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

Simon Ward and Shannon Fizer

As we approach the festive season I thought it would be a great idea to get some guidance on how to navigate the minefields of alcohol and rich, sugary food which every athlete has to face in the final few days of December.

My guest today is performance nutritionist Shannon Fizer, and in today’s conversation we discuss how to minimise the damage at Christmas, keeping to your normal healthy eating and training regime as much as possible.

• When it’s difficult to workout, some is always better than none - how to make the most of those limited opportunities
• Balancing ‘treats’ with real food
• Choosing your treats wisely - why crisps at the office party are out and Grandma’s special Christmas pudding is definitely IN
• Why it’s OK to have a drink or two at Christmas…but not every day
• Enjoying the season - sometimes you just need to forget about being an athlete
• Why attempting to lose weight at Christmas just makes you and those around you miserable
• Why flat water is better than carbonated water for helping you to feel full

To read Shannon’s Christmas eating blog in full please CLICK HERE 

To read about carbonated water please click here

To find out more about Shannon Fizer, please visit her website, www.Shannonfizer.com

Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome – it’s not just a female thing!! Anna Boniface story

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

Simon Ward and Andrew Messick

I’ve been a longtime fan of Ironman, right from that day over 30 years ago when I watched the 1982 coverage with Julie Moss, through to my first Ironman in 1995, and to 2017 when I finally got to the start (and finish line) in Kona.

On that journey I have seen massive changes at WTC - 3 changes of ownership, growth in Ironman events from 8 to over 40, and the introduction of 70.3 among the most notable.  Ironman is not without its detractors and many of them make some very vocal if slightly unfair comments.  Well today, I get to chat to the man at the top, CEO of Ironman, Andrew Messick.  He agreed in advance that I could ask him anything, although he also stated that he reserved the right to ‘pass’ on any question.  Fortunately that didn’t happen, and you will be able to hear in our conversation:

• The challenges of changing an Ironman race venue in less than 4 weeks (Ironman Florida 2018)
• Why compromising athlete safety is never an option for Ironman
• Delivering life changing events for incredible people
• Drafting in Kona - is changing the start the answer to congestion on the bike?
• Kona - why racing over 2 days is not feasible on the Big Island
• Drug testing - what WTC are doing right now
• Celebrities racing in Kona - why it’s a good thing for Ironman
• Why Ironman does not go back to some race venues
• Will they ever move the Ironman World Championships from Kona?
• M-dot tattoos - why Ironman is proud and scared of this trend
• Andrew explains how he was an Ironman athlete before an Ironman employee, and why Challenge Roth IS on his bucket list
• Deferrals, refunds, and special cases

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

Simon Ward and Tim Heming

This week my erstwhile friend Tim Heming is back in the chair as I travel to deepest Gloucestershire to pin him down and chat about the 2018 triathlon season, and discuss some of this season’s winner and losers.  Listen in to our lively ‘debate’ and you’ll hear:

• Why we both think that the Commonwealth games messed up the season for a number of athletes
• That Tim is one of the most successful triathlon tipsters as he reveals just how good his Kona top 10 picks were this year
• ….. and then confesses that being pressured into including Lionel Sanders in his top 5 was a big error
• Which events did we pick as our ‘race of the year’
• Why we both love Super League
• Our final comments on 2018 WTS, why Vicky Holland is awesome and Georgia Taylor-Brown is a start of the future, and who else to watch out for in 2019
• Simon’s revolutionary plans to introduce darts into triathlon 
• Highlights of the year -  1 now legendary British female Ironwoman and 2 male pros who defied the odds

Here are links to several of the topics we discussed today:

*Tim talked about the Super league Highlights and you can watch those here

*The Man in the Halo - The incredible story of Tim Don’s comeback after a potentially life changing injury

*The CancerFit.me project with Gill Fullen and Lucy Gossage

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

Simon Ward and Louisa Holmes

If you are still breathing you are still winning!

This week, Louisa Holmes (aka The White Witch) returns to the show to chat about one of the most fundamental human processes:  breathing.  Like me you probably think you have got this cracked, especially as you are still alive.  But that's not exactly true. 

There is a big difference between breathing to stay alive, and breathing to optimise your human and athletic performance. In this podcast you will be able to find out:

• The surprising percentage of the population who have dysfunctional breathing
• Three simple tests to determine whether you need to spend time learning to breathe effectively
• Why dysfunctional breathing can lead to health problems and restrict your athletic performance
• What happens to the body at rest, never mind exercise, when you breathe inefficiently
• Two breathing exercises you can do which will make a difference, in less than 10 minutes per day

The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062349484/the-oxygen-advantage/

Body Oxygen Level test (BOLT) http://oxygenadvantage.co.za/measure-bolt/

Videos of breathing tests:

Simple breathing pattern test - https://youtu.be/_J3Va1vvW80

Pursed lip breathing exercise https://youtu.be/POnGJM2FdDc

Previous podcasts with Louisa:

Louisa Holmes Part 1: Full body assessment & bike fit  https://simonward.podbean.com/e/simon-ward-and-louisa-edmonston-part-1/

Louisa Holmes Part 2: How to make the most of your bike fit https://simonward.podbean.com/e/simon-ward-and-louisa-edmonston-part-2/

Full Body MOT + Bike Fit https://www.cspc.co.uk/cspcservices/mot/2541-2/

Book an appointment with Louisa at the Coach House https://www.cspc.co.uk/

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

Simon Ward and Sian Rainsley

The ONLY elite triathlete in the world with Crohn’s disease

The life of a triathlete is hard.  It’s almost impossible when you have Crohn’s disease.  In fact, that is what the doctors told today’s guest when she was diagnosed at the age of 18.  At this moment in time there are no other elite triathletes in the world suffering from Crohn’s and training full time.  Sian Rainsley is an elite triathlete based at the High Performance centre in Leeds. Her whole world nearly fell apart a few years ago when she found out what was making her so ill.  Since then she had medalled at the ETU U23 triathlon taking a bronze, and competed at the World U23 championships taking a 9th place and just a few months ago at 15th place, despite a season that was ruined by illness.

Despite her tender age, Sian has already demonstrated the toughness of spirit and obstinacy required to be a champion at this point in her career.

In this conversation Sian talks about:

• Why a swim/run background as a youth is still the biggest predictor of triathlon success
• Swim and run success as a junior athlete
• A devastating diagnosis at 18 years of age
• The definition and symptoms of Crohn’s disease and how it affects her life
• The joy of just being active
• Never taking things for granted
• Repeatedly ignoring the doctor’s advice
• Sometimes in life you have to adjust your goals and be happy with what you get

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

Simon Ward and Matt Dixon

This week’s guest is another coach.  In fact, he is a UK coach although you are more likely to find him in the US these days.  Matt Dixon is well known in the triathlon world as founder and owner of Purple Patch Fitness, based in San Francisco.  He coaches age group athletes and professionals including Sam Appleton, Kevin Collington, Sara Pampiano, and UK Ironman pro Laura Siddall.  He has also written a couple of books and he has his own podcast (links below).  He is also the head coach for the Ironman Executive Challenge and is a presenter for Ironman University.

Some time ago I listened to one of Matt’s podcasts and he referred to the fact that he was known as the “Recovery Coach”, because of the significance that he gives this aspect of training and its place in optimal performance.  As this is a topic that is also close to my heart I thought it might be good to take a deeper dive into Recovery for Triathletes.  In this conversation we discuss:

• The Purple Patch 4 Pillars of Performance
• Why lack of fitness is rarely the reason for under-performance in a race
• How assessing the “landscape of your life” is the first step to a successful programme
• The importance of sleep …. again!
• Why ‘fit & fresh’ is a good mantra for your rating and well being
• Why strength & conditioning is a 'critical supplement’ to your training
• Recovery - it’s part of the programme, not an extra
• Matt's top 3 priorities for post season training

To find out more about Matt Dixon please visit his website Purple Patch Fitness.  Matt also has 2 excellent books The Fast Track Triathlete and The Well Built Triathlete.  You can also hear Matt on his own podcast The Purple Patch Podcast.

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

Simon Ward and Nathan Turner

In recent weeks I have chatted with some high profile guests who you have definitely heard of.  This week, I’m chatting with a guy who you have probably never heard of.  Don’t let that put you off though because Nathan Turner’s story is highly inspirational. In fact it’s people like Nathan who are the life blood of age group triathlon. His story is far more representative of the mainstream and if we wish to keep this sport growing then we need to have people like Nathan who grab the bull by the horns and just go for it.

Have you ever had a time when you wanted to enter a race but just weren’t sure, wondered about stepping up in distance but felt the time wasn’t right, or you’re just not sure how to even get started in triathlon?  If you answered YES to any of these questions then please, please listen to this chat. When you have finished there will be nothing stopping you.

In this conversation we talk about:

• The “epiphany” - how 1 photo can change everything 
• Why an overweight 260lb (120kg) guy would even think of entering a mud run
• Never mind if you can’t swim and don’t own a bike, just enter a sprint triathlon anyway
• Learning to swim by watching Michael Phelps videos
• Chasing the dream of finishing every 70.3 triathlon event in North America
• The Triumph Project with Jeff Fairbanks
• Nathan’s TOP 3 tips for beginners

If you are inspired by Nathan’s story, you can follow him on Instagram at the_tri_lyfe.  Ask him any question you like.  He answers them all!!

Find out more about the Triumph Project at https://www.thetriumphproject.org/.

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

Simon Ward and Prof Paul Laursen

Today we have a guest returning to the show. One of the very first podcasts that I recorded was with this week' guest, Prof Paul Laursen, and his side-kick Dr Dan Plews.

I visited their vacation condo in Kona during Ironman week in 2016. Dan and Paul cooked me dinner of mince and vegetables, and we consumed at least 1 bottle of red wine.

Both of them were doing a bit of self quantifying of their blood glucose while attempting to stay on a low carb/high fat (LC/HF) diet. They wore these little monitors stuck to their arm and a few minutes after each sip of red wine, there would be a little blood sugar spike and the app on their phones would start pinging. As we consumed more wine it got funnier. Anyway, fast forward to 2018 and both Dan and Paul have continued their personal and professional research into this subject which is exactly what we chat about in this week's episode.

• Prof explains how he started his own personal journey into the LC/HF world 
• How might vegan or vegetarian diets influence your adaptation to LC/HF
• Why excess carbohydrate consumption can be a problem for triathletes
• Where did the 60-90g/hour recommendation come from for race day fuelling
• What yardstick to use to measure effectiveness of LC/HF
• If you follow LC/HF do you change your nutrition intake on race day 
• Does the increased fat consumption in your diet lead to changes in blood cholesterol

To find out more about The Prof (and Plews) please visit their website here:  https://www.plewsandprof.com/

Links to some articles Diet and Ironman Performance:  https://www.plewsandprof.com/single-post/2018/09/30/Diet-and-Ironman-performance-appreciating-the-individual

Peter Attia Approach to dieting for Endurance athletes - Pt 1 - https://www.plewsandprof.com/single-post/2017/11/04/The-Peter-Attia-Approach-to-Dieting-for-Endurance-Athletes---Part-I

Peter Attia Approach to dieting for Endurance athletes - Pt 2 - https://www.plewsandprof.com/single-post/2017/11/04/The-Peter-Attia-Approach-to-Dieting-for-Endurance-Athletes---Part-II

Jan Van Berkel - The Fat adapted healthy athlete - https://www.plewsandprof.com/single-post/2017/04/09/JAN-VAN-BERKEL-THE-FAT-ADAPTED-HEALTHY-ATHLETE-VISCERAL-FAT-AND-ITS-RELATIONSHIP-TO-HEALTH-AND-PERFORMANCE

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

Simon Ward on Winter Training Plans

After a highly motivating 10 days in Kona watching the world's best athletes set course record after record, I’m back with another podcast.

This week, there is no guest as I will be taking you through the steps required to set up a winter training plan to ‘crush’ the opposition in 2019.  This is a 45 minute broadcast emphasising the simple technique that I use with the athletes I work with.

I will be asking you to embrace some shifts in mindset and to consider a slightly different approach to what other coaches might propose and what you have done in the past. 

As the saying goes “if you always do what you have always done, you’ll always get what you've always had”.

This episode is packed full of information.  Get yourself a pen and paper and be prepared to make some notes as I share:

• The ONE key factor which will influence your success in 2019
• The “low hanging fruit” which will give you the biggest return for your training investment
• How mastery goals will take you toward your outcome goals
• Why you must think longer than 12 months when setting your goals
• The #1 goal of your winter training plan
• Polarised training and the MAF approach
• Why all training plans work
• How athletes get in their own way by 'splitting hairs’
• The importance of thinking about sleep and recovery before training
• Some simple nutrition advice
• The value of yearly strength training for ALL athletes
• Why swimming more and running less could mean greater gains in fitness
• Why you don’t really need to run or ride long in the winter

To find out more about Simon’s SWAT programme, please click here https://simonward1.lpages.co/swat-sign-up-30-offer/

To comment on this podcast, please visit Simon's Facebook age HERE https://www.facebook.com/simon.ward1

Visit Simon's website for more information about his coaching programmes https://www.simonwardtriathloncoach.com/1-to-1-coaching/

For any qustions please email Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.

Simon Ward and Matt Lawrence

This week’s guest is an athlete that I’ve worked with for the last 11 years.  Matt Lawrence and I first met back in 2007 when he asked me to help him improve his Ironman performance.  As time progressed, Matt’s goals changed from improving his time to seeing if he could qualify to race at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in Kona.  As with most of the triathlon journey’s experienced by athletes, this has been a long road with many ups and downs, dead ends, and u-turns.  As you will learn today, working with an athlete is more than just providing a training programme.  A good relationship is critical, as the trust between coach and athlete is an essential part of optimal performance.  Matt and I cover a lot of subjects including:

 

• Dealing with near misses and disappointments
• Changing coaches - why different doesn’t necessarily mean better
• When life’s problems make triathlon training seem insignificant
• Overcoming 2 serious health conditions
• Finally committing to the goal
• Achieving a state of inner peace 48-hours before a race
• What did happen on that day in September?

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