Here's a fact for you; different types of sports nutrition will effect you in vastly different ways. How do I know this? Why would I suggest this? Because recently I switched from one type to another to trial it and the results have genuinely blown me away. Now, I've been using High5 Energy Gels for several years and I've recommended them to anyone who would listen because they just worked for me. I had a strategy, an approach of use in different events, and I finished those events strongly. However, for my Ironman UK 2021 30 weeks training plan, I wanted to finish stronger on the bike, or in ..read more

What's better, power or heart rate training on the bike? It's been a year or so now that I switched to using a power meter on the bike. What made me switch from heart rate? I'd both read and experienced heart rate lag which basically resulted in me keeping off the power for too long even though my legs had recovered after a particularly tough section on a bike ride. What's heart rate lag? Well, my interpretation is that I would put extra effort into a bike section e.g. a hill, and my heart rate would increase above the heart rate zone I should be in. I'd get to the top of the hill but it would ..read more

I think I may have been breathing poorly for far too long during front crawl. I can't quite believe it because I've always swam, raced for a club as a child, and I'm pretty fast, how could my form be poor? Anyway, it was, and just remembering to breathe in the trough and not turning my head too far, too high, has resulted in seconds being spared over just 100 meters. I can't remember where I picked this tip up from but it needs passing on. So, basically, just remember to get your mouth enough out of the water and no more. Enough to breath in (because you should already have breathed out under ..read more

There are many ways to be a faster runner. However, there are some that take a lot of effort and return only marginal gains. What I have often looked for are changes to what I do that are small in themselves but when done consistently they return big results. Enter Plyometrics... ... Jumping for speed. Literally. I've been focusing on only the stationary ankle jumps. 5 reps of 20 secs with a 1 minute stint to end the set. I've been doing this daily for the last few weeks. And my calves look and feel great. The results so far? Admittedly it's too early to shout success from the roof tops, but ..read more

There was a training decision I made a few years ago that has I would say been the catalyst to my approach at the moment. This decision was to run one 10 mile run a week. To get to being able to do this run, week in week out, come rain or shine, it took determination to to up the miles each week, then run it each week as I gradually got stronger. What I didn't realise at the time was that it was the consistency of doing that run that allowed me to rock up at any half marathon and put in a good run. When I finally did read about Consistency online as a training/conditioning strategy I put two ..read more

I've mentioned in previous articles that my primary sporting discipline is swimming. It's naturally my strongest sport. But this old dog is always willing to learn new tricks. Hence this blog I suppose. Anyway, at the moment I am swimming just once a week. A 30 minute aerobic distance set. I manage 1700m quite consistently week in week out. HR is in zone 2 at its lower end. If I push harder I can manage 1750m or 1800m but I'm then in HR zone 3 for too long which is somewhere I don't want to be in training for long course triathlon. This article linked through to this YouTube video. Bingo... D ..read more

I'm a swimmer. There, I said it. I run, I cycle, I lift weights, I stretch, I focus on recovery and my nutrition, I am disciplined in my energy intake before, during, and after sessions... The list goes on... But at the end of the day I've been swimming in pools since I was 4 years old. Learning to swim, then racing weekly, then to keep fit. OK, there was a slight hiatus when girls and alcohol came along in the late teens :o) My point? I've learnt a lot about water, how it feels, and how to work with it rather than fight it, and if I strip everything back then swimming is what would be left. S ..read more

During the last few years I've read all sorts on line, and I've tried all sorts of different approaches. To be honest though my swapping and changing of nutrition hasn't been because things weren't working for me, it was rather that the cost was annoying me. OK, plenty didn't work but I did find things that did... My preference is gel sachets, they worked for me, but they just add up to a hell of a lot each month to use during my bike and run training. At approx £1 a gel, if you're running one 10 mile run a week and one 40 mile bike ride a week, at one gel every 20 minutes to get the minimum ..read more

I'll admit this post-workout lunch is a bit eclectic at first glance but boy does it look good. Lots of colours and lots of different tastes. More importantly lots of goodness across a broad range of content; carbs, proteins, and fats. I'm not one to measure the exact split to what some recommend as 40-30-30 or 50-25-25 between carbs-proteins-fats respectively. However this ultimately leaves me feeling satisfied for longer, energised and ready for the afternoon, and I'm not tired or feeling uncomfortably full ..read more

Basically, don't underestimate them and don't miss them, either of them. I've learnt the hard way, bonking a 20 mile training run because I thought I could run forever without water (several years ago of course), as well as having late nights at weekends (I'm not drinking and partying, I'm just talking about going to bed late) and then expecting my long runs and rides to be optimal. Guess what, they weren't. So, what's my style now? On hydration; I've cut down on tea and coffee, particularly later in the day. And whilst I'm on the laptop working, if I have a water bottle of something to hand ..read more