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Simon Ward, multiple award-winning triathlon coach, shares insights on how to improve your triathlon performance with a High Performance Human approach to life.
Episodes
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Right, swimming! It’s probably the discipline that frustrates triathletes most. It takes years of regular pool time to make even small gains. There is so much noise out there that choosing the right path for yourself is a big task. I’m fortunate to be at the front end of the triathlon swim, but everyone needs help which is why I turned to this week's guest, swim coach Josh Spencer, to help me understand why my shoulder was hurting after each swim. Josh highlighted some technical flaws and gave me some drills to help correct the problem. On chatting with Josh it turns out that we're pretty aligned in our approach to helping swimmers improve, and I really wanted to share some of his knowledge with you in this episode. There are many topics covered, including some you might find contrary to popular belief:
- There are only two ways to get faster in the pool
- Why swimming backstroke will improve your freestyle
- If you want to be a better swimmer you might need to up your mobility, not your volume
- The polarised approach to fitness works really well for swimming
- Sometimes you have to forget about the clock
- Even a 5-minute pre-swim warm-up can make a big difference to your pool session
- The YES or NO round - Josh’s thoughts on popular swim tools
Josh doesn’t do social media but if you would like to contact him about swim coaching then please email him.
We talked about the swim stroke of Alexander Popov. Please watch this video, there are some really good technical points from 13 minutes onwards.
This is a great video. Probably the best ever men's 200m freestyle race (Athens Olympics 2004) - Thorpe v Van de Hoogenband v Phelps. Just watch the underwater footage of the catch. Almost perfect!!
Josh also recommends the following books:
The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance by Adharanand Finn
Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To by David Sinclair
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
40 odd years ago I watched an ABC (US TV station) broadcast of the 1982 Ironman World Championships (there were actually 2 races that year in Kona, and this was the first from February). I was captivated from the first few seconds but I was completely drawn in when in sight of the finish, Julie Moss's legs wobbled and then gave way completely. (She recounts this in amazing detail in the conversation). After that, I kept my triathlon dream on the back burner until 1987, the date of my first tri and after that, I was off! 30 years of racing, culminating in the legacy spot at Kona 2017 where I got to meet Julie in person, a lifestyle business focussed on triathlon coaching, some amazing travel, and meeting my wife Bethany at the finish line in Kona have quite literally all stemmed from that TV moment back in the ’80s! It was brilliant to hear Julie’s side of events, including:
- How you could enter The Ironman World Championships by filling in a form and paying $85
- Packing just about all of her training into the 3 weeks before race day
- Unexpectedly leading the race
- Reliving the entire crawl almost second by second
- Why finishing second might have been better for Julie than winning the race
- What happened next
To find out more about Julie please visit these social media channels:
Instagram Julie_Moss_1982
Facebook - Julie Moss page
Julie Moss Ironman Hawaii 1982 The YouTube video of ’The Crawl of Fame’ - This is the end section of the ABC broadcast I watched back in the early 80s that fired up my interest. It all started with this.
Julie's new book The Crawl of Fame
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.
Julie's new book The Crawl of Fame
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
When I started out as a triathlete, I thought that the reason I never finished higher in my age group was that I had ‘issues’ to deal with that no one else had. Back then there wasn’t much connectedness between triathletes so it was common to feel isolated. As I met more people I started to realise that I didn't really have an issue (except in my head). There were plenty of athletes with far greater concerns than me. In fact, I felt a little embarrassed at my self-centredness. Nowadays, we frequently hear about the extraordinary accomplishments of challenged athletes and I think we all have a greater appreciation of what might be possible given the right mindset.
My guest today, Rob Starr, does not think he is anything special but I’m in awe of his current challenge - The 52 x 52. This is 52 standard distance triathlons in 52 weeks. That might sound easy when said quickly, BUT Rob has Crohn's disease, arthritis, and osteoporosis. He also has to show up every week, without fail, regardless of injury, illness, work commitments, or anything else that might get in the way. I could tell you the whole story but I think you should listen to Rob as he’s far more articulate and enthusiastic and we cover many topics, including:
- Starting your own charity
- Unconventional nutrition - sometimes you have to eat what you can
- What happens when you don't feel like ’turning up’
- Cold water swimming throughout the winter
- Swimming in the dark
To follow Rob on social media please visit these channels:
Rob’s website - https://rob-starr.com/ and his business https://www.seicogroup.co.uk/
His charity - The Starr Trust and a video of one of their fundraising challenges
You can also find Rob on Instagram @robstarr_author
Rob talked about the books he has written
Rob also recommends the following books as great reads:
Never split the difference - Chris Voss (this was a game changer for the way I now pitch in business!)
Tools of Titans - Tim Ferris (Its an awesome book. I even gifted it to 20 of my coaching clients)
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.
Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
Wednesday Nov 02, 2022
Running is the final leg of a triathlon and the one where most people seem to struggle. Whether that's because of a lack of running fitness or going too hard on the bike it’s a hard puzzle to solve. The obvious solution would be to just run more, but that does increase the risk of injury. Myself and many other coaches prefer to focus on consistency by building a robust framework combined with better technique and running efficiency.
Today's guest, Eoin Everard, is one such coach. An elite runner, now physiotherapist and back pain specialist from Ireland, Eoin knows a thing or two about running fast, having run under 4 minutes for a mile, 14 minutes for 5k, and 30 minutes for 10k, and competed for Ireland internationally. He also treats a lot of elite runners and knows a thing or two about how to keep runners healthy and consistent with their training.
I love chatting about how to help athletes get faster, and today as usual we cover plenty of ground, including:
- Typical triathlon injuries and how to prevent them
- Building running economy with strength training and some simple plyometrics
- Should you change your foot strike to run faster
- Why you should make proactive visits to your physiotherapist
If you’d like to follow Eoin on social media you can find him here
Facebook Everard Physio & Pilates
If you would like to try Eoin’s sport Pilates class you can take a FREE Trial HERE
Eoin also mentioned the two books he has written
Get to the Line in the Best Shape Possible
The Secrets of a Healthy Spine. (This one is FREE)
Eoin recommended this book -
The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.
Wednesday Oct 26, 2022
Wednesday Oct 26, 2022
Sleep and HRV trackers are becoming more popular, and the best ones have a smart dashboard that provides lots of information on your sleep performance, and HRV trends. They also have algorithms that assess all of the data and give a daily recovery score. I started using the Whoop tracker in 2017 and I have to confess that there have been times when I have been over focussed on the data to the point where I actually worried whether I was going to have a good night's sleep. Note: This is actually a diagnosable condition known as orthosomnia - obsessing over the perfect night's sleep.
Over time I came to realise that the real value in devices like this is from the long-term trends and the behavioural changes which result.
Today's guest is Garron Mosley, an elite age group triathlete. Garron qualified to race at the recent Ironman World Championships in Hawaii and as you’ll hear the trip didn’t go quite according to plan.
More interesting to me was the fact that Garron had started wearing a Whoop band and has made some pretty significant changes to his life with amazing results as a result of analysing the data.
We talk about a lot but some topics you might be interested in include:
- Qualifying for Kona
- His scary bike crash which resulted in a DNS at The Ironman World Championships
- How Garron manages a high volume of training each week, all while running a growing business and being a good family man
- Behavioural changes from wearing the Whoop
- How better sleep leads to better decision-making at work
- Why reducing or eliminating alcohol will lead to better sleep
- Caffeine and sleep. It’s not good - don't be fooled if you can drink coffee in the evening and fall asleep easily
If you're interested in finding out more about Garron, he hangs out at these social media places:
Facebook - @garronmosley
Instagram - @garronmosley
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/garron-mosley-0143349
To find out more about Whoop, please go here Whoop.com
If you're interested in signing up for a Whoop subscription click on the link and it will give you a FREE 30 days at the start of your subscription.
Garron recommended these podcasts:
The Diary of a CEO - Steven Bartlett
The Rich Roll Podcast - Rich Roll
Other Cool Stuff
Garron recommends nutrition products from Ethic Sport, his go-to race nutrition since 2017. As he says, "I pay for it, so it's a choice."
Books
Relentless - From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover
Scary Smart - Mo Gawat
Life Without Limits - Chrissie Wellington
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.
Wednesday Oct 19, 2022
Wednesday Oct 19, 2022
Do you ever think that the people most qualified to perform particular tasks are those who have an intimate knowledge of that task?
For example, an ex-footballer or rugby player might be best suited for a job as a referee. How about sports photography? If you've participated in a sport and know exactly what the performers are going through, do you think that might help you to frame even better pictures? Maybe that’s why today's podcast guest Jack Schofield has risen to the top of the triathlon photography world so quickly.
Not only does Jack take some brilliant photos, he's also a pretty decent triathlete himself. Earlier this year he finished second overall at the age group only Ironman UK and just a few days before we chatted he had completed this year's Ironman World Championships in Kona. In fact, Jack was splitting his time between preparing for the race and taking photos for Ruth Astle on her Thursday Kona race day. Dividing your energies like this is challenging and we get into this topic, as well as:
- The conversion from rowing to triathlon
- How studying architecture helps him to frame good photographs
- How understanding exactly what triathletes go through helps him frame good photos
- Training with Patrick Lange and other elite triathletes
- Jack has a rant about triathletes who use but don't pay for finish-line photos
To find out more about Jack he hangs out mostly on Instagram:
www.Instagram.com/two26_photography/
In our conversation, Jack talked about his first photography book which he also (unsurprisingly) recommends as his favourite book😉.
That book is Stravaig Adventure Book - by Jack Schofield - A group of disillusioned millennials goes on a walking adventure in the Scottish highlands.
If you like books with great photographs associated with stories, Jack also recommends Wayward by Chris Burkard.
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.
Wednesday Oct 12, 2022
Wednesday Oct 12, 2022
I get a lot of inspiration from hearing the stories of elite athletes. That's what got me started in the sport! But I get way more inspiration from hearing stories from ‘normal’ people like you and me. None more so than those who have survived overwhelming odds not just to complete a triathlon but to actually stay alive.
Steve Lovelace is one such person.
At the age of 20, Steve suffered catastrophic injuries in a lumberjack incident. After being trapped for 2 hours, and when he eventually made it to the hospital, he was given a 50/50 chance of surviving the night. He was temporarily paralysed below the waist due to his spinal injuries but not only did he walk a few steps when he finally left hospital, he subsequently completed that triathlon!
Some of the questions I asked Steve in today's chat were:
- Did you have any challenged athletes who served as an inspiration to you (i.e. Pat Griskus)?
- How did you go about training?
- Given the severity of your injuries from the accident, did you throw caution to the wind? Or did you worry that if you pushed yourself too far you’d exacerbate your injuries?
- Did you have to make any adaptations to your equipment?
- Talk about that first triathlon
- What impact did finishing that first triathlon have on your life?
- What do you do now, and what are the long-term effects of your accident?
The best place to follow Steve is on Twitter
There are a couple more podcasts where Steve shares his story
Don't say I can't, say I'll try
Steve shares his story on the Dadcast
Also, this great article in Triathlete magazine
How Finishing Last Set This Triathlete’s Life on a Winning Path
And finally, the YouTube video outlining Steve’s accident and his journey back to health and fitness (look for the picture of the tree split in two!!) The Last Place Winner
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
With the Ironman World Championships happening this week I wanted to share a conversation with one of our British females who will be racing.
Back in May, Ruth Astle finished an amazing 5th place at the 2021 version of the IMWC in St George Utah. As she bids for another top 5 finish we chat abut her journey from age group novice to world-class athlete in just 10 years. We get into a lot of topics, including:
- The start of her triathlon journey
- A big breakthrough
- From AG to pro-athlete - what did she change about her training/lifestyle
- Working for Lloyds & balancing work with triathlon racing/training
- St George race and result
- The Sub 8 project with Kat Matthews and "happy heads make for fast legs"
- Kona preparation & expectations
To find out more about Ruth or to follow her on social media, you can use the following channels:
Website Ruthastle.com
Social media links:
Instagram: Rastle07
YouTube: Ruth Astle
Ruth also recommended the following book Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.
Wednesday Sep 28, 2022
Wednesday Sep 28, 2022
Nutrition is actually a really simple topic but many folks seem to make it way more complicated than necessary. Like with most things, it's important to have the basics in place before you start trying to get clever.
We are all guilty of this, including me, and I’m fortunate that on a regular basis I get to chat with an expert on a topic who brings me back to reality. With nutrition, what we need is an expert who can translate the scientific data and then cut through the marketing B/S to give us some simple pointers. That sounds like a job for a straight-talking Yorkshireman! Luckily we have Nigel Mitchell on hand to help. Nigel was the nutritional game changer who worked with team GB cyclists in the early 2000s and after that with Team Sky.
It's a pleasure to have another Yorkshireman on the show to discuss:
- Injecting vitamins for recovery in pro cycling
- Teaching Geraint Thomas & Luke Rowe to cook
- Even vegan food can be rubbish
- Making your own sourdough bread, and buying flour directly from the mill
- Focussing on food quality
- Real barriers to eating healthily
- Nigel's simple tips to eat better
Nigel doesn’t really do social media but he's written some really good books about nutrition for cyclists:
As for other book recommendations of course as a good Yorkshireman, he recommends
Relentless: Secrets of the Sporting Elite by Alistair Brownlee
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
This weekend sees the final Outlaw event of 2022, Outlaw X.
To this date, there are only two men who have completed every single Outlaw triathlon starting with the first Outlaw full in 2010.
During that time, Gary Goacher and Graham Yare have completed 32 Outlaw races and have become known in the Outlaw family as “The Last Men Standing”.
This is no easy task! The series has grown from one event to five and with each passing year the task of staying healthy, training for, racing, and then recovering from each race becomes that little bit harder. Prior to this weekend's event, I took the time to sit down with Gary and Graham to talk about their Outlaw journey and how it has shaped the last 12 years of their life, including:
- How it all started
- A growing friendship
- What happens when the streak is broken
- Planning family holidays around races
- Overcoming illness and injury to get to the start line
If you're interested in joining Gary and Graham at one of the Outlaw events for 2023, entries are open via www.outlawtriathlon.com. By entering before 14 November, your entry comes with a free deferral or transfer guarantee - so your entry is protected if the unexpected happens.
To find out more about our resilient Outlaw athletes please see the links below:
Gary Goacher
Chiropractor - https://livewelltherapy.co.uk/
Graham Yare
Twitter @UltraOutlaw
Strava UltraOutlaw
Gary and Graham also recommended some books which they have found inspirational:
Graham -Mental Training for Ultra Running by Addie Bracy
Gary - The Lost Art of Running by Shane Benzie, The Triathlete’s Training Bible by Joe Friel.
To download your FREE 4-week mobility plan, please click here.
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.