Empowering yourself to transform your life after injury * Simon Ward and Dr. David Meyer

If you work out regularly there is a fair chance that you've been injured at some stage. Call it an occupational hazard for athletes.

Injuries are physical, the pain is real, and the effects of the injury are often visible. But recovery from injury isn’t just a physical act. One might even argue that there is a mental health aspect to getting injured. I know that from many of my most serious injuries I've felt a sense of loss at not being able to train and even grief if it meant having to withdraw from events. That's why I’m delighted to be speaking with today's guest Dr. David Meyer. 

Dr. Meyer is a Sports Performance Physical Therapist who served as the Rehab & Medical Coordinator for the St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, where he began discovering a new approach to sports rehabilitation that utilizes psychology, along with mental skills and strategies. This inspired David to author his recently published book, Injured to Elite: A Guide to Empowering Yourself to Transform Your Life After Injury. Alongside his book Injured to Elite, he hosts a podcast of the same name. David has now fostered a community, The Injured to Elite Network, made up of developing sports professionals and athletes that mainly identify with being an underdog, in order to change the paradigm of sports performance and healthcare towards growth outside of just the physical domain.

If you want to use all of the tools at your disposal when you get injured you’ll love this conversation as we chat about:

• Why injury is emotional as well as physical
• 'Thought virus’ and 'thought vaccines' and why you need to replace one with the other
• Having a growth mindset and being an open-minded skeptic
• Experimental curiosity
• Self-determination theory and its role in injury rehab
• 5 steps to having a positive mindset during injury rehab

David would like to offer all High Performance Human podcast listeners the opportunity to listen to the first 1/3 of his book absolutely FREE OF CHARGE, just click here - injuredtoelite.com/listen.

You can purchase the full book HERE.

You can follow Dr. David Meyer at the usual social media channels as well as his own website.

Instagram @davemmeyer

LinkedIn - David-Meyer-DPT

YouTube - Injured to Elite channel

David also has his own podcast - Injured to Elite

Some links to the subjects that we mentioned in the show:

Books

Explain Pain by David Butler and Lorimer Moseley

Healing Back Pain by John Sarno

The Alchemist Paolo Coelho

Podcast - Building resilience through Self Compassion with Jonathan Ward

Podcast  - Optimising Human Performance with Dr Tommy Wood

Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1. Watch this video for more information.

Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Staying focussed and adjusting goals while working on the frontline during COVID * Simon Ward and Dr. James Risley

My guest today is Dr. James Risley a consultant in emergency medicine at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

James and I have been working together for almost 7 years and it's been an interesting journey, which I hope that we can outline today. Initially, James came to me with ambitious goals (as most triathletes do), centred around Ironman and mostly focussed on training. In the intervening period, we've worked together to adjust this approach to one which focusses on achieving a better lifestyle balance and optimal human performance. As you will hear, James' life is no different from that of most of you, filled with daily challenges from many different quarters.  The goal has been to find a sweet spot. It's not been a linear journey, he’s concentrated on the long-term goals rather than short-term gains and he’s been very successful on this journey.

Some of the topics covered include:

• How the Oura ring has helped James to understand sleep requirements, and how life stresses influence overall recovery 
• Finding a sustainable approach to everything - love, work, nutrition, training
• Learning to ignore the outcome and trust the process
• Why getting to the start line is the big win
• The real benefits of studying for an MBA
• Lessons from working on the front-line during COVID - Adapting expectations, stress management, thinking clearly under pressure
• Daily habits and rituals 
• Being the best you can be every day

Some of the other elements that we discussed include

The Oura ring - Track your sleep, readiness & activity 

The Dunning Kruger effect - check out this article to understand the theory

Books mentioned in the show

Driven - Douglas Brackmann

Sleep - Nick Littlehales

James' Book Recommendations

Chimp Paradox - Dr. Steve Peters

Primal Endurance - Escape the ‘Chronic Cardio training approach' - Mark Sisson & Brad Kearns

Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1. Watch this video for more information.

Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Why victory often leads to disappointment, and how to find a better approach * Simon Ward and Cath Bishop

On this week's podcast, we're happy to have on Dr. Cath Bishop, Olympian, former diplomat, business coach, consultant, and author of ‘The Long Win’, listed in the FT’s Top 10 Business Books 2020. 

She competed in rowing at 3 Olympic Games, winning World Championships gold in 2003 and Olympic silver in Athens 2004. As a diplomat for the British Foreign Office for 12 years, Cath specialized in policy and negotiations on conflict issues, with postings to Bosnia and Iraq. Cath now works as a leadership consultant, executive coach, facilitator, and author, and teaches on Executive Education programmes at the Judge Business School and Cambridge University.  She is also a regular speaker at Imperial College Business School and a Visiting Professor at Surrey Business School.  She teaches on leadership topics including resilience, high-performing teams, culture change, and inclusion.  In addition to all of this, Cath is also an advisor and advocate of ‘The True Athlete Project’, a non-profit organisation working to create sporting environments that enable athletes to thrive, and is Chair of ‘Love Rowing’, British Rowing’s Charitable Foundation aiming to bring rowing to more communities around the UK.

I listened to Cath speak about 'The Long Win', and the concept developed in her book really resonated with me. It's similar to my own High Performance Human approach and focusses on process and mastery rather than the outcome. If you are tired of the binary win or lose narrative which controls so much of life then you’ll love this conversation. In fact, the Financial Times described the book as "a deep and rewarding exploration of human motivation in sport, politics, business and our personal lives".

Topics discussed today include:

• School sport, rowing, and the road to the Olympics
• Silver medal experience – pleasure or pain?
• Diplomatic world – is the language of winning the most beneficial approach to international relationships?
• How the original definitions of “sport”, “competition" and “winning” have been corrupted over the years
• Why Olympic gold medal winners can often feel a sense of loss and emptiness after victory
• The bizarre and somewhat disturbing allocation of return flight tickets for Olympic Gold medal winners and the rest of the team
• Why the winning at all costs attitude can be damaging in the long term
• Mastery/Process vs Outcome goals - being the best you can be
• The principles of ’The Long Win’, the 3C's, and how we can all formulate a different approach going forward

To find out more about Cath Bishop, please visit her website

You can also find Cath on these social media channels

Twitter @thecathbishop 

Instagram cath_bishop 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cath-bishop-a0029847/

Books mentioned:

"Late Bloomers" by Rick Karlgaard

“Think Again" by Adam Grant

Cath has presented a Ted X Talk on Resilience which you can watch/listen to HERE

Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1. Watch this video for more information.

Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Ultra runner and Guinness World Record Holder * Simon Ward and Mimi Anderson

My guest today is a lady that I met exactly 20 years ago.  Mimi Anderson is one of the world’s most inspirational female distance runners, having made an incredible journey from stay-at-home mother of three to multiple Guinness World Record Holder. With hard work and determination, Mimi has shown that it’s never too late to fulfil your dreams and achieve the impossible.

Pushing herself to the limits has strengthened Mimi’s resilience and taught her its importance in boosting her mental and physical health, especially having suffered from anorexia for 15 years. Hearing Mimi speak about her amazing experiences with honesty, humility, and humour, will leave you inspired to seek out personal challenges of your own and be much more aware of how to develop your own resilience and well-being.

Mimi found her love of running at the age of 36 and very quickly discovered her ability to run silly distances by taking on the Marathon des Sables in 2001, a race billed as “the toughest footrace on earth”, with just over a year’s running under her belt. And that's where our story starts. Since then Mimi has chalked up numerous ultra event wins, records, and achievements including - the first female to complete double Comrades Marathon, breaking the female JOGLE world record in 2008 (since broken), Double Badwater in 2011 (female course record), and the first female to complete Double Spartathlon.  You can view all of Mimi’s achievements HERE.

I absolutely loved this conversation and it felt like we got straight back into chatting as we did in our MdS tent in 2001.

Our topics today include:

• Our shared experience at MdS 2001
• School days, eating disorders, addictive behaviours, training for endurance events
• Going further and breaking records
• Your most hellish and most satisfying challenge so far
• Building resilience - Dealing with setbacks, disappointments and not being able to run
• Learning to swim at 50+
• The fun in planning your own adventures 
• Preparation for ultra’s - fitness, mindset, or both
• Mental toughness - nature or nurture
• Daily routines and habits
• Life lessons from ultra events
• Writing a book is like running an ultra - one step at a time!

To find out more about Mimi please visit her website

You can also follow her on the usual social media channels under her nickname “MarvellousMimi”

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Mimi has written two books which you can get from the usual outlets

Beyond Impossible - From reluctant runner to Guinness World Record Breaker

Limitless - An ultra-runner's story of pain, perseverance, and the pursuit of success

A short film about Mimi Anderson

Eating disorders and disordered eating podcast

Mimi spoke at length about her battle with anorexia. If you would like to learn more about eating disorders I recorded a podcast with Dr. Rhys Jones, Consultant Psychiatrist specialising in eating disorders.  You can listen to that podcast HERE.

Mmi also mentioned the charity BEAT.  If you do need to speak with anyone about eating disorders you can do so HERE.

Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1. Watch this video for more information.

Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Training, nutrition, recovery. It’s Black and Whyte * Simon Ward and Prof. Greg Whyte

My guest today is Prof. Greg Whyte. As an Olympian (he won a modern pentathlon bronze at the 1986 Olympic Games), sports scientist and coach Greg is uniquely experienced at optimising performance. Greg has worked as a consultant physiologist in a large number of Olympic and professional sports and has been the Director of Science and research at the English Institute of Sport and the Director of Research for the British Olympic association, leading on the preparation of multiple Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth teams.  I’ve known Greg as an acquaintance for many years, well enough to be on first-name terms and have a beer with after completing an event. The last was Marathon de Sables back in2015, sat around the hotel pool in Ouarzazate, Morocco. You may be more familiar with Prof Whyte as the man who helps celebrities to achieve incredible feats as part of Children in Need.  Since first helping David Walliams to swim the Channel back in 2005, Greg has been involved with 31 more ‘Children in Need’ challenges. You can find out more about these HERE.

I recently watched Greg's latest documentary Black & Whyte, a 45’ epilogue detailing his attempt to achieve the coveted black T-shirt award at the Norseman Triathlon. In fact, as I was watching the film myself it brought back some very vivid memories of my own Norseman adventure back in 2009 (I did get a black T-shirt, just in case you were wondering).

This is another enthusiastic discussion and as usual, we dive into plenty of topics including:

• How does an Olympic medalist stay motivated once they are past their peak?
• How does the stress level at the Olympics compare to say Norseman or other challenges?
• Comparison is the thief of joy!
• Which was your most hellish challenge and which the most enjoyable/satisfying?
• How did you become the trainer to the stars?
• Which of your celebrity challenges gave you the most satisfaction and why?
• Greg’s own daily routine and thoughts on tracking blood sugar or HRV
• Some common-sense advice about nutrition
• In 'The Whyte Answer' what is your most asked question, which question do you wish people would ask, and what do you hope you never get asked?
• Greg answers some listener questions in a mini version of “The Whyte Answer"

To follow Greg please visit his website

The Whyte Answer

You can also follow him at the usual social media places

Instagram profgregw

Facebook ProfessorGregWhyte

Twitter @gpwhyte

YouTube

In the podcast we mentioned several links including these

The Whyte Answer - http://www.thewhyteanswer.com

Bean Lite - The new Bespoke Exercise &  nutrition App

Greg’s Books
Bump it Up

Achieve the Impossible

Some films you might like

Black & Whyte - A Norseman story

Extra ordinary people

Some great blog posts HERE

Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1. Watch this video for more information.

Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Better movement equals better running * Simon Ward and Shane Benzie

In today's show, I’m joined by a man who helps people to run faster, and he calls himself a movement coach.

Shane Benzie has a coaching philosophy that leads him to take an anthropological view of a runner. Shane believes that if we move like a human is designed to move, that will make us a good athlete. To maximise our potential we must take that human movement and turn it into human performance. His coaching is designed to create an intelligent runner that has the correct perception of their movement. It encourages them to see changes in gait as a software change rather than teaching the physical body new tricks.

This is a great conversation that looks at running improvement from a completely different perspective and we chat about a diverse range of topics including:

• How everyday movement patterns influence your running style
• The benefits of using a stand-up desk
• Counting strides and why it leads to an imbalance in run technique 
• The role of  the fascia
• The ’tensegrity model’ and the ’sea of tension’
• Understanding what good movement looks and feels like
• What is the optimal running cadence?
• Foot strike and the ’tripod landing'
• Running drills and why they are not necessarily a good thing
• Shane’s 4 tips for better running 

To find out more about Shane please visit his website, RunningReborn.com

You can also find him on the usual social media channels:

Facebook - RunningReborn

Instagram - Shane.benzie

Twitter - @runningreborn

Here are some of the links we discussed:

We talked about Shane’s book “The Lost art of Running” 

And also about this book “Natural Born Heroes”, which references the involvement of fascia in movement generally, and running specifically.

Please also check out previous podcasts with:

Sanjay Rawal where he talks about his experiences of running with Navajo Indians

Kelley Starrett talking about movement, mobility, and being in the ‘ready state’

Sarah J Pitts injury reversal and movement specialist

Malcolm Brown on enjoying running and how to be a better runner

Louisa Holmes how to ‘bullet-proof’ your body

Here are some links to other topics in the conversation:

Video of Tirunesh Dibaba running style

'Do you run wrong?’ Shane Benzie reveals the best running technique in this video

Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1. Watch this video for more information.

Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Mindful self-compassion builds resilience * Simon Ward and Jonathan Ward

On today's podcast, I have a very special guest, my brother, Jonathan Ward.

Jono is not a triathlete, and these days he’s not a competitive sportsperson. In fact, his daily routine is designed to keep him as healthy as possible. You’ll hear about his previous health problems during our conversation. As a result of those issues, Jonathan took time to study with Brene Brown in the US to become a Courage Coach. The reason I've invited my brother onto the show is to discuss mindful self-compassion. This is something that I've become more interested in as I've sought additional ways in which to help individuals become High Performance Humans.

I think Jono was a little nervous about being interviewed by his older brother but as you’ll soon appreciate, there was absolutely no need for his anxiety. 

Self-compassion is not a subject that's often linked with endurance sports but if you pay close attention you might discover a new skill that will help you achieve higher levels of performance as a human and an athlete.

During our chat we discuss:

• Jonathan explains what self-compassion is and why it's different from self-pity and self-indulgence.
• The 3 key components of self-compassion
• How self-compassion creates healthy behaviours and has positive long term benefits
• Resilience and ‘bouncebackability’
• Self-criticism is NOT a motivator and why positive self-talk is better
• When you feel under pressure the 2 questions that you must ask yourself
• How to practice self-compassion

To find out more about Jonathan visit his website, Courageous Living Coaching

You can also find him on Instagram - courage.coach

Jonathan has a new course on 'Mindful Self Compassion' starting on April 24.

You can find out more about that HERE

To find out more about Brene Brown visit her website, https://brenebrown.com

Brene Brown Ted Talks:

The power of vulnerability

Listening to shame

Brene Brown's Book, Daring Greatly

To find out more about self-compassion please go HERE

Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1. Watch this video for more information.

Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Fighting COVID, coaching triathletes, and training for Ironman * Simon Ward and Dr. Jeff Sankoff

My guest on today's show is Dr. Jeffrey Sankoff, an ER physician and triathlete from Denver, Colorado. He has been a triathlete for over 20 years and also working part-time as a triathlon coach (a.k.a TriDoc) for the last 5 years. Since January 2020, he has been on the front line at Denver Health in the battle against Coronavirus. All of these experiences make him uniquely placed to understand the effects of COVID on endurance athletes and he's written extensively on this subject for TrainingPeaks, Triathlete magazine, and others. Much of the triathlon-related work he produces (blog posts, podcasts, etc.) attempts to help athletes and coaches make sense of the mass of data around training and health. Jeffrey specialises in studying the research and translating it into trusted, easy to understand information that we can all use.

As we come out of lockdown and are full of optimism for racing in the next few points and beyond we discuss:

• Avoiding COVID until you have the vaccine
• Recovering from COVID and return to training - What do we know so far, and Tri Doc’s advice based on his experience as a physician & triathlete?
• Is ‘long COVID’ any different from post-viral syndrome after the flu?
• Post-vaccine what habits/behaviours should endurance athletes continue with?  What habits/behaviours should we not go back to?
• On the health bell curve, where do triathletes generally sit?
• What have you learned from the COVID pandemic as a physician, as a triathlete, and as a coach?
• Strategies for long term health
• Exercise and ageing - if we want to be doing triathlon in our 70’s what should we be doing now?

How to find Jeffrey Sankoff, MD - The TriDoc

First off, try his website - www.tridoccoaching.com

And this one for his new coaching partners www.lifesportcoaching.com

Jeff also hangs out at the usual social media places

Twitter: www.twitter.com/triathmagtridoc

IG: www.instagram.com/tridoccoaching

FB: https://www.facebook.com/tridoccoach

My guests always have lots to share and these are some of the links you might find useful from today's show:

Are endurance athletes healthier than their sedentary colleagues

COVID 19 & Mydocarditis - should endurance athletes be worried

COVID 19 - Long term patient-reported symptoms

Myocarditis risk with COVID 19

What you need to know about endurance training and covid immunity

Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1. Watch this video for more information.

Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

How to be your best when you’ve been set up to fail * Simon Ward and Mandy Hickson

How many of us grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot? Many boys I’m sure and maybe a few girls. How many actually managed to achieve that ambition? A few boys possibly but very few girls.  My guest today, Mandy Hickson, is one of only 5 ladies who have flown the Tornado GR4 fast jet on the front line which makes her a very unique person and in my mind the epitome of a High Performance Human.

Mandy Hickson has over 30 years of experience in aviation. She joined the Royal Air Force in 1994 and flew the Tornado GR4 on the front line, where she operated in hostile environments, including patrolling the ‘No Fly’ zone over Iraq. Since leaving the RAF she retrained as a facilitator and coach in human performance factors. Drawing on her experience of calculated risk-taking, decision-making under pressure, and the critical role of the human in the system, she transfers vivid lessons from the cockpit to other management and leadership contexts. 

This was an amazing conversation and you’ll be left in no doubt about Mandy's enthusiasm for flying and life in general.  Some of the topics we cover are:

• The need for speed
• Breaking through the glass ceiling and being a successful woman in a man’s world
• Overcoming the odds and being set up for failure
• The importance of building a team even if you compete in an individual sport
• Feeling valued and being empowered to make decisions
• Building relationships
• Being the best you can be and competing with yourself

To find out about Mandy please visit her various social media channels HERE.

Mandy also talked about her book “An Officer, Not a Gentleman”.  You can purchase a copy HERE.

In the show we also talked about:

Mandy’s Kilimanjaro experience. You can watch a short video of this on YouTube HERE.

Get a flavour of Mandy’s time flying fast jets “Step into my office”.

Interview with US Navy pilot, Admiral Scott Jones.

Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1. Watch this video for more information.

Purchase a copy of my High Performance Human e-book featuring more than 30 top tips on how to upgrade your life.

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes.  Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here.  For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

So your 2020 race was cancelled, what about the guys who call you across the line? * Simon Ward and Steve Fleck

Some of you folks may know that one of my other hobbies during the summer months is to work as an announcer at Outlaw triathlon events. I’m lucky enough to have called some of you across the line, sometimes more than once. It’s a tough job working as an MC, and it’s more than just talking all day (something which I can do well!).

Sad as it is that your triathlon events have been offline for over 12 months, spare a thought for those for whom events like these are how they earn money.  My guest today is one such person, for whom 2020 should have been his best year ever of race announcing.  Steve Fleck is one of the leading Endurance Sports Race/Event Announcers & Commentators in North America for cycling, running, and triathlon races and events. It's a natural extension of a life spent running, cycling, and racing triathlons since his mid-teens and wearing multiple hats in and around the business of endurance sports in Sales, Business Development, Media, Marketing, and Communications. He lives in Aurora, Ontario with his wife, Paolina, and their dog, Gravy.

Steve and I started chatting about recording this podcast in Kona way back in 2019 bc (before Covid) and it’s taken us almost 18 months to get it done, so I hope you envy the chat as we catch up about:

• How the pandemic has hit endurance sports, and what events might look like going forward
• How the pandemic affected Steve’s race announcing business and scrambling for other work to fill the gap
• Government financial support, and who has helped race organisers since March 2020
• PTO: how they stepped up in 2020 and their role in helping triathletes in the last 12 months, including the Daytona race
• That Lionel Sanders Canadian 1 hour track record

To find out more about Steve and to follow him on social media please visit these channels

Facebook - SteveFleck

Twitter @SteveFleck

LinkedIn flecksteve

PTO & paid maternity leave for female triathletes

Lionel sanders 1hr Canadian Track record with Steve Fleck as m/c

If you would like to help offset the cost of our podcast production, we would be so grateful.  Please click here to support the HPH podcast.  Thank you!

To find out more about Simon’s SWAT programme, please click HERE 

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes

Links to all of Simon's social media channels can be found here

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com