Simon Ward, The High Performance Human Triathlon Podcast

Busting myths about knee health and running * Damian Buck

A good friend of mine is a world class triathlete. He won the 70-74 age group at the Ironman world championships in 2017 and has aspirations to repeat that victory in the next few years. Unfortunately, like many triathletes, he has also suffered some knee issues which are currently interrupting his progress. Consequently, we have spent the last few months chatting about options available to him and which (if any) offer the best chance of a return to running.

 

I have some inside knowledge here. In the last 15 years I've had 3 minor operations to remove damaged cartilage from my knees. After each op I questioned whether I could return to running and how sensible this would be for my long term knee health. To date it has resulted in me being a little more cautious with some activities, but I can still run. It seems I’m not the only one. When I asked my Facebook tribe for questions to put to this week's guest, we were inundated.

 

In this week's episode I’ll be chatting with Advanced Practice Physiotherapist and knee expert Damian Buck who works at the CoachHouse Sports Physio Clinic  as we talk about the topics that concern you, including:

• Busting some myths about knee health and running
• How to keep knees healthy as we get older
• The benefits of mobility and strength work, and the best exercises for you to do
• Whether you should have surgery for damaged meniscus 
• Post-surgery recovery protocols
• Which (if any) supplements enhance your knee health

To find out more about Damian Buck click HERE. To learn more about the services that they provide at the CoachHouse Sports Physiotherapy Clinic please click HERE.

 

You might also like these resources which Damian mentioned in the call. These are links to the files in my Dropbox account

Myth: Recreational running causes knee osteoarthritis

Managing my patellofemoral pain

Prevalence of meniscal tears in asymptomatic adults

 

Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our SWAT High Performance Human tribe here.

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.

The Warriors * 3 female Afghan cyclists who fled the Taliban to pursue their Olympic dreams

 

Once in a while you hear a sports story that is too interesting to ignore.  This is one of them. A couple of years ago today's guest, James Hey (The-CycleCoach), was asked by a charity if he could help supply 7 bikes to 7 Afghan girls who loved cycling. Of course he said yes, and this podcast is about that journey.

 

Cycling is one of the many things forbidden for girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan, and to go against this can have serious repercussions. These girls eventually left their families, escaped to Pakistan, spent 15 months in safe houses and finally made their way to the UK as refugees. They have continued to pursue their passion for cycling, and 3 of them have a possibility of racing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

 

Please listen to the podcast so you can hear James and I chat about the story in full detail, and the part he's played as the mentor and cycle coach of the three ladies.

 

James is an accomplished triathlete and cyclist, having completed 2 Ironman events and represented GB as an age grouper at the Gran Fondo World Championships 2018 in Varese, Italy. To find out more about James please visit his Instagram page, thecyclecoach.

 

James' book recommendation is Chasing Excellence written by Ben Bergeron about his approach to helping build the world's finest athletes.

 

If you're interested in reading some great blogs and useful articles about training athletes, James recommends checking out the blog www.wattkg.com written by Martin Bonnie-Svendsen, a doctor in Norway who's also a very keen amateur cyclist who understands training and the science of cycling. You can also watch the short BBC video with the girls and James.

 

Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our SWAT High Performance Human tribe here.

 

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.

Cooking, 130k running weeks, heat chambers and much more * The life of pro-triathlete Tom Bishop

When I started taking part in triathlons in 1987 there were perhaps two or three full time professionals triathletes in the UK. There were a lot more in the US. There wasn’t an Olympic programme or any funding for talented athletes. Just sponsorship (generally free kit) and some prize money if you were lucky. Fast forward 20 years and we have a very successful and well funded national team and dozens of British male and female professional triathletes making a reasonable living, and even more living the dream but who are just about keeping their heads above water. One of those who has carved out a nice career for himself is today’s guest. Tom Bishop has been on the triathlon circuit for what seems like a long time and yet he is still a relatively young man. After 10 years of competing on the ITU circuit for Great Britain, Tom has taken the decision to step up to longer races for 2023. In this conversation Tom and I chat about his early triathlon career including:

• When your main rival is your twin brother
• The value of being a student and knowing how to cook
• Training with the Brownlee's
• Finding your own path and doing things differently
• Tom outlines his weekly training including 130k running weeks
• How to train in the heat chamber

If you would like to find out more about Tom he tends to hang out on 

Instagram @tomwbish.

Tom also wanted to give a BIG shout out to the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) for all of the work they have done in supporting him and his fellow pro triathletes in the last 3 years.

 

Tom loves reading, especially when travelling and recommends the following books:

Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson, "It’s an epic fantasy series which has been my companion through many trips and I love switching off to some completely non-sport related.”

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse "really resounded with me. It’s a great book about opportunity and love of life."

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

 

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.

Patagonaman - Is this the greatest triathlon adventure you could have?

It all started with the Norseman, an extreme long distance triathlon in Norway that has become an iconic long distance triathlon which features on the bucket list of many triathletes who like to combine racing, adventure and travelling. Another race which is fast becoming a bucket list event is the Patagonman in Chile. 

In this week's episode I chat with Scott Whittlestone who finished 3rd overall, and his 2 support crew members, Grant Carter-Moore and Mark Taylor about last year's event. We talk about the Xtri concept, training for events like this, the essential and valuable roles of the support crew and the event itself, as well as:

• Cold water swim training in 3ºC
• Want to be part of the support crew - how much pressure do you like?
• When you have a stray dog running the marathon with you!

To find out more about the intrepid trio you can follow them on Instagram

Scott Whittlestone Grant Carter-Moore Mark Taylor

 

If you are interested in racing Patagonaman please visit this site.

If you would like to know more about the Xtri World Tour with many other amazing race venues, please CLICK HERE.

 

Grant recommended the following book which he said is, “Not triathlon related but a thoroughly entertaining read".

Hotel K: The shocking story inside Bali’s most notorious jail - Kathryn Bonella.

 

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 we get injuries, and what we can do to prevent them * Alison Rose

I recently asked some folks on my Facebook pages about their biggest concerns related to getting older and how it would impact their training or racing. By far the biggest concern was the fear of injury. I also hear a lot of triathletes stating that they are maintaining swim and bike speed with age, but regardless of what they do they are running much more slowly. This raised a few questions:

 

• Why do we run slower as we get older, and is this inevitable?
• Is injury inevitable with ageing?
• Are males more prone to injury than females or are there different injury patterns?
• Most importantly, what actions can we all take which will help us to become more resilient and limit or even avoid injury?

 

To answer these questions I invited Alison Rose, founder of the Coach House Sports Injury Clinic (CSPC) in Leeds to join me for a chat. At CSPC, Alison and her team of physios help athletes to return to competition after injury, but they also encourage them to take proactive actions so that they can stay healthy. Some of our discussion topics include

• Proactive visits to see your physio
• Pay more attention to foot and ankle care
• Skipping to improve 'ping and spring’
• The benefits of deliberate breathing practice
• Daily heel raises to build calf strength
• The importance of balance work for older athletes

To find out more about Alison Rose and the services that they provide at the Coach House Sports Physiotherapy Clinic please visit http://www.cspc.co.uk/.

Alison also recommended the following books that have inspired and interested her:

Fast after 50 - Joe Friel

The Light We Carry  - Michelle Obama

Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson 

 

Alison also recommended these podcasts. Of the Steven Bartlett one she said, "I liked this one as it's informative and also a good image of how important health is to our lives."

The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett 

And this Dr Louise Newson podcast for any for female listeners wanting to empower themselves with knowledge around the menopause:

The Dr Louise Newson Podcast on Apple Podcasts

 

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.

Would you do an off-road triathlon? Xterra comes to the UK with Tim Lloyd

Stop the press! In a correction to what we may have said in the podcast, the Xterra events DO NOT allow gravel or cyclo cross bikes. You are only permitted to ride a mountain bike with straight handlebars. Full British Triathlon rules are available HERE.

 

Have you ever thought about doing a triathlon or multisport race in a different format? There are plenty to chose from these days - swim/run, Aquabike, crossTri and Xterra.

 

In 2001 I participated in the first Xterra event to be hosted in the UK, and I thoroughly enjoyed the day out. It’s always been a surprise to me that this format of triathlon has never really taken off in the UK as it’s really popular in the US and Europe.

 

Today I’m joined by Tim Lloyd, founder of Always Aim High. I’m sure you have heard of their adventure triathlon series comprising Slateman, Snowman and Sandman in N Wales as well as a range of other events. And now they have taken over the Xterra license and will be promoting this year's event (and hopefully for many years to come) at Weston Park in Shropshire. Topics discussed include:

• Tim's early years involved with mountain running events
• Fell runners vs triathletes and their very different approaches to training and racing
• Why events like Sandman were created to have a festival atmosphere
• The Xterra concept and what you can expect

If you’d like to find out more about Tim and the Always Aim High races including the Xterra event please use the following social media channels:

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aahevents/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alwaysaimhigh 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aahevents 

Website: https://alwaysaimhighevents.com

 

YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqUHf1umSDEYtH0QTeEsKkA 

Where you can view some videos from their 2022 Triathlon Events, including:

 

• Slateman Triathlon & Duathlon 
• Llandudno Triathlon
• Sandman Triathlon & Duathlon
• Craft Snowman Triathlon & Duathlon
• Weston Park Triathlon & Duathlon 

 

 

Tim highly recommends the following podcast by one of his favourite cyclists: Geraint Thomas Cycling Club

And also G’s book 'The Tour According to G'

Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join SWAT/High Performance Human tribe here.

 

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.

Finding your purpose as an athlete and coach * Non Stanford

At the close of the 2022 triathlon season, Non Stanford retired from professional racing and took up a new post as a coach at the Leeds High Performance Centre where she will be aiming to share her experience with the next generation.

 

And what a range of experiences she has! She was a relative latecomer to triathlon, coming from a successful running background, but she had a meteoric rise to the top. Within 5 years she was Worlds U23 Champion, and she followed that up in 2013 by winning the ITU World Series championship in London. She experienced lows as well, with a horrible 2014 blighted by injury. In 2015 she began the comeback journey, made the GB team for the Rio 2016 Olympics, and finished a fine 4th behind teammate and housemate Vicky Holland.

 

She capped a distinguished career by achieving a team relay silver for Wales at the Commonwealth Games and then shortly after that taking outright victory in the European championships.

 

To find out more about Non you can follow her on these social media channels:

Instagram - nonstanford

Twitter @nonstanford

 

Videos of:

Non winning the European Championships in her last ever ITU race

Non winning the WTS World Series in 2013

 

Non also recommended these blogs/podcasts:

The Real Science of sport podcast

The Physical Performance Show

 

Non recommended the book A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.

Become UNbreakable 8 week strength plan for endurance athletes

 

Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join SWAT/High Performance Human tribe here.

 

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.

Fix your own back pain with Dr. Stuart McGill

If you've ever suffered from specific or non-specific back pain, you’ll know how debilitating it can be. While you might avoid lifting heavy loads because of the risk of putting your back out, cyclists often have sore lower backs from the hours spent on the bike. Today's guest, Dr. Stuart M. McGill, is a distinguished professor emeritus, University of Waterloo in Toronto, Canada where he was a professor for 30 years. Stuart has authored several books (links in the show notes) and his advice is often sought by governments, corporations, legal experts, medical groups, elite athletes, and teams from around the world.

If you want to learn how to fix your own back pain and  enhance both injury resilience and performance you’ll find this conversation very interesting!

 

We cover these topics and more:

• Why do folks suffer from a bad back?
• What are the most common causes for active folks and athletes?
• What percentage of chronic back pain sufferers can take their own steps to improving the situation?
• What steps would he recommend, how often and for how long?
• He outlines the core, which muscle groups are involved and how they impact spinal health
• What are the biggest myths that he observes regarding core training?
• He explains what his "big 3" core exercises are, and why they're so important
• Which common core exercises does he feel have real benefit and which does he advise we avoid?

If you’d like to find out more about Dr. McGill please visit his website at www.Backfitpro.com where you'll find links to his books and courses, all blogs and past podcasts, and also links to clinicians who they have trained. You can also find him on Instagram - @backfitpro

 

Stuart recommended several books:

Stuart McGill books

His book Back Mechanic was written for people with back pain.

Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance is for people interested in training to manage a history of back pain but still train to high levels of performance.

His other books are for strength athletes (Gift of Injury, co-authored with Brian Carroll) and clinicians (Low Back Disorders).

 

Recommended Books

Supertraining  Mel Siff & Yuri Verkoshansky

Power of positive thinking - Norman Vincent Peale - written with the sole objective of helping the reader achieve a happy, satisfying, and worthwhile life

The quick and the dead - Pavel Tsatsouline - Total training for the advanced minimalist

 

There are many videos of the Big 3 online. This is one that Dr. McGill referenced in the call: Brian Carroll: The Big 3 full breakdown

 

Dr. McGill also mentioned training the fascia. If you're interested in this topic you might like this: Fascia Training Academy

Get started with your 8 week mobility plan 

 

Become UNbreakable 8 week strength plan for endurance athletes

 

Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join SWAT/High Performance Human tribe here.

 

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.

5 stunningly simple ways to halt the ageing process and maintain performance

On a recent podcast I spoke about building easy strength to Become Unbreakable, 2 elements which I feel are crucial to your health, longevity and athletic performance. I also recently wrote a Facebook post where I outlined 5 areas where we can all do a lot to slow or even halt the ageing process. In a recent Facebook poll I asked, "If you are over 50 and as you age, what are your biggest concerns regarding health, fitness, sleep, and nutrition?” The responses were varied but many were worried about increased risk of injury. A handful of folks were also frustrated by the adjustments they had to make to continue with their regular swim, bike and run workouts. Chronological ageing is inevitable, and along with that comes some well documented physical changes, which if left unchecked can lead to deterioration in health and performance. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, there’s no reason at all why you can’t continue to enjoy a high level of performance if you are open minded to some small adjustments to your routine.

In this show I’m going to dive into my top 5 adjustments with a lot more detail, and give you some ideas on exactly what actions you can take.

• Lift weights
• Do more movement practice
• Improve your balance
• More HIT and less aerobic endurance work
• Eat more protein

Other podcasts you can listen to where we talk about these topics in more depth:

Strength

Erin Carson - Strength training in less than 10 mins/day

Rocky Snyder - How to realign the body after injury

Jacques DeVore - To be a faster cyclist, forget about FTP

 

Movement Practice

Kelly Starrett - How to be a in the ready state

Louisa Holmes - How to bulletproof your body 

 

HIT workouts

Paul Laursen - All you need to know about HIT training

 

Also a couple of research papers you might enjoy:

Protein

Protein consumption for the elderly

 

Balance

Successful 10-second one-legged stance performance predicts survival in middle-aged and older individuals

 

Get started with your 8 week mobility plan 

 

Become UNbreakable 8 week strength plan for endurance athletes

 

Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join SWAT/High Performance Human tribe here.

 

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.

 

Polarised training revisited with Stephen Seiler

Stephen Seiler has been a guest on the podcast 3 times now and is one of our most poplar guests ever. He also holds the record for our longest podcast, over 2 hours!

 

In 2018 I was fortunate enough to listen to Stephen speak at the Endurance Coaching Summit hosted by TrainingPeaks in Manchester. His talk on polarised training had me hooked, and I’ve been a convert to this type of training ever since. I can personally vouch for its role in helping me to stay fit and healthy through the pandemic and remain relatively injury free. Something I cannot say about my training methods in my 30’s and 40’s.

 

Since this podcast, polarised training and Zone 2 training have continued to grow in popularity. There's no doubt in my mind that while there may be other approaches to developing fitness for endurance events, this one offers the most sustainable long term benefits for both health and fitness. You may have heard my previous podcasts with Dr Phil Maffetone, Dr Dan Plews and Prof Paul Laursen. Each of these eminent coaches have spoken of methodology that has polarised training at its heart.  This is a loooong podcast, almost 2 hours, and the time absolutely flew by. Stephen has such a great message, it’s easy to listen to his stories and experiences. I have absolute confidence that you will find so much value in this conversation, and that it will benefit your own training or coaching. Please enjoy this show as we talk about:

• The ‘holy trinity’ of monitoring intensity and why you must learn to use all three
• Why 95% of endurance athletes can thrive using just three training zones
• The simple, three step method for determining training zones without visiting a sports science lab
• How the African distance runners use internal measures of intensity for much of the time and only use pace when preparing for races
• What the 80/20 numbers really mean and how they apply to you
• Why the principles of polarised training are even more important if you have only 8-10 hours to train each week
• Hierarchy of Training Needs - what should come first when developing your fitness

Stephen Seiler posts a lot of good information on Twitter. You can follow him on:

Twitter and YouTube where has some great instructional videos.

Here are links to some of the references in our discussion:

Hierarchy of Training Needs: This is the diagram on his Twitter account representing this theory

The first Seiler paper that I read, "Intervals, Thresholds, and Long Slow Distance: the Role of Intensity and Duration in Endurance Training”

Stephen Seiler TEDX talk - How "normal people" can train like the worlds best endurance athletes

 

Get started with your 8 week mobility plan 

 

Become UNbreakable 8 week strength plan for endurance athletes

 

Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe now, with a happiness guarantee! Join SWAT/High Performance Human tribe here.

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.

 

Stephen Seiler posts a lot of good information on Twitter. You can follow him on:

Twitter and YouTube where has some great instructional videos.

Here are links to some of the references in our discussion:

Hierarchy of Training Needs: This is the diagram on his Twitter account representing this theory

The first Seiler paper that I read, "Intervals, Thresholds, and Long Slow Distance: the Role of Intensity and Duration in Endurance Training”

Stephen Seiler TEDX talk - How "normal people" can train like the worlds best endurance athletes

 

Get started with your 8 week mobility plan 

 

Become UNbreakable 8 week strength plan for endurance athletes

 

Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe now, with a happiness guarantee! Join SWAT/High Performance Human tribe here.

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.