tao berman's Page

I frequently hear trainers talk about different workouts to improve performance. But there is an even more important ingredient to winning. Motivation. I've seen so many incredible athletes loose motivation, which either indirectly, or directly, leads to worse results.

Motivation is hard to teach. To some degree you either have it or you don't. Unlike training I can't help you develop a program to improve results. So the key is to find whatever it is that gives you motivation.

For me it's the… Continue

So you want to be a professional kayaker. First let me warn you, financially speaking, it's one of the more difficult ways to be successful. However, it may also be one of the most personally gratifying experiences of your life.

First you must have a good product. If you are wondering what that is then you had better keep reading. The product is you. The sooner you realize that, the easier it's going to be to sell yourself. How can you differentiate yourself from other paddlers? What is your ni… Continue

People often think that because I consistently win races I’m more genetically gifted than my competitors. I’ll let you in on a secret, unfortunately for me that is not the case. There are a lot of very talented athletes and the only way to beat them is to train harder and smarter.

The most important ingredients to success are motivation, perseverance, and having a plan.

Below is my training program.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 150 pull-ups with no rest being over 15 seconds, Add 35 pounds… Continue

People are always asking me what my favorite creeks in WA are, so I decided to list my top ten.
First for my disclaimer. They are all dangerous. Most have logs, undercut rocks, sieves, and other hazards that may kill you. But that is precisely why they make my top 10 list. Keep in mind that all of these runs are best at really high water levels.

Little White Salmon
Tumwater Canyon
Middle section of Icicle Creek
Upper Little North Fork of the Skykomish
Ernie's Canyon
Top Tye (Tributary to the Sk… Continue

Racing well is all about being prepared. What I mean by that is that doing well racing is usually just a reflection of how hard one trains.
I think I got Mono about 3 weeks before leaving for CO to compete. There couldn't have been a worse time of the year to get it because it meant I wasn't going to be able to train before my races. In fact I didn't even have the energy to finish more than five holes of golf.

I was one second behind first place in the Teva Mountain Games Extreme Race. Consider… Continue