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

Rob Sears is a visually impaired triathlete from Norfolk with between 5 and 10% of his sight left. He races in the VI para category with a guide, on a tandem, tethered in the swim. He’s also a sports therapist and an online run and triathlon coach. As a kid, his PE teacher told his parents he would “never do anything in sport.” Today sport is his hobby, his work and, in his words, everything to him. In July 2025, Rob fell down a flight of stairs at home after tripping over his dog, Hugo. He cracked his pelvis, fractured his sacrum, damaged two discs in his neck and suffered a bleed on the brain, and he had to relearn how to walk and swim. Twelve months later he was on the start line at Ironman Hamburg. Since then he’s been knocked out of races by mechanicals, given his spare inner tube to a stranger, and been invited to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Nice because of it. He still hasn’t finished an iron-distance race, and he’s not done yet. In this episode, we talk about resilience, trust, and what it really takes to race when you can’t see the road in front of you. In this episode: Why Rob decided to do 30 things he’d never done before at 30, and how a triathlon became one of them Racing solo with very little sight, and the day at Weymouth 70.3 when he realised he had to stop Handing control to a guide, and realising he never had as much control as he thought How guided racing actually works: the tether, the stroke sync and the tandem The fall, the brain injury and the long road back to the start line The inner tube that got him to Nice, and what’s next on the road to Kona Killer quote: “I’ve had a lot of character building experience, so I feel like the character is full.” Connect with Rob: You can find Rob’s YouTube channel, Blind Focus, here: https://www.youtube.com/@BlindFocusRobSears To contact Rob on social media, view his Breakfast with Bob, and so much more please go to: https://linktr.ee/robsears Rob's favourite book is: Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl - Rob says "I love the message behind this book because it explores something I strongly believe in: we can’t always control what happens to us, but we can influence how we respond." FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others plateau in their 50s. Why Some Triathletes Keep Improving Into Their 60s If what you heard today resonates and you want a training structure built around these principles, with individuality, recovery, strength and the long game at its centre, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is designed around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Louise Hanley has been coaching and competing in triathlon for over two decades. She has worked with juniors, youth athletes and adults, helped build the Yorkshire triathlon community, and still races and wins in her age group. She has built a coaching business entirely on word of mouth, with no complicated systems no data obsession, and training based around a set of simple principles. What she does have is a philosophy that has stayed consistent across 23 years: keep it simple, and enjoy it. In this episode, we talk about what that actually looks like in practice, for her as an athlete and for the people she coaches. In this episode: How 20 years coaching juniors shaped the way she works with adults The athlete who went from 12:30 to 10 hours at Ironman on eight hours a week What a 16-year coaching relationship actually looks like The real barriers holding female coaches back in triathlon Menopause, training and what male coaches often miss Why she trains with no plan, no data, and no apology   Killer quote: “I’m not actually training. I’m just doing what I like doing.” Connect with Louise: You can find more details for Louise on TheTriathloncoach.com website. To contact louise directly email: [email protected] Links and resources: Louise recommended book is Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance by Alex Hutchinson   Alex was a guest on the podcast a while back. Check out the conversation here: The Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others plateau in their 50s. Why Some Triathletes Keep Improving Into Their 60s   If what you heard today resonates and you want a training structure built around these principles, with individuality, recovery, strength and the long game at its centre, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is designed around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Ashleigh Gentle has been at the sharp end of professional triathlon for more than two decades. Two-time Olympian, ten-time winner of the Noosa Triathlon, junior world champion, runner-up on the World Triathlon Series circuit, and now a multiple T100 and 70.3 winner since making the move to middle distance. She is also, as we record this, a few weeks away from the birth of her first child. What I wanted to explore in this conversation is not the race results but the bigger picture. What does a career that long actually teach you about how to train, how to look after yourself and how to keep going? The answers are not complicated. But they are consistent, and they are exactly what I keep telling the athletes I coach. IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER: Growing up playing multiple sports and why Ashleigh believes that gave her a robust physical foundation that has protected her throughout her career The junior and under-23 years, the lessons learned early, and the coach who shaped her approach to sustainable training A decade on the World Triathlon Series circuit, the highlights, and why she eventually made the move to middle distance How she discovered she had probably been under-fuelling her entire short course career, and what changed when she started working with Precision Fuel and Hydration Training and racing alongside husband Josh Amberger, and what that has meant for her relationship with the sport The daily habits and routines that have kept her healthy and performing at the highest level for over 15 years Strength training: the two years she stopped doing it, the chronic injuries that followed, and why she has never dropped it since What the next chapter looks like, on and off the start line   KILLER QUOTE "If I tried to do what I did 10 years ago now, I would be ruined. It's not that I'm weaker or not as capable. It's just that you've got to respect your body and what it's been through. That adds up. That counts for something."   CONNECT with Ashleigh Ashleigh Gentle is a two-time Olympian and professional triathlete based in Brisbane, Australia. Instagram: @gentle_ash   Ashleigh’s favourite books is ‘The Nightingale’ by Kristin Hannah. She also recommended ‘Too much Lip’ by Melissa Lucashenko   CONNECT with Precision Fuel and Hydration precisionfuelandhydration.com   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others plateau in their 50s. Why Some Triathletes Keep Improving Into Their 60s   If what you heard today resonates and you want a training structure built around these principles, with individuality, recovery, strength and the long game at its centre, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is designed around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

I have had three knee surgeries, a ruptured ACL and a right kneecap that niggles me regularly. The question I really wanted answered in this conversation was simple: how do I avoid a knee replacement in the next 10 to 15 years? Dr Marc Pietropaoli is an orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist based in Buffalo, New York. He trained under Dr James Andrews, widely regarded as the greatest sports medicine doctor of all time, and has spent 35 years challenging one of the most deeply held assumptions in his own profession. His book, Repair Not Replace, is an Amazon number one bestseller and the title tells you exactly where he stands. This is a personal conversation as much as a clinical one. If you are an endurance athlete in your 50s or 60s with creaky knees and a little voice in the back of your head asking how long you can keep doing this, it is well worth your time. IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER: What is actually happening inside an ageing knee, and why bone on bone is not the death sentence most patients are told it is The three questions you must ask before agreeing to a knee replacement Cortisone, hyaluronic acid, PRP and bone marrow concentrate: what the evidence says about each The French study showing an 82% chance of avoiding knee replacement for up to 20 years with the right regenerative approach Why running does not cause arthritis, and what actually does increase your risk The most common mistakes endurance athletes make that accelerate knee damage Why strength training is the single most important thing you can do to protect your joints at any age Why getting in early, before things deteriorate, changes everything   KILLER QUOTE "Being proactive and preventive is the most important thing. Most people in your age category wait too long, and then it's to the point where, if you had just gotten in earlier, this would be so much easier to treat."   CONNECT with Dr Marc Pietropaoli Dr Marc Pietropaoli is an orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist based in Buffalo, New York. He trained under Dr James Andrews and specialises in regenerative medicine and non-surgical knee treatment. Book: Repair Not Replace  available on Amazon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoryinmotion1/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VictoryInMotion1/videos Website: https://victoryinmotion.com/   LINKS & RESOURCES Mentioned in the episode: Repair Not Replace by Dr Marc Pietropaoli Dr Marc's Instagram post on the three questions to ask before knee replacement: https://www.instagram.com/p/DcwymEWhs8-/   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others plateau in their 50s. Why Some Triathletes Keep Improving Into Their 60s   If what you heard today resonates and you want a training structure built around these principles, with individuality, recovery, strength and the long game at its centre, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is designed around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Most masters athletes are still eating the way they did at 30. The training has changed, the body has changed but the nutrition hasn’t. And that gap is quietly costing them muscle, recovery, bone density and performance. Taryn Richardson is an advanced sports dietitian based in Brisbane who spent six years as the sports dietitian for Triathlon Australia, working with elite and para-triathlon athletes all the way to Olympic level. She also runs a private practice and hosts the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. She has been working with triathletes for two decades and has seen pretty much everything. This conversation is specifically focused on masters athletes, the physiological changes that drive different nutritional needs after 50, and what to actually do about it.   IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER: Why nutritional requirements start changing in your 30s, not your 50s, and why laying groundwork early matters Protein as the non-negotiable foundation for masters athletes, how much you actually need, and why most are not getting close The barbecue study and what it reveals about protein timing and muscle protein synthesis Plant-based athletes and what to watch out for when animal protein sources are removed The male and female differences in nutritional needs as we age, including calcium, vitamin D and the hormonal changes that drive them The tension between body composition goals and performance fuelling, and why lighter does not mean faster Recovery nutrition and why getting the bookends of training right is the highest leverage move most athletes are not making Gut health, fibre, fermented foods, and why 70% of your immune system lives in your gut A practical habit stacking action plan to change one thing at a time without getting overwhelmed   KEY PRINCIPLES Protein first. Masters athletes are almost universally under-eating protein. Aim for 1.6 to 2 grams per kilo of bodyweight, spread across the day, and time it around key training sessions. Stoke the fire. Eat as much as you can without gaining weight. Under-fuelling suppresses metabolism, accelerates muscle loss and compromises recovery. Lighter does not mean faster. The athlete who races heavier but fuelled properly will almost always outperform the one who arrived lean but depleted. Habit stack, do not overhaul. Start with recovery nutrition. Get that entrenched before adding the next layer. Compound it like interest. Your gut is your immune system. 70% of immune function sits in the gut. Fibre, variety of plants, and fermented foods are the big levers, not expensive microbiome tests.   KILLER QUOTE "The best time to work on your nutrition was probably 10 years ago. But the second best time is now. Do one thing today. It doesn't matter what it is."   Free 5-part audio series Taryn has created a free 5-part audio series "The 5 Biggest Nutrition Mistakes Costing You Time on Race Day" I recommend checking it out before your next race   CONNECT with Taryn Taryn Richardson is an advanced sports dietitian, host of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast, and founder of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy programme. Website: dietitianapproved.com Podcast: Triathlon Nutrition Academy Podcast Instagram: dietitian.approved Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DietitianApproved YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dietitianapproved   LINKS & RESOURCES Mentioned in the episode: Taryn talked about the BBQ study - check that out here: The 100g protein "BBQ" Study   GUT HEALTH She was also quite vocal about The Gut microbiome testing study  BOTTOM LINE: Save your money!!!! The alternative is to absorb some of the content produced by Megan Rossi The Gut Health Doctor. That might be the best starting point if you want to improve gut health.   Taryn’s book recommendation is Up to Speed by Christine Yu. The groundbreaking science of women athletes is a goodie for both men and women.   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others plateau in their 50s. Why Some Triathletes Keep Improving Into Their 60s   If what you heard today resonates and you want a training structure built around these principles, with individuality, recovery, strength and the long game at its centre, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is designed around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Seven years ago Debbie Potts came on this podcast to talk about what happened when her body finally said enough. A five-time Kona qualifier, she had been doing 20-hour training weeks on one meal a day, working 12-hour days, running on high cortisol and calling it fitness. The diagnosis was HPA axis syndrome. The recovery took years. Seven years on, Debbie is a health practitioner, author and coach based in San Diego, and she has built an entire philosophy around what she learned. She calls it the holistic method - eight elements of health that go well beyond the training plan. This conversation picks up where we left off, and covers the bigger picture questions that most athletes never think to ask until something goes wrong. IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER: Why just exercising is not enough and what the other 85% of the health pie chart looks like The body as a communication system - what chronic stress is actually telling your body and why it stops trying to build and repair The go-go years, the slow-go years and the no-go years - how to visualise your future self and reverse engineer from there Debbie's eight elements of holistic health and why happiness, community and joy are as important as sleep and nutrition The blue zones - what people living well into their 90s actually have in common The vagus nerve, HRV and why they tell you far more than just whether you recovered from yesterday's session What Debbie's own daily routine looks like - and she genuinely walks the talk KILLER QUOTE "We should be striving to thrive as we age - not struggle. And so much of that comes down to the choices we make today, in middle age, before the labels start arriving."   CONNECT with Debbie Debbie Potts is a health practitioner, coach, author and podcast host based in San Diego, California. She specialises in helping masters athletes thrive as they age through functional testing and her holistic method. Website: https://debbiepotts.net/ Podcast: The Debbie Potts show Book: Life Is Not a Race, it’s a journey by Debbie Potts The Holistic Method Workbook: [PLACEHOLDER] Previous Be Battle Ready episodes with Debbie Potts Episode 1 - Dealing with HPA Axis syndrome Episode 2 - Recovering from Chronic Fatigue   LINKS & RESOURCES Mentioned in the episode: Outlive by Peter Attia Blue Zones documentary FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others plateau in their 50s. Why Some Triathletes Keep Improving Into Their 60s   If what you heard today resonates and you want a training structure built around these principles, with individuality, recovery, strength and the long game at its centre, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is designed around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Most people are diligently paying into a financial pension every month. But what about the physical one? This week Simon and Beth sit down to unpack one of the core concepts behind the Battle Ready philosophy. The physical pension. The idea that the decisions you make today about how you sleep, move, eat and recover determine what you have available to you at 60, 70 and beyond. Not just as an athlete, but as a human being who wants to actually enjoy the life they have worked hard to build. This is not a performance conversation. It is a longevity conversation. And it applies to everyone. IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER: Where the physical pension concept came from and why the financial analogy works so well The five key deposits every athlete should be making, starting now Why it is never too late to start, including the story of a 105-year-old French cyclist who improved his aerobic capacity at 102 What the withdrawals look like and how they accumulate silently over years What a well-funded physical pension actually looks like in practice How the Battle Ready philosophy and SWAT Inner Circle are built entirely around making these deposits consistently   KILLER QUOTE "The best time to have started would've been 20 years ago. But the second-best time is today."   LINKS & RESOURCES Mentioned in the episode: Dan John episode: The Physical Pension: Strength, Longevity and the Only Secret That Exists Fast After 50 by Joe Friel: Fast After 50 FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others plateau in their 50s. Why Some Triathletes Keep Improving Into Their 60s   If what you heard today resonates and you want a training structure built around these principles, with individuality, recovery, strength and the long game at its centre, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is designed around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Consistency is the word every great coach comes back to eventually. Not volume, not intensity, not the latest methodology. Consistency. But saying it and doing it are very different things. Particularly through winter, when the race season is over, the mornings are dark, and the motivation that carried you through summer starts to feel a long way away. This week Simon and Beth do a proper deep dive into what consistency actually means in practice, and specifically what habits and actions protect it through the winter months. IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER: Why the single biggest threat to consistency is not motivation or weather, but injury and illness, and what to do about it Why recovery should be planned before training, not fitted around it How to identify the weekly training load you can actually sustain across many months, not just the maximum you can tolerate for a few weeks The recovery day question: do you actually need complete rest or can active recovery do the same job? How to plan and protect recovery weeks before the training blocks start, not as a reaction to exhaustion A simple three-question morning protocol for managing the grey areas when you are not clearly well but not clearly ill Four winter-specific habits that protect your immune system and keep you showing up through the darker months KILLER QUOTE "Consistent imperfect training through winter is worth far more than sporadic perfect training. The promise of consistency is not glamorous. It does not make for exciting social media content. But it works. Every time." LINKS & RESOURCES Some podcasts you might find useful to go along with this one WHOOP Project PR Study Train Less, Recover More Recovery Based Training, Your Questions Answered Christine Clubbs episode: What your Garmin Can’t Tell You   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others plateau in their 50s. Why Some Triathletes Keep Improving Into Their 60s   If what you heard today resonates and you want a training structure built around these principles, with individuality, recovery, strength and the long game at its centre, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is designed around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Over the years I've been lucky enough to sit down with some genuinely exceptional coaches. People who between them have coached athletes from absolute beginners all the way through to Olympic champions and Ironman world record holders. When I went back and listened to those conversations recently, something struck me. They were all saying the same things. Different words, different experiences, different athletes, different levels of the sport. But the core principles kept coming up again and again. This episode pulls those threads together. Six coaches. Eight principles. And one idea that runs underneath all of them.   THE SIX COACHES Joe Friel - author of the Triathlete's Training Bible and Fast After 50, one of the most widely respected voices in endurance coaching. Chris Jones - head coach for British Triathlon at the Sydney Olympics and one of the most influential coaches the sport has produced in the UK. David Tilbury-Davis - professional triathlon coach who has worked with elite athletes across the world. Mark Allen - six-time Ironman world champion and one of the most thoughtful people about training and performance I have ever spoken to. Jack Maitland - builder of the Leeds Triathlon Centre and coach to the Brownlee brothers from the beginning of their careers. Jim Vance - American coach with extensive experience across both elite and age-group athletes.   8 KEY PRINCIPLES Individuality is the first principle. There is no plan. There is only a person and a plan that fits them. Simplicity beats complexity. A few principles applied consistently will always outperform a complicated programme executed badly. Consistency is the most important variable. Not volume, not intensity, not methodology. Recovery is where adaptation happens. Compromise recovery and you compromise everything the training was supposed to produce. Strength and mobility are non-negotiable. It is the platform that makes consistent training possible. The athlete's life context is part of the programme. Training stress and life stress draw from the same budget. Honesty and self-awareness are coaching tools. You cannot manage what you do not honestly understand. The long game is the only game. Health first, performance built on top of that, longevity as the goal.   KILLER QUOTE "None of these coaches described exceptional talent as the primary ingredient. All of them described wisdom, patience, honesty and consistency as the things that determine how far an athlete goes and how long they last."   LINKS & RESOURCES Original episodes with each coach: Chris Jones David Tilbury-Davis: Developing a Performance Mindset Mark Allen: Fit Soul, Fit Body Jack Maitland: How to create an Olympic Champion Part 1 - Part 2 Jim Vance; Start line Mindset Joe Friel; Fast After 50   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others plateau in their 50s. Why Some Triathletes Keep Improving Into Their 60s   If what you heard today resonates and you want a training structure built around these principles, with individuality, recovery, strength and the long game at its centre, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is designed around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Georgia Hamblett found this podcast driving between park runs in Northern Ireland, working her way through all 36 of them as a personal challenge. She was in the middle of a placement year away from university, a deliberate change of scene at a time when she needed one, and the long drives gave her time to think about the kind of athlete she wanted to become. Georgia is a competitive age-group aquabike athlete and sports journalist writing for Aquabike.World. Her journey to the European Age Group Aquabike Championships in Spain, which she made alone, 12 hours of travel, bike box and all, has not been straightforward. She has navigated an eating disorder, RED-S, a labral hip tear, and the transition from triathlon to aquabike as a way of staying competitive while protecting her long-term health. This is a very honest conversation about subjects that don't get discussed enough in endurance sport. Georgia talks about them with clarity, humour and a refreshing absence of self-pity. Her story is still being written and it is well worth following. IN THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT: How Georgia found the podcast driving between parkruns in Northern Ireland and why the timing changed how she heard it Her experience of disordered eating, why it started, and what finally shifted RED-S, the labral hip tear, and the cumulative impact of training before she was ready How working with coach Nat Lawrence helped her build a sustainable approach to training and fuelling The transition to aquabike, the European Championships in Spain, and what she is building through her writing at Aquabike.World   KILLER QUOTE "Even though it's been quite a wibbly wobbly journey, I absolutely love it. I wouldn't change it for the world now. Because I personally know how hard I found it to get through those things, it gives me a lot of self belief that I'll achieve some of my other goals too." CONNECT with Georgia Georgia Hamblett is an age-group aquabike athlete and sports journalist based in the UK. Instagram: @georgias_tris_and_tribulations , Aquabike.World Writing: Aquabike.World LinkedIn: Georgia Hamblett   Georgia’s book recommendation: Unbroken by Katarina Johnson-Thompson   🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES Mentioned in the episode: Previous Be Battle Ready episode with Nat Lawrence: Spinning Plates - The Amazing Life of Outlaw champion Natalie Lawrence   If you or someone you know is navigating disordered eating or RED-S, please seek support from a professional who understands athletes. In the UK, Beat is the leading eating disorder charity and can help signpost specialist support. RED-S Project -where athletes of all ages, genders, sports and abilities come together to prevent and overcome Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. If today's episode has made you think about building a training approach that works around your whole life, your health included, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is built around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 Find out why some triathletes keep improving into their 60s while others decline in their 50s. simon-ward.kit.com/keepimproving Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Over the past few months I've had six remarkable guests on this podcast. On the surface their stories couldn't be more different, but the same themes kept coming up again and again across all of them. Six of them. Jamie Bedwell, a professional triathlete who had his career ended by a rare arterial condition and turned down surgery to protect something more important. Christine Clubbs, a GB age-grouper who has spent two and a half years tracking the human side of training with nothing more than a notebook and a pen. Justin Robbins, a long-time triathlete who discovered he was fit but not healthy, and made a really interesting change in his approach. Sue Reynolds, a two-time age-group world champion who pushed herself to the edge of overtraining syndrome chasing an extraordinary question. Jane Hansom, Ironman world champion, who walked away from the sport she'd dominated and built something completely new. And Nick Parkes, a masters open water swimmer who suffered a cardiac arrest mid-race with absolutely no warning and survived to tell the story. This episode is about what all six of them have in common.   7 KEY LESSONS Identity is not your sport. When the sport can't give you what it once did, you need something else to stand on. The body sends signals we routinely ignore. Fit people are particularly bad at this — partly because fitness masks the moment of reckoning. Consistency and discipline are the foundation. Not talent. Not volume. Consistent effort over long periods. Self-knowledge is a performance tool. Honest self-assessment beats data every time. Letting go of a goal is not the same as giving up. Every guest who did this ended up in a better place. Get checked. Fitness does not make you invincible. Nick Parkes is the proof. Community makes individual sports possible. Every journey in this episode was made possible by other people. THE ONE QUESTION What are you actually doing this for? KILLER QUOTE "When the sport couldn't give them what it once did, they had something else to stand on. That's the thing that made the difference."   LINKS & RESOURCES Jamie Bedwell: When the sport you love can no longer love you back - Christine Clubbs: What your Garmin can’t tell you Justin Robbins: Fit but not healthy. The wake up call that changed everything Sue Reynolds: What would happen if an AG triathlete trained like an Olympian? Jane Hansom: From 20 year break to Ironman World Champion Nick Parkes: The day my heart stopped mid-race Book recommendation -  Simon Sinek: Start with Why How great leaders inspire everyone to take action.   If the answer to that question is that you want to keep performing well, stay healthy and be genuinely durable into your 50s, 60s and beyond, that is exactly what SWAT Inner Circle is built around. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 A simple checklist to see if you’re actually on track 3–6 months out. Ironman Sanity Checklist   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter

Originally recorded May 2024. This episode is from the Be Battle Ready archive and is well worth a second listen. Dan John is one of the most respected strength coaches in the world. A former All-American discus thrower, a prolific author with close to 20 books to his name, and someone who has been coaching athletes across multiple sports for over four decades. He has a rare gift. The ability to take genuinely complex ideas and distil them into something so simple you wonder why you ever made it complicated in the first place. This conversation covers the difference between health, longevity, fitness and performance, and why most athletes confuse them. We get into why the basics consistently applied over years are the only secret that actually exists, what strength and mobility work should look like for endurance athletes over 50, what equipment you actually need, and a phrase that came up in the conversation that I think every person over 40 should sit with. The physical pension. 5 KEY POINTS Health, longevity, fitness and performance are four different things. Most athletes chase fitness and performance while neglecting health and longevity. Get the order wrong and the whole house eventually falls down. Fitness is simply the ability to do a task. Nothing more. Stop comparing yourself to people doing different tasks. The best couch carrier in the world isn't automatically fitter than the best Ironman athlete. They're just fit for different things. The only secret is consistency over time. Five days a week, 52 weeks a year. One to five workouts will be brilliant, one in five will be embarrassing, and three out of five will be ordinary. Multiply that by 10 years and the ordinary ones quietly do all the work. Strength work becomes non-negotiable after 50. The 35 to 55 window is when you build the strength reserves that stay with you for the rest of your life. Future you will be very glad you did. The physical pension is real. Regular deposits into your physical health now, while you can, build the pot you'll draw on in your 60s, 70s and beyond. Every consistent week compounds. 3 TAKEAWAYS Mobility before strength. If you're limited in range of movement, getting stronger within that limited range won't give you much return. Fix the mobility first, then build strength through the full range. Focus on movements, not muscles. Squats, hinges, pushes, pulls and loaded carries work the biggest number of muscles in one hit and build the kind of functional strength that transfers to sport and life. Ask yourself: will future me be happy with this decision? If you're 45 and making training, nutrition and lifestyle choices, run them through that filter first. KILLER QUOTE "It's hard to sell a secret when there's no secret. You do the basics right, you recover well, and you repeat the next day. That's it."   CONNECT with Dan Dan John is a strength coach, author and educator based in the United States. He has coached athletes from high school level through to Olympic standard across multiple sports. To find out more about Dan John, please visit these channels: Website - Dan John University Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter “Wandering Weights”  Easy Strength with Dan John & Pavel Tsatsouline Check out Dan John’s other books HERE Dan is a prolific writer. Check out his articles and blogs    Dan John talks about the physical pension — putting regular deposits into your physical health now so future you has something to draw on. That's exactly the philosophy behind SWAT Inner Circle. Structured training plans from Sprint to Ironman, strength and mobility built in, recovery centred, and designed for the age you are now, not the age you were. New members join at £65 a month. No minimum term, cancel any time. Details at simonward.co.uk/swat-inner-circle   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 A simple checklist to see if you’re actually on track 3–6 months out. Ironman Sanity Checklist   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Last week Beth and I made the case for building your training plan around recovery rather than volume. Not everyone was convinced and that's exactly what we were hoping for. This week we’re back to work through the most common challenges and questions that came in. From why the pros train 30 hours a week to whether recovery-centred training is just an excuse to be lazy, this episode tackles the pushback head on and gives honest, practical answers to the questions every serious endurance athlete will recognise.   If you haven't listened to last week's episode yet, it's worth doing that first. The link is in the show notes. 5 KEY POINTS Volume works up to the point you can recover from it. The pros train 30 hours a week because their entire life is structured around absorbing it. Match your volume to your recovery capacity, not theirs. You still need long sessions for long races. The question is how many and how often, given what you can actually recover from. Fewer long sessions done well beats grinding through all of them on accumulated fatigue. Following a plan blindly isn't discipline. It's blind optimism. Making a daily judgment call, acting on the honest answer and overcoming your ego to do it - that takes more discipline, not less. A good plan is a starting point, not a rigid prescription. Good coaching builds in flexibility to adapt when life happens - because no coach can predict a sick child or a difficult week at work. Panic training in the final weeks rarely works. Athletes who cram volume onto a foundation they haven't built usually end up injured or ill. Consistency is always a better bet than a hero block. 3 TAKEAWAYS Check your actual training data before planning your next block. Look at what you genuinely averaged over the last three months. That number, without ego, is probably closer to your real training capacity than anything on a plan. If your goal isn't achievable this year, it might just be set a year too early. Stay healthy, stay consistent, and build on it next season. A happy, healthy finish line is always a win. Arriving fresh and consistent will beat arriving exhausted from a plan you couldn't absorb every single time.   KILLER QUOTE "How much training can you actually recover from, and how much can you consistently complete? If you can answer that honestly, without any part of your ego being involved, you'll probably get to the right answer."   LINKS & RESOURCES Mentioned in the episode: Previous episode — Train Less, Recover More Sue Reynolds episode — What Would Happen If an Age-Group Triathlete Trained Like an Olympian?: WHOOP Project PR Study Tim Gabbett research — The training—injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder? https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/5/273   Want a training structure built around what you can actually recover from rather than a generic plan? That is exactly what SWAT is designed for. CLICK HERE TO START YOUR MISSION   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 A simple checklist to see if you’re actually on track 3–6 months out. Ironman Sanity Checklist   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Most athletes ask the wrong question. Instead of "how much training do I need to do?" the question that will actually change your performance is "how much training can I recover from?" In this episode Simon is joined by Beth for a conversation that challenges one of the most deeply held assumptions in endurance sport — that more training equals better performance. They dig into why recovery should underpin every training plan, what the evidence actually says about training volume versus training smarter, and the practical steps any athlete can take this week to shift their approach. This one is for anyone who is consistently tired, consistently below where they expect to be, and wondering why the training isn't working. 5 KEY POINTS Training breaks you down, recovery builds you back up. The fitness gain happens during recovery, not the session itself. Compromise recovery and you compromise the adaptation. The WHOOP Project PR study showed runners on a dynamic recovery-based plan improved their 5k time by the same amount as those on a fixed plan, but trained up to 80 minutes less per week and reported 30% fewer injuries. Consistency compounds. Ten hours a week for twelve weeks beats fifteen hours followed by injury and two weeks off. After 50 this matters even more, fitness drops faster and takes longer to rebuild. Stress is stress. Training, work and life all draw from the same budget. Putting them in separate silos and ignoring the total load is a recipe for breakdown. The most important data source is still the one between your ears. Devices confirm what your body is already telling you. Learn to listen first. 3 TAKEAWAYS Set your sleep target before your training target. Around 95% of daily growth hormone is produced during deep sleep. Cutting sleep to fit in a session is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Make easy days genuinely easy. If it felt like training, it wasn't recovery. Train to your number, not the plan's number. Ask honestly how much your body can absorb today — and respond to that answer, not the spreadsheet.   KILLER QUOTE "Recovery isn't something you do when you aren't able to train. Recovery is the element that makes the training worthwhile." LINKS & RESOURCES Mentioned in the episode: WHOOP Project PR Study -  the recovery-based training study referenced throughout this episode. Christine Clubbs episode - Be Battle Ready podcast - What your Garmin can’t tell you Sue Reynolds episode - Be Battle Ready podcast - What happens if an age group athlete trains like an Olympian. Want a training structure built around what you can actually absorb rather than a generic plan? CLICK HERE TO START YOUR MISSION If this conversation has resonated and you want a training structure built around your whole life, not just your performance targets, that is exactly what SWAT is designed for. CLICK HERE TO START YOUR MISSION   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 A simple checklist to see if you’re actually on track 3–6 months out. Ironman Sanity Checklist   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!

Three years ago Jamie Bedwell and his wife Abi were on this podcast as newly licensed professional triathletes with the world opening up before them. This week Jamie is back, riding solo, and the story has taken a turn nobody planned for. Three years of gradual deterioration. Chronic back pain, loss of power in the left leg, pins and needles that left him feeling, in his own words, more like a pirate with a wooden leg than a semi-decent triathlete. Every race ended the same way. Every solution fell short. Until earlier this year, when he finally got a diagnosis: flow limitation of the iliac artery, FLIA, a condition where the main artery feeding blood to the leg kinks under the repeated stress of cycling and running. There was a surgery. There was a one in five chance of it going wrong. There was a man in the waiting room who had been back eight times. And there was a surgeon who asked Jamie a simple question: why would you risk so much just to compete in triathlon? Jamie didn't need the six weeks he was given to decide. He said no to the surgery, yes to swimming, and started figuring out what comes next. This is one of the most honest and quietly moving conversations I have had on this podcast. 5 KEY POINTS FLIA affects competitive cyclists and triathletes specifically. Millions of pedalling repetitions thicken the iliac artery over time, restricting blood flow under race conditions. Day to day there is no pain at all. The surgery carries a one in five failure rate. If it goes wrong, the athlete doesn't just lose their sport. They lose the ability to walk uphill or ride a bike with their kids. Jamie said no to protect something bigger than his career. He wanted to remain in sport for the rest of his life. The surgery put that at risk. Once he understood that, the decision was straightforward. Swimming has always been his weakest discipline. He won his first open water race on the River Arun and qualified for the national championships in Sheffield. He is just getting started. Resilience isn't about pushing through. It is about knowing what you are actually fighting for and making decisions that protect it. 3 TAKEAWAYS Know what you are protecting. Jamie turned down surgery not because he gave up on sport but because he refused to risk losing it permanently. Discipline and love will take you further than a fixed goal. Jamie doesn't know where swimming will take him. He just knows those two things are enough. Identity is bigger than the sport. Jamie is applying for ordination, building a community of Christian athletes with Abi, and becoming, in his own words, a more gentle and humble person.   KILLER QUOTE "I'm so grateful there is such a thing called sport. Whether you're going to Park Run or competing at the highest level — sport gives every single person the opportunity to test themselves. And I'm grateful I still have that opportunity."   CONNECT with Jamie Jamie Bedwell is a former professional triathlete and competitive open water swimmer. He and Abi run an email list sharing their journey in sport and faith. Join Jamie and Abi's email list:   [email protected] for regular updates on their progress   Instagram -  Fuelledbyfaithajb Jamie and Abi are sponsored by Raceskin Wetsuits Jamie's favourite book: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - A Powerful WWII Survival Story of Endurance in the Pacific War If you haven’t listened to the previous Be Battle Ready podcast with James & Abi, you can find it here: Husband and wife racing duo   If this conversation has resonated and you want a training structure built around your whole life, not just your performance targets, that is exactly what SWAT is designed for. CLICK HERE TO START YOUR MISSION   FREE Download👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 A simple checklist to see if you’re actually on track 3–6 months out. Ironman Sanity Checklist   Connect with me HERE: https://linktr.ee/simonward You can find links for the following channels - Website, Facebook, podcast, Instagram, YouTube   Email: [email protected] Sign up for Simon’s weekly newsletter Got an awkward question for Simon? Send it to [email protected] and you might just hear it on a future episode!