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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 Dec 29, 2021
Wednesday Dec 29, 2021
Today's guest is David Bailey, an exercise physiologist who I originally met when he was working for the English Institute of Sport at Loughborough. From there he moved to British Cycling in Manchester and eventually to Switzerland originally working for PowerBar and then back into cycling working directly with the BMC and the Bahrain Merida cycling teams.
We will get into all of this in our conversation as well as a few rabbit holes, per usual.
Notable topics include:
- PowerBars and how they caused £500 of damage to my bike frame
- Research - lab studies vs big data - which is more relevant to you?
- The ideal cadence for cycling
- Why RPE is such a valuable skill for you as an athlete
- How to train a pro-cyclist
- Polarised vs traditional training models
- Constant glucose monitors
- Metabolomics and does it really explain why Pogacar is so good
- What really works if you want to achieve your goals
- Strength training for cyclists
To follow David Bailey you can find him in the following places:
Twitter - @BaileyDM
David’s personal website is https://www.davidbailey.ch/
Other topics mentioned in the show:
NY Times research on Strava data - race data from about 500,000 marathon and half marathon running times since 2014 supports the Nike claim that VaporFly’s are 4% faster
Dave’s book recommendations:
Sapiens: A brief History of Humankind - Yuval Noah Harari
The Curious Mind:The secret to a bigger life - Brian Grazer & Charles Fishman
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion - Jonathan Haidt
The Fourth Turning: An American prophecy- William Strauss & Neil Howe
Some research papers you might like
- Hansen & Smith (2009) Factors Affecting Cadence Choice During Submaximal Cycling and Cadence Influence on Performance. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. Int J Sports Physiol Perform
- Stellingwerff et al. (2019) A framework for periodized nutrition for athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 1:29(2):141-151
- Mujika et al., (2019) Contempary periodization of altitude training for elite endurance athletes. A narrative review. Sports Med. 49(11): 1651-1669
- Fabra et al. (2021) A comprehensive review of continuous glucose monitoring accuracy during exercise periods. Sensors. 12:21(2):497
- Bellenger et al. (2016) Monitoring Athletic Training Status Through Autonomic Heart Rate Regulation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 46(10):1461-1486
- Filipas et al. (2021) Effects of 16 weeks of pyramidal and polarized training intensity distributions in well-trained endurance runners. Scand J Med Sci Sports Nov 18
- Watson (2017) Sleep and athletic performance. Curr Sports Med Rep. 16(6):413-418.
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 Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
In this week’s podcast, the Grumpy Old Coaches are back for one last hurrah in 2021 as we enter the festive spirit with a socially distanced, cheese and wine business meeting. Simon (fuelled by red wine) and Steve (fuelled by leftover Rose) are unusually cheerful while Marc is more grumpy than usual as he has to stay sober while (literally) minding the shop. We have some serious stuff to discuss, such as:
- Constant glucose monitors
- Our thoughts on how to improve triathlon sustainability and diversity
And some fun stuff, such as:
- Some ideas on how to make Santa faster
- Simon and Steve share tales of the worst triathlon Christmas gifts they ever received
- Marc reveals a liking for Rapha kit and a typical grumpy dislike of the cost
- If you could be any triathlete at any race, who would you be and at which event
- Best fantasy and real-life Christmas gift on your wish list
- Everyone reveals a list of which races are still at the top of our bucket lists
- Some fool comes up with a madcap idea of asking the Facebook groups to nominate some challenges for us in 2022
To find out more about Steve and Marc please see the links below.
You can find more information about Steve Lumley HERE
Marc Laithwaite is a coach who also runs a running/triathlon shop - The Endurance Store. You can find more about both HERE.
Here are some other links from the show:
If you are interested in finding out more about TriKidz, please contact them here info@trikidz.co.uk
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 Dec 15, 2021
Wednesday Dec 15, 2021
I’ve spent the last few months talking about the importance of sleep and how it underpins everything we do. However, there is something even more fundamental that is equally overlooked - breathing. I’ve seen social media arguments around the subject of whether breathing exercises can improve athletic performance, and they can get quite heated. In today's podcast, my guest is Patrick McKeown, the author of the books Oxygen Advantage, Atomic Focus, and Breathing Cure. We'll be discussing why efficient breathing is fundamental to everything that we do as human beings first, and athletes second.
This was a fascinating learning experience for me and I hope that you can find at least ONE golden nugget of information that helps you to lead a healthier life and enhance your overall performance.
We cover many topics including:
- How the environment influences your breathing efficiency
- Nose breathing and why it is so important for developing aerobic fitness
- Your BOLT score and why it impacts sleep quality, recovery, HRV, stress management
- How to combine daily breathing exercises with training and or meditation
To find out more about Patrick and follow him on social media, please go to:
Website - https://oxygenadvantage.com/
Instagram - oxygenadvantage
Facebook - The Oxygen Advantage
YouTube - Oxygen Advantage
To buy a copy of Patrick’s books, please click on the links below:
We also touched on some other topics:
Videos
How to measure your breathing efficiency - Finding your BOLT score
Breathing in business - How to stay concentrated and for used under stress
Research
How breathing can help you make better decisions
The Athlete’s secret ingredient - Nasal Breathing
Triathlete Adapts to Breathing Restricted to the Nasal Passage Without loss in VO2max or vVO2max.
Nasal breathing with exercise. Effect of race and gender
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 Dec 08, 2021
Wednesday Dec 08, 2021
During the last few years, I’ve been making changes to my lifestyle with the sole aim of feeling great for as much of the time as possible. I’ve made a few wrong turns on the way but that's fine. You might call it a failure, I call it feedback! Recently I’ve been interested in the concept of Ancestral Health and it turns out that one of our previous guests has a very strong interest in this as well.
Dr. Tommy Wood (prior guest on the show in Nov 2020 discussing How to Optimise Human performance) was previously the President of the Physicians for Ancestral Health and as you will hear, tries to live his life by sticking to some simple principles. If you're as curious as I am about how to improve your lifestyle then this podcast will be a good place to start. In this episode, Dr. Wood covers these topics:
- Defines the concept of Ancestral Health
- The roles of Diet, Movement, Circadian Biology, Stress Management
- How Ancestral Health differs from Paleo
- Why socialised healthcare systems are important in society
- Giving yourself the opportunity to get more sleep
- Just move more!!
- Everybody should lift weights
- Tommy talks us through his daily routine - habits, exercise, food, rest
- We get into low carb, keto, and appropriate dietary choices for endurance athletes
- Thoughts on the benefits of wearing a constant glucose monitor (CGM)
- Getting started with improving your lifestyle - what is the easiest thing for you to do?
Tommy has such a depth of varied knowledge, I’m pretty certain you would like to follow him. Here are the best places:
Website - https://www.drragnar.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drtommywood/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/drragnar
We also talked about these topics:
Rob Wolf one of the originals in the paleo space
Primal Play - why workout when you can play out?
Julian Abel - Compassionate Communities
Tommy also mentioned protein cereals. There are a couple that he likes:
Some of Tommy’s blog posts:
Lift stuff: Add mass to your body and years to your life
Walking: The simple path to feeling sexier and living longer
Sit less and prioritise movement for long term fitness
The fast way to long health: Move really quickly
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 Dec 01, 2021
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
Finally, after 4 years of trying, our calendars have aligned and we have Jonny Brownlee as a guest on the podcast! The life of a professional triathlete is busy and that offers limited opportunities to meet up. The pandemic hasn’t helped but finally, I've pinned down the younger Brownlee and I popped round to his house to catch up on everything. Starting with that Olympic Gold medal in Tokyo just a few months ago and trawling right back through the memories to the day when Jonny joined the North of England talent ID programme back in the mid-2000s.
That's roughly 15 years of catching up so please pay attention as we cover a lot of topics including:
- A short quiz to get Jonny warmed up and help you get to know him a bit better
- Olympic medals and the importance of taking the time to reflect on key moments in your life
- Why Jonny never wanted to touch Alistair’s Gold medal before he had his own
- Coping with COVID - not much difference to the rest of us (really!)
- Local fell races and the joy of running without gadgets
- The 4-year streak (never off the podium) and then the doldrums (rarely on the podium)
- Why there is such a thing as good luck and bad luck
- That moment in Cozumel and why it had a long-lasting effect on Jonny’s fitness
- The debut 70.3 in Portugal and when the wheels fall off in the last 5k of the run
- The Paris Olympics in 2024 - yes or no?
To find out more about Jonny you can follow him on social media at the following links:
Instagram - jonnybrownleetri
Facebook - Jonathan.brownlee.1238
Twitter - @jonny.brownlee
Brownlee Foundation Website
Brownlee fitness Website
Other links
Jonny finally gets that Olympic Gold medal (short video)
Emily Sande - 'Read all about it’- Jonny's favourite tune which brings back some good memories for him
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 Nov 24, 2021
Wednesday Nov 24, 2021
This week Simon returns with the final of his 3-week solo cast series outlining how he would set up an athlete's training programme following the High Performance Human principles.
In this episode, he turns his attention to the basic principles around swim, bike, and run training and why this is a crucial period if you want to get the most from your race-specific training in 2022.
Specific topics covered include:
- To know the best route you have to know where you are headed
- Make the cake before you put the icing on
- How much training should you be doing?
- Finding your sweet spot
- Quit trying to swim faster and focus on reducing drag
- The bike - no such thing as junk miles
- Running by feel and building a resilient frame
- Consistency vs intensity
You can find all of Simon’s social media links HERE
Links to some of the topics mentioned in this episode
Link to Podcast 1 (Sleep, Recovery & Nutrition)
Link to Podcast 2 (Mobility & Strength)
Other topics Simon referred to in the show:
Shane Benzie podcast - ‘Better movement equals better running'
Shane Benzie book "The lost art of running”
Daniel Schade podcast “Could you ride faster with a better saddle?"
Blog post on intensity vs consistency
Stephen Seiler Twitter post about Hierarchy of Endurance Training Needs
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 Nov 17, 2021
Wednesday Nov 17, 2021
This week’s guest will be familiar to most of you, regardless of whether you're a committed triathlete or not. In fact along with his brother (a podcast guest in 2 weeks' time) they are two of the most famous, and popular, Yorkshiremen of the 21st century. This will be Alistair Brownlee’s second time on the show, the first was just before his Kona debut in 2019. Today we're going to spend most of the time chatting about his new book 'Relentless: Secrets of the Sporting Elite’.
We start with a brief recap of the last two years before we get into the book. In this conversation, you’ll hear a different side to the Alistair that we have all come to know in the last 12 years as we chat about:
- Recapping Kona 2019, dealing with the pandemic, ankle injury, missing selection for the Olympics
- Enthusiasm for gravel riding, including 57 hours continuous riding at the Badlands epic in Spain
- The book - A 5-year project
- Surreal conversation in Ronnie O’ Sullivan’s mum’s kitchen
- Denise Burton with some surprises about her mum, Beryl Burton
- Ian Botham on the torpedo and the tube
- Why the term 'genius' undermines the hard work that the best sportspeople put in on a daily basis
- Searching for the answer to “why do I do what I do?"
Follow Alistair on social media on these channels:
Instagram - Alistair.brownlee
Facebook - Alistair.brownlee
Twitter - @AliBrownleetri
Buy a copy of Alistair’s new Book Relentless: Secrets of the Sporting Elite’.
Brownlee Foundation Website
Brownlee fitness Website
Badlands Gravel ride - Spain - This is the gravel event that Alistair talks about with such enthusiasm
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 Nov 10, 2021
Wednesday Nov 10, 2021
This week Simon returns with Part 2 of his 3-week solo cast series outlining how he would set up an athlete's training programme following the High Performance Human principles.
In this episode, he outlines why mobility and strength play such a key role in human and athletic performance. He also has a few tips on how you can incorporate both into what probably feels like an already packed schedule.
Specific topics covered include:
- How to avoid being an active couch potato
- The importance of daily movement practice once you hit 40 and beyond
- Simple options for busy people. (TIP: it’s not that hard to find time)
- How improved mobility can lead to faster times in the pool
- Strength training to build resilience and better consistency with your swim, bike, and run training
- Key benefits of a year-round strength programme
- How to build strength in less than 60 minutes each week
You can find all of Simon’s social media links HERE
Links to some of the topics mentioned in this episode
Link to Podcast 1 (Sleep, Recovery & Nutrition)
Other podcasts on mobility:
Kelly Starrett - 'How to be in the ready state
Louisa Holmes (a.k.a The White Witch) - 'How to bulletproof your body'
Shane Benzie - ‘Better movement equals better running'
Shane Benzie book "The lost art of running"
Alison Rose podcast on running injuries
My most recent strength workout on Facebook
Blog post 'Are you an Active Couch potato?'
The Stand-Up desk that I use for at least 4-5 hours every day
Paul Check article including the phrase “you can’t fire a cannon from a canoe”
You can find all of Simon’s social media links HERE
Links to some of the topics mentioned in this episode
Link to Podcast 1 (Sleep, Recovery & Nutrition)
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 Nov 03, 2021
Wednesday Nov 03, 2021
In the last 4-5 years there has been a rise in the popularity of wild swimming, cold water immersion (this driven by the books and videos featuring Wim Hof), and hot/cold contrast treatments (sauna to ice barrel and back). During the pandemic, small groups sprang up all over the UK as individuals hoped to draw courage from group members during their morning dive into a cold river, lake, or ocean. As positive as many believe this to be for mental health the process is not without its drawbacks (even dangers).
My guest today is Dr. Mike Tipton. Mike is a Professor of Human & Applied Physiology working out of Extreme Environments Laboratory at Portsmouth University.
He is one of the world's leading experts when it comes to researching how humans respond to extreme environments, which means he's the ideal person to guide us through how to use hot and cold environments to enhance performance, recovery, and mental health.
In this conversation, we chat about:
- What really happens to the body when you expose it to extreme heat or cold
- How to prepare for racing in hot and humid conditions
- Why heart rate and rate of perceived exertion are better than pace and power for monitoring effort in hot races
- Can heat training provide the same benefits as altitude training?
- The dangers of cold water swimming and why you should always have a swim buddy
- Does repeated cold water exposure really have health benefits?
To find out more about Mike Tipton, please follow him on Twitter @ProfMikeTipton
Below are some links to Dr. Tipton's research that you may find useful:
Coaches, triathletes, open water swimmers and anyone who swims regularly in cold or wild water might be interested in the International Drowning Researchers' Alliance (IDRA) of which Mike is a co-Founder.
We also mentioned:
The Blue Tits Chill Swimmers- this is a good place to start if you want to find a group local to you for cold water swimming. REMEMBER: Never go cold water swimming alone.
Lewis Pugh - Ice Swimmer - find out more about him HERE at his website or watch this video of him doing the first swim across the North Pole.
You may also be interested in these articles:
Cold water immersion: Kill or cure
Heat stress and dehydration in adapting for performance: Good, bad, both, or neither?
Moving in extreme environments: Open water swimming in cold and warm water
Sudden cardiac death during open water swimming
Mike also recommended the following books that he has enjoyed recently
Barrow’s Boys - In the 1800s, John Barrow, Second Secretary to the Admiralty, launched the most ambitious programme of exploration the world had ever seen. Between 1816 and 1845 his hand-picked teams of elite naval officers scoured the globe's empty spaces.
Everest - The First Ascent. The untold story of Griffith Pugh, the man who made it possible.
Iron War - Dave Scott vs Mark Allen. The story of the greater ironman race ever.
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 Oct 27, 2021
Wednesday Oct 27, 2021
This week Simon embarks on the first of a 3-week solo cast series outlining how he would set up an athlete's training programme following the High Performance Human principles.
In this episode, he describes his approach to getting the best sleep and recovery as well as the basic principles underpinning good nutrition for health and performance.
Specific topics covered include:
- How good sleep begins with what you do in the morning
- How to create the ideal sleep environment in your bedroom
- Disconnect every day to get better recovery
- Why carbs are good for your performance.
- Keto - is it really the best option for endurance athletes?
- If you want to go vegan, make sure you do your research
You can find all of Simon’s social media links HERE
Links to some of the posts mentioned in this episode
The science of Sleep - A Whoop podcast
Sleep. The best training tool you have - Nick Littlehales podcast
Some simple truths about nutrition with Adam Feit, Precision Nutrition
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.