This week on The Colosseum, we cover the biggest stories in health, fitness, wellness, and human performance.
Google is taking direct aim at Garmin with the Pixel Watch 5. The company claims its new GPS system can provide twice the route accuracy of the Pixel Watch 4 in difficult environments and outperform devices like the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra 3 in internal urban testing. But instead of relying entirely on a stronger GPS receiver, Google appears to be using its knowledge of roads, buildings, and maps to correct routes after a workout. We break down whether software-assisted GPS can genuinely compete with Garmin’s dedicated fitness hardware and what happens when your watch starts interpreting your run instead of simply recording it. From there, we look at Google’s new Health Guardian features, which aim to identify longer-term wellness trends involving blood pressure, insulin resistance, sleep breathing, and dangerous drops in blood oxygen — without crossing the line into clinical diagnosis.
Then we get into Project Seven, Matt Johnson’s attempt to complete seven full Ironman-distance triathlons in seven consecutive days to raise money for ValorFit and support military veterans. We discuss the physical and logistical demands of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running a marathon every day for an entire week, why endurance challenges like this are often decided by recovery and nutrition, and what makes the mission behind the event more important than the finish times. We also cover Courtney Dauwalter’s surprise return to UTMB and whether one of ultrarunning’s greatest athletes can reclaim her title after a disappointing result — especially in a race where 108 miles, nearly 10,000 meters of climbing, weather, nutrition, and a single mistake can change everything.
Next, a new avocado oil study raises serious questions about what consumers are actually buying. Researchers tested 54 processed foods marketed as containing avocado oil and found that 48 of them — roughly 89% — had oil profiles inconsistent with authentic avocado oil. We break down what the testing can and cannot prove, why products like chips, mayonnaise, and salad dressings are difficult for consumers to evaluate, and how premium health claims can become powerful marketing tools even when the underlying ingredients may not match expectations. That leads into a broader conversation about acquisitions in the health and wellness industry, what happens when trusted brands are bought by larger companies, and whether consumers can rely on a brand’s reputation after its ownership and priorities begin to change.
Finally, Spotify is moving deeper into fitness with a new Running Mode designed to build personalized playlists around the type of run, desired tempo, and musical preferences of the user. We discuss whether Spotify can compete with guided running platforms by using the listening data it already has and why automatically matching music to the intensity of a workout could be more useful than another generic training plan. We close with reports that Apple is exploring a screenless fitness band that could compete with Whoop and other recovery-focused wearables. We break down why Apple may want a device designed for continuous health tracking rather than notifications, how artificial intelligence could turn years of Apple Health data into practical recommendations, and the privacy trade-offs that come with allowing technology to understand more about your body than ever before.
What is The Colosseum | Health & Performance?
The Colosseum is a weekly show built on a simple idea: modern science has answered a lot of questions about how to train, eat, recover, and live well — and most people are still left guessing.
Each episode, hosts Tyler and Jayden break down the latest news across health, wellness, and fitness. Exercise science. Endurance sports. Health tech. Performance nutrition. Recovery and longevity. It's the kind of honest, curious conversation you'd have with a friend who reads the research so you don't have to.
Expect deep dives on science, research, and training for IRONMAN, HYROX, and ultra-endurance events. Conversations with or about athletes, coaches, founders, and researchers pushing the field forward. And honest conversations about the wellness trends shaping how people train, eat, and recover.
New episodes weekly. Part of The Colosseum — a modern health movement.