There is increasing evidence to show that physical activity can have a positive effect on mental health. I recently read an article which stated how doctors in some countries are prescribing exercise for patients with low mood and depression. Throughout my career I have worked with a variety of people who have used physical activity to improve their mental well-being. So, how does this relate to endurance sport in particular? And when does ‘physical activity’ become ‘sport’? I’ve been reflecting a lot recently about how my own running career has helped me maintain better mental health.

Sports psychology is becoming increasingly popular in the world of sport. This is for good reason, as athletes search for ways to improve and gain the edge on the competition, they realise that a very significant proportion of sporting success is down to having the right mindset. Psychological skills are not just for the elite, as learning to think positively and effectively will help performance at all levels. Reinforcing and enhancing these skills and a success mindset with hypnosis serves to strengthen the power and focus of your mind.

So, how can you use self-hypnosis and mental skills to enhance your performance as a cyclist, runner or triathlete?

Negative thoughts, known as negative self talk is probably the most common way to mess up your confidence and sabotage your performance. One really effective technique to move to more positive thinking is using what is known as the stop-clap technique. I thought it would be useful to explain how it works and how you can use it.

Perhaps one of the hardest things to do as an endurance athlete is to accept that making easier sessions really easy is the best way. I have found this from personal experience and from working with many athletes over the years, so I thought it would be useful to write some thoughts and explanations of why and perhaps how to do slower/easier sessions.

So, why train slower to race faster? Training at a slower pace will be less taxing on your system but will still develop your aerobic fitness, it will allow to train more with less fatigue and have the energy to focus on the faster sessions that combine for optimal race performances. Too much faster training can make you slower.

Many people feel anxious about their training sessions and races, particularly the harder or more important ones. I thought it would be useful to explore this a little more and explain how you can use process goals to reduce or remove this anxiety and stress.

So, how can you use process goals to avoid anxiety about your hard sessions? Process goals are steps that you can control that result in a successful session. Focusing on process goals will shift your focus from the outcome, which isn’t completely in your control, to processes that are within your control, which is far less stressful.

When I start working with someone new I always spend some time learning about things they have done so that I understand what has worked for them in the past and what hasn’t worked so well. I thought it would be useful to explain how I go about this so that other people can learn from my experiences.

So, how do you learn from your past to get fitter and faster? Look at hard data first, heart rate, power, pace and any associated comments, don’t rely on memory at least initially.

Over the years I have read many books about training, coaching, nutrition, strength and conditioning, etc. Some of these have been very useful and some less useful. This blog provides a review of the ones I have found to be of most practical use along with a few that are just a good and inspiring read.

Undoubtedly if you are carrying extra weight, then losing some weight will reduce the amount of work you have to do, especially when running up those mountains! However, I have all too often seen runners lose too much weight and begin the slow decline towards multiple injuries, fatigue and declining performance. Being a healthy weight will help you be a better runner, being too thin can, however, be just as damaging to both your overall health and your performance as carrying too much weight.

I’m sitting in the house after 10 days off from running due to a horrible cold. This is rare for me, normally I will train through anything, hating to miss any days. So was I right to take those ten days off? A few key factors led me to take time off: 1) I felt faint after mild exertion; 2) I had a hacking cough; 3) I was feverish; 4) it began as a mild sore throat, which I trained through and got steadily worse over three days. So on the Saturday when I was not sure whether or not to train I e-mailed my coach explained all the above and we agreed rest was best on this occasion.

I was first converted to training and racing with a heartrate monitor after pacing some key races badly. I had trained hard for these races and wanted to do well, but it became clear to me that I was not good at pacing. Since starting to use a heartrate monitor I have consistently used this to help me both train and race with some success.

There are many people who run mountain races who never win or get a podium finish. In fact, most people are in this situation and when I first started mountain racing, I never expected to win at all. The fact that I am sometimes lucky enough to stand on the podium is a lovely bonus but certainly not the reason that I am a mountain runner, or that I take part in races.

I’m sitting here thinking about the races I have run over the years. Some have been good and some have been bad, sometimes I’ve been on my period mostly I haven’t, by luck rather than design. So does being on my period mean that my athletic performance is going to be so impaired there’s just no point getting to the start line? Over the last few years there has been a lot more openness about this topic, so I wanted to find a definitive answer to this question.