You know those moments when you realise you need to take your own advice? Well, that’s exactly where I found myself last week (hence the late email – apologies), and it’s taught me something valuable that I reckon you’ll relate to. Read on to find out more…
Outstanding Performances Last Week
Before I dive into my own wake-up call, let me celebrate some brilliant achievements from the Sports Test family. Jane Fontana absolutely smashed it at the European Aquathon Championships – such an outstanding performance that she’s already pre-qualified for next year’s World and European Championships for the GB age group team. That’s what happens when you put proper planning and preparation into your training structure. I’m sure Jane won’t want me to announce this, but she is celebrating her retirement from work this week, and we are really looking forward to the year ahead with so much more flexibility in her diary…although knowing Jane it will be just as busy and hard to squeeze training in!
Then there’s Oli Evans, who continues to go from strength to strength. After his fourth place at European Triathlon Championships, he switched gears completely and tackled a 70.3 triathlon at Outlaw, delivering a superb 4:40 performance. What’s brilliant about this is that his focus had been all short, high-intensity work, yet he still delivered. It shows that when you get your training structure right, the results follow across different disciplines.
And a shout-out to Max Greensill, who performed brilliantly for the GB team at theMountain Bike World Cup, placing 10th in the short track event. It’s fantastic working with such dedicated athletes at every level
…..Max Greensill on his way to 10th place in the short track event in the World Cup last weekend.
The Triangle That Changes Everything
All of these achievements have one thing in common – they got the fundamentals right. Which brings me to my own wake-up call this week. I’ve been banging on about this training triangle for ages: the balance between training, recovery, and nutrition. If any one of those elements goes wrong, your performance and your body will suffer.
Yet this week, my Oura ring has been telling me exactly what I’ve been telling my clients for years: “Garry, you need to back off.” I’ve been up since 4am most mornings, getting less than four hours’ sleep, and my heart rate variability has taken a complete hammering.
What’s fascinating is how quickly the body responds to this imbalance. Within just afortnight, my HRV showed dramatic changes. It’s remarkable how sensitive thesemarkers are – and how they predict exactly what’s coming if you ignore them.
Tom’s Seven-Minute Breakthrough
Tom’s story perfectly illustrates what happens when you finally get all three elements of this triangle working together. Tom smashed his Half Marathon personal best by a massive seven minutes, going from 1:35 to 1:28. In just two months.
But here’s what’s fascinating: Tom’s transformation wasn’t about running more miles or training harder. The breakthrough came from two simple discoveries about his body that he’d been getting wrong for years.
The weight loss alone tells an incredible story – nearly four kilos of pure fat mass in eight weeks. And here’s the mind-blowing bit: every single kilo Tom lost was worth roughly two minutes off his marathon time. That’s not theory – that’s measurable, predictable performance improvement.
Breaking Down Big Goals
Tom’s breakthrough also taught me something crucial about how we approach big targets. This week I discovered why his success felt so sustainable. Most people set these massive end goals – lose 10 kilos, run a sub-three-hour marathon, make World Championships – then wonder why they give up after a few weeks.
But here’s the psychological breakthrough: your brain treats a 10-kilo weight loss goal exactly like climbing Everest. It’s so far away that losing 100 grams feels meaningless. You’ve still got 99 steps to go.
The fascinating part is how this connects to dopamine and motivation science. When you break that journey into stepping stones – monthly targets, weekly wins, daily victories – you’re literally rewiring your reward system to work with you instead of against you.
I’ve been doing this with my clients for some time, but never really considered how powerful a motivator it was.
The Power of Personalisation
This stepping-stone approach only works when you’re stepping in the right direction- which is why personalisation matters so much. Remember Nathan “TheHitman” Heaney from last week’s newsletter? His story perfectly illustrates this point – even as a professional athlete, he was training significantly above his optimal zones. The results we saw after correcting this continue to reinforce why proper assessment is so crucial.
Whether it’s your training zones, nutritional requirements, or sleep quality – track, assess, and adjust. People can be 20-30% off from recommended intakes and intensities. That’s where proper assessment makes all the difference.
Keep Your Training Diary
But here’s the thing about all this data and assessment – the most valuable insights often come from the simplest source.
Not the data your watch collects – that’s just numbers. I’m talking about the data between your ears. How did you feel? What was different about that session? What was your mindset like? What seemingly small change made everything click?
This becomes your personal performance database. In six months when you’re struggling, you’ll have the exact blueprint of when things were working. Most athletes are trying to remember what worked six months ago. The smart ones wrote it down.
Looking Ahead
We’ve got some exciting developments coming over the next four to six weeks – watch this space for announcements! The team at Sports Test Towers continues to grow and evolve. Terrence has started evening PT classes, Eddie our sports therapist is doing phenomenal work with gait analysis and S&C, and of course, Buster the dog gives me massive motivation to get out at 5 am for a great start to the day with a walk (most mornings).
Remember, whether you’re an elite athlete like Max, an old-man (or woman) like myself, or age-groupers like Oli, and Jane, or someone focused purely on wellness and longevity – the principles remain the same. Get that triangle right: purposeful training, focused nutrition, and proper recovery.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you want tips on any aspect of your training, nutrition, or recovery. We’re here to help you achieve your targets, whatever level you’re at.
Have a brilliant weekend, and remember – sometimes the best thing you can do for your performance is to take a step back, listen to your body, and practice what you preach.
Have a good weekend.