Unlocking Athletic Potential

Ian and Johnny welcome back Spartan Pro Athletes Lou Guenier and Chris Davis who were on the UAP podcast a year ago.Lou discusses his recent Spartan Beast Races races in Andorra and Morzine and how his training has progressed under his new coach Jon Albon.Chris discusses he benefits of having a schedule and how he has untaken some new unique challenges during COVID including a 50km trial with his dog, Pumpkin.  

World V40 400m Champion Gavin Stephens joins Ian to discuss their highlights and best takes from the Athletics programme at Tokyo 2020.

Former GB International and Sports Agent, Mike Skinner, joins Ian to debate whether Karsten Warholm's 400m Hurdles World Record is the greatest all time performance in Athletics.

Ian discusses the highlights of the athletics programme so far, including both the men's and women's 100m finals with former Scottish Senior and Great Britain Under 23 International Jon Oparka.

Ian welcomes back former guest, British Triathlete Ant Gritton to review the men's and women's individual triathlon and preview the mixed team relay.

Usually injury, choking on the big stage or a false start may be the unfortunate reasons why a medal contender fails to Unlock their Athletic Potential but this year the COVID factor could be the reason. Former Irish international gymnastic , Nick Dunn, who has competed at World, European and Commonwealth Games,  joins us to discuss the impact of COVID on these Games so far!

Ian and Johnny discuss the new Olympic events added to this year's Games.

With one day before the delayed Tokyo Olympics starts, we spoke to Sports Presenter, Radzi Chinyanganya, who will reporting live for Discovery Channel UK / Europort.

Following on from our episode on ‘Essentials v Margin Gains’, Ian & Johnny discuss  the non-essential products we love. These are products we could definitely do without but enjoy having in our performance arsenal. We only feature products we generally love but for each product, we will give a full disclaimer on where we got the product from, price and discounts we received and if we have any connections to the brand. ***We have not been paid by any brands to promote their products***Leg Compression devices including Air Relax and NormatecFoam Rollers including the Rollga and HyperIce Vibrating RollerLaCrosse Balls and Golf BallsMini Bands / Resistance Bands Performance Insoles by NabosoHRV Trackers including the Oura Ring and Whoop StrapPortable Ultrasound Devices Percussion Massage Tools including the Hypervolt and TheragunAirWaav Mouth Piece  Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices like SupersapiensMeditation Masks like Power ModeAnd products we want to know more about…Temperature Control MattressesContrast Therapy Tubs Unlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

We welcome multidisciplinary distance runner and coach, Jeff Ross, to the @unlockingathleticpotential podcast this week.Jeff originates from Scotland but has been living in Malaysia for the past 10 years. At high school, he participated in cross-country running and track athletics but found his passion in squash for most of his adulthood. In 2013, now in his late 30s, he returned to running and has made incredible progress across a broad range of distances and terrains. Now at 46 years young, today’s guest continues to excel on the road, trails and stairs and is a regular race winner in Malaysia, not just in the masters categories but against elite athletes in their prime. The achievement that brought Jeff arguably the most attention was his third place finish in the Gobi March Race in 2017. He also ran a 16:30 5km dressed as a banana!In this episode we discuss:The sporting moment that has brought him the greatest sense of happinessHis athletic journey and rediscovering running in 2013Finishing third at the Gobi March in 2017Becoming a coachThe mentors who have guided him and training principles he has employedStructuring training to be versatile over a range of distances Key routines and habits he employs to help him recover How Lila Movetech has been a game changer for his trainingThe launch of ‘Total Running Club’His number one piece of advice to help everyone unlock their athletic potentialFind out more about TotalRunningClub.com hereYou can find out more about Jeff’s recommended recovery, Hammer Recoverite, at hammernutrition.com.myJeff also discusses the Lila technology; you can find out more by clicking on lilamovetech.com Unlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

We welcome Great Britain’s long-distance runner Jake Smith to @unlockingathleticpotential.Jake recently made headlines when he went from pacing the Cheshire Marathon to going ‘all in’ for the full distance, despite never running close to 26.195 miles before in any capacity… and on this marathon debut he clocked 2:11.00, which is an Olympic and World Championship qualifying time.Jake’s other PBs are:5km: 13:47 10km: 28:50 (28:00 in training)Half Marathon: 1:00:31 (GB under 23 record and third fastest Britain of all time)His half marathon PB was achieved when he finished in 18th place at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Poland  last year.In this episode we dive into:Jake’s pacing plan going into the marathon and how his race eventually unfolded into going the full distanceThe key sessions that allowed him to run 2:11.00 on his marathon debutWhether he felt like he ran his best possible raceHow his running journey started, growing up in Hong Kong and some of the key milestones along the wayStriking a balance between student life and trying to perfect his running craftHis ability to compete over a range of distances and his preferred race distanceCurrent goals and what he is doing to help make them a realityThe carbon fibre running shoe revolution and his relationship with sportsshoes.co.uk (Use ‘JAKE10’ to get 10% off orders over 50GBP)The ONE biggest factor in helping Jake unlock his athletic potentialUnlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

Ian and Johnny catch up on recent training and talk about the essentials  which should be ever present in our daily lives and form the foundation of our training and balancing this with marginal gains.Unlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

This week on @unlockingathleticpotential we welcome three fellow hybrid endurance athletes, who also happen to be podcast hosts, who have all either very recently or the last few years have become dads:George Edwards is a hybrid endurance athlete and trainer at Gymbox Farringdon although during this pandemic, he has set himself up with his own training lab at his home. He is also a host on the ‘Rise & Grind’ Podcast and is father to Ivy. Luke De Benedictis is a fitness trainer based in Poole, Dorset and Spartan Pro Team Member. He is one part of the team that hosts the ‘Multi Sport Media’ podcast and dad to Harper Jack Carpenter is owner and trainer at FieldFit in Suffolk. Jack is also on the Spartan Pro Team is the other co host of the ‘Multi Sport Media’ podcast and very very recently became a dad to Margot.In this episode we discuss:The impact on training in the early stages of fatherhoodThe steps they took to prepare for fatherhood with regards to their own training and giving their daughter the best possible start to a healthy lifeThe start of fatherhood and giving their daughters the best possible athletic foundationsAims for the season aheadUnlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

We welcome Tessa Philippaerts to the @unlockingathleticpotential podcast. Tessa is a multiple canicross world champion, originally from Belgium, now residing in Norway. She is also a running & canicross coach. In this episode we discuss:How Tessa’s combined love for dogs and passion for running helped her discover canicrossHer progression in the sport and the early successes and challenges on this journeyCompeting in her first World Championships in Borken, Germany, in 2011 as a Junior, where she ending up beating the times of al the senior women (and most of the men)The specific training sessions that help her (Tessa the runner) get in shape and her own personal aspirations /goals in runningThe team of dogs she runs with and how her training programme worksThe first steps for dog owners to consider when they start running as a duo recreationally (equipment, training, environment)The next steps for dog owners to consider if they want to start competing in canicrossThe ONE biggest factor in helping her and her dogs, as a canicross duo, unlock their athletic potentialCheck out nonstopdogwear.com for professional gear for active dogs and their humans. Unleash your potential through ergonomic and innovative gear designed in Scandinavia.Unlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

We welcome professional endurance athlete, Myriam Guillot-Boisset to the @unlockingathleticpotential Podcast.Some of Mimi’s amazing achievements include:Winning two Adventure World Championships (2011 and 2013)2nd Place Spartan Ultra World Championships (2019)3rd Place Spartan World Championships (2019)47 Spartan Career PodiumsShe also holds a masters degree in Sports Science and hosts a raw adventure camp with her husband Jackie in Tenerife.In this episode we discuss:The start of her fitness journey and how this led to finding a passion for adventure and endurance eventsThe race which has given her the greatest sense of happinessA recap on her epic Spartan Morzine Quadfecta weekend in the summer of 2019 where she won the Ultra, Beast and Super as well as running the open SprintRacing the first USNS Elite Spartan Race of 2021What her training looks likeStriking a balance between her love for racing, adventure and love for planet earthHer Raw Adventure Camps in TenerifeFuture aims and goalsThe ONE biggest factor in helping Myriam unlock her athletic potentialFull details on many of the topics we talk about on this episode can be found at myriametjacky.com/?lang=enMany thanks to Jack Bauer for providing statistical analysis for this episode.Unlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

Lauren Stroud is a two-time U.S. Olympic Marathon Trialist and has a PB of 2 hours 44 minutes over the distance. She also boasts some very impressive times over 5km (16:18), 10km (34:11) and the half marathon (1:14).Lauren has recently made the transition over to Elite Obstacle Course Racing and Hybrid Endurance events, making her Elite Spartan Race debut at the USNS opener at Jacksonville in February. She then podiumed in her second race at San Antonio before going on to win the inaugural Spartan Dekafit in her home state of Texas.In this episode we discuss:When the idea of competing in OCR first cropped up, her first experience at Savage Race and then why she decided to jump in for her debut at the USNS Elite Spartan Sprint race in JacksonvilleLessons learnt from Jacksonville and a race recap from her first podium in San Antonio A breakdown of her Dekafit victoryKey sessions leading into these OCR racesFuture goalsStriking a balance between being a mum and trying to unlock her athletic potentialBreaking the Guiness world record for the half marathon pushing a strollerThe ONE biggest factor in helping her unlock your athletic potentialUnlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

Ian and Johnny discuss their thoughts on the first Spartan Races of the year as well as the nominees for the 2021 Laureus Sports Awards.Unlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.com

We welcome Asian based Spartan Pro athletes, Ilona-Jade Errington and Jamie Nunn to the @unlockingathleticpotential Podcast.Both Ilona and Jamie started OCR racing in the open division and moved up to the competitive waves before heading into the Spartan elite wave where they are consistently podium contenders.We hear about their journeys and follow on from our conversation with @nicolemericle on how together we can elevate Women’s OCR!Unlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

We welcome Boxing Strength and Conditioning Coach and Personal Trainer, Jon Ramos, to the @unlockingathleticpotentialpodcast.Jon is the S&C Coach for boxing heavyweight, Derek Chisora, who has held British, Commonwealth and European titles. Derek once challenged for the WBC Heavyweight title against Vitali Klitschko in 2012, going the full distance before losing on points.Jon was also a high performing athlete, competing in the top tier of the British Athletics League in both the Long Jump and Sprints and was a British University Long Jump Champion. He is also a BJJ practitioner.In this episode’s introduction, Ian and Johnny discuss some of their key takeaways from the conversation which include a look at how boxing training principles may cross over to OCR. This includes:The Importance of training environments and training campsHaving the right team and training partners and how the wrong team can be detrimental Training specific to combat your opponents weaknesses and how race tactics can be employed in OCRDealing with difficult personalitiesIn our conversation with Jon, we discuss:Jon’s role in the Derek Chisora team.What the structure of a training camp looks likeJon’s journey into the world of Strength and Conditioning What he learnt from former World Heavyweight Champion David Haye, who is now Derek's managerWhat keep boxers in the sport for so many yearsUnlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg

The use of music in the sport and exercise setting is commonplace and most us regularly use a playlist either pre-task or during our training sessions to accompany us. But how much thought goes into the choice of our music other than the fact we might like these particular tracks and what does the research actually prove?This week we welcome to the @unlockingathleticpotential podcast, Professor Costas Karageorghis, a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Brunel University London in the UK, who is one of the world’s leading experts into the effects of music on exercise and sport.Costas is the author of two textbooks *Inside Sport Psychology’ and ‘Applying Music in Exercise and Sport’, 12 book chapters, 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 100 professional papers in sport and exercise psychology. He has made 120 conference presentations and given numerous invited presentations at national and international conferences, including 12 keynote lectures. Textbook 1: http://www.humankinetics.com/products/all-products/the-inside-sport-psychologyTextbook 2: https://uk.humankinetics.com/products/applying-music-in-exercise-and-sportHis music research has been featured in newspapers around the world; the Times, Telegraph, Independent, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Sydney Morning Herald. In both 2011 and 2016 he was the recipient of the Sportesse Award for Sport and Exercise Sciences at the annual conference of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES).Costas has acted as consultant psychologist to a number of international and professional athletes and has worked with a wide variety of UK governing bodies of sport (e.g. British Athletics, British Canoe Union, British Water Ski Federation and England Hockey). He has also worked and has ongoing collaborations with various multinational companies in the sports world and music industry. Outside of his research, from 2007-11 he was head coach of the Great Britain Students Athletics Team. He has also managed and coached the Brunel University London Athletics Team since the early 90s.During his spare time, Costas plays the piano, often performing in jazz and latin duos/trios, as well as with the BASES Band at national and international conferences.In this episode we discuss:What considerations should individuals make when selecting music as part of their pre-workout routineHow this may differ if you are listening to music as part of a teamWhen can music help enhance physical performance during exerciseResearch into the area of music post exercise and during interval training Some of the most significant examples that the power of music has had on athletic performanceExamples when we should not use music during exerciseCostas’ number one piece of advice to anyone out there looking to use music to help them  Unlock their Athletic Potential? Here is the link to the Spotify account mentioned in the podcast if you are looking for some motivational playlists:https://open.spotify.com/user/j8pyfvz4vrm3ez9szxfhu44xhUnlocking Athletic Potential proudly partners with Red Dot Running Company, who specialise in sports nutrition and running kit and are based in Singapore. You can find them at rdrc.sg