THE PILLARS OF SUCCESS
Over the 28 years of coaching and working with some of the best athletes, coaches and trainers in the world, I’ve established a key set of rules that will ensure that you not only get the results you desire but also become a “complete athlete” in the process. This means that regardless of your exact discipline and distance, that your program will cover all bases, expanding on your strengths and strengthening your weaknesses. This is what I call “the path to injury free, peak performance”.
Here are the key pillars of your program and how to get the most from it:
Commit to being coached
Ask yourself “am I committed to being coached and guided, or am I trying to control the process”? Too many athletes “tie the hands of the coach” before the process has even started. They tell the coach what training they want to do and when they want to do it, often based on the latest article they read, what their friend said or what the latest fast Pro’ is doing. This lack of trust in the coaches skillset and complication of the process is bound to lead to limited results. Yes, your input matters and yes, a program should fit in to your busy schedule but if you want to hit your potential you are going to have to trust someone who knows better than you! You don’t tell your car mechanic how to service your car do you and you don’t tell your builder how to build your house! My point is, tell me your goals and available time and I will take care of the rest so that all you have to do is follow the plan.
Sports Science
Everything that I do is based on sports science. We live in a world of where the path has been forged for us by amazing athletes and scientists, who have documented and measured what works and what doesn’t. I’ve erased all the hype and fads and bring to you just clear and precise methods. For you this means that you can trust your exercise prescription and not have to second guess it. You can rest assured that you are doing workouts that work and that your plan will progress as you do, always pushing you to a higher peak. Your task is to follow the guidance as best you can so that you get the most from each session. So that means staying on the correct zone during your cardio workouts and paying attention to form and technique. Be sure to read up on the prep details of each workout to get the full picture of what you achieve from the session.
Mental development
The difference between the winners and the also-rans is mostly in the mind. Whether you are looking to compete to win or just to be the best you possible, it’s clear that honing your mental skills of focus, belief and commitment will go a long way in all areas of your life. This is why I’ll often add daily meditation and breathwork sessions to your plan. It’s also why tracking your training and your workouts matters. It not only helps to establish what training works for you, or to see when the load is too much but it also builds a roadmap of your success that you can celebrate at any time. Use me not just as your coach but also as your mentor. We can have deep conversations about everything that expands and limits you and work out how to win, overcome obstacles and hit your goals
Structural Integrity
Through strength and core training along with flexibility and mobility work, you will find that your body becomes more resilient to injury and functions at a higher level, especially once you progress to the more advanced stages of training. Try to do “a little and often” as per your plan rather than “mega-sessions” once in a while. This especially applies to the recovery techniques such as foam rolling. A pro-tip is actually to do your foam rolling prior to endurance training rather than afterwards. Try it and notice how much better you perform.
Nutrition
You are what you eat and what you eat today, you wear tomorrow!! Food is a really simple concept that over the years has been made complicated and confusing by the general fitness industry. To me food is very simple.… it’s just real food, eaten in moderate quantities with the aim of promoting optimal health and performance, all based on the science of what champions do and designed so that even the most novice cook can follow it. When it comes to fueling your sessions and races, most of the time all you need is water + sodium + carbs mixed in a ratio that suits the training intensity and length.