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Tag Archive for 'coaching tips'

11 Lessons from a triathlon race

Published

Warwick

on August 12, 2009

in Health and Skills

. 0 Comments

Lessons from Triathlon racing

I just completed a personal best time in the Gansu triathlon in Western China. As I was going through the process of preparation and observing my team-mates from Shanghai Triathlon Club, I realised that there were many useful lessons in preparing and competing in an endurance race.

I am going to share these lessons in detail over the next several tips, here is a summary to get you started:

Lessons from Triathlon Races:

1. Do your best - The only way to learn is to stretch yourself.
2. Enjoy it - Remember to look up and enjoy the process while it is unfolding.
3. Run a race of one - The only person you are competing against is yourself.
4. Finish healthy - Identify your bottom line target.
5. Finish with a personal best - Set up some stretch targets.
6. Win the mind game - Prepare for the mental challenges ahead.
7. Consistency is the key to good preparation - Understand what it takes to succeed.
8. Stress free preparation - Lay the groundwork for a good on-the-day performance.
9. Test the conditions - Experience the environment ahead of time.
10. Know the rules - Some broken rules are going to ‘cost’ you.
11. Develop self-awareness under pressure - Keep a clear head at all times.

There are lessons in any project that requires careful preparation and execution. Have a look out for future tips as I expand on these lessons and show how they can be relevant for activities other than sports.

Resistance to Change : Michael J Fox

Published

Warwick

on July 6, 2009

in Gratitude

. 2 Comments

Resistance to change is common. Sometimes this change is forced upon us due to a change in health. But as this interesting article on Michael J Fox reveals - even forced change does not always result in a change of behaviour. It took Fox almost 3 years before he admitted that he needed to be upfront and deal with his Parkinson’s disease. Read more here at Success Magazine’s web site.

High Performance Tips: The Art of the Taper

Published

Warwick

on June 18, 2009

in Health and Skills

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Taper down to increase your performance We are all looking for ways to increase our performance given the resources given to us and the time we have in the day to dedicate to our given goal - whether that be work, play, family or community.

A technique used by endurance athletes before a race is called the taper. Like the funnel picture here, this involves reducing the volume of training in the week or two before a race. So if a triathlete is training 16 hours a week in the build up phase, during the taper she will reduce training volume to 8 or 10 hours.

While this may seem counter-intuitive, there is an important reason behind this. In short, this allows the body to repair and store up energy which increases performance in the race. A lot of athletes find this lowering of training a challenge. As competitive driven individuals who are used to pushing themselves as far as they can, to step back and train within themselves can be hard. As I am training for a race now, I have just entered my taper phase. I realized that this technique is applicable for all goal-setting.

Have you ever found yourself getting into a routine - albeit a high performance routine - and then asking yourself “Why am I doing this?” “What is this all about?” and if this is accompanied by questioning your own ability - you may need to taper.

If you have been pushing your new business development constantly all month and although you feel good progress has been made, you are not sure what comes next - take a step back. Take a day or two away from the activity of generating new business and put yourself in a different frame of mind. Call up an old and trusted client (or friend) and take them out for a coffee or lunch. Instead of trying to sell them, treat it like a fact-finding mission. Use your curiosity to learn more about their lives, ask them questions about their industry in general and perhaps even ask them to give feedback on your sales approach. This will strengthen the quality of your sales technique. Instead of hammering it to make 15 sales calls a day, take your time to make 3 quality calls. During your taper phase, see if you notice anything different or what you have learned that you can add into your toolkit.

High energy and passion are essential for success, but once a month add in a taper phase where you slow down, work within yourself and become more observant and “sponge” up new ideas. Enjoy the breakthroughs. Success in life is like an endurance race not a sprint so taper your way to higher performance!

One more week to first triathlon race of the season!

Published

Warwick

on June 15, 2009

in Health

. 0 Comments

Well it’s been about two months since I started the long road to fitness. Joining a gym really helped and I have been averaging about 15 sessions a month. The last month have been tough with many “brick” sessions of back to back cycling and running. This prepares the muscles to race tired - which is very important in triathlons.

Honestly, my body is feeling pretty exhausted. I gave myself a day off on Saturday to rest and sleep up. It was a big help. Although I do not have any aches and pains due my slow build up of exercise, I did not realise how much the brick session drained me. Doing a run only yesterday felt so good!

With 7 days before the race, I am only doing a few gentle workouts with a couple of swims thrown in. I will also carb-up during the week on pasta. Although I am not a nutritionist and there are many schools of thought on endurance diets, there is something reassuring about bowls of pasta. My goal for this race, as it’s my first of the season, is to get through safely and in a reasonable time (around 3 hours). With the other four to five races planned through the summer, I will look to drop some weight and that will probably mean a more protein based diet.

Once again during this process of change, I am surprised at how easy it is to achieve a consistent change when there is a fixed target in mind. I wonder why I can’t keep this going throughout the year. Certainly, I have to put aside the excuses of busy travel schedules and packed work calendars. Even though I spent last week in rural parts of China at a friend’s wedding, I still squeezed in several treadmill runs between the continuous banqueting.

I am looking forward to this first race, and see it as the first step in my continued journey towards better health. And perhaps to a faster race time of 2hours 45 minutes!

Stay on Track during Summer: Regular Review Your Goals

Published

Warwick

on June 4, 2009

in Skills

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As temperatures rise, we start to think about the summer holidays. I read once that people spend more time planning their vacation than they do planning their lives!

How often do you review your plans for this year? Do you have written goals?

One of the best tools that I use for my annual planning is a word document with all my goals inside. Divided into categories like family, personal, investment, business I write down all the goals that I want to achieve this year as well as longer term goals. Once a year I overhaul the goals and pick a focus for the year.

More important than having written goals, however, is that you regularly review them. Napoleon Hill recommended a twice daily reading of goals which would certainly get you focused on what matters the most. I usually review my goals once a week and then again if I have time while traveling.

In my experience this time of year is a dangerous time for life planners. With five months gone in the year, we have made some progress in some of our goals - we may even be ahead. Or, if you haven’t made any progress on some goals, you may be ready to drop them.

Here’s a simple exercise you can do to help you stay focused through the summer period. Print out your goals in a booklet and carry it with you everywhere. Whenever you get a moment while travelling or “waiting” for a meeting, flick through your goals. This regular reminder will help keep you positive as you encounter the small frustrations of everyday life.

Enjoy the summer, have a wonderfully refreshing holiday and stay focused on what matters most to you!

Fitness Program Update: Still on track

Published

Warwick

on May 22, 2009

in Health

. 0 Comments

I revived my exercise program about one month ago and I have been consistently taking small steps on my running. In this time, I have had 23 exercise slots. I started by just walking, then added in a minute or two of running, and now am moving into my run/walk program. I do a 5 minute warm-up and 5 minute warm-down and now I am doing a 4 minute run / 1 minute walk module. This means that I run for 4 minutes, then walk for 1 minute. So I am running about 50% of the total time of my work out (including the warm ups and downs).

As I use a treadmill, I can work with speeds and heartrate to guide my progress. Currently I run between 9.0km/hr and 7.0km / hr. At the same time I observe my heartrate. It is currently within 50-60% of my maximum heart rate which is acceptable for base training. I talk about how to calculate your maximum heart rate here.

So now that I am building up my time running, I adjust total work-out time (20-35 mins), speed while running (my target is 10km/hr) and my heartrate (so I can do more exercise with less exertion). The biggest lesson here is that small and consistent is the only way to build up a healthy fitness level.

I also have a target for my first triathlon of the year: an Olympic distance in Suixian in Henan province in China. Here’s to a healthy year for you and your family.

Take the kettle off before it boils: Take time to decompress

Published

Warwick

on May 18, 2009

in Health and Skills

. 0 Comments

About three years ago, a trainer friend of mine passed away from a heart attack. He was over-weight, lived off fried food and did not do any exercise. He was multi-lingual, a warm friendly funny man in his 40s. I miss his sense of humour and diverse talents. Recently another trainer friend of mine suffered from Bells Palsy which causes a partial paralysis of the facial muscles. He is in good shape, doesn’t drink or smoke and works out and plays basketball. He is also multi-lingual, a warm friendly funny man in his 30s. He has been on a punishing travel schedule traveling two or three cities a week, training up to 20 days a month. I look forward to enjoying his diverse sense of humour and talents for many years to come.

We are all striving for greater success in our lives, but at what cost? We push through the tiredness, stress and heavy workload to make the next target. What are you doing to pause your life? You need to add a few days a month (or at least a quarter) to fully relax. I am spending two days this week in a bamboo mountain forest retreat attending a yoga and emotional freedom workshop. I have never done yoga and am not really that sure what emotional freedom really means, but I do know one thing. I am totally going to forget about checking emails and traffic jams and the small frustrations that can get in the way of our lives.

I expect to come back full of fresh air, much more relaxed and enriched by learning some new techniques. I will come back healthier and fitter from the fresh air and morning walks in the forest. Really looking forward to it. I plan a monthly away day with my wife and it allows us to get grounded before we move onto another month. Take the kettle off before it boils. And that reminds me, it’s time for some peppermint tea. Have a relaxed and refreshing day.

Three Heros of Change: The One Minute Presenter

Published

Warwick

on May 15, 2009

in Skills

. 0 Comments

I was recently invited to speak at the 10 year celebration of Toastmasters in China. The first club to charter in China put on a wonderful show with almost 300 attending. I shared some insights into life changes and leadership through the metaphors of three heros. Today, I have enclosed a link to the third hero: The One Minute Presenter.

Click to play the 7 minutes 53 seconds video:

Three Heros of Change: The Bamboo Leader

Published

Warwick

on May 10, 2009

in Contribution and Skills

. 0 Comments

Click to play the 8 minutes 48 seconds video:

Three Heros of Change: The Change Catalyst

Published

Warwick

on May 5, 2009

in Skills

. 0 Comments

I recently was invited to speak at the 10 year celebration of Toastmasters in China. The first club to charter in China put on a wonderful show with almost 300 attending. I shared some insights into life changes and leadership through the metaphors of three heros. Today, I have enclosed a link to the first hero: The Change Catalyst.

Click to play the 9 minutes 47 seconds video:

The Change Catalyst