In 20 years as a coach and a lifetime as an athlete, I've learned many lessons. This has led me to a new perspective on coaching and training.
I'm passionate about bringing a new perspective to coaching and training age group athletes in the field of endurance sport.
Whether you're a cyclist, a runner, a triathlete, an adventure racer or an athlete in any endeavour that might be defined as an endurance sport and you compete as an age-group or amateur athlete, I'm here to help you get the most benefit from your training while maintaining all the other stuff you value in your life.
Just in case there are those out there who don't know: What is an age-group athlete?
In my world, an age-group athlete is defined as someone who competes in their sport for the love of it. You don't get paid much if anything if you win. Any sponsorships you have are largely based on someone giving you some kit or a discount on kit in exchange for you promoting them somehow.
You have a job, a family, a mortgage and a bunch of outside interests that compete for your attention.
An age-group athlete is the antithesis of the professional. While a professional has all the time in the world to train (or so it seems), because their sport is their job, your sport will always be your hobby and you need your job to support it alongside all the other things you do.
When a professional athlete heads out training, you head to work. That's just it, you're working and so are they. When they win prize money or are paid sponsorship, they pay their mortgage and feed their family with it. When you earn money by working at your job, you use what's left over after you pay your mortgage and feed your family to buy kit and travel to races.
What's notable, is that you and the professional athlete probably demonstrate a similar commitment to your sport. It's as if you have a second job. It's only that this job doesn't actually pay you, you pay it.
The differences I've written about above are why this site exists. Coaching amateur athletes requires a coach to take a new perspective. If your life is as different to a professional athlete as it is, I believe that your training should be too.
In my 21 years coaching endurance athletes, I have always set out to coach age-group athletes. I no longer provide coaching for professional athletes and I don't aspire to coach them in the future. My interest is solely in what works for those of us who balance training with real life.
What I am insanely passionate about and very good at doing is understanding the challenges that you, the age-group athlete, face and finding ways to help you to get the most out of the commitment that you put into your sport.
I understand the power of achieving something you didn't think you could, the life-changing effects of overcoming a challenge that not long before seemed impossible. This website is a part of my response to the commitment that you show on a daily basis.
Power to you!
Related Posts
Introduction This Italian-style Meatloaf recipe results in a meal that’s high in protein with the concentrated flavour you’d find in many Italian dishes. We’ve long made a very simple meatloaf with turkey mince, but I’ve always found it a little bland and dry. The fact that it’s quick and easy to make has kept it on
Read MoreIntroduction This Katsu Chicken recipe is my take on this dish, inspired by reading the horrid ingredients list on a store-bought ready-meal. This Katsu Chicken recipe came about when my wife brought home a Katsu ready-meal for herself one evening (I refuse to eat “processed food slop”, so I wouldn’t even be offered a mouthful
Read MoreIntroduction Doing a good warm-up can make a huge difference to your workout as well as competition results. It’s not just something to do halfheartedly. I’m a coach and an athlete. As much as I like to know WHY something works, the fact THAT IT DOES WORK is all I really care about. This sometimes puts
Read MoreIntroduction Every swimmer should swim all four strokes. It’s a bold claim and one which strikes fear into the hearts of most triathlete freestylers. If there is one word uttered on the pool deck that strikes fear into the hearts of triathletes the world over, it’s this…”BUTTERFLY” Of all the ways there are to imitate someone drowning,
Read MoreIntroduction Many people make the mistake of resorting to lifting straps long before they should need them. These grip training drills will help. At it’s most basic, training your grip means heavier lifts. But it goes a little deeper than that because there’s a correlation between grip strength and longevity, albeit it’s only a correlation
Read MoreIntroductionLadder workouts are a way to structure volume in your workouts to balance the load you’re moving with a degree of strength endurance. We’re all familiar with the standard way of structuring workouts that look a bit like this… 3 sets of 10 reps with 1 minute rest (3 x 10) OR 5 sets of 5 reps with 3
Read More