Simon Ward, The High Performance Human Triathlon Podcast Simon Ward

The first triathlon in the UK was 1983. I did my first event in 1987 and while the sport continued to grow for the next 15 years it didn't really take off until the start of the Brownlee era from 2008.

 
Having said that, there are a significant number of folks who I consider the legends - the Triathletes, coaches, and administrators who were instrumental in building the foundations of British triathlon. Since I started the podcast in 2017 I have spoken with many of these legends. Great coaches like Steve Trew and some of the top athletes from the 90’s and 2000’s like Jodie Swallow, Sarah Springman, Robin Brew, and Richard Hobson to name a few.

 
Today's guest is another Legend of British Triathlon, Annie Emmerson, whose name you might recognise from her work with the BBC at triathlon events. We recently worked at Blenheim Triathlon and we started talking about her career in multi-sport from racing to broadcasting. In today's show we chat about:
 
How triathlon saved Annie from a life of wine bars and partying
Some characters from the good ol' days. 
Why racing as a pro isn’t quite as glamorous as you think
Female participation in triathlon 
Who we think should be selected for the Team GB Olympic Triathlon team.
 
To find out more about Annie please check out her Instagram page
 
If you really want inspiration, follow David Smith MBE and listen to this podcast.
 
Facing death taught me how to truly live with David Smith MBE (E215)
 
Annie also recommended the following books:
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari - why you can’t pay attention and how to think deeply again
The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton - inside the hidden world of the TdF: Doping, Cover ups, winning at all costs
 

To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please visit her website at BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.

Sports Nutrition questions - if you have a sports nutrition question that you would like answered on the podcast, please email it to me via Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.


Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our 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.

As you might have been able to pick up, I’m really getting into strength training at the moment. I feel like I need to share all of my lessons with you, because this type of activity is arguably your best antidote to aging. Dan John is back again today to help me with this.
 
Dan and I discuss the importance of strength training for endurance athletes, particularly those in their 50s, emphasising the need to focus on hypertrophy and explosive lifting to maintain lean body mass and mobility. We also highlight the significance of comprehensive training for triathletes, including mobility work, strength training, and appropriate recovery. Additionally, we discuss the importance of primal movements, such as push, pull, hip hinge, and loaded carry exercises, emphasizing the need for mobility, postural control, and structural support muscles. We also go into detail on:

Primal movements and why they are the basis for exercise selection
Which exercises fit the various primal movements and the best ones for you
How to set up a simple programme and some of the considerations such as sets, reps, rest periods,  total workout duration
Variations to build muscle or strength, or just maintain your current strength
Hypertrophy and explosive lifting to maintain lean body mass and mobility
Dan explains his simple 3x3x3 routine

To find out more about Dan John, please visit these channels:
Website - Dan John University
Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter “Wandering Weights” 
Check out Dan John’s books HERE
Dan is a prolific writer. Check out his articles and blogs 
If you have a question for Dan, most have already been answered HERE at my Q and A Forum.
 

To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please visit her website at BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.

Sports Nutrition questions - if you have a sports nutrition question that you would like answered on the podcast, please email it to me via Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.


Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our 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.

"There are no solutions, only compromises"
In last week’s podcast Lexi Kelson and her colleague Emily Arrell from Precision Fuel and Hydration spoke with 3 SWAT athletes to help them create a viable race day hydration and nutrition strategy. 
This is all very well, but race days don’t come around that often and in between there are many days of normal living and eating. But even then not everyone has things so straight-forward.
What if you are one of the folks who have stomach or digestive issues which make even everyday eating a real challenge?
Lexi is a Clinical Dietician, and we thought it would be helpful to talk about challenging dietary concerns such as gluten free, IBS, and celiac. We also discuss those who choose a vegan/vegetarian approach, as this requires not only a change of mindset but also some re-education of basic foodstuffs to make sure they are fully covered nutrient wise.
Other topics covered in our conversation include:
How athletes can successfully balance energy demands with nutrient dense meals
More on RED-S
How to use nutrition to prevent injury, and how to aid recovery if you do get injured
To find out more about Lexi please check out these links:
Blogs: 
How much carb do you need to optimise recovery after exercise?
9 Lessons when battling Red-S
Videos: The Prehab Guys
Podcasts: Barbell Medicine
Book: Fuel Your Body
If you would like to take up the invitation of a NO OBLIGATION video call with Emily, Lexi or one of their colleagues please CLICK HERE.
You can also create your own race day plan by clicking HERE.
As a podcast listener, you can get a 15% discount on your first order with Precision Fuel & Hydration. CLICK HERE to grab that.
If you want to upgrade your education about day to day or race day nutrition, please check out the P F & H Knowledge Hub. They have a lot of really cool articles written by their experts and partner athletes. If you type your topic into the search engine you will find the information you need. 
To follow Precision Fuel & Hydration please use these social media links:
Instagram: @precisionhydrationFacebook: @precisionhydrationTwitter: @thesweatexpertsYouTube:  www.youtube.com/c/precisionhydrationLinkedIn: 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-strategyQuick carb calculator: https://www.precisionhydration.com/products/precision-fuel-sample-pack/#thecarbcalculatorAthlete Case Studies: https://www.precisionhydration.com/athletes/case-studies/triathlon/
To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please visit her website at BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.

Sports Nutrition questions - if you have a sports nutrition question that you would like answered on the podcast, please email it to me via Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.


Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our 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.

As the race season gets into full swing, I know that many of you are thinking not only of your performance goals but also how you can support these with a good race day hydration and nutrition strategy. Some of the key lessons I have learned over the years are:
 
1) without a good fuelling/hydration strategy you are unlikely to hit your goals, especially on the longer events.
2) there are 3 pillars to focus on - fuelling, hydration and electrolytes.
3) your strategy must change with every key event to cover differences in duration, intensity, course profile and weather conditions.
4) You need to practice your chosen strategy for a few weeks ahead of your A race.
 
I have an ongoing partnership with Precision Fuel and Hydration (P F & H) and one of the offers they have available to all athletes is a video call with one of their experts to discuss hydration and fuelling strategy. This is a no obligation call, so even if you use another product you can still have a chat and come away armed with some very valuable information.
 
In today's podcast three of my SWAT athletes have conversations with P F & H experts Emily Arrell and Lexi Kelson. The purpose of the podcast is to highlight exactly what format the call takes, and more importantly how they can help you to create a working strategy for your key events.
 
You will hear the following:
Matt Cooper and Emily Arrell discuss Matt’s upcoming 50m TT

Matthew Graham and Lexi Kelson preparing for IM Bolton 70.3

Rachel Pearsons and Emily Arrell chat about Rachel’s strategy for IM Hamburg
Key points to listen out for:

3 individuals with 3 different races means 3 different strategies
What you do in the 48 hours before your race can make a real difference
Testing the plan and the product in the weeks before race day is crucial
 
If you would like to take up the invitation of a NO OBLIGATION video call with Emily, Lexi or one of their colleagues please CLICK HERE.
 
You can also create your own race day plan by clicking HERE.
 
As a podcast guest you can get a 15% discount on your first order with Precision Fuel & Hydration. CLICK HERE to grab that.
 
If you want to upgrade your education about day to day or race day nutrition please check out the P F & H Knowledge Hub. They have a lot of really cool articles written by their experts and also partner athletes. If you type your topic into the search engine you will find the information you need. 
 

To follow Precision Fuel & Hydration please use these social media links:
Instagram: @precisionhydrationFacebook: @precisionhydrationTwitter: @thesweatexpertsYouTube:  www.youtube.com/c/precisionhydrationLinkedIn: 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-strategyQuick carb calculator: https://www.precisionhydration.com/products/precision-fuel-sample-pack/#thecarbcalculatorAthlete Case Studies: https://www.precisionhydration.com/athletes/case-studies/triathlon/
To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please visit her website at BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.

 


Sports Nutrition questions - if you have a sports nutrition question that you would like answered on the podcast, please email it to me via Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.
Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our 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 an

Someone once told me that good coaches never stop learning. This is a philosophy that I have carried with me ever since I started coaching, and one which I share with other coaches whenever we are delivering workshops. 
Reading books and speaking with podcast guests probably forms the majority of my learning these days, although not all. I still go to conferences and in person workshops. Today’s guest ticks two of the key learning boxes for me and I hope it does for you as well.
 
My guest today is strength coach Dan John, who is also an accomplished author. Dan is a big fan of kettlebells, although he is proficient in all forms of lifting. In the podcast you’ll hear him say that he’s often the strongest person in the gym even though he is now 67 and the owner of 2 titanium hips. What I enjoy about Dan from both his books and his videos is his simple, down to earth approach. He could almost be from Yorkshire!
 

Regular listeners will know that I’m really interested in strength training, and the benefits for humans not just on their athletic performance but also their health and longevity. Dan quotes some Eastern European strength writers who I will reference in the show notes. I read a lot of strength books, including some of the early Russian texts from which many strength training principles have been adapted.  If you are into your strength training you might want to check these out. 
 
In this call we only covered a fraction of what was on my list, so expect to hear Dan again in the very near future. Below are some of the topics we chat about:


 
(5:09) Building consistency is better than the perfect workout - “In my gym, we call it 5 x 52. You know, it's 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. I mean, that's the secret sauce!"
(6:14) The perfect workout
(34:38) Can you develop mobility & strength at the same time? "We loosen what is tightening and we strengthen what is weakening.”
(35:59) Athletes over 55 - "Focus on the 3 pillars - mobility, hypertrophy, fast twitch muscle fibres."
(41:01) What you do between 35-55 sets the template for how you are post 55 years old. “The future you will be happy that you lifted weights at 35."
(49:38) What is the minimum equipment you need for a home gym? "Even if you have no equipment, it doesn't matter."
(51:27) Differences in strength training workouts for males versus females - "So the only difference is probably more volume (higher reps/lower weights) on the push and pull movements”
 

To find out more about Dan John, please visit these channels:
Website - Dan John University
Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter “Wandering Weights” 
Check out Dan John’s books HERE
Dan is a prolific writer. Check out his articles and blogs 
If you have a question for Dan, most have already been answered HERE at my Q and A Forum.
 
Also in the show we talked about:
Robb Wolf
Vladimir Janda
 

To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please visit her website at BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.

 


Sports Nutrition questions - if you have a sports nutrition question that you would like answered on the podcast, please email it to me via Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.
Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our 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.

Have you watched the Paralympics? What about when you are taking part in or volunteering/spectating at  a running event or a triathlon? Have you ever observed the wheelchair triathletes? For them, it’s swim, to hand cycle, to racing chair. Everything is about the upper body, and I’ve always been curious about how they take care of their shoulders, and what constitutes a rest day.
 
Today I’m chatting with Bret Crossley, a paratriathlete who lives in the Leeds area. Bret has been involved in triathlon since a motor bike racing accident in 2006 damaged his spine. He has been part of the British Triathlon talent programme, raced triathlons up to half Ironman distance, and competed in the London Marathon many times.  This is an inspirational conversation, and I hope you enjoy it. We chat about:
 
Motor bike racing days and competing in the Isle of Man 
The accident, and how he coped in the immediate months after knowing he would never walk again.
Finding wheelchair sport 
Gaining inspiration from those worse off than yourself
Bret's training and racing schedule
Some challenges you might not have considered for chair racers and hand cyclists
 
To find out more about Bret and follow his progress, follow him on
Twitter (X) - @BretC22
 
In the conversation Bret mentioned how he had raced at the Isle of Man. If you want to get a sense of the absolute concentration needed to race on the island, take a look at this video of Peter Hickman setting a fastest ever lap with an average speed of almost 137mph.
Peter Hickman - Fastest ever lap of the Isle of Man TT
 
Bret also mentioned the Yorkshire Ability Triathlon that he is involved with.
Watch a truly inspirational video HERE.
 
Challenged Athlete Foundation who have provided Bret with funding for some of his equipment.
 

To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please visit her website at BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.

 


Sports Nutrition questions - if you have a sports nutrition question that you would like answered on the podcast, please email it to me via Beth@TheTriathlonCoach.com.
Join our SWAT/High Performance Human tribe using this link, with a happiness guarantee! You can watch a brief video about the group by going to our website here, and join our 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.