Simon Ward, The High Performance Human Triathlon Podcast Simon Ward

My guest today is Dave “The Band Man” Schmitz. Dave's a strength coach who focuses entirely on using resistance training bands to build mobility, stability and strength. I have to confess that despite my years of work as a professional strength coach, and my own personal training experiences, I have used bands mainly for injury rehabilitation.
 
During this conversation Dave explains his philosophy, the light bulb moment that got him started with bands, how bands are the most versatile strength building option, why they're the best option for injury prevention and longevity, what bands you need to get started, and finally why bands allow you to have your own portable gym when you travel.
 
After this conversation with Dave I’m having a complete rethink about how I approach strength training! Some of the topics covered include:
 
Maximising your opportunities outside of the gym (32:00)
Movement beats muscles for longevity (39:00)
The importance of athletic development over sports specific training (49:00)
The benefits of multi-planar work to improve weaknesses in a joint (53:30)
Choosing the right resistance bands (1:05:00)
How triathletes can incorporate resistance bands into their training (1:25:00)
 
If you would like to purchase any of Dave’s digital resources, please go HERE and use the following code at checkout - ward10  
 
To find out more about Dave and some of his resistance band resources, please check out the links below.
 

Websites   
https://resistancebandtraining.com
https://members.resistancebandtraining.com
Resistance Band Training Blog
Resistance Band Training Store

 
Instagram - @thebandgym 
 
Dave answers all of his own emails If you have a question for him you can reach him at the following address:
Dave@resistancebandtraining.com
 
Youtube - Bandtrainingworkouts  (This is broken into multiple playlists)
 
Dave recommended this book which is right in line with my current agenda -  
Outlive - The Science and Arty of Longevity by Peter Attia
 
In the conversation, Dave also referenced some of the videos outlined below:

 
6-Ways to Change up Training Intensity with 1 Band
Turning 1 Band Chest Exercise into 15

4-Ways to Change Resistance in 1 Band

6 Exercise Total Body Workout Flow
10-Reasons to Strength Train on Your Feet

 
To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please email her at Info@BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.
 
To leave a review of the podcast on Apple podcasts CLICK HERE.
 




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.

If you have raced at the Outlaw full or any UK Ironman in recent years, you may have heard of this week's podcast guest, Pat Cooke-Rogers. I’ve known Pat for several years, primarily because she holds the Outlaw prayer on the Saturday before the Outlaw Full, as well as the IronPrayer the day before UK Ironman events. Pat always reminds me when we promote the meeting that one doesn’t have to be religious to attend. There are folks who would value some kind words and empathy when they're feeling anxious, and Pat offers this opportunity. Whilst I’m not naturally given to prayer, I have to say that during dark moments in a long distance triathlon I recall wondering if anyone out there could help me get to the finish just a little quicker.
 
As well as being a chaplain, Pat is an accomplished endurance athlete in her own right having competed in Hawaii at the IM World Championships, qualified for the Ice Mile, and taken on huge challenges such as the Yukon Arctic Ultra on a fat bike. Oh, and by the way, Pat is in her late 60’s and still signing up for these challenges which makes our conversation even more interesting!
 
You know I love to find out about what makes older athletes tick, and today's conversation covers:
 
Opening up, embracing nature, and the power of vulnerability (15:45)
Embrace the cold - Pat’s love affair with ice mile swimming and the Yukon Arctic Ultra (21:15)
Why Pat has 4 coaches and how they become more important as we get older (34:20)
Gratitude (55:10)
Less endurance, more strength work, better nutrition - balancing the daily challenges of aging and continuing to train (58:30)
 
Pat isn’t big on social media so there are no links to follow her. Instead, she's shared the below resources.
 
Her favourite book is a mega tale of endurance!
‘8000 miles across Alaska: A Runners Journey on the Iditarod Trail’ by Jill Homer.
 
Pat talked about her passion for events in cold conditions. Please check out these videos:
The Yukon Arctic Ultra - you can get a brief insight to this event from the trailer. There are links to longer videos if you are interested.
The Lapland Arctic Ultra - Pat’s next challenge
Ice Mile swimming - Not a video about Pat but you’ll get the idea!
 

To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please email her at Info@BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.
 
To leave a review of the podcast on Apple podcasts CLICK HERE.
 




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.

Back in 2012 a young lady was walking through Hyde Park with her sister. There was a triathlon taking place and she recognised the names of some of the athletes as ones she had raced against in prior running events. It was the London Olympic Triathlon and she heard Vicky Holland's name. At that time India Lee was taking a sabbatical from her running career and looking for something different. Her coach didn’t want to see her stop competing, so he suggested triathlon. Seeing the race in Hyde Park India thought, “Why not?” and so she entered her first triathlon at Blenheim. In the 10 years since, she has won an ITU World Cup event in Italy, finished first in Ironman 70.3 events, raced at The Ironman World Championships and won ‘The Championship’ event hosted by Challenge in Samorin. This is the story of how India Lee turned herself from a top class runner into a world class triathlete.
 
The good and the bad of a US university running scholarship (10:30)
Burn out (16:20)
Clueless in the swimming pool (20:40)
Taking control (30:15)
Learning valuable lessons at the Rio test event (35:10)
Racing 70.3 -  “It’s so nice” (51:00)
Dealing with adversity - bike nightmares (52:30)
No gears but still the winner of The Championship (1:08:50)
 
To find out more about India Lee and her racing experiences you can follow her on Instagram @indielee_tri
 
Her favourite book is Do hard things by Steve Magness 
 
She also likes listening to these podcasts
- Revisionists History with Malcolm Gladwell.
- No Stupid Questions - Freakonomics Radio
 

To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please email her at Info@BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.
 
To leave a review of the podcast on Apple podcasts CLICK HERE.
 




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.

Almost 20 years ago a talented young female athlete asked me to coach her. Natalie Barnard (as she was known then) was part of the Performance Squad at Loughborough, and she wanted a different approach to the one provided the the coaches at the centre. Natalie was already struggling with some issues around eating, and the highly competitive atmosphere at Loughborough wasn’t helping. We worked together for a short time until the weight loss led to a knee injury. Not only did she need to look after her poorly knee, she needed some very specific help to overcome her eating problems. We stopped working together at that point because she wasn’t doing any training. Imagine my surprise and pleasure when years later not only did I see that Natalie was racing again, but she was happily married and the mother of 4 children. 
 
This is the story of how Natalie managed to take control of her eating, return to health and winning ways. She is very honest and open about her previous and ongoing struggles and we do touch on some very sensitive topics. If there is anything that you hear which causes you to have concerns about family members, friends, training partners or club mates please look out for the links in the show notes below which will guide you to places where you can find help for yourself or loved ones. Topics covered include:
 
Spinning Plates (3:00)
Competitive environments and the prevalence of eating disorders (28:00)
The performance and health impacts of being too light (47:50)
Winning at Long Course Weekend 2023 (1:01:30)
The importance of having a support system (1:06:45)
Being a competitive athlete and managing an eating disorder (1:12:45)
How strength training can help you become a healthy human (1:18:10)
 
To find out more about Natalie please use the following channels
Website: www.nlfitness.net 
Instagram: @nattyb0  and @natlawrencecoach 
YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCvFMf3AHaEjMQZLBiye_sUw
 
Natalie is very open about her eating disorder and nutritional challenges. This is an interview on This Morning regarding the exercise anorexic culture is this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tTdZbLnQ6pI
 
To find out more about eating disorders and how to find help for anyone you are connected with who might be dealing with this please visit - The RED-S Project
 
Natalie also recommends the following books which she has enjoyed reading
Labyrinth - Kate Mosse
Breaking the Chain by Willy Voet - Festina 1988 - how drugs bought a cycling team to its knees
 

To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please email her at Info@BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.
 
To leave a review of the podcast on Apple podcasts CLICK HERE.
 




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.

20 years ago Jack Maitland and I were asked by British Triathlon to run one of the Regional Talent ID Programmes in the North of England. The brief was to find talented young boys and girls who were good swimmers and runners and who might turn out to be exceptional triathletes. We didn’t do too badly with the two brothers (c’mon, you know who they are!!). Also in that squad was a young lady called Jess Towl. Jess was in the squad for 3-4 years and then left to train in Australia. On returning she joined the performance squad in Loughborough. Things didn’t quite work out as planned so she left to teach swimming and turned herself into a very successful CrossFit Games competitor. As a triathlete, Jess didn't have the physique or the strength for CrossFit and, as she explains, it was a long and arduous, but very rewarding, journey. She now works in Dubai as a coach to both CrossFit athletes and Triathletes. We talk about the differences in training between the two sports,  learning to perform olympic lifts, having a performance mindset, owning a CrossFit world record and how she is rebuilding herself after a catastrophic shoulder injury.
 
Enjoy the show! Who knows, you might find inspiration to change sports or just to start lifting weights for your triathlon performance. Some of the topics we cover include:
Being part of the same triathlon talent ID programme as Jonny & Alistair Brownlee (3:00)
Swimming or weightlifting - it starts with technique, technique, technique - (24:00)
The benefits of a performance mindset when moving to a new sport (25:30)
Different approaches to nutrition between triathlon & CrossFit (27:00)
Owning a CrossFit world record (39:30)
Double unders (41:00)
To be good at CrossFit you need to be good at recovery (56:00)
When weightlifting goes wrong - dealing with a bad shoulder injury (59:00)
Skydiving and the Happy Hormone cocktail (1:03)
Sleep trackers, gadgets and why you need to learn how to judge your own effort levels (1:21:00)
 
To find out more about Jess you can find her on Instagram at jesstowl
 
Jes coaches Triathletes and Crossfitters at InnerFight in Dubai. You can find out more about them here:
InnerFight.com
You can find her personal page HERE
 
Jess also likes to follow these Instagram channels and podcasts:
Wod_science - latest research on endurance training / weightlifting / nutrition 
drjamesdinic - General Health / Nutrition 
 
Podcasts:
InnerFight Endurance Podcast - All things Triathlon 
The Mind Muscle Project 
The Diary of a CEO 
 
Books: 
Chatter by Ethan Kross
Jess says, "Not usually the type of book I would go for but it is about how you speak to yourself in your head and how that affects your life / body. It really made me stop and think and gave me some great information on how I can make my performances in sport and my general day to day living better just by being conscious of how I am speaking to myself."
 

To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please email her at Info@BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.
 
To leave a review of the podcast on Apple podcasts CLICK HERE.
 




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.

Getting older is one of the certainties of life. Aging affects us all in different ways, partly due to genetics but mostly to do with lifestyle choices. In recent months I’ve been reading and writing about this a lot more, because I’m trying to find my own solutions to combat the inevitable as best I can.
 
The physios tell me that common issues they see in older athletes are reduced flexibility and range of movement which results in reduced ability to turn and look over the shoulder, a standard movement when driving or riding your bike. Increased tightness in the lower back, which means bending forward is more challenging. Tighter hips which means that squatting or lunging is more difficult.
 
Fortunately, cycling is a lot easier on the body than running and doesn’t require the same mobility as swimming. Nevertheless, reductions in mobility and flexibility can still present challenges when cycling. This is why I asked expert bike fitter Phil Burt to chat with me about adjustments that older riders could make to their bike set up to make cycling a little bit more comfortable, and therefore more enjoyable.
 
This is a great conversation with Phil, and we cover topics such as:

being aero vs comfortable (11:00)
shorter crank lengths (12:00)
short nose saddles (36:30)
pedal with more float(38:30)
why disc brakes allow you to choose fatter tyres (46:20)

 

To find out more about Phil and the services he offers, please visit him at:
Website PhilBurtInnovation
Facebook - Philburtinnov
Twitter @PhilBurtInnov
Instagram PhilBurtInnov
YouTube Phil Burt Innovation
Linked In PhilBurtInnov
 
In this video, Phil explains his new approach to bike fit, performance, and comfort
 
Phil also recommended these books:
Start with Why by Simon Sinek 
Breath by James’s Nestor 



 



To contact Beth regarding Life Coaching, please email her at Info@BethanyWardLifeCoaching.uk.
 
To leave a review of the podcast on Apple podcasts CLICK HERE.
 




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.