Why Recovery Is the Hidden Engine of High Performers

(how Kipchoge broke the 2hr marathon):

Author

Eric Hinman
April 13, 2025

read time: 5 minutes 

Welcome to The Movement Memo, a bi-weekly newsletter where I share actionable tips to help you live your best day ever, every day.

Today's Programming 

Today's Movement 

Complete Every Minute On The Minute For 40 Minutes

  • Minute 1: 17 cal concept 2 bike

  • Minute 2: 20 walking lunge (80 lbs sandbag)

  • Minute 3: 14 cal row

  • Minute 4: 6 dball cleans at (100 lbs.)

Track sessions have become my favorite day of the week.

Today's Quote

“The ability to continue moving when you’re not feeling inspired is the mark of a high performer.”

— James Clear

In a world addicted to speed, we glorify intensity and overlook what really lasts.

But success isn’t found in how fast you go—it’s in how fast you return.

It’s not about always being “on.” It’s about building systems that bring you back when you’re off.

That’s the paradox: the highest performers aren’t the most intense—they’re the most calibrated.

Because in the long game, your ability to recover is your advantage.

Today's Lesson Learned:

The Bounce: Why Recovery Is the Hidden Engine of High Performers

In October 2019, Eliud Kipchoge became the first human in history to run a marathon in under two hours.

It was a feat so extreme it bordered on mythical. 

But if you study his methods, you’ll find no secrets. No revolutionary hacks. No superhuman gifts.

You’ll find rhythm. Simplicity. And an obsession with one thing:

The bounce.

Why the Best Don’t Just Push—They Recover

Kipchoge trains in a quiet village in Kenya. No cryotherapy. No million-dollar tech. Just consistent, intentional living.

He sleeps over 9 hours a night.

He eats simply. He moves with purpose. He recovers with discipline.

His advantage isn’t that he pushes harder – it’s that he returns to form faster than anyone else.

And that’s the pattern with high performers across sports and industry:

  • The best athletes aren’t the ones who go the hardest—they’re the ones who recover the fastest.

  • The most successful entrepreneurs aren’t the ones who never get knocked down—they’re the ones who rebound without losing momentum.

A Harsh Truth: Endurance isn’t about how long you can go – it’s about how little time you spend not being yourself.

The Bounce Is the Edge

Most people live in the gray zone: not broken, but not optimal.

Running on caffeine, anxiety, and residual stress. Operating a few clicks below their full capacity. But the greats?

They don’t stay knocked down. 

They’ve just built systems that bring them back—fast.

My Reset System:

I get kicked in the teeth, too.

Work stress. Mental fog. Emotional drag.

But I don’t rely on willpower to get me back. I rely on my anchors—daily reset points that bring me back to baseline no matter what the day throws.

  • Movement in the morning. It creates forward momentum. The body leads, the mind follows.

  • Contrast therapy at night. Heat for calm, cold for clarity. My nervous system resets while the world winds down.

  • Time-blocked rhythm. Creative mornings. Social afternoons. Evenings for reflection. Not rigidity— but there is consistency in the cadence.

  • Environment and relationships. Who I talk to, where I spend my time—these either drain me or pull me back to center.

These aren’t hacks.

They’re the invisible structure that makes returning to baseline possible.

We glorify discipline. Wake up early. Stick to the plan. Push harder.

But discipline is over indexed. To find alpha optimize for how quickly you come back.

Because the strongest people I know aren’t the ones who never fall off.

They’re the ones who’ve built a system for returning to baseline—fast and frictionless.

Everyone falls. Everyone fails. Everyone gets derailed.

The difference is how long you stay lost.

  • The best athletes recalibrate mid-game. 

  • The best CEO’s reset mid-crisis.

They don’t live in breakdown mode. They don’t spiral. They return. 

Kipchoge didn’t break the 2-hour barrier because he had more willpower.

He broke it because he had better bounce.

And I don’t show up every day because I’m superhuman.

I show up because I’ve engineered a life where showing up isn’t a choice—it’s the default.

Resilience isn’t about being unshakable. It’s about shaking less, and bouncing back faster.

In a world constantly trying to knock you off-center, your ability to return to baseline is the real superpower.

Today’s Optimization

XPT, the human performance brand known for its cutting-edge techniques developed by athletes, special ops, and performance scientists, is launching an exciting new fitness event series called Expeditions—and I can’t wait to join the first one in Colorado this June. These 2-day experiences combine XPT’s performance pillars—Breathe, Move, Recover, Fuel, and Connect—with epic outdoor challenges designed to fortify your resilience.

The first event, XPT Crystal Peak, will take place in Breckenridge and features an 11.1-mile hike and scramble along a lesser-known route to some of Colorado’s most breathtaking peaks. On Day 1, we’ll train with XPT coaches in Performance Breathing™ sessions, ice bath and sauna protocols, functional movement workouts, performance mindset seminars, and more. Then, on Day 2, we’ll head into the mountains for an unforgettable adventure.

I participated in one of XPT’s other event formats, and it was truly the time of a lifetime. You won’t want to miss this one!

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Publisher: Eric Hinman

Editor-in-chief: Bobby Ryan