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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 Apr 27, 2022
Wednesday Apr 27, 2022
Imagine that you are an apparently healthy human being with a newfound love for triathlon. You've even completed the full Outlaw distance of 140.6 miles. Then you start feeling a bit off, but nothing that you can put your finger on. After a continued decline in your health and a bout of pneumonia, you get diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, an incurable and terminal disease.
Rather than feeling sorry for yourself, you decide to make every day count, starting your own charity to raise much-needed money for research into the condition.
Then you decide to have ‘One More Tri’ at finishing the Outlaw half.
But then more hiccups. COVID stops racing for 2 years and it looks like you won't get the chance. Fortunately, after an initial rapid deterioration, your condition stabilises, racing is back on and so is the challenge.
That's how life has been for today's High Performance Human podcast guest Sam Perkins who will take on the Outlaw half on May 15 with help from his extensive support crew.
If you have never listened to one of my podcasts previously, please, please listen to this one. It is both inspiring and emotional. While Sam may argue that he is anything but a High Performance Human, I would disagree. He has a solid goal, focus, and above all a winning mindset.
I hope you enjoy the podcast. (TIP: have some tissues ready)
If you would like to read more about Sam, and make a donation to his fundraising, please visit justgiving.com/onemoretri.
You can find Sam at:
Instagram handle @standagainstMND
Twitter handle @standagainstMND
Other links that Sam recommended: Random but if anyone has never seen Jim’ll paint it, it’s worth 5 minutes for a giggle https://jimllpaintit.tumblr.com/
He also recommended these books:
Sapiens: A brief history of humankind - Yuval Noah Harari
Not normal behaviour - Stuart Staples
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 Apr 20, 2022
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Sports nutrition is a minefield. There are so many products out there you could use during your next triathlon and even more noise on social media about which one is the best. This is highly individual, so even guidance from well-meaning individuals might not work for you. And even when you think you've found the right solution, it may only be appropriate in specific circumstances. Fortunately, there are some nutrition companies out there who don't just want to sell you their products, they also want to educate you about understanding your own unique requirements. That's where Andy Blow and his team at Precision Fuel and Hydration come in.
In today's podcast Andy doesn’t just explain recent product developments, he also takes us behind the scenes as we chat about:
- Sometimes it is just mixing ingredients in the kitchen
- When your mates do the ’taste testing'
- Making sure the product you use meets anti-doping requirements
- Why educating the athlete is so important
- How to place an order (you can 15% off your first order using the discount code below)
- Sponsorship - how does that all work - pro athletes or ambassadors. What works best?
- PTO - what exactly happens when you're a partner of a race series?
To follow Precision Fuel & Hydration please use these social media links:
Instagram: @precisionhydration
Facebook: @precisionhydration
Twitter: @thesweatexperts
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/precisionhydration
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/precisionhydration
Here is some other cool stuff you might be interested in:
Free online sweat test: https://sweattest.precisionhydration.com/pages/why-personalise-your-hydration-strategy
Quick carb calculator: https://www.precisionhydration.com/products/precision-fuel-sample-pack/#thecarbcalculator
Athlete Case Studies: https://www.precisionhydration.com/athletes/case-studies/
Book a free one-to-one video consultation: https://www.precisionhydration.com/book-a-video-consultation/
Some specific sports nutrition guidance for you:
Blog: How much carbohydrate do athletes need per hour?
Blog: Why sodium is crucial to hydration and athletes performing at their best
Video: Why do athletes suffer from cramp?
As you know, we ask our guests to recommend a book that has inspired them. This is what Andy offered up:
"Authentic" - the Vans story by Paul Van Doren
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 Apr 13, 2022
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
Are you a yoga convert like me? Maybe you’ve fleetingly considered some yoga classes to improve your flexibility, and maybe you’ve decided that you just don’t have time with all the swim, bike and run you’re already doing. That was me, but I am now a yoga disciple! What I didn’t realise until I started to invest some time in this aspect of my wellness is that yoga is so much more than just a “bit of stretching”. That’s what we’re exploring with today’s High Performance Human podcast guest, Kirsten Steffensen. Kirsten is the life partner of my former business partner, Jack Maitland. You may have heard her Scandinavian tones before in a previous podcast about the vegan approach to nutrition (along with Jack, and Louisa my physio, aka The White Witch), which you can listen to here. Kirsten has a very committed tribe of followers at her yoga and breathing classes (details below). In today’s conversation we’ll be talking about:
- What is yoga?
- Benefits of yoga
- Different styles, and when you might choose one over the other
- Getting started, do you need to go to a class or is online yoga just as beneficial?
- What to expect in your first class
- Is it better to do a few classes each week, or 15 minutes each day?
- How will yoga benefit your triathlon performance?
- Integrating yoga into a busy schedule
- What are the best yoga poses?
Social media links for Kirsten:
- www.sportsashram
- Twitter: @TheSportsAshram
- Instagram: @thesportssshram
- Facebook: The Sports Ashram
Athlete Yoga classes that Kirsten runs each week with Jack
- Wednesday 7-8pm on Zoom £6.50 book via (https://thesportsashram.com/product/zoom-athlete-yoga-wednesdays)
- Thursday 7-8pm in Adel, Leeds £6.50 book via (https://thesportsashram.com/product/live-triathlon-yoga-thursdays)
Breathing Classes
- The Breathing School, a 25-minute class where students are either seated or lying on the floor, and Kirsten guides them through a sequence with a breathing exercise and deep relaxation.
- Learn breathing to manage: stress, insomnia, anxiety, depression and pain in the physical body
- The class is on Monday and Thursday 10.35-11am in Horsforth, Leeds £3.00 book via (https://horsforth.clubm.mobi/Portal/Booking/Forthcoming)
Books Kirsten recommends
- The Book of JOY by Douglas Abrams a conversation between Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
- The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma
- The Bhagavad Gita (Indian philosophy probably the most important texts of Hinduism and easily the best known) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita
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 Apr 06, 2022
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
Recovery is something that is uppermost in my mind on most days. As a coach, I’m focussed on how to balance the training for each athlete with enough recovery for them to adapt but not so much that they start to lose fitness. If you plan your own training this should be an important consideration for you as well. It's different for each of us and our recovery requirements will change weekly (maybe daily) as our life stresses alter. How we recover can take many forms and the athletic press (whichever form that takes) is full of adverts and articles about how to maximise and even ‘hack’ recovery. In today's guest, Joel Jamieson, I think I have finally found someone who is an expert on this topic.
Joel is a strength & conditioning specialist who has a real focus on athlete recovery. He first came to my attention when I read one of his articles about specific recovery style workouts called Rebound Training. He has been working with HRV for the last 20 years and so part of our conversation will also tie in nicely with some of the other podcasts from recent months.
If like me you are in your 50s and you are concerned about whether you get enough good recovery, pay particular attention to some of our conversations later in the podcast.
Some of the topics we chat about include:
- What is recovery and how can we measure it?
- What part does HRV play in monitoring recovery?
- Are gadgets better than our subjective feel for estimating recovery?
- How to create your own specific recovery workouts
- How to recover better
For masters athletes -
- How to change your training to improve recovery
- What changes with age to slow down the recovery process and what can you do about it?
If you’d like to follow Joel Jamieson, please use the following links
Instagram coachjoeljamieson
Facebook 8weeksout
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/coach-joel-jamieson/
Website 8weeksout
Joel has also written some great articles:
How to use HRV to import your conditioning while avoiding burnout and injuries
The beginners guided to HRV & recovery
How mental stress can sabotage your fitness and what to do about it
Why doing more isn’t better and 3 ways to boost your recovery
All pain, no gain: Why the HIT training obsession has failed us all
How to train to recover faster than ever
You might also be interested in these links:
Joel explained a lot about the recovery App - Morpheus - that he has created. If you are interested in using this. Please click HERE
Joel is delivering a new conditioning programme starting in Mid April. You can find out more about that HERE
If you are a coach and have an interest in improving the strength and conditioning courses you deliver then this course could be for you: Certification course
Joel also recommended this book: “Why Zebras Don’t get Ulcers” by Robert Sapolsky.
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 Mar 30, 2022
Wednesday Mar 30, 2022
When I first went out to Kona to work it was like a dream come true. I got paid for working there and I watched the entire race live. It's like a car nut being paid to watch the British Grand Prix. As I watched the swimmers exit the water one man was way ahead of the rest and even more surprising it wasn’t one of the top pros. This was an age grouper by the name of Jan Sibbersen and from 2001 to 2004 he was the fastest man in the water at Kona. In 2018 after a layoff during which he started his wetsuit business, Sailfish, Jan made a return with the sole aim of claiming the swim record. He achieved his goal, setting a time of 46m 29s which still stands to this day. Jan is my guest today and we talk all things swimming including:
- Growing up and swimming all week and skiing all weekend (sounds good now, never mind at 15)
- Mixing it with the ‘big guns' in St Croix
- First man out of the water in Kona . . as an age grouper
- Getting called out by Jurgen Zack (then one of the world's best Ironman triathletes)
- Managing Patrick Lange through two Ironman World Championship victories
- The biggest mistakes age groupers make with their swimming
- Coming back for the Kona record in 2018
- Starting Sailfish wetsuits
- Coming to America
To follow Jan and Sailfish Wetsuits please use the following links
Website: https://www.sailfish.com/en/products/wetsuits/
Facebook: @sailfish.us
Instagram: @sailfish_us
Youtube: sailfishtriathlon This has some great OW swim tips from Jan. They are worth watching to learn from the best.
Links to some of the other topics we chatted about:
Jan Sibbersen - Road to Kona - a short video on that 2018 swim record
Jan also recommended 4 great books which I don't think have been suggested before:
Dan Millman: The Way of the peaceful warrior
Phil Knight: Shoe Dog
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi: Flow
Tim Weiner: Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Take a 30 day trial in my SWAT Inner Circle for just £1 (valid through 31 March 2022). 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.
Wednesday Mar 23, 2022
Wednesday Mar 23, 2022
Sleep trackers are gaining in popularity, ranging from those that are dedicated to the task like Whoop or the Oura ring, to smartwatches that have added more functions. I have been using a Whoop for almost 5 years and it's been very influential in helping me to be more mindful of sleep and how I now make it a priority in my day. However, I was interested to find out whether other Whoop users have had similar experiences so I invited 3 of them on to the show. Lindsay Beale, Richard Folley, and Gerard Gallagher are all members of my coaching programme and their reflections were insightful and inspiring. If you've wondered whether the investment in such products matches the hype, hopefully you’ll have a better idea when you have finished listening to this week's podcast. Topics discussed include:
- The negative impact of alcohol on restorative sleep
- Understanding that HRV is just one data point
- Appreciating that sleep is a benefit and not an inconvenience
- Why your perception of recovery is just as important as the data
- Having accountability
- The impact of time zone changes and long haul travelling on sleep and HRV
- Sleep trends among business leaders
- The TOP 3 lessons from using a Whoop
- Should you invest in a Whoop?
To follow today’s guests please use the links below
Lindsay Beale on her website at lindsaybeale.com or Facebook at lindsaybealefitness
Gerard Gallagher on LinkedIn at GerardGallagher1
Richard Folley on Instagram at richfolleytri
To find out more about Whoop please go here: https://www.whoop.com/
You can find a lot of great resources about sleep, HRV, etc HERE
Whoop also have an excellent weekly podcast with some really good guests and insights into sleep and recovery topics right HERE
If you wish to invest in a Whoop, please use this code join.whoop.com/simonward to get 1-month FREE membership
Our guests also recommend the following books:
Lindsay Beale recommends The Worlds Fittest Book and The Art of Resilience - both by Ross Edgley
Gerard Gallagher recommends Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter - Greg Mckeown
Richard Folley recommends Relentless - Alistair Brownlee, as well as the Zwift Power Up podcast
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.
Wednesday Mar 16, 2022
Wednesday Mar 16, 2022
How cool would it be to have an accurate prediction of the bike split in your next event? Even if it’s just to make sure that your other half knows when to be ready with the camera!
This is exactly what Best Bike Split does and by all accounts, they are pretty damn accurate. Most comments and reviews I've seen refer to something equating to a 1% accuracy, which would be a minute for a standard distance tri and 3-4 minutes in an Iron-distance event. In this week's High Performance Human podcast, I’ll be speaking with Rich Harpel and Ryan Cooper who are the brains behind this software. We'll be deep-diving into how you can get the most from this awesome bit of software. Topics we chat about include:
- How to get started with BBS in less than 10 mins
- What's most important to get an accurate output
- Common mistakes and how to avoid them messing up your race day predictions
- How BBS can show you whether it’s best to boost power or lose weight
- Reverse engineering race goals to inform your training
- Using BBS for sportives and gravel racing
If you would like to subscribe to Best Bike Split then we have created a special code for listeners of the podcast. Use TRICOACH2022 at checkout to get 20% off for the life of the subscription (Expires on Dec. 31, 2022).
To follow Best Bike Split, please use the following links
Main website: https://www.bestbikesplit.com
Twitter - bestbikesplit
Facebook - bestbikesplit
Instagram - bestbikesplit
YouTube - bestbikesplit
Links to other topics we covered in the show
"Creating Your First Race Plan" video: https://youtu.be/FHvsWNVeQS
“Time analysis tool” - How to see what factors have the biggest influence on race day bike split - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qINGtd0mm94
FAQs/Support: https://support.bestbikesplit.com
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.
Wednesday Mar 09, 2022
Wednesday Mar 09, 2022
Podcasts and Facebook threads about swimming always seem to generate a lot of interest. This might be because becoming a faster swimmer is an enigma to most triathletes. Along with the endless search for faster times is the preponderance of information out there telling us how we can get faster. We hear about a training method that works really well for some people and we try it ourselves. After a few weeks, we haven’t really improved so we look for something else. The grass is always greener, right? But, it may not be any better. Just different grass!
This week I’m trying something new. I invited 3 accomplished triathlon coaches (all L3 BTF qualified) who have backgrounds in swim coaching. The goal is to see how much their approaches differ or match up and whether we can all find some common ground on what really works and what to avoid.
Topics covered include:
- The fundamentals we all need to get right
- Why you should practice skills NOT drills and which skills in particular
- Why kick is king!
- Toys we like, toys we don’t
- Does a polarised approach to intensity work for swimmers?
- How often should you be swimming in open water during the summer?
To follow our coaches, please use the links below.
Kate Offord
Website www.smilingtricoach.co.uk
Facebook virtual community https://www.facebook.com/groups/2937438822976147/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/smilingtricoach/
Instagram @smilingtricoach
If you are local and want to try out for the Altrincham Swim club please click HERE
Adam Gibson
Website - www.greenlightpt.co.uk
Facebook - www.facebook.com/greenlightpt
Twitter - @greenlightpt
Instagram - @greenlightpt
Carl Botten - Orpington Ojays SC and Crystal Palace Triathletes
Website :-www.thetriathlonacademy.co.uk
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thetriathlonacademy/
Here are some other links to topics in the show:
Kate’s favourite book
Peak Performance - Steve Magness/Brad Stulberg
She also recommends following these folks on Twitter
Brad Stulberg on Twitter @BStulberg
James Gibson on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jamesgibson____/
Adam & Carl's favourite book: Swimming Fastest - Ernest Maglischo
Carl also recommends this book: The Life Changing Magic of not Giving a F**k by Sarah Knight
And these swim videos by Bill Sweetenham (Former GB swim director of performance)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0zc1Mq1y4U
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.
Wednesday Mar 02, 2022
Wednesday Mar 02, 2022
We’ve talked about High-Intensity Interval Training quite a bit on this show and I’m a big fan. I use it regularly myself in all forms of training and I prescribe it for my athletes. I must confess that when I attempt the daddy of all HIT sessions, Tabata Intervals, I feel like my heart is going to explode. The problem for me is that if I try sticking to the exact protocol it's impossible to hold max power for even 1 bout of 20 seconds, never mind 7 more. So I end up adjusting the protocol to something more manageable. Now however I offer you an alternative. High Intensity Repeat Training (H.I.R.T.) which we are going to talk about in today's call with Craig Marker. Craig is a psychologist with a passion for strength training and kettlebells in particular. So in addition to HIRT intervals, we have lots more to talk about including:
- The origins of H.I.R.T. intervals and why you should try it
- Learning to love luxurious rest intervals
- Why too much choice leads to paralysis
- Kettlebells, greasing the groove, and frequency vs volume in strength training
- Being anti-fragile
You can follow Craig at the following places:
Website - Craigmarker.com
Twitter - @antifragileself
Links to some of the discussion topics in the show
Books
Anti-Fragile: Things that gain from Disorder Nasim Nicholas Taleb
Adapt: Why success always starts with failure Tim Harford
Becoming a Supple Leopard Dr Kelly Starrett
The One Minute Workout Martin Gibala
Easy Strength Dan John & Pavel Tsatsouline
Simple & Sinister Pavel Tsatsouline
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less Barry Schwartz
If you would like to get hold of a list of all the books recommended by our podcast guests, please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.
Craig also referenced these research papers:
Craig wrote for StrongFirst ‘Why does exercise make us healthier'
And you can read about the research behind this here:
Vince Giuliano - Grand Unifying Theory of biology health & aging
Craig has also written these articles which you may be interested in
When Too Much Choice is Bad for your Training
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.
Train your body to learn holding heavy weights overhead
Greasing the Groove: How to make it work for you
These are a couple of kettlebell exercise videos you might find useful
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Today is episode 239 and this show has been alive and growing for 4 1/2 years! During that time we've had lots of amazing guests and shared some really interesting (and what I consider to be very useful) information.
Occasionally I get emails from listeners informing me that they followed the advice from a certain guest. George Dallam’s Nose Breathing podcast recently was one that generated several positive responses.
Today's guest is Mark Osborne. Mark has been a listener to most of our podcasts and a few weeks ago he emailed me to say that his journey of the last few years has largely been based around experimenting with many of the topics raised. If you are sceptical about whether some of this stuff works and how “out there" it is, you need to listen to this story of self-experimentation, many failures, lots of successes, but overall a huge leap forward in fitness and health. Some of the topics covered include:
- The importance of having an open mind and being mindful
- Being willing to adapt
- The value of self-reflection
- A holistic approach to life (being fit for life which enables sport, as opposed to being fit for the pure sake of sport)
- A better mental approach to failure
- Natural fitness is the key to performance - introducing standing and not sitting all day, natural mobility is better than stretching
- Just enjoy what you're doing
- Keep it simple
- Find what works for you and your body
- Know yourself and yearn to know more
- Good mobility is the key to a natural run technique
- You don't always need tech
Links to some of the previous podcasts that had a real influence on Mark's thinking
MAF training & reducing sugar intake - Phil Maffetone Part 1 & Part 2 -
Mobility - Louisa Holmes, Kelly Starrett
Primal Endurance Part 1 & Part 2 - Brad Kearns
Fast Over 50 - Joe Friel
Low Carb/High fat - Prof Paul Laursen
Recovery - Christie Aschwanden
Swim Technique - Karlyn Pipes
Running Technique - Shane Benzie
Influential Books
Lost Art of Running - Shane Benzie
Feet in the Clouds - Richard Askwith
Born to Run & Natural Born Heroes - Chris Macdougall
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.