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

Simon Ward and Christie Aschwanden

This week’s guest, Christie Aschwanden, competed on the world circuit as a Nordic skier in the Rossignol Ski Team for several years.  Before that she was an avid cyclist and competitive runner. On retiring from sport she entered journalism and recently wrote the book “Good To Go: How to Eat, Sleep and Rest like a Champion”, which she says is the book which she wished she had been able to read when she was a competitive skier. 

For a long time now I have been waiting to have a guest on the show who could talk purely about recovery.  This is a side of training that I feel does not get enough attention, and is under-rated by athletes. In the conversation we touched on many of the subjects in the book including:

• Whether Christie’s research had any surprises, or confirmed what she already knew
• More proof that sleep is by far the best recovery tool
• Why many of the current recovery trends are fads based on questionable research 
• Shocking news that ice baths don’t really work
• How the best recovery methods involve actions that help you to relax
• Finally I go through ALL of the recovery methods I know of and give Christie a yes/no quiz on what works and what doesn’t 

To purchase Christie’s new book, “Good To Go: How to Eat, Sleep and Rest Like a Champion” go HERE

In the conversation, we talked about fivethirtyeight.com 

You can also follow Christie Aschwanden on:

Twitter https://twitter.com/cragcrest

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

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ChristieAschwandenOfficial/

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Brent and Kyle Pease

In 2018, Kyle and Brent Pease completed an amazing accomplishment, becoming the first brother duo to complete the Hawaii Ironman.

Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, Kyle Pease had grown up supporting his athlete brothers Brent and Evan from the sidelines. While his condition limited his ability to play sports, it didn’t dampen Kyle’s passion for them, nor did it stop the Pease family from including Kyle in various excursions. From rolling his wheelchair up Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite National Park to zipping down Colorado snow slopes, there was never a dull moment with the Pease brothers. Where there was a wheel, there was a way to adventure.

Upon witnessing Brent complete his first IRONMAN competition, Kyle asked Brent a life-changing question: “Can people in wheelchairs do IRONMAN?” Brent never hesitated with his response. 

I watched these two brothers cross the line in Kona last year and while I was emotionally touched and astounded by their achievement, I hadn’t really contemplated exactly what sort of challenges they face during any triathlon, let alone an Ironman in Hawaii. If you listen closely you might hear my voice break up a little at the end and I think it’s hard not to be a bit emotional when you listen to this conversation. This truly was one of the most rewarding and insightful podcasts I have done to date.

We talked about a lot of things, including:

• How Kyle had to tell twin brother Evan that he was “holding them back”
• Swimming the 3.8k Ironman Hawaii course in 1:07 towing a small dinghy with your brother inside
• Just how much power do you need to pedal a bike that weighs 180kg (Bike + Brent + Kyle)
• How Kyle keeps Brent focussed during the bike and run
• Why Kyle need to focus on nutrition during an Ironman just as much as Brent
• The emotion of crossing the Kona finish line
• Writing a book and having to wait until you race Kona to get it finished

To find out more about these two amazing brothers please visit the website for the Kyle Pease Foundation

Read about their incredible life story in their new book “Beyond The Finish” ** When you buy a copy all of the money goes to the foundation. Please support this very worthy cause.

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Chris Jones

Today’s guest is a coach who I rate as one of the best in Britain. He has worked as a head coach in 2 different sports:  Triathlon and athletics. In 2000, he was head coach for the GB women’s triathlon team at the Sydney Olympics. From 2002-2007 he was a Performance Coach for British Triathlon, and in 2009 he became Coaching Director for Triathlon Ireland, and then as Performance Director he led the team at the 2012 London Olympics. He then swapped sports to become National Endurance Coach for Athletics Ireland, and is now Welsh Athletics National Coach.

Chris Jones and I first became acquainted back in 1995 when he called me out of the blue to discuss a strength training article that I had written for 220 Magazine. Since then Chris and I have become good friends and we can spend many hours discussing triathlon training, or general coaching philosophy over a bottle of fine red wine. This was another conversation that I really, really enjoyed and I hope you do too. Please set aside an hour to listen in as we chat about:

• How Chris learned his trade from Ray Butters, the man who is now guiding Jessica Learmonth to triathlon success
• Why great coaches have a deep fascination for their sport that goes beyond a job
• Why sometimes you just have to "scramble” to keep up
• When a good coach isn’t necessarily an expert, but has a book of contacts to draw upon and knows exactly when to do so
• The mental and physical toll of being an Olympic coach
• Knowing when to change direction:  Understanding that all coaches have a shelf life 
• Understanding what type of coach you are and finding your niche
• Learning that what derails sports performance isn’t training, it’s life

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Dan Plews

Dr. Dan Plews joins us on the podcast for a third time today to discuss the lead up to his record breaking Ironman World Championship victory in Hawaii last October.  In that race, Dan was the fastest age grouper, not just on the day, but of all time, setting a new course record of 8:24:36, besting the previous best by over 10 minutes. As always with Dan, this conversation is an amazing journey through the eyes of an elite athlete, chatting about everything he did to complete a 3 year plan.

Dan and I chat about 2 core areas - polarised training, Low Carb/High fat nutrition, and we disappear down a few rabbit holes as well.

If you want to race well in an Ironman, in Kona, or just lead an athletic life on a low carb diet, this is a must listen conversation as we talk about:

• How to ‘reverse engineer your training plan to achieve your goal
• Understanding what performance looks like
• Why everyone should have a coach
• What is the definition of a ‘low carb’ diet?
• Stress Hormones and Polarised training:  Why it’s much more than just hard and easy
• How to calculate your own maximal fat oxidation level HERE
• The ‘key’ training sessions that created an Ironman World Champion
• Dan’s top 3 tips for age group triathletes (TIP: these ’secrets’ are way more simple than you could imagine)

In the podcast Dan mentions several links:

Stephen Seiler Research on Polarised training

An article  by "The Prof”, Paul Laursen and Dr Phil Maffetone -Fit but Unhealthy

Dr Dan Plews new fitness education course Endure IQ

 

You can also follow The Plews and Prof at their website

Dan is also prominent on Twitter @theplews1 and on Instagram 'the plews’

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Dr. Livingstone

If you are in good health, training and recovery is the best. If you are ill, then training quality is poor and sometimes you can’t even train. That’s why I have invited a real life doctor to be my guest today.  Dr. Ian Livingstone is a cycling buddy of mine who has recently retired. We have spent many a cycling mile discussing health ailments and their effect on triathlon and cycling training, and often rolled our eyes at the way in which humans are willing to compromise basic health to become fitter. This truly is a huge paradox.

Dr. Livingstone will be joining me at regular intervals in future months to discuss health ailments and exercise.  In today’s episode we discuss 2 of the most basic components of health - the immune system and bone health. Surrounding these issues we discuss many subjects, including:

• Fit doesn’t necessarily mean healthy
• The influence of sleep on the Immune System
• ONCE AGAIN, sleep and recovery - why this is the key to building long term fitness
• How stress and your mental health can affect your immune system and therefore your potential for catching a cold
• Illnesses, like injuries, are not inevitable - but avoiding them might just be a case of being more mindful
• The influence of diet on the immune system and bone health
• The ’simple secrets' to successful training - balance, good sleep, healthy nutrition

In the show I mention this book - The Beautiful Cure: Harnessing Your Body's Natural Defences - Daniel Davis

If you have any questions for Dr Livingstone about your health/training related issues please email me, simon@thetriathloncoach.com

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Mike Ricci

This week my guest is a fellow coach from the USA triathlon mecca, Boulder, Colorado.  Mike Ricci has been a triathlon coach since early in the 21st century and as we have got to know each other I’ve become aware that Mike and I share some very similar views on coaching and working with athletes.  This conversation is just you eavesdropping on two coaches shooting the breeze about all things coaching, including:

• The philosophy behind Mike’s company, D3 multisport
• Why the best coaches have a good understanding of business
• Triathlon coaches don’t need to be technical experts, but they do need to know where to find them
• Different approaches to periodising training in a 12 month period
• Heart rate variability and athlete management
• The difference between high performing athletes and everyone else
• Mike speaks my language as we agree about cutting sessions short to build in mobility or strength work
• Can a coach be effective when pursuing their own racing goals?
• Exploring coaching approach within other sports to enhance athlete experience
• Why even long distance athletes need to train across the full range of energy zones

To find out more about Mike and his training group please visit https://d3multisport.com/ or their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/D3Multisport/

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Lucy Gossage

My guest today is Lucy Gossage, one of the most successful Ironwomen in the UK in recent years having now won 13 Iron distance races.  Lucy is such an enthusiastic guest and always a joy to chat with.  She ‘retired’ from Pro racing in 2018 to concentrate on full time work as an oncologist but I’m pretty certain will still see her taking part in events and finishing high up on the podium.

This is another great conversation and we chat about several subjects close to Lucy’s heart including:

• How Lucy became known as the “Everyday Pro”
• Participating in a triathlon as part of a relay time and why YOU should try it
• Making a living as a pro athlete
• Why smiling helps your race performance
• Patagonman and the fun of triathlon tourism
• How much training Lucy does every week now that she is ‘retired’
• The inspiration behind the Cancerfit.me and 5kyourway.org 

If you have cancer, are in remission, or know someone else currently in this situation and would like to know all about exercising while receiving treatment then please visit Cancerfit.me.  5kyourway.org is a community-based initiative to encourage those living with and beyond cancer, families, friends and those working in cancer services to walk, jog, run, cheer or volunteer at a local 5k Your Way parkrun event on the last Saturday of every month.

If you would like to follow Lucy she is all over social media.

Twitter - lucygoss

Instagram - @lucygossage

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lucy.gossage

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Peter Swoboda

Veteran athletes with heart problems?  Is it inevitable?  There are a number of retired high profile triathletes who have heart problems - Dave Scott, Normann Stadler, Greg Welch and of course our own Julian Jenkinson died after suffering a cardiac event while out riding. Look through some of the triathlon and cycling Facebook groups and you will also find many threads about athletes who have had, or are still having, issues with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. If athletes who were once the world’s best are not immune then where does that leave the rest of us enthusiastic amateurs?

In today’s podcast, I’m going to have a go at clearing up a lot of the misinformation that surrounds the topic of training for endurance sports and associated cardiac issues.

My guest is Peter Swoboda - Consultant Cardiologist and senior lecturer at the University of Leeds.  Peter has been involved in extensive research into the relationship between fitness and the quality of heart size, and is currently engaged in a study to understand the changes to heart structure with age in veteran athletes who have a history of training at least 8-10 hours per week for many years.  If you have any concerns about your heart health or have suffered with your own cardiac issues then this conversation will answer a lot of your questions as we discuss:

• “The Broken Leg” study and what happens to your fitness with just 6 weeks of inactivity
• Why astronauts MUST row for 2 hours per day when they are in a zero gravity environment
• Can a life time of exercise lead to changes in the structure of the heart, and is it part of normal physiology?
• What type of sports pre-dispose people to Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) and other heart issues
• Rowing and cycling and why they have a different effect on the heart to running.
• Why athletes are humans first and have the same statistical likelihood of heart problems as sedentary people
• Noticeable changes in heart response to exercise and why it’s ALWAYS a good idea to get a check up
• Why exercise is a good thing for just about all humans
• Peter’s training advice for over 50’s
• Ultimately why you should not worry, the statistics are in your favour

In this podcast I mentioned the book The Haywire Heart.

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Joe Friel

On this week’s podcast, I’m really excited to be chatting with one of the world’s leading triathlon and cycling coaches.  In 1996 Joe Friel wrote the Cyclist’s Training Bible and in 1998 he followed that up with the Triathlete’s Training Bible. He also coauthored with Gordo Byrn the Iron distance training book “Going Long”, and more recently he wrote the book "Fast after 50: How to race strong for the rest of your life”. Joe has been instrumental in the development of Training Peaks as the world’s number one online training diary platform (now run by his son, Dirk Friel) and to this day travels the world sharing his coaching philosophy and inspiring the next generation of coaches, including myself.

In this conversation, I really wanted to get deep into the subject of how we should all be training once we get past 50. If you haven’t reached that age yet, that’s no excuse to bypass this conversation. I can predict with a high degree of accuracy that you will reach this age at some point so this IS of relevance to you.

In this episode you will hear Joe Friel share his thoughts on:

• Why his inspiration for writing this book was entirely selfish
• Myths of ageing and why we should ignore them
• Some of the age changes that WILL happen to you
• What we must start doing differently as we grow older
• Key to maintaining performance as we age up past 40, 50 and beyond.

I hope you enjoy this conversation. It’s a topical subject and one which I implore you to not only listen to but act upon and then share with your friends.

Find Joe on Twitter @jfriel

See all of Joe ’s books listed HERE

If you want to know the answer to a triathlon or cycling question, there is a good chance Joe has answered it for someone on his blog, right HERE

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Legends of British Triathlon * Simon Ward and John Lunt

If you have been following closely, you will be aware that a sub niche of this podcast focusses on the Legends of British Triathlon, people and personalities who were prominent in the triathlon scene in the late ’80’s and early ’90’s and who helped to build triathlon into the successful and popular sport that it now is.

Latecomers to the sport (after 2000) may not be aware of just how significant some of these people were in building the triathlon profile in the UK, and I have taken it upon myself to share their part in this great sport that I have loved for over 30 years.  My guest today, John Lunt, was more of a recreational athlete, starting his triathlon involvement in 1984. In the early 1990’s he started promoting triathlon events in and around west London - Windsor, The Ballbuster Duathlon and the Eton Dorney series - and this is where he really had an impact on the UK triathlon scene.

 This was another great journey back in time and in this conversation you will discover:

• Why it was easier to organise events in 1990 than in 2018
• How John was the first race director in the UK to use wristbands for athletes in events after a visit to Kona in 1994
• The 220 triathlon series and the introduction of prize money in triathlon
• The long winded process for entering a race and getting your results before the digital age
• Why the Commonwealth Games in 2002 was the launch pad for the London 2012 Olympic bid
• What it was like to be the race director for the London 2012 triathlon events
• What comes after you have spent 4 1/2 years living and breathing one single event

 To find out more about John Lunt and his current project BeSpoke Events please visit their website https://www.bspokeevents.co.uk/

You can also follow them on Facebook HERE

Some of the events that John mentioned can be found here:

Dubrovnik Triathlon

Brighton and Hove Triathlon

Brighton Run2Music

To find out more about Simon’s coaching please visit his website here.

To follow Simon on Facebook, click here.

For more information please go to www.SimonWardTriathlonCoach.com, or www.TheTriathlonCoach.com, or email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.