About Todd

Background

Todd is a multi-faceted athlete who excels at a variety of events including triathlons, duathlons, and running events ranging from 5k up to ultra-marathons.

Todd is currently a member of the elite age-group triathlon team, Every Man Jack. The team consists of some of the top age-group triathletes in the world.

Prior to endurance competition, Todd played baseball, basketball, and soccer in high school and was a collegiate baseball player. 

Education and Experience

Todd earned his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from Michigan State University in 2018. While at MSU, he taught all levels of exercise physiology courses to undergraduate kinesiology students, served as the Exercise Physiology Lab Coordinator, and presented multiple webinars for USA Triathlon.

Currently, Todd works as a professor in the Movement Science Department at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI. In this role, he teaches classes including Introduction to Exercise Physiology, Research Methods in Exercise and Health Sciences, and Strength & Conditioning for Athletic Performance.

Todd also works as the Chief Exercise Physiologist for The Bucking Fit Life, a holistic integration of fitness, nutrition, and mental health developed by his brother, Tyler Buckingham, to help people in all aspects of their lives. Aka, he wants to make getting healthy suck less!

Todd runs his own coaching business where he writes training plans for runners, cyclists, and triathletes to help them optimize their performance while minimizing their risk of injury and making it fun!

Todd’s work has been featured over 90 times in sources like Runner’s World, Triathlete, CNN, The Today Show, Healthline, MSN Lifestyle, Business Insider, Livestrong.com, and many others. His coverage has reached well over 1 billion viewers on TV, print, and podcasts.

Todd previously served as the Lead Exercise Physiologist at the Mary Free Bed Sports Rehabilitation Performance Lab in Grand Rapids, MI where he performed physiological tests on athletes of all abilities.

Highlights

  • 2:25:29 marathon PR

  • 1:08:10 half-marathon PR

  • 4x world champion in triathlon

  • 18x national champion in triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon, and aquabike

  • 2022 USA Triathlon Male Age Group Triathlete of the Year

Coaching Presence

Todd’s work in the exercise physiology field gives him extra insight into what it takes to be a successful athlete. Using this knowledge, combined with his experience as an endurance athlete himself, Todd is able to take the science and make it easy for anyone to understand.