That Triathlon Show

Most triathlon training focuses on physiology and skills. Dr. David Spindler argues that the brain is the missing piece, and that you can (and should) train your brain to better process pressure, adapt under stress, and execute under fatigue. This episode will teach you how to do this.

Transcribed - Published: 28 May 2026

In this episode, coach Daniel Rowland and myself each bring two recent research studies to the table that we have found interesting and potentially useful for athletes and coaches. We discuss the implications and practical takeaways of the findings, how athletes can implement the findings in practice, and the strengths and weaknesses of the different studies. Whether you listen for the love of endurance sports science, or because you want to keep up to date with the cutting edge in triathlon training, this one is for you.

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2026

Brenton Ford is a swim coach and the founder of Effortless Swimming, one of the most well-known and well-respected resources of swimming knowledge for triathletes and open water swimmers. Especially for adult-onset swimmers without a swimming background. In today’s interview we start with an in-depth discussion of swim technique, before diving into specifics for open water swimming, training structure, and more. This episode is packed with information, and you’ll have a great chance of finding some advice applicable to your own situation that can help you improve your swimming.

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2026

This is the episode for every triathlete with ambitions in sprint and Olympic distance triathlon, from beginners looking to complete to front-of-the-pack athletes looking to compete. Triathlon training has similarities across the board from sprint to Ironman distance, but the specific training obviously differs between distances, and in this episode we break down exactly, when, why and how. Let’s get stuck in!

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2026

For many years, the topic of whether a polarized or pyramidal training intensity distribution is more effective for endurance athletes has been hotly debated. Arturo Casado, PhD, is one of the foremost researchers in this area (and former European Champion in the 1500 metres). Today, Arturo dissects what the science really says in 2026: whether there is a winner, and if not, what are the athlete-specific, event-specific, and other variables that impact which training distribution will bring the best results. We also discuss specific training models from Canova to Norwegian from both scientific and practical perspectives, and bring it all together with practical advice relevant for amateur triathletes and runners.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2026

Triathlon is a sport that rewards a big aerobic base, built over multiple years (if not decades) of training. But even though we all know this, it’s often hard in practice to prioritise this kind of long-term aerobic development, and we make tradeoffs that might lead to short-term gains, but might not help us achieve our full potential in the long-term. Coach Carson Christen joins me today to discuss this topic in detail. By the end of this episode you should have a better idea of what you can do today, this month, and this year, to maximise your long-term development as a triathlete.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2026

Today we take on your questions about triathlon training, strength training, Ironman, swimming, cycling, running, and other bits and pieces. We also briefly review our recent race experiences, and what’s next on our schedules. Hosted by Scientific Triathlon coaches Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2026

Innovations like the aerobar, power meter and GPS watches have shaped triathlon and endurance sports in the last decades. But what comes next? What will be the next big innovation to shape triathlon? Dr. David Lipman returns to the podcast to discuss what the next big innovations will be, and which ones might fall flat. We also take a stroll down memory lane to look at past innovations that succeeded and failed, and try to parse what it takes for an innovation to really stick.

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2026

We’re tackling a heavily requested topic today: triathlon training for masters athletes. Is it possible to slow down the natural performance decline through better and smarter training and recovery? Might you even be able to reverse time and hit new peaks later in life? Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens discuss best practices for older athletes based on their coaching experience and the scientific literature.

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2026

Jacob Tipper is a high-performance cycling and triathlon coach working with athletes such as Ben Healy (Tour de France stage winner and UCI World Championships third place in 2025), Lucy Byram, Dan Bigham and Jonny Brownlee. He is also a team coach or the EF Education-EasyPost WorldTour team. In today’s interview we discuss training for amateur triathletes and we dive deep into Ben Healy’s training and preparation that led to his breakthrough year in 2025.

Transcribed - Published: 26 March 2026

We dive deep into Ironman training and preparation in today's episode, and discuss how to best get ready for an Ironman whether you're looking to achieve an ambitious time or position goal, or you're looking to complete your first full distance triathlon and simply want to beat the cut-off times.

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2026

Sebastian Sitko is a cycling and triathlon coach, and a sports scientist. His active involvement in coaching both amateur and professional athletes, as well in conducting and evaluating research means today’s episode is a perfect opportunity to discuss how to approach the integration of science and practice in cycling, triathlon, and other endurance sports.

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2026

Physiological profiling is often the missing link in amateur triathletes’ training programs. Knowing your profile on a scale from very endurance based (slow twitch phenotype) to very explosive (fast twitch phenotype) can help you avoid costly mistakes and break through plateaus in your triathlon training through better individualisation. In this episode, we discuss the ins and outs of this topic, from how to correctly profile an athlete without misinterpretation or overinterpretation, to important training implications for different athlete profiles.

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2026

Torque and cadence are common features of cycling training programs, but how should you really train them to get the most out of your training? Peter Leo is a sports scientist and high-performance coach working across cycling (Team Jayco-Alula, Cycling Australia) and triathlon (coach of high-level short-course athletes), and since he’s personally researched this topic, and applied it at the highest level, he’s a perfect guest to answer this question. We also discuss training principles, including debunking some common misconceptions and mistakes made when applying training principles in practice.

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2026

Most triathletes are limited not by their physical capacity to train more or harder, but by being time-limited, so we’re constantly looking for ways to make more out of the time we have to train. Nowhere is this challenge greater than when training for Ironman or other full distance triathlon races on a limited time budget. In this episode, coach Natasha Van Der Merwe joins me to discuss how to deal with this challenge in the context of age-group triathlon training.

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2026

Most triathletes and runners will suffer from injuries almost every single year (and many will suffer multiple injuries per year). In this episode, world-renowned physical therapist Chris Johnson explains how to break out of this injury cycle, by looking at all of the different variables contributing to injuries. This is an in-depth look at how to balance your running or triathlon training with proper strength training, nutrition, and lifestyle factors, to allow you to train and perform more and better in the long run.

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2026

If you want to improve your running performance as a triathlete, these are the tried and true sessions that we rely on as triathlon coaches and athletes.

Transcribed - Published: 5 February 2026

A great fartlek and progressive threshold session to improve your running. Plus, the components that should be part of an effective run program, even though they’re not necessarily classified as “run sessions”.

Transcribed - Published: 3 February 2026

We rank our most effective bike sessions in this “Power rankings” episode. If you want to improve your cycling performance, try adding some of these sessions to your program. Whether your training for sprint distance triathlon or Ironman, or even pure cycling events like road or gravel races, there will be several sessions on these lists that can help you take your cycling to the next level.

Transcribed - Published: 29 January 2026

Learn about the interval session that takes traditional long intervals (e.g. 4 x 5 minutes) and optimises it for more time near VO2max (and by extension, more training adaptations). Also, do Norwegian cyclists do threshold intervals the same way as their triathlon counterparts.

Transcribed - Published: 27 January 2026

Gordo Byrn is a former investment banker turned professional triathlete at a later stage in life without an endurance sports background. He podiumed at Ironman New Zealand and Ironman Canada, and also became Ultraman World Champion. Today, Gordo is a coach and a prolific writer, with a lot of great thoughts and perspectives on how to improve performance in triathlon and endurance sports, and even in life.

Transcribed - Published: 22 January 2026

Gordo Byrn, investment banker turned professional triathlete and multiple Ironman podium finisher, discusses how to manage training load and fatigue. The full episode (an almost two-hour long episode!) will be available in the episode "Gordo Byrn on optimising Ironman training, the importance of volume and low intensity training, and practical age-group training" (release date 22nd of January 2026).

Transcribed - Published: 20 January 2026

We “Power rank” our favourite swim sessions. Some of these might not be favourites in the moment, but they most definitely are when it comes to the results they deliver in terms of improving your triathlon swimming! If you’re looking for some fresh ideas and perspectives to boost your swimming, this one is for you. Expect to find some bread and butter sets that have stood the test of time, but also some sets you had probably neither heard of nor thought of, but that work wonders.

Transcribed - Published: 15 January 2026

Two swim sets that will elevate your triathlon swimming - one Ironman specific set, and one brutal but amazingly effective VO2max set. These two sets are number 4 on the "Power Rankings" top-five of Jack and Mikael, respectively. The full rankings will be available in the episode "Power Rankings - Our top five sessions to improve your triathlon swimming" (release date 15th of January 2025).

Transcribed - Published: 13 January 2026

In the final instalment of our Triathlon Base Training Series, Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens discuss how to think about strength training, nutrition and diet in the context of your base training phase. We then finish things off with a listener Q&A.

Transcribed - Published: 8 January 2026

This clip is an excerpt from the episode "Triathlon Base Training Series 5 - Strength Training, Nutrition & Diet, and Listener Q&A" (release date 8th of January 2026).

Transcribed - Published: 6 January 2026

Michele Zanini, PhD, returns to the That Triathlon Show to discuss his latest research on the topic of durability. We also broaden the discussion to include the most up to date research findings on durability from the broader sports science community.

Transcribed - Published: 30 December 2025

Stephen Barrett is a cycling coach from Ireland, working as the head coach of the UCI WorldTour team Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, and coaching several of the riders on the team personally, including GC contender Felix Gall. In this interview we discuss the inner workings of a WorldTour team, and a lot of nuts and bolts training topics right from the top of the world of professional cycling.

Transcribed - Published: 11 December 2025

Improving your running performance as a triathlete starts with a good and well-structured base training phase. Scientific Triathlon coaches Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens talk you through their methods, and how you can apply these methods to make 2026 your best running year yet!

Transcribed - Published: 4 December 2025

Solveig Løvseth returns to That Triathlon Show as Ironman World Champion after an epic showdown in Kona this October! In this interview we discuss how the race panned out for her, her strategy going into the race, her training leading up to the race and lots more.

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2025

Do you want to level up your cycling this off-season? Then this episode is a must-listen, with detailed and practical guidance for your bike training during the base training phase, presented by Scientific Triathlon coaches Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens.

Transcribed - Published: 20 November 2025

What should triathlon swim training look like in the off-season? Big volume, lots of technique work, high intensity focus, controlled threshold progressions, or something else entirely? Scientific Triathlon coaches Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens discuss best practices for what to focus on in your swimming during the base training period.

Transcribed - Published: 13 November 2025

Mika Noodt is ranked second in the T100 World Tour standings (with two races to go), has four T100 podiums so far in 2025, and has multiple Ironman 70.3 and Challenge Family wins and podiums on his resume. In this interview we discuss Mika's training in great detail, get into the specific dynamics of racing in T100 races, and we even discuss how Mika might have ended up being a Formula 1 driver rather than a triathlete if circumstances had allowed.

Transcribed - Published: 6 November 2025

How should you train in your "base training" phase? Long slow distance? Reverse periodisation? Lots of gym work? Scientific Triathlon coaches Mikael Eriksson and Jack Hutchens discuss best practices of base training for triathletes.

Transcribed - Published: 30 October 2025

Learn how to get your running off to a flying start when you're new to triathlon. We'll discuss run training principles to build fitness and make running less hard, basic technique and skills, how to stay injury free, and more. All actionable, practical advice that you can implement in your triathlon training program.

Transcribed - Published: 23 October 2025

Solveig Løvseth is the new Ironman World Champion from Kona 2025. This is a rerun of an interview conducted about three months before the race in Kona, where we discuss Solveig's training in great detail, what she's changed since moving from shot-course to Ironman, her background in short-course triathlon, and lots more.

Transcribed - Published: 13 October 2025

Running your best marathon is about more than just logging miles. In this episode, I’m joined by running coach and author John Davis to dive deep into the periodisation, workouts, and science of marathon preparation and running performance. You can expect plenty of actionable takeaways whether you’re targeting your first marathon, chasing a Boston qualifier, or even thinking about bringing some marathon training principles to your triathlon training.

Transcribed - Published: 10 October 2025

Learn how to develop your cycling skills, build bike fitness, and all of the things you didn't realise you need to know about cycling. All actionable, practical advice to help you get started with your triathlon cycling.

Transcribed - Published: 4 October 2025

Monique Ryan is a registered dietitian specializing in endurance sports, working with athletes across many different sports from beginner level to Olympians. She is also the author of the book Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes (already on its 4th edition). In this interview with Monique we discuss many of the most commonly asked questions and problems that triathletes and endurance athletes face.

Transcribed - Published: 17 September 2025

How do you improve your swim as a beginner triathlete? That's the topic of conversation of this Beginner Series episode. You'll get actionable advice and without any fluff or distractions, so you can focus on what really matters for improving your swimming.

Transcribed - Published: 11 September 2025

Jelle Geens is the reigning Ironman 70.3 World Champion, a three-time Olympian, and has multiple big wins across the World Triathlon Championship Series, T100 World Tour and Ironman 70.3 on his resume. We discuss Jelle's training in great detail in this episode, and we also cover other bits and pieces like his new training environment on the Gold Coast, how his training and life have changed since having a daughter, and tourism tips for Belgium.

Transcribed - Published: 27 August 2025

Luca Zenti is a coach and data analyst for the UCI Women's WorldTour team UAE Team ADQ, and a triathlon coach working with Kate Waugh, Gregory Barnaby, Seth Rider and Max Stapley. In this interview, we discuss the training and the (ever-increasing) race demands in women's cycling, as well as bike training for triathletes, with examples from Kate Waugh's and Gregory Barnaby's preparation for T100 London.

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2025

Joe Warne, PhD, is a researcher at the Technological University Dublin. Joe is a main driver behind the Sports Science Replication Centre, that aims to replicate studies in the field of sports science to critically evaluate the quality and validity of the research. Joe and his team recently published a large-scale study showing that only 28% of randomly selected studies could be replicated, which has led to great concerns regarding the quality and methodology in sports science, and could impact how we view and consume science.

Transcribed - Published: 16 August 2025

In part 4 of the Beginner Series, we discuss training structure and key principles. After listening to this episode, you'll already be able to write a basic training plan for yourself.

Transcribed - Published: 9 August 2025

Russ Cox is the man with the data when it comes to Kona and 70.3 Worlds qualification. In this episode we discuss the new qualification system announced by Ironman in July 2025, and the implications for athletes wanting to qualify.

Transcribed - Published: 30 July 2025

In part 3 of the Beginner Series, we discuss all things gear and equipment. What gear do you need early on, what is nice to have but not essential, and what gear should you delay getting until you have a acquired some more triathlon experience?

Transcribed - Published: 23 July 2025

Solveig Løvseth is a professional triathlete from Norway. She's an Olympian from Paris 2024, double European Games champion from 2023 (individual and mixed team relay), and has the fastest Ironman debut in history with her 8:12:28 in Hamburg. In this interview, we discuss Solveig's career to date, her Olympic experience, her current focus on the Ironman Pro Series, and of course we cover her training in detail.

Transcribed - Published: 17 July 2025

John Wakefield is a cycling coach and bike fitter. He is a coach and Director of Development at Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, and coaches riders at the World Tour level, as well as working directly with and managing the U23 and younger development teams. In this interview, we dive deep into John's thoughts training and coaching, as well as his approach to bike fitting in detail.

Transcribed - Published: 13 July 2025

In part 2 of the Beginner Series, we discuss what you should think about and take into consideration when selecting and signing up for your first ever triathlon.

Transcribed - Published: 28 June 2025

In part 1 of the Beginner Series, we discuss the ins and outs of what you need to know if you're just starting out in triathlon, or considering doing so.

Transcribed - Published: 21 June 2025