Simon Ward, Be Battle Ready - The podcast for strength, resilience, and longevity

Move better and build resilience * Simon Ward and Jess Elliott

Back in 1995 when I started my triathlon coaching career, my first published article for 220 Magazine was about strength training for triathletes.  Back then I was in a tiny minority of coaches who felt that this was an important piece of the puzzle in helping athletes to build resilience, stay injury free, boost consistency, and ultimately improve their performance.

You can often hear me talking about how important it is to build a strong foundation, and 25 years later I feel that we might actually be making some progress.

In today’s podcast I’m delighted to be chatting with Performance Coach Jess Elliot from Boulder, Colorado.  Jess and I share a very similar philosophy when it comes to athlete preparation and in today’s call Jess shares this philosophy as she answers questions sent in by members of my SWAT and Triathlon Coach Cafe Facebook pages:

• Why we should call it “physical preparation” instead of "strength & conditioning”
• Your goals should just be “move better” and “build resilience"
• Why we are all on a journey to the same destination form different starting points
• Jess shares her ideas on how to create a simple home gym
• The best exercises to build a strong core
• Effective strength training when you are 70 years old
• Why your gym programme should include activities which are the opposite of those in your sport
• How often should you change your strength programme

Here are some of the links mentioned in the show:

Monster resistance bands for your home gym

Sports Research resistance band set which Jess bought for her father

How to make your own sandbag

How to use sliders

Jess’ favourite book “The Language of Coaching”

EXOS Human Performance

Hollow Body Holds

To find and follow Jess, please visit this Link Tree which has links to all of her social media channels

Business

Personal

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

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

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

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com

How one athlete survived Coronavirus, including a 3-week coma * Simon Ward and Paul Regan

We have all been affected by the Coronavirus to some extent, but I dont personally know many people who have been affected as severely as today’s guest.  Paul Regan is a 51 year old triathlon coach who contracted COVID19 sometime in February or March and from there, life went downhill.  By the end of March he was in an ICU ward at his local hospital and a few days later he was placed in an induced coma which lasted for over 3 weeks.  He spent another few weeks in hospital before being allowed home at the beginning of May.  This is an amazing insight into what it’s like to suffer and survive Coronavirus.  Frankly, I was amazed at Paul's recovery.  In our Zoom call he looked very healthy, although as you’ll hear in the conversation, he is only at the start of what could be a long journey back to full health.

We talked about his whole experience of the last 6 months including:

• Why someone who was not considered 'at risk' developed such a serious illness
• Why coma drugs paralyse you and are some of the dirtiest chemicals for your system
• Vivid dreams including kidnapping, drowning in blood, organ donation, and pirates
• When your dead grandma tells you “you’re not ready to join us yet"
• PTSD, survivor guilt, and the ’survivors club’
• Why the NHS staff really are out of this world
• Managing expectations and a 6-12 month journey to regain health
• Why being blasé about catching Coronavirus could cost you your life

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

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

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

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com

Grumpy Old Coaches discuss getting old and still going for gold * Simon Ward, Steve Lumley, and Marc Laithwaite

The three “Grumpy Old coaches" are back in the house as Simon is joined by Steve Lumley and Marc Laithwaite as they discuss a subject that is going to affect us all at some stage:  Getting old.

Even if you are just turning 30 you might as well listen as it will happen to you at some stage and it’s better to be prepared.  Think of it like a pension.  If you don’t start putting money into your pot until you’re 45, you won’t have as much to draw on compared to starting at 30. 

Each of our intrepid trio are still training regularly and facing the challenges of ageing, head on.  They are all coaching athletes who have similar challenges.  In this podcast you’ll hear: 

• What specifically has changed in their training in the last 10 years
• What steps they take to guide themselves and athletes through the ageing process
• The psychology of ageing and why you will have advantages over your younger self
• One activity you MUST include to improve EVERY aspect of your life.
• Why some of the things you have heard about ageing are NOT inevitable
• Why you should train hard and recover harder
• Top tips on what to do MORE of and what to do LESS of as you get older

Ned Overend article - Rocking beyond retirement

Joe Friel’s book "Fast after 50”

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

To comment on this podcast, please visit Simon's Facebook page HERE 

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

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com

How can I get to 15-hours training per week without being chronically fatigued? * Simon Ward and 3 Guests

In the past 3 years we have had several podcasts where I've answered questions sent in by The Triathlon Coach Cafe members. It's part of the joining process, and leads to some great content.  One of the questions we ask new members is, “What is the ONE question you would like to ask Simon?”.

This show is different because I have invited three of the Cafe members on to the show as guests to ask their “one” question of me LIVE.  I hope you enjoy the new format and that you find the answers useful in your own training.

My 3 guests are:

Stuart Melling who asks, “How can I get to 15-hours training a week without being chronically fatigued?”

• Why it is better to target a volume that you can consistently achieve, versus one promoted by a book/magazine
• How to get better results by identifying your limiters

Gutun Morgan wanted to know, “Any tips for training whilst working shifts?  I work 4 days on/4 days off, 12 hour shifts when I work.  I haven’t yet seen a training plan which incorporates shift work.”

• When the plan you have is already the right one for you
• Why it is important to frequently reflect on your current plan and make minor adjustments

Kevin Powell asked, "Best way to approach a recovery week?  I see a lot of people on Strava doing a recovery week with still quite high intensity, but they cut volume. Isn’t this tapering?”  

• Why you must include periods of recovery and for how long
• What type of workouts should you do in a recovery week and what to avoid

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

To comment on this podcast, please visit Simon's Facebook page HERE 

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

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com

The World's Toughest Ultra-Marathon * Simon Ward and Lazarus Lake

In all sports there are iconic characters and iconic events.  In the world of ultra-running, Runner’s World compiled a list of the ‘hardest races in the world’. One of them was the Barkley Marathons and my guest today is the legendary figure who organised Barkley, and many other unique events.  He is such an icon that he even has a pseudonym, “Lazarus Lake” (his real name is Gary Cantrell).

If you haven’t yet heard of the Barkley Marathons then here are some facts that might get your attention.  The race has only ever been completed 18 times.  There are minimal directions.  Competitors have 60 hours to complete 5 laps of approximately 20 miles.  Each laps alternates direction.  None of this stops hundreds of hopefuls submitting their entrance essay to Laz every year in the hope that he will pick them to be one of the lucky 40 competitors to try their hand at the event known to disciples as “the race that eats it’s young”.

It took me 6 months to get Laz onto the show so I hope that you agree it was worth the wait!

• When getting an entry is almost as hard as the event itself
• Who is “Big”?
• Books with quirky titles and why book pages prove you have completed the full course
• The inspiration behind the first Barkley Marathons
• Problem solving and why most of the Barkley finishers have a PhD
• What makes the Barkley Marathons so tough
• The Great Virtual Race across Tennessee - The longest virtual event of lockdown?

You can find a great documentary about the Barkley Marathons on Netflix

Here you can find a link to the article about the Strolling Jim event and Laz’s formula for calculating gender differences for prize money

Oustide magazine referred to Laz as a “sadist creature”. Read the full article HERE.

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

To comment on this podcast, please visit Simon's Facebook page HERE 

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

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com

High Performance Humans * Simon Ward and Toby Baxendale

In today’s podcast I’m back with another of my High Performance Human guests. This week it’s Toby Baxendale, who I have been coaching for almost 15 years.  We met by chance as Toby came to a bike exhibition in central London to purchase a product which I was selling, and shortly after he asked me to coach him towards his triathlon goals.  We have become good friends since then. During that time Toby has built and sold a large fish distribution business, retained a strong marriage with his wife Katherine, reared 3 healthy children, developed an investment business helping companies in the fish business around the world, and managed to train on average 8-10 hours/week, every week. Toby truly epitomises a high performance human but as you will hear during our conversation, there have been times when life did get a bit out of balance.

Listen in as we chat about:

• Dogged determination and why you don’t need to be the best to succeed, just consistent
• Making a success of your life when you are labelled ‘Educationally Sub Normal'
• The law of comparative advantage
• Paul Clayton - Health Defence
• Book of Proverbs and how it’s so relevant to life during the COVID19 outbreak
• Purchasing a Sloane Square nightclub at 18 years old
• The power of listening
• Learning to delegate, and how that led to a thirtyfold increase in turnover
• How the book “Primal Endurance” had a profound effect on Toby’s life 
• COVID19 exit plans and positioning for success
• The truth behind the phrase “behind every successful man there is an even better woman"

Find out more about Toby Baxendale by visiting his website HERE

Dr Paul Clayton

"The man is the head, but the woman is the neck", scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding

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

To comment on this podcast, please visit Simon's Facebook page HERE 

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

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com

Legends of British Triathlon * Simon Ward and Sarah Springman

The “Legends of British Triathlon” has been a really enjoyable experience as it has allowed me to wander back down memory lane and chat with some of the characters who were prominent in the sport when I first started over 30 years ago.  My guest today is another of those individuals, and was the other half of the “two Sarah’s”,

Sarah Springman and Sarah Coope (a previous podcast guest) who were big rivals in the late ’80’s, female versions of Coe and Ovett if you like. Since retiring from competitive sport, Sarah Springman has continued her involvement in triathlon as an administrator serving twice as Vice President of the ITU, while also progressing her academic career as Rector of ETH, Zurich.  This was another great dive back into the early days of triathlon and we speed through 30 years in under 90 minutes so I guess we missed some good bits as well.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did as we chat about:

• That first triathlon - how did it work out?
• Making a living from triathlon in the late ‘80s
• How I nearly took Sarah out during a bike workout in Lanzarote
• Those training camps at Club La Santa
• ITU Vice President and working with Les McDonald
• Sarah’s proudest triathlon moments
• Getting Paratriathlon into the Paralympics
• Academia - studying soil mechanics at Cambridge University and the job of Rector at ETH in Zurich

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

To comment on this podcast, please visit Simon's Facebook page HERE 

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

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com

High Performance Humans * Simon Ward and Gerard Gallagher

This week’s podcast is slightly different in that I am focussing more on the High Performance Human aspect.  My guest is one of the high performance humans that I have the pleasure of working closely with in achieving their triathlon goals. Gerard Gallagher is a Partner and a Management Consultant who leads EY Energy business across Europe, Middle East, India and Africa.  His role involves working with client teams from across 110 countries, and consequently this requires much travel.  At the same time, he is trying to achieve his personal triathlon goals, and be the best father, husband, and friend possible.  There are a lot of plates to spin (an analogy that you will hear me use regularly during these conversations).  It is a challenge for all of us, and Gerard is not the only person in this boat.  Many of you will face similar challenges, and hearing how these guests organise their lives will hopefully provide some ideas and inspiration.

We cover much ground including:

• How "reverse mentoring” works
• Gerard’s favourite books including “The Seventh Sense” and why the message is particularly relevant to current events
• When life gets out of balance - the mistakes made and lessons learned
• The power of mindfulness
• That moment in your life when you realise what is truly important (see the Nigeria video)
• Why Gerard prefers breakfast meetings 
• How to become a talent magnet and start every day trying to put yourself out of a job.

See Gerard’s top 7 book recommendations from 2019 HERE (You’ll need to be a LinkedIn member).

In the podcast Gerard refers to a challenging time in Nigeria. Watch the video HERE and notice the shirt/tie combo.

If you are a LinkedIn subscriber you can follow Gerard Gallagher HERE.

Two books Gerard mentioned in the conversation are The Seventh Sense and Multipliers

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

To comment on this podcast, please visit Simon's Facebook page HERE 

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

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com

Outlaw Full 2020 Decision * Simon Ward and Iain Hamilton

Monday the 11^th of May was a sad day for OSB as they finally had to admit defeat and announce the inevitable, the cancellation of the 2020 Outlaw Full.  Iain was gracious enough to spare me some of his valuable time on Monday morning after making the announcement so that we could discuss the full enormity of this decision.  Iain’s a longtime friend of mine and I’ve been involved in the race for all of its 10 years, so while we discuss the personal side of cancelling a race that you’ve grown from nothing, we also discuss the wider implications of COVID-19 on the sport of triathlon, and what that might look like in the future.  Iain’s also candid about discussing things like the refund process which caused so much debate a few weeks ago.

10 in 10 Indoor Deca Triathlon for NHS * Simon Ward and Joe Duckworth

Today we're releasing a special podcast, as I chat with Joe Duckworth, an airport firefighter who is spending the first 10 days in May doing 10 Ironman triathlons.  Each day consists of a one-hour indoor rowing session, 112 miles on Zwift, and a 26.2 mile treadmill run.  Why would someone do this?  To raise money for the NHS personnel and show support for all their sacrifices.  Listen in to hear why he decided to do this, and how he's getting through each day.

If you'd like to show support and/or find out how you can join him on Sunday for his final ride, you can find him here:  Joe Duckworth 10 in 10 FB page

To make a donation to NHS, please visit Joe's Just Giving Page.

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

To comment on this podcast, please visit Simon's Facebook page HERE 

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

For any questions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com