Rugged Athlete Podcast

Austin Womack
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Fitness

Rugged Athlete Podcast is a performance-driven show dedicated to the health, fitness, and human performance of wildland firefighters and other tactical professionals. Hosted by Austin Womack MS, CSCS, the podcast breaks down strength and conditioning, work capacity, durability, recovery, and lifestyle strategies that support the rugged, physical demands of the fireline. Episodes blend practical training guidance, evidence-based principles, and real-world application—cutting through noise and trends to focus on what actually improves performance under load, fatigue, and environmental stress. Whether you’re preparing for fire season, navigating long shifts and limited recovery, or looking to extend your career and reduce injury risk, the Rugged Athlete Podcast delivers actionable insights you can apply immediately.

  1. Oct 21

    Physical Training for the Female Wildland Firefighter w/ Sofia Huston [015]

    At 18, Sofia Huston showed up to her first fire season with no athletic background. She was last up every hike and couldn't do a single pull-up on the PT test. A few years later she had spent four seasons on a hotshot crew and was hammering out 15 pull-ups. Now she coaches hundreds of wildland firefighters, and she's the newest coach at Rugged Athlete. Sofia gave the most popular presentation at our Human Performance Summit. In this episode we dig into it: how self-talk shapes your performance, why women in fire are so often underfueled (and why you can be underfueling even when your weight isn't dropping), and why good training for the job doesn't look exactly like the job. We also cover building fitness versus expressing it, why front squats will make you a better hiker, and how to get comfortable in the weight room if it intimidates you. Sofia is leading our new women's 12-week off-season group training program, running Nov 2 – Jan 24. Registration closes October 31. The next cohort starts February 1. LINKS Join Sofia's Winter Cohort: https://www.trainerize.me/checkout/ruggedathlete/Austin.Womack?planGUID=95fc2c8c1f2c4f40a44d92c83b364185&mode=checkout Free presentation, Physical Training for the Female Wildland Firefighter: https://www.ruggedathletetraining.com/female-pt-wildland-firefighters Follow Sofia: https://www.instagram.com/sofiahuston.etc Training for the Uphill Athlete by Steve House, Scott Johnston & Kilian Jornet The Ultimate Hybrid Athlete by Alex Viada: https://www.victorybelt.com/ultimate-hybrid-athlete SPONSOR Ready Bar. Save at https://getreadybar.com with code RUGGED20 Hear the founder's story: How a NASA Food Scientist Built READYBAR w/ Ryan Dowdy [012]: https://open.spotify.com/episode/32GP3p1F53aoXBB9qUcFd7 CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro: meet Sofia, our newest coach 03:40 Sponsor: Ready Bar 05:53 Why Sofia presented on the female firefighter 09:06 Her first seasons, and the women who weren't there 10:35 Zero athletic background to coach 14:47 Making a hotshot crew: from dead last to 15 pull-ups 17:12 Reps are practice: consistency over everything 18:19 Self-talk, body image and performance 23:17 Baseball, failure and the mental game 25:08 Low energy availability and losing your cycle 29:31 "How am I underfueling if I'm not losing weight?" 32:29 Programming philosophy: train every quality concurrently 38:31 Why you don't need to hike every day 42:44 Intimidated by the weight room? Progressions that work 45:40 "Will lifting make me bulky?" Strength and bone density 47:10 Getting a hotshot ready for the rappel pack-out 49:13 Strength during fire season: building vs. expressing fitness 50:18 Who the women's group program is for 55:28 Your off-season crew, and how small the fire world is 58:54 How to sign up and find Sofia The views shared on this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not represent any agency, department or employer.

  2. Oct 17

    How To Dominate The Pack Test: Training, Pacing, and Not Wrecking Your Shins [014]

    In this episode of the Rugged Athlete Podcast I teach you how to dominate the pack test. I cover pacing strategies, step and breathing cadence strategies, how to walk with more efficient biomechanics so you don't wreck your shins, and how to effectively train for the pack test. Want our FREE 4 week pack test PT plan? Download it here: https://www.ruggedathletetraining.com/pack-test-pt-plan Lastly, be sure to give our sponsor, READY BAR, some love! Their energy/protein bar is perfect for wildland firefighters and you can save money by using the code RUGGED20 to get 20% off your order. Check them out here: https://getreadybar.com/

  3. Oct 7

    This Off-Season Will Be Our Biggest And Best Yet! [013]

    In this episode of the Rugged Athlete Podcast Austin breaks down the changes and improvements we made to our off-season training program offerings. We've been spending the last several months building out our new and improved "Rugged Athlete Training System" which includes previous offerings like our Pro Membership and our 1:1 Coaching, as well as our brand new Group Training Program. Check out the full episode for all the details. You can also view our different training programs on our website which you can access here: https://www.ruggedathletetraining.com/ Also, be sure to check out our sponsor: READY BAR. You can see the different flavors they have over at getreadybar.com. Make sure you use code RUGGED20 at checkout to save yourself some money!

  4. Sep 30

    How a NASA Food Scientist Built READYBAR w/ Ryan Dowdy [012]

    In this episode of the Rugged Athlete Podcast I sit down with Ryan Dowdy, founder and CEO of READYBAR. Ryan is a former NASA food scientist who lead performance nutrition innovation for fueling astronauts on the International Space Station. He later turned that experience and expertise into his own product with READYBAR. In this episode we dive into the details behind Ryan's company, the nutrition parallels between the aerospace industry and the wildfire industry, and we get insight into READYBAR's new mystery flavor! Check them out at getreadybar.com and make sure you use code "RUGGED20" at checkout to save yourself some money.

  5. Sep 23

    What's Inside The Wildland Firefighter Health And Safety Act? [011]

    In this episode of the Rugged Athlete Podcast I go through all 50 pages of the proposed Wildland Firefighter Health and Safety Act. This bill addresses many important topics such as respiratory protection, cancer screening and prevention, behavioral health support, research priorities, and funding allocations to the tune of $305 million between FY 2027 and 2032. In the episode I mentioned several relevant studies that have been carried out by the Wildfire Conservancy. Below are links to check those out: Clean Cab Protocol: https://wildfireconservancy.org/clean-cab Firefighter Cancer Cohort Study: https://wildfireconservancy.org/cancer-study Reducing Dermal Exposure: https://wildfireconservancy.org/skin-exposure You can also tap the link below to sign up for the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer: https://www.firefightercancersupport.org/national-firefighter-registry If you want to check out the entire 50 page bill for yourself you can do so here: https://dexter.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/dexter.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/dexter_112_xml.pdf Lastly, be sure to give our sponsor, READY BAR, some love! Their energy/protein bar is perfect for wildland firefighters and you can save money by using the code RUGGED20 to get 20% off your order. Check them out here: https://getreadybar.com/

  6. Jul 15

    Fitness Wearables For The Fireline w/ Brandon Schrom [010]

    In this episode of the Rugged Athlete Podcast we visit with guest Brandon Schrom who is an expert on fitness wearables such as Garmin, Whoop, Oura Ring, Apple Health Kit, and Fitbit. Brandon is a research physiologist for the US Navy where he specialized in wearable technology in Warfighter Human Performance. He also helps lead the Type 1 Readiness Program for Hotshot Wellness. Before working with tactical athletes, he was a sport technologist for the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee working in cycling and track and field. He received his BS and MS in Exercise Science from SUNY Cortland. In this episode Brandon explains wearable are, how to understand and use information such as HRV and sleep scores, practical tips for analyzing daily readiness scores vs trends over time, and his personal opinion on the pros and cons of all the popular wearable brands on the market today. Our sponsor for today's episode is READYBAR. READYBAR is the perfect meal replacement/protein/energy bar for the fireline. The flavors and macros on these things are top notch. Check them out over at getreadybar.com!

  7. Jun 29

    A New Fitness Test For Wildland Firefighters: The Type 1 Fitness Test [009]

    In this episode of the Rugged Athlete Podcast Austin and Justin discuss the Type 1 Fitness Test - a fitness test we created to better assessment occupational performance for type 1 resources, and to attempt to enhance the fitness culture in the profession. We breakdown the details of this fitness test including the why behind the exact specs of the test, as well as the scoring standards and expectations for type 1 firefighters. We also cover a plethora of critiques, suggestions, and "hate comments" surrounding this fitness test. Just a heads up, this fitness test is extremely controversial apparently. This episode is sponsored by READYBAR. Check them out at https://getreadybar.com/

  8. Jun 5

    The Truth About The Pack Test [008]

    In today's episode Austin and Justin answer the question, do we need to reassess the pack test? We dive into the history of the pack test, including how it became the universal fitness assessment back in the mid 1990's, as well as the fitness test that preceeded it: the 5 minute step test. We also give our personal opinions on the pack test - what's good about it and what it's flaws are. This episode is sponsored by READYBAR. Check them out at https://getreadybar.com/

See All (15)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Rugged Athlete Podcast is a performance-driven show dedicated to the health, fitness, and human performance of wildland firefighters and other tactical professionals. Hosted by Austin Womack MS, CSCS, the podcast breaks down strength and conditioning, work capacity, durability, recovery, and lifestyle strategies that support the rugged, physical demands of the fireline. Episodes blend practical training guidance, evidence-based principles, and real-world application—cutting through noise and trends to focus on what actually improves performance under load, fatigue, and environmental stress. Whether you’re preparing for fire season, navigating long shifts and limited recovery, or looking to extend your career and reduce injury risk, the Rugged Athlete Podcast delivers actionable insights you can apply immediately.

Information

  • Creator
    Austin Womack
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Austin Womack

You Might Also Like