Athletes often categorise their races. In this article, Coach Philip outlines how athletes can use a category to help adjust their mindsets before the event.  The standard terminology for this is A-Race, B-Race, or C-Race. A-races are the peak single event or maybe two in the season, whereas C-races are considered part of the training cycle. For different athletes, different races may form the hierarchy. For example, for some, a 70.3 may be their A-race and require peak training; for others, it could just be part of the training weekend.  There is an additional layer, though. Athlet ..read more

Ageing is a natural process which, we hope, we will all get to experience. As we age our bodies change, some more dramatically than others. In this article Coach Denise looks at what changes we can expect and how we can accommodate them, to enable us all to keep training, and racing, for as long as we want to. From the moment we are born our bodies are ageing. Initially this ageing process is positive, with growth; physically, mentally and emotionally. As we move through puberty into late teens and early adulthood the changes we experience lead us to become stronger and able to undertake more ..read more

Are you planning on racing with a bunch of clubmates or friends? Do you know how you will cope? Will you be the easygoing traveller, or will you be the one who carries their nerves quite obviously? Coach Philip addresses some key points of self-reflection that athletes should go through before travelling to a race with others.  Everybody knows about the importance of having training buddies. However, training buddies can often evolve into travel and race buddies too. This is only natural because why wouldn’t you want to try and do an event with a bunch of your friends? But do the compone ..read more

Training through the menopause is often a confusing and difficult time. In this article, which was first published for the Castle Race Series, Coach Philip looks at the changes and how athletes can navigate them.  Though the general understanding of the needs of female athletes is still way behind where it should be, there is accelerating progress in learning about the changes needed for female physiology. In other words, we are now moving a lot of female physiology from unknown knowns into the known unknowns territory! Much of this will take time, especially as almost every sports scien ..read more

In this latest article, coach Philip explores whether a training plan is now dead. He also looks into the rise of artificial intelligence and its impact on the sports industry. With the ever-increasing advances of data-capturing devices, it is now possible to do and record so much more through a smartphone or smart device. Only a few years ago this was possible solely in the laboratory. Although there are still improvements in the validity and accuracy of the data set. However, most athletes are unlikely to care whether or not they were a few per cent off the distance for their Sunday morning ..read more

In this article, Coach Philip explores how athletes are often distracted by the enormity of the task and get excited about the headline sessions instead of ensuring that all the fundamentals are in place to improve their chances of success or, more importantly, reduce the probability of failure. It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe. –Muhammad Ali Having worked with many ultra-endurance athletes over the years, along with countless IRONMAN athletes, it becomes evident to us that an endurance athlete’s downfall is often not because of their lack ..read more

In a recent series of blogs Coach Denise has looked at the impact of the menstrual cycle, contraception and perimenopause on the female athlete. In this article she looks at what athletes and coaches should consider in the postmenopausal phase of life. It sometimes seems like the life of a female athlete is one of complexity and change. When compared to male athletes, women have so many more issues to deal with throughout their lifetime. Most studies on athletes have been conducted on men, and one of the reasons given is that the impact of the menstrual cycle is so different for every woman t ..read more

In this latest article, coach Philip Hatzis explores how much we should dial back our FTP after an off-season break, or even if we should!? Read on to learn how to adapt your training after taking some time off.  After some time off, perhaps due to the off-season, an injury, or a break, many athletes will still refer back to their previous threshold values as they re-start. This is true for swim, bike or run. For example, they might have reached a bike threshold PB in September, just before their final race. However, as they restart in January, they have everything set to their previous ..read more

Although we are firmly a coaching company, Tri Training Harder began life as a training camp company. Our founder, Philip Hatzis, outlines the key considerations people should make when signing up for their first camp or going somewhere new! Training camps are becoming increasingly popular, not just for the endurance elite. More people than ever are on active training holidays and looking for getaways or training escapes. However, it can be quite a minefield of the differences between camps and how to know what to book. Therefore, it is essential to thoroughly research and plan your training ..read more

Packing for a training camp is a real art. You must balance your luggage's weight allowance and space with the things you need to take with you and those nice-to-haves. In this article, we look at what you should think about taking with you and some top things to pack, even though it may seem a little extravagant or unnecessary! For many people, what to bring on a training camp is one of the big questions they need to answer. For most people, a comprehensive triathlon kit list pack is suitable for people travelling abroad on training camps or going away to race. Many of the same items will st ..read more