that. Really, he's so good with that. And by the time we hit, like, I think 100 miles, he stopped even saying, he's like, you were doing so good. Just run by feel now. You've got 35 more miles to go. You've got the hardest climb to come. And he's like, just run off of feel. And so, yeah, that's what we did. And I had no idea I was even that close to breaking.
Like, I think I was six minutes off of the men's record.
Yeah.
I had no idea.
That's crazy.
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Chapter 7: What are some common misconceptions about exercising in the heat?
I want a hard that's like, dude, we're climbing. We're climbing. We're dropping. We're sweating. We might have to run on the white line because our shoes might melt. Are you kidding me? That's so cool. I want my rubber to be like... on the asphalt there because it's that hot. I want to crack an egg on the asphalt and watch it boil, you know?
Because the asphalt's like 165 degrees, you know, with the sun pounding down on it. So, but we never did crack the egg, unfortunately. Next time. Next time. Do you feel like that that just, the fact that it is so much harder and there's all these added variables to just the mileage of 135 miles, you feel like that just makes it more rewarding in the end?
Yeah, it just makes it a lot more interesting because it's not just like about like running. It's about decision making. It's about being patient. It's about like not overcoming the heat, but taking in the heat and learning how to deal with it. Because you're not going to beat the heat. The heat is going to win every time.
But how are you going to stay under control when things are feeling like out of your control? Like how do you deal with that? instead of staying in a comfortable race that's like, oh, it's a PR course. It's this course. This is supposed to be the flattest, easiest course. I don't care to do the flattest, easiest course. I want the crazy hard course.
I don't care if my time's higher than an average 135-mile run. I want to see what my body can do in that temperature and how I deal with it mentally and how my body responds because it is about being patient. It's not like everyone's going to look good at mile...
20, you know, we're all going to be, it's how are you going to, what decisions you're making early on in an event like that, that's going to make the difference. What advice would you give for people training in the heat this summer, based on what you've learned from literally the hottest, hardest run in the world?
You know, it's one of those things that, um, like I said, you don't try to beat it. You learn how to manage it. Um, and being okay to slow down even though, oh no, somebody's going to see my pace or I'm going to see it on, somebody's going to see it on Strava and I didn't get a fast run that day. You are going against mother nature and respect it and get out of that comfort zone.
And it does elevate your fitness for sure running out in the heat. So get out there and
you know 100 degrees at 1 p.m instead of your 5 a.m run and give it a try you'll you do feel so much like it's going to drain you in a different way but if you learn to dill and you learn to like um control what you can it's so much more rewarding and satisfying yeah have you ever pushed it too far absolutely what'd you learn what happened what'd you learn from that
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Chapter 8: How can we safely incorporate heat training into our routines?
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I love the sounds. The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place. Soccer. Football. It's home.
Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed?
I inherited that fandom from my mom.
I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force.
From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Echavarri, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great.
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